Over the past few years, we saw EDM become mind-numbingly cookie-cutter, with the sole purpose of getting festival minions to fist pump like mindless drones. This made even me, one of the biggest advocates for house music on this planet, question whether the genre would be able to overcome it’s increasingly sordid reputation.
2014 has answered that question with an emphatic ‘YES!’. In a glorious showcase of the versatility and talent in the industry, we’ve seen the genre bounce back by shape-shifting, adapting, and most importantly through artists that are in it for the love of the craft. So all the ‘big room sell outs’, who were unabashedly churning out insipid ‘bangers’ in assembly line fashion, as they chased those big festival dollars, are now getting left behind in the dust. (See ya DV + LM!)
While there is still a market for big room house, we are seeing an increasing number of supreme young talent that is staying true to their roots, and just making what they love (masses be damned). And today’s savvy crowds adore them for it. Therefore, I think it is safe to label 2014 as ‘Year Redemption’ for EDM. This is exactly why picking that top track for 2014 is such a challenge. There’s talent galore, and all the contenders dabble in different styles and sub-genres, making it less of an apples to apples comparison.
There’s also a ton of worthy candidates! I was tempted to crown Robin Schulz’s ‘impossible to get this melody out of your head’ remix of ‘Prayer In C’. You could make a reasonable argument that this track is more addictive than nicotine. This year we also had the ever-anonymous Zhu take the deep house world by storm with his infectious smash hit ‘Faded’. The Magician’s Sunlight is another absolute masterpiece, which should probably win it if only for this insane video. Porter Robinson (who can have my babies btw) put out two stellar works of art in Lionhearted and Sad Machine – both very worthy candidates also. There’s a bunch more, ranging from XO’s super sexy Pulling Me Under featuring the unfathomably haunting vocals of Leo Kaylan, to Fedde Le Grande’s Don’t Give Up, which wins the award for ‘song that goes so hard, it’s most likely to give me a seizure’. Pryda also had a sick year, putting out productions like Liberate and Mija – both songs that would’ve been in strong contention if it wasn’t for this next guy…
In 2014, the song that best encapsulates the year, the song that has had the biggest impact, and the song that just TAKES OVER the lives of anyone lucky enough to be within ear shot HAS to be Galantis’ prog house mega-blockbuster ‘Runaway (U & I)’. I’m having a hard time with where to begin with how filthy this track is. I’ve seen it absolutely SMASH nightclubs in person, and I’ve also seen nine year old girls screaming out the, now legendary, refrain “YOU & I I I I I” at the top of their lungs. That’s impressive range! The second that familiar sparkling intro kicks in, there is a sudden magic in the room, and you will see complete strangers just beaming and nodding at each other, with an implied ‘fuck yea. It’s on now’. I personally dropped it at a private party, while everyone was waiting for the DJ to set up, and… you guessed it, instant mayhem!
This track has everything – it is masterfully produced by the insanely talented duo Galantis (who are all but destined for superstardom in 2015). It is incredibly catchy. You WILL be screaming out the lyrics even if you don’t want to. It also has the unique distinction of being a fantastic big room sound, with a drop like the hammer of Thor – but it is somehow able to retain it’s very unique and charismatic personality. That is a hard combination to pull off in the big room arena. It has also been remixed about 8,000 times (I made that number up, but I might not even be exaggerating). Two notable remixes are from Kaskade (who does a number on the drop), and Dillon Francis (who does some really cool things with the vocals). Most importantly – it is SUCH a fun track. It just makes people so happy.
My favorite part of the track, if I had to choose, would be the opening verse. It is glorious:
“Think I can fly,
Think I can fly, when I’m with you
My arms are wide
Catching fire as the wind blows”
Two days ago, Kaskade dropped this track at LIV. As I always do for this first verse, I assumed my customary Christ the Redeemer pose on the couch – feeling beyond epic. As these words had sex with my ear drums, I seriously contemplated jumping about 40 feet to the main dance floor below. Seriously.
Fuck Red Bull – this track gives you wings!
And that is why 2014 is the year of U & I I I I I!