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Upon its release in August, this slow and steady, style-defying thumper shot straight to No. 1 on Beatport's chart, and stayed there for six straight weeks. It's sold 16,000 copies as of this writing, been licensed to compilations in all genres from "Club Azuli" to "Electro Nation," and landed in the box of the world's number one DJ, Armin Van Buuren. It also certified Deadmau5 (pronounced "dead mouse") as dance music's hottest young property and a full-fledged phenomenon. |
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Deep Dish's Dubfire declared his independence this year [the duo is "exploring (their) own creative paths," so they say] with a slate of adventurous releases. "Roadkill" in particular mixed the Deep Dish of the '90s with today's minimalism into a classic-styled electro-pogo that almost anyone could - and did - play, from Ferry Corsten to Gabriel & Dresden. The track even got illegally mashed-up with Rihanna's "Umbrella"…and still sounded damn good. |
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This track's hummable synth melody and Motor City-celebrating sample rocketed the Dutch/producer DJ to international fame, and landed a dance instrumental on the country's mainstream dancefloors. It hit No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart, and No. 11 on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart in the U.S. With 54,000 downloads sold, the full-on smash is as successful as bleepy dance can get. |
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One of the bombs of Winter Music Conference '07, this monster is from two guys who are generally known for funkier fare. But house champ Knight and Ramirez exorcise their big-room demons in grand fashion, with a walloping smack of bass synth riding under spidery blips that belongs in a "do not open until 4 a.m." lockbox. Champions include Carl Cox and Robbie Rivera. |
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With an elastic synth guiding the way, this track's street-festival-style accordion riff was the year's most unlikely call to the dancefloor, sneaking into sets by everyone from Behrouz to Sven Vath. Berlin-based Swiss/Iranian producer Samim released a full-length of equally unusual dance, "Flow," on can't-miss Get Physical in September, solidifying his status as the go-to guy for accessible dancefloor oddities. |
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Trance king heir-apparent Van Doorn goes for the gut with a muscular punch of low-toned synths driven forward by techno's light cymbal hits. It's as relentless as they come, with more machismo than a lot of today's high-octane trance. This plus the Dutchman's remix of Club Scene Investigator's "Direct Disco" have helped define him as leader of the Netherlands scene's more metal team. |
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