24.12.12

Night Tracks Of The Year - 20-11

If you've missed out on the earliers lists, check them out. 50-41 here, 40-31 here and 31-20 here.

20. Volor Flex - True Faith (Dark Clover)
From My Story


The standout piece from Volor Flex's slightly less Burial-aping second album was "True Faith", which was a slightly darker, more 2-step oriented affair.


19. Venture - Autumn Sun (Free Download)
From Soundcloud


The king of minimal DnB dropped this piece of Aphex inspired junglism on me once morning, and it was in pretty much every mix I made for the rest of the year. The snare rolls are perfect, the bass is heavy, and you know that Venture is gonna have the pads on lock.

18. Gasface - Lonely (Square Harmony)
From Deep Lane


The man with the knocking drums came out with this masterpiece on the impressive "Deep Lane" compilation issued by Russian label Square Harmony. Quintessential Gasface listening, immersive pads and a sparse but effective vocal sample, if you like this, then go out and buy/download all of his stuff that you can, before he concentrates too much on his unknown deep house alias...

17. Monitor 66 - Triscuits (House Of Disco Records)
From Triscuits


There isn't half some shit released under the guise of "Nu-Disco", but "Triscuits" by Monitor 66 really stands out in what is, in my opinion, a pretty bland genre desperately trying to distinguish itself from being house by being about 2 bpm slower. And what do you know, this one suited Night Tracks perfectly.

16. Ghostek - Trust Me (Free Download)
From Soundcloud


I can't believe there was ever a time that I was worried that Ghostek's tunes would never see the light of a full release. We've been positively swamped with tunes (and on vinyl too!), so it was nice to see some of his unreleased, older fan favourites like "Trust Me" get dropped for free by the man himself.

15. Cass - Lithiummelodie in Halbtrauer (Free DL)
From Soundcloud


Don't just listen to this once. Listen to it hundreds of times, and notice how many different elements you pick up on with each listen of the talented German's composition. Perfect for late Summer nights, this tune reminded me of some of Four Tet's less dance-oriented works, only that it might well be better than anything he ever managed himself.

14. Essáy feat. Ida Dillan - Find You (Fauxpas Musik)
From Find You


After putting in serious shifts in the world of Night Tracks friendly music, it was great to see Essáy get some recognition in the form of a 10" vinyl release on one of the best labels around, Fauxpas Musik. Essáy's sublime pads, sparse, sunken drums were paired perfectly with Norwegian artist Ida Dillan's vocals.

13. Burial & Four Tet - Nova (Text)
From Nova


Has there ever been a better collaborative pairing in music history than Burial and Four Tet? If so, shut up, because you're wrong. This (disappointingly) single-sided release dropped early in the year to keep the Burial train steadily rolling onwards. I think in the grand scheme of both artists' impressive back catalogue, this one might get forgotten, and that'd be a great shame. This is a tune that could move the dancefloor and move you emotionally.

12. Sam KDC - A Prelude To Winter (James' Song) (Free DL)
From Soundcloud


Of all the great music put out this year by Sam KDC, the most amazing piece was a free download on his Soundcloud page. The perfectly titled "A Prelude To Winter" was probably my favourite DnB piece of the year, the woodwinds creating an amazing atmosphere over deep rolling bass, with drums that never stray towards cliche.

11. Davwuh - This Love (Self Release)
From Pharaoh


Another tune that was more suited to summer nights than the dark of winter, this piece was driven by the pads and vocals more than anything, which led to euphoric atmospheres and vibes. Just check it, if this tune doesn't get you moving, there's something wrong with you.

Stay locked for the top 10 soon.
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