2012 Favorites – Our Top Tracks & Your Most Viewed

Written by lolskiJanuary 5, 2013

As we embark upon a new year that is sure to be full of slammin’ releases, it’s important to recognize those to-die-for tracks that carried us through 2012 on a wave of electronic euphoria. Recap the crème de la crème of 2012 as chosen by your Stoney writers, plus the most popular tracks on the site over the past year.

STONEY CONTRIBUTOR PICKS:

KISH

Barnt – Geffen
It’s not easy to choose the best song of the year, then again it’s not easy to create a track that gets people clapping, gasping and cheering just as they hear it being mixed in at the club. Yes, that happened. Yes, I was there to see this happen. Geffen is simple, one note, not flashy and encapsulates the year that 2012 was perfectly. It started off slowly, made me want to hit my head against a wall persistently but all in all ended with a delicious bang. Honourable mention goes to ">Todd Terje’s Inspector Norse because who doesn’t like a cheeky bedroom rave to that one?

SSRECS

Club Cheval – Now You Realize
Everyone loves the Bromance team and whole Paris crew. These guys have been killing it all year, with 7 amazing releases. They almost single handedly brought techno back to the mainstage and into the underground all at the same time. The guys from Club Cheval came to the scene with a little help from Paris Social Club and crew. Now taking the world by storm with a fresh take on disco, I’m super excited to see what’s next.

LOLSKI

AlunaGeorge – Your Drums, Your Love
It’s impossible to single out the best track ever and I thought really hard if I should pick ">Grimes – Nightmusic. From nu-disco department Robotaki has done a superb work of remixing DJ Shadow Scale It Back ft. Little Dragon. A somewhat lesser known gem, Prince Club remix of Yuna‘s Lullabies will deserve as much number of plays. All in all, these tracks have, to some degree influenced my taste in music, opening up new doors to variety of new sounds. But in AlunaGeorge – Your Drums, Your Love I discover that freshness missing from the other tracks. A splendid piece that totally deserves my #1 spot.

BLUESHIFT

Blond:ish – Lonely Days (Hunter/Game Remix)
Featuring THE catchiest bassline this year, this track might’ve passed me by if my friend didn’t play it at an outdoor party this year. I was instantly hooked! Couldn’t get the bassline out of my head for months after that and knew it would be a strong contender for my track of the year.

FALUVIA

Hot Chip – How Do You Do (James Zabiela Remix)
After too much contemplation, the answer became obvious — James Zabiela’s remix of “How Do You Do” by Hot Chip. This track gives me goosebumps!! JZ himself calls it “a rare remix,” which also happens to be a glorious 8:25 minutes long. Of course it’s impossible not to pay homage to a few other favorites like Julio Bashmore’s “Au Seve,” Duke Dumont’s “Thunder Clap,” Miss Kittin’s “Girlz,” and Benoit & Sergio’s “New Ships” — but of course, there’s no magic quite like the Zabs’.

SANDMAN

Jessie Ware – Running (Disclosure Remix)
The remix work of Jacques Lu Cont and What So Not has sent my body writhing across my hybrid bedroom/dancefloor this year, and originals from Débruit, Para One and Shadow Child have shown me that deep aural exploration can be even more rewarding. However the track that I keep coming back to is Disclosure’s remix of Jessie Ware’s ‘Running’.

Originally a sultry slow-burner with Julio Bashmore manning the studio, the now garage-tinged house jam has infinite replay value. I like to think that things were a little unusual in Disclosure’s studio that day. Gently flicking his fingers, one of the Lawrence brothers effortlessly splits Jessie Ware’s vocals into wispy strands, just before his sibling forms a fist and jerks his wrist in a sharp clockwise motion, twisting the strands together again in a warped but somehow more beautiful form. The two then sink into the floor and lay down snaps, clicks and thuds which come together to form an irresistible groove. Lastly, they mould some soft synth stabs that gently nudge your hips forward over and over again until there’s no turning back.

It definitely could have happened that way!

FLANNELS

Justin Martin – Ruff Stuff (Eats Everything Reruff)
Such a hard decision to make with so much good music coming out in 2012, but I’ve chosen this tasty Eats Everything remix as it’s set the tone for the party. I know this track is still quite new and I may still be in a honeymoon stage with it but I just can’t get enough of it. Hats off to him and his well deserved DJ Mag best DJ (British) Award. I can’t leave this post without mentioning some of the other contenders for the year; “Dont Go Away (Zombie Disco Squad Remix)“, “Y’all Know (Sharkslayer Remix)“, “Thistle (AraabMuzik Remix)“, and Jack Beat’s “Just A Beat“.

WOW

Parachute Youth – Can’t get better than this
There have only been 3 dance tracks that have ever made the hairs on my body stand up every time I have listened to when popular. One was “Dirty Vegas – Days Go By”, Two was “Booka Shade – Mandarine Girl” and three was this! A combination of the track evoking a reflective emotion and the feeling of freedom when you watch the music video made for an insatiable release that got caught on airwaves across the world. What mades this a little extra special was when we found out our good friend Johnny Castro was one half of the act! #shoutouts