Whether there’s a narrative in the trajectory of dance music in 2009 is open for interpretation and snide remarks, but even a cursory glance at the top 10 lists compiled LWE’s staff suggests this year’s been full of excellent music. The most mentioned by far is STL’s nuance-filled “Silent State,” with various cuts from Ben Klock and Black Jazz Consortium following behind. Peter Van Hoesen’s “Attribute One” and album tracks from Martyn’s Great Lengths were also well represented. What made your top 10 list? What did we overlook? We look forward to reading your thoughts (and the rest of an already enjoyable year for dance music).
2q
LWE 2Q Reports: Top 5 Breakout Acts
July 8, 2009 – 11:06 AM
One of the great joys of going to your local record shop (or, er, scrolling through menus of WhatPeoplePlay) is the anticipation, nay, expectation of discovering something or someone you had never hear of before. As Innervisions boss Dixon says of their bright young hope, Culoe de Song, “Sometimes tracks appear from somewhere you would never expect.” So far, 2009 has been no different, with a host of fresh and (more often than not) astonishingly young talent breaking through. Narrowing it down was a tough job, but here are five artists that have sent our radar haywire in the last six months.