So it's about to be 2012, and what does "Dance/Electronic" mean? I sure don't know. Pretty much all popular music is "dance" music at the moment. Let me preface this by saying that I mostly shirk the "Dance/Electronic" tag, and this is just the stuff I think was the hot shit in 2011. I also smoke too much weed to be able to decide how to order things top to bottom, so skip around when you're reading and pick your own ranking.
1. Shystie You're Welcome (Pirates)
Shystie had a great year with lots of top-notch material dropping, including this free mixtape — proving once again why she has consistently been one of the queens of grime.
2. Merky Ace Catch Up (Family Tree)
Raw, unadulterated grime. This shit is visceral. Sick productions and sick flows mark this nice release from a number of rising talents.
3. Juicy J & Lex Luger Rubba Band Business 2 (Trap-A-Holics)
The impact of both these cats this year is undeniable, and when they team up it's purely crushing. "Pills, Weed and Pussy" is all I need to say.
4. Damu Ridin' EP (Keysound)
I was feeling this R&B-influenced left-field house EP quite a bit, and when I looked back at my play counts for the year, the killer title track had a lot of spins in my sets.
5. Araabmuzik Electronic Dream (Duke Productions)
This Dipset producer murders everything he touches. I said he murders everything he touches. Cheesy trance flipped through the mind and fingers of an MPC virtuoso. Only something so wrong can come out so right.
6. Starkey
Space Traitor Vol. 2 (Civil Music)
My homeboy is unstoppable. Trust that. A real bangup of a release with an even spread of instrumentals, vocals and remixes — that are all excellent. Philly's finest.
7. Kastle Time Traveler (Seclusiasis)
Seclusiasis is my label. We only sign music that we love. This EP is passionate and thought-provoking dancefloor music on a future garage tip. It will move you, and I'm proud to have released it. Look for more exceptional music from Kastle in 2012.
8. V/A Surreal Estate, compiled and mixed by Ana Sia (Frite Nite)
A slew of forward-thinking electronic sounds from North American artists. This is the kinda stuff that gets me through annoying paperwork.
9. Machinedrum Rooms (Planet Mu)
Juke-inspired sounds have been all the rage this year, and the always excellent Machinedrum turns out an impressive affair of surging synths and pumping rhythms.
10. Clicks & Whistles Cranberry Goose (Embassy)
This one really put these guys on the map, and damn if I don't often find myself humming the "Cranberry Goose" melody. The album is at once both soulful and banging.
Gair "dev79" Marking does the DJ Nights column every week at citypaper.net/djnights.
