My relationship with the phrase 'sound of the summer' is bittersweet. It's both a journalistic safety blanket and something that can, if used right, be the most fitting thing imaginable. Trouble is, most of the time we use it semi-ironically, deploying it conversation about pretty much any record released between May and August.
I'd been finding myself using it quite a lot recently. Initially I feared that my vocabulary had completely receded into the realms of cliché, and it wouldn't be long before the only word I was capable of saying out loud was "banger." Then I took a step back and had a good, long think about upcoming album releases and noticed something. Well, four things really. Four British records to be exact, each of them promising to fire out a season's worth of steady builders, peak time floor-fillers and post-night swan-songs. It wasn't just me being a dreamer, either. We really are faced with one of the most exciting summers for British dance and electronic music in recent memory.
Those records bring to mind another word I'm a but funny about: mainstream. The aforementioned quartet are albums that will breach the mainstream, making sizeable dents in the charts. In a way, this is a luxury. What is 'mainstream' dance music here in the UK is still characterful, experimental, and authentic. To call them mainstream is only to acknowledge that while they're 'cool' electronic records, they won't be resigned to the lower reaches of Discogs. What we've got is a roster of records that could define 2015 as a year when dance music in the UK rose further in popularity without having to sell its soul in the process.
Jamie xx - In Colour - Young Turks - 01/06
There was no massive indication when the xx broke through with their self-titled debut album, that their moody, tall producer-cum-percussionist would become one of the UK's most quietly pivotal club figures. However, following a series of remixes and then the much lauded "All Under One Roof Raving", Jamie xx quickly rose to represent a dynamic and developed prospect. Having listened to In Colour, his debut album as a producer, it's clear that his status is going to be solidified. The record doesn't offer much in the way of hand-in-the-air bangers, but rather opts to interweave the heritage of British dance music into contemporary rhythm and melody.
The LP behaves half as a dance record, and half as an artifact utilising samples of MCs and recalling garage inflected house beats straight from the turn of the century. This isn't to say it is nostalgic in a cloying or sentimental way. There is a drive behind the history – a drive to make something bigger and better than what has come before. Lead singles "Gosh" and "Loud Places" do a good job of outlining the best of what the album achieves, a contemporary sounding patchwork of influences that emphasise how good British electronic music is now, and where it has come from.
Listen to: "Gosh"
Hudson Mohawke - Lantern - Warp - 16/06
As far as THUMP are concerned, Hudson Mohawke's second solo album Lantern is going to blow everybody's heads off. It is a bizarre journey, part frenetic trap, part futuristic R&B, with shades of gabba and happy hardcore running throughout. Many of the headiest cuts fulfill this article's prophecy perfectly, working as legitimate bangers (sorry, I'm off again), as well as showcasing ingenuity and idiosyncrasy in bounds. Basically the record sees HudMo successfully escape the realms of hip-hop production for the identity he first broke through with. It is playful, brave and euphoric.
Warp are clearly proud of the Glaswegian's work, and it is both exciting and refreshing to see so much energy go into promoting the work of the producer. In terms of features, there are collaborations with some bigger names such as Antony Hegarty and Miguel, but largely the record opts for lesser known faces in order to centralise the man behind the monitor. This album could be a watershed moment for the electronic albums, highlighting the potential lucrativeness and high-profile success in producers who pursue their own distinct perspective, as opposed to conforming to the demands of the mainstream.
Listen to: "Ryderz"
Julio Bashmore - Knockin' Boots - Boardwalk - 10/07
Bashmore's debut album probably marks the most explicitly 'dancey' of this summer's records, but could also come through as one of the biggest success stories. Knockin' Boots will be the first ever album to be released on the Bristol DJ and producer's own label, Broadwalk Records. The imprint has so far been limited to smaller pressings but following his meteoric rise, it looks set to encounter exponential success.
The record itself is a soulful and buoyant collection of killer house tracks, many of which recall the filter house movement of the late-1990s. Bashmore is evidence of something rare in dance music. This is unpretentious dance music that never veers into the shallow end of the spectrum.
Listen to: "Holding On"
Disclosure - TBC
The brothers Lawrence are opinion dividers, but before wading in with the usual "this isn't real house/2-step" etc it is worth acknowledging that they have never professed to be. In fact, during an interview with the Guardian, they stated they see themselves as making "pop music in the of house". This kind house-pop is, in many ways, their innovation, which has seen them take house and garage and weave them into unstoppable force, propelling British dance music into the international charts. In simple terms, they might not be Larry Levan reincarnated in two white boys from Surrey, but their success is still worth celebrating.
We're still clutching at straws a little when it comes to working out when their album might get a release, but given the hugely well-received drop of their latest track "Bang That" at the start of May — a track that's already gained over a million plays on Soundcloud — it shouldn't be long. If the single is anything to go by, we can expect more sure-fire club ready tracks. Even if you're whinging about them you'll be dancing. Involuntarily.
Listen to: "Bang That"
You can add to these records a host of other contenders. There is Four Tet's two track epic Morning/Evening, Hot Chip's recently released Why Make Sense, as well as efforts from stalwarts of the scene Chemical Brothers and Leftfield. All told, this also makes for a festival season where the producer and DJ is further up the bill than ever before, with all-genre festivals shifting to acknowledge dance music on a previously unprecedented scale.
Many reading this may feel inclined to complain that there are a number of underground artists not being recognised, or even that commercial viability is not a mark of success or any kind of 'golden era'. These statements are both true, however that is not the victory of this summer's releases. We have had a few years building to this point, the summer of "Get Lucky", the rise of Calvin Harris, Avicii and the entire EDM movement. Yet 2015 seems to be offering an alternative, a wealth of dance and electronic music with popular appeal but, crucially, character as well.
Which brings me back to the original question. The inescapable question, as old as music itself, which of these tracks is going to be the "sound of the summer"?? Calling it: "Inspector Norse".
