Tracasseur: Daniel's best of 2013

First off, since this is my first official post, I shall start with saying hello and nice to meet you! You might know me from pictures on Facebook and such, thinking what the hell is that eighties porn star looking guy doing with the Tracasseur duo. Well, news flash, we are a trio and apparently I am the worst blogger you've had the pleasure of never meeting. But all good things must come to a start, and here’s a starter for a love story; my best of 2013. So, witty introductions put aside, here is a somewhat late personal summary of the past year.

2013 has been fantastic in many ways for me, and musically all of us have really been moving into deeper and harder music, which I for one love! I think one major reason for this is that we've been playing more pure dance floors, but also generally the producers and artists we like are doing the same transition; harder, better, faster, stronger. My list is a bit of a mash up, much like myself; there are tunes in it that I've never played on gigs – as well as bangers that I honestly only would play on a smashing dance floor at 4 am. So if Jonas is up and Sebastian is down, I'm to the left, the right, above and below and somewhere in the middle. It doesn't make sense to me either, so here’s the damn list already!

#1. Chris Malinchak - So Good to Me (MK Remix)

I must admit, I didn't hear this until late may, and I remember walking home late from a gig at F12 in Stockholm, and just listening to it over and over again. Fell in love with that night, and still I get a warm and happy sensation listening to it. Might be an obvious #1, but music doesn't always have to slim to be good. And as a conclusion; Chris Malinchak is awesome, and Marc Kinchen (MK) with the remix – it is truly a godlike combination. I must also admit that I've been playing the MK (dub III) remix of “Look Right Through” like a freak this year, but as you might know it’s from late 2012. So I thought, what the heck, with this as #1 they both get credit!

#2. Urban Cone - New York (Oliver Nelson Remix)

Swedes, swedes and nothing but house producing/playing swedes. By now you should definitely have heard about Urban Cone. You might even remember our posts about them, and both Jonas and me had the Vinjette remix of "Déjà Vu" as personal favourites of 2012 (that was before I was making official “on the internet lists”). And while speaking of that song – another swede did a remix on it, namely Oliver Nelson and here we tie together all the loose ends with this year's #2, a song I played on the beach the entire summer. A nice original tune, but at the hands of Oliver Nelson – summer in liquid form.

#3. Haze-M and Cucumbers - Lady

Ok, so this is one of the late entries on the list, and to be honest I was away for the better parts of November and December, and when I got home, played five or six gigs in two weeks time. We all know what that means; scouring all available sources for new music. This one ended up on the “might play” list and after getting 2:24 minutes in, I was hooked, and it climbed, or should I say cozied it’s way up, to the number three spot. A great collaboration from Russia (Cucumbers) and Germany (Haze-M), released on Sleazy Deep. This is guaranteed something that both Sebastian and me like. Make way for #3!

#4. The Veterans - Will Make It Back Home

So, The Veterans official Soundcloud page has 12 followers and only two songs are posted on it. “Driving All Night”, has 27 plays, while “Will Make It Back Home” has around 800. They’re not on Facebook (trying googling veterans, lol), and overall they seem to be hard to pinpoint, nevertheless, this tune hooked me good and I know Lussan from LPP also love it. The information given from the record label, Red Eleven, is; “The Veterans are a fresh German project, even we don't know much about. What we know is, that these guys really can create cool music.” Well, I for one totally agree with all of that, and especially the part about the cool music. Cool Enough for #4

#5. Haim - If I Could Change Your Mind

I must admit that the first time I really noticed Haim was when the totally awesome Dan Lissvik (all time Tracasseur favourite) did the remix of "Forever". I got Haim's free EP early 2012, ingenious move making it free btw, but back then I didn't really feel they had an unique sound, until the release of the album “Days Are Gone”. The song listed here as #5 sends me back to the 80’s and I just feel that song could easily have been included on something like the “Streets Of Fire” soundtrack, epic flic btw. Haim is currently climbing lists all over the world, and obviously they've climbed mine as well. #5 is a proof they’re here to stay, and I for one am glad for that.

#6. Josh Butler - Got a Feeling (Bontan Remix / Pleasurekraft Edit)

Well, Jonas has this as his #5, and we agree to agree that this is a proper killer remix by Bontan and Pleasurekraft on Josh Butler, and we got the feeling! We played it, everyone played it and everyone loved and still love it. One short anecdote; I was in a bar on the other side of the world (from a swedes point of view at least) and the DJ played this, let’s just say that we bonded and had shots and danced our asses off.  

#7. Todd Terje - Strandbar (Disko)

So this popped up in the early days of summer, and it soon become one of our most played tracks, I think we usually used it to raise the tempo, like the staring tune of the dance floor build. Funny story about the name of the tune is that in Norwegian “strandbar” means beach bar, and the name “Strandbar” derives from when Norwegian national radio referred to “Inspector Norse”, another great track by Terje, as background music at a beach bar. So, although Norwegian radio hosts don’t seem to know about good music, we’re glad Terje is here to give us this; everything BUT background music. Strandbar ftw!

#8. Nervo - Hold On (Fred Falke Remix)

Alright, number eight, with emphasis on the somewhat forgotten magical touch of Fred Falke. I mean the Nervo twins are doing their thing and they seem to be faring pretty well (understatement), but the original version of “Hold On” would never come close to my top list, had it not been for this brilliant remix by one of France’s finest; Fred Falke. I for one miss him and hope he’ll make a proper comeback in 2014. Hold on!

#9. Jorge Montia and Coqui Selection - Pump This Party

So when this year started I pretty much didn't have a clue about neither of these two, Jorge Montia and Coqui Selection. They have both done tons of collaborations (that list would be a novel), and although I'm not a huge fan of everything, but when I found this little gem on Hype Machine in the start of the summer I got really exited. Since then I've been playing this banger late night, dance floor, shots for everyone – style. It really does the job, people love it and it does pump that party!

#10. Le Youth - C O O L (Ben Pearce Remix)

Pretty much fresh off the bat, Wes James currently in LA, got some massive attention earlier in 2013 for the original "C O O L". I for one had been playing P. Diddy's version of Cassie's original “Me & U” some time (yes, I also run a little hip hop club business on the side). I must admit I made the same noise I always make when I hear old guilty pleasures in a modern beat. Jonas went with the original, I’ll go for the version that’s a bit easier to play in clubs, the Ben Pearce remix. Have at you! And keep your eyes pealed for Le Youth, there is more to come, check out his Soundcloud!

#11. Groovebox - Brooklyn