BEST ALBUMS OF 2012 [6-10]

6. Hot Chip – In Our Heads

British electronic ensemble Hot Chip has been going strong since the early 2000s. Their 2008 release Made In The Dark was voted album of the year by Mixmag magazine. Since then they have released One Life Stand (2010) and In Our Heads (2012). Last year's album contains several top tracks, including How Do You Do?, Don't Deny Your Heart, Night and Day, and Flutes...

7. Azari & III – Azari & III

Azari & III aka Dinamo Azari + Alphonse Lanza, Cedric Gasaida and Fritz Helder is a Canadian electronic outfit with a feel for retro house grooves. Their self-titled debut album was originally released in 2011 in Canada, then re-released in Europe and the U.S. in 2012. The album contains three big tracks - Reckless With Your Love, Hungry For The Power and Manic...

8. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Trouble

Orlando Higginbottom, aka Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (TEED), is an English electronic producer. His debut album Trouble was released in the summer of 2012. Here's the video for the track Tapes and Money...

9. Bat for Lashes – The Haunted Man

English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Natasha Khan aka Bat For Lashes released her third studio album The Haunted Man in 2012. A big favorite is the single All Your Gold, which came with an amazing Hercules & Love Affair remix (posted previously). Here's the original...




10. Mario Basanov – Journey

Lithuanian electronic producer Mario Basanov aka Marijus Adomaitis has enchanted the world with his chill-full beats the last few years. The tracks Skywalker and We Are Child of Love are instant nu disco/chill house classics...

...and both appear on his debut album Journey...

BEST ALBUMS OF 2012 [11-15]

11. Tomas Barfod – Salton Sea

Danish drummer and electronic producer Tomas Barfod is known for his work with WhoMadeWho and collaborations with fellow Danish beatmaker Kasper Bjørke under the artist name Filur. His 2012 solo album Salton Sea takes his music to a new level. Favorite track is November Skies...




12. Passion Pit – Gossamer

Passion Pit is an American indie band from Cambridge, Massachussets. Their 2009 debut album Manners included the fave tunes Little Secrets and Sleepyhead. Their second album Gossamer was released in 2012. Opening track is Take A Walk...

13. Taken By Trees – Other Worlds

Taken By Trees is the solo project of Swedish singer-songwriter Victoria Bergsman. In 2009, she released a stunning cover of Guns'n'Roses' Sweet Child O' Mine. Her 2012 album Other Worlds was inspired by a trip to Hawaii. Here's the track Dreams...

14. Van She – Idea of Happiness

Van She is an Austrialian electro pop band founded in 2002. The 2008 debut album V was released on Aussie indie imprint Modular Recordings. So was their 2012 follow-up Idea of Happiness. Here's the title track...

Another cool track from the album is Jamaica, which comes with a tropi-cool remix by Plastic Plates...

15. Lana Del Rey – Born to Die -- The Paradise Edition

Born To Die is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Elisabeth Grant aka Lana Del Rey. It was released in early 2012, then re-released towards the end of the year as The Paradise Edition, containing eight additional tracks.

Here's Video Games which was released as a single in 2011 and featured on the album in 2012...

There's been a continuous stream of Lana Del Rey remixes since the album came out, including reworks of Video Games, Born To Die, Blue Jeans and National Anthem (from the original album release) as well as Ride and Blue Velvet (from the Paradise Edition), most of which are posted on the Lana Del Rey Soundcloud stream. Favorite rework is the RAC mix of Blue Jeans...

BEST ALBUMS OF 2012 [16-20]

16. Jimmy Edgar - Majenta

Jimmy Edgar is a Detroit-based music producer with a taste for electrifying beats. His 2012 album Majenta contains some tantalizing tracks, including This One's For The Children, Sex Drive and Let Yourself Be, all of which can be listened to in the player below...




17. The Presets - Pacifica

The Presets is an Austrialian electronic duo formed in 2003 by Julian Hamilton (vocals, keyboards) and Kim Moyes (drums, keyboards). Their debut album Beams was released in 2005, containing the favorite track Are You The One? The second album Apocalypso came out in 2008, including the single This Boy's In Love. (Check out the cool Kim remix of the track.)

Last year saw the release of the duo's third album Pacifica, containing some of their strongest material so far. Favorite tune is the opening track Youth In Trouble...

The track Promises comes with a cool Plastic Plates remix...

18. Grimes – Visions

Claire Boucher aka Grimes is a Canadian musician and music video director. Her third album Visions marks the peak of her musical career so far and contains some highly original material drawing upon influences from industrial rock, electronic pop, hip hop and RnB to create what has been described as airy cyborg-pop. Top track of the album is Oblivion...

19. The XX – Coexist

The xx followed up their highly acclaimed 2009 self-titled debut album with Coexist in the fall of 2012. The new material is not as strong as their first album, but still offers some high quality tracks, such as Fiction. Here's a recent edit of the track...

20. RAC - Chapter One

The Remix Artist Collective (RAC) has churned out an impressing number of high quality remixes in recent years. They have compiled some of their greatest reworks on the release Chapter One...

BEST ALBUMS OF 2012 [21-25]

21. Sin Cos Tan - Sin Cos Tan

Sin Cos Tan is Jori Hulkkonen and Juho Paalosmaa. The duo's self-titled debut album was released in the fall of 2012 on Sugarcane Recordings. Here's Trust...

22. Beach House - Bloom 

Beach House is a dream pop duo from Baltimore. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 followed by Devotion in 2008. Subsequently, the duo was signed to SubPop records where they released Teen Dream in 2010 and Bloom in 2012. First single off last year's album was Myth...

23. Purity Ring – Shrines

Purity Ring is a Canadian electronic duo. Their debut album Shrines was released last year. Favorite track is Fineshrine...

24. Two Door Cinema Club – Beacon

Northern Irish indie ensemble Two Door Cinema Club released the debut album Tourist History on French imprint Kitsune in 2010. Last year's follow-up is entitled Beacon and contains the favorite track Sun...

The Kitsune crew put together a cool indie dance mix of the track...

25. Sebastien Tellier - My God Is Blue 

My God Is Blue is the title of last year's album by French electronic pop artist Sebastien Tellier. The track Cochon Ville was lifted off the album as a single release. Here's the uncensored video...

...and here's The Magician remix of the track...

BEST ALBUMS OF 2012 [26-30]

26. How To Dress Well – Total Loss

How To Dress Well is the solo project of Tom Krell. His debut album Love Remains was released in 2010 and received high acclaim by Pitchfork. Last September, Krell released his second album Total Loss, which once again received great reviews and a Best New Music designation by Pitchfork. Here's the video to the track & It Was You...

27. Fake Blood – Cells 

Fake Blood is an alias under which Theo Keating (Wiseguys, Black Ghosts) release creative electronic music. The name can be used for a variety of word plays. For instance, the Soundcloud stream becomes the Fake Blood Stream. And the first Fake Blood album, out last year, is Fake Blood... Cells. The tune that really stands out from the album is All In The Blink. Here's a pretty cool video to the track...

28. Miguel Campbell – Back in Flight School

UK house label Hot Creations has released high quality tracks throughout 2012 with recent faves including Electricity by Lee Foss and Benediction by Hot Natured and Ali Love. Another Hot Creations artist that have made his mark last year is Miguel Campbell. After releasing the EP Rockin Beats/Not That Kind of Girl, he followed up with a full album titled Back In Flight School, which also contains the 2011 track Something Special. You can listen to the album in the player below...




29. Tyson - Die On The Dancefloor

Tyson is a British singer and producer with a taste for 80s sounds, such as italo disco. His 2012 debut album Die On The Dancefloor contains several top tracks, including the title track as well as After You're Gone and Out of My Mind...

30. Prins Thomas - Prins Thomas 2

Norwegian disco producer Prins Thomas released a full batch of tunes last year with his second album Prins Thomas 2. Check out the opening track Symfonisk utviklingshemming (which means something like symphonically challenged in English)...

BEST ALBUMS OF 2012 [31-35]

31. Jessie Ware – Devotion 

Jessica Lois Ware aka Jessie Ware is a London-based singer. Her debut album Devotion came out last year and received great reviews as well as a Best New Music designation by Pitchfork. Here's the track Running, which was released as a single...

Check out the cool Disclosure remix of the track...

32. Poolside - Pacific Standard Time 

Poolside is a producer duo based in Los Angeles. Their first single Do You Believe became an instant classic when it was released in 2011 by Australian imprint Future Classic. The track is featured on the duo's 2012 album Pacific Standard Time...




33. Simian Mobile Disco – Unpatterns

London-based producer duo Simian Mobile Disco was formed in 2005 by James Ford and Jas Shaw. Their biggest tunes include Audacity of Huge and Cruel Intentions, both released in 2009 and featured on their second album Temporary Pleasure. Last year's Unpatterns is their third album and includes the track Cerulean...

34. Grizzly Bear – Shields 

Shields is the fourth album by American indie rock band Grizzly Bear. It was released in September last year. Here's the video to Yet Again...

35. Niki & The Dove - Instinct

Niki & The Dove is a Swedish duo consisting of Gustaf Karlöf and Malin Dahlström. Their 2012 album Instinct was released by SubPop. Here's a cool remix of the track Mother Protect...

BEST ALBUMS OF 2012 [36-40]

36. Jupiter – Juicy Lucy

Jupiter is a French-English duo based in Paris. Their musical influences range from disco and electro funk to Alan Parsons Project and Beastie Boys. Their first single Starlighter was released in 2009. It was followed by the singles Saké and Kass Limon on Parisian indie dance imprint Kitsune in 2011. (Check out the cool Anoraak remix of Saké.)

The 2012 debut album Juicy Lucy contains the track Saké, the duo's first single Starlighter as well as their latest single One O Six. You can listen to the album in the player below...




37. Friends - Manifest!

Friends is an indie ensemble from Brooklyn, NY, consisting of band members Samantha Urbani, Lesley Hann, Matthew Molnar, Nikki Shapiro and Oliver Duncan. Their 2012 debut album Manifest! contains the fave track I'm His Girl...

38. Saint Etienne - Words and Music

English indie pop ensemble Saint Etienne has been a favorite among indie lovers since they released their first album Foxbase Alpha in 1991. Last year's Words and Music... was their first studio album in seven years. First single from the album was the track Tonight...



It was followed by the single I've Got Your Music. Check out the cool Golden Filter remix, which appears on the deluxe edition of the album...



39. Kasper Bjørke – Fool

Danish DJ and electronic producer Kasper Bjørke released his fourth album Fool in 2012...




40. Roberto Rodriguez – Dawn

From Finland comes deep house maestro Roberto Rodriguez. He has churned out some cool tunes in recent years, including favorite tracks Has Been and I Got. Last year, he released a full album titled Dawn...

DESEMBER TRAKS

Top tracks this month...

NOVEMBER TRAKS

Top tracks this month...
 

NOV EM BER PLAY LIST

Elektrik Soul November Chart on Beatport...