When you listen to music as much as I do, your song selections and life experiences become inseparable–each impacting the other in both conscious and subconscious ways. That relationship embodies the uniquely subjective nature of music. You can listen to a song ten times and think nothing of it but then hear it in the right context or headspace and everything just clicks. As such, any effort of making an objective “best of” list proves a fruitless task. So rather than attempt that Sisyphean task, my ’15 To End 2015′ captures the songs that meant the most to me this year: ones that soundtracked my best memories, comforted me at my lowest points or simply possessed endless replay value. Peep my favorites of 2015 below. Hopefully they’ll take on a life of their own in your music collection.
A trip to psychedelic space land–just close your eyes and absorb.
A fresh and endlessly relatable take on R&B from Syd & co.
Built on the same Isley Brothers drum sample as “Today Was a Good Day,” this funk-injected jam crescendos a year full of nostalgia for the era of Parliament, James Brown & Sly Stone.
Feel good Bay Area hip-hop for and from the soul.
An absolute lyrical gem from a young artist with wisdom well beyond his years.
My most played song from my favorite album of the year: ‘To Pimp A Butterfly.’
The danciest track from the year’s most pioneering pop vocalist.
In 2015 Mura Masa continued to prove his dominance in the realm of emotional future bass. This is easily my most played track of the year.
‘Aftergold’ captures Big Wild’s genuinely organic approach to electronic music–one full of sonic plot twists and playful melodies.
Lane 8’s compositions shaped my year and “Loving You,” the opener of his debut album, brings to mind feelings of excitement and new beginnings.
The capacity for emotional power within an instrumental composition should never be underestimated–‘Harpe’ proves that.
The magnificence of Tame Impala and the rare emergence of Soulwax combine for infinite grooves.
This song is single-handedly responsible for piquing my interest in tech-house.
I listened to this every time I worked it in 2015.
