For 2023, and to once again prove that there is a lot of good music out there, we at EDM Lab wanted to select what we believe are the best tracks of the year. To do so, we relied on very personal criteria, listening to radios, mostly abroad, enjoying various playlists, and, of course, our taste and our vision of the music world. Don’t was our time, let’s see the Top 10 positions chosen by EDM Lab right away:
Listen: Top 10 chart 2023 via SoundCloud | Hearthis.at | Tracklist |
#10 – Alok & Ava Max – Car Keys (Ayla) (30 June 2023)
Released on June 30th of this year, it quickly became a track destined to fill the radio charts, and Alok already knew this well. He trusted only one of the best Pop Dance singers around at this time, namely Ava Max.
The idea for this song, however, dates back to the beginning of the year when the Brazilian DJ and the singer from the USA virtually met for a Zoom video call, where singer Raye was also present. From there, the idea of a summer song emerged, as we mentioned. To spice it all up, there’s a sample that easily sticks in your head from the 1996 trance album by the project “Ayla,” whose track name is the same as the project. Alok didn’t deviate much from the original sound; he simply refreshed it a bit and had Ava sing over it.
Nevertheless, the Brazilian DJ is closing out a stellar 2023. Among various tracks, there’s the remake of the famous “Deep Down” by The Bucketheads, originally called “The Bomb” in 1995, Jungle with The Chainsmokers, and the latest single to arrive: Let’s Get FKD UP. Alok has also signed many epic remixes during this year, one of which is “Desire” by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith, but we should also mention “Prada” by Casso and Raye.
#9 – David Guetta ft. Bebe Rexha – One In A Million (4 August 2023)
In the 9th position on our chart, we have David Guetta, the absolute hitmaker of 2023. He has released almost one record per week (including remixes, remakes, singles, and secondary collaborations). David Guetta in 2023 practically wins everything that can be won in the world of music: 1st place in the Top101Producer by 1001tracklists, 1st place in the Top 100 DJ Mag 2023, becoming the most played French artist in the history of Spotify, and the 4th most listened to globally. He’s nominated for a Grammy Award, wins an MTV EMA, and is the artist of the year for the radio station NRJ.
His greatest gift, however, is the one he gave himself by purchasing a house in Miami worth $69 million. Oh, and not to leave anything out, his third child is on the way. In short, after nearly 40 years in his career, the French DJ is probably at the peak of his incredible success and doesn’t seem to want to stop.
In our ranking, we find him in 9th place with a beautiful collaboration alongside Bebe Rexha, ‘One In A Million‘, released on August 4th. The track is a clear reference to his 2009 hit, ‘When Love Takes Over,‘ featuring the vocals of Kelly Rowland. Here, instead, one of the queens of pop dance, Bebe Rexha, takes the stage.
#8 – Calvin Harris ft Sam Smith – Desire (28 July 2023)
Something big was expected from Calvin Harris in 2023, especially after the various underground phases of the past years. This year, he released only 3 albums and a handful of remixes. However, the first 2 tracks are a significant part of his incredible year. The world’s highest-paid DJ, according to Forbes’ latest ranking in 2022, aimed to restore order in the world of Dance music. First with Ellie Goulding and the track ‘Miracle,’ a record that concludes a trilogy that began in 2010. Then, with Sam Smith and the song “Desire,” which holds the eighth position in our Top 10 Chart of 2023. Both tracks leverage the “speed” trend that changed the sounds this year, drawing inspiration from the glorious ’90s and increasing the bpm value. Whether one likes it or not, this trend has been followed by many DJ producers, some doing it well, others with class, just like Calvin Harris and Sam Smith. Their Desire was supposed to become the summer hit of ’23, and perhaps it was in some ways, but we expected more. In any case, among the numerous remixes, the version that impressed us the most was the “slower” one by Don Diablo, which almost seems to be the initial concept of the track, but was later conceived in a faster version. We propose it in the 8th position of our chart.
#7 – Martin Garrix, Sentinel ft Bonn – Hurricane (2 June 2023)
In the 7th position on our 2023 chart, we find one of the few DJs who has wanted to keep the Progressive House music flag flying high: Martin Garrix. For him, it’s been a year with few releases, only two singles, with just one in the Progressive style, namely “Hurricane.” The focus of the former world #1 DJ has been entirely centered on his breathtaking shows. Believe us, we’ve seen him live several times, such as at Ultra Europe, and his performance is an epic experience! The young Dutch artist, celebrating the 10th anniversary of his big-room hit “Animals” this year (discussed here), has truly grown a lot; his sound has matured, and musical experiments with 070Shake for the track “Cocoon” and softer ones with LLoyso for “Real Love” give him that touch of wisdom gained over the years. However, let’s talk about the progressive sound that Martin continues to pursue in a very lovable way. One of the most anticipated tracks of 2023 is his collaboration with Bonn and the Sentinel. We don’t know what Martin Garrix’s plans are for 2024, but his label, STMPD RCRDS, has treated us to excellent music in 2023, and this is the gem we’ve chosen for the 7th position on our Top 10 Chart for 2023.
#6 – Mau P & Kevin De Vries – Metro (14 July 2023)
Among the trends of recent years, there’s also this fusion between Techno, Future Rave sound, and the Melodic world. All of it can be summarized in the banger tracks of Mau P and Kevin De Vries: “Metro.” The perfect union of production skills and a sound that, even though it takes a bit from here and there, remains innovative. “Metro” is a completely instrumental track, and it’s rare for this type of record, without vocals, to become a hit, but for Mau P and Kevin De Vries, it was effortless.
“Metro” was also the most played track during the two weekends of Tomorrowland 2023, and this achievement adds to the one for the track “Drugs From Amsterdam” (2022), also the most played. It’s a path of renewal for Maurice West, who, with his new alias Mau P, ensures eternal glory and a place in the Olympus of great EDM producers. For Kevin, it’s another confirmation of his professionalism, a producer who has always been in the background, who has never made noise but only excellent music.
#5 – Anyma, Cassian e Poppy Baskcomb – Save Me (11 August 2023)
We stay in the underground scene for the collaboration between Anyma, Cassian, and Poppy Baskcomb, titled “Save Me.” We are truly proud of this position because Anyma is the only Italian in our Top 10 Chart of 2023. For those who may not know him yet, he is part of the duo Tale Of Us, born Matteo Milleri in New York. Although he was born in the U.S., we believe he can be considered among Italian DJs. In 2021, he started his solo career, even though he hasn’t entirely abandoned the Tale Of Us project. In a short time, he has earned incredible trust in the electronic music world, thanks to records with an incredible sound, possibly due to his background and the fact that he lives in a city that has turned this genre into a true lifestyle: Berlin.
In 2023, Anyma released “Save Me,” which is part of a highly acclaimed album called “Genesis,” a genuine journey into Melodic Techno sounds. A gem not to be missed. For “Save Me,” he collaborates with the Australian producer Cassian and the angelic voice of Poppy Baskcomb. The latter is not new to the Dance world, given her many collaborations with industry heavyweights such as Tiesto and MEDUZA.
#4 – D.O.D – So Much In Love (21 April 2023)
For the 4th position on our Top 10 Chart, we turn to another veteran in the world of Dance music, D.O.D. A highly respected career for a spectacular producer who, in 2023, decided to be the pioneer in the ‘Speed Up’ music genre. As mentioned earlier, anyone can produce, but few can do it with class, and he has been one of those few. His track “So Much In Love” paved the way for this genre on all radio stations and forcefully claimed the top spot, despite its fairly simple formula: a straight beat from the 90s and a UK sound, also from the final decade of the last century. All of this is complemented by vocals that don’t even appear in the title of the song, but we’ll tell you, they were entrusted to Abi Flynn.
For D.O.D, the speed-up trend didn’t end with just one track. Right, after the success of “So Much In Love,” he collaborated with Jax Jones on two tracks, “Need You Now” and “Won’t Forget You,” both with a slightly speedy key and a bouncing bass.
#3 – Swedish House Mafia – Ray Of Solar (4 August 2023)
On the 3rd step of our chart podium, there could only be one group: the Swedish House Mafia. The most renowned Swedish trio in the world, whom we had the opportunity to see live last October 2022 in Milan during one of their stops on the ‘Paradise Again‘ tour. For them, only two releases this year: “See the Light” with Fridayy and “Ray of Solar,” which holds the third position on our Top 10 Chart. The three Swedes continue to perform around the world, selling out shows left and right, although in reality, they have often performed separately and only a few times all three together, one of them at the Kappa Futur Festival in Turin. Returning to solo or duo performances, Angello and Ingrosso set Tomorrowland 2023 on fire with an epic set. During the show, Steve Angello dropped a bomb by announcing that “Ray Of Solar,” which was about to be released, would be part of a new album coming out in late summer 2023. However, the album was never released. Nevertheless, we loved “Ray of Solar,” even in various remix versions, like those by Tiesto or Mau P, but there’s also a “B-side” version of the song, which was released last November.
#2 – John Summit feat Hayla – Where You Are (3 March 2023)
The 2nd spot on our year-end special chart is taken by a song that has been our favorite track for almost the entire 2023: “Where You Are.” It’s an absolute masterpiece by John Summit and Hayla, making a significant mark in the electronic music scene from the sidelines of the mainstream world. For John, this track is the culmination of a highly respectable career and also the first release of the year. The song leads him to drop a follow-up with MKLA in the hot August, titled “Fade Out,” which is also spectacular. Among the cool things that happened to John in 2023 is the opportunity to remix a Deadmau5 masterpiece, “Remember (2008).” He approaches it with great respect, refreshing the track without distorting it. this was a professional job fitting to bring back memories of an epic past record. John wraps up the year with a different kind of collaboration with the Italian duo VULTRA; the track is called “Legacy” and is quite different from the sound of “Where You Are,” which, for us, remains an undisputed masterpiece. But just a few days ago, another collaboration with an Italian duo, Mathame, became available. It’s called “Hangover,” and it features Camden Cox.
#1 – Tiesto – Drifting (22 June 2023)
Tiesto, like David Guetta, has been one of the most prolific artists of 2023, remixing practically every type of dance record and beyond. He was a weekly presence in our “Best of Today #Release” column, mostly with very “powerful” records that only he could propose. We loved him for the remix of ‘Bittersweet Goodbye,’ or for ‘Car Keys,’ but also for ‘Ray Of Solar‘ mentioned earlier, and again for ‘Disconnect’ by Becky Hill. But there are also a couple of singles that have achieved decent success worldwide: ‘Lay Low,‘ released at the beginning of the year, ‘Yesterday,’ and ‘BOTH,’ all gathered in the album ‘Drive‘ released in April 2023, which also includes hits from previous years like “The Business” with over 1 billion streams.
However, the most epic, distinctive, and spectacular track released by Tiesto this year is the one that takes him beyond the ropes of the EDM music ring: “Drifting.” This masterpiece, not included in the aforementioned “Drive” album, comes out in June and blows our minds. The breakbeat sounds, the very jungle-like harmonic loop, that devastating kick dru, all of it takes us to another beautiful dimension. Tiesto has shown us he’s a hit maker, someone who can deliver a (not too much) fantastic set at Tomorrowland with a disc change every minute, but he has also reminded us of who wrote the rules of the electronic music world in the last 40 years. It’s Tiesto’s “Drifting” that closes our Top 10 chart of 2023 as the most beautiful record of the year, at least according to us at EDM Lab.
Listen: Top 10 2023 via SoundCloud | Hearthis.at | Tracklist |
DISCLAIMER: Compiling this ranking was very challenging, as we knew we had to leave out several important artists and albums. This chart has no official statistical basis; it is solely the result of our personal taste and what we observed in listening to radios (mostly foreign) and enjoying playlists throughout the year. The mentioned artists are the ones that, in our opinion, stood out the most, but clearly, they are not the only ones. Just think about what names like Skrillex, Fisher, Armin Van Buuren, Nicky Romero, Joel Corry, Becky Hill, and our MEDUZA have accomplished.
All the chosen tracks were featured in our column “Best of Today #Release,” which, in 2023, introduced you to over 1300 tracks through the radio show, Spotify playlist, and textual lists on social media and our website. Only released records, remixes, remakes, always official editions, and some premieres. The result of this extensive and enormous effort carried out every year in the EDM Lab studios is a mere demonstration of how much good music is circulating and how the Dance sector is in perfect harmony with the times, in excellent health, growing, and still delivering spectacular emotions. Thanks to all of you who followed us throughout 2023.
We are ready for another great year of music ahead. Happy 2024 to everyone.
Comments
