Top 20 House artists of 2008

[A-Cube]

Howells thrives on live gigs...he rarely produces and since we did not witness him that year it would be unfair to put him on the list based only on his reputation ...

[Selfish]

[mzy]

[silver_edge]

[A-Cube]

Crap...I totally forgot to include Steve Bug...

[tarantula]

[Roy vR]

[[IN]Head-Kay]

[align=center]Top 20 House/Techno DJs:



20- DJ DLG : An extremly quality full on house act. This year has been his year, took his skills to the next level. His releases have taken us all through the passage of time to the old skool chicago house vibe. The happy house, the roots, where it all began!

Highlight(s) of the Year :

DJ DLG & Eric Morillo - Where Are You Now
DJ DLG - Hypnotizing/Fantasy EP




19- Steve Lawler: This isnt the Brit's biggest year, but nevertheless he released a few tracks and compilations that recieved a frenzy before they got released (“Viva Toronto’, ‘Femme Fatale’, ‘21st Century Ketchup’) and got back to the infamous Space Terrace in Ibiza! He continued to tour the globe presenting his trademark Lawler techno and house sound.

Highlight of the year : Steve Lawler - Femme Fatale




18- Joris Voorn : Joris has had a sensational year by all measures. His blend of Detroit techno and tech house suited perfectly in a year when techno became mainstream again. He headlined on Cocoon, and had "Deep Side Of The Moog" enter in Coocon's compilation!

Highlight of the year: Robert Babicz - Dark Flower (Dark Flower)




17- Marcus Schossow: Just because he's an aramada fella doesnt make him a full on trance act. His experimental fusions between electronica, techno, house and trance produced some wonderful releases this year. This man was impressive!

Highlight of the year: Marcus Schossow - Deconhearstruction




16- Sultan/Ned Shephard : The duo have been sensational. Each considered being an amazing producer in their own right, when they joined forces, they produced wonders!

Highlight of the year: Sultan and Ned Shephard feat. Benny Blanco - Black Party (Orignal Mix)




15- Yvel and Tristan: After the hungarian duo's name faded out a little last year, they came back with a couple of solid releases and remixes that cemented them right back among the best of the proggie house producers out there. With their evolved sound, and quality releases it was hard to go across any house chart without fielding them in!

Highlight of the year: Solarity - Elements (Yvel and Tristan Remix)




14- Martin Roth: Again one of the experimental minds out there, surely you cant dub him as a pure trance mind! His nustyle is something else!

Highlight of the year: Martin Roth - Nustyle One/Two (Original Mix)




13- Martin Eyerer: A techno master, the German has been sensational for another year. Constantly delivering in both his productions and gigs. His 'Champions Selection' compilation was out of this world!

Highlight of the year: Eyerer & Namito - Feuersee




12- Claude Van Stroke : A surprise for many maybe, but this man's remix of 'Pitch It' is my favorite track of the year, and Diggers plays it wherever he goes!

Highlight of the Year: Plasmik - Pitch It (Claude Van Stroke Remix)




11-Robert Babicz: The german legend whos famous for owning studio equipment he bought from the old german national television, continues to produce some of the most interesting sounds comming out these days. In a time when techno is bieng commercialised and shifted away from its concept, babicz continous to deliver time after time. This year was no exception.

Highlight of the Year : Way Out West - Spaceman (Robert Babicz Remix)




10- Dubfire: Definatly one of the most exciting producers of the year. He was instrumental in turning techno into the power house genre it became this year. His gigs were just as amazing as his productions. Phenomenal stuff.

Highlight of the year: System - Space Bird (Dubfire Remix)




09- Mark Knight : Surely you cant go across the house chart without mentioning this brilliant guy. The man behind the 'Toolroom Records' label has been doing everything this year, from top-notch quality releases to traveling all corners of the globe educating young minds on quality house. You can safely say that Mark Knight has made it his mission to deliver Tech House to every possible ear he can! And with his partnership with Funkagenda, Paul Thomas and Kim Fai you can rest assured that his mission will be made much easier!

Highlight of the year:

Mark Knight & Funkagenda vs. Paul Thomas - Arena




08- Gui Boratto : A sensational performer since 2005, this man has been in the been in the business for a long time, but has only dedicated himself totally to music three years ago. With respect for his talent growing in the world scene, Gui Boratto is a name to look out for on the Brazilian techno scene.

Highlight of the Year: Gui Boratto - Haute Couture




07- Pig and Dan: Another year sees the legendary spanish electronica/techno duo produce some mouthwatering releases. "Dreams of Bells" made it all the way to Diggers's "Transitions Vol. 4". Their world tours were prolific as well, especially their Cocoon appearances. One of my favorite acts of the year.

Highlight of the Year: Pig and Dan - Dreams of Bells



06- Diggers: A true living legend, Diggers has been delivering full on hard techno and proggie sets all year round through his world tours and his Transitions show which has become a hub for all the happenings in the scene. 'Transitions Vol. 4' ranks among the top releases of the year. His production partnership with Nick Muir was nothing short of quality.

Highlight of the year: Transitions Vol. 4 !




05- Sven Vath: The techno legend that has been burning the floors since 1982! His brain-child 'Cocoon' is growing stronger by the year, and some of this year's nights were dubbed legendary!

Highlight of the Year: Sven Vath Vs. Fluegel - Trashbindance




04- Sasha: Invol2ver is the release of the year for many, including myself. This man just never siezes to impress, what a living legend! I know alot of people counting the minutes for his arrival to our shores, and I dont blame them!

Highlight of the Year: Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch (Invol2ver Remix)




03- Richie Hawtin: Taking the concept of live performances to a new level! He and the 'Minus' gang have simply evolved the concept of crowd interaction with their cutting edge tech driven gadgets. Another scorcher of a year for another techno legend. A musical pioneer in every sense of the word, this man is all about evolution.


Highlight of the Year : Luciano feat. Richie Hawtin - I want to Fuck




02- Lutzenkirchen : This man has been the king! I cant say anything but full respect to this genuis! The rate at which he was delivering quality releases was just ridicoulsy brilliant!

Highlight of the year : Lutzenkirchen - Enter The Moonlight (Original Mix)




01- James Zabiela: Although I normally judge mostly by producing capabilities, im going to make an exception and judge this boy-wonder by his on decks performance. Diabolically brilliant! What a DJ extrodinaire (not that he isnt a brilliant producer as well!)! The Southampton lad who got introduced to the scene through his dad who used to work at a record shop, has been bringing crowds to euphoric levels of amusement throughout the year, and any sane observer would be nuts not to give him this year's top dj accolade, what a master! Every DJ aspires to be this man!

Highlight of the year: Every single time he touches the decks! & Spooky - Candy (James Zabiela Remix)[/align]

[Fawzi]

I feel sorry for House music if Martin Roth's highlights of the year were his NuStyle tracks

On another note, I'm glad I find someone whose music I like in Marcus Schossow. I loved his "Tone Diary Pres. Kiev" compilation.

[Genesis]

I can't believe how close Techno & House are now to each other. It's refreshing for House - it picks it up from certain stale states that it gets stuck in once in a while.

Dubfire? Please. I saw him two weeks ago - his set was the most monotonous and eventless I've ever listened to in recent years (it was real hard though).
He closed his set with a Daft Punk tune... dumbass.

[[IN]Head-Kay]

^^ what are you trying to say, that he has better tracks than the nustyle?

^ Thats your opinion Gen. But i based my chart on a multitude of factors, the main percentage going to producing capabilities and the effect of these productions on the scene. My only slight exception was Zabiela, since he is an Alien!

On the techno point, actually, I dont think they are that close, but I think techno has evolved considerably over the past years turning it into a power house genre that alot of house heads can connect to. This is why on top I said House/Techno, because alot of people confuse the two. Techno doesnt give you the feelings that house does, its not passionate, but it gives you a dry hardcore dance experience that I personally love just as much as house.

[Genesis]

Oh yea, don't get me wrong: I acknowledge your opinion but my take on him is - up until I saw Dubfire two weeks ago, the most I've see of him was as Deep Dish. I haven't listened to any of his gigs before, productions, or remixes. It was just an observation I had during his gig. He's good, REALLY good, but his set just seemed to get stuck somewhere and it failed to take off. The warm-up DJ was class, then Dubfire came along and he just kept the same tempo as the warm-up DJ going for another hour. It was a 3 hour warm-up between him and the warm-up DJ. He then peaked... eventually. The peak was a slight increase in BPM and a more techno-esque atmosphere in the tunes which was fantastic. But then again, he got stuck again in it and failed to deliver anything beyond that. He just couldn't lift the set into another level. It felt like a constant beat with nothing changing but a few tweaks & melodies here and there. For the first time in my life, I looked at my watch in the middle of a dance floor anticipating the end of his set. I even yawned, like... literally, while dancing... or at least trying to dance.

Again, he was good. From a technical side and from the response he got - he was really good. He just failed to be unpredictable or to spring something out that grabs your ears and just blow them off. He was really hard though - hard, dry, fat basslines : DELICIOUS! I absolute heart those!

And did I tell you he closed his set with Daft Punk?

Zabiela... well, I'm yet to see him play but for now, I just think he's really pretty

[[IN]Head-Kay]

Yep thats what techno is all about mate. Hard, dry, fat, intense, stiff, rigid, you name it !

But I can tell you something that I noticed very clearly from my friends who are into feelings (trance, proggie, that shit) , they never understand techno, and get really bored in gigs, very similar to your case. That doesnt mean the DJ isnt good, it just means you decided to attened the wrong gig, your better off going to a Quivver event ! Dont get me wrong, i love the dreamy stuff, but techno is a totally different mindset, which you enjoyed for a while ! Ended on a daft punk track, well thats a little cheesy I have to admit, but it depends on what daft punk track. In general electronica can go really well with some forms of minimal techno.

Zabiela, haha , yea , alot of my female friends were going crazy over him when he was here in july. Oh , how endearing!

[mzy]

[Roy vR]