Over the next seven days, SalaciousSound will publish a series comprised of dozens of articles chronicling the best electronic music that 2010 had to offer, across all genres.

You can view the whole series by clicking the category link above ’2010 in Review Series’, and you can also view every post ever written on SalaciousSound about the artists mentioned herein by clicking on the artists’ links at the bottom of the post.

If you like this type of music, you should also try clicking the genre tags at the top of the post, so you can find more.
I hope you all enjoyed and were inspired by electronic music in 2010 as much as I was. It was a special year!

Instead of a typical Top 10, we’ve chosen specific labels and artists that impressed the shit out of us in 2010 with their originality, production quality and overall listening experience. With a bit of hip hop, a bit of electronica, as well as a bit of UK garage, disco and house, this list represents sounds we hope will define the upcoming year.

10. Kanye West’s Year: B.O.B ft. Asher Roth – Fuck The Money

Kayne killed the year; ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ sold half a million in its first week, debuted at number one on Billboard, the critics loved it and the fans loved it. All this is credit it well deserved, take a look at Yeezy’s production discography. We wanted to give a mention to a track that wasn’t on his new album and showcases the catchy samplings of Kanye West: B.O.B ft. Asher Roth – Fuck The Money.

[audio:B.o.B – Fuck the money ft. Asher Roth (prod by Kanye West).mp3]

9. Azari & III – Into The Night (Nicolas Jaar Remix)

Off Wolf + Lamb, this 20 year old house prodigy has produced some of the most beautifully deep, melancholic and melodic productions we’ve heard this year. As tempting it is to put Azari & III onto this list, Nicolas Jaar takes their track Into the Night and strips it down to its melodic core, adding moody buildups and doubling the length, giving you the impression he is taking you on a musical ride. Definitely a producer to watch as his first ever full-length album is set to be released off his own record label, Clown and Sunset.

[audio:Azari and III – Into The Night (Nicolas Jaar Remix).mp3]

8. Julio Bashmore – Battle for Middle You

Keep an eye on Julio Bashmore in the new year. He’s already set a Jan 10th release date for his up coming EP, ‘Everybody Needs a Theme Tune’, set to be released on fledgling record label PMR Records. Check out Bashmore’s Soundcloud for a preview of Battle for Middle You and some other groovy tunes.

7. Midnight Magic – Beam Me Up (Jacques Renault Remix)

Permanent Vacation is in our opinion, the best discohouse label this year, releasing the best of the best from Toronto’s own Azari & III to Tensnake to Todd Terje, this quiet label garnered much deserved attention in 2010. Purely releasing feel-good music, this track in particular, Beam Me Up, is a modern classic in the making, with that garage bassline, Chicago piano riffs and that soulful voice, it’s hard to sit still when this tune comes up.

[audio:Midnight Magic – Beam Me Up (Jacques Renault Remix).mp3]

6. Wiz Khalifa ft. Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T. – Glass House

It’s hard to go wrong with Curren$y, Wiz, and a fat bassline. Wiz has been turning heads since 2006 but 2010 was his breakout year. He was named Rookie of the Year by XXL Magazine and his mix-tape ‘Kush and OJ’ was the best of the year becoming a No.1 trending topics on Twitter and Google.

[audio:Wiz Khalifa – Glass House ft. Curren$y and Big Kritt.mp3]

5. Four Tet – Love Cry

We were tempted to put a breakout electronica artist on this list, but none have truly surpassed Londoner Kieran Hebden, better known as Four Tet and his carefully crafted 12 year musical career. With a background in hip-hop, jazz, folk, techno and house, it is evident that his sound is an aural experiment perfected through his residency at the legendary music-devoted London club, Plastic People.

[audio:Four Tet – Love Cry.mp3]

4. Drake – Fireworks (Deadboy Slo Mo House Edit)

The is the kind of track you can put on late at night with your lady, or your man…or yourself, and get sexy. We don’t need to say anything more about this song but you should check out the rest of Deadboy’s productions, most accessible from Hypem.

[audio:Drake – Fireworks (Deadboy Slo Mo House Edit).mp3]

3. James Blake – CMYK

What’s missing in a lot of electronic music these days is a strong emotive or soulful quality, James Blake is a prodigy that utilizes just that, while also employing his other skills as a vocalist, musician, composer and producer. This 22 year old is one of the top on our artists to watch in 2011 list, with a highly anticipated self-titled debut album scheduled to be released soon this year.

[audio:James Blake – CMYK.mp3]

2. Lil’ Scrappy – Look At Me (Bok Bok Remix)

Released on ‘Brodinski’s Best of Everything: Part 2’ Mixtape. We love the screwed vocals, big bass lines and massive atmosphere on this production. You also have to love the entire Night Slugs label having released EPs from Kingdom, Egyptrixx, Bok Bok, Girl Unit, and L-Vis 1990 this past year.

[audio:Lil Scrappy – Look At Me (Bok Bok Remix).mp3]

1. Girl Unit – Wut

Best of both worlds, dirty south and dubstep. Although born and bred in the UK, Philip Gamble influences run deep into Miami bass, ghettotech, Chicago house and R&B. Off one of our favourite labels of the year, Night Slugs, his releases this year are game changers in the post-funky/dubstep scene. Showstoppa has been playing in our office on repeat, while this track, Wut, is one of the most highly anticipated futuristic R&B releases of the year.

The Mansion Entertainment Group is an event marketing company based out of Toronto, with a focus on emerging EDM artists. For more info, please visit their website.