John Cameron’s 10 Best Electronic Music Albums Of 2015

2015 has been something of a landmark year for full-length albums in the electronic music genre. In a way, it's a sign of the times. The EDM movement has reached what many speculate will be remembered as its peak, and in an effort to stay relevant in the mainstream market, tastemakers of the genre have spent more time on original productions. The trend has ultimately translated to a higher number of studio efforts from EDM artists hitting the market over the past couple of years - including many hot-button artists of dance music's bygone era managing to prove that they can still compete in the modern arena. Despite being one of the most subversive names in electronic music and having recently returned from an extended hiatus from performing, Aphex Twin won a Grammy in the Best Dance/Electronic Album category for last year's Syro, for instance. Were there ever a milestone for electronic music albums, that would be it. As all things EDM have reached a monumental height, it comes as no surprise that many of this year's electronic music albums would exceed those that came before them in originality, production values and sheer concept. And so, on that note, check out my picks for the 10 best electronic music albums of 2015, and as always, let us know if I missed any in the comments section below. 10) Alesso - Forever The protege of former Swedish House Mafia member Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso burst onto the scene in 2012 with "Calling" (Lose My Mind). After inexplicably reaching #70 on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs less than a year after learning how to DJ, he toured rigorously for the next few years and slowly whittled away at his long-awaited debut album. What he finally delivered turned out to be worth the wait. After listening to songs like "Profondo" and "Tear The Roof Up," it occurred to us that Alesso kind of makes rock music, except that he uses Ableton to produce it and then plays it live using CDJs and a mixer. While we would have liked to hear more of this unique style on his debut album, we still applaud the Swedish producer for taking such a risk as a musician. 9) Dillon Francis - This Mixtape Is Fire While not a full-length album in the strictest sense, This Mixtape Is Fire saw Dillon Francis make a celebrated return to his moombahton roots. A Calvin Harris collaboration added some crossover appeal to the already infectious collection while still managing to sound similar enough to the moombahton sound Francis was going for. And "Bruk Bruk (I Need Your Lovin') stood out as the strongest track on the album for its tribal feel and danceable melody. In addition to being one of contemporary EDM's more well-loved personalities, Francis also succeeds in consistently putting out some of the movement's most memorable music. 8) Armin Van Buuren - Embrace Between keeping fans, management and labels happy, it can often feel like world-class EDM artists are being pulled in several directions at once. For instance, when we were out at Dreamstate where trance is serious business, Armin Van Buuren's name was practically a dirty word for how far the genre's older fans feel that he's strayed from its classic sound - but in the grand scheme of main stagers, the DJ managed to put out an album with a respectable measure of sincerity. While songs like "Make it Right" and "Gotta Be Summer" might not be pure trance in its strictest, 138-BPM-and-rolling-bass-kicks sense, they capture the raw emotion and sensuality of the genre effectively. No matter what trance enthusiasts declare to be "pure trance" this week, the genre is all about emotion, and nobody can deny that Van Buuren does what he does with heart. 7) Major Lazer - Peace Is The Mission Major Lazer's synthesis between elements of Jamaican dancehall and contemporary EDM played no small role in propelling the outfit's founder, trap pioneer Diplo, to his current level of superstardom. Peace is the Mission saw the producer pull the fusion further towards the outskirts of dancehall and into more festival-friendly territory, making for an effort that didn't strictly adhere to Major Lazer's roots as much as diehard fans may have hoped. Nonetheless, Peace is the Mission succeeded in showcasing a vibrant cross section of contemporary electronic music by drawing from an eclectic pool of both popular and up-and-coming international talents. Now that the album is in the books, we look forward to seeing what Diplo and company deliver for its upcoming follow up, Music is The Weapon. 6) Arty - Glorious It doesn't matter how tired of main stage anthems you might be - if you can't appreciate the production mastery that Arty demonstrated on Glorious, you're doing yourself a disservice as a music fan. Arty's signature production style makes for a brilliant iteration of modern progressive house - not to mention that the tracks' arrangement on the album made for a journey in and of itself. As good as the rest of the album was, though, nobody's disputing that "Stronger" was the best track of the entire effort. It's the kind of song that can't be easily categorized, yet resonates with everyone who hears it. What defines an artist is the ability to draw upon influences to create something unique, and Arty managed to do so with "Stronger." 5) Justin Bieber - Purpose After spending the better part of the year bashing on Justin Bieber and Skrillex, it feels a little awkward having to admit that Purpose is actually a solid album. Not only was it sonically pristine, but the lyrical content somehow managed to make the listener identify with the typically un-relatable Bieber as a young person struggling to find himself. Of course, as deadmau5 harshly pointed out in a recent video, as with any pop album, Bieber owed a significant amount of credit to a lengthy list of collaborators. Nonetheless, the disc still shines as a landmark of the young singer/songwriter turning over a new leaf that all of his fans can celebrate. Pop music is always more of a collaborative effort, but when it comes down to it, Purpose wouldn't have been what it was if it was the album of any artist other than Justin Bieber. 4) Disclosure - Caracal We're not shy about our feelings for Disclosure. It seems impossible for two brothers that are barely of drinking age to formulate a style of music that straddles the line between proper house and pop music, but now they've got two albums under their belt that prove otherwise. Considering the shift towards more underground styles that's currently taking place in the world of electronic music, Disclosure was simply meant for their era. We still haven't gotten tired of hearing their Sam Smith collaboration, "Omen," on the radio - not to mention the rest of the album's celebrity-studded tracklist. Disclosure had their work cut out for them when they got down to business on following up the success of their debut album, Settle, and while Caracal might not have exhibited quite as dynamic a range of style as the former effort, it stood as a sign that the duo has honed in on their signature sound. 3) Steve Angello - Wild Youth Chapter 1 You can tell that a lot's been on Steve Angello's mind since his split with supergroup Swedish House Mafia in 2013. The Size Records founder had already succeeded in (literally) redefining the progressive house genre at a more pivotal point in his career, but rather than rest on his laurels he's pulled out all the stops to prove that he's still one of electronic music's biggest innovators. The tracks on Wild Youth Chapter 1 demonstrate a respectable creative range, and some of them sound like nothing else on the market right now. We're still looking forward to seeing what Angello has in store for the second chapter of Wild Youth, but if it's anything like the first, then his fans have something special in store for them. 2) The Chemical Brothers - Born In The Echoes Born In The Echoes is the kind of album that gives you chills. The Chemical Brothers didn't simply attempt to cash in on their sound of yesteryear, nor did they seek approval from the EDM generation by incorporating campy gimmicks into their album. Instead, they made a timeless statement that would have resonated well with the music community no matter when it came out. All veteran dance music acts could learn a thing or two from the example set by The Chemical Brothers. If all artists followed their logical stylistic progression regardless of what the industry called for, music would probably all sound better. Honestly, parts of the album were so bizarre that you felt like you were hearing some candid musical inside joke between Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons - but the crazy part was, that you got it. 1) Madeon - Adventure Even though Madeon released Adventure fairly early in the year, plenty of people in the music community were already fairly sure that it would be the best album of 2015. Both sonically and conceptually, Madeon has proven himself one of EDM's most capable producers. From its shimmering synths down to its sometimes funky rhythms, Adventure was a musical spectacle that shone like nothing else. Every measure was so complex and poignant that they almost made you wish you had more time to analyze and digest it, but the whole of it made just as powerful a statement. With such a colossal debut album under his belt, we can't wait to see what Madeon will unveil in the years to follow. Out of all the EDM albums that have come out in 2015, his is the one that raised the bar on what could be achieved by artists of the esteemed genre.

John Cameron’s 10 Best Electronic Music Albums Of 2015

8) Armin Van Buuren – Embrace