When it comes to reviewing electronic music, Pitchfork holds itself to a pretty high standard. Never really venturing into the “EDM” side of EDM, its writers tend to gravitate toward more haute producers like Bonobo, Four Tet, DJ Tennis, Richie Hawtin, and the like.
Pitchfork just released its 100 Best Songs of 2019, and while Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift are included, none of the poppier dance music acts like DJ Snake, Martin Garrix, or even Illenium made the list. Only five electronic tracks were included in the entirety of the list:
37. Four Tet: “Only Human”
51. Peggy Gou: “Starry Night”
56. Joy Overmono: “Bromley”
69. Caribou: “Home”
99. DJ Nate: “Fuck Dat”
Now, all of this is not to say that these tracks aren’t worthy of inclusion, they’re all actually fantastic, though perhaps a little out of Your EDM’s typical purview. But it might do Pitchfork some good to broaden its view and look to some of the more mainstream electronic producers and see what they’ve done this year, because a lot of it is seriously good.
You can read the full list on Pitchfork here.
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