Another year has come and gone, and now it’s time to review the best music that has hit the airwaves this year. 2022 saw the music industry back to its old self again, at least for the most part, and the release of many bodies of work that were written entirely during the lockdown period.
We did our best to recap and include some of the best dance records that hit the airwaves in 2022, but with so much incredible music that was released over the last 365 days, I can be confident in saying that we probably missed a couple of gems. Even still, there are hours and hours of artfully-crafted music on this list that well deserves its inclusion on this chart.
All fifteen of our favorite dance albums are listed here in no particular order, save for perhaps Fred Again who seemed to have broken the dance-music internet this year. So let’s walk down memory lane and dive into some of the best dance records that were released in 2022.
Fred Again: Actual Life 3
The undisputed king of 2022, Fred Again’s meteoric rise to fame over the last couple of years makes him an easy choice for this list. With massive hits like “Kammy (like I do)” and “Clara (the night is dark)”, the music of Fred Again’s Actual Lie 3 album has found its way onto almost every playlist and song recommendation chart in the dance music industry.
Fred Again’s use of unique samples and his exacting attention to detail when it comes to audio editing make for some of the most tastefully complex music of the year, and yet each and every song has soul, heart, and texture. This music goes beyond just being “producer porn” and deserves its own specific spotlight in the upper echelon of releases throughout 2022.
David Hohme: Where My Heart Is Vol. 4
David Hohme’s annual mix album is something we look forward to every year. As an artist who prioritizes using his platform to support smaller and up-and-coming producers, David’s ability to sift through the noise and find the highest quality gems is unmatched. But Where My Heart Is Vol. 4 isn’t just comprised of smaller names, as industry heavyweights like Jody Wisternoff and Sound Quelle have their own space in the mix, helping to bring further attention and spotlight to the mix at large.
Overall, this is a masterfully-crafted curation of music that begs to be released. As an added bonus, it is pressed to vinyl for limited edition collectors and super fans of David’s music and career.
Yotto: Erased Dreams
Odd One Out’s label boss is known for his aggressively melodic club sound and tight and impactful drum grooves. But rest assured, this album is not that.
As a tasteful step away from his progressive and deeper roots, Erased Dreams showcases a more delicate and nuanced side of Yotto’s skills in the studio. Tracks like “Lone Machine” and “Under Trees’ drip with melancholia that simply cannot be replicated in the more aggressive sounds he’s known for, while tracks like “Silhouette” and “Shadow Cycle” harken back to his earlier days on Anjunadeep.
The novelty of the changing style alone is enough to warrant its inclusion on this list, let alone for the album’s simple beauty and mindful bliss invoked by its listening.
Cubicolor: Sometime Not Now
I have heard interviews that talk about the incredibly high production output that Anjunadeep’s Cubicolor can do, creating upwards of forty or more demos in a single season. So with that in mind, this impressive batch of twelve tracks that make up their album Sometime Not Now is awe-inspiring, to say the least.
The entire album is a masterclass journey of the fusion of acoustic and electronic. The delicate vocals and the dusty drums act as the foundation for the synths and textures to evolve in a way that few besides Cubicolor can do. I first heard a snippet of this album when we did a deep dive into the leading single, and I have been on the hook of it ever since.
This album slipped under the radar for many fans of the genre, so do yourself a favor and take this opportunity to relisten again and again (…and again).
Tim Green: Eastbound Silhouettes
Tim Green’s Eastbound Silhouettes was released just a few short months ago and I can’t seem to share the delicate melodies and masterfully-crafted compositions of almost every single tune on this album. Tim is a wizard in the studio, and Eastbound Silhouettes pulls from a myriad of influences and memories that have comprised his life up through the writing of this album.
While the album is certainly dance-music oriented, Tim’s songwriting prowess takes center stage, using dance music more as a medium for his message instead of the other way around. Few can write songs and captivating melodies as powerful as Tim, and this album is testament to that.
Bonobo: Fragments
I have read articles that have lambasted Bonobo’s lack of urgency in this album, but I couldn’t disagree more.
Fragments is a tasteful reaction to the churn-and-burn mentality that plagues much of the music industry as a whole and seeks to rebel against the incessant thrum of static being uploaded to Spotify by the now-near millions every day.
If any other producer had tried to make this same album, I may have agreed with the sentiments of Bonobo’s harshest critics. But having almost defined and shaped the more chillout and foley-heavy IDM genres of the modern era, this album speaks to the impact and staying power the fans are looking for in this exact sound.
Entel: Melodies in Harmonies
Columbus-based producer Entel has been on a hot streak throughout all of 2022, ad the capstone moment was the release of his debut album on GRUM’s Deep State Records. The album runs the gamut of Entel’s signature progressive sound, which harkens back to the older days of progressive.
Minimal arrangements, bright and dazzling synths, and impactful bass tones create the foundation of his unique sound, and the details and nuances seen in each individual track make them works of art each in their own right.
Odd Ones V2
Another amazing compilation that was released just in time to make it onto this list. Yotto is another artist like the aforementioned David Hohme who has built a substantial platform that he is now using to bring the extra spotlight to artists at earlier stages of their careers.
Unlike Yotto’s other album that made it onto this list, Odd Ones V2 is a return to form, featuring driving melodic techno and progressive house that has been heard in countless of Yotto’s sets over the past couple of years.
The brother-duo Anden had a heavy hand in the album’s curation as well, bringing their own signature flavor of darker and more brooding styles of the genres into the mix and adding a new dimension to the journey that plays out throughout the album.
ODESZA: The Last Goodbye
The Last Goodbye is the Seattle-based duo’s first studio album in five years, and as the scope of their brand and the size of their gigs has increased, their music has evolved into a much larger and more energetic sound. EPs and singles are always a great way for acts to stay in the ears of their fanbases, but albums should always act as a snapshot into the life and styles of the artist(s) at the time in which it was produced.
And with that in mind, The Last Goodbye is an ambitious step forward that keeps the pace and momentum the boys have shown in their live shows and bookings over the last half-decade. The Last Goodbye is a materialization in sonic form of the spectacle ODESZA has become since they got their start in the EDM boom so long ago, and it is an album that should be returned to often and prompts a relisten of their older work as well.
Night Tales: Proof
Night Tales has been on our radar ever since their contribution to a piece a few months ago that celebrated the lead single on this very album. Ever since we haven’t stopped jamming out to their music which seems to perfectly blend the best parts of underground dance music with the palpability of commercial club music.
Featuring the heavy use of their own vocal lines, this album makes it easy to listen to regardless of the situation and is a great gateway to hook your non-EDM friends into the scene overall.
Alison Wonderland: Loner
Alison Wonderland is a phenomenal producer in her own right, but her 2022 album Loner showcased her largest steps forward in terms of her sophistication across all levels of her productions. Almost all 12 of the tracks in this album utilize non-conventional arrangements, delicate and nuanced sound selection, and far more forward-thinking compositions than is typically seen in these genres and sounds.
Whether it’s the explosive tracks like “Forever” and “Down The Line” or the more subdued grooves like “Fuck U Love U,” every track possessed an emotional and invoking vibe that is masterfully conjured from first to last. It’s far from the music I typically listen to on a daily basis, but the levels of quality in the album is second to none and make it an easy inclusion on this list.
Ry X: Blood Moon
Ry X’s Blood Moon album tells a complete narrative from first to last, one of isolation and longing rarely seen even amongst the artist’s other songs in their catalog. It’s a brutally honest introspection on what it’s like to be human, what it’s like to love and be loved.
The overarching composition seen within the album across all of its tracks is one of a hero’s journey, starting with a lonely sense of isolation so common in his music and ending with a beautiful rapture that is as somber as it is inspiring.
SOHN: Trust
SOHN’s album is a tasteful and sentimental blend of what’s possible when the worlds of authentic and digital converge. In an ever-increasingly polarized world, Trust speaks to the truth that two opposite sides of the coin can, and are, one.
With the heavy use of instruments and non-formulaic song structures, SOHN is able to use the form of electronic dance music, and deliver a far more complex and mature message.
Daniel Avery: Ultra Truth
Daniel Avery’s latest studio album Ultra Truth is a new direction to his previous groundbreaking albums. In contrast to Drone Logic, his new LP offers a different meaning and listening experience with collaborative efforts from friends such as HAAi, Kelly Lee Owns, SHERELLE, Jonnie Standish (HTRK), and James Massiah.
Offering a pallet of eerie sounds and breaks, Ultra Truth was written about optimism and realism rather than escapism.
Mount Kimbie: MK 3.5:Die Cuts | City Planning
Dom Maker & Kai Campos, aka Mount Kimbie, are the makers of a unique blend of music you might not expect to hear. Elements of indie, rap, and techno all merge together throughout their previous albums, blending both of their interests in perfect harmony.
Their new album MK 3.5: Die Cuts | City Planning, comes as a product of the covid-19 lockdowns and the two make their own music from across the pond.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
