2022-12-27

 

Hey City Zen 2022

2022 was a hardworking year, though full of fun travel and reconnection with friends and family---thank you vaccines! I was particularly delighted to get back to DJing to full clubs again. Every year is a great year for music, with such amazing tracks, even if perhaps fewer great albums. I am sure I missed really excellent stuff, but here is the best City Zen of the year that made my radar. Top 40 Albums (including soundtracks and live collections), Top 100 Tracks, Top 20 Remixes/Edits (from E-Trash's DJ sets). The top tracks and remixes are assembled in a Spotify List as well.

Top 40 Albums of 2022

Grouped alphabetically in 4 groups below. 

Diamond Cut

There were 10 albums that stood above the rest. From casino rock to house music, these are amazing and creative from start to finish. 

Arcade Fire WE 
Arctic Monkeys The Car 
Beyoncé – RENAISSANCE
Honey Dijon – Black Girl Magic
Hot Chip Freakout/Release
Metronomy Small World 
Ana Moura – Casa Guilhermina
Rosalía – MOTOMANI 
Röyksopp – Profound Mysteries II
Harry StylesHarry’s House

Platinum Set

These 5 albums, coming from very distinct genres,  are almost flawless and I could not get enough of them:

Kendrick LamarMr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Soft CellHappiness Not Included
StromaeMultitude
Louie Vega – Expansions in the NYC
XinobiBalsame

Gold Circle 

Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul – Topical Dancer
Asa – V 
Yaya Bey – Remember your North Star
David Fonseca – Living Room Bohemian Apocalypse
Lucius – Second Nature
Red Hot Chili Peppers Return of the Dream Canteen
Röyksopp – Profound Mysteries I
Sault – 11
Jimi Tenor – Multiversum
The Weeknd – Dawn FM
Wet LegWet Leg

Silver Line

Charli XCXCRASH 
Christine and the QueensRedcar les adorables étoiles (prologue)
Danger Mouse and Black Thought Cheat Codes
Florence + The Machine Dance Fever
Cate Le Bon Pompeii
Sondre Lerche – Avatars of Love 
Maria João e OGRE ElectricSongs for Shakespeare
Marxist Love Disco Ensemble MLDE
Röyksopp Profound Mysteries III 
Sudan ArchivesNatural Brown Prom Queen 
Ron TrentWhat do stars say to you
The Weather StationHow is it that I should look at the stars? 

Best Live and Soundtrack albums of 2022

David Bowie – Moonage Daydream: A Brett Morgan Film
Cazuza O Tempo Não Para: O Show Completo

Best EPs of 2022

Three EPs were on rotation a lot, with more good tracks than many albums:

Benny Sings – Santa Barbara
Body Music and Bosq Give my Love a Try
Felipe Gordon Superimposition

Top 100 Tracks of 2022

The best way to display this is via a Spotify list which also includes the remixes below at the end. I created the list to be listened to in the order shown, but can also be listened to at random of course:



Top 20 Remixes and Edits of 2022


So many great remixes and edits this year. There were definitely 4 above the rest, which took the original into another place of excellence. All remixes, edits and mashups below elevate the originals either into a whole different place, a distilled essence, or simply make it work so well on the dance floor.  It is great when a track has two great lives, which is a remix at its best:

David Bowie Modern Love (Moonage Daydream Mix)
Cerrone Summer Lovin’ (Purple Disco Machine Remix)
Gorillaz feat. Tame Impala and Bootie Brown New Gold (Dom Dolla Remix)
Wet Leg – Too Late Now (Soulwax Remix)

The remaining awesome remixes alphabetically:

2raumwohung Bei Dir bin ich schön (Ian Pooley Remix)
David Bowie – Word on a Wing (Moonage Daydream Mix)
Marvin Gaye Let’s Get it On (Flight Facilities Remix)
Nina SimoneFeeling Good (Joel Corry Remix)
Goldie and James Davidson feat. La Meduza – Breakout (Mella Dee Moody Gaff Remix)
Halsey – So Good (Jax Jones Remix)
Hot Chip – Broken (Jacques LuCont Mix)
Loverush UK! Feat. Boy George and Rozy Yarnold – London Calling Paris (Boys’ Shorts Remix)
Lufthaus feat. Robbie Williams – Soul Seekers (Booka Shade Remix)
Metronomy – It’s good to be back (Metronomy x Panic Shack)
Kylie Minogue – Can’t get you out of my head (Peggy Gou’s Midnight Remix)
William Orbit – Starbeam (Dosem Edit)
Ryuichi Sakamoto – Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Electric Youth Remodel)
Souleance GUILI (Art of Tones Remix)
The Weeknd Out of Time (Kaytranada Remix)
Xinobi feat. Meta_ - Mujer (Anja Schneider Remix)



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