The best Electronic Music of 2022: EPs and Singles

My top 30 EPs and singles this year, in no particular order

I thought it would be fun to do one of these ubiquitous end-of-year lists myself (I already did a condensed list for Tone Glow). So I trawled through my archives and playlists and ended up with thirty (a nice number, I think!) EPs and singles that I thought are worth talking about, in no particular order. Hopefully, I’ll also finish my albums list within the next few days.

I hope you enjoy these tunes and might stumble across something you like and haven’t heard before!

Pariah - Caterpillar [Voam]

Pariah brings the weird back into floor-annihilating techno. "Caterpillar" starts out lightly wiggling like an insect, until it drops into some of the heaviest bassline-scanning since Loefah's "Goat Stare”. The beat on "Frogspawn" moves about like a crazy frog all jacked up on pills, frantically hopping all over the place. "One On One" is an electro-ish funker with weird squiggly arps and self-recorded, sultry basement vocals. If only all techno was this idiosyncratic.

Patricia - Less Than Seven [Acid Test]

Patricia is in love with the simple things in life: 808, 909, 303. What makes his tracks special is their romanticism and affinity for feelings big and small. Four little love letters to electronically synthesized sound.

O-Wells - Moldoom [Die Orakel]

"Moldoom" is the kind of track that can change lives when played far enough into the night and early morning. Deep and sweeping, with enough space for thought to take place. Meanwhile, “Conscio” delivers proper electroid acid funk and “Rhytim” a swerving, floaty pad trip. Four great tracks from techno’s Citizen Kane.

DJ Trystero - Null-A [Triology Tapes]

DJ Trystero hails from Japan and appears to also run the killer City-2 St. Giga label. The first track on this is just lovely: Deep, mysterious, dubbed-out, slightly mournful. Just how I like it.

Stenny - Wipe Out / Permission [Ilian Tape]

Ilian Tape has been fusing continental techno with UK-sounds for a while now. On “Wipe Out”, the grime influences shine large with manic garage two-steps, ice cold string stabs and earth shattering subs. Yet, the sound design and drum programming retain a proper techno flavor, particularly on the saturated, 909-driven "Permission".

Mike Parker - Burning Roundtable [Token]

Mike Parker has been refining his particular, instantly recognizable sound for well over twenty years now. Burning Roundtable doesn't reinvent the wheel, but nonetheless presents a high point in the history of Parkerism. Massive, reverberant and psychedelic tracks. Like being transported to an alien planet populated by nothing but pulse waves and ring modulation.

Blue Hour - Origins [Blue Hour]

Origins apes early Harthouse / Eye Q like trance to an almost frightening degree, even nailing smaller details like the rather naive 909-programming. The only thing really marking these tracks as contemporary is the better engineering. Part of me wonders whether it's a good thing that producers are spending this much effort on perfectly emulating thirty year old records. But with so much god awful techno-trance and trance-techno making the rounds these days, I'm also just glad that someone is at least bringing back the good stuff.

Cousin - Second Message [NAFF]

Canada's NAFF label has been killing it with their last few releases and this one is no exception. Gorgeous, deep, organic and dubbed-out late nite ambient steppers. A little cocoon of sound - retreat to in case of emergency.

Burnski - Trigger [Constant Sound]

Burnski's Constant Sound label remains a reliable source for quality contemporary house. On "Go" he does a quirky little speed garage homage. The bassline game's on point; on top appropriately skippy drums, lovely garage snares and glassy, mysterious sounding pads that nicely juxtapose the bottom ends' ruffboy attitude. "Move" comes in with slightly flanged drums dancing over a skanking dub bassline. Lush, decaying chord-stab swells and mournful, echo-trailing reggae vocals float towards infinity. Two killer tracks in one package.

Emissive - City Of Rooms [Telephone Explosion]

Emissive is one of those low-key North American techno soldiers that keeps it true and humble. "Quartz Register" is a sonic Yellowstone, wide, sweeping, lush and organic. "Sunset Yellow" is a bit steppier with joyful, yet slightly melancholic swathes of chords followed by flanged-out noise. "Natural Springs" also goes heavy on the flange, but with more house-y vibes. Pack this on your next hike!

Carmen Villain - CV x Actress [Smalltown Supersound]

On the A-side, Carmen Villain carefully tip-toes delicate, cotton-ish rhythms over wide, gaseous, crackling ambient floaters. On the B-side, the Actress mix is a bonafide lo-fi anthem that drastically transforms itself towards the end.

Parallel 9 - Q [Delsin]

This one's a reissue, but I couldn't not include the rare Steve Rachmad cuts assembled here. Early tracks from his dubbier Parallel 9 alias. Basic Channel via Amsterdam, infused with the soul of Detroit. If this doesn't make you believe in the world, you probably just don't like techno.

Adam Pits - Cosmic Confession [Craigie Knowes]

Adam Pits is one of the bigger names in a new scene of younger producers inspired by early trance. It is new enough to not quite have a name yet ("Bandcamp trance"?). With equal parts early 90s trance and contemporary tech house, Adam Pits updates the sound of nascent, pre-supersaw trance for modern techno and house floors without ever straying into cheese territory.

Azu Tiwaline & Al Wooton - Alandazu [Livity Sound]

Alandazu ventures deep into the nowhere-land of current post-everything UK techno. "Blue Dub" is a deep, dubbed-out stepper with luminous trails of tape-delay feedback, jittery drums and glassy, reverberant pads. "Light Transmission" goes for sparse, organic percussion and subtle drones over cold, sub-zero bass pressure.

C3D-E - Scattered Radiation [Acting Press]

Years after the label's peak hype, Acting Press are still at it, churning out singular, cosmic tunes straight out of techno's pre-historic era. "A Model Of Behaviour" is my favorite here, all mono and dusky with an early Carl Craig / BFC type of vibe.

Terekke - 2 The World [Plant Age]

A new Terekke EP is always a rare and precious thing. The title track is a perfect tune to play on repeat and zone out on a lush, late summer night. To the World.

TSVI & Loraine James - 053 [AD 93]

Subtlety is not the name of the game here. Big kicks and big emotions are what it’s all about. Occasionally, things almost border on cheese, but they do manage to keep it just classy enough. "Eternal" is my favorite on the EP, an ethereal, hard-hitting, grime-y bumper with fluttering, angelic female vocal chops sampled all over the keyboard range.

Subb-An - States Of Flow [20-20 Vision]

The original mix is reminiscent of Luke Chable ca. 2002-2003. Earthy house drums, a deep, buzzing reese bassline, twinkly arps, shimmering pads and ethereal vowel vocals. I've always had a soft spot for melancholic early '00s progressive house, so yes, please do make more of this.

Cristi Cons - Black Swan [Adam’s Bite]

"Black Swan" is almost eleven minutes long, but it's the kind of epic, Romanian-styled anthem that pulls it off with style. About halfway through, things start floating, becoming a little world all in itself, only to slowly descend back towards the ground near the end.

Roseen - Versions Pt. 2 [Ausgang]

This record knows all about the dark arts of techno. "Torn Apart" is based around a seductive, rubbery filter sequence that is occasionally thrown into dirty spring reverb to much effect. Saturated 909 rides turn up the energy. "One Cell" evokes the SH-101 sorcery of Robert Hood ca. Moveable Parts, while adding a contemporary sense of finely engineered sonic pressure. "Pattern 2" is more FM-ish, with a metallic, detuned riff and slow, sweeping sci-fi strings. The real stuff.

Max Watts - LN006 [Limited Network]

Max Watts makes techno in the 90's Midwestern tradition. Quick, dirty, rowdy and utterly irreverent; even the stereo image is all kinds of fucked up. With the rulebook thrown out of the window, these tracks do whatever they want and hone in on the machine-funk in a myriad of ways. A rare and refreshing approach to production in an age of endless polish and revisioning, especially coming from a younger producer.

Aquarian - Mutations I+II [Dekmantel]

These two EPs are some of the most sonically impressive electronic music I've heard all year. Big, heavy, loud and dense, while still retaining enough space for every element to do its job properly. Aquarian is not shy about showing off his production skills here and goes for the "epic banger" with massive, deep reese basslines, big kicks and fiendishly synthesized walls-of-sound. All the while, he's fluently mixing it up between techno, electro, jungle and hardcore in a way that sounds almost impossibly effortless. As a producer, this is the kind of stuff that just makes you want to give it all up sometimes ...

Pub - Autumn [Ampoule]

Enigmatic cult producer Pub has been at it on his own Ampoule label for over twenty-five years without leaving a paper trail. Go ahead and Google, you probably won't come across any interviews. Autumn is classic Pub: Weird, spacious, freewheeling and heavy on child-like, microtonal melodies. Just listen to "Essence" - compared to most music made today, it feels distinctively naive. Like few artists working today, Pub makes music that retains a sense of free, child-like play.

Malin Genie - Acheron [Empam]

"Acheron" is an acid-opera driven by an inviting resonant house bassline, a chorus of 303s and a whole ensemble of lush, sweeping pads and chords. Towards the end, the track starts to dissolve itself towards ambient bliss. "Tumladen" goes in a wholly different direction and gets twisted with frantic drum programming and detuned, shamanic acid lines. "Halcyon" is a deep, dubby and quick-footed Basic Channel roller with saturated, filtered chord stabs and large, luminescent reverb throws. Malin Genie consistently delivers timeless stuff.

Lea Lisa - Love To The End [Phonica Records]

At twelve minutes, the "Manchester Club Mix" is a real end-of-the-night hit. Go and hug all your friends, maybe even a stranger. The simple but hypnotic four-note bassline supports a myriad of keys, pads, chords, arps and what sounds like xylophones. This track's a bit as if ca. Eighteen Musicians Steve Reich had a go at making some house tunes. The breakdown's a bit too long, but I suppose it is okay to be indulgent every now and then. In excess, House finds love.

Robert Hood - Technatural [M-Plant]

Technatural is a reissue from the later period of Hood's original M-Plant label, now available digitally for the first time. It's classic Hood, with a slight touch of weird; transforming the skeletal 4/4 framework with weird FM-sounds, oddly syncopated drum programming, self-devouring polymetric sequences and ouroboros-like, looping arrangements. "Outlast" is a deeper, slightly melancholic number. "Pattern St." comes in jazzing and pumping, "Teflon" a bit more nervous and teasing, not dropping the classic 909 rides until four minutes in. As always, Hood plays with perception through masterful programming.

Forum - Power Dynamics [OOM Records]

As far as sleek, driving, high-impact modern techno goes, this one's hard to beat this year. Four perfectly calibrated machines. Streamlined, optimized and ergonomic, with just the right amount of machinic funk, low-end pressure and stabby weirdness.

Surgeons Girl - Sever [Lapsus Records]

On "Sparks," Surgeons Girl constructs a delicate symphony of layered, gliding arps that ventures into distortion and detuning every now and then. Pretty, with just the right amount of grit. "First Fall" and "Night Moths" are reminiscent of early 00's IDM with fast, skittish rhythms and blooming, child-like synth melodies. A honest and heart-warming EP.

Rhyw - Honey Badger [Voam]

The adventurous, off-kilter sound design matches the zany track titles here: The honey badger is having a grand time on its self-titled track, jumping and frolicking all over the place. On "Sharknado'', the sharks get involved, rapidly rotating over stepping kicks and ascending flanged arps. Some of the most unabashedly fun techno this year. Blawan and Pariah's Voam label keeps killing it.

Cleyra - Soft Bloom [Club Night Club]

I don't know who Cleyra is, but this is one of the best post-UK-techno records I've heard this year. Heavy on collage-like composition, the sound design and placement are impactful and precise, while still retaining an overall smoothness. "2B" has lush reverb swells over sparse, stepping drum programming and assorted bleeps n' bloops. "Triumph" is almost dubstep-y with a deep, decaying sub and a springing, comb-filtered snare. An oddly pleasant record.