2018 in Music

As the year draws to a close almost every paper, magazine or website bombards you with lists that summarize, rank or rate this year's events. Because of this, and partly because the amount of posts has been lacking lately (mea culpa), I've decided to come up with my own summary. Of course it's a difficult, if not impossible, task to make an overview that justifies all released music this year. Therefore I've made a list of the artists and songs, covering different genres, that shaped my year. Enjoy '2018 in Music' and here's to a very musical 2019!!!

Hardstyle: Headhunterz

Admittedly, I haven't listened to much hardstyle this year. The genre just doesn't grip me as much as it used to anymore. There was however one album that did get my attention: 'The Return of Headhunterz'. It's a fitting title since Headhunterz' last hardstyle work dated from 2012.

The album is filled with the euphoric hardstyle bangers one might expect from this legend. No One Can Stop Us Now, Destiny and Path of the Hunter (based on the traditional Japanese song Sakura) are all equally impressive. My favourite song from the album however is Rescue Me, which is mainly due to the entrancing vocals of Lauren Nicole Walker

Ska punk: Leningrad

In March I stumbled across a Russian band called Leningrad and as you could read in my post I was very enthusiastic about them. Since I wrote that blog the band has continued to release a string of hits. Not Paris, Ju-Ju, Tsoy and Gold all have their own characteristic style both in sound and video. Out of all the artists I've discovered this year they're probably my favourite. Every time they release a song I can't wait for their next mini-story.

J-Pop: Reol

Believe it or not but 2018 was also the year I finally joined Spotify. Of course I had checked it out previously, but back then their library was far from complete and I felt it wasn't worth making an account for. However after my free month of Spotify premium this year I was sold. Their library now contained most of my favourite artists and discovering music was now so much easier. Case in point: Reol. Her high-pitched voice might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I absolutely love her unique way of singing. Her songs have both rock (End and SAIREN) and electronic (Saisaki and Violent White)  influences.

Reggaeton: Mau y Ricky

As summer started to approach my focus shifted to the Latin part of the world. Besides Sofia Reyes 1, 2, 3 (see post) the song I found myself playing most was the remix of Mau y Ricky's Mi Mala. The song itself is perfect for the hot summer weather but it also introduced me to a whole array of Latin artists and songs: Karol G (Mi Cama), Becky G (Sin Pijama), Leslie Grace (Duroy Suave) and last but least Lali (Sin Querer Queriendo).

Powermetal: Powerwolf

Another recommendation from Spotify, no doubt based on my love for symphonic and power metal, came in the form of Powerwolf. This German metal band is characterised by their gothic sound which makes heavy use of organs and choirs. Songs usually include werewolves, vampires or other dark fairytales fused with religious aspects. In combination with the raw voice of lead singer Atilla Dorn this all leads to very epic sounding songs like: Fire & Forgive, Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend and Killers With The Cross.

  

K-pop: Red Velvet

Long time readers of my blog might know that I've been a K-pop fan for years now. So much in fact even that this year I decided to pay a visit to the country that sparked the K-wave: South Korea. From the moment I set foot in Korea's capital Seoul it was clear that there was no escaping K-pop. In districts like Myeongdong and Gangnam stores blast K-pop through their speakers, sell K-pop merchandise and K-pop stars advertise everything from beverages to circle lenses. One of my favourite groups, that I actually had the pleasure of seeing perform live, is Red Velvet. The group, that even did a show in North Korea, combines a cute and bubbly image (Power Up) with a more mature and sexy one (Bad Boy).

Blues rock: Greta van Fleet

One band that really exploded into fame this year was Greta van Fleet. Many of my friends named them as their favourite festival act (as described in this post). Their enthusiasm was so infectious that I decided to pay Greta van Fleet a visit myself, together with my brother.  Their concert was held in October shortly after the release of their first full-length album 'Anthem of the Peaceful Army'. And while their performance was absolutely great their new work contained some more mellow songs, which weren't really to my liking. The song When the Curtain Falls however is one of my new favourites.

Hip hop: GRAY

Every country has their own talent shows on TV. Programs like Idols, The Voice and ... Got Talent in which "new stars are born". Usually I don't watch these shows because they don't produce the kind of artists I'm interested in. One exception I make for the Korean show 'Show Me The Money'. A hip hop talent show, believe it or not. This year the top six candidates performed a song together created by one of Korea's best hip hop producers: GRAY. It's a great song but apparently GRAY thought he could improve it, so he invited some other hip hop artists to feature on the track. The result is the 20 minute long 119 remix featuring not six, not ten, but 51 different artists!!! If you ever needed an introduction to the Korean hip hop scene this is it.

Other favourites

Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (Indie rock)

BLACKPINK - DDU-DU DDU-DU (K-Pop)

TheFatRat - MAYDAY feat. Laura Brehm (Electronic)

Jvcki Wai - Enchanted Propaganda (Hip hop)

m-flo - No Question (J-Pop)

Indie pop: Skylar Grey

The first time I heard of Skylar Grey was in 2010 as a featured artist on the song Coming Home by Diddy-Dirty Money. A great hip hop song and probably still one of my favourites of 2010. 
It wasn't until two years later that I heard Skylar's first solo song C'mon Let Me Ride. It's a catchy song that makes fun of the sexualisation in the music industry. But although I like it very much it's not really representative for Grey's style. Take for instance Final Warning and White Suburban, which both come from the same album but have a more modest arrangement and are darker in tone.

A signature sound which Skylar often uses can be clearly heard in her collaboration with Travis Barker (Back From The Dead) and the more recent and beautiful Come Up For Air. Both of these songs prominently feature the drum part, only accompanied by some minor additional instruments. This is something that I, being a drummer myself, can really appreciate.

Last month she released her latest album called Natural Causes. The album features several great songs, like Kill For You (again a collaboration with Eminem) and Lemonade. My favourite song of the album at the moment however is Moving Mountains. It's a very plain song, just Skylar and her guitar. Normally I don't care much for this type of song, but this one's got me hooked.

Other favourites: Wear Me Out, Coming Home Pt. II and Cannonball

Check out Skylar Grey's Official YouTube channel for more videos.

K-Rap: Jay Park

As I've mentioned in an earlier post I discovered K-Pop in 2009. Since I'm also a big hip hop fan you might assume that I therefore also dove right into K-Rap. However at that time hip hop wasn't very popular in Korea, making it difficult to find on YouTube. It wasn't until 2012, with the start of 'Show Me the Money' (a kind of Idols, but with rappers i.o. singers), that hip hop gained some traction. One of the first Korean rappers I discovered, and still one of my favourites, is Jay Park.

Born in the US Jay Park decided to come to Korea in 2005 to become singer in a boyband. However only a year after debuting in 2008 with his group '2PM' he decided to leave the group. Probably not pleasant for him at the time, but a fortunate event for hip hop fans around the world, since this meant that Jay could focus on hip hop instead of generic pop songs.

The first song I heard of Jay was the raw hip hop song 1HUNNIT which is a collaboration with fellow rapper Dok2. This song sounds very different from the more recent On It which has a more classic hip hop sound to it. In addition to hip hop he also has several nice R&B tracks like Solo and Aquaman. In 2013 Jay started his own record label: AOMG. Label mates LOCO and Ugly Duck regularly make appearances in his works as seen in NaNa and the NSFW Mommae. For those of you who still aren't convinced: Fire, dancers and dope beats, cause there Ain't No Party Like an AOMG Party.

Other favourites: My Last, Worldwide and Me Like Yuh.

Check out Jay Park's Official YouTube channel for more videos.

Country Rap: Yelawolf

When people think of hip hop they usually think of East Coast hip hop (Nas, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z) or West Coast hip hop (Tupac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg) but tend to forget about Southern hip hop. As the name implies, this genre of hip hop is made in the southern part of the United States with Atlanta being at its centre, producing artists like Ludacris, T.I. and 2 Chainz. The artist I want to talk about however comes from the more suburban Gadsden (Alabama): Yelawolf. Yelawolf's country roots are clearly noticeable in many of his songs, both musically and lyrically. I particularly like Till It's Gone, a song that perfectly captures the muggy atmosphere of the southern swamps. Yelawolf's Alabama origin also becomes apparent in the more upbeat party song Let's Roll, in which the chorus is performed by Kid Rock. In the more country-pop sounding American You Yelawolf sings the chorus himself, something that not many rappers attempt. Last but not least I'd like to mention Best Friend which features Eminem. I'm a big fan of Eminem and this collaboration, which is kind off obvious since Yelawolf is signed to Shady Records, is pure gold.
For more songs check out Yelawolf's VEVO channel on YouTube.