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)

Latin pop: Sofía Reyes (Short)

Temperatures reached summer-like hights the past week in The Netherlands, prompting me to look for some sweet summer tunes. One of the songs that caught my ear was 1,2,3 by Mexican singer Sofía Reyes. Sofía started out five years ago, posting covers on YouTube. Soon after, she got signed to the label of bachata singer Prince Royce and released some songs which had moderate success. Her latest hit 1, 2, 3 is blowing up though, and has managed to rack up 67 million views in only two months. 2018's summer hit?!

Watch more videos on the official Sofia Reyes YouTube channel

Alon Mor

The first thing you will have noticed when you started reading this post is that the genre is missing from the title. This is not a mistake, but a conscious choice. In preparation of my blogs I usually do some research into how other people classify the artists I discuss. However nobody seems to know how to categorize Alon Mor, a young and very talented producer from Israel. "What am I listening to?" is what I was thinking the first time I listened to Alon's song Jasmine. It starts out with a jazzy/Latin intro, followed by a middle-eastern sounding synth-melody and turns into a future house track. At 1.40 minutes there's a breakdown where the jazzy part returns, followed by ambient music and some classical strings which seamlessly flow into the house part again. I fell in love with the song and it became one of my favourite tracks of 2016.

In the 10 minute long song Demons Alon manages to put in even more genres. The song starts out with a spacey bass line followed by some dark techno but is then followed by middle eastern sounds, classical piano, Spanish guitar, chiptunes and even an church organ.

Two other superb songs are When Silence Kicks In, which is a blend of a fairytale soundtrack and future bass, and Adra De Khal, a very moody, more classical song featuring a concert flute.

You'd think that combining so many different styles, genres and instruments would result in a messy track, but I think that Alon manages to mix everything together in such a way that it becomes a very coherent piece. To get an idea of Alon's versatility check out some more songs below, each one is completely different from the others.

Other favourites:                 Intermission (Dark House

                                            Vega (Glitch-hop)

                                            Scattered Clouds (Electro waltz)

                                            Pablo's Place (Latin)

Check out more songs on Alon Mor's Official YouTube channel.

Latin Pop: Anitta

Since tonight the Euro 2016 finals will be played between Portugal and France it seemed appropriate to highlight an artist from one of these countries. Given that I already showcased a French singer in an earlier post I decided to pick a Portuguese artist today. The only problem is that my vast music collection does not contain any Portuguese artists.

Fortunately I've got the next best thing; a Brazilian artist (they speak Portuguese, so close enough...).

Anitta debuted in 2013 but only gained some attention in her own country Brazil, Spain, Portugal and Argentina. Her big breakthrough came with the release of Bang, which currently has over 200 million views on YouTube. This was also the first video I saw of Anitta. In the beginning I was a bit sceptical of it since the video clearly focused on other 'features' besides her singing. But later that week I still couldn't get the song out of my head, so I decided to check out other songs of her. Many of her songs are happy and upbeat while some, like her most recent single Cravo e Canela, have a more slow R&B beat. I would describe them as perfect summer songs.

Other favourite songs: Deixa Ele Sofrer, Essa Mina É Louca, and Volta Amor.

For more songs, check out her YouTube channel.