The decade flew by faster than expected, but left behind a legacy of musical achievements spanning all genres, including EDM. The rise in popularity and tradition-breaking of electronic music as a whole caused a rupture, pulsating throughout the globe. Underground genres thrived just as much as the popular genres. Festival Circuits had some higher attendance counts than ever before. To celebrate the major movements of this decade, we at Respect My Region put together a Spotify playlist of 100 iconic dance music songs that helped build the ever-expanding genre.
100 Iconic Electronic Dance Music Songs
Below are five picks from the playlist that stand out, and helped build the genre (and respective subgenres).
Many popular songs came out this decade so it was hard to choose 100. Some of the songs chosen, even though they didn’t get over 100 million listens, expanded and rose in popularity to grow its subgenre within the decade.
“Get Lucky” – Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers
Known for their unique headgear and anonymity, Daft Punk returned from a five-year hiatus with their Tron: Legacy soundtrack scoring. Although it garnered major critical acclaim and positive fanbase attention, the 2013 release of Random Access Memories became more beloved. “Get Lucky,” the single from the aforementioned album went on to go 4x Platinum in the US. The timeless funky song was also [rightfully] given the title of “The Song Of The Summer of the Century” by comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert. “Get Lucky” truly is the official song of the summer for the 100 iconic electronic dance music songs of the 2010s.
“Faded” – ZHU
“Faded” is the dark, sexy, intimate house track by ZHU, and is considered by many to be one of his best tracks to date. The track was picked up by Pete Tong, from BBC Radio 1, as well as Triple J in early 2014 and quickly rose on the global charts that year. Consequentially, ZHU rose to prominence and has become a staple in house music as a whole. Since his rise in popularity, he has gone on to collaborate with acts such as Skrillex, Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, and Kaskade.
“Levels” – Avicii
The late Tim Bergling (AKA Avicii)’s breakout hit of 2011 made him known all over the festival circuits and global charts and seemed like he came out of nowhere. That wasn’t the case, however. Avicii started his career at age 16, becoming well known in music forums (as well as Laidback Luke’s fan forum). Years were spent curating his craft before “Levels” was even released. “Levels” were the culmination of all his hard work leading up to that single point.
“Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” – Skrillex
The tipping point in Sonny Moore’s solo career came into play when he released his 2nd EP as Skrillex. Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (the album and the track with the same name) took the world by storm and the electronic community by surprise. The former From First To Last front-man had changed genres so drastically that nobody could keep up. After the tour he was on with deadmau5 ended in 2010, Skrillex jumped right back on the tour bus with Porter Robinson in early 2011. During that time he teased new songs from the follow up to that EP, More Monsters and Sprites. That two-year span set in stone the legacy of a single iconic song, “Scary Monsters, and Nice Sprites,” and Skrillex’s entire career.
“Bonfire” – Knife Party
Soon after the beginning of a side project from Pendulum, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, came their first EP, 100% No Modern Talking. Little consideration was given to how popular their side project would become. Their first EP was well-received but Rage Valley and the popularity of “Bonfire” skyrocketed Rob and Gareth’s career from Knife Party being a side project and turning it into their main musical project. “Bonfire” was featured in different media avenues, including the fifth season of AMC’s Breaking Bad as well as WWE video games. Over time, and because of “Bonfire,” Knife Party became a household name and a truly iconic duo.
Listen to the Spotify playlist containing 100 of the most iconic electronic music tracks of the decade below.
