I don’t live in the UK, so maybe I am a little slow in noticing this trend, but UK Garage seems to be back again!

For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about: There used to be a musical trend in the late 90s that was known as “Speed Garage”, “UK Garage” or “2Step”. That style was mostly about mixing House, breakbeats and RnB. As a reminder, here is one of the most popular tracks from that time.

After a while, this got a little too cheesy and boring, and other styles took over. However, there seems to be a fresh movement of producers (mostly from the UK) who are picking up on the ideas from that era.

I wouldn’t yet call myself an expert on that style, but a lot of recent releases have caught my attention. This new wave usually goes under the names “Future Garage”, “UK Funky” or simply “UK Garage” (there are subtle differences behind those names, but I am ignoring these for now until I truly understand those differences).

So for now, here are a few current releases that I found and enjoyed.

If you want to dig deeper: There is a very nice article at Pitchfork that nicely sums up the current state of that style.

Ninca Leece delivers a very nice blend of electronic pop music with a strong House flavor. On her debut solo album “There Is No One Else When I Lay Down and Dream“, she gives a very impressive demonstration on how electronic music can sound both relaxing and danceable at the same time. This also reflects in the selection of her sounds: Spacey string sounds meet dry synths, with occasional appearances of mild distortion.

Ninca is originally from Rennes (France) and now lives in Berlin. Considering that France is currently my favorite country for electronic music (apart from the UK, but that’s a different story) and Berlin is the electronic music capitol  of Germany, it’s not really surprising that her music resonates with me.

Her concert videos also look really nice, so it’s probably a good idea to see her live on stage.

When a year ends, there are always dozens of polls about everyone’s favorites for the last year. I have to admit that I enjoy that kind of polls, especially when it’s about music.

Here are my favorite artists for 2009. Please feel free to share your favorites in the comments!

1. Fever Ray
Fever Ray is the solo project of The Knife’s singer Karin Dreijer Andersson. Her music is hard to descripe, but very, very fascinating. If you ever have the chance to see her on stage, don’t miss that! It’s a truly magical experience.

2. Gossip
I know they have been around for a while, but I was totally unaware of how good they really are until I saw them on stage last year. Very powerful live performance! And Gossip’s last Album “Music for Men” kicks more than just one ass!

3. Parov Stelar
He’s the master of many styles. From smooth downbeat grooves to funky dancefloor bangers – Parov Stelar can do it all, and he does it with style.

4. Simian Mobile Disco
Many artists who are good at creating great dancefloor tunes fail when they try to create a whole album that’s also good to listen to at home. Simian Mobile Disco are one of the few artists who excel in great dancefloor material as well as in catchy pop tunes.

5. The Prodigy
The Prodigy were probably the most influential band for me when I was a teenager. I was happy to see that their latest album “Invaders Must Die” finally took them back to their old greatness.

6. Chase & Status
I had totally mistaken Chase&Status for “yet another Dubstep artist”, but when I heard their remix for Nnekas “Heartbeat” on the radio, they caught my interest. I always like it when an artist can cover more than one style, and they definitely shine in Dubstep, Drum&Bass and even Funky Breaks (see below).

7. Malente
Malente is a genius in delivering dancefloor anthems with a certain twist. Both his remixes and his own productions made it into a few sets of mine in 2009.

8. Sub Focus
2009 was the year that let me re-discover Drum&Bass. I have loved fast, broken beats for a long time, but somehow didn’t keep track of what was happening for a while. Sub Focus‘ superb single “Rock It” was one of the tracks that showed me Drum&Bass is still alive & kicking.

9. The Crystal Method
Artists like The Crystal Method were the top choice for action movie soundtracks in the 90s. I always felt that there was more to this kind of music than just serving as a side dish to a movie, and Crystal Method have proven that they are still creative.

10. Jetlag Digital
Jetlag Digital is not actually an artist, but a Progressive House/Trance label. However, I wanted to mention them here since their sound has influenced me a lot in 2009. They just deliver great electronic dance music all the time and keep me wondering how just two guys (Shane and Hyline) can get so many artists from around the world together.

It is very rare that a records sounds both oldschool and fresh at the same time. However, Strip Steve’s Delta Disco EP (out on Boysnoize Records) is one of these rare cases.

The five tracks are more or less classical house tracks, but somehow manage to combine oldschool US house elements with a distinct french touch. My personal favorites are AM/FM with its cool bleepin’  acid finale and Breakin’ with its pumping french house beat and  its cut-up rap vocals. And there’s even some breakbeats in the mix!

House-lovers, go get this one! It rocks!

I have been a fan of electronic music bands for a long time. I am emphasizing the word “band” here to differentiate from so-called “live acts” who do nothing but stare into their laptop screens and fiddle knobs.
I think a live experience is just so much better if you actually see something happening on stage, and I also love it when real instruments are played over electronic beats.

A nice example for that is Senor Torpedo, a band that I have seen a few times. Their show is very energetic, there is always something happening on stage. Their music ranges from chilled-out downbeat grooves to dirty dancefloor smashers.

Their latest single “Digital Dirt” definitely belongs in the latter category.