Ambassador Beats

This was probably the hardest genre to pick a #1 tune of the year. So many releases, remixes and collaborations and so many new djs/producers emerging. Two of the most notable newcomers are featured here. Skrillex gets my vote for best electro song of the year but I didn’t know which one to choose from. He dropped his debut album and has been touring with Deadmau5 while holding down 8 of the top 10 most popular downloads on Beatport for awhile, not too shabby. He is paving the road with his melting pot of sound incorporating electro, house, dubstep and hardcore rock into his music. A true pioneer that definitely deserves to be recognized as the best new comer of 2010.

Skrillex – Kill Everybody

Runner Up: Porter Robinson is another newcomer who came out of nowhere to turn the electro/house scene on its head. This is my favourite of his productions this year and we can expect much more from this young guy.

Say My Name – Original Mix

First off, both these tracks were not released in 2010, but I do have justification for this. Breakbeat has been in a steady decline since the rave scene of the early 90′s and has become synonymous alongside Drum and Bass and Dubstep. As of late, artists who typically produce jungle, dnb and dubstep are using breakbeats throughout their productions. Case in point, Skream’s remix to the popular track from La Roux. This track has been huge for breaks and was even featured on an episode of Entourage this year. With acts like Magnetic Man, Sub Focus and Nero all crossing over between these sub-genres of electronic music, we can only expect breakbeat to make its way back into the limelight.

La Roux – In For The Kill (Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey Remix)

Runner Up: This tune packs some unreal bass and energy. At first listen it sounds straight DnB but it definitely encompasses that prototypical breakbeat pattern. Crank this

Sub Focus – Last Jungle

As I prep for the annual New Years blowout I think back to the past year in House music. The genre has burst into the mainstream with artists like David Guetta, Alex Gaudino, SHM and Chuckie breaking out into the top 40. Deadmau5 dj’ed the MTV Music Awards, Swedish House Mafia collaborated with Usher at the VMA’s… what is the world coming to? A lot of people get down on artists like Deadmau5 for ‘selling out’ and there seems to be a lot of respect lost for those who choose to bring their music to the mainstream. We as music fans despise when our beloved artists are known and loved by the masses. The result is a rejection of anything the ‘sell out’ touches and can even lead to a distaste for the genre of music as a whole. I wonder if the rise of House music in the mainstream will lead to an extinction of the genre within the years to come. Will the EDM fanatics push away from House and influence the development of new genres? Or will the mass population take over as reigning house heads? Regardless if Guetta keeps releasing top 40 hits, and Deadmau5 continues to become so commercialized that little kids are dressing up like him for Halloween, my love for House music will never stop.

On that note, my pick for best house track of 2010 is anything but mainstream. This is a relatively unknown remix that has been listened to countless times over the past year. It brings a disco feel to it and has a very nice buildup that will make you dance uncontrollably. Unreal vocals from VHS or Beta mixed with some heavy hitting house beats… turn this shit up!

VHS or Beta – All Summer In A Day (Turbotito Remix)

Runner Up: Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP came out of nowhere with this dance floor filler. This is easily one of the most played out tracks of 2010. I was a late fan of this one but none the less it made big waves this year.

Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP – We No Speak Americano

A no non-sense bootleg from Eddie Thoneick containing arguably one of the biggest tunes of 2010. Big time bootie!

Swedish House Mafia vs Sandy B -You make my world go 2 Ibiza (Eddie Thoneick Bootleg)

Indie Rock is such a large ranging genre. It literally means independent rock and can be applied to any number of different bands and sounds. So I will do my best to round up my top 10 Indie albums from the past year. Click on Read More to check out my list!

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What has become a seemingly annual occurrence, DJ Earworm has released the 2010 version of blame it on the pop. These mashups always bring back the best of the past year and its amazing how he makes all these songs fit together. This might not be what The Conductor featured in the top 10 Mashups of 2010 but it is a pretty amazing mix of tunes. Enjoy.

It finally dropped. The highly anticipated first video from the best album of 2010, Kanye Wests My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has been released. Monster is one of the best songs on the album and features insane verses from Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and Jay-Z. Don’t wait any longer, check out the video below and enjoy the master piece.

EDIT – That was definitely not the finished version of the video so it has been removed and will be replaced when a HD quality video is released. Sorry for the mistake

Dr. Dre’s long awaited album Detox STILL hasn’t dropped and who is surprised really. Regardless, the aftermath camp has been busy throwing out possible tunes off the upcoming album and keeping us on our toes. Here is the latest, a collaboration with Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, Cashis & Stat Quo.

Eminem Feat Jay Z Dr Dre 50 Cent Stat Quo – Syllables

Drum & Bass has quickly grown on me within the past year and I can credit the fellas over at Hospital Records for getting me hooked. High Contrast was the first dj/producer to peak my interest with his remix to Adele’s ‘Hometown Glory’ (see below) and since then I have grown fond of the sub DnB genre of Liquid Funk. The melodic, atmospheric sounds and soothing vocals attached to the typical 160 bpm gives the more aggressive sounds a new feel. Then along came Netsky to the Hospital Records team. In 2010 he released his debut album which won Best Album at the DnB Arena Awards where he also took home best newcomer producer. Hospital Records won best Label and for good reason. They have successful brought DnB back into the limelight and to the forefront of electronic music. My vote for best Drum & Bass track goes to Netsky- Escape.

Netsky- Escape (feat. Darrison)

Runner Up: Nu:Tone & Logistics give the UK rapper some much needed energy on this one.

Devlin ft. Yasmin- Runaway (Nu:Tone & Logistics Remix)

Adele – Hometown Glory (High Contrast Remix)

Mashups have easily become one of the most popular ‘genres’ of music within the past year. The art of mixing together 2+ songs has led to an abundance of djs and producers emerging into the forefront of electronic music. The surge in demand for mashups has led to a vast array of quality, with most of it verging on bush league. Few artists have proven to be consistent in the mashup world and my vote for best mashup artist goes once again to The Hood Internet. Their mashup of DMX vs. The XX is by far the best mashup of the year and shows how two polar opposites can mesh so well together.

The Hood Internet – The XX Gon’ Give It To Ya (DMX x The XX)

Runner Up: Pheugoo’s mashup of Adele vs. The Prodigy has the perfect buildup and the perfect breakdown.

Pheugoo- Hometown Bitch (Adele vs The Prodigy)

Woohoo this is going to be a wild ride through some of the biggest tunes of the past month. Xmas holidays has led to minimal action on the site so i’ve sifted through the best new releases that have not yet been featured on Ambassador Beats. Buckle up for one hell of a journey through the land of mashups, electro/house, dnb, dubstep and hip hop. All in all we have over 30 tunes (almost all downloadable) for your listening pleasure!

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Just stumbled upon this banging dubstep remix to the classic tune from the Mammas & the Papas. Check it out as and head over to Minnesota’s facebook and soundcloud for more!

Minnesota is a DJ and producer from Santa Cruz, California. He started spinning Hip Hop but has now moved to spinning Dubstep and Glitch. Minnesota is a founding member of the production company Vital SC, and is also associated with Mal Label, Gruntworthy, and SC Dubstep. Minnesota has been billed with a diverse range of some of the world’s top bass music producers including Flying Lotus, Rusko, Benny Benassi, Ghostland Observatory, RJD2, Datsik, Excision, Skrillex and many more. He has also hosted sold out shows at The Catalyst, Motiv, and the 418 project in Santa Cruz. Minnesota has several release’s coming out in the near future including tunes on Mal Label and Gruntworty compilations as well as an EP coming on Tycho records in January 2011.

Download ‘California Dreamin’ here

California Dreamin’ (Minnesota RMX)(DownLoad LINK INSIDE!!!!)

Sound Remedy spruces up this synth heavy tune from Taylor Gangs finest- Wiz Khalifa. Loving everything from Khalifa and this remix only adds to the quality of the original. Check out Sound Remedy on Bandcamp, Facebook and Twitter

This Plane – Wiz Khalifa (Sound Remedy Remix)

2010 was a good year for our friends in I The Mighty and today they released a brand new song entitled Cutting Room Floor. I love the polished sound of this song and can’t wait to hear more from them. Be sure to go download their EP for free by visiting their bandcamp. I expect big things from these guys in 2011. Until then enjoy the new song below.

Easily my favourite EDM sub-genre and definitely one of the most popular. Prog house fans are all about the buildup and the big drops. This was definitely the hardest category to pick from so I went to my Itunes most played list. My pick goes to the Axwell & Henrik B Remix to the already excellent tune from Adrian Lux. ‘Teenage Crime’ got a lot of love on the beatport charts and for good reason. This one goes through a roller coaster of buildups and drops and is another example of Axwell’s ability to turn everything he touches into gold.

Adrian Lux – Teenage Crime (Axwell Remix & Henrik B Remode)

Runner Up: Max Vangeli & AN21 had absolute monster years and earn my vote as best up and comers in the house industry. This is just one of their bombs from 2010

Switchfoot- Always (Max Vangeli & AN21 Remix)

Also called Dirty Dutch, this sub-genre of House music originated in the Netherlands from the unique sounds of Chuckie, Afrojack, Alvaro and Sidney Samson (to name a few). The distinct repetitive and high pitched synths common in Dutch house were a major hit at WMC 2010 and have led the way for a major dutch movement throughout the house scene.

I detested the dirty dutch upon first listen but it along with dubstep have grown on me throughout the past year. My pick for best track goes to Afrojack for his monster- ‘Take Over Control’. My pick for breakout dj/producer definitely goes to Chuckie as he has been responsible for bringing this genre into the limelight with some big time remixes including the one below.

Afrojack ft. Eva Simons – Take over control

Runner Up:

Lil Jon Ft. Claude Kelly – Oh What A Night (Chuckie Remix)

After watching all of Fowl’s freestyle clips from the Redbull Contest in Detroit, I found this unreal freestyle from a few years back. Its crazy to think about how far Marshall Mathers has come since his early days living in a trailer park in Warren, Michigan and about how much talent has flowed out from the D since.

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Fowl has been gaining some momentum after winning the Redbull Freestyle Competition which was judged by the king of freestyling himself- Eminem. This guy is from Detroit and is doing great things for the city which is a stones throw away from mine and Codhopper’s balcony. Check out this trailer for his upcoming mixtape and grab his track below titled ‘Ambassador Bridge’. Show some love for this local cat making things happen in one of the most poverty stricken city’s in North America.

Fowl Twitter
Fowl Youtube

Check back on January 7th for a sneak peak at his ‘Live From The D’ mixtape

Fowl – The Ambassador Bridge.mp3

I will be making the rounds with my favourite tracks of 2010 categorized into the most popular genres of electronic music. Prog House, Tech House, Electro House, Dutch House, Dubstep, DnB, Minimal, Trance, and Breaks will be covered over the next 6 days.

First up, dubstep. This genre has quickly made its way into the mainstream in 2010. It has traveled from the UK, to your parents car radio with no end in sight. With guys like Rusko, Skream, Nero, and High Rankin making big moves this year, we can only expect dubstep to take off and transform into many new things in the years to come. The melting pot of genres has led to many djs and producers crossing over into the dark side with Deadmau5, Skrillex and even Ambassador Beats favourite Adam K dabbling in dubstep.

My vote for best dubstep track of 2010 is Nero’s remix to Plan B- The Recluse. With Nero also getting the nod for breakout artist of the year.

Plan B – The Recluse – Nero remix

Runner Up: High Rankin and Evolve or Die take the Sarah McClaughlin tranced out classic and turn it on its head. Big tune!

Delerium – Silence (High Rankin & Evolve or Die Remix)

Merry Christmas everyone! Your friends at Ambassador Beats have recorded our favourite 10 christmas tunes for your listening pleasure! Enjoy the Not So Family Friendly Christmas Webisode, and be forewarned, there is a lot of cussing. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Not So Family Friendly Christmas Webisode