This summer is shaping up to be a wild one on the dance music front. Festival season is well under way, and EDM’s biggest acts have used platforms like Coachella, Ultra, and Road to EDC Las Vegas to promote their new material. Over the next four months, we are excited for everything that new music will have in store for us. Here are some anticipated albums and artists that are starting to seem cool as summer heats up!
deadmau5 – while (1<2)
June 17th may seem too far away, but in a few quick weeks deadmau5 will be kicking off the summer right with his new album. This LP, which contains 25 tracks, is sliced in half – with the tracks divided into two continuous mixes. Deadmau5 says his goal for this album is to branch away from the concepts of his last four albums, calling ‘while’ his first true studio album. He wanted to make it perfect so that anyone going through a record store would pick it up and see it as a good buy. It sounds like the album will feature quite a few radio friendly songs. The lead single ‘Avaritia’ is out now. Check it out, and get a feel for what to expect from this hyped up release!
Bassnectar – Noise vs. Beauty
California’s own Bassnectar is gearing up for the release of this new album! He says that he is more excited about this album than any other in the past, saying it was fun to create and came out exactly as he wanted it to. This concept album explores the differences between loud and wild ‘Noise’ music and deep and emotional ‘Beauty’ music. The album drops on June 24th, but in the meantime you can check out his lead single, called ‘You & Me’ feauring W. Darling.
Dillon Francis – Money Sucks, Friends Rule
Not much is known yet about the debut Dillon Francis album, but it’s already being heavily buzzed about. Besides the awesome album title, Dillon has an awesome new label! Francis signed with Columbia Records to release the record. This isn’t Columbia’s first venture into dance music. Last year the label saw the releases of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories and Krewella’s Get Wet. Francis collaborated with Twista and Brandon Urie from Panic! At the Disco on the album, which looks to be really intriguing. Despite accusations of selling out from short tempered fans, Dillon reassured everyone complaining on Twitter that he is still with Mad Decent.
Tiesto – A Town Called Paradise
On his first studio album in five years, Tiesto says its been two years worth of work in the making. The Casablanca artist plans to drop the new LP on June 16th. The album title and the sound were both influenced by Las Vegas, which really is an oasis paradise in the desert for club music. Collaborations on the album include Matthew Koma, Krewella, Hardwell, Sultan & Ned Shepard, Firebeatz, Zac Barnett from American Authors, and Icona Pop, who assisted on 7UP promo and current single ‘Let’s Go’.
Chromeo – White Women
This recently released album sees the electronic duo meshing funky elements of the past with current musical trends, and it works. Lead single ‘Jealous’ is proof of that as audio heaven. Prepare for that song to dominate the airwaves all summer. Why ‘White Women’ as the title? The duo was influenced by a book by photographer Helmut Newton. If you’re a fan of throwback artists like Hall & Oates, then this album is for you. Their collaboration with recent headliner snatcher Solange Knowles is worth a listen.
Porter Robinson – Worlds
It’s not even out yet and he has blown us away. Completely just blown away. His album anti-campaign started earlier this year with a heart-to-heart message for his fans online and the release of lead single ‘Sea of Voices’ – a beautiful melodic track that sounds like it just dropped down from the heavens. The rest of the album is rumored to sound more like ‘Sad Machine’, his latest release. Let’s be honest: it’s Porter Robinson’s world, and we’re just living in it.
Knife Party AND Pendulum?
Rob Swire, the man behind both electronic acts, has hinted at new music this year. The question lies in which act he’s been tweeting about. Rumor has it that it’s both. Could this be true? As of this month, Swire announced that May is his “album finishing month”. So it’s likely to expect a music announcement from him in early summer. We’ll keep you posted!
Calvin Harris
Album news is very limited at this point, but it seems the goal is to recreate the magic of the smash era 18 Months, which spawned five radio-ready singles prior to the a album release. So far we have ‘Under Control’, the soundtrack to New Year’s Eve 2014 with Alesso and Hurts, and the smash of the season, ‘Summer’, of course. And on deck? A superstar collaboration! Calvin said he needs to convince the artist (who he let slip is a male artist) that the track is good and to sign off on its release. At this rate, we may be in singles territory for a while. Could the album still be out before summer’s end? We’ll have to see how it goes.
Foxes – Glorious
This is the debut album the industry has been buzzing about. Foxes is not your ordinary pop star. This powerhouse vocalist has dabbled in EDM collaborations for a while now, including Zedd’s ‘Clarity’, which needs no introduction. The album is a definitive modern pop album that dabbles in indie and dance territory. Which tracks should we expect to hear remixed for the dance floor? Check out ‘Youth’ (Adventure Club Remix), ‘Let Go For Tonight’ (Justin Prime Remix), and ‘Holding Onto Heaven’ (The Chainsmokers Remix). We love our EDM vocalists more than we give them credit for, so we are excited to see the great things in store for her as a rising star this year. And from one vocalist to the next…
Matthew Koma
Here is a man who needs no introduction. The ‘Spectrum’, ‘Years’, ‘Find You’, and ‘Wasted’ singer is due for a proper studio album debut, and with his hand in turning beautiful songs into ballooning smash hits, it is only fair for Koma to get his turn in the spotlight. We also really liked his debut solo single ‘Parachute’, so fingers crossed that he’s got something good up his sleeve.
Eric Prydz
Eric Prydz took advantage of his main stage festival sets to test out his new songs, including some under the Pryda moniker. With tracks like ‘Lycka’ and ‘Liberate’ waiting in the wings for world domination, it’s hard to imagine Eric passing up on a music release this summer. Also, Prydz is currently trekking on his EPIC 3.0 tour. It’s looking to be a big year for him, and we’re excited for any announcement or bits of information we can get!
Robyn & Royksopp – Do It Again
This collaborative mini-album really makes you do a double take. Robyn, who had a great run with pop perfection Body Talk almost four years ago has teamed up with electronic artist Royksopp for a return to the music scene. The new tracks push the envelope of pop and dance into new and uncharted waters. Ease yourself in this transition with their title track ‘Do It Again’, which may follow you throughout the rest of the season.
Hardwell?
The biggest question mark of all. DJ Mag’s #1 DJ of 2013 is out on a mission to prove he deserved that title in 2014. His closing Ultra set was full of unreleased exclusives from his upcoming debut artist album as well as cool new remixes, including the buzzed about remix of Armin van Buuren’s ‘Ping Pong’. Hardwell just released his lead single ‘Everybody Is In The Place’ to raving reviews, and he’s even teased multiple Tiesto collaborations. There is a lot in store for Hardwell, and I’m sure being claimed number one adds a tremendous amount of pressure. However, we’re sure when the album is ready, it will be one of the highlight moments of the year.
Did we miss anything? What albums are you anticipating over the summer? Share your thoughts with us, and follow @EDMAssassin on Twitter for future updates on music releases from these artists, your favorites, and many, many more!