My Favourite Boiler Room Sets: A Chronology.

Boiler Room streams live music sessions from across the world, primarily featuring variations of electronic music. Since its beginnings in 2010, Boiler Room has seen some of the biggest names in the scene grace its stages. In addition to this. Boiler Room also provides a platform for fresh talent. A chronology will be attempted, even though many of the early sets were uploaded a lot later than when they were performed; for example,this beauty from SBTRKT, which was actually filmed on a webcam in 2010 but not posted until 2012- glorious. 


2011: 
Jamie XX b2b Caribou  - Despite the MCs that interrupts throughout the set this still remains at the top of my list as one of the best. 'Big Up Thom Yorke' (actual quote) also, chillin at the back throughout the set, who too performed a set on the same night. Classic. 

2013:

Kaytranada, Montreal  - If there's one thing I love about Boiler Room, it's the stories that are masked behind the sets. As a live streaming service, it's no doubt that some unusual happenings can go on in the crowd, as with all concerts. This Kaytranada set proves this statement to be 100% true: seeing the people interacting with the music whilst being completely off their -ballix- is definitely one of the reasons why Boiler Room remains new and captivating. If I ever want someone to remix the soundtrack to my life, it would be Kaytranada. 

2014:

Motor City Drum Ensemble Boiler Room x Dekmantel- towel guy at 16:00 is me every time I listen to this set. 

Jamie xx Boiler Room London x Young Turks DJ Set - How's life in London? Well, as a student way too poor to even consider visiting never mind living there, I wouldn't know !!! (But, if this set is anything to go by, it's pretty decent.) Lowkey rooftop realness throughout. Also note: Do You Mind by Kyla played 2 years prior to the release of One Dance by Drake proves that Jamie's innovation is beyond. 

2015:

Bicep Boiler Room X AVA - Belfast talent will do anyone from the city proud after watching this set. Bicep are electrifying enough to bring the dismal scenes of the titanic quarter alive with the ever growing AVA festival.

2016:
Palms Trax @ Dekmantel, Amsterdam - groovy groovy disco tracks that just cannot be faulted. Probably the most underrated set on this list. 

Mall Grab Paris DJ Set - There's probably two things you can tell I love in a boiler room set after reading this. Maintenance of energy is one, and lofi 80's inspired disco is the other. Mall Grab brings not just both of these, but also a complete bold confidence that isn't often seen from such fresh talent. How many times have you seen a crowd get hyped by a Snoop Dogg drop at the end of a DJ set? I scoured the comments looking for every track ID after listening to this, and you 100% will too after listening: genuinely my favourite set ever, no lie. 

2017:
Denis Sulta, Belfast: Again, the energy and youthfulness of this set is something else. He plays right into the hand of this crowd at 2017's AVA festival in Belfast, and it pays off immensely.

the top tunez of 2k16

2016 was a bit of a shitshow, to be quite honest. However in the midst of this shitshow came some pretty good tunes. Here are some of my top picks that were released in 2016.

‘3’ - Flume: Although sophomore album ‘Skin’ was mildly disappointing to people that had been fans of Flume since his debut in 2012, it still contained some pretty good tracks. Whilst ‘3’ might seem like a strange choice of a favourite song from this album rather than a track with AlunaGeorge or Vince Staples, this song in my opinion channelled old school Flume the most. I know artist progression is important, but sometimes these signals from past originality can keep an avid fan of the artist interested (aka… me)

Am I Wrong?- Anderson.Paak- I came across this one whilst revising for my A-Levels. Accompanying my revision, I would listen to compilation playlists by Majestic Casual and Underground Charisma, and Anderson.Paak featured a lot on these types of playlists. Groovy, funky, soulful, 3 components that made a resurgence in music in 2016.

Choose Me- James Blake: Now to go in the opposite direction of artistic progression and change, some might argue that James Blake has played it very safe with ‘The Colour in Anything’ which was released in mid 2016. However, this safety is where the beauty stems from. Beautiful, raw, delicate tracks with soft emotive vocals, Blake’s album is one of my favourites of 2016. ‘Choose Me,’ ‘Two Men Down’ and obviously ‘I Need a Forest Fire’ were my top three tracks from Blake’s 3rd critically acclaimed album.

The Sound- The 1975: It’s genuinely difficult to believe that this track was only released in February 2016. It feels like the chorus of this song has been circling in my head for literal years.

All Night/Same Drugs- Chance the Rapper: Chance  and his homage to gospel deserves the most honourable mention in this list. I’d listened to Acid Rap in the 2013 tumblr days when ‘cocoa butter kisses’ was all over the internet. All Night was undoubtedly one of my favourite tracks this year. ‘Colouring Book’ couldn’t be an album more deserving of grammy nominations.

24k Magic- Bruno Mars: Top 40 track of the year. So, so funky. Hashtag Blessed.

10 D E A T H B R E A S T- Bon Iver: One of the best things about music is the memories associated with it. This Bon Iver song, strangely, takes me right back to Reading Festival earlier this year, as it was played at least 5 times during the wait for Biffy Clyro. Despite that random anecdote, this lead single of the album ‘22, A Million’ is new Bon Iver at its prime. Lyrically perfect and instrumentally beautiful, this song also welcomed the new Bon Iver stylistically, almost an ode of preparation for other songs which moved outside of Bon Iver’s acoustic making mould (See 715- CREEKS, and 21 Moon Water for reference)

The entirety of the new Childish Gambino Album, ‘Awaken, My Love!’- no words to describe this one. Cliche aside, the music do the talking. Special mention to ‘Riot,’ ‘Redbone’ and ‘Terrified.’

On Hold- The XX: With the resurgence of The XX once again, I began to feel slightly dismayed at the knowledge that Jamie XX wouldn’t be producing original music again for a while. However, my fears and withdrawals were put aside as soon as I heard this track. Jamie’s musical style comes through in ‘On Hold’ with the build up to the chorus, and break down with a remixed Hall and Oates sample. Yet, the group still maintains that haunting, melancholy vibe that The XX are known for.

SPECIAL ALBUM MENTIONS:

Kaytranada- 99.9%. For fans of: 2011 SBTRKT. Best songs: TRACK UNO, YOU’RE THE ONE (Feat Syd- look out for her solo album in 2017)

Childish Gambino: Awaken My Love! For fans of: anyone who likes music.