A compilation of the 5 most enchanting works highlighting the last decade.

In the 2010s, which remains in mind like yesterday for many of us, we all witnessed so many fascinating dance music pieces. Now, when we look back, let’s bring to mind the 5 breathtaking pieces that left their mark on the last decade that sums up the era.

In the 2010s, the rhythm and tension increased, hypnotizing and controlling large masses, and becoming a modernized dance music genre day by day. In this respect, this period of time, which seems to be a time of opportunity for many artists, has been the subject of wonderful works.

Tinie Tempah – Disc-Overy

Disc-Overy certainly isn’t short on variation or big-name guests, but the drive for kudos ends up pushing Tinie Tempah into the sidelines. It’s a super-confident debut breadth-wise, but a misfire in terms of depth – it stretches too far and ends up light on substance and personality.

This album feels too consciously targeted at people who mightn’t come to it, and instead of playing on Tempah’s charisma, rather plays on personality-type. And while a debut of 13 Friskys would be exhausting, Disc-Overy just doesn’t capitalise on the south Londoner’s undeniable energy and charm.

The Chemical Brothers – Further

Back when people were still figuring out what electronic dance albums were supposed to be, the Chemical Brothers worked out a durable and recognizable formula, and they stuck with it: dancefloor bangers up front, woozily expansive psychedelic tracks at the end, big-name collaborations wherever possible. That formula served them well through three classic albums and one pretty good one. But they stuck with it two albums too long. The duo’s last two full-lengths, 2005’s Push the Button and 2007’s We Are the Night, were, respectively, a spotty mess and an outright disaster. After an album like that, it’s time to blow things up and start again, and that’s what they’ve done with Further.

 It’s a slow, patient piece of work, all vibe and no frenzy. The drums don’t kick in until a couple of minutes into track two, and they sound glorious when they finally do. Further is a retrenchment move, and it’s a good one.

Deadmau5 – 4×4=12

4×4=12 is a third attempt by deadmau5 – Canadian superstar DJ Joel Zimmerman – to harness the shock-and-awe power of his live shows in recorded form. It’s not exactly a slight on the material to say that the album fails in its intent. Tracks such as “Some Chords” and “Animal Rights” are perfectly good examples of the propulsive techno bangers that serve Zimmerman well on the dancefloor, and “Raise Your Weapon” adds an interesting dubstep twist to his omnivorous take on dance music. But all this will work so much better alongside dazzling visuals (and a giant mouse head) in his live show, which he’s touring around the UK this month.

Undoubtedly, the Deadmau5 appeal hinges on the astonishing live show in which Zimmerman performs in a giant, illuminated mouse’s head, but it wouldn’t work without his tracks. His third production compilation again shows that he is a master at doing simple electro house music very well: humongous beats and basslines blend with straightforward chord progressions and, when interest may start to lag, sonic diversions.

Pendulum – Immersion

While it is true that critics cry out for artists to exhibit evolution from album to album, every now and again a record’s so bad that stagnation would have been preferred. Pendulum’s second effort, 2008’s In Silico, was such a beast. An unfocused collision of dance and rock constituents, it sought to expand the tumultuous drum‘n’bass template of 2005’s Hold Your Colour. But to these ears it was woeful, deliberately tailored to tantalise a wider audience without nailing any trait. It was dumb, sure, but no fun whatsoever, as appealing as a third-rate nu-metal release.

 It genuinely thrills, as all manner of dizzying beats and bleeps duck and weave around each other. It’s going to be absolutely massive live. The band’s rock side is explored like never before on Self Vs. Self, which features Swedish metallers In Flames.

Armin van Buuren – Mirage

Released just two years after commercially successful ‘Imagine’, recorded in newly built studio, ‘Mirage’ is obviously a sequel to that album. Just like a previous one, this had a string of radio singles and some attempts at “trance credibility”, with many collaborations with other trance stars. However, despite being as calculated as previous album, people consider this one more varied, better executed and even more daring than ‘Imagine’. Also helps that songs here arent as ‘pompous’ as there. Also, despite this being a sellout, it is still some of the best trance of year 2010 one could hear.

Also, the album is simply too long. With 16 tracks, the filler is simply unavoidable, although it propably was meant to never be listened in entirety, but rather on a shuffle with other mp3s on a player. ‘Down to Love‘ perhaps simply was not for everyone, but for people who go nuts over mediocre pop-trance. Just like ‘These Silent Hearts‘ or ‘Minack‘ are there just to convince one that there is still real trance being done. It is never cared for ‘I Don’t Own You‘ or ‘Take a Moment‘ (which could perhaps use a different arrangement, because the melody is good). And ‘Youtopia‘ tacked on the very end of the album is completely unnecessary.