EXRON MUSIC’S LABEL OF THE YEAR: HIGHER GROUND

If this year was a doozie for you, your neighbors, your friends, your family, your pets, or anything you can think of with a pulse, then congratulations! You experienced the epoch that was 2020, in all its epidemiological glory and pandemonium! Yet in the midst of this chaos – of this uproarious and rearing scourge to plague our population – there was music. Higher Ground, Diplo’s tributary / sister label to Mad Decent, brightened this beacon’s reach – fording murky waters, casting a resilient light across the abyss.

Higher Ground’s contributions, or rather those of its talented artists, deserve recognition and applause. Exron Music would like to recognize Higher Ground as our Top Label of the Year. Below are our picks for Higher Ground’s best five releases, in order from swaggy to undeniable, uncontrollable, rendezvous-inducing madness.

5. On My Mind (Remix) – Purple Disco Machine

Remixing what is arguably Higher Ground’s most successful track to date, Purple Disco Machine brings a new funky flavor to this hit record. It’s the same familiar and infectious beat from the original track, plus a few retro synths and 70’s-inspired keyboard infusions. So for those that love disco-house, this drop is deliriously delicious, making it our number five pick.

4. Love to the World – Diplo, Wax Motif

Although Wax usually brings an urban grime to his tracks, this one feels as though he put it in reverse, going warmer and getting bluesy. The chorus chants, “Love to the world,” again and again, while also featuring hand-drum percussion and jazzy refrains. It’s a close cousin to Samba Sujo, a Higher Ground release from 2019 that pays homage to Brazil’s iconic samba, the music of the people and of the jungle.

3. Turn Back Time – Diplo, Sonny Fodera

Pooling their collective creativity, Diplo and Sonny Fodera forged airy, yet acerbic, house beats, which are nothing short of Sonny’s specialty. Sonny’s sound often walks a tenuous tight rope – it’s not quite in the realm of pop, but it’s a little too catchy and structured for deep house. But no matter its genre, class, or category, Diplo and Sonny will have you categorically boogieing with this Higher Ground record.

2. Sit Down, EP – Biscits

Not quite our top pick but clocking in as a close runner up, Biscits takes second place. This EP was mind-melting mania, the perfect two-pronged jam to sweat to while losing it on our living room dance floors. Biscits is an up-tempo urbanite, an artist to watch, and a DJ whose modus operandi to get them toes tapping and those fists pumping!

1. Looking For Me – Diplo, Paul Woolford, Kareen Lomax

As our number one pick, this track is nothing short of special. It’s universally catchy, pensive, positive, and heart-warming – vibes we can all catch in 2020! It’s the type of track you play on loop, blasting, windows down on a summer sunset drive. Diplo, Paul, and Kareen outdid themselves with this one, not just for Higher Ground, but for 2020 music releases in general. Bravo!

And that’s a wrap! There were a myriad of wonderful releases this year, a bounty, a feast. Yet our top picks for the tracks that we truly loved, played on repeated, and relished rabidly are listed above. We look forward to next year, a year that isn’t 2020, and to all the that the future has in store for Diplo’s dearest baby, his house label Higher Ground.

Saracha

Heralding from sunny South Florida, I am a proud Florida Woman. In my free time, I surf the swamp, wrangle gators, open fan mail, and tend to my pets. In the wild, I’m most often spotted at immersive art spaces, step tappin’ in a shadowed corner of the club, hater blockerz on, totally incognito as your resident EDM spice girl. Although I generally tout my spicy side, if there’s one thing I’d love to impress upon the world, it would be this: it’s not a waste to give love to those who do not deserve it – it’s a gift. The world would be a better place if we gave, in kindness and in mercy, to those who need it most with no expectation in return.

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