Our Music Design team listens to countless hours of music each year. A lot of that listening is to new artists, looking for the perfect song to freshen up our playlists.
We polled the team to find out their favorite discoveries of 2015. The results are below, featuring the artists, albums, songs, and even labels, that stood out this year. We hope this list inspires you to discover your new favorite.
Artists
Bill Spencer:
The Arcs
Tristan Bolden:
Abhi//Dijon
David Sheyda:
Circa Waves
Erin Yousef:
Seinabo Sey
Cory Brown:
Juan Wauters
Civonne Ray:
Alessia Cara
TUT
Eric Martinez:
Lost Frequencies
– I especially love “Are You With Me” & “Reality.”
Brad Pressley:
Petite Meller
– Well crafted and clever disco-tinged pop music. She needs to release more and soon.
Erick Bohorquez:
The Frightnrs
– It’s hard to believe that these sounds are coming from Queens, NY! Check out the tracks “Admiration” and “Sharon.”
Amy Frishkey:
Painted Palms and Slim Twig (New Artists)
Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields (New To Me)
– 69 Love Songs is a classic album!
Songs
Randy Schlager:
“Dopamine” -BØRNS
Linda Kennedy:
“Great Blacks” – Georgia Anne Muldrow
Juan Pablo Restrepo:
“Enamorada” – Pedrina y Rio
Janica Chang:
“Into the Wild” – Connell Cruise
Janice Williams:
“Here Comes the Heartache” – Jason James
Albums
Justin Main:
Cubist Blues (Reissue) – Alex Chilton, Ben Vaughn and Alan Vega
Mark Shapiro:
Dialectics – Curtis Nowosad
Ashley Plinzke:
Ceremonial – Gilligan Moss
– This debut EP is amazing, especially the title track.
Mandi LeBlanc:
Hamilton – Original Broadway Cast Recording
– Hands down. It really is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I saw it in August and have been listening to the soundtrack NON-STOP since it came out in the middle of October. You know how back in the day, songs from musicals actually were hits on the radio? I feel like some of these songs are so good they could just be singles. I mean, they are about history and whatnot, but man, if hip-hop and R&B doesn’t fit the narratives of our founding fathers. It just makes so much sense that George Washington would rap about the Revolution and war strategies over hardcore music, and that King George would sing a Brit Pop style breakup song, “You’ll Be Back,” about America not wanting to be under his rule anymore. Even if you’re not into musicals, it doesn’t matter. The music speaks for itself. There’s a reason it was #1 on the Rap Album charts. I highly recommend a listen.
Label
Jesse Nathason:
Sincopat
– Submitted by Music Design