Page 10 - We Rave You Magazine | December 2022
P. 10

EDITORIAL > 2022 IN MUSIC: THE TOP 10 LABELS







                                                                                                                                                                          DEFECTED

                                                                                                                                                                          Defected is not yet ready to vacate the first position in the record label
                                                                                                                                                                          rankings, being today one of the most solid music brands. In 2020 Beat-
                                                                                                                                                                          port trends crowned Defected as the fastest-rising label, now in 2022,
                                                                                                                                                                          with no let up in its excellence, the figures show it is the best-performing
                                                                                                                                                                          label of the last 12 months. Simon Dunmore founded Defected in 1999
                                                                                                                                                                          and although this year he stepped down as CEO, he will always be the
                                                                                                                                                                          face of this label responsible for carrying the legacy of house music into
                                                                                                                                                                          the new century. Home of greatest hits, it stood out in 2022 with releases
                                                                                                                                                                          such as ‘La Danza’ by John Summit, ‘My Paradise’ by Jamie Jones and
                                                                                                                                                                          ‘Nightjar’ by Sonny Fodera and Vintage Culture, featuring SHELLS.
                   2022 IN MUSIC:



                   THE TOP 10 LABELS




                                                                                                                                                                          AFTERLIFE RECORDS
                   BY: SAMANTHA REIS
                                                                                                                                                                          This is the record label of the Italian duo Tale Of Us and one of the staples
                                                                                                                                                                          of melodic techno. In its description, it stands as an odyssey through the
                                he year 2022 was a very strong year in terms of music releases. It was the
                                                                                                                                                                          realm of consciousness and is now an institution, a philosophy. Found-
                                ultimate return to live music after the terrible pandemic that ravaged us for
                                                                                                                                                                          ed in early 2016 by Carmine Conte and Matteo Milleri, Afterlife Records is
                                two years. Finally, it was possible to test the musical productions in the field
                                                                                                                                                                          responsible for elevating melodic techno to the starry place it occupies
                                again and to feel the public reaction live. This return revitalized the industry
                                                                                                                                                                          today and has been a precious springboard to catapult many talents
                                and the artists who felt inspired again and with fuel to fill the charts with good
                                                                                                                                                                          in this realm. Alongside the volumes of its famous ‘Unity’ collection, in
                   T music. Where was this music released and under what label was it distributed?
                                                                                                                                                                          2022 Afterlife Records released great works such as ‘Consciousness’ by
                   With the year drawing to a close, it’s time to take a peek at what the numbers and rankings tell
                                                                                                                                                                          Anyma and Chris Avantgarde, ‘Tataki’ by Argy and ‘The Sign’ by Anyma
                   us and position the top 10 record labels of 2022. The ranking presented was based on informa-
                                                                                                                                                                          and  CamelPhat.  ‘Dance  With  Me’  by  Kevin  de  Vries,  one  of  the  hottest
                   tion displayed on beatstats.com based on Beatport’s 100 charts considering the last 12 months
                                                                                                                                                                          tracks in the summer season is also one of the Afterlife’s hits this year.
                   at the time of this article.

                   “It’s time to take a peek at what the numbers and

                   rankings tell us and position the top 10 record                                                                                                        REPOPULATE MARS
                   labels of 2022”                                                                                                                                        Electronic music fans are different from the rest. Sometimes they feel so
                                                                                                                                                                          different that they assume the role of aliens. With the mission of repop-
                                                                                                                                                                          ulating the dance music scene by accepting all differences in the name
                                                                                                                                                                          of love for music, Lee Foss created Repopulate Mars about six years
                                                                                                                                                                          ago. The label’s concept may sound like something out of a science
                                                                                                                                                                          fiction movie but the truth is that Lee Foss’ vision was well received by
                                                                                                                                                                          the industry and it is now one of the strongest record labels, especially
                                                                                                                                                                          in the house and tech house circuit. The label’s philosophy focuses on
                                                                                                                                                                          the power of the bassline and on giving voice to new talents and artists
                                                                                                                                                                          that the label head admires. From its catalogue of outputs this year
                                                                                                                                                                          we highlight tunes such as ‘Ooooh’ by CID & Will K, ‘El Cuervo’ by Endor
                                                                                                                                                                          and ‘Drugs From Amsterdam’ by Mau P, one of the hottest tracks of the
                                                                                                                                                                          festival season.








     10  we rave you.com                                                                                                                                                                                                        dec 2022  11 11
   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15