Every year we countdown the Most Rated records of the year in the Defected Radio show, with host Sam Divine running through the cuts that have made the most impact from a year in house.
Last year we covered 50 records, but with so much incredible music released over the last 12 months we've increased the countdown to 60 this year, and while we’re in no way saying that this is a definitive list, we hope that it’s at least representative of house music in 2014.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be running an on-site feature to accompany the radio show countdown. Following on from Part 1, here we run through numbers 40 to 21.
40. Seven Davis Jr. - One (Live Edit)
Nominated as one of Gilles Peterson’s tracks of the year, this is original funk beautifully combined with soulful house creating a track that left its mark on everyone who heard it.
39. Noir & Hayze - Angel (Ripperton Remix)
Tech-house floor-filler track with a heartfelt vocal from house heavyweight and label owner Noir (with Hayze), remixed to tremendous effect by one of Switzerland’s biggest underground DJs.
38. krankbrother - Thank You Baby
2014 was a huge year for krankbrother, going from putting on successful parties around the world to putting out their own productions on labels like DFTD and Classic Music Company, and this was one of many highlights.
37. Audiojack feat. Kevin Knapp - Stay Glued (ZDS Remix)
Releases on DFTD are designed for the dancefloor, and with ZDS on the remix the Audiojack were right on the money with this powerful, baseline-driven slice of house.
36. Dj Shante- Turn Around
DJ Shanté dives straight into the deep end with the filter house majesty of "Turn Around", a Sneak / Roulé inspired rework of Isaac Hayes' "I Can't Turn Around" which loops, cut, snips and flips the original ingredients into an infectious percussion track.
35. Andy Hart - Epsilon Girls
A jazzy, soulful and timeless house track from Andy Hart – could easily have been made decades ago.
34. Moderat - Bad Kingdom (DJ Koze Remix)
A dark, edgy underground dance track, absolutely a track for the club.
33. Duke Dumont - Mumble Man
A pure underground hit, proving that the Duke doesn’t always have to hit the charts to deliver the goods.
32. Claude VonStroke feat. Barry Drift - Califuture
dirtybird founder VonStroke delivers with another dancefloor track with a real groove.
31. Tito Wun - The Way U Do It (Doc Daneeka Remix)
This subtle re-working of Tito Wun’s original gives it a little more bite while maintaining the uplifting vibe.
30. Detroit Swindle feat. Mayer Hawthorne - 64 Ways (Original Mix)
The Dutch duo’s love of electronic hip hop and soulful house are both apparent in this track, described as the “modern day Masters At Work” by Mixmag they combine the genres flawlessly.
29. Sonny Fodera & Cervendos - Let’s Go
One of the standout cuts from his Deep Down & Defected mix album, ‘Let’s Go’ became a stand out track on the underground club scene.
28. The Magician feat. Years & Years - Sunlight
Belgian born producer The Magician’s track became one of the biggest dance anthems of the summer.
27. Shadow Child & Doorly - Piano Weapon (Instrumental)
Another huge track from summer 2014 ‘Piano Weapon’ took festivals and Ibiza by storm, taking a simple piano riff and transforming it into a dancefloor anthem.
26. Hot Natured - Benediction (Nic Fanciulli Remix)
Nic Fanciulli’s remix takes ‘Benediction’ back to the underground roots of its producers.
25. Chasing Kurt - From The Inside (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Orchestral strings tied in with soulful vocals combines on one of the more recent highlights of Schwarz’s inimitable career.
24. Adesse Versions - Pressured
Adesse Version’s concept is to take old tracks and reconstruct them to bring them into a different context and flip the genres, and they really nailed it with this one.
23. Disclosure feat. Mary J Blige - F For You
The collaboration between British DJ duo and R&B superstar Mary J Blige created one of the biggest dance tracks of 2014 with more to come from the collaboration next year.
22. As I Am feat. Nicola Tate - Saving Grace
Having already received support from some of the biggest names in house music As I Am is set to be one of the biggest up and coming acts for 2015.
21. Todd Terje - Delorean Dynamite
His debut album was named one of BBC Radio 6 Music’s top albums of the year and this cut is a prime example of why his productions are held in such high regard.
Defected presents Most Rated 2015 is out now - order from iTunes
