The Best Labels of 2013

There's no doubt about it: the music industry is moving into a realm where you don't need to be with a record label to grow as an artist. And while th

DAD best labels 2013

Image via NPR

DAD best labels 2013

There's no doubt about it: the music industry is moving into a realm where you don't need to be with a record label to grow as an artist. And while there are so many avenues that one can go down to release music (and get paid for it), you can't help but understand why an artist would want to hook up with a quality imprint. Being affiliated with a recognized label is one of the perks, but being able to focus on making music, knowing that the machine will make sure to get it to the masses, can be a large load lifted from any producer's head.

In 2013, there were a number of stellar record imprints in the electronic music scene, but which ones were the best? Hell, what makes an imprint the best? Somewhere between the roster they have, the music they put out, and the scene they represent, we find the labels that, without a shadow of a doubt, stood heads above their counterparts.

Symbols Recordings

symbols recordings

Notable Release(s): Lindsay Lowend Wind Fish, Kastle

With a focus on "forward-thinking electronic music," Kastle's Symbols had a great 2013. From the long-awaited release of his debut album to the impressive Wind Fish EP from Lindsay Lowend, we were treated to electronic beats that were as captivating as they were futuristic.

Main Course

main course

Notable Release(s): The SNACKS series

From the minds of Bot, Astronomar, and Neotric comes Main Course, an imprint that, like many others today, embraces the idea of giving the people what they want, with the option to buy or not. Literally; ever so often they're dropping "Snacks" in the form of the finest in dance music from artists like David Heartbreak, FS Green, Happy Colors, and many others. Quality over quantity is the key, but Main Course seems to believe in keeping things tight on a very aggressive schedule. What does that all mean? More hot beats on a very regular basis.

Firepower Records

firepower records

Notable Release(s): Antiserum & Mayehm - "Bangladesh," MUST DIE! Caffeine, Shell Shock, Vol. 1

Datsik's Firepower imprint celebrated its first anniversary in 2013, a year filled with destructive bass-fueled fury in the form of releases from many of today's finest in dubstep, drumstep, trap, and other sounds. Many might feel that those scenes don't have much to offer, but they'd be playing themselves. Just one look at their consistent release schedule in 2013 shows the power that these scenes have. Netting solid releases from current favorites like MUST DIE! and Terravita isn't enough; Firepower makes sure that they nurture the future of the scene by helping build their brand with the future of the bass scene in Getter, Protohype, AFK, and many others. We have a feeling their second year anniversary will be bigger than the first.

Big Beat

big beat

Notable Release(s): Breach - "Jack," Infinity Ink Infinity, Danny Avila - "Breaking Your Fall"

It's always funny to hear people complain about major labels not "getting" EDM when we're living in times where Big Beat, a subsidiary of Atlantic, is releasing fresh music. Releases under their umbrella in 2013 include Flux Pavilion's Blow The Roof EP, the re-release of Breach's "Jack" (alongside dirtybird), Rudimental's "Free," Arty's "Together We Are," the Infinity Ink EP, Martin Solveig's "Hey Now," and many, many more. Sure, they get to release a lot of these because the acts are signed to major in some form, but still, Big Beat's picking some future stars to be aligned with. It feels similar to the moves Astralwerks made in the 1990s, but with acts that are going to be the mega EDM superstars of today (and tomorrow).

Black Butter Records

black butter records

Notable Release(s): Drums of Death ft. Yasmin - "True," Gorgon City Real

2013 definitely saw a rise in the bass-driven house music scene in both America and in the UK, with Black Butter helping us understand and appreciate the acts on that side of the Atlantic that are helping this scene progress. Gorgon City, Solomun Grey, Drums of Death, Kidnap Kid, Woz, Joel Compass, and others are affiliated with this imprint, which has been in existence since 2010 but definitely saw the light shine on them properly with a pair of Yasmin features: Drums of Death's "True" and Gorgon City's "Real." Black Butter's an imprint that we will have our eyes on as well.

Dim Mak

dim mak

Notable Release(s): Borgore - "Wild Out," Keys N Krates - "Treat Me Right," Clockwork Surge

Steve Aoki's imprint could possibly be one of the most consistent labels in the EDM scene. Their catalog in 2013 is massive, with releases in a plethora of genres from Clockwork, Coone, Keys N Krates, Will Brennan, Deorro, Infected Mushroom, Tommy Trash... the list truly goes on. The ethos of the imprint seems to be "if it's hot, it's here," as the biggest styles in the current EDM scene seem to always be represented.

Mad Decent

mad decent

Notable Release(s): Diplo Revolution, Dillon Francis ft. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - "Without You," Zeds Dead Hot Sauce

The house that Diplo built kept pushing the envelope and exposing sounds and artists that many aboveground might not have been familiar with. They saw a crazy amount of press due to the viral craze surrounding Baauer's 2012 single "Harlem Shake," which ended up topping iTunes and Billboard charts almost a year after the fact. Label heavyweights like DIllon Francis continued to wow us with tracks like the beautiful "Without You," while we were also given releases from Zeds Dead, Juyen Sebulba, Kennedy Jones, and many others. The underground sound of now continues to thrive on Mad Decent.

dirtybird

dirtybird

Notable Release(s): Breach - "Jack", Dirtybird Players

Slowly but surely, the main stage movements have been subsiding for a funkier sound. San Francisco's Dirtybird Records has been delivering just that as they marked their 100th release with head honcho Claude VonStroke's third album Urban Animal. The label has been behind some great releases and apart of some big career boosts for VonStroke himself, Eats Everything, Justin Martin, J.Phlip, French Fries and many more in 2013 alone - no small part of which is because of Dirtybird Players; the label's compilation album released earlier this spring. And don't forget, before the majors noticed, Dirtybird dropped Breach's "Jack" on the masses. Dirtybird seems to just be getting started and we hope for an even bigger 2014.

RAM Records

RAMLOGO

Notable Release(s): Rene LaVice Insidious, Andy C Nightlife 6, Wilkinson - "Take You Higher"

Drum & Bass in 2013 (and for the majority of the last two decades) has been ran by Andy C's RAM imprint. With a stable that features scene torch bearers like Loadstar, Wilkinson, DC Breaks, and others (as well as the next phase of the scene in Rene LaVice, Mind Vortex, and Delta Heavy), anything RAM is releasing is immediately thrust into the forefront of both the dnb scene and DJ's crates. They are just that damn good. And when you add in the fact that artists like Chase & Status, Sub Focus, Calyx & TeeBee, Gridlok & Prolix, and others still release music via RAM, the true power of this imprint should become clearer.

Fool's Gold

fools gold records

Notable Release(s): RL Grime High Beams, A-Trak Tuna Melt, Oliver Mechanical

In 2013, A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs consistently kept Fool's Gold a competitor without losing what's made Fool's Gold such an impressive label since their inception. Even outside of netting stellar hip-hop releases like Danny Brown's Old and the Killer Mike/El-P Run The Jewels release, they found a way to blend the more upfront EDM antics (like RL Grime's massive High Beams EP) with more leftfield, thought-provoking material like Oliver's Mechanical EP. Nick Catchdubs made sure to release his debut(!) single, "Bizness," this year, and with an awesome array of releases featuring Sinden, Sleepy Tom, A-Trak, and Party Supplies, Fool's Gold let it be known that they are truly the lil' boutique label that could - and has.

Hyperdub

hyperdub

Notable Release(s): DJ Rashad Double Cup, Kode9 - "Kan," Burial Rival Dealer

Hyperdub is in full celebration mode, with 2014 marking a decade of the finest in bass music. How did they lead into that anniversary? By spending 2013 showing just why they have been on the cusp of these movements. From DJ Rashad's brilliant Double Cup (and the two EPs that preceded it) to Burial's recently-release Rival Dealer EP, Kode9 found a way to not only push boundaries, but expose the sounds that too many music fans are neglecting.

Ultra Music

ultra music

Notable Release(s): TOKiMONSTA Clean Slate, Fedde Le Grand - "Rockin' N Rollin'," Above & Beyond - "Walter White"

2013 was an intriguing year for Ultra Music. While they obviousl kept it consistent with the obvious big room and electro house jams that they are known for, they definitely branched out, releasing trap with the likes of Flosstradamus (and their Ultra Trap compilation), going into the hardstyle realm with Headhunterz' Krewella-featured "United Kids of the World," and allowing TOKiMONSTA to let her be herself on the captivating Clean Slate album. You don't get to be one of the premier imprints in the EDM scene without opening up to the masses, and these moves also solidify those scenes as the next big things.

OWSLA

owsla

Notable Release(s): The M Machine Metropolis, Pt. II, David Heartbreak The Foundation, Alesia Andrea

OWSLA, the label that houses everyone from Skrillex to David Heartbreak, had a phenomenal 2013. For the amount of flack Skrillex received back when he was helping change the face of the American dance music scene, he sure runs an imprint that has a nose for quality, diverse talent. We were introduced to stellar releases from Phonat, Phuture Doom, Alesia, Teddy Killerz, The M Machine, Blood Diamonds, Alex Metric, Kill Paris, Nick Thayer, What So Not... the list truly goes on. Some of the most impressive talents in their respective fields, and that's not even to mention massive releases like Dog Blood's Middle Finger, Part 2 EP, or releases from I Am Legion, TC, Crookers, and Seven Lions> For those that wrote Skrillex off years ago, he spent 2013 reaffirming how vital he is to our scene, and one of the biggest parts of that is creating a haven for producers to prosper in.

Latest in Music