The 25 Best Songs on OWSLA, So Far

Recently, OWSLA celebrated two years of existence. For an imprint that has Skrillex as one of its heads, you'd think that OWSLA would be all about ins

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Complex Original

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Recently, OWSLA celebrated two years of existence. For an imprint that has Skrillex as one of its heads, you'd think that OWSLA would be all about insane dubstep wobbles, glitched-out to perfection. While that sound is definitely part of the OWSLA mystique, the label has turned into so much more, being a place that has helped launch and nurture the careers of Porter Robinson, Zedd, Kill the Noise, MONSTA, The M Machine, and many other talented producers, while adding releases from established acts like SkreamDavid Heartbreak, Sub Focus, Rusko, Seven Lions, and more. To help celebrate the last two years of OWSLA excellence, take a look at the 25 best songs from their current run.

Porter Robinson - "Unison (Mikkas Remix)"

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Denmark's Mikkas threw "Unison" for a loop, pairing a droning thump of a bassline with some glitch-y effects and that mesmerizing melody. Built rave-tough, but it's so much more than a mindless banger.

Birdy Nam Nam - "Defiant Order (UZ Remix)"

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There's not much in the way of trap on Skrillex's label, so when they do call on a trap producer to fill that void, it makes sense for the masked man known as UZ to take the bull by the horns, no matter how defiant. He knows how to apply the proper amount of 808s to his tracks while maintaining the original's vibe, which he does with the inclusion of that slinky bassline.

Sub Focus ft. Kenzie May - "Falling Down"

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As Sub Focus has grown, his sound has dipped from the drum & bass scene to encompass all styles of dance music. Reaching out to OWSLA for his anthemic style, Sub Focus' "Falling Down" finds him apropriating the "OWSLA way" perfectly into his cipher. Perfectly-utilized vocals washing into the glitched-out melodies and bass? Yeah, it happened, and it bangs.

Skrillex & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - "Make It Bun Dem"

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If you doubted Skrillex's power, "Make It Bun Dem" was a solid example of how far his power reached out. Going from a refix of "Welcome to Jamrock," Skrillex got Bob Marley's son to properly vocal his take on proper reggae/dubwise vibes. We're not saying that this tune got today's EDM kid researching Mad Professor, but it is great to hear that Skrilly's tastes vary this much.

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Porter Robinson - "100% In The Bitch (Downlink Remix)"

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Downlink might've been overshadowed by the work fellow Canadians Excision and Datsik crafted, but the funk in his "100% In The Bitch" remix contains is undeniable. Not the typical dubstep vibe you'd expect from him, which just highlights his many talents.

Seven Lions ft. Fiora - "Days To Come"

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Seven Lions is the future of the bass music scene, and "Days to Come" highlights how emotional that sound can be if you give it the proper vocalist and some somber vibes.

Skrillex - "Right In"

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"Right In" is the essence of a Skrillex dubstep track, from the heavily-edited vocals to the precision he places in making melodies out of mangled bass, synths, and snippets of sound. He's a fucking genius at what he does, even if you've heard it a thousand times.

I Am Legion - "Make Those Move"

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Of course OWSLA has a hand in helping bring Noisia and Foreign Beggars' I Am Legion projects get to the masses. With the sound of EDM highlighting how well hip-hop and bass music coexist, "Make Those Move" is a perfect example of how these sounds will continue to get in bed with each other in the future.

KOAN Sound - "Sly Fox"

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You thought OWSLA was all about aggro beats and no-nonsense bass drops? "Sly Fox" must have done your head in, then. KOAN Sound came correct with funky ditty, punching up some mellow lounge sounds into a crispy workout, applying the usually abrasive sounds to this more melodic vibe. The bounce is still there, but it feels more like a harder-edged Sonic the Hedgehog theme.

David Heartbreak ft. Nicademass - "Boogie Monster"

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Many of us were ecstatic when OWSLA added David Heartbreak to their roster, as he's been a long-championed piece of the dance music underground. He's all about doing what he feels, without the need for a genre, and The Foundation's Boogie Monster" found him affixing some warbled bass with a rhythm that goes from a more downtempo/trap place to some club-scorching house with the flip of a switch. Intense.

Phonat - "Ride the Prejudice"

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With the next wave of OWSLA talents, it's great to hear them picking up producers that are left of what they normally release. Phonat had been around for eight years before the release of Identity Theft on OWSLA, but we instantly fell in love with calm musicality, with "Ride the Prejudice" being a perfect example of bridging a number of gaps, from the warm, bass-driven two-step sound with glitchy effects and straight up beautiful pianos. Dude's a talent.

Jack Beats - "Just A Beat"

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The duo known as Jack Beats had been getting their props on a number of labels, including Cheap Thrills, but they definitely rose to a new level with their Somebody To Love, and "Just A Beat" is, well, just a dirty, club-rocking beat, but it does so much damage. Proof that even now, you might have the biggest sound design, but a quality rhythm trumps all.

Skream ft. Sam Frank - "Anticipate"

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Skream and Sam Frank do no wrong when they collaborate, and linking up on "Anticipate" finds them adding another winning chapter to their upfront dubstep sound, crafting a solid anthem out of filtered vocals and a 4x4 dubstep bounce. If you're not jumping when this one drops, your feet better be broken.

Dream - "This Isn't House"

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Dream's catalog of tunes isn't huge, but the fact that he can state that he's dropped tunes on both HENCH and OWSLA is a pretty astonishing feat. And while this definitely isn't house, he has no problem borrowing some of the same vibes from one of dance music's oldest scenes, flipping them properly into a soul-grabbing dubstep banger that brings to mind the sound that guys like Benga represent.

Destructo - "Higher"

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HARD's head churned out a huge tune that capped off many-a set during the summer of 2013. The bass in this one is as funky as it is heavy; you'd be hard-pressed to find a track that does this well at capturing that middle-of-the-rave feel.

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MONSTA - "Holdin' On"

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MONSTA's one of those groups who are a huge single away from being the next it-boys, and with their emotionally-heavy material, it made sense that OWSLA snapped them up to help nurture their career. "Holdin' On" is a perfect example of how these guys attack the EDM scene, while also showing how the sound of EDM can change if people approached it as seriously and heartfelt as they would other genres.

Zedd - "Shave It"

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A chance meeting on MySpace lead Skrillex and Zedd to be fast friends. Their relationship turned into Zedd putting out "Shave It" as his first release in the dance music scene, and OWSLA's second. It contains the quirk and bounce that properly defines Zedd's personality and spirit, and foreshadowed his current reign.

Kill The Noise & Datsik - "Lightspeed"

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The last thing you'd expect from Kill the Noise and Datsik is a twisted electro house number, but that's exactly what they gave you with "Lightspeed." Riding an unforgettable melody, these two really let it all hang out, highlighting part of the reason why we consider them some of the scene's flag bearers.

Birdy Nam Nam - "Goin' In (Skrillex's Goin' Hard Remix)"

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In our heart of hearts, we wish that drum & bass was back in a position of dominance. It feels like Skrillex is a junglist at heart, and this rework of Birdy Nam Nam's "Goin' In" maintains that massive dnb spirit, taking his well-known style and churning out a hypnotic drum & bass-turnt-drumstep banger.

Alex Metric - "Rave Weapon"

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Alex Metric's "Rave Weapon" does exactly what it says on the tin, crafting a certified megaton bomb on your next party with a perfectly-utilized R&B sample being paired with some DEEP bass kicks. This one is instantly catchy, and doesn't even know how to get old.

Dillon Francis & Kill The Noise - "Dill The Noise"

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Before settling on Meowski666, Dillon Francis and Kill the Noise joined forces to "Dill the Noise." Bridging their sounds perfectly, this massive moombahton track goes through a number of segments, finding the point where the sexy sound of this tempo meets the more aggro side of the EDM sphere.

Dog Blood - "Middle Finger"

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Many wonder what kind of hold Boys Noize has had over Skrillex; like all good homies, it seems like Boys put Skrillex onto some proper electro beats. They clicked so well that they decided to form Dog Blood, a sound that contains the perfect combination of everything that makes them great apart in one giant, hairy cookie. "Middle Finger" was their calling card, and took the world by storm with its retro-now flavor. You feel this? You know what to do.

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Showtek & Noisecontrollers - "Get Loose"

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If Showtek was known primarily for hardstyle, "Get Loose" shows that there's more coming from the their studios than that sound. With "Get Loose," you're getting proper hardstyle, as well as hardstyle-influenced electro and dubstep beats. With this track dropping on OWSLA, the argument for the hard dance movement being the next big one in America is solid.

Kill The Noise - "Kill The Noise (Part I)"

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Up from the ashes of Ewun sprung Kill the Noise, a destructive force that's excelled with the help of Skrillex. On the first part of his magnum opus, he adds an equal amount of fluidity and crunch to what you might see as the "typical" dubstep bass, giving it a stadium quality with the way the drums react on time with the bassline's different machinations. One to really sit back and dissect, or just let loose and rage to.

Skrillex ft. Sirah - "Bangarang"

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And just when you think Skrillex could be pegged as a one-trick dubstep pony, he took his signature, twisted sound and applied it to a more uptempo electro sound. "Bangarang" is one of the tunes that most grandparents were introduced to EDM with, and we know they were OK with the bounce before this one dropped. Sorry, gramps, there's a new sheriff in town, and he's snatching up all of your EDM Grammys.

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