Actually, “Palaces” should be here, as the new Flume album, after all, the undisputed benchmark of the year when it comes to dance. But that’s where courage comes into play, which Drum’n’Bass specialist Thomas Küchler aka Tom Finster has ahead of his international colleagues and with which the Chemnitz native easily bridges the narrow gap that separates his controller art from the world’s best: After he the works collected on his debut album “Year Of I” could not find a vocalist for months, he grabbed the microphone himself to lend his own voice to his soul impressions that had become music.
And that gets under your skin, because Finster sometimes uses his vocals as a basis for cool sound modifications (rarely have you heard such great, thoughtful autotune phrasing!), sometimes he lets them speak openly about the burdens of his life. This creates in contrast to the ambient colored, and on the beat side subtle, noble banging, a tension that one finds only very rarely in the wide field of EDM. The man also created videos and artworks himself using the DIY method with his environment, making “Year Of I” the most sensual dance contribution of 2022. Because although Tom Finster is never at a loss for effective turns, sweetly milled arpeggio runs and whimsical drops, he places the construct of his tracks above any effect. That works great not only in the club, but also under the headphones and sends metre-thick goosebumps down your spine. Be it the gloomy-soft D’n’B ballad “Bleep”, the subtle Sigur-Ros-like “Cost Of Living”, the Skrillex banger “Night On Earth” broken up by rough strings or the melancholy twisted, an Woodkid based on “Last Year I Died”: Anyone who celebrates sophisticated electronic dance music will be enlightened here. Tom Finster, who goes one step further after the strong 2020 single collection “Al Things Fall Apart”, may not yet be the most successful local musician – but he is probably the best.
Our annual charts were put together by the music critics of the “Freie Presse”. You can find all previous placements HERE.