Gina’s Top Songs of the Year

We’ve recently been asked by several of our music industry peers to come up with a list of our Top Songs of the Year. Our dear friend and regular reader Marcus came up with the idea to post them day by day, one song each day. Starting with Number 25 on December 1st and thus, reaching Number 1 on Christmas Day. Our list was finished the other day and it was actually pretty hard to leave out a lot of really great songs. Which means that this past year was actually a very good one for quality and fine music. And so, since it’s already December 4th, here is the list of numbers 25 to 22. And we hope to have you come back tomorrow for number 21.

25.
“Sweetness” – Elmiene
Born and raised in Oxford, singer Elmiene was one of the surprises of this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam. With his unbelievably soothing vocals and his strong songwriting, he’s been shortlisted for BRIT’s Rising Star. Back in January, his 6-song 12″ “Marking My Time” came out on Def Jam Recordings, followed by 8 more new songs in October on his “Anyway I Can” album. Highlight of the album, and his set at North Sea, is this easily shuffling soul masterpiece where his vocals glide through the song like sunrays through the clouds. Elmiene plays Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam tonight and Hole44 in Berlin on Friday.

24.
“Insecure” – Tom Misch
29 year old British singer, guitarist, songwriter, composer, and producer Tom Misch still has to come up with anything mediocre. Alas, he won’t do. “Insecure” is actually a 4 year old recording, but Tom didn’t really know when to publish it. We’re glad that he finally decided to put it out back in early May. What we love about him is his incredibly sexy voice, topped with a super sweet accent. This one won’t leave your ears. It is severely contagious.

23.
“Why Are You?” – Natty Reeves
Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Natty Reeves currently resides in Brighton. His Brazilian music meets nylon string guitar approach on his wonderful “Mist Over Water” EP, which came out in September, includes this beautiful piece. “I wanted to make a project that felt honest to who I am, something that represented my thoughts at this stage of my life. Recently I’ve been thinking about second chances, new growth and how fleeting life is – coming back to the sounds and the rhythms I love, not trying too hard to make something that people would find impressive, this is a bit more introspective and forgiving of myself”. We fell in love with Natty’s warming voice from the start and feel the truth in his lyrics. Also really dig the percussion on this one.

22. “Each Day” – Lau Ro
When we received the debut LP by Brazilian born, Brighton based singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Lau Ro from our friends at Far Out Recordings back in late May, this really felt like a breath of fresh air. It’s mixture of bossa nova, MPB, psychedelic soul and folk on their LP “Cabana”, together with their magic voice, all add up to a fascinating, really delicious brew. The ethereal sounds of this particular piece make it all the more otherworldly, truly defying categorization. The longing for brighter days in the summer particularly fit the moment right now. But it clearly works during all seasons and situations of course.