Those of you who’ve been paying attention over the last few weeks may have noticed that we, as ever, have joined many others in rounding up the year in that good old reliable format of the list. For those of you who might have missed our coverage so far, you can find our lists of the 100 best albums of the year here and the 100 best reissues, compilations, mixes, live albums, box sets, anthologies, “etc.” of 2015 can be found here. Both of which were voted for by the five staff members that make up our daily office team, that of John Doran, Luke Turner, Sophie Coletta, Laurie Tuffrey and myself, Christian Eede, your trusty News Editor here at tQ.
Now, we come to the third and final of our round-ups of the year. Below, we take a look at the best tracks of 2015 but with a difference from our other two lists. Compiled once again from the votes of the five tQ staff members, we also cast the net out far and wide to our magnificent group of contributors, without whom the site wouldn’t be possible, inviting them too to each divulge their 10 favourite tracks of the year.
Combining those votes, below, in addition to each list from each contributor that got back to our request, you can find a Baker’s Dozen of 2015’s best tracks according to tQ. We’ve also compiled a selection of the overall choices into a handy YouTube playlist which you can find just above my rambling.
The results below may ruffle some feathers – who knows? Someone might even call me a cunt in the comments section again – but perhaps, as we hoped would be the case with our two previous year-end lists, you may find something in there that slipped you by this year. Thanks for all your support; your interest is invaluable. Christian Eede
Tracks of 2015: The Quietus’ Baker’s Dozen
- Skepta – ‘Shutdown’
- Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – ‘Where Are Ü Now’
- Kamixlo – ‘Paleta’
- Grimes – ‘REALiTi (Demo)’
- Julia Holter – ‘Feel You’
- Missy Elliott ft. Pharrell Williams – ‘WTF (Where They From)’
- East India Youth – ‘CAROUSEL’
- David Bowie – ‘Blackstar’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘King Kunta’
- Chromatics – ‘I Can Never Be Myself When You’re Not Around’
- Stormzy – ‘Know Me From’
- Consumer Electronics – ‘Murder The Masters’
- Rihanna – ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’
John Doran – Editor
Skepta – ‘Shutdown’
Pat Thomas and Ebo Taylor – ‘Ene Nyame Nam (Henrik Schwarz Blend)’
Kendrick Lamar – ‘King Kunta’
Young Thug featuring Birdman – ‘Constantly Hating’
Acid Arab featuring Sadat – ‘Hez Hez’
Matthew E White – ‘Rock & Roll Is Cold’
East India Youth – ‘CAROUSEL’
Bad Guys – ‘Crime’
Missy Elliott ft. Pharrell Williams – ‘WTF (Where They From?)’
Turbonegro – ‘Hot For Nietzsche’
Luke Turner – Co-Editor
Simon Bookish – ‘Red & Blue’
Skepta – ‘Shutdown’
Dale Cornish – ‘Wriggle Like A Fucking Eel (Gregorian Approximation Live In Croydon Cathedral)’
Fat White Family – ‘Whitest Boy On The Beach’
Kamixlo – ‘Paleta’
The Bug vs Sleng Teng – ‘Meth Teng’
Inward Circles – ‘I Have Heard A Music And It Is Delirious’
Consumer Electronics – ‘Murder The Masters’
Missy Elliott ft. Pharrell Williams – ‘WTF (Where They From)’
Chromatics – ‘I Can Never Be Myself When You’re Not Around’
Laurie Tuffrey – New Music Editor
Skepta – ‘Shutdown’
Chromatics – ‘I Can Never Be Myself When You’re Around’
Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – ‘Where Are Ü Now’
Grimes – ‘REALiTi (Demo)’
East India Youth – ‘CAROUSEL’
Kurt Vile – ‘Pretty Pimpin’
Julia Holter – ‘Feel You’
Wilco – ‘King Of You’
Deerhunter – ‘Snakeskin’
Stormzy – ‘Know Me From’
Sophie Coletta – Reviews Editor
Moby – ‘Thousand (Perc Edit)’
Svengalisghost – ‘Strategic Deception’
Cabaret Voltaire – ‘Universal Energy (Live Version)’
Dynarec – Moving Corridors
Kamixlo – ‘Paleta’
Not Waving – ‘Get Serious’
Ansome – ‘The White Horse’
Unknown Artist – ‘For Promotional Use Only’
Unknown Artist – ‘Relax (DicPic Disc)’
Consumer Electronics – ‘Murder The Masters’
Christian Eede – News Editor
Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – ‘Where Are Ü Now’
Kamixlo – ‘Paleta’
MM – ‘9th Ritual’
Pearson Sound – ‘Freeze Cycle’
Golden Teacher Meets Dennis Bovell – ‘Like A Hawk (D.B. Version)’
Jam City – ‘Proud’
Grimes – ‘REALiTi (Demo)’
A Made Up Sound – ‘Half Hour Jam On A Borrowed Synth’
Kelela – ‘Rewind’
Andrea – ‘Outlines’
Karl Smith – Books Editor
Grimes – ‘REALiTi (demo)’
Oneohtrix Point Never – ‘Sticky Drama’
Julia Holter – ‘Feel You’
Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Run Away With Me’
Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – ‘Where Are Ü Now’
Majical Cloudz – ‘Are You Alone?’
Nicole Dollangangar – ‘You’re So Cool’
Drake & Future – ‘Diamonds Dancing’
The Weeknd – ‘The Hills’
Torres – ‘New Skin’
Mat Colegate – Film Editor
Cruel Boyz – ‘Umeqo Emagqomini (Dub Mix)’
Zombi – ‘Mission Creep’
Ramleh – ‘Liberty Bell’
SOPHIE – ‘Just Like We Never Said Goodbye’
My Disco – ‘Our Decade’
Mall Grab – ‘Awake’
Kuedo – ‘Vertical Stack’
Kamixlo – ‘Paleta’
Black Zone Myth Chant – ‘If God Is Not Here’
David Bowie – ‘Blackstar’
Jeremy Allen
Grimes – ‘Flesh Without Blood’
David Bowie – ‘Blackstar’
Benjamin Clementine – ‘Adios’
FFS – ‘Johnny Delusional’
Blur – ‘Go Out’
Médine – ‘Reboot’
Soko – ‘Who Wears the Pants?’
Faith No More – ‘Sunny Side Up’
Scott Fagan – ‘In My Head’
Nicolas Godin – ‘Orca’
Ged Babey
Dan O’Farrell – ‘England Is So Ugly’
Penetration – ‘Outromistra’
Bullybones -‘Lemonade Lucy’
Sleaford Mods – ‘Giddy On The Ciggies’
ClowWns – ‘Macho Bimbo’
Alternative TV – ‘The Tension Between Order And Chaos’
The Membranes – ‘Dark Energy’
The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing – ‘3rd Class Coffin’
Shilpa Ray – ‘Johnny Thunders Fantasy Space Camp’
Wreckless Eric – ‘Space Age’
Joe Banks
The Drink – ‘You Won’t Come Back At All’
Baron – ‘Stry’
Anna von Hausswolff – ‘Come Wander With Me/Deliverance’
Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra – ‘Dokuz Seki/Esmerim’
Stealing Sheep – ‘Greed’
Hey Colossus – ‘Radio Static High’
Midday Veil – ‘I Am The War’
Blanck Mass – ‘Dead Format’
EMA – ‘Amnesia Haze’
Girl Band – ‘Pears For Lunch’
Tristan Bath
Susso – ‘Ansumana’
The Moonlandingz – ‘Sweet Saturn Mine’
Mikael Seifu – ‘Brass’
Aphex Twin – ‘diskhat ALL prepared1mixed 13’
The Comet is Coming – ‘Neon Baby’
Commodo, Gantz, Kahn – ‘Kibosh’
Sex Swing – ‘Night Time Worker’
Ben von Wildenhaus ft. Clara Kennedy – ‘Tú’
Giant Swan – ‘Nautical Upbringing’
Gazelle Twin – ‘Love And Mercy’
Joseph Burnett
Matana Roberts – ‘All Is Written’
Heather Leigh – ‘The Return’
Ekoplekz – ‘A Caustic Romance’
Laura Cannell – ‘Cathedral Of The Marshes’
Eric Chenaux – ‘Skullsplitter’
Ramleh – ‘Never Returner’
Liberez – ‘_Захвална породица’
Jessika Kenney – ‘Her Sword 1’
Troye Sivan – ‘Wild’
United Bible Studies – ‘The Dalesman’s Litany-The Burning Sea’
Joe Clay
Bicep – ‘Just’
Mbongwana Star – ‘Malukayi’
Julia Holter – ‘Sea Calls Me Home’
Stormzy – ‘Know Me From’
Grimes – ‘Flesh Without Blood’
Shura – ‘White Light (Extended Edit)’
Tame Impala – ‘Let It Happen’
Primitive Parts – ‘Open Heads’
Lakker – ‘Pylon (Primitive World Remix)’
Blur – ‘Go Out’
Russell Cuzner
Thighpaulsandra – ‘The Foot Garden’
Colin Potter – ‘A Wider Pail Of Shale’
Russell Haswell – ‘Wholly Unaware’
Maja S. K. Ratkje, Jon Wesseltoft, Camille Norment, Per Gisle Galåen – ‘Afterglow’
Drew McDowall – ‘Hypnotic Congress’
Kyle Ellison
Future – ‘March Madness’
Kendrick Lamar – ‘Alright’
Dej Loaf ft. Big Sean – ‘Back Up’
JME ft. Giggs – ‘Man Con’t Care’
Jenny Hval – ‘That Battle is Over’
G Herbo – ‘L’s’
Vince Staples – ‘Norf Norf’
Kamaiyah – ‘How Does It Feel’
Sicko Mobb – ‘Kool Aid’
Iglew – ‘Urban Myth’
Charlie Frame
Korede Bello – ‘Godwin’
Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – ‘Sunday Candy’
Dominique Dumont – ‘L’Esprit de L’escalier’
Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Let’s Get Lost’
Fetty Wap – ‘Trap Queen’
DJ Paypal – ‘Slim Trak’
Future – ‘Just Like Bruddas’
Miami Horror – ‘Wild Motion (Set It Free)’
Skepta – ‘Shutdown’
Kendrick Lamar – ‘King Kunta’
John Freeman
Björk – ‘Black Lake’
Anna von Hausswolff – ‘Come Wander With Me/Deliverance’
MONEY – ‘You Look Like A Sad Painting On Both Sides Of The Sky’
Du Blonde – ‘Black Flag’
Nadine Shah – ‘Stealing Cars’
Field Music – ‘The Noisy Days Are Over’
LIINES – ‘Never There’
Dilly Dally – ‘Desire’
Dutch Uncles – ‘Upsilon’
Stealing Sheep – ‘Apparition’
Rory Gibb’s Top 10 Songs Of 2015 That Aren’t By Steely Dan
Kara-Lis Coverdale – ‘NU_CHANIC’
Insanlar – ‘Kime Ne’
Golden Teacher – ‘On The Street’
Raica – ‘Skrt’
Elysia Crampton – ‘Petrichrist’
Jlin – ‘Nandi’
Blood Music – ‘Badgering’
Karen Gwyer – ‘Kesia Kizzy Kinte’
Nidia Minaj – ‘Afro’
Helm – ‘Strawberry Chapstick’
Josh Gray
David Bowie – ‘Blackstar’
Foals – ‘Knife In The Ocean’
Kendrick Lamar – ‘Mortal Man’
Beck – ‘Dreams’
Fat Freddy’s Drop – ‘Razors’
LA Priest – ‘Party Zute/Learning To Love’
Hiatus Kaiyote – ‘The Lung’
Björk – ‘Lionsong’
Ratatat – ‘Abrasive’
John Grant – ‘Global Warming’
Hop Along – ‘Happy To See Me’
Kate Hennessy
Jess Ribeiro – ‘Born To Ride’
High Tension – ‘Killed By Life’
The Drones – ‘Taman Shud’
Sui Zhen – ‘Take It All Back’
Methyl Ethyl – ‘Twilight Driving’
Marlon Williams – ‘When I Was A Young Girl’
Cuntz – ‘Factory Floor’
My Disco – ‘King Sound’
Blank Realm – ‘Too Late Now’
Jaala – ‘Salt Shaker’
Filip Kalinowski’s Polish Top Ten
Ptaki – ‘Nie zabijaj’
Syny – ‘Udar’
Das Komplex – ‘Narkoleptyczni trochę’
Trupa Trupa – ‘Wasteland’
WIDT – ‘untitled’ from POINT#03’
Jacek Sienkiewicz – ‘130 mm’
Stara Rzeka – ‘BHMTH (czyli historia z wujkiem Albertem)’
Anna Zaradny ft. Fennesz – ‘NEW feat. OLD’
Michał Lewicki – ‘Pitch’
Micromelancolié – ‘Low Cakes’
Neil Kulkarni
Pusha T – ‘Untouchable’
Butterfly Child – ‘Still Learning To Crawl’
Jay Rock – ‘Gumbo’
Belly – ‘No Option’
Commodo, Gantz, Kahn – ‘Bitchcraft’
Conway – ‘Blakk Tape’
L’Orange & Kool Keith – ‘The Wanderer’
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – ‘Nachthexen’
Monolord – ‘Cursing The One’
Windhand – ‘Two Urns’
Dustin Krcatovich
Fred Thomas – ‘Bad Blood’
Earl Sweatshirt – ‘Solace’
Willis Earl Beal – ‘Flying So Low’
Hieroglyphic Being & J.I.T.U. Ahn-Sahm-Buhl – ‘Fuck The Ghetto/Think About Outer Space’
Benoît Pioulard – ‘So Etched In Memory’
Billowing – ‘Corner Dregs’
Missy Elliott – ‘WTF (Where They From)’
Laurel Halo – ‘Situation’
Wolf Eyes – ‘Cynthia Vortex AKA Trip Memory Illness’
Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow – ‘I Am Become Death’
Alex Macpherson
Demi Lovato – ‘Cool For The Summer’
Stormzy – ‘Know Me From’
Rihanna – ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’
Skepta – ‘Shutdown’
Sunkanmi – ‘Singale’
Heavy-K ft. Tresor – ‘#GiveMeLuv’
J Hus – ‘Dem Boy Paigon’
Honey Cocaine – ‘Sundae’
Cam – ‘Burning House’
Dbn Nyts ft. Zinhle Ngidi & Trademark – ‘Shumaya’
Julian Marszalek
Hey Colossus – ‘Hop The Railings’
Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind – ‘Boil Yer Blood’
Jane Weaver – ‘I Need A Connection’
LoneLady – ‘Hinterland’
Young Fathers – ‘Rain Or Shine’
Algiers – ‘Blood’
David Bowie – ‘Blackstar’
Left Lane Cruiser – ‘Tres Borrachos’
Chelsea Wolfe – ‘Iron Moon’
Yak – ‘Hungry Heart’
Kevin Mccaighy
Algiers – ‘Irony. Utility. Pretext.’
LoneLady – ‘Groove It Out’
Bad Guys – ‘Crime’
Torche – ‘Loose Men’
With The Dead – ‘Crown Of Burning Stars’
Nile – ‘Call To Destruction’
Kurt Vile – ‘Pretty Pimpin’
Grimes – ‘Flesh Without Blood’
High on Fire – ‘The Cave’
Goatsnake – ‘Black Age Blues’
J. R. Moores
Jenny Hval – ‘That Battle Is Over’
Daphne & Celeste – ‘You And I Alone’
Bardo Pond – ‘In Every Dream Home A Heartache’
Gun Outfit – ‘Gotta Wanna’
Panda Bear – ‘Cosplay’
Caught On Tape – ‘Ono Soul’
Raketkanon – ‘Florent’
Henry Blacker – ‘Summer Tombs’
Wolf Eyes – ‘Twister Nightfall’
The Icarus Line – ‘Little Horn’
Sharon O’Connell
Kendrick Lamar – ‘The Blacker The Berry’
Sleater-Kinney – ‘Surface Envy’
U.S. Girls – ‘Woman’s Work’
The Weeknd – ‘Can’t Feel My Face’
Joanna Newsom – ‘Leaving The City’
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – ‘Can’t Keep Checking My Phone’
Julia Holter – ‘Feel You’
Squarepusher – ‘Kontenjaz’
Miguel – ‘Coffee’
Tame Impala – ‘Let It Happen’
Chad Parkhill
Destroyer – ‘Girl In A Sling’
Blanck Mass – ‘Dead Format’
The Drones – ‘Taman Shud’
Kendrick Lamar – ‘King Kunta’
Perez – ‘Les cacances continuent’
Shamir – ‘Call It Off’
EMA – ‘Amnesia Haze’
Lower Dens – ‘To Die In L.A.’
HEALTH – ‘Stonefist’
Prurient – ‘Greenpoint’
Maria Perevedentseva
Stanislav Tolkachev – ‘Optical Illusions’
Charles Cohen – ‘Cloud Hands’
Philip Jeck – ‘Reverse Jersey’
Giuseppe Ielasi – ’06’
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe & Ariel Kalma – ‘Gongmo Kalma Lowe’
Alva Noto – ‘Xerrox Radieuse’
Vilod – ‘Mulpft’
Huerco S. – ‘Transit V (See See Rider)’
Abdulla Rashim – ‘Red Pool’
Samuel Kerridge – ‘WIAGW’
Amy Pettifer’s Panpopticon top ten
Grace Mitchell – ‘Jitter’
Ciara – ‘I Bet’
Jess Glynne – ‘Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself’
Tove Styrke – ‘Number One’
Charli XCX feat. Rita Ora – ‘Doing It’
Tkay Maidza – ‘M.O.B.’
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – ‘Bad Blood’
The Weeknd – ‘Losers’
Adele – ‘Hello’
Justin Bieber – ‘Sorry’
Stewart Smith
DAWN – ‘Calypso’
Kendrick Lamar – ‘The Blacker The Berry’
Julia Holter – ‘Feel You’
Jazmine Sullivan – ‘Mascara’
Fadimoutou Wallet Inamoud – ‘Wana Le Nouveau’
Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Run Away With Me’
Heather Leigh – ‘Fairfield Fantasy’
Vince Staples – ‘Señorita’
Jlin – ‘Guantanamo’
Skepta – ‘Shutdown’
Aug Stone
Ani Glass – ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’
Jonathan Johansson – ‘Stromboli brinner’
CHVRCHES – ‘Never Ending Circles’
The Indelicates – ‘Beyond The Radio Horizon’
Cleaners From Venus – ‘Little French Blue’
Car Seat Headrest – ‘Something Soon’
The Mynabirds – ‘Semantics’
Say Lou Lou – ‘Julian’
Dragonette – ‘Let The Night Fall’
DRINKS – ‘Hermits On Holiday’
Ian Wade
The Chemical Brothers – ‘Go’
East India Youth – ‘CAROUSEL’
Hot Chip – ‘Huarache Lights’
Blur – ‘Go Out’
Tame Impala – ‘Let It Happen’
Marina & The Diamonds – ‘I’m A Ruin’
Lianne La Havas – ‘Unstoppable’
Natalie Prass – ‘Bird Of Prey’
Fat White Family – ‘Whitest Boy On The Beach’
Susanne Sundfør – ‘Fade Away’
Wyndham Wallace
Lianne La Havas – ‘Unstoppable’
Nils Frahm – ‘Them’
Anna Von Hausswolff – ‘Come Wander With Me/Deliverance’
David John Sheppard – ‘A Thumbnail Sketch Of Infinity’
Morten Qvenild – ‘Hilma’
Matthew E. White – ‘Rock & Roll Is Cold’
Gaz Coombes – ‘Buffalo’
C Duncan – ‘Silence And Air’
Levitation – ‘King Of Mice’
The Cure vs The Commodores – ‘Easy Heaven’
Mic Wright
Rihanna – ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’
Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Boy Problems’
Sleater-Kinney – ‘No Cities To Love’
Selena Gomez ft. A$AP Rocky – ‘Good For You’
Shamir – ‘On The Regular’
Kendrick Lamar – ‘King Kunta’
Skepta – ‘Shutdown’
Bugzy Malone – ‘Get Gassed’
Vince Staples – ‘Norf Norf’
Sleaford Mods – ‘Live Tonight’
