After devoting most our our attention to artists, releases, and tracks over the past few weeks, today’s edition of our ongoing Best of 2014 series is all about record labels. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t that long ago that many people were predicting that the internet’s ability to connect artists directly with their fans would eliminate (or at least lessen) the need to enlist labels in the process. However, with each passing year, it almost seems like the opposite has been true; while the internet has certainly made lots of music more accessible than ever before, the web’s unending tide has also worked to make that music feel increasingly disposable. With so many options out there, strong curatorial outposts are essential for those looking to cut through the noise, and that’s where the labels come in. A good record label can serve as an aesthetic beacon, and when it’s done well, running an imprint is something of an art in itself, and worth appreciating. In that spirit, we recently began to assemble a list of our 10 favorite labels of the year; however, limiting ourself to such a small number ultimately proved impossible, so we’ve also included five additional labels in a special “honorable mention” category.

HONORABLE MENTION
Words: Glenn Jackson

1080p
When it comes to the age-old battle of quantity vs. quality, Richard MacFarlane’s 1080p label is something of an anomaly. Issuing over 25 releases in 2014, the Vancouver-based tape/digital label proved to be an ever-present source of intriguingly left-of-center dance music, quickly building a catalog with more than its fair share of highlights (Khotin’s Hello World and LNRDCROY’s Much Less Normal among them) for those willing and able to keep up with the label’s rapid-fire release schedule.

Dekmantel
The label arm of Amsterdam’s Dekmantel crew largely focused its efforts on two particular artists in 2014: Joey Anderson and Juju & Jordash. Delivering the former’s debut LP and an EP and full-length album from the latter over the course of the year (as well as a two-part EP series from Italian duo MFO and a new EP from Matrixxman), Dekmantel proved that its curatorial prowess is as sharp on the label front as it is with the crew’s annual festival, which has quickly become one of Europe’s most reliable summertime happenings.

Running Back
Counting releases from the likes of Redshape, Todd Osborn, Genius of Time, Suzanne Kraft, and Telephones in its run, alongside quality efforts from newcomers Roy Comanchero and Thomalla, 2014 was as good a year as ever for Gerd Janson’s Running Back label. Now in its 12th year, the esteemed German selector’s imprint is still at the top of its game, and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.

Berceuse Heroique
Throughout the year, anticipating the moves of Berceuse Heroique was a nearly impossible task. Still, by threading together bits of UK post-hardcore (in reissues of Horsepower Productions and Loefah’s Lost Dubs), the divergent US underground (in records from Vereker and MGUN), and a particularly intriguing collaboration with Greek label Nous over the past 12 months, the shadowy imprint’s moves seemed to always prove worthwhile once they saw the light of day.

Hivern Discs
2014 was another year in which it was impossible to ignore the infectious new efforts that graced the Hivern Discs catalog. From Talaboman’s “Sideral” to Pional’s “It’s All Over,” Barnt’s charging C.P.I. remix, and Round’s rich “Glass” b/w “Float” 12″, Talabot and company’s collection of pop-lined dancefloor hybrids made this yet another successful year for the Barcelona imprint.

TOP 10

10. PPU
PPU came to underground prominence thanks to its ability to unearth apocryphal boogie and funk rarities, serving as a DC-based counterpart to West Coast funksters like Dam Funk. However, 2014 saw the label releasing more new music than ever. Label founder Andrew Morgan groused about having to focus on modern acts, but the label’s recent run has shown him to be equally skilled at finding future classics as he is unearthing lost treasures. Back in January, PPU effectively introduced the Pender Street Steppers to the world, releasing the Mood Hut-affiliated duo’s first 12″, Openin’ Up. In the months that followed, the imprint issued busted VHS G-funk from Benedek and Delroy Edwards as RX, strong material from Legowelt and Beautiful Swimmers, as well as early ’80s work from synth loner Tony Palkovic. Basically, PPU had a banner year keeping music from both the past and present from fading into obscurity. Matthew McDermott

9. Giegling
Named for the short-lived but somewhat notorious Weimar club and party that spawned it, Giegling is now approaching its sixth year in operation, and though the label only issued a handful of records in 2014, there’s no denying that the imprint has gained some serious momentum. Piloted by a core collective which includes Prince of Denmark, Matthias Reiling of Session Victim, and Vril, amongst others, the East German crew largely trades in melancholic, minimal house and dubby techno, with each of its records seemingly produced with a lot of care and sincerity. This year saw the release of full-lengths from both Edward and Kettenkarussell (co-founders of the Giegling enterprise), in addition to the All the Things EP from Traumprinz (Prince of Denmark’s alter ego), an effort which found him closing in on a potent style of deep house laced with big, emotive vocal hooks. Jay Donaldson

8. Off Minor
If the easiest formula for a successful label is having some talented friends who will let you put out their music, it’s safe to say Jordan Czamanski (a.k.a. Jordan GCZ, half of Juju and Jordash and one third of Magic Mountain High) meets this requirement. Barely a year after opening for business, Off Minor has released two collections of archival Move D material (The KM20 tapes), his collaboration with Maxmillion Dunbar as Zsa Gang, and a charming four-track 12″ from mysterious newcomers Stump Valley. (Listening to Hollywood, it’s not hard to see why the latter outfit’s playful, melancholic vibes pulled at Czamanski’s analog heartstrings.) With friends like these, not to mention its founder’s obvious ear for quality, Off Minor has quickly hit its psychedelic house stride. Matthew McDermott

7. Apron
The brainchild of Funkineven, Apron was initially conceived as an outlet for his own music, but changed course last year when the London producer—in a savvy bit of A&R—came across L.I.E.S. affiliate Greg Beato’s SoundCloud and subsequently patroned his debut EP. Specializing in raw, unpolished pieces of analog electro and techno, Apron has since become a hub for like-minded artists, including Seven Davis Jr. and Lord Tusk, with another find—Adam Feingold—confirming Funkineven’s keen nose for untapped talent. The label also continues to be a home for his own productions, as this year saw an EP surface from his more exploratory St. Julien alias, not to mention a collaboration with kindred spirit and Kyle Hall protege Jay Daniel. Jay Donaldson

6. The Trilogy Tapes
Owned, operated, designed, and directed by UK graphic design guru Will Bankhead, every single piece of The Trilogy Tapes puzzle bears his stamp, from the artists he chooses to release, to the covers he designs, to the blog and webshop that distribute the label’s news and records. Beginning as a cassette-only imprint releasing mixtapes from Bankhead’s cohorts and conspirators, the label has blossomed into a prolific vinyl outlet (releasing more than a dozen records this year), consistently offering up some of the weirdest, off-kilter sounds in the house and techno continuum while demonstrating a general penchant for corroding the edges of dance music with industrial and noise influences. Its impressive 2014 run included efforts from Anthony Naples, Maxmillion Dunbar, Willie Burns, and A Made Up Sound, not to mention a collaborative release from Theo Parrish with Palace Skateboards and Parrish’s own Sound Signature label. If there is a lesson to be learned from The Trilogy Tapes’ success, it is that artistic vision without compromise matters more than ever. Chris Zaldua

5. The Bunker New York
After more than a decade of throwing some of the most forward-thinking techno parties in the United States, it seemed only logical that New York’s The Bunker would eventually take the next step and launch its own record label. This year, the veteran crew did exactly that, releasing 10 sterling records, with the majority coming from new or largely unknown producers (a remarkable fact when one considers that the party’s list of past guests reads like a who’s who of marquee names). As a party, The Bunker’s ethos focuses on breaking down borders and making the dancefloor a safe space for experimentation and creativity. As a label, it proceeds down a similar path, releasing techno records that owe as much to Steve Reich and Klaus Schulze as they do to Jeff Mills and Anthony Child; even better, the label’s new names (Clay Wilson, Løt.te, Zemi17) are seemingly just as talented as its established ones (Atom™, Reagenz, Voices from the Lake), which speaks to the A&R skills of head honcho Bryan Kasenic. Chris Zaldua

4. Clone
Clone is a pretty difficult label to keep a handle on these days; its release schedule is prolific, and as its numerous sub-labels mature, it becomes harder to justify referring to the Rotterdam-based hub as a single entity. We do it here partly for the sake of convenience, and also because, somehow, label founder Serge has managed to imbue each offshoot with the same high standards. Clone Jack for Daze delivered an excellent Dance Mania-inspired EP from L-Vis 1990 (as Dance System) at the turn of the year, and a Roy Davis Jr. 12″ on the same sub-label was one of 2014’s strongest house reissues, although the Jovonn reissue compilation on Clone Classic Cuts was also worthy of attention. Clone Basement Series also turned in another strong showing, thanks to thudding techno EPs from Tripeo and Randomer, but it was the Royal Oak imprint that shined brightest in 2014, offering up high-quality efforts from Space Dimension Controller (as SDC), Headless Ghost, Gingy, Takuya Matsumoto, and Leon Vynehall. The latter’s two-track 12″ was actually one of the year’s best slabs of vinyl, as the grainy piano chords and deep house vocal on “Butterflies” made the a-side instantly likeable, while the muted, Boards of Canada-esque melodies on the flip contributed to a wonderfully downbeat counterpart. Ray Philp

3. PAN
2014 started out as a fairly typical year for Bill Kouligas’ long-running experimental outpost, with willfully challenging releases from Helm and Valerio Tricoli appearing alongside a tweaked techno EP from UK producer Bass Clef. From there, the Berlin-based imprint appeared to broaden its spectrum a bit, dropping a grime- and dub-inspired 12″ from Sheffield artist Beneath and a genre-collaged EP from M.E.S.H. Still, it was in the year’s latter half that PAN truly made its mark, delivering two top-shelf albums: Lee Gamble’s Koch and Objekt’s Flatland. The former melded otherworldly techno and eerie ambient passages, while the latter reached impressive heights in digital sound design and percussive impact. In the wake of these releases, the label’s profile was bigger than ever before, and the December appearance of a hip-hop- and jazz-tinged LP from Afrikan Sciences seemed to indicate that PAN had also reached a new level of sonic diversity. There’s truth to that notion, but the noisy outing from Black Sites that closed out the year was proof positive that despite all the accolades, PAN had stayed true to its conceptual ethos. Chris Kokiousis

2. L.I.E.S.
Since 2010, Ron Morelli’s L.I.E.S. has been consistently putting out quality releases at a rate that can make keeping up a challenge. The Brooklyn imprint specializes in raw, unadulterated club music, and some of its strongest offerings this year included the euphoric, dancefloor-ready techno of Supersonic Transportation from Willie Burns’ and Entro Senestre’s Daywalker + CF project, the hazy, sumptuous house on offer throughout Terekke’s self-titled 12″, and the foreboding machine rhythms of Gunnar Haslam’s Mirrors and Copulation LP. The past 12 months also saw the label making inroads into some uncharted territory, offering up impressive turns from Eric Copeland of experimental unit Black Dice and techno mainstay Adam X under his EBM-influenced ADMX-71 alias. In 2014, L.I.E.S. may have finally shed its status as the most hyped imprint in electronic music, but this year’s crop of releases made it clear that the artistic vision that once drove the label’s dizzying ascent is intact. Jay Donaldson

1. Mood Hut
One of 2014’s most interesting developments has been Vancouver’s rising house renaissance, and there’s little question that Mood Hut led the charge. Both a collective and a cassette-turned-vinyl imprint, Mood Hut is headed up by core acts like Pender Street Steppers and Aquarian Foundation, and, just to make things more complicated, the various members of those outfits (including Jack J, Hashman Deejay, and House of Doors) also produce independently. The crew has registered on local radars for a while, but its first European tour—which included appearances by Pender Street Steppers and Hashman Deejay at Amsterdam’s Dekmantel festival, Boiler Room, and on Ben UFO’s Rinse FM show—helped cement its reputation as a legitimate force. It’s telling that although Mood Hut only issued three records in 2014 (Pender Street Steppers’ Bubble World, House of Doors’ The Dolphin Hotel Affair Vol. 1, and Jack J’s Looking Forward to You), releases from Mood Hut members on other labels (such as Hashman Deejay’s Sandopolis LP on Future Times and his split 12″ with Max D on the newly launched Falstaff imprint) often proved to be equally influential. Taken as a whole, the crew’s collective output advanced a brand of easy-going, lo-fi house music colored by funky ’80s basslines, new age melodies, and early ’90s house tropes. In a year where so much electronic music was focused on sonic deconstruction or predicated on irony, Mood Hut’s sincerity-driven artistic outlook was refreshingly devoted to the love of a good groove. Jay Donaldson

XLR8R’s Best of 2014 coverage will continue into next week, so check back each day for additional year-end round-ups. In the meantime, don’t forget to take a look at the other Best of 2014 pieces we’ve posted already:

XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Top Downloads (100 – 76)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Top Downloads (75 – 51)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Top Downloads (50 – 26)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Top Downloads (25 – 1)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Features
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Podcasts
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Gear
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Tracks (50 – 26)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Tracks (25 – 1)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Releases (30 – 16)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Releases (15 – 1)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: New Artists

Believe it or not, our Best of 2014 series still has a few chapters left, and today’s installment looks back at the year’s best new artists. Granted, XLR8R is a publication that’s largely dedicated to uncovering up-and-coming acts on a daily basis; our Downloads section is almost entirely populated by track giveaways from emerging producers, and our recurring Bubblin’ Up series regularly shines a spotlight on rising artists throughout the year. That being said, it’s also fair to say that not every new face that appears on our site is going to make a lasting impact. Some beatmakers offer us a quality MP3 and are never heard from again, while other producers create a lot of buzz with a hot debut 12″ or EP, only to disappear into the ether. On the other hand, some acts do manage to stick around and gradually carve their own little niche in the electronic spectrum, and those are the figures we’re focusing on today. We’ve selected 10 artists that continually popped up on our radar in 2014, and while there’s no question we enjoyed what they did this year, their appearance on the list is also based on our prediction that we’ll be hearing a lot more from them in the years to come.

10. Bruce
Two of 2014’s most exciting techno 12″s came from Bruce, the newest artist with a monosyllabic name to rise from the ashes of dubstep (see also Joe, Hodge, Kahn, and the newly christened Pev). All jokes aside, Bruce’s two records on Hessle Audio and Dnuos Ytivil (a.k.a. the sister label to Livity Sound) were some of the year’s finest, both of them filled with brain-melting melodies and twisted rhythms. His productions bridge the uncanny valley, channeling the spirit of dubstep—the sense of dread, the syncopated percussion, the dubwise atmosphere—into the body of techno, sounding remarkably familiar and starkly alien at the same time. They also happen to contain some of the year’s best track titles: “Just Getting Started” and “Not Stochastic” are two examples of British irony at its finest. Bruce may indeed be “just getting started,” but he clearly knows exactly what he’s doing. Chris Zaldua

9. Shanti Celeste
Born in Chile, Shanti Celeste cut her teeth in Bristol’s thriving house scene and has swiftly become one of this year’s most buzzed-about newcomers. As a member of the staff at Idle Hands—the city’s flagship record store-turned-imprint—it’s no surprise that her selections as a DJ have been upfront and largely on point, but she’s also proved to have an ear for production. After dropping her debut 12″ in 2013 on BRSTL, the label she operates jointly with Idle Hands’ Chris Farrell, this year saw her deal out two follow-up EPs showcasing crystalline house productions with pop sensibilities and easy appeal—one for Idle Hands and, most recently, another for fellow Bristolian Julio Bashmore’s Boardwalk outpost. An impressive entry into Resident Advisor’s podcast series also helped boost her profile, meaning Celeste closes out the year with a lot of forward momentum. Jay Donaldson

8. Sage Caswell
Sage Caswell‘s recent Bubblin’ Up feature tells the story of an artist who took some time to work his way into the LA scene and electronic music in general, but is now revelling in a rapidly ascending position in both worlds. The California native has three EPs under his belt now, with 2013’s collaboration with Cromie, “Vines” b/w “Pyrex,” inaugurating Brooklyn’s Peach label prior to his two solo outings this year. The most recent, last month’s “Good to See You” b/w “To Be Continued,” saw him become the first outside artist to release a record on Archie Pelago Music, and consists of three jacking, highly rhythmic, and textural house cuts that bode very well for the future of a producer who’s unlikely to find himself with “outsider” status again anytime soon. Kit Macdonald

7. Matt Karmil
Luck (or at least meeting the right people) has seemingly been key to Matt Karmil‘s ascent this year. As the oft-repeated story goes, the English producer never intended to release his own material and never submitted any demos, but was encouraged to give it a try following a chance meeting with Pampa affiliate Ada in 2013, which proved to be a good move. Having settled in Cologne, Karmil’s production bears the influence of the city’s flagship label—Kompakt—and its signature minimal house and techno, but there’s also a fuzzy, dream-like quality to his work that gives it a uniquely hypnotic flavor. This year also saw the release of his well-crafted debut album via the label’s PNN subsidiary, not to mention a single on Tim Sweeney’s Beats in Space imprint and high-profile remixes for Neneh Cherry and Talaboman. Luck may have played a part, but Karmil has ultimately earned his opportunities on merit alone. Jay Donaldson

6. Jay Daniel
Late last year, Jay Daniel‘s debut EP on Theo Parrish’s Sound Signature label made a huge impression. So much so, in fact, that the Detroit producer was flooded with people wanting mixes and interviews to a point where he felt compelled to ask them to stop, saying “I am not part of your dream” on his Facebook page. People really didn’t seem to like it, yet we’re still talking about Daniel a year later, which is all the more remarkable given that, aside from contributing a prickly workout to Kai Alce’s annual NDATL Special project, he has released but two EPs: one was a collaborative effort with Funkineven on Apron, and the second was Karmatic Equations, a fantastic double 12″ on Kyle Hall’s Wild Oats imprint. Featuring five tracks on four sides of wax, it was stuffed with the sort of ramshackle drums, off-time hits, and serene sense of soul that so defines the 313 area code. “Analog” and “dusty” may be lazy modern-day catchwords, but they’re entirely appropriate when applied than to the work of this outspoken diamond in the rough. Kristan J Caryl

5. Aurora Halal
Aurora Halal wasn’t happy with her city, so she created her own reality within it. When she first started throwing Mutual Dreaming parties in Brooklyn, Williamsburg’s clubs were full of lo-fi rock bands. These days, big dance clubs like Output and Verboten have moved to the borough, so Halal has taken things a step further, co-organizing the 700-person Sustain Release festival in upstate New York. It became this year’s little American festival that could, selling out well in advance, catalyzing the post-L.I.E.S. NYC scene, and producing the kind of ecstatic narratives usually reserved for YouTube comments under footage of the halcyon US rave days. Oh yeah, she also released her solo debut, Passageway, on her new Mutual Dreaming imprint and collaborated with Ital on The Day After EP for Lover’s Rock. Halal is clearly building something, and in the process, she’s prompted plenty of others to dream right alongside her. Matthew McDermott

4. John Barera
John Barera‘s sample-heavy deep house has attracted many followers over the past couple of years, regardless whether he’s appearing via his solo outings, under the B-Tracks guise with Soren Jahan, or together with fellow Bostonian Will Martin (an affiliate of Barera’s own Supply imprint). This year has been especially fruitful for that latter partnership; following from the anthemic “Reality,” an undeniable highlight from Steffi’s 2013 Panorama Bar mix, the pair’s Yen EP confirmed a genuine knack for crafting killer hooks and memorable dancefloor moments. October brought the release of Graceless, the duo’s debut album and inaugural outing for Steffi’s Dolly label, which saw Barera and Martin rise to the challenges of the full-length format while delivering some truly sublime pieces of house music. Jay Donaldson

3. Hashman Deejay
The group of young Vancouverites collectively known as Mood Hut have been releasing records and mixes since 2012, but it wasn’t until this year that people began taking notice en masse of the crew’s languid, spaced-out, and distinctly Pacific Northwestern take on house music. One of the label’s progenitors is Aquarian Foundation member Hashman Deejay (not to be confused with Bluntman Deejay, a different Mood Hut affiliate who also performs as part of the Aquarian Foundation trio), who put out several superb records this year (none of which were on Mood Hut, to keep things complicated). His sound owes a great deal to classic house music from Chicago and Detroit, but there’s a particular kind of hazy tropical sheen over all of his productions, where synthesizer pads seem to last forever and Caribbean rhythms float in and out, giving his songs the feel of lost Balearic relics. It’s the kind of stuff that works brilliantly on a dancefloor, but sounds just as fine at home, where the ambient overtones have a chance to fully unfurl. Chris Zaldua

2. Seven Davis Jr.
Plenty of exciting new artists emerge every year, but rarely do they do so with a sound as unique as that of Texas-born, California-raised, and LA-based Seven Davis Jr. With a background producing in mainstream hip-hop and R&B, and many years in the music business behind him, his excellent and varied releases this year built on the huge momentum of last year’s standout One EP. Now an alumnus of Classic, Funkineven’s Apron Records, and Doc Daneeka’s Ten Thousand Yen, Davis Jr. makes music that really tells the tale of his life; it is at once dark and messed up, weird and abstract—no doubt a result of his previous difficulties with addiction and depression—but it’s also sweetly soulful and positively uplifting, thanks to his irresistibly louche vocals. Beyond that, his funky, scuffed drums and lithe synths betray a passion for artists like Prince, but more importantly, they continue to separate him from the crowd. Kristan J Caryl

1. Pender Street Steppers
Over the past 12 months, Vancouver’s Pender Street Steppers have widely curried favor with their charming take on dusty house grooves, which skillfully incorporates elements of funk and new age. The duo of Liam Butler and Jack Jutson debuted in 2013 with Life in the Zone, a mixtape of all-original material which quickly became a coveted item among those in the know, and this year, a number of those tracks were repurposed for vinyl releases on PPU and the Steppers’ own Mood Hut imprint. While still undeniably lo-fi, both 12″s (not to mention Jutson’s stellar solo EP under the name Jack J) bucked the trend of gritty, saturated techno by incorporating the playfulness of disco, boogie, and early ’90s European house, sounds which all make appearances as part of the pair’s enviable selections in the DJ booth. Jay Donaldson

XLR8R’s Best of 2014 coverage will continue into next week, so check back each day for additional year-end round-ups. In the meantime, don’t forget to take a look at the other Best of 2014 pieces we’ve posted already:

XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Top Downloads (100 – 76)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Top Downloads (75 – 51)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Top Downloads (50 – 26)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Top Downloads (25 – 1)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Features
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Podcasts
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Gear
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Tracks (50 – 26)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Tracks (25 – 1)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Releases (30 – 16)
XLR8R’s Best of 2014: Releases (15 – 1)