13 tunes from 2006 that still sound banging today

2006 was a vintage year for dance music. Dubstep, electro, minimal and, erm, fidgit house were all having purple patches that produced some of the best tracks of all time. It's been a decade since then and many of the records have stood the test of time. Here are 13 of the finest...

The Knife aren’t the most obvious source of a dancefloor belter, bearing in mind the Swedish sibling duo’s penchant for pushing their sound to abstract, and at times bewildering, extremes. But the combination of fizzing synthpop and a pulsating techno core made the title-track of 2006 album ‘Silent Shout’ an assured late-night smash. The disorientating vocal line and glittering outer melody add a mystical edge to the functional foundation, elevating the track from disposable club cut to immersive classic. The continued relevance of ‘Silent Shout’ was given the Sven Väth stamp of approval late last year when he included it on his ‘The Sound Of The 16th Season’ Ibiza compilation alongside the likes of Floorplan and DJ Koze.

Not many nail a warped, distorted vocal quite like Burial does. Many have tried, some have succeeded, but the truth of the matter is that no one comes quite close to William Bevan when it comes to the abstract. Just his second release, 'Distant Lights' on Hyperdub is a dusty, nighttime trip conjuring images of desolate city life. Sampling both Destiny Child's 'Emotion' and video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, it was part of his debut, self-titled album and set the tone for 2007 follow-up 'Untrue'. And we all know what a melancholy treat that is. "Now that I need you," the vocal wails. Well, Burial, it's been a while and we're pretty hungry for more tunes from one of the most treasured producers in a decade.

Even among Ricardo Villalobos’ hallowed discography, this one stands out as exceptionally special. There’s not a great deal of variation across the track’s 37-minute(!) runtime, but those oom-pah-pah brass layers and the sparse-yet-constantly-shifting percussive line worms its way into your head with unshakable tendrils that wrap around your brain stems, making ‘Fizheuer Zieheuer’ an intoxicating listen. It’s ambitious, challenging, divisive, genius. Essentially, it’s Ricardo Villalobos down to a T, which explains its enduring popularity. That, and its convenience for DJs needing mid-set toilet breaks.

Hard-to-shake vocal hooks in Skepta tunes are a given, right? But way before the MC conquered the world and had North Face-clad middle class kids screaming the lyrics to 'That's Not Me' and 'Shutdown', there was one that really was hard to shift. "Wedididid, wedididid, wedididid, doin' it again," MC Creed growls in between verses from Skepta, JME, Jammer, Wiley, Bossman Birdie, Footsie, Bear Man and Trim on 'Duppy'. An anthem for the bling-bling, shades-in-the-club era of Boy Better Know, it became an instant classic for DJ EZ who included it on 'Pure Garage <<Rewind<< Back To The Old Skool' just a year after its release. 10 years on, we still can't get that fucking hook out of our head!

If one act defined 2006 and its surrounding years then it's Justice, hands down. The French duo exploded out of nowhere and they typified the sound that was dominating dance music. Electro was in full flow and the likes of Boys Noize, Digitalism and Mr Oizo were firing out razor-sharp bangers that offered little respite and breathless pace. Ed Banger Records was a few years into it's domination and although Justice's first album 'Cross' didn't arrive till 2007, they teased its release with a series of singles. The utterly venomous 'Waters Of Nazareth dropped in 2005 but the remix EP came out a year later and that's when it really flew. Erol Alkan's Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr Re-Edit epitomises everything that was so fun and care-free about the electroclash era. He chopped up the barb-wire synths, scattered the drums about and made those cymbals thrash like a pilled-up heavy metal mosher who's watching Megadeth. Whenever it was dropped, it caused havoc and it symbolised the rock-style anarchy and rebellion that the electro surge felt like it was representing.

Dark, brooding, side-winding and full of attitude. It's rare that a track that's reached its tenth birthday still retains the bite and bark it had when it first emerged but Matthew Dear's 'Mouth To Mouth' under his Audion guise is still as gnarly as ever. Back around the time it got released, its techno counterparts came in the form of cuts by Klock, Villalobos and Gabriel Ananda, where things were decidedly minimal. 'Mouth To Mouth' embraces the 10-minute plus runtime and just rolls with it. It never feels long, it feels just right, and its defining feature is it's rigorous, growling riff that eventually explodes. It creeps up on you as if you were be being followed by an ominous character and it's one of the most effective builds that's ever been conceived. Once you hear it in a club, that's it, you're done, it takes hold of you, chews you up and spits you out and it's fucking glorious.

The visceral response those opening three notes of bass-saturated synth draw 10 years on from the release of this DMZ classic remains unparalleled at dub-oriented raves. Go to any large-scale DMZ party and you’ll undoubtedly hear about seven different DJs draw for this plate, and see it get wheeled at least triple that amount. “It’s kind of crazy sometimes the reaction it gets when I play it,” said Mala in his 2008 RBMA lecture. People just cannot get enough of this record and a decade on from its release that doesn’t look likely to change anytime soon. It’s dancefloor perfection, the sort of track that gets wholeheartedly described as “life-changing”, with production that distils dubstep’s broad span of moods and atmospheres and Spen G’s anti-war vocal refrain that hits the pinnacle of both unifying and rousing.

If the recent escapades of Skepta, Stormzy and Novelist have sent you on a mission of digging through the grime archives for instrumentals, Ruff Sqwad's 'White Label Classics' is a riddim-packed starting point. Although released in 2012, it's a collection of the East London crew's most special bangers and the bird-type squeals and zippy nature of 'Move 2 Dis' certainly means it falls under that category. Only one of two releases that ended up coming out on Risky Road Recordingz, the vocal version kicks just as hard with some turbo flows from the likes of Maverick, Slix and Prince Rapid. Stormzy using the beat of Ruff Sqwad's 'Functions On The Low' for his gold-status 'Shut Up' freestyle possibly means their work is more relevant than ever. Get searching!

If you can say anything about the eccentric electro-pop stylings of Hot Chip it's that they've always remained really fucking fun. The UK band first came to light in 2004 with their debut album 'Coming On Strong' which dropped via Moshi Moshi Records but it was their move to EMI 10 years ago when their vision of fruity, synth-led electronica came to life. 'The Warning' was actually fully-loaded with absolute bangers with tracks like 'Over & Over' and 'No Fit State' causing havoc on dancefloors and in retail shops around the country. It was easy on the ears, tongue-in-cheek and damn catchy but our favourite cut from the album and one that's truly stood the test of time is 'Boy From School'. Is it the soft, delicate vocals that are layered to perfection? Or could it be the infectious riff that bounds and glides from the off? It may well be the serene tones that twinkle at the end while Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor swap tales of getting lost and finding their way home. A real heartbreaker and one that Erol Alkan remixed to perfection in the same year.

Berghain opened in 2004, launched its Ostgut Ton label in 2005, and in 2006 put out its debut vinyl release with this collaborative effort. Today the Berlin club is the hottest ticket in techno and Dettmann & Klock are not only the institution’s most popular residents, but world-famous DJs in their own right. The wondrously minimal ‘Dawning’ marks the origins of a sound, imprint and partnership that has risen to dominate the global techno scene, making it an abiding moment in club history that carries colossal weight to this day.

Dominick Martin's not branded as the king of deep drum 'n' bass for nothing. A hero for many, the Northern Irishman has consistently delivered tracks that pull you in and woo you through beautiful chords and sugar-sweet melodies. 'Deranged', out via Marcus Intalex's Soul:r, has both of those, but the joyous is countered by murderous synths that prove Calibre's not just above love. Two months after the same-titled EP came out, 'Deranged' appeared on 'DAT:Music', a compilation combining vibrant d'n'b with sawtoothed lower tempos from the likes of Martyn, dBridge, Klute and Intalex. A decade on, Calibre's still banging out tunes like there's no tomorrow and this year's 'Shelflife 4' proves he's still got it.

Without The Spaceape, aka Stephen Samuel Gordon, Hyperdub may not be as revered as it is today. The MC and spoken word artist, who sadly passed away in 2014, regularly worked with the boss, Kode9. This is a shadowy dubstep creeper, with a horn sample from Fumio Hayasaka's 1954 'Seven Samurai OST' running throughout, which explains Kode's track title choice. As the production croons in slo-mo, The Spaceape takes on the mantle of a sinister overlord to talk about money, pain and time, accompanied by a sample of Lee 'Scratch' Perry reciting "A stone'll be thrown at the state, and a stone will be thrown at the churches". The Spaceape is missed, but his legacy lives on.

Shackleton and Appleblim’s Skull Disco imprint may sadly now be defunct, but the former’s ‘Blood On My Hands’ outing on the label is an immortal track that we don’t ever see losing its impact on dancefloors. It was revolutionary when it dropped, showcasing the experimental edges dubstep could be pushed to, featuring intricately constructed percussion and 9/11-referencing lyrical darkness. Ricardo Villalobos is a big fan, and turned in a 20-minute remix of the track in ’07. But to this day, the original cannot be beat.