20 albums celebrating 20 years in 2017

Mention 'electronic music' and '1997' in the same sentence and it's likely Daft Punk's debut album 'Homework' will be brought into the conversation. Its erratic riffs changed the game and had such an impact we just had to give it the celebration it deserves for its 20th anniversary in January. But it wasn't just DP doing magical things back then. Fellow Frenchmen Laurent Garnier and Etienne De Crecy were others proving France's class, Moodymann, Carl Craig and Larry Heard were representing the US with sublime house and techno, Roni Size and Reprazent further pushed drum 'n' bass into the mainstream and vocal albums came from Radiohead, Björk and Portishead. There are more, as shown below, so delve in and remind yourself - or get an education - of how fruitful 1997 was.

British group Autechre’s fourth studio album was considered underwhelming by some reviewers, coming after the release of the incredible ‘Tri Repetae’. It was always going to be a hard act to follow, with that album considered one of IDM’s defining releases. But looking back 20 years on, history has been kind to ‘Chiastic Slide’. From opener ‘Cipater’ groaning like a robot, the mechanical arsenal is on full array through to the stuttering closing moments of ‘Nuane’. It sounds like something from the future, but at the same time mirrors the gurgling sounds of dial-up era internet. LAR

This year marks 20 years since one of the biggest electronic music albums ever was released. What other dance album has spawned cultural icons to the level of robotic duo Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo? ‘Discovery’ may be a more popular record due to mega hit ‘One More Time’, but ‘Homework’ laid the foundations. Jumping on a burgeoning French touch sound, Thomas and Guy-Man added their own rock'n’roll flavour to churn out tracks like ‘Da Funk’ and ‘Alive’, as well as showcasing a more futuristic sound in ‘Around The World’. LAR

In 1997, at the height of her powers, Björk dropped her flawless third album 'Homogenic'. Moving away from the dance-focused material that coloured earlier efforts 'Debut' and 'Post', the album rides sweeping waves of orchestra strings, gear-shifting mechanical beats and trip-hop cool. If you've forgotten, this is a reminder that the Icelandic musician is one of the most influential electronic music artists to have graced the world stage. LAR

Brian Eno is a musical visionary. With a vast back catalogue, the former Roxy Music man's output is rarely compromised. ‘The Drop’ came bang in the middle of a period of work in which he explored impressionistic and ambient instrumental tracks over traditional songwriting. Blissful tones appear along bargain-bin drum machine sounds, eerie piano alongside synthesizer saxophones. The resulting ‘Drop Music’, as he liked to call it, was frowned upon by Eno fans. But in 2017, weird times call for a weird soundtrack. LAR

Carl Craig’s follow-up album to his debut ‘Landcruising’ was a groundbreaking release that came at the crest of Detroit’s second wave of artists. Following the futurism of techno’s original pioneers, the album also pleasantly leans left with strokes of ambience to create one of 1997’s better-rounded house albums with gorgeous tracks like 'Butterfly' and 'Dreamland'. OG fans weren't best pleased about Rush Hour's 2014 reissue, complaining about tracks being shortened. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? LAR

Detroit duo Drexciya have cultivated a reverence among fans with their uncompromising brand of electro. But it wasn’t until 1995’s ‘Aquatic Invasion’ EP on Underground Resistance that they began to establish their legend. That same year they dropped ‘The Journey Home’ EP on Warp and the hype machine was in motion. Their debut album ‘The Quest’ on Mad Mike’s Submerge label is a sub-surface monster bursting with punishing drums and acidic basslines. The perfect soundtrack for your next submarine excursion. LAR

At a time when French house music was blowing up (see: 'Homework' above), Etienne De Crecy’s ‘Super Discount’ album was in the right place at the right time with the right tracks. It can be mistaken as a compilation, with various artists (Alex Gopher, Air, DJ Tall) included in the tracklist, but it's De Crecy credited as the sole producer in the album notes. Featuring a collection sloping house grooves and downtempo tracks, it’ll have you wanting to buy a pack of cigarettes and move to Paris before you can count to trois.

The Chicago house pioneer was truly on form when he turned out this deep house classic in 1997. The producer’s fourth album under his own name, ‘Dance 2000’, is stocked with mellow grooves and floating synth textures that marked Heard’s best material since his Mr Fingers days. Those characteristic basslines come through clear on ‘Calm To Panic’ while the keys on ‘And So I Dance’ will simply never go out of style. It’s an album for hazy Saturdays and mellow Sundays. LAR

There are plenty of reasons Laurent Garnier received the French Legion of Honour. A few of them are detailed in this piece, and his second solo album '30' is another. Ambience, techno, dub, acid, house, it's got it all. Swooning opener 'Deep Sea Diving' dupes you into thinking the record may be going down the downtempo route, but really LG's just easing you in to what's a genre-riding trip. His Haçienda affiliations shine through on 'Mid Summer Night' and funk-flexing 'The Hoe', while 'Crispy Bacon' is evidence of his dancefloor-damaging mastery. DT

It's clear from the very first kick on Luke Slater's 'Freek Funk' that the album is going to be tough techno excursion. But that track's a walk in the park compared to the bleep-filled intensity of 'Origin' or the relentless scuzz of 'Engine One'. There's plenty of ferocious techno bark throughout the 16 tracks, as expected from one of the genre's key names, but the trip-hoppy 'Zebediah' and finisher 'Walking The Line' bring an element of tameness to it. He doesn't release under his own name these days, instead opting for his Planetary Assault Systems alias on labels like Ostgut Ton, but revisit 'Freek Funk' to remind yourself of the magic he conjured up 20 years ago. DT

"What am I gonna do, gonna do, gonna do, gonna do?" goes the vocal on Moodymann's 'I Can't Kick This Feeling When It Hits'. As far as catchy house vocals go, that's up there with the very best and you'll likely still hear it creeping out of festival soundsystems year after year, even 20 years after its release. Kenny Dixon Jr. had been releasing for three years before debut album 'Silentintroduction', but this was his first bulk display of tunes to crown him as a purveyor of house music elegance. From the uplifting claps of 'The Third Track' to the soft, graceful tones of 'Answer Machine', Kenny captures a mood of carefree joy, exactly what house music was founded upon. DT

Noun. modus operandi: a particular way or method of doing something. Quite excellently was Photek's way on his debut album titled with the Latin words. An early adoptee of Metalheadz (with the 'Natural Born Killa' EP), Photek's slick productions turned heads at major label Virgin, which signed him to its dance sub-label Science in 1995. Two years later, 'Modus Operandi' was ready and a 10-track record of sent-from-space jungle and drum 'n' bass was steadily becoming a classic. 'Aleph 1' - with its mischievous prods and churning atmospherics - is a standout, and 'Axiom' rides high through drum-kicking simplicity and subtle creature-like murmurs. It's not all kicks and drums. Just listen to the piano-based intricacy of the title track. DT

1997 really was a fine year for industrial beats, wasn’t it? Along with Autechre and Björk albums, London duo Plaid dropped their second album on Warp Records. Mostly foregoing the sampled breaks of their debut album ‘Mbuki, Mvuki’, ‘Not For Threes’ is full of dubby beats and even the vocals of the aforementioned Icelandic singer. The delicate techno cut ‘Ol’ is a particular highlight. LAR

Shut your curtains, turn off the lights and get this on. That might sound strange, but the creeping trip hop beats, harrowing vocals and subtle crackles make this prime for listening to in a dark room on your own. Vocalist Beth Gibbons delicately narrates the 11 tracks, incorporating sleazy guitar riffs ('Mourning Air'), triumphant brass ('All Mine') and synths suitable for an on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller ('Humming'). It didn't reach the success levels of Brit-nominated debut 'Dummy', released three years before, but it's an LP well worth hibernating to.

There's not many that can reach the melancholic heights (or lows) of Thom Yorke, is there? The Radiohead frontman is an overly languid mood on 'No Surprises', one of four singles taken from the group's third album 'OK Computer', his downbeat lyrics cruising above beautiful starlit melodies. It's clear that's what people were after; it hit number one on the UK Albums Chart and over four million copies have been shifted in total. 'Paranoid Android', 'Karma Police' and 'Lucky' were the three other singles, contributing to its status as their most critically-acclaimed bodies of work. DT

The love for this was so high, Bristol drum 'n' bass icon Roni Size and Reprazent scooped the Mercury Music Prize. Even those without a taste for d'n'b are likely to have heard the massaging twangs of 'Brown Paper Bag', a track swimming in jazz influences that showed how much the genre could spread its wings. The album took flight, too, peaking at number eight in the UK Albums Chart, but it wasn't through any dilution of style. Roni and co. stayed true to the 'Reasons For Sharing' material that'd come on Talkin' Loud the year before, producing devilish boppers like 'Digital', the manic 'Railing' and majestic 'Heroes'. 'New Forms' is an ideal title for an album most certainly showcasing a fresh direction for d'n'b jungle. DT

Oddities are something Warp Records prides itself on and there's been plenty churned out by Squarepusher since he made his label debut in 1996 with the 'Port Rhombus' EP. He expanded on the experimental jungle hyperactivity of that with '97 follow-up 'Hard Normal Daddy', his first album for the imprint. It's impossible to pin it to one genre (it's quite hard to do that for any Warp album, TBH) but jazz and jungle flavours definitely show face on the menu. It's perfect for a pick-me-up thanks to energetic injections from 'Rustic Raver' and 'Vic Acid', but also brief downtime moments through 'Papalon'. It's one to take your mind away from the real world, throwing you into some sort of musical fairground for adults.

The Chemical Brothers debut album ‘Exit Planet Dust’ introduced the world to their unique blend of broken beats and psychedelic synths. Follow-up ‘Dig Your Own Hole’ kicked the world in the face with them. Kicking off with the bruising and seminal ‘Block Rocking Beats’, the album was a masterclass in hammering breakbeats and distorted cowboy basslines that ended with the duo’s trippy Brit-pop epic ‘The Private Psychadelic Reel’. Noel Gallagher and Beth Orton both featured on the album that spawned five singles.

Hype around The Orb was still very strong in '97 as they released their fourth album, 'Orblivion'. It's doubtful anything sounding as trippy as this would sit high in the charts these days, but the album stepped inside the top 20 and single 'Toxygene', powered by bubbly keys and glowing pads, reached number four. Quotes from Mike Leigh's '93 film Naked appear throughout the mesmeric 'S.A.L.T' and '72' samples hippie-inspired musical Hair. The most psychedelic of them all, though, is the tip-toeing 'Bedouin', a no-brainer if you want to put your anxious mind to rest. DT

If you're ever feeling pissed off, then this is the album to turn to. From the savage opening of 'Smack My Bitch Up' to the grinding 'Breathe' and chainsaw-like riffs of 'Fuel My Fire', it's packed full of aggression and merges trippy elements of rave with the brute force of arena-sized rock and metal. That winning combo led to over 10 million sales worldwide, an absolute win for not just the Essex group, but XL Recordings, too. Many see this as their best LP, but it wasn't without controversy. 'Smack My Bitch Up' understandably attracted misogyny complaints from the National Organization For Women , and BBC Radio 1 resorted to only playing the instrumental. Start typing the track title into Google, and the suggested search result is 'Smack My Bits Up'. The X-rated video is still online, obviously.

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter

Louis Anderson-Rich is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter