The Top 20 Record Labels Of 2016

Rhythm Section began life as a small-scale party in a pool club in Peckham, quickly establishing itself as one of London’s premier spots for an intimate dance that goes heavy on vibes. It stills holds the twice-monthly bashes in South London, but in 2016 the Rhythm Section International name of its label offshoot has really begun to ring true.

Releases have come from producers hailing from Poland to Auckland as the imprint has stepped up to make global waves with its smooth take on house, reflected in an extensive Australian tour and bossman Bradley Zero’s increasingly globetrotting gig schedule that has seen him play multiples dates across India and the USA.

The imprint has also shown tastemaking credentials over the past 12 months, unearthing red-hot debut releases from Dutch producer Duke Hugh and Melbourne collaborators Silentjay and Jace XL, while keeping a close link to its roots with Al Dobson Jr, the man behind RSI’s debut outing in 2014, releasing the vast ‘Rye Lane Volume II & III’ album. From Peckham to beyond, Rhythm Section is a driving force behind joyous dancefloor times. P Hinton

Bala Club was the sound of London in 2016. Founded by brothers Kamixlo and Uli-K and best friend Endgame, the crew/label/party flooded the city’s underground with next-level electronic music that’s as weird and aggressive as it is introspective and sensual.

The hostile takeover began with the first official Bala Club party on New Year’s Day (featuring Evian Christ, Visionist and Dark0 on special guest duties) and continued with raves across the capital, sweeping through an assortment of spaces including Corsica Studio’s hallowed Room Two, the legendary ICA and a boxing ring in Brixton, inviting a host of club music DJs including Venus X, Juliana Huxtable and Toxe.

Accompanying this Superman punch on London venues was the Bala Club label, which was minted with the one-two of Uli K’s ‘Elusivo’ EP in March and the ‘Vol 1’ compilation in June. The former presented the young vocalist’s sensitive songwriting and ear for anthemic pop hooks while the latter introduced the Bala Club squad in full, showcasing an international network of producers and lyricists all intent on creating their own new forms of music and disrupting the underground status quo as much as possible. “We’re not about playing along with this scene or system that’s already going on right now,” Uli K told us. “It’s about going against it and creating change.”

The second half of the year saw EPs from outsider vocalist Lunarios and Kamixlo, who served up more of his signature industrial reggaeton. There was also a spellbinding pop single from Uli K and Mechatok as well as a residency on NTS and guest spots on Rinse FM. In ‘16, Bala Club became a production factory doing things on its own terms, housing a set of flourishing musicians using SoundCloud, internet radio and Facebook event pages to make a real impact both URL and IRL. S Wheeler

Bristol is a fertile origin point for exciting club movements. Pioneers like Peverelist and Roni Size still reside in the city and are pushing things on. But in 2016, a new force has risen to prominence. Batu’s Timedance has been responsible for the most interesting, mind-bending records to emerge from the city, or anywhere, this year. The imprint was founded on the core principle of fighting stagnancy, designed as a launch pad for Batu, who was struggling to get his foot in the door of any labels outside Bristol, to foster his futuristic vision.

He was right to be confident. Without compromising, Timedance has become a first class destination for sounds that blast through boundaries and send dancefloors spiralling into the stratosphere. “[Dance music] needs to have forward momentum.” Batu asserted in our Timedance feature earlier this year, and this ethos is reflected in the propulsive sounds the imprint has unleashed.

Take Bruce’s ‘I’m Alright Mate’, which even when breaking down into silence feels like being caught in an asphyxiated moment on the brink rather than a pause in intensity, or Lurka’s ‘Beater’ which stomps with the force of a giant donning size 100 Timberlands. With further searing outings coming from Laksa, Ploy and Batu across the past 12 months, the latter backed with a Lee Gamble deconstruction, Timedance has led the pack for innovation and club devastation. P Hinton

"Read my lips," the vocal goes on DJ Assam's 'With A Sound In My Heart'. With a seductive voice like that, we'll do anything they tell us to. The tune instantly became a Mixmag office favourite and '8040', the title track of the EP, is a bundle of house joy, loaded with subtle acid stabs, bounding piano chords and a longing vocal cry. If summer-fresh house and disco-tinged jams are what you're after, Hamburg label Lehult's got a treasure-filled chest to delve into. It launched in 2014, with its biggest success being Liem's 'If Only', a track played by Kerri Chandler to pay tribute to the victims of the Le Bataclan tragedy last year.

No outsiders have been let into the label just yet. DJ Assam and Liem are two of the co-founders, alongside Lucky Charmz, Eddie Ness and Johan Kaseta, all of whom put out music this year. Lucky Charmz got squelchy with 'Latency Jam', Eddie Ness brought out the sun on 'Afro' and Johan Kaseta combined sugary, chipmunk vocals with a dose of swinging funk on 'Lei Tindissima'. While Hamburg's Golden Pudel has been closed for the majority of the year, the Lehult gang ensured the party was well and truly alive in the city by booking Jeremy Underground, Shanti Celeste and San Proper for their night at PAL. Boxing Day's looking to be a treat as well, with Lehult joining forces with Studio Barnhus for a post-Christmas bash. Still need persuading? This mix will bowl you over. D Turner

Experimental club music was well represented in 2016. A raft of labels (many of which are in this list) helped document what’s become a thriving, worldwide movement. Among them, PTP (formerly known as Purple Tape Pedigree) stood out as an imprint unafraid to journey in myriad new sonic directions and each of its releases in ’16 showcased music sourced from the most thrilling regions of dancefloor dystopia.

No two drops from the New York label, helmed by scene veteran Geng, sounded the same. PTP began its year with the high drama of Joey LaBeija’s ‘Shattered Dreams’ before moving swiftly into the grimey kizomba of Endgame’s ‘Savage’ EP. The label continued to roar with DJ NJ Drone’s ‘Syn Stair’, a hyperactive, completely alien, high speed assault and Celestial Trax’s unholy ‘From The Womb’, which was like entering the darkest chasm. WWWINGS brought more noise on the ‘Chimera’ EP while Copout delivered delicious 125bpm workouts on ‘Forces’ and 0Comeups offered a little downtime with meditative drone and collage on ‘One Deep’. N-Prolenta proved to be a truly singular artist on ‘A Love Story 4…’ and the year was rounded out with Eaves’ album ‘Veloren’. There were also five issues of CELL, a cassette series bearing even more abstract works from artists working in the realm of the label.

To put it simply: PTP cornered 2016 and made an indelible mark. More than that, it opened up a whole new world, perfectly realised and full of different zones and possibilities. S Wheeler

Whities is a sublabel of Young Turks and Young Turks is a sublabel of XL Recordings. If that doesn’t give you a good indication of what to expect then we’re not sure what will. Founded in 2014, this year has seen London DJ and Whities boss Nic Tasker take the label from strength to strength, through an amazing aesthetic identity and music that doesn’t stay sat in one category.

Reckonwrong recently released an amazing four-tracker (sleeve above) and Minor Science's 12" in July flipped the low-end techno script completely. And towards the start of the year Avalon Emerson made her intent for 2016 very, very clear. ‘The Frontier’ is easily one of the most inventive and fascinating techno tracks we’ve been treated to over the last 12 months and its forceful progression coupled with unique, screeching riffs helped it creep into our top ten tracks of 2016.

Every release from Whities seems carefully considered and that’s a rare, beautiful thing in a record label. Funster

It’s been wonderful watching the Mixpak discography unfurl. The New York label, which is helmed by Dre Skull, began its life in 2009 as a vehicle for the producer’s work with dancehall artists Sizzla and Vybz Kartel, as well as releases from artists making zingy club music indebted to the sounds emanating from Jamaica.

That’s basically been it’s MO until this year: Dre Skull has pursued his work with the most eminent dancehall stars on the planet, producing and releasing Vybz Kartel’s seminal ‘Kingston Story’ in 2011 and following up with Popcaan’s smash ‘Where We Come From’ in 2013, all the while putting out a steady stream of red-hot, club-ready EPs by the likes of Jubilee, Murlo, Dubbel Dutch, Palmistry and Schlachthofbronx.

Away from the huge success of those Vybz and Popcaan full lengths, the label has remained at a steady simmer for the best part of a decade. But in 2016 something changed and Mixpak became a real force to be reckoned with. Critically, this has been its best year for releases yet. We’ve been served albums by Jubilee (rampant party music), Palmistry (sweet bedroom pop) and GAIKA (the raw sound of London). There’s also been a set of twisted, post-club electronics from Wildlife!, made to soundtrack an exhibition that took place in NYC. Publicly, Mixpak found itself on the world’s stage when it won the Red Bull Culture Clash in London, complete underdogs who took the crown thanks to a bag of dubs and intimate knowledge of how to wreck a dance (and get the crowd squarely on side). Locally, it’s been running regular parties in New York, with line-ups featuring the best club DJs and rappers the city has to offer, as well as scores of special guests flown over from Europe and beyond.

Having followed the label since its inception, this felt like the year that the Mixpak vision really crystalised. “Who the fuck is Mixpak?!” people asked during the Culture Clash. As ’16 draws to a close, they now definitely know. S Wheeler

In terms of ‘whole packages’, this year’s Label Of The Year is perhaps the perfect definition. Dekmantel has established itself as one of the most in-demand clubbing brands in the world.

This year, it celebrated four years of its stellar Amsterdam weekender, expanded to Croatia with the impeccably good Selectors festival, announced a Brazilian edition of the festival in São Paulo and, most notably, continued to curate a record label that’s been responsible for some of the best releases of '16. Robert Hood and Matrixxman both embarked on quests to create a series of techno records, across several volumes, where they explored every aspect of the genre. Dekmantel favourites Palms Trax and Young Marco built upon their sterling reputations with more acclaimed originals and long-awaited albums came from Makam and Vakula.

All this music and still time to put on the world’s best festivals. For such a small team, the possibilities seem endless and if world domination isn’t at the top of Dekmantel’s to-do list next year, then they’re not aiming high enough. Funster