21 Year Old Hipster Dance Bangers
August 28, 2014 8:03 AM   Subscribe

I'm DJ'ing a dance night at a rock club coming up soon that will be attended by 21 year old hipster types. What are some newer (within the last year) awesome dance bangers I can play to impress them? Genre unimportant but I want to avoid anything USA top 40 pop or too techno-y. Bonus points for non American music.
posted by josher71 to Media & Arts (34 answers total) 69 users marked this as a favorite
 
30 Seconds to Mars's Up in the Air is a four-on-the-floor dance track masquerading as a rock song.
posted by bfranklin at 8:16 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


Inspector Norse by Norwegian Todd Terje first appeared on a 2012 EP, but was also on his 2014 full-length.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:25 AM on August 28, 2014 [6 favorites]


Everyone I know has had Latch stuck incessantly in their head/feet for weeks. It's a jam. Might be top 40 at this point, but it's good, so w/e, as the kids say.
posted by threeants at 8:34 AM on August 28, 2014 [3 favorites]


21 y/o hipsters I know unironically love Beyonce, for what that's worth.

Check out Robyn, too.
posted by kylej at 8:38 AM on August 28, 2014 [8 favorites]


also, Changes was eeeeeeeverywhere when I was in Europe this spring but I don't think it became a hit here in the US. I really like it-- would make a great "cool down" sort of track.
posted by threeants at 8:41 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]


Fiona Coyne by Saint Pepsi would probably work pretty well, as would Slaptop's Sunrise.
posted by asterix at 9:04 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]


jamie xx - all under one roof raving is one of the few dancey songs named best new track by pitchfork recently.
posted by anthropomorphic at 9:06 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]


The Knocks - Classic
posted by inigo2 at 9:41 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


a little over a year old, but how about Lil Dicky?

My favorites from Big Freedia are over a year old but she has some newer stuff too

2 years old but still gonna suggest Neato
posted by leemleem at 9:53 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]


Man, I don't even know where to start with answering this question. If you're DJing and you really want to wow people, you really need to understand the scene. The only way to do that is to be a regular at that club or that sort of club. If you understand the scene, you'll know the tracks that DJs are playing, and what people are dancing to already.

My general strategy for playing dance music for a non dance music crowd is to find dance remixes of songs they already like, and then look look for other remixes and original tracks by the same remixers on their soundcloud pages, then finally look for other tracks in the same genre to connect them.

The absolutely last thing I would do is ask people on a random message board what people at a specific club will like hearing. You have to trust your ear and your taste and your knowledge of the room.

It also depends how long your set is, what time of night, whether you're opening for someone else who has a specific sound, etc.
posted by empath at 10:23 AM on August 28, 2014 [5 favorites]


Also for hipster dance stuff in general, skim the track listings for Diplo's shows on the BBC.
posted by empath at 10:27 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]


Honestly, I would just use billboard top 100 dance tracks.

http://www.billboard.com/charts/dance-club-play-songs
posted by bbqturtle at 10:42 AM on August 28, 2014


Response by poster: There is no "scene", really. It's a once a month indie dance night at a rock club that they are trying to start. I'm 40 and not super clued in past Brooklyn circa 2005. I'm interested in newer stuff rather than just covering the past nine years though and I love bangers.

I'm pretty happy with the suggestions so far.
posted by josher71 at 10:55 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


DJ Fresh VS Jay Fay Feat. Ms Dynamite - Dibby Dibby Sound

I think this banger was an actual hit in the UK but I haven't heard it in the US at all.
posted by LSK at 10:59 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


LCD Soundsystem, Chromeo, Cut/Copy
posted by stinkfoot at 11:02 AM on August 28, 2014


Sneak in Le Freak just to show those kids what dance music is about. They'll probably think this is some new underground retro act.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:06 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]


HEY QT
posted by mkb at 11:16 AM on August 28, 2014 [3 favorites]


Bleachers - I Want to Get Better
posted by mhum at 11:40 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


Karol Conka! She's an amazing up-and-coming rap/funk artist from Brazil. (You can read her Wikipedia article, but only if you speak Portugese.)

Boa Noite is probably her biggest banger, but I think her best jam is Gandaia.
posted by divined by radio at 12:02 PM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]


Tons of the new retro outrun/dreamwave stuff is particularly danceable.
posted by rebent at 12:16 PM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]


Oh, one more really, really good one: Cochon Ville by Sebiastian Tellier
posted by LSK at 3:05 PM on August 28, 2014


Flume, Disclosure, Basement Jaxx
posted by naju at 3:15 PM on August 28, 2014


It's a few years old now, but Warm Heart of Africa by the Very Best feels very hipster-friendly.

And I've got an absolutely deadly track by Global Goon called Mithranix 08take03 that I think was part of a remix competition about a decade ago. Can't find it anywhere online but I can chuck you the mp3 if you MeMail me. I would seriously bend a leg if I heard this in a club.
posted by ZipRibbons at 2:12 AM on August 29, 2014




Best answer: I agree with empath, mate - this response could be 300 tracks long. These are some individual tracks off the top of my head (and without my rekordbox to reference), but in general each artist on here has 3-4 others you could add pretty easily and would only require a few minutes research on iTunes or beatport. I second all Robyn, Chromeo, CHVRCHES, Disclosure, Flume, Kiesza, and LCD Soundsystem recs as well.


If you have any more questions, feel free to memail me, for better or worse I pretty much exclusively DJ for young hipster crowds.


Indie Dance:

Robyn - Dancing On My Own

Russ Chimes - Turn Me Out

Chromeo - Fancy Footwork; Come Alive (Magician Remix); Bonafied Lovin'

CHVRCHES - Gun

Todd Terje - Delorean Dynamite

Phantogram - When I'm Small (RAC remix)

MNDR - Feed Me Diamonds (RAC Remix)

Holy Ghost! - Static on the Wire; Say My Name; I Will Come Back

Scissor Sisters - Let's Have A Kiki

Yelle - Que Veux Tu (Original or Madeon Remix)

Odesza - Sun Models

Moon Boots - CYS; Love Strong

Daft Punk - Pretty much anything

Hot Chip - I Feel Better; Ready For the Floor

Mark Ronson & the Business Int'l - Somebody To Love Me

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)

The Knocks - Dancing With the DJ

Uffie feat. Pharrell Williams - Add Suv (Armand Van Helden Club Mix)

Santigold - Disparate Youth


Pop:

Literally Anything Beyonce (from the new album but also Destiny's Child era)

Britney Spears

TLC - No Scrubs


Hip Hop:

Spank Rock - Backyard Betty; Car Song

Drake - Just Hold On We're Going Home and anything else good from the NWTS album

Azalea Banks - 212

More generallly, if I'm going to play hip-hop in one of these sets, I like playing early-to-mid 2000s hip hop like Fat Joe's What's Luv, Aaliyah, Eve, Jay Z & UGK Big Pimpin, Big Pun - Still Not A Player, etc.


Deep House:

Disclosure - When a Fire Starts to Burn; Latch; White Noise

Duke Dumont - Need U 100%

Corona - Rhythm of the Night (Blonde Version)

Kastle feat. Ayah Marar - Red Light (Youan Remix)

Wilfred Giroux - Stronger (Original Mix)

Basically all the tracks from Tchami's mixes: Live @ Social Club, Thump, Dancing Astronaut

And anything you can get from this Motez mix: Splash House


"Oldies" always popular with hipster crowds:

Prince - Kiss

Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams

New Order - Love Triangle



That's probably a decent start?
posted by infiniteguest at 12:19 PM on August 29, 2014 [5 favorites]


My favorite Houston club put a post on facebook of its last two playlists from it's "New Noise" nights, which I promptly turned into Spotify playlists.

I missed a couple songs here and there that Spotify didn't have, and there's some overlap between the two nights but I'm excited to listen to it and see a little overlap with some songs already posted here.
posted by DynamiteToast at 2:44 PM on August 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


Best answer: I'm over a decade older than your target audience so eh but here are some of my favorites:

Konono No. 1 - "Paradiso"
Chikwata 263 - "Military"
ESG - "Dance", "Come Away"
Pylon - "Volume", "Stop It", "Weather Radio"
Bush Tetras - "Too Many Creeps"
Hunters and Collectors - "Betty's Worry or The Slab"
Fela Kuti - "It's No Possible"
Daphni - "Mapfumo", "Ye Ye", "Yes I Know", "Pairs"
not obscure really, but I love everything off Grimes' breakout album, not just "Oblivion" but stuff like "Be A Body", "Genesis", and "Vanessa"
Sleater-Kinney - "Dance Song '97", "Turn It On"
Yoko Ono - "Walking On Thin Ice"
James Brown - "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose (In The Jungle Groove)"
Afghan Whigs - "Crazy"
posted by ifjuly at 3:51 PM on August 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


Oh, and how could I forget! Recent and popular in the sense they went on tour and all that, but still not Top 40. The Knife - "Full Of Fire"
posted by ifjuly at 3:57 PM on August 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


Best answer: G'ah, keep remembering more.

B.E.F. - "Optimum Chant"
The Normal - "Warm Leatherette"
Wire - "Start To Move", "I Feel Mysterious Today", "Read and Burn", "the 15th"
Throbbing Gristle - "Discipline" (maybe kinda weird, but when I saw them live the audience danced their asses off to it, which I thought was funny/strange)
Pixies - "Dead"
Figurine - "IMpossible", "New Mate"
Electrelane - "On Parade"
Le Tigre - "Get Off The Internet", "My My Metrocard", "Tres Bien", "Deceptacon", "TGIF" maybe...
The Go! Team - "Ladyflash"
Bloc Party - "Positive Tension"
Bauhaus' version of Eno's "Third Uncle"
speaking of Eno, "No One Receiving"
David Bowie - the last part of "Station To Station"
Talking Heads - "The Great Curve"
The Field - "Looping State of Mind", "Arpeggiated Love" (IIRC I have a Mefite comment from koeselitz to thank for getting into them!)
posted by ifjuly at 4:23 PM on August 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


This is super bangin: Dominique Young Unique - Throw it Down
posted by bobobox at 8:36 AM on August 31, 2014 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thank you everyone! This is really great.
posted by josher71 at 2:48 PM on August 31, 2014


Check out gbh.tv - Usually a sound mix of tracks.

Also: C'est beau la bourgoisie; Baby's on Fire; Alors on Danse; Netzwerk; Slove
posted by litleozy at 6:05 PM on September 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Still looking so if anyone has any good bangers they'd like to post then please do! Been using a lot of these in my DJ night.
posted by josher71 at 9:44 AM on April 22, 2015


Didn't get these in last time:

The Raveonettes - Kill
The Julie Ruin - Cookie Road

And new since last time:

Janelle Monae - Yoga
Sleater Kinney - A New Wave
posted by mhum at 3:47 PM on April 27, 2015 [1 favorite]


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