5. Evil Needle – Equilibrium

Calls Home: Strasbourg, France

Standout Track: “Warp Drive”

“Evil Needle has carved out his own style with Equilibrium, and within his element he is comparable to, if not more successful than many of his peers.” –John Healey

4. Shigeto – Lineage

Calls Home: Detriot, MI

Standout Track: “Huron River Drive”

“Lineage is mature, hypnotic and groovy—it feels much longer than its half-hour running time, and still not long enough. You’ll nod your head to the beats, but they’re nearly subliminal—the propulsive motion is buried well below the shimmering surface.” –Graham Major

3. Karriem Riggins – Alone Together

Calls Home: Detroit, MI

Standout Track: “Round the Outside”

“At 34 tracks long, it feels like something of an opus, the instrumental nuggets often possessing the same sort of stuttering rhythms, stunted running times and headphone friendly, almost psychedelic touches that characterize some of [Madlib’s] finest work.” –Michael Russam

2. Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes

Calls Home: Los Angeles, CA

Standout Track: “Getting There” F. Niki Randa

“Like Miles Davis’ In a Silent Way or Brian Eno’s Another Green World, two titans of pure mood, UtQC achieves depth not through the size of its sound, but through the complexity of its calm.” –Colin Small

1. The Gaslamp Killer – Breakthrough

Calls Home: Los Angeles, CA

Standout Track: “Nissim”

“…a loosely knit but well-fitted tapestry of drunkenly stumbling drum patterns, buzzsaw bass melodies, glitched up synths and Eastern musical flourishes.”

“The Gaslamp Killer tries his hand at so much here, and yet doesn’t seem to slip into aimless experimentation, never seems more adept at any one style than another one. It’s this overarching quality that allows the album to hang together so perfectly despite its abundance of styles, and the same quality that makes it one of the best electronic albums released in recent memory.” –Michael Russam