IOMIX-EOY2023

Lists be damned, we thought it was more fun to bundle a whole heap of our favourite tunes of the year into three mammoth mixes for your listening pleasure. Ambient, midtempo and fast gear contained within.

As the human experience trucks on past the finish line of another trip around the sun, we’re left with yet another insurmountable mountain of music to wade through. As someone who dedicates an inordinate amount of time to seeking out new music, it feels like a fools errand to even try and sum up the tiny fraction of sound I myself encountered out there on the teeming plains of sonic content. That said, it was too much fun sifting through and picking out highlights from various trusted egg-nests of digs, which left me with a modest 10 hours of tracks cut down quite ruthlessly from the larger body of 2023 music within my immediate reach.

Divided between three mixes, these 95 tracks were just some of the sounds which cut through the noise and made an impression. It’s a silly amount of music to wedge together like this, and there’s a greater focus on range than aesthetic consistency, but it’s an honest representation of how much incredible music is being made, from pitch-perfect genre studies to the weirdest, most innovative abstractions. There was so much more that could have been included, but for now, dive in.

Thanks for tapping up International Orange through 2023 – it’s a pleasure to be just one small voice in the cacophony of music coverage, and if anyone is reading it and getting something from it, then our job is done. A huge shout out to the amazing artists who contributed to the IOMix series this year, and to all the fantastic writers who submitted pieces to the site, and generally all the lush people we have the pleasure of engaging with in the orbit of this venture. Here’s to more great sounds and generally ranting about them in 2024.

Much love,

Oli @ IO x

Splayed Out In The Lobby

Ambient and experimental figures continued to manifest in all sorts of intriguing ways, from all manner of sources, in 2023. From the surreal delicacy of California’s Leaving Records to Azu Tiwaline’s Tunisian rhythm mantras, veterans Pierre Bastien and Michel Banabila creating charmingly odd, tactile mechanics to Nondi_’s mesmerising slant on footwork, the possibilties felt endless. There was space for some trip-hop slanted head-nodders as much as exquisite neo-classical, jazz and drone inversions and a healthy amount of cross-cultural exploration proving our differences can also be our strengths when coalesced with the right intentions.

Midtempo Rollers

In the midtempo realm, the continued progression of deep techno felt like a pervasive force in 2023, moving beyond purist 4/4 to encompass more rhythmic exploration and crooked sound design. There was still some great electro being made that stood apart from the glut of imitators knocking out Drexciya and B12 rip-offs, and in some places you could still find artists perfecting the well-worn deep house formula. Not everything has to be an innovation – sometimes a great tune is just a great tune, regardless of when it came out.

Jogging On The Spot

Even if there was plenty of cause for nihilistic fast-tempo oblivion on dancefloors this year, there were also plenty of meditative and soul-enriching sonics in the upper tempo realm. From slamming, invigorating techno to dyed-in-the-wool dubstep and an abundance of needlepoint jungle and breakbeat, there was a lot to celebrate past the 130 BPM mark. It feels like so many amazing releases aren’t even shouted out here, but in the face of the sheer volume you have to make do with just a snapshot. Hold tight for the Yazmin Lacey swerveball, proving UK soul can still have teeth and cut it with the soundsystem gear.

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