01. Track unavailable



This poll is decided by the votes of RA staff members and current contributors.

In writing about our track of the year, it's never felt necessary to place the piece of music in a context much beyond the dance floors and headphones it was heard on. But in 2016, things feel different. At the end of a year characterised by uncertainty, with almost everyone seeming utterly exhausted by global events, tracks like "2 Bad" take on extra significance. We've long looked to the artist known as Prince Of Denmark, Traumprinz and DJ Metatron for a certain type of cathartic bliss, but at this moment in time, the expressions he's communicating have never felt more needed.It's also significant that, the EP "2 Bad" is taken from, seems to explore themes of religion and faith. A pair of crosses sit at the centre of its hand-drawn cover art. Its track titles—"Healing & Unity," "The Journey"—evoke gospel music. In Judaism, Metatron is a high-ranking archangel also known as the Recording Angel. It's unlikely we'll ever know the exact meaning behind this message: the artist himself is, of course, one of dance music's great mysteries, a man with barely any presence in the media, who rarely performs live. But across his vast quantities of music, released and unreleased, this intersection of rave and religion, with their shared values of ritual and community, strikes a particularly resonant chord.The appeal is also explained by "2 Bad"'s simplicity, an incredibly potent blend of breakbeats, synthesised strings and a repeated vocal lament: "It's too bad / Too bad, baby." Metatron's subtle genius is exposed in the details. Around the midpoint, he gently filters the beat, allowing the mood to drift, before forcefully reintroducing the kick. An additional string section adds complexity to the emotional tone. And the final two minutes are a wash of beatless ambience, as if the night, or perhaps the world itself, is being brought to a quiet end.