In each volume, I played on the subtle balance between popular releases and lesser-known cuts. I wanted you to hear the craftsmanship of the selection, to feel the human hand rather than the algorithmic one. Occasionally, I admit I sought nerdiness to an excessive degree, excluding excellent but already trendy tracks in favour of left-field pieces, but overall I’d say I achieved my goal. Another side of the same coin was the precise choice to include the most prolific artists with nauseating regularity. The presence of Juche’s releases, for instance, soon became a recurring inside joke, but fit perfectly into my search for realism. Artists like him, or MRJay have been, in some ways, undisputed protagonists of 2024, so why not represent this trend? Ignoring, at the end of the year, all this effort in favour of a more classic ranking seemed unfair, even if it meant to exclude high-profile releases.

Before jumping into the list, I’ll indulge in some general reflections on the macro trends that have marked (in good or bad ways) the wave movement. I’m going to start with a response to all the people who complained about the lack of ‘og wave releases’ on Reddit, X, and Discord. Look harder. Get out of your bubbles and learn to scour the web better. The songs you’re looking for are there. They’re just waiting to be found. Besides, if you miss the early days of the genre, I don’t think you lack material to listen to. If your culture only gravitates around wavemob’s compilations and little else, that’s on you.

Moving on, we’ve witnessed the definitive lofi-zation of wavephonk (yes, I vouch for this term). Despite being the majority current, in terms of volume of releases, the creative offering of the combo of rap vocals and wave instrumentals has proved sterile, relying mainly on stereotyped formulas and copycat solutions. As in the case of lofi, it has mainly become muzak, perfect for passive listening while doing something else, like playing or driving, or a stylistic choice that artists fall back on for promotional or economic purposes.

Speaking of driving, it can be said that ‘Nightdrive’ has officially become a sub-subculture of wavephonk. skeler is clearly the undisputed father figure of this niche, which however remains, to a large extent, a pale imitation of the Australian artist’s style. With his NightDrive 4 mix he has further demonstrated that he’s in a league of his own and at this point, the car-based imagery might be the only contact point between him and most of the other actors in this space. It’s not all doom and gloom, of course. Everything goes in cycles, and although wavephonk is at a standstill, I’m sure it’s creating the hummus for the new sounds of tomorrow.

At another point in the wave universe, Hardwave 2 became a thing. A real thing. Yes, the name may sound cocky or, on the contrary, overly formulaic, but it represents the group of producers I have enjoyed following the most this year. If the Hardwave has always been the noisy twin of the wave, the Hardwave 2 is its punk cousin who snorts lines of coke at family dinners. Over the years the definition of hardwave had already expanded (watered down some would say) to embrace tracks that flirted significantly with riddim, colour bass, and other bass sub-genres. Hardwave 2, however, bypasses simple flirtation and shamelessly jumps into sonic orgies where the Y2K trance component reigns supreme. Hardwave 2 is loud, massive, irreverent, fun, and, last but not least, emotional. It’s exactly what I’d expect to hear if Armin Van Buuren played Lost Lands. Artists like crowit, Altered Soul, Exodynamix, CNQR+, KENOK, and Teneki are responsible for the most daring and unpredictable releases I heard in the wave space in 2024. Hearing trancey arpeggios side by side with dubstep snares or amen breaks blows my mind every time. All that glitters is not gold though. Many Hardwave 2 tracks are still experiments from a technical or writing point of view but this is the kind of creativity I’m looking for. The kind that can stop me from scrolling and make me say “something is happening here.”

To cap it all, let’s take a quick look at the list. Again, these are the best songs picked from the eleven editions of WAVE Monthly I compiled through 2024 and they are placed in no particular order. In addition, some tracks that met the criteria were still excluded because they’ve been already included in our Top Songs Of The Year list. Most of the wave scene’s pantheon is present though. skeler, barnacle boi, Juche, Sibewest, enjoii, Klasey Jones, Pholo, vowl. have continued to develop their respective styles, further consolidating their leading position in the international scene. Some of these songs, in my opinion, must be considered among the best of the genre ever.

In the spectrum ranging from og wave to neo-grime, you find the future-garage-esque collab by calicry & FIVESUN ‘hamadryad’, Planet V and LOSTMANE’s ‘Immersion’, EVERYST and BACKWHEN with their beautiful ballad ‘Lovespell’, Gladkill’s ‘Future Unknown’, ‘Water’ by EONE and forget, MYSTXRIVL and Soko’s collab ‘Pixel’, SHXPE with ‘SOUL’ (the only 4/4 entry in the list), ‘Redemption’ by ovmegacvrse and heimanu’s bootleg of  ‘Red Stars’ by The Birthday Massacre. Among the best bangers of the year are Affectwave’s ‘CODE:NIGHT’, ‘Decrypt’ by crowit. and Exodynamix, the dreamteam REMNANT.exe and Noah B with ‘TRANSMIT’, MRJay’s ‘Break Away’, Teneki and CNQR+’s ‘Mirage’, ‘Broken Dreams’ by MitroWave and KENØK’s ‘LOVE AI’.

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skeler wasn’t the only one cooking though. Thirty days is a long time frame in the modern music industry and June was another month filled with freshly baked songs. June also means it’s time for the traditional mid-year reports and I was glad to notice how this column makes this process incredibly fluent. I won’t geek out and bring up stats and analysis here, but take a few minutes to go through the previous playlists if you want to get a more three-dimensional picture of the scene over the past six months. You’ll find interesting creative and release patterns that otherwise are hard to spot in the boisterous Friday-to-Friday routine.

If I had to highlight two artists who have stolen the show over the past six months, I would select Bafu and Juche. Bafu wasn’t a new name for me, but with a superlative streak of devastating remixes and originals, he rightfully became the unpredicted hero of the first half of 2024. On the other end, Juche‘s massive impact on the scene was everything but unpredictable. He’s already a superstar, but despite his status, he deservedly earned this shout-out for having released a staggering total of fourteen original singles so far (collab with Sublab included).

In addition to tracks from these two champions, in this Wave Monthly playlist, you’ll find charming and introspective tracks from STATIC ANGEL, BL1THE and cali.xo, glyte and Øtherside. SBU, Teneki, crowit., ZETMO, KENØK, Exodynamix, and the dream team REMNANT.exe & Noah B brought in some hardwave-ish energy while if you’re eager for obscure and mental cuts you have to check Cirrus Minus, GAZHELL and SAGE & KYLLER’s collaboration.

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Pantheon kicks off on Thursday, with the official pre-party at the High Dive, which will see calicry and Static Angel behind the decks, two of my favorite producers in the game at the moment. The festival reaches its climax on Friday and Saturday nights, where more than 30 artists will take the stage at the Substation. The gargantuan lineup includes some familiar names such as Remnant.exe, barnacle boi, brothel, Noah B, Falldren, Ramon Pang, Angel Cannon, and many more.

You can find the last tickets for the pre-party and the two-day festival here and here.

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By reading these words, ladies and gentlemen, you’re witnessing history. Seeing wave featured on UKF needs to be considered an epochal moment in its own right. It seems to me that I am assisting in first person to one of those stories I read years ago. Stories of some talented but still little known producers like Tim Bergling or Porter Robinson that, found by the right people on some channels had their opportunity to change the world. The rest is history. Leaving aside the comparisons, which often risk doing more harm than good, what I’m writing about is exactly one of these tales. The story of a bright talent, whose growth has been constant, solid, unstoppable. He grew from being one of the producers trying out this new genre called wave to a widely respected ambassador at the forefront of the scene to a true pioneer that, like few others, pushed its border to new heights. The producer is: Noah B.

I believe the merits of this pivotal milestone need to be split among all the parts involved. Noah B of course, who has been steadily producing some incredible music during the years, achieving incredible results as Heavy Armor. Secondly, the movement. Internal conflicts aside, I think the wave communities are doing a good job supporting each other, pushing their artists and spreading the word to new followers. Last but not least, UKF and Pilot. They didn’t get early on wave, but they masterfully set up this debut. There are several artists that I believe would have had the potential to be featured on the label, but this was not just a matter of raw talent. Being such an institution with such a wide and multifaceted reach is a double-edged sword. Especially when it comes to introducing something new to the general public, the first step needs to be considered very carefully. A wrong choice can sabotage from the beginning what could be a long and successful story. You need the right person at the right time, and honestly, I can’t really find a better name than Noah B. He’s in a league of its own, his repertoire is filled with gems, he has proven over and over to effortlessly blend genres and in particular, he has a very golden touch for drum&bass (not a secondary detail when it comes to UKF). He’s simply the best.

I’m done with this endless preamble and I’m finally here to dive into this double release titled Remembering Home / Judgement. Since we’re celebrating wave’s debut on UKF, I’d like to start with the latest one, which is the actual wave cut in the release. First of all, I have to say I’m delighted that ‘Judgment’ brings back the “cozy cosmic beats” I madly loved in ‘Endless Sky‘. The drums in the beginning really fooled me to think this was another D&B cut, but when the beat dropped well, my jaw dropped too. This is my church. This is food for my soul. These are the moments when I really get to think music is the finest and most powerful art of all. The production here is so polished that if there’d be a sonic equivalent of satin, ‘Judgment’ would be undoubtedly made of that. You were expecting a proper technical analysis? Come on, you should know me at this point.

When it comes to ‘Remembering Home’ instead, I can’t help to become a little nerdy. Honestly, I don’t really get why some people label this tune as wave. I’m no genre-maniac, but we already have a way to define electronic music characterized by fast breakbeats, heavy bass lines, and synthesizers: drum&bass. I’m not pointing this out because I like to nitpick but because I can picture hordes of people losing the focus of the situation here only to start a genre war made of useless disquisition based on wrong premises that will never find an end. Focus that, instead, should remain on ‘Remembering Home’ which is one hell of a track. Liquid D&B at its finest. A soothing eargasm. Noah B made it dynamic like the wind that heralds a storm but light as a leaf. The groove is incessant but flows through us like a purifying English drizzle without hammering the eardrums. The amen breaks are the only elements that dare to disturb this balance for a few seconds, but even this choice is functional as it makes us appreciate the rest of the track even more.

The airy melodies and otherworldly chords Noah B puts on top of this classy groove are masterful as always and don’t resent the lack of vocals at all. Not that it’d be bad to have someone singing over it but I like how this states loud and clear that emotions aren’t tight to words. If we want, if we need, we can shut up and still be able to convey emotions in many other ways. With a look, a hug or, if you’re lucky, by composing a song. In this regard, Noah B stated: “I’ve always used music to express feelings I have a hard time articulating in my day to day life. With Remembering Home and Judgement, I wanted to convey a feeling of hope & optimism. Over the last two years I’ve experienced a lot of changes and ups and downs in my life, but through all of it I’ve been able to remain positive and motivated by the support of my fans, friends and family. Their support is what keeps me going and these songs are a reflection of the hope they’ve instilled in me.”

The last thing I’d like to point out about both the tracks is how much I love that they open and close with the same arpeggios and chords, in almost a perfect loop. Now I’m only waiting for someone to upload a Noah B – Remembering Home / Judgement  (10 hours) video on YouTube. Meanwhile, you can stream this historic release below, on UKF’s YouTube channel, or on your favorite platform here.

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With features in many of wave’s pivotal albums and articles, he has marked my participation in the wave scene since my first encounter with the genre. In this thriving year for the movement, I’m very happy that he has decided to add more fuel to the fire with a brand new LP. Heavy Armor, Noah B’s third album, is what I consider the highest expression of his distinctive, colorful, cinematic vision. A music stamp consistently developed and nurtured over the years and here enhanced in 12 incredible tracks that encompass all the artist’s versatility.

The scenarios the album immediately pictures are, obviously, space-themed. While I listen to ‘Hyperion’, I feel like I’m witnessing infinite horizons spotted by galaxies that sparkle like tiles in an endless mosaic. ‘Cloudburst’ instead, seems to narrate the loneliness of the celestial bodies, forced to move in eternal loops in the intangibility of the universe. Yet, in this case, the vastness conveyed by these visions it’s not menacing, but makes you feel part of something wonderful. It makes you feel home in the unknown, creating a sense of belonging and stripping away the armor that shields us from not just the world, but from our true selves.

The narration of the story develops in a homogeneous way throughout the course of the album, a journey without interruptions or digressions across a range of genres and sounds. Among the more wave-oriented downtempo vibes, I was more than surprised to find also Drum & Bass cuts. ‘Planeswalker’ and ‘Distance’ are two majestic examples of liquid D&B. Nothing to do with certain questionable hybridizations we have seen this year under the #D&B2020 label. Noah B’s languid sound pulsations, arpeggiation and synthesis, blend perfectly even with the Drum & Bass tighter groove, creating a heavenly match which I immediately fell in love with.

Going back to the initial anecdote, despite its ethereal atmospheres, I believe that Heavy Armor is an LP that gives its best in a physical format. A piece that I would like to add to my collection at all costs. Until then, I will be sure to enjoy it on Soundcloud, Spotify and Audius.

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