If you have been keeping track of our best of 2016 series then you know how this goes. Chances are though is that you have not been, so lucky for you and only because I am in the Christmas spirit I will explain it one more time. We polled the entire staff of EDM Sauce and while some people chose to abstain and couldn't handle the pressure we got a good deal of responses. Each person could pick their top three choices for every category and a first place vote gave that artist or song 3 points, a 2nd place vote gave them 2 points and a 3rd place vote gave them 1 point. So we tallied them up and are here to give you all of the artists that received votes for best new artist in 2016.
The first place winner of our editor poll is an obvious one. This artist won in an absolute landslide just murdering the competition by over 10 points. If you have to guess than you must have lived under a rock this year, but the EDM Sauce Editor's Pick for the best new artist of 2016 is of course –
1. Rezz – 18 Quality Points
The queen of Mau5trap had a year that not many artists can top. She has come into her own with releases off of the label with undoubtedly the strongest A&R department in the game. The alien has released details for her own nation wide headlining tour and has supported boss man deadmau5 on some of his biggest shows in 2016. She has come a long way in 2016 in terms of production as well. Finding her own signature vibe that is recognizable almost immediately when her songs are played. Rezz has made 2016 her bitch and we cannot wait to see how she takes control of 2017.
2. Slushii – 7 Quality Points
The next on the list and with a major point difference is Slushii. A producer that many though was just a no name jumping on the train of food themed artists that hit hard in early 2016, certainly made a name for himself as time went on. Slushii who was championed by both Skrillex and Marshmello took his upbeat feel good trap vibes and road them into the sky. Rumors are that he will be dropping a new EP on Monstercat in early 2017 so it sounds like he already has plans to continue his domination moving forward.
3. Illenium – 6 Quality Points
Illenium seems like he could be found around every corner this past year. Any hit song that dropped a fantastic Illenium remix could be found in tow, including the mega hit remix of Flume's ‘Say It' which was hailed as better than the original by many. Illenium is following suit of bass innovators like Seven Lions and Bassnectar with his forward thinking sound design and genre bending ideals. The future is bright for this cat and are sure that 2017 will be more profitable than his break out year.
4. Golden Features – 4 Quality Points (One 1st Place Vote)
Golden Features has arguably been producing for a little bit now but 2016 is when he became truly a house hold name. His releases off of Odesza's Foreign Family Collective are what solidified him as a breakout artist in 2016. His EP Wolfie/Funeral was hailed by us as one of the best EP's of the year and his unusual ability to produce multiple styles of dance music has had us scratching our heads in awe. Golden Features has shown us he is absolutely golden and ready to waltz into the new year with total success.
5. K?d – 4 Quality Points (No 1st Place Votes)
The phenomenon that has come to light recently known as K?d is leaving the dance music scene with dropped jaws. K?d came out of absolutely no where and got thrown on the scene with the success of a few unofficial remixes that were so good the original artists started to champion them as some of the best that they've heard. Already making serious waves before any releases off of major labels, K?d is without a doubt one of the best new artists of 2016.
That finishes the list of artists who finished with multiple votes. Below we have are featuring a list of other artists who also received some recognition from this year's editor's poll.
Niklas Ibach
Whethan
Sofi Tukker
Atik
Kozah
KANDY
Frenship
