Based in New York, Atish has cultivated a devoted following around the world. He’s a natural performer who engages crowds with charm and a smile. An obsessive music collector, Atish pulls from a broad sonic palette, and with these sounds, he creates intimate atmospheres and emotional experiences that linger in your mind long after the music has stopped.
Atish’s passion goes far beyond the decks as well. As co-founder of the Manjumasi record label, he has created an outlet for other artists’ music as well as his own productions.
To wrap up this 2022, Atish shares his 20 most-played tracks of the year:
“As 2022 comes to a close, I’m sharing my most-played tracks of the year. All my play histories are logged via Traktor, so I wrote a Python script to parse my play histories across all my gigs. Here’s the data-driven list, ranked in order, with some reflection at the end….” – Atish
1. Emanuel Satie – Planet XXX
“Super versatile, I can fit this anywhere in my sets and it’s great for changing gears, it’s no wonder it made it to #1.”
2. Avidus – Volt
“Chunky, distorted, techy, yet melodic…club friendly. A+, it bangs.”
3. Kim Pixa – Space Flowers
“Organic house is generally a sound I’ve been migrating away from, but I’m fully onboard for this. Dramatic, trippy, and… just a great THICK organic house groove. Yes, please.”
4. Cormac (US) – Run Away
“This isn’t a game-changing tune, but the groove pushes forward, and the juxtaposition of the sensitive vocals + squelchy lead is excellent (and super playable), so it frequently makes it in.”
5. Joseph Ashworth – Ladder
“Finally, a track released this year! Straight ahead melodic tune. Functional, it works every time when I’m chugging along, so naturally bubbled to the top 10.”
6. Roy Rosenfeld & Eli Nissan – Metta Love
“Lost & Found was on fire this year. At surface level, this track doesn’t bang, yet it gets the hands in the air after the drop every time. Gr8 composition, arrangement, and mixdown will do that.”
7. Super Flu – Gargamel
“If this track was released in January, it would be my #1. Love everything about this. KILLER groove, quirky lead, melodic hook. Tons of details. Right up my alley.”
8. TERR – Only For Tonight (Dub)
“This track is right on the edge of my sound, but it slaps so hard. If I want to rock the floor with something chunky and bouncy, this will do it. Hands in the air, every time.”
9. Lauhaus & Mario Franca – Sequencer
“This one is at the top of my “groovers” playlist. Nice bounce, mysterious melodic lead, super fun.”
10. m.O.N.R.O.E. – Push The Fader
“I have this commented as “sneaky groover”….When taking a set in a deeper groove-oriented direction or playing early in the night, this one makes its way in. Ace stuff from my man, Jordan.”
11. LondonGround – Monocromo
“Been playing this sporadically for a few years, but it finally made it into my regular rotation once I learned how to time this one right. Killer groove, weird escalating lead, chunky vibe. TECHY…Yesssss”
12. James Harcourt – Open 1.4.3
“Heady, smart, dramatic, metallic. Kind of the sound of 2022 for many labels, which I have no problem with. On that note, Sum Over Histories crushed it this year.”
13. Adam Ten & Mita Gami – Ping Pong Pitch
“Both these gents have been ON FIRE this year, and for good reason. CHUNKY CHUNKY CHUNKY!! Proves that a track doesn’t need to do a lot to slam.”
14. Evelynka – Need The Way (Blindsmyth Remix)
“This is #14, but possibly my favorite track on this list. Sensitive, haunting, deep. Love taking a set here after banging it out. Don’t sleep on Blindsmyth, he’s WAY underrated IMO.”
15. Frink – Osho
“GROOVER!!!!! (with some nice pads).”
16. Eelke Kleijn – Mont Saint-Michel
“Heard this in Eelke’s Cercle set. LOVE it. Uplifting, melodic, quirky, FUN. It’s nice when club music makes you feel good.”
17. iO (Mulen) – Pills On Hills
“Stole this one from Yokoo after we b2b’d in Ibiza, and have been rinsing it since. iO is a master of the groove, and I’m his humble servant.”
18. Arnodd – Consoles
“This is really hard to mix in, so I’m surprised it made it into my top 20…Despite that, it’s just a gorgeous mysterious melodic tune with personality. Happy to have had Arnodd release on Manjumasi in 2021.”
19. Ebende – For Love
“Stole this one from Mark Slee after he closed our SF b2b earlier in the year, reminds me a bit of old Orbital. It become one of my go-to closers as it’s just gorgeous. No surprise it’s in my top 20.”
20. A/B Sides 015 – Trp
“KILLER STRIPPED BROKEN BEAT GROOVER. God, I worked so hard to find this one as it’s not officially available online, thankfully someone in my discord sent this my way. Yay community! [Shameless plug for my discord: atishmusic.com/discord]”
Bonus Track:
21. Jonathan Kaspar – Muster
“Jonathan Kaspar is a production genius. Heady sound design, smart compositions, and keeps everyone on the edge of their seats. His tracks bang without being obvious or dumbing things down. HERO”
Closing thoughts:
1. Lots of these tracks were released before 2022. While I’m obsessive about keeping up to date with new music, this list is a DJ reminder that obsessing over freshness is secondary to knowing my music and timing tracks right in a set.
2. A bunch of tracks in this list are heavily played, but not necessarily my FAVORITE tracks of the year. I’ll never play a track I don’t believe in, but at the end of the day, the tracks that work on the floor get the most play. DJ Darwinism in action
3. While this list doesn’t cover ALL my interests across house music, I do think it decently represents my range. Club bangers, techy, proggy, minimal, deep, broken beat. I’ve never liked the idea of being pigeonholed into a genre, and the data seems to support that 🙂
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