Top 5 Releases From Northwest Artists This Year

[divider]City 17 – ‘Cast Away'[/divider]

With what may be the best overall release of 2014 from a Northwest-based artist, City 17 put everyone on notice with the release of their second EP, Cast Away. Featuring four original tunes and three remixes, duo Justin Anderson and Felipe Pereira found the perfect combination of differing genres and sounds to fit their unique style. Banging the diversity drum, as so many Northwest-based artists did this year, City 17 found room for dubstep, electro, drum & bass, and even some deep house in Cast Away. Having different genres and types of tracks on an EP is great, but when they’re produced at this level, it’s incredible.

There’s no need for the ‘next’ button when listening to Cast Away, as the originals are different enough from each other, and the remixes are quality compliments to their original counterparts. City 17 blew us away and set the standard for releases from Northwest-based artists in 2014, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for next year.

[divider]ODESZA – ‘In Return'[/divider]

One of the breakout acts in the broader dance music landscape, much less the Northwest, ODESZA is making us all proud as everyone else finds out what we’ve known for a while now: ODESZA is remarkable. For proof, look no further than their latest studio album, In Return. Released in September of this year, duo Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight wasted no time in capitalizing on their work, touring the world. From Europe to Australia to North America, ODESZA is showing just how much two dudes from Seattle can accomplish. They’ve been sure to show the Northwest love as well, performing at Sasquatch, What The Festival, Capitol Hill Block Party, Decibel Festival, and Shambhala in 2014.

Tracks like Say My Name, Sun Models, and Memories That You Call have millions of plays on Soundcloud and millions more on iPods around the world. In Return is an incredible piece of work and, as the only album on our list, is arguably the most complete release from a Northwest-based artist this year. They’ll have plenty up their sleeve for 2015; let’s all hope that includes another album and several more stops throughout the Northwest.

We’re very lucky to have so many great artists in the Northwest, especially artists producing such high quality music. Let us know what other albums you enjoyed this year from Northwest artists and what you think of those on our list! Comment below, on Facebook, or reply on Twitter!