Desert Hearts' 'Best Of 2020' Keeps Us Fueled for the Future

**Add a little music to the ambiance to the final hours of the year and travel through time with Desert Hearts’ Best Of 2020!**

Happy Holidays dance music family! What better way to celebrate the jolliest season of the year than with the Desert Hearts crew and the release of Best of 2020. It was more important than ever this year to surround ourselves with the beats that strengthen the spirit and this compilation does just that while sending us off into a daydream full of festive uplift. It’s safe to say that we are all feeling boundless amounts of love from the label because it has only been a week since the release of Desert Hearts Black’s Best Of 2020 and now we get 27 more tracks to enjoy as we feast on Christmas ham and a little bit of the bubbly.

Within this compilation, we see Desert Hearts leaders Mikey Lion, Marbs, Lee Reynolds, and Porky pop in to say hello with tracks that showed us how to shake off the stress and give in to the groove. We also see the tastemakers who have been killing the Desert Hearts game this year including Lubelski, Gettoblaster, MADVILLA, and Morpei, all snatching up multiple spots for your listening pleasure. And then there are the insanely popular dance floor dominators like Joyce Muniz, Andreas Henneberg, Nathan Barato, and Alex Kennon who take this compilation to the next level. The talent is busting through the seems!

Personally, there are tracks on this album like Marbs’ “Psilo,” Lubelski’s “Quitting Is For Losers,” and Luke Mandala’s “Fire Eyes” that lifted me from the trenches on many occasions this year. The crew truly came through for us as this is a compilation that will inspire giant smiles and those much needed happy thoughts. So turn your speakers up and turn back the clock with Desert Hearts as we navigate through the tunes that helped us get through 2020!

Grab your copy of Desert Hearts’ Best Of 2020 on your favorite music platform, stream below and then continue on to get my opinion on some of my favorite tracks!

**Stream Desert Hearts – Best Of 2020 on Spotify:**

Let’s get the party started as we begin our roller coaster ride of tech house mania!

Desert Hearts’ Best of 2020 kicks off with Mikey Lion’s “The Way You’re Wrong” and I couldn’t be more drawn to the story weaved within the hypnotic house atmosphere and soothing guitar riffs. This is a track that oozes with a sense of self-confidence and I am totally in tune with the emotion that Mikey intended to pull out from his listeners. To shine a light on his inspiration, here are some words straight from the man himself.

This song is about the emotion we feel when we’re in a fight with a loved one. I wanted it to strike an emotional chord with the listener, particularly being from a woman’s point of view. I think we all can resonate when fighting with a loved one because they’re often the fights that impact us the most. When they’re resolved they often make us stronger.
Mikey Lion

Next up we have a phenomenal treat from Nathan Barato. It’s called “Music” and it is a feel-good tune through and through. You can find this track off of Nathan’s Music In The Sky EP that dropped back in May, the time of the year that we were all in desperate need of some positive energy. His Desert Hearts debut invokes a feeling of sweet release as I throw my hands up and surrender to the lighthearted vocal lead. If you are ever feeling like 2020 has got you trapped in a corner, throw this track on and I promise you, your day will seem a little bit brighter.

My next two picks are delightfully odd while the third mystifies and settles my nerves.

Chugging right along I land on singer turned producer Joyce Muniz and her Desert Hearts sophomore release “Deeper The Soul” (feat. G.Rizo). This tune has got me tickled pink. There is something incredibly infectious about the delivery of the spoken word. It is fueled with loads of sass while the crunchy synth accents add a mechanical vibe to this fresh and funky tune. It’s unlike any song I have ever heard, to be honest. And for that, I am wildly drawn to it. This one will be stuck in my head all day.

Next to catch my attention is Lubelski and “The Rave Scene,” the title track off of his four-track EP released in October. Lubelski has been on my radar after becoming privy to his killer productions like “Lost My Senses” and “Dip Into A Dream,” but it’s “The Rave Scene” that has me officially sold! The name perfectly depicts the essence of this track. It’s a bit classic yet edgy with the combination of laser blips and piano stabs. But, my brain begins to do somersaults when the vocal clip drops in. The vocal tone and narration embody the very essence of rave culture. Both an obsession and a lifestyle.

That being said, I have now reached a track that I am obsessed with, “Psilo” by none other than the Desert Hearts Black mastermind himself, Marbs! This track was delivered to us back in March right around the time of the official shut down on his EP that included “Cybin.” It was “Psilo” that ket my mind away from spiraling off into insanity with brilliantly dark, twisted tones that transports my spirit to another planet for off in another galaxy. Exactly where I needed to be during that time.

I am now fully emmersed in this arousing spectacle of sound and I find surprises around every turn.

One of these surprises comes in the form of “Long Weekend” by Memo Rex and Desert Hearts Founder Lee Reynolds. Once again this track has been plucked from its original EP status, an offering that was part of the Road To Desert Hearts series at the beginning of the year. This flighty tech house mood lifter simply had to be on this compilation because there is no denying the weird little bleeps that make everything feel right in the world for even just a second. It’s the simple things in life and while “Long Weekend” isn’t a ferociously profound offering, it’s the unpretentious essence that I adore.

Now that I am in a blissful state of mind, I am ready for someone to press down the gas pedal. And interestingly enough, in order to achieve the energy I desire, Bolivia’s own Morpei takes me to church! The track is called “Churchadelic” and it has got me shaking and jumping all over my living room floor. I feel the spirit like never before as the pastor’s soulful delivery cleanses my heart and rids me of all my demons. Honestly, this is an all-around uplifting production that will clear up the gloomiest of emotions and get your feet moving one in front of the other.

After that full-on sweat session, I am swept away by the whimsical fancy of Alex Kennon‘s “Gentle Water.” For his Desert Hearts debut, Alex Kennon delivers a mic drop production, securing his spot with the family for many years to come. There is a deep yet festive edge on “Gentle Water” and as the angels deliver their hymn in the background all of my stress quickly fades away. Now that I think of it, the exact vibe is written right into the title. Welcoming and smooth like the flow of a gentle stream. I can listen to this track on repeat for hours and not get sick of it.

Now that I am floating on cloud nine, it will take an electric shock to push me forth on my journey and of course, Desert Hearts has got me covered.

Well, that’s exactly my experience once I land on Eyes Everywhere and Steve Gerard’s “City Sleeps” featuring Dan Diamond. This was a track featured on Desert Hearts Friends & Family Vol 4 and is a tune that once again fills me with nostalgic thoughts as it reminds me of the “Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat” narrative and vocal tone. “City Sleeps” tells a story about landing at the club while the rest of the city is in slumber and is saturated with a dark undertone that I like to call low-key intense.

As Best Of 2020 has me fully locked into the groove, the legend Andreas Henneberg quickly snatches my full attention with “No Communication.” The Desert Hearts EP game has been mind-blowingly strong this year as once again we see this track borrowed from No Communication released back in July. We received this gem at the perfect time because being smack dab in the middle of summer, why not match the heat with a ferocious dance floor fire starter! This track has so much swagger to it and that siren has got me tripping out and shaking my tail feather all over the house.

And then there is Jesse Perez and “Groove Taking Over.” Just like many on this compilation album, this track was featured on Desert Hearts Friends & Family Vol 4 and deserves a special shoutout. This offering has such a bubbly essence that it has been one of my go-to tracks whenever I need to let the world around me fade away. It grabs me with a consistent rhythm and echoing lyrics. And every once in a while you will hear a low octave sound blast that feels like a caffeine blast to my soul.

We are heading to the finish line and my last three picks were chosen because they speak to the dark side of my personality.

Yet another spring release that pushed me completely out of my mind was Luke Mandala’s “Fire Eyes.” This track screams underground and that’s why I have been so drawn to it throughout the year. I close my eyes and let the gritty vocal details pierce straight through my brain. The magic happens about halfway in when the voice begins to distort while the melody garners a facelift before dumping me back into a cavern of techy madness.

Go figure! Lubelski is back on my top tracks list once again and this time it is with “Quitting Is For Losers,” another tune that I have been listening to since its fall release on The Rave Scene. I am infatuated with the buoyant synth selections and the voice cloaked with a beautiful groove. This track comes off as very mature yet joyful and pure. Every time I feel like pulling my hair out in frustration, “Quitting Is For Losers” is all I need to send me on a calmer trajectory.

My final pick goes to the closing track, Little Fritter’s “Got It Bad For You”, another Friends & Family stunner. What a hell of a way to close out a fantastic compilation as I am catapulted straight off into a freaky dimension swirling with sideways detail and dark energy. I am proud to call this track my favorite of the lot. I find that it caters to all of my musical desires as I feel my inner alien awakening while my devilish side is also beckoned to come out to play. This could have easily made its way onto Desert Hearts Black but I will take it any way you serve it up to me.

Desert Hearts Best Of 2020 hit the bullseye with a broad range of emotion and sound.

I am so head over heels with how this compilation shaped up because it truly does signify the many moods and styles of the Desert Hearts family. It is filled with an eclectic cast of forward-thinkers and creative visionaries who never settle for the ordinary. Desert Hearts Best Of 2020 will keep you on your toes and fill you with warmth while taking you on a time leap through a year most of us would like to forget. Thankfully, with music like this, we can find the strength to keep grooving on!