BEST DANCE/ ELECTRONIC ALBUM
Playing Robots Into Space
JAMES BLAKE
Touching on house, techno, bass, ambient and IDM without fully embracing any of them, Blake’s sixth album is pure dancefloor fare, including the dark, acidy “Big Hammer” and gentler comedown meanderings like “If You Can Hear Me.” Of Blake’s six previous Grammy nominations, only one is in the dance/electronic field, and his return to the genre allowed him an artistic vibe shift. “I spent so much time trying to learn how to write songs over the years, but here I didn’t need to do that,” he told Billboard upon the album’s release. “I just went out and made music I knew would be cool in a club.”
For That Beautiful Feeling
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS
The British legends delivered big ideas on their 10th studio album, finding hope amid the darkness of the pandemic and climate apocalypse. “Generally, we wanted the tone to be one of not necessarily celebration but, ‘How can we get to the part of people that wants to come alive and wants to not stay in this disenchanted, stagnant place?’ ” the pair’s Ed Simons told Billboard upon the album’s release. The rousing and often moving 11-song collection features two guests — Beck and vocalist Halo Maud — and follows The Chemical Brothers’ six Grammy wins extending back to 1998.
Actual Life 3 (January 1 September 9 2022)
FRED AGAIN..
The third installment of the U.K. producer’s Actual Life album series, (January 1 - September 9 2022), put an exclamation point on a rise to fame that made Fred Gibson the first real post-EDM dance music superstar. Key singles “Delilah (pull me out of this)” and “Kammy (like I do)” were defining sounds of dance in 2023 and made appearances in headlining sets with Skrillex and Four Tet at Madison Square Garden and Coachella, as well as
Fred again..’s own residencies in New York and Los Angeles. This nomination accompanies three others for Fred again.., including best new artist.
Kx5 KX5
The debut collaborative album from Kaskade and deadmau5 — producing as Kx5 — featured the hit single “Escape,” along with nine other moody tracks that demonstrate the two artists’ chemistry. Kx5’s productions balance deadmau5’s signature sleek progressive house and Kaskade’s more anthemic, house-forward work. Earlier this year, deadmau5 told Billboard that Kaskade “excels as a songwriter and in arrangement and structure, where I suppose I excel in mastering, engineering and the more technical components of sound versus the idea.” Kaskade and deadmau5 have 15 career nominations between them; a victory here would mark the first Grammy win for each.
Quest for Fire SKRILLEX
With Quest for Fire, his first solo album since his 2014 debut, Skrillex ended a period of scant solo output. The set yielded a barrage of singles dabbling in drum’n’bass, garage, IDM and the bass music that made Skrillex a star — and the day after its arrival, he dropped another album, Don’t Get Too Close. With guests including Missy Elliott, Mr. Oizo, Four
Tet, Fred again.., Flowdan, Aluna, Palestinian singer Nai Barghouti and Porter Robinson, every Quest for Fire track save one features a collaborator, giving it a triumphant, team sport feel.