BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUMLP5APPARAT
German producer Sascha Ring has long been on the experimental end of the spectrum, releasing music for nearly two decades with his solo project Apparat, and with Ma collaboration with German duo oderat,
Mfirst Grammy nomination withan album that finds traction in soft-ness, with skittering beats and spatial sound design laying a foundation for his earnest vocals (comparisons have odeselektor. This year, Ring gets his LP5,
included Thom Yorke and Chris Mtin). This surprise nomination reflects The Recording Academy’s investment into electronic music that exists far from festival mainstages, with more at home in the afterhours or at-LP5 ar-
home listening realm of the scene.
No GeographyTHE CHEMICAL BROTHERSThe Chemical Brothers return to the best dance/electronic album category — where they’ve been nominated five times, winning twice — on the strength
of their LP immediately became a worldwide dance favorite of 2019, with tracks like the simultaneously mechanical and soulful “Eve of Destruction” and disco-influenced “Time to Keep On” (a No Geography. The album
dance recording of the year nominee), demonstrating how nimbly the U.K. icons span electronic sounds, all while making music that is very much their own. Despite their nominations, The Chems have never performed during
the live telecast — 2020 feels like a good year to change that.Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape)FLUMEFlume didn’t release a whole lot of
music in 2019, but his big project of thenominated in the same category again, back on the Grammy radar. Flume, album award for his LPwho picked up 2017’s best dance enough to put the Australian producer year, Hi This Is Flume (M Skinixtape), is now , was
for his 17-song tape)his sound, with features from JPEG-mafia, Eprom, Sophie and KUČKA. On the heels of the nom also comes news that Flume will headline the Ultra , an elastic, sprawling evolution of Hi This Is Flume (Mix-
Mindicating the artist’s upcoming year is already shaping up to be a lot louder.SolaceRÜFÜS DU SOLusic Festival in Miami next March,
The Australian trio has been a leader in the electronic scene’s expansion into live instrumentation, using drums, keyboards and computer-made sounds in its recordings and at concerts alongside genre peers like
Odesza. The potential of this fusionis demonstrated on Rüfüs’ third LP, Solaceearnestness and yearning, emotions often rare in the hard-partying and often lyricless world of electronic music. In a live setting, the album’s. The album’s mood is one of
heart-on-its-sleeve songs expand to euphoric heights, as experienced by crowds at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Los Angeles’ State Historic Park, both marquee venues for electronic artists, and both sold
out by the trio in 2019. Pairing these artists with a powerhouse vocalist for a live telecast performance would be something special. Weather
TYCHOExisting in the same indie electronic realm as Bonobo, Tycho released his fifth studio LP, it, the producer born Scott Hansen incorporated vocals far more than on Weather, in July. With
his previous output, with singer SaintRüfüs Du Sol at the Life Is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas on Sept. 21.
Dance
GRAMMYAWARDS
86 BILLBOARD • DECEMBER 7, 2019 AGIC/GETTY^ IMAGESFLMMI