Though it’s hard to say exactly what draws the musically inclined to Launch Brigade, just about everyone working here plays some kind of musical instrument, or has a deep connection to sound. Just counting the number of headphones being used at any given time in the office makes it fairly obvious how seriously we take our music. To celebrate our panoply of auditory obsessions, we decided to wind 2016 down with a round up of several Brigadiers’ picks for the top 5 songs of 2016. In a very deep way these lists represent our experiences of 2016 and, collectively, the human fabric which is knit into our company. So if you’re as sonically inclined as our team, we’d love for you to explore some of our favorite tunes of 2016, and we hope you enjoy getting to know us.
Karl Wenn
Developer
https://soundcloud.com/karl-wenn/sets/top-5-2016
Picking just 5 songs may be the most difficult thing I have done this year. My musical interests vary from week to week, and sometimes day to day. The difficult part is picking a “top” 5 as if there is such a thing. Even within the realm of hiphop alone, I break songs into categories such as best music production, best lyrics, best delivery, most danceable, best story, etc. I tend to listen to music and admire the good parts even if I wouldn’t necessarily listen to it frequently. But this list is about music I listen to, right? So, these selections are based purely on songs I listen to frequently. There is a common thread in each of these songs which represent a synthesis of musical qualities I enjoy the most. I like good bass, and funky or unique rhythms, I love beautiful vocals and I love unique melodies. The songs above are all combinations of this and it is for that reason that I listen to them often. Enjoy!
Brian Velasquez
Front End Developer
You can usually gauge the quality of most of humanity’s cumulative solar circumnavigation experience by reverse correlation to the amount of great sonic art created each year. This doosie of a year was no different. Luckily, despite the awkward turtle 2016 turned out to be overall, choosing 5 songs to represent my musical year ended up being one of the hardest parts for me personally. I ended up cutting some great songs like DJ shadow and Run the Jewel’s “nobody speaks” for PC reasons, some great pop songs like Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam” because this isn’t Pitchfork, and some of my more hard hitting electronic choices such as Justin Hartinger’s Entity in order to keep people from dancing at work. One of the hardest cuts was I still Care by Rare logic, which I still feel is the song that best exemplifies the independent electronic music scene of 2016. Nonetheless, from the soulful to the brilliant experimental Chinese Bass music of Jeanie to Santigold’s catchy “chasing shadows”, this playlist — which I think I can safely say is hopefully the strangest of the group — showcases the music I fell in love with this year and which almost made 2016 worth the trouble :).
Keri Robinson
Project Manager
My musical taste is all over the place. I connect with music most that comes from personal special times – memories – but also music that really taps into me emotionally – whether angry, melancholy, spiritual or joyful.
Damon Clark O’Hanlon
Brand Manager
When I’m working at Launch Brigade, I like to plug into music that’s spacious and synthetic. It feels like hopping on a quick future rocket to a faraway world! One where everything’s strange and amazing…
Rex
Developer
“I like music if it’s good music.” – Rex