@Aidan Repton

Throughout all the bass mutations of the 21st century, drum ’n’ bass—the high-BPM, breakbeat-driven style that evolved out of early hardcore rave and dub-influenced jungle in the ’90s—keeps going strong. The UK remains home to a vital scene that stays focused on the future without losing sight of the music’s roots. These songs stem from that tradition: deep, soulful and fluid, they’re as well-suited for listening as they are dancing. Our editors regularly refresh this playlist. If you like a track, add it to your library.

For Isgubhu, Congolese dance and Afropop star TRESOR celebrates the evolution of Africa’s dance and electronic scenes with a selection of his favourite new-wave talents. “I am really enjoying ‘Gorah’ by Nitefreak and Emmanuel Jal, ‘Sohlala Sisonke’ by Dlala Thukzin, as well as ‘Ndisize’ by Caiiro and Ami Faku,” TRESOR tells Apple Music. “Incredible songs with outstanding melodies and rhythm bringing such amazing colour to African dance music. I think we are entering the most exciting phase of African music ever.” Here, you’ll also find TRESOR’s latest hit, the Sofiya Nzau collab, “Wale Wale (Radio Edit)”, along with more from the continent’s biggest stars. Hear something you like? Add it to your library.

Calvin Harris's production work is as varied as his solo catalogue—from remixing indie-dance adventurers Passion Pit to his floor-filling pop smashes with Rihanna. It all has one thing in common though: Harris' ultra-vivid synths, rife with 8-bit bleeps, sawtooth leads and shimmering pads, which bubble and sparkle like geysers spouting pure champagne—the expensive stuff, too.

Throughout 2020’s lockdown, dance music DJs and producers have had to think outside the booth: What might their fans want to hear when they can’t sweat it out under a disco ball? While underground club music largely moved online, drawing fans to digital festivals and live streams for a good cause, the mainstream was dominated by nostalgic cuts that pined for rave culture’s heyday—the early ’90s. And Calvin Harris’ Love Regenerator side project—which delivered vintage-sounding releases such as the exemplary “Live Without Your Love” with Steve Lacy—made it clear that the ’90s were having a moment. Spiralling synthesisers, progressive builds, piano rhythms and acid breaks replaced the bright-eyed dance pop of recent years. Harris wasn’t alone. Duke Dumont, Prospa and Eli Brown also looked back for inspiration, with transportive, ecstatic dance cuts that drew from soul and disco. In other corners of the virtual club, melodic deep house still held strong; Paul Woolford, Diplo and Kareen Lomax’s “Looking for Me” drew instant comparisons to a club Tracy Chapman, and SIDEPIECE’s groovy “On My Mind” went viral on TikTok. But of all the moody bangers that soundtracked 2020, none was as inescapable as Joel Corry and MNEK’s “Head & Heart”, an impossibly catchy banger-lite that had us—and everyone—humming “ba-ba-ba-dum” all year long. Revisit 2020’s biggest dance tracks right here.

Paul Kalkbrenner's name is synonymous with Berlin techno, at least for his starring role in Berlin Calling, a 2008 feature film about a hard-partying DJ from the city's never-ending nightlife scene. Born in the former East, Kalkbrenner came up raving in the reunified city and got his start on Ellen Allien's BPitch Control label. After the film, which he scored, he was soon selling out concert halls across Europe with his melodic live sets and in 2014, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, he made history playing to 500,000 people in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

Mahmut Orhan's musical odyssey began when working at a sound studio as a teenager and quickly progressed to spinning tunes in Istanbul nightclubs. He then established himself as a formidable producer with “Age of Emotions”, an EDM instrumental wrapped around a bright violin solo and “Feel”, whose breezy horns and Mediterranean sound helped it chart across Europe. The Turkish producer often honours his roots by blending traditional Balkan and Anatolian folk instruments with deep nu-disco beats. The result is his trademark twist on commercial house staples.

As one-third of Swedish House Mafia, Steve Angello has been in the trenches of the dance music scene for over a decade, producing under a variety of monikers and across many genres. He first emerged with the twin successes of his single "Be" (with Laidback Luke) and his massive remix of Robin S.'s "Show Me Love," which is still a late-night staple. These two tracks established the Angello brand of big-room house: high-energy, high-BPM house productions with funky bass lines and subtly complicated percussion. Also included is his high-profile production work for Usher and Kid Sister.

From his early days playing Chicago house in French discotheques to his long reign atop the pop charts, David Guetta has revolutionised dance music multiple times. By the early 2000s, he had translated French touch into a clever merger of pop sass and club swagger. Along with a knack for killer hooks, Guetta’s versatility would become one of his principal calling cards. As EDM exploded across pop culture at the end of the 2000s, his shape-shifting style led the way, yielding ecstatic affirmations (“When Love Takes Over”, featuring Kelly Rowland), feisty come-ons (“Sexy Bitch”, guest-starring Akon) and unstoppable sing-alongs (Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”, which he co-produced). Since then, his collaborations with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Justin Bieber have kept listeners guessing even as his choruses—as triumphant as a bottle of bubbly blowing its top—have proven one of pop’s most dependable pleasures.