10 Most Iconic Melodies In Electronic Music

Insomnia – Faithless

Amazingly ‘Insomnia’ was only the second single that Faithless ever released and they managed to break out with a chart killer. Reaching number 1 in Finland, Norway, and Switzerland, as well as topping the American and Canadian dance charts it made for an incredible start to the bands career. ‘Insomnia’ oozes pedigree featuring possibly the best known melody in electronic music along with the equally unforgettable vocals from the late Maxi Jazz. ‘Insomnia’ has made it onto just about every top 10, 20, 50, or 100 list of best electronic tracks and for good reason. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t recognise the unbeatable melody.

Kernkraft 400 – Zombie Nation

A German techno classic, ‘Kernkraft 400’ gave the world one of the most recognisable melodies of all time which has echoed around arenas, pitches, and festivals all around the world. The melody was originally from a track called ‘Stardust’ from the Commodore 64 game ‘Lazy Jones’ which through the creative remixing of Zombie Nation became the track we know and love today. For 26 years ‘Kernkraft 400’ has been a massive part of the sports world taking on a life as a hugely popular chant even being named in the ‘Top 10 Stadium Anthems’ by Sports Illustrated. The song alone is legendary, but when thousands of people are chanting along it just gets even better.

L’Amour Toujours – Gigi D’Agostino

If you were to mention the genre of euro pop to someone it’s almost certain that the first thing to pop into their head will be the timeless melody of ‘L’Amour Toujours.’ Reaching number one in Denmark, The Netherlands, and Romania its popularity continued to grow as 2 years after its initial release it cracked into the US Billboard Hot 100 at 78. Since then, the song has cemented itself as a club classic with a melody that never gets old and has continued to get crowds everywhere hyped up while amassing over half a billion Spotify streams.

Better Off Alone – Alice Deejay

‘Better Off Alone’ is a joyful eurodance classic with an unfortunately sad sentiment behind its lyrics. Originally released as an instrumental by DJ Jurgen it would later be updated with lyrics from Judith Pronk that built upon the songs marvellous melody. The idea for the lyrics came from one of the members of the Alice Deejay project, Sebastiaan Molijn, who had recently been left by his partner leading to the line ‘Do you think you’re better off alone?’. After lighting up the charts in 1997 those unmistakable notes made a return to the charts in David Guetta’s 2013 reimagining of the track ‘Play Hard.’

Pjanoo – Eric Prydz

As one of the titans of electronic music it’s no surprise that Eric Prydz is on this list and of course it had to be ‘Pjanoo.’ While it’s become considered legendary today it was initially almost a song that was lost to time as Eric Prydz debuted the track in 2006 to a poor reception leading to him abandoning it. Thankfully a couple years later after discovering the CD of it while DJing he decided to give it another shot, and the crowd loved it. Soon after ‘Pjanoo’ got its official release and hit the charts around the world even earning a number 1 in the UK Dance Chart.

Levels – Avicii

8x Platinum in Sweden, triple platinum in the UK, and triple platinum in the US. These are statistics you can only attribute to an all-time great track of which ‘Levels’ is. Prior to its release Avicii was gathering momentum with a string of hugely popular remixes, but it was ‘Levels’ that accelerated that momentum drastically as it took the world by storm. It reached the top 10 in the charts across most of the world and has since cracked the billion-stream marker on Spotify. There’s not a single country on earth where you could play ‘Levels’ and not get people excited and jumping about which shows how widespread the love for Avicii is.

Adagio For Strings – Tiesto

In 1936 when Samuel Barber wrote ‘Adagio For Strings’ he of course had no concept of what trance music is nor could he have imagined how big his song would become in the world of dance music. Almost 70 years after it was originally written Tiesto took this very literal classic and flipped it into an instant trance classic that rocketed him to stardom. Going platinum in the UK, reaching number 1 in Hungary, and hitting number 4 in the US Billboard Hot Dance Singles chart it was a massive hit that has only grown in stature since. The unmistakable melody earnt Tiesto worldwide recognition and remains one of his best pieces of work.

Voodoo People – The Prodigy

While originally made by The Prodigy, ‘Voodoo People’ has become an iconic song for two bands as it was later remixed by Pendulum into an equally brilliant drum & bass banger. Released as the third single on the amazing ‘Music for the Jilted Generation’ album it quickly became a hit building upon the already rapidly growing reputation of The Prodigy. ‘Voodoo People’ is a haven of creative sampling that you can dig into for days and still keep finding more things you didn’t notice before. The anticipation for the melody is palpable throughout the song and oh so satisfying when it hits.

Show Me Love – Robin S

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 35 years since the release of Robin S’ amazing house hit ‘Show Me Love’ which has lost none of its popularity over that time. Reaching number 1 on Billboard’s US Dance Club Songs chart as well as topping the UK Dance Chart, it was a goliath of a hit that put the name Robin S on the map. Whatever festival, rave, or nightclub you might go to you can count on the fact that you will hear that iconic melody that’s been getting people dancing throughout the decades. Its success upon release was unexpected as house wasn’t mainstream at the time, but ‘Show Me Love’ smashed into the charts and helped pave the way for houses popularity today.

Riverside – Sidney Samson

‘Riverside’ is the crowning jewel in Sidney Samson’s repertoire of legendary music with a melody you could loop for days without getting bored, and the undoubtably iconic drop vocal, “Riverside Motherf****r.” ‘Riverside’ has taken on many forms including the vocal mix ‘Riverside (Let’s Go)’ featuring Wizard Sleeve, ‘Riverside (Reloaded)’ in collaboration with Tujamo, and Oliver Heldens’ take on it ‘Riverside 2099.’ Each has found great success with ‘Riverside (Let’s Go)’ being the most well-known reaching number 2 in the UK and continuing to get clubs rocking.

Honourable Mentions

Sandstorm – Darude

Animals – Martin Garrix

Mammoth – Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike

Right Here Right Now – Fatboy Slim

Axel F – Crazy Frog

Blue (Da Ba Dee) – Eiffel 65, Gabry Ponte