If you are choosing an indie dance track to buy or finish this week, Beatport's Indie Dance Top 100 sits much slower than the tech house charts: 56 of the 100 tracks fall between 124 and 127 BPM, and 125 is the single most common tempo with 18. The new No. 1 is 'Looking For You' by Dixon, Trikk, Jimi Jules and Tri/xon on Innervisions, one of last Friday's (October 23) releases.
What the numbers say
- Tempo: 81 of 100 tracks sit between 122 and 128 BPM. Only nine go above 128.
- Key: the chart splits 51 major to 49 minor, and C major is the most common key with 13 tracks. This is the brightest-sounding of the big club charts.
- Freshness: 34 tracks came out in October and 11 on October 23 alone, including Eva Kim's 'Signal Fires' on Diynamic at No. 6. Older records still hold on, such as Soulwax's 2020 'NY Lipps' Kawazaki Dub at No. 8.
- Labels: no single label dominates. Kompakt leads with six places, Ninja Tune has five, and Diynamic and When Stars Align have four each.
- Crossover: Justice's GTA VI single 'Flower In A Hurricane', with Tame Impala and SZA, is at No. 4.
For buyers
A 124-126 BPM track with a melodic or vocal hook fits this chart. Because no label owns the list, a well-made record on a smaller label can still compete. To find one in that range, browse our exclusive Indie Dance tracks for sale.
For producers
Write at 124-126 BPM, and don't be afraid of major keys. There is no single template to copy: the top 10 mixes instrumental club cuts, vocal features and a 2020 dub.