Throw some RAC fans at a pile of his tracks and tell them to ‘grab, grab, grab motherfuckers’ what of his they’d consider best of the best and, surely, you’re going to get as many different lists as there are minds involved. André Allen Anjos, aka RAC of today, is prolific as fuck. That constancy of output, pushing against the boundaries of your own work lest it may suffocate you, charged my understanding of what it means to be an active music journalist.

But it was those lost days of life circa 2011, when I’d sit in this shitty little, un-insulated Seattle garage I rented, banging my head against a wall for answers that RAC, and their approach to remixes, illuminated my world. RAC tracks hone in on one underlying emotion and unravel it, wrapping you in the delicate nuance of the lyrics. I remember hearing them that year and thinking ‘Oh, fuck, did someone feel that too?’ Which, for someone that felt so far gone, was groundbreaking. Maybe I could reconnect. You know, to humanity and all that jazz (if I could just learn to speak again). Two songs on this list used to beat box against my ears, trying to get at the wall of emotion; and, ultimately, I decided to take a track each day and cut open it’s vein, letting the music take me where it may. That’s 90% of my approach to music writing to this day.

So, in preparation for a The Sights and Sounds interview this week with RAC (conducted by our Kris Kish), I’m counting down the top 7 BEST OF RAC, from a dark pop perspective:

7. MNDR// FEED ME DIAMONDS

Come on, dismantle me, do it slowly
My hands, my feet, my voice, take everything
Reduce it all to crystal blackness
Cause blind discipline it’s useless
What’s the good in being good?

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6. MS MR // THINK OF YOU

I still think of you
And all the shit you put me through
And I know you were wrong

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5. YOUNGBLOOD HAWKE// WE COME RUNNING

Under a pale blue sky
You never felt so cold
Another sleepless night
How could you ever let go

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4. JOYWAVE// TONGUES

They say I’m the only one, who can be brave
That i am the chosen one
But there’s no way, that I am the only one
And there’s no one to save
Sometimes I feel like they don’t understand me

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3. RAC// LET GO (FT. KELE AND MNDR) [SIR SLY REMIX]

Tell me, tell me, tell me your problems
I’m here for you
Just try, just try, just try to stay sober
It’s eating you
And they say you are a monster, but what I see’s a child

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2. PETER BJORN AND JOHN// SECOND CHANCE

The picture still hangs on the wall
From back in the day
When you had it all

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1. FOSTER THE PEOPLE// HOUDINI

I’ve got shackles on, my words are tied
Fear can make you compromise
Fast enough, it’s hard to hide
Sometimes I want to disappear

(Raise up to your ability)

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