Our Best of Nashville 2017 poll began last week with the Hip Hop/Electronic category and after you-the-people cast your vote, we have the results to share with you!

Overall Poll winner (Jurors vote + Readers' vote): Soft Bodies

Readers' Poll Winner (Readers' Vote only): Truitt

Both Soft Bodies and Truitt craft music that bores right down into the soul. Soft Bodies' dancy, psychedelic sonicsphere nestles right down into the subconscious. Mostly synth-based, their tunes set a mind and body to motion. Rhythm and melody meet in blissful arpeggiating crescendoes, weaved together with deep melanchology vocals that drive the songs forward. Soft Bodies claims the entire atmosphere of a space, setting a tone and collective motion. 

Truitt carries a more structured, pop orientation, influenced by electronic based pop production (take the newest Justin Bieber record, for example). The songs are symmetrical with traditional pop structuring and offer irresistable vocal hooks that seep into your head. Don't expect a uniform catalog of contemporary radio pop tunes with Truitt, however. Their songs offer a variety of production techniques and sampled instrumentation that shatter expectations and leave you waiting for the next one.

Honorable mentions go to Biyo and Jensen Sportag (tied for second in the overall chart) and PHANGS (second in the Readers' poll). The full list of nominees can be found under the streaming tracks. 

Here is the list of all the finalists in the Nashville Hip Hop/Electronic category and their readers' poll results:

	Biyo		0%	7 votes
	Chill Witch		4%	31 votes
	Facemajik		0%	2 votes
	Foreign Fields		0%	2 votes
	Jensen Sportag		0%	0 votes
	Mike Floss		0%	1 vote
	Nightblonde		0%	2 votes
	PHANGS		27%	199 votes
	Stealing Oceans		0%	0 votes
	Soft Bodies		0%	7 votes
	The Trinity Schill Kill		0%	1 vote
	Truitt		65%	476 votes

Not able to make it down to Austin and the sad demise of Couch by Couchwest has left a hole in your heart the size of the Lone Star State? Wipe those salty ol' tears away, because the Basement East is giving us a chance to bid farewell to a couple choice locals, at the same time helping them with gas money for the long drive toward the border. Read up on the groups below and make a stop by The Beast this Thursday (03.10) to see it all go down.

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ELEL

If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times—ELEL is one of the most promising groups we can name. Their live show is a blast, every release is polished to perfection, and the music is so upbeat and catchy that we're convinced "el-el" must be the sound it makes when joy claps.

Soft Bodies

Remember reading all about the debut EP from Soft Bodies all the way back in January? We dug it then, we dig it now, and we highly recommend you check out their textured, easygoing electronic vibes live.

KiND

KiND's Eunoia is a trip through varying expressions of electronic music from modern, dance-y numbers to more pensive tracks that get you nodding along all the same, but more like you're examining a black-and-white photo in a gallery exhibit.

The Gills

These guys have been keeping info about their debut LP locked down tight, but everything we've heard so far points to a thick stew of varying alt, punk, and hard rock influences that goes down easy and should keep you full for a good long while.

(On the other hand, if you are planning on being at SXSW, now's the best time to start planning by taking a peek at the Deli Magazine's preview coverage. Once you get there, don't forget to check out our Stompbox Exhibit and Synth Space events, both of which are free and will give you a shot to try out some real fancy gear. Also keep an eye out for the Deli SXSW print edition, which can help you out as an invaluable guide around town, some reading material for when you're waiting on a show to start, and in emergency situations, a little life-saving protection from the Texas sun.)

The debut EP by Soft Bodies is a record in constant motion. Not motion like a freight train barreling down the line or an airplane dipping and diving through the clouds, but motion like something more organic and common to us all. It pulses, it waves, it flows, and when it skips a beat and jumps right for you, it’s both startling and beautiful. Though the tracks here range from laid back 90’s house fare (in the best way possible) to funky-as-it-gets, they move as smoothly from one to the next as they do from verse to chorus.

Catch Soft Bodies this Saturday (01.30) at Cafe Coco and pick up a free copy of the EP while you're there. -Austin Phy