I can’t think of an other album that I’ve been playing so much this year. SBTRKT brings the perfect pop, without losing the typical UK sound. Both singles (Wildfire and especially Pharaohs) got plenty of airplay. Wildfire may be a bit odd in the Worlds Below collection, but it’s a damn good song.
We had ‘Right Thing To Do‘ on the blog before.
Top track from a top album. Especially the shift in atmosphere, melody and rhythm at 03:33 lifts up your mood. Perfect to start the new year!
Maya Jane Coles grew big in 2011 (listen to her Essential Mix). And next to her -still- unreleased track ‘Run In The Wild‘, ‘Little One’ is my favourite!
Big chance you will see Holy Other, How To Dress Well or Balam Acab in plenty top-albums-of-2011 lists. They all released their album on Tri Angle recordings in 2011. Tri Angle is a label started in 2010 by Robin Carolan, and released several albums full of soundscaped emotions. I liked the Balam Acab album the most (Wander/Wonder), and especially ‘Apart’. The unofficial video strengthens the fairytale atmosphere.
The lyrics to this song could be (as read in one of the YouTube comments)
Your wisdom’s in the ocean Deep under the surface Where it’s hard to breathe You are guiding me And you’re like a seed growing in everything And you’re like a seed a flower opening You’re gentle like spring rain Yet you’re sharp as a sunrise Your generosity is the air all around me And you’re like a seed growing in everything And you’re like a seed, a flower opening You are a part of me
We had the remix by Balam Acab of ‘Videogames’ on the blog this year.
We’ve been a huge fan of Martijn Deykers, even before his artist name was Martyn. His drum’n'bass DJ sets as DJ Pan were legendary, just as the RedZone parties he organized in Eindhoven. After the release of ‘Great Lengths‘ in 2009, our expectations were high for his second album ‘Ghost People‘. As you see, we’ve put the title track on number 6, which proves he met all expectations! It’s a fantastic album, and more dance floor orientated. Which makes it more focussed and more coherent than Great Lengths.
We had Viper and Masks on the blog this year.
He dares to push Ray Charles through the reverb machine. He knows how many piano keys he needs to blend in to sculpt a melancholic memory. His live shows are pure adrenalin, contrasting the modesty of his debut ‘Space Is Only Noise‘. Nicolas Jaar exposed so much creativity and obstinacy in 2011, he deserves a place in the top 10. Fantastic album, fantastic artist.
Sully released Carrier on Keysound Recoridngs in 2011. ‘Let You’ sounds like polished grime from early 2000′s. Sully knows how to put a fine reverb on the stab melody. With tight precision he blends a crisp and pounding bassline and R&B vocals on repeat(is it Rihanna, maybe Beyoncé?). The end result is damn funky!
Merry Christmas!
What a year for Julio Bashmore. Without releasing too much, he was the hype of the undefinable house and dubstep crowd. This track was selected by Mixmag as number 1 in their ‘top 100 tracks of 2011‘ list and by Juno as their number 3.
We had ‘Ensnares‘ on the blog this year.
It was a crazy year for Jamie XX. And for Numbers. This post is a celebration of both.
Jamie XX had a supreme year, releasing his rework of legendary Gil Scott Heron’s album I’m New Here (God have his soul). ‘NY Is Killing Me’ was certainly killing all dancefloors. And Drake used I’ll Take Care Of You in his new single.
Numbers is a fairly young label (started in 2010), but it’s already on the forefront of electronic music. With releases of Mosca (Bax ended nr.2 in Fact Magazine’s top 50 tracks of 2011), Deadboy and Redinho, Numbers is certainly to watch in 2012.
