Mike’s Top 20 of 2008

After some time away from WPC, it’s nice to fire up the editor and compose some thoughts again. 2008 was a fun music year for me – I discovered dubstep, really got into the “modern classical” genre, and overall listened to a lot more new stuff than I had in previous years. So, without further ado, here’s my top twenty.

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#20. Nicola Ratti – From the Desert Came Saltwater (Anticipate Recordings).
Listen: Beneath

This is a really solid piece of experimental guitar music. It’s definitely not pop, but the breathy, buried vocals and peaceful arrangements make it eminently listenable. Overall, it sounds to me like a less technical, quieter Six Organs of Admittance.

#19. The Sight Below – Glider (Ghostly International).
Listen: Without Motion

Humming, buzzing, pulsing, looping. Approaching the structure of dance music without ever really touching it. To me, Glider is what I wished Gas’ output would sound like – it’s an engaging, mesmerizing listen.

#18. Fat Jon – Repaint Tomorrow (P-Vine Records).
Listen: Soundgirl Personal

This album is a collection of instrumental hip-hop tracks that really stand out, even among the rest of Fat Jon’s very impressive output. On Repaint Tomorrow, he collaborates with some string players for a sound that is pretty refreshing in the beatmaking sphere.

#17. Televise – Secret Valentine (Distant Noise).
Listen: Suun

Now this is a great piece of restrained post-rock. Lots of feedback, crackle, effects, and layers to please even the most discerning shoegazer!

#16. Byetone – Death of a Typographer (Raster-Noton).
Listen: Capture This (II)

This disc is a bit of a departure for R-N. You can hear the signature sounds of electricity here, but they’re unusually warm and inviting. You can also detect the label’s trademark mathematical rhythmic precision, but Byetone sculpts it with a more song-structured approach that is quite welcome. Because of these shifts, Death of a Typographer functions just as well in a comfy armchair as it would in a museum installation.

#15. Grouper – Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill (Type Records).
Listen: Invisible

Maybe it’s the way the instruments are a little bit raspy, or how the vocals are buried so deeply, but this seems to me to be a very personal piece of music. Grouper is definitely not your run-of-the-mill singer/songwriter; this is an intense album, even claustrophobic at times. But I think it’s a rewarding listen for sure, especially for fellow lovers of melancholia.

#14. Portishead – Third (Island Records).
Listen: Nylon Smile

Third was the first new Portishead in a decade, and it was definitely a departure from the band’s previous material. Reaction was divided, but you can count me in the “happy they did something new” camp. Third isn’t just trip-hop, it’s engaging electronic pop music that displays a startling stylistic range.

#13. Darkstar – Need You / Squeeze My Lime (Hyperdub).
Listen: Need You

Ok, this is only a single. But both these tracks showcase how good Darkstar is at breaking out of the dubstep template while retaining the danceability and bass that makes the genre so sweet. Seriously, turn up Need You and try not to grin. What is that, an accordion sample?? IMO this 12″ barely beats out Shackleton’s “Soundboy’s Suicide Note” as best dubstep joint of the year.

#12. Bohren & der Club of Gore – Dolores (Ipecac).
Listen: Unkerich

Who knows where this record could’ve come in if I’d heard it earlier in the year? If you don’t know about the band, then you can now experience it the same way I did: You know their name, and you know they’re on Ipecac (“Making People Sick Since 1999″). So now, click Unkerich and don’t read anything on the page that pops up. Just listen to it. I almost guarantee it does not sound like what you thought it would sound like. I was shocked, and further listens only made it better. This is truly original and stunning music.

#11. Arc Lab – The Goodbye Radio (n5MD).
Listen: Departure Music, Part One

Normally, I find n5MD’s stuff to be a bit bland – to me it’s just a lot of glitch electronic with strings and classical samples layered in. But this release from Arc Lab is unusually varied, combining elements like digital organ waltz, found sound, “modern classical” and traditional electronics.

#10. Eli Keszler – Livingston (Rare Youth).
Listen: Untitled

Imagine installing an anti-gravity generator in your kitchen, then taking a baseball bat and slamming it into your cabinets one by one. If you stood in the middle of the room while glasses and plates shattered and ricocheted infinitely off the walls, I think the sound would be something like this record. It can be a difficult listen, but some weird part of me finds this to be purely awesome.

#9. The Rational Academy – A Heart Against Your Own (Someone Good).
Listen: 2004

I maintain that this could be the next “big” indie pop band if they can get some press outside of Australia. I think they have all the elements: electronic undertones, extremely catchy hooks, male/female interplay on vocals, interesting but accessible arrangements…  but even if they don’t make it big, they’ll still be a fun listen! Here’s hoping.

#8. Colorlist – Lists (Off Records).
Listen: Swim Around

Colorlist takes the exploratory spirit of jazz and blends it with the grandeur of  “post”-whatever into a surprisingly effective hybrid. Lists is interesting to me because even though it explores layering and repetition, it always remains large and pretty… I think this makes for a very compelling listen.

#7: Library Tapes – A Summer Beneath the Trees (Make Mine Music).
Listen: A Summer Beneath the Trees

Here’s the image that Library Tapes records always generate for me: it’s like finding an old photograph on the floor of an abandoned wooden shack in the middle of a snowy, desolate forest. The music is undeniably mournful, but it’s very intimate as well. On this record, the tracks move away from the short sketches used in the group’s earlier work and more fully explore each song, but the lucid beauty remains.

#6: Autistici – Volume Objects (12k).
Listen: Heated Dust on a Sunlit Window

Like most everything on 12k, Volume Objects is a very minimalist electronic record. And, also like most everything on 12k, it’s very intriguing. My favorite part about this music is the quality of each sound used — the palette demands the listener’s attention with its hyper-processed attention to detail.

#5: Fennesz – Black Sea (Touch Records).
Listen: Vacuum

Black Sea finds Fennesz employing his rich textural approach for a somewhat more tense effect than on previous works. However, as melodies surface and sink through the enveloping layers of sound, it’s obvious that gorgeous music still exists here. From the very first minutes of the opening track, which moves from static and hiss into clearly picked acoustic notes, the listener becomes absorbed in a world of contrasts. This may be my favorite Fennesz release so far, and that’s saying something for an artist with such a strong catalogue.

#4: Ezekiel Honig – Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band (Anticipate Recordings).
Listen: Porchside Economics

I had listened to one of Ezekiel Honig’s earlier records and found it a bit dry – it was microhouse of the most staggeringly micro persuasion. And although I found it an interesting exercise, the music didn’t really draw me back for repeated listens. Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band, though, is a clear step forward. This time, the 4/4 elements are de-emphasized in order to let a variety of fascinating sounds slide into the foreground. The result is a mysterious, captivating record that also shows off an infectious propulsive streak.

#3: Rudi Arapahoe – Echoes From One to Another (Symbolic Interaction).
Listen: To Gather Flowers

It’s fitting that a “modern classical” album comes in this highly on the list since this is the first year I really got into that genre. Although, I wish someone would come up with a better name for it so I could stop putting it in quotes! Anyway, on this album, the “classical” elements are paired up with a nice dose of electronic minimalism, dreamy vocal work, and a good pinch of straight up weirdness (imagetic spoken word poetry interludes? sweeeet). This album was Textura’s #1 pick for ‘08, and it was definitely well deserved.

#2: Twine – Violets (Ghostly International).
Listen: In Through the Devices

Violets starts out as an everyday electronic album… although it’s not totally everyday, since it displays an unusually deft touch for contrast and weight. However, the twist is soon revealed: Twine weaves found-sound excerpts of phone conversations into their songs, which creates an astonishingly voyeuristic atmosphere. At times, it can be almost painful to listen to these snippets, but they create a really emotional counterpoint as the dynamics of the music swirl around the people speaking.

#1: Jacaszek – Treny (Miasmah).
Listen: Lament

My #1 pick for 2008, Treny, is a hauntingly beautiful work comprised of strings, vocals and Michal Jacaszek’s laptop. The instruments are processed, and the laptop provides texture, but not so much as to obscure the original sounds. It’s about restraint, and the technique allows the listener to focus on how the sound of each individual player contributes to the overall mood. A stunning record, and I think the effect is heightened even more because it’s live musicians rather than a sample-based construct. Obviously, I don’t mind samples, but still — the thought of seeing these guys reproduce this music together live gives me chills.

~ by Mike on January 11, 2009.