Chortling through 2018
What mattered to me this year. Overall, I sought out and listened to much less than years past and found myself spending that time getting intimately acquainted with some choice cuts, many of which have become quite meaningful to me. It was a good year |
| 30 |  | khotin
Beautiful You
forgotten memories of summer days past... |
| 29 |  | Molly
Waves
H O T beats sneakin' in just before year end. waaaaatch mee BUUURN |
| 28 |  | Donato Dozzy
Mindless Fullness
Dozzy: the big picture guy AND the numbers guy |
| 27 |  | Inigo Kennedy
Strata
permeates a sort of vast decay of urban utopia, where griminess meets sterility; of derelict alleyways and abandoned warehouses and every worn, gray structure in between -- with the occasional ray of dazzling light shining through, creating warmth and familiarity where there shouldn't be... and yet |
| 26 |  | Various Artists (Electronic)
Flowers from the Ashes
free movement between dream and nightmare in a way which binds them as one and the same; an inquisitive energy connects moods and intentions throughout |
| 25 |  | Grouper
Grid of Points
the absolute GALL of Liz Harris to call this "complete"!!? |
| 24 |  | Yves Tumor
Safe in the Hands of Love
i wanna wrap arooooouund youuu |
| 23 |  | Leon Vynehall
Nothing Is Still
a delicate and poignant tribute with major compositional chops. be sure to check out the beautifully shot short films that accompany two of the songs as well:
Movements (Chapter III): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myU2fkc7sn8
Envelopes (Chapter VI): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p85WrPoSBYo |
| 22 |  | Vril
Haus
a slow-motion plunge into that which makes dance music electrifying and euphoric |
| 21 |  | Varg (Swe)
Nordic Flora Series Pt. 5: Crush
spontaneous seances and existentialist reflections on the anxieties of love and heartbreak, as told by an everyday camgirl |
| 20 |  | Anna von Hausswolff
Dead Magic
Ugly & Vengeful indeed. moving mountains here |
| 19 |  | Pariah (UK)
Here From Where We Are
Plucked From the Ground, Towards the Sun |
| 18 |  | AL-90
Murmansk-60
bleary-eyed raves obscured by a winter haze (don't slouch on the FUSE004 single either... it's fire) |
| 17 |  | map.ache
Vom Ende bis zum Anfang
a refreshingly sprightly take on Giegling house; earworms galore |
| 16 |  | Laurel Halo
Raw Silk Uncut Wood
siren songs for wayward drifters to dust off and lose their way to |
| 15 |  | Unbalance
Unbalance Ten
shot through space, drilled into Mars |
| 14 |  | Pendant
Make Me Know You Sweet
if the songs of For Those of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have) (Huerco S) represented places locked in stasis, moments of serenity looped and looped on end, Make Me Know You Sweet captures the uncertainty and unease that can exist outside of those perfect microcosms. there is nowhere for us to settle here, no place to feel comfortable calling our own, yet we are wholly enveloped. we are the extraterrestrials |
| 13 |  | Rival Consoles
Persona
warm textures that soothe the soul. there's a fire under Rival Consoles here but it rarely kicks up to take control; it's mostly just smoldering embers, driving and illuminating Persona in the most elegant of ways |
| 12 |  | Oneohtrix Point Never
Age Of
such a unexpected treat from Lopatin; the organic, oddball world rendered here is a delight |
| 11 |  | Deepchord
Immersions
a record for the explorer in all of us -- every rhythmic development, each forward push feels like its own mystical discovery among the unknowable depths of the sea |
| 10 |  | Shinichi Atobe
Heat
an abrasive heat that sears the skin, burning away until its incessant ticks and kicks and clicks are all that are left to wrap around and motorize your limbs; mesmerizing in the most bothersome of ways |
| 9 |  | The Field
Infinite Moment
The Field you know, but stretched and inverted; mining into new thematic depths with the same old toolkit |
| 8 |  | Prime Minister of Doom
Mudshadow Propaganda
unrelenting, ritualistic dance; music for the body |
| 7 |  | Wanderwelle
Gathering of the Ancient Spirits
among a crowd of masks, losing yourself to lost hymns sung around a beach-side bonfire as a slow drumbeat turns day to night; eventually collapsing downwards, dizzy and disoriented, trying to pierce your gaze through thick clouds of smoke crowding a star-studded sky... |
| 6 |  | DJ Koze
knock knock
Kosi invites all his friends again, but this time spinning less of a fairy tale adventure than an all out bash, and WE LOVE IT. as with Amygdala, there is an limitless sense of carefree imagination weaved into every fiber of knock knock's being; summer plays for days |
| 5 |  | Skee Mask
Compro
if last year's "Excess Signal" was a splash of color on a record which would gradually drain it, Compro is its large-scale resurrection; sensationally vibrant soundscapes that reach out to the furthest corners of our digital world to pull them a bit closer together |
| 4 |  | Julia Holter
Aviary
afternoon daydreams of hanging gardens... |
| 3 |  | Traumprinz
Traumprinz B2B DJ Metatron Live at Planet Uterus
capturing the purity and ecstasy of modern life, the momentary realizations of all the freedoms we are afforded but perhaps don't often acknowledge. like every warming, fleeting moment caught up together in an indefinite daze; music for the soul |
| 2 |  | DJ Healer
Nothing 2 Loose
"thank you for your trust, because that is what makes me believe that we can heal each other..."
a breathless synthesis of that which is ineffable in this world; music for the spirit
(extra shouts go to the Planet Lonely and lost lovesongs mixes, both of which are just sublime. what did we do to deserve 5 hours of amazing mix material on top of two full length albums this year?) |
| 1 |  | Edward
Fortune Teller
a dizzying spell of house which draws nearly as much from the wildest edges of krautrock and psychedelia as it does from modern dance music. Fortune Teller is a work all its own though, a kaleidoscopic swirl of ideas that exudes confidence and patience with each passing beat; four-on-the-floor that is unafraid to slowly stretch itself -- and us with it -- far beyond its bounds |
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