I don’t want to say this was the golden years for this style of music but it kind of was, there was this honesty to it, producers weren’t doing it to share it or to become famous, there was an orb of innocence to it. Note the freedom of not being given some sort of build but instead you get pauses with detailed ambience, soo pleasant.
Follow Four Tet’s Soundcloud for vinyl info
UPDATE: WINNER IS #80 REGAN BRANCH.
We are giving away the entire out-of-print Monster Rally vinyl discography in support of the upcoming Ted Feighan / Monster Rally art opening + live show at the End of Century Gallery in New York on Friday January 18th!
More about the upcoming show here: Ted Feighan
To win the vinyl comment below with your favorite color vinyl you’ve ever boughten :)
Javelin – Colorado Trails
Quiet Village – Free Rider
Mr. White Folks – The Turn Out
Karriem Riggins – Matador / Summer Maddness S.A.
The Samurai – Freash Hot Breeze of Summer
Strong Arm Steady (Madlib) – Telegram
MR&RT – Bag O’ Chips (Demo)
Vanilla – Forgetful
ISAORA is one of those clothing brands that define the highest level of outerwear for men, its pieces like these that you save up for a keep for years. Shigeto and I did the exclusive track for the video, the footage was directed by Paul Jung. If you get a chance to look deeper in their catalog I recommended everyone to look at their Reflective Coat, I saw it in person and was blown away by the quality and detailing on the inside.
Photo by Mathijs Delva
Coyote Clean Up has an almost messy way of sequencing, feels like new parts come at you from behind and from the side, the magic lies on how everything lives together in the second half of the songs, stripped of trends in the future CCU will always be an interesting listen.
Magicfeet preps what seems to be an EP in the making. This sampler has some gems, I hope to get my hands on a full track for a proper sharing with you all.
Comes in stark in the intro but Bicep doesn’t disappoint by giving us a very respectful rebirth of what made dance what it is in Miami/Chicago/Detroit.
I don’t have much info on Lives Of Angels, I read its a husband and wife duo from the early 80s but I couldn’t totally wrong, if that matters maybe do more detective work but either way some straight forward poppy cold wave thats almost for everybody (that nice mix of moody and careless).
Phaseone rides out an arpeggio into the dense plains of noise and reaches an epic summit.
I’m soo excited for Throwing Snow this year, he’s bringing beauty back to the club/beat world.
Exciting single from NY based HAERTS. Keep ’em coming.
Do you all remember Tom Croose? he just posted a beautiful remix up on his Soundcloud that I must have missed.
I found this Severed Heads cut on Resident Advisors Top Mixes of 2012. Its one of those perfect synth pop unearthed gems.
I put together a certain style of tech house for my DJ sets, so i’m careful with my selection because I want their to be that synth heavy end, bright driving rhythms and not a big build because i’m more into a break that bleeds into the “drop”, its more entrancing for the crowd. In this Falko track there’s the perfect example of that plus it has that unique drive to it that pushes it forward and not soo much upward.
Atmosphere is very overused in describing music but Function does a great job here, sound like there’s air added, everything vibrates in a cold bright space, takes me back to some early Detroit mornings.
Loscil – “Coyote”
Sketches from New Brighton (Kranky)
Clams Casino – “Leaf”
Instrumental 2 (Self Released)
Onuinu – “Happy Home”
Mirror Gazer (Bladen County Records)
Black Marble – “A Great Design”
A Different Arrangement (Hardly Art)
Silent Servant – “Temptation & Desire”
Negative Fascination (Hospital Productions)
To round up the album portion of the best of 2012 I wanted to add honorable mentions in no particular order. These artists didn’t just build around a single, they had quality albums for listening and kept true to the art.