Dissensus Best of 2011 Discussion

[Sick Boy]

The best grime record of the year was Cherryade. That's my pick. It had a pretty label too. I also like that Wiley did a tune about Yonge St, even if it wasn't all that great.

 

[FairiesWearBoots]

That said, 2011 was probably the year I lost my obsession with new music and started looking backwards, mostly for thrash metal.

 

[baboon2004]

That said, 2011 was probably the year I lost my obsession with new music and started looking backwards, mostly for weird kicks.

 

[paolo]

I've started looking backward a bit too, been trying to find out about old experimental stuff after I picked up the Throbbing Gristle reissues last month. I'm sure it's been talked about in the post-dubstep thread but I can't help but feel that 2011 has been a bit of a disappointment, there's been some great stuff coming out but it'd be nice to have a proper scene to get involved in

 

[nochexxx]

good year for records - too many to quantify properly imo. here’s my top 40

40 Hieroglyphic Being - The Urantia Project (Further)

39 Vatican Shadow - Kneel Before Religious Icons (Hospital)
techno on 4 x cassette!

38 Jim ORourke - Old News vol 4 (Mego)
been wanting to own this material since hearing at ATP

37 Frieder Butzmann - Wie Zeit Vergeht (PAN)
best gig this year for me was by Mr Butzmanm.

36 Music From Saharan Headphones (Sahel Sounds)

35 Zomby - Nothing (4AD)

36 Actress - Twitter Trax (Twitter)

35 DJ Rashad - Just a Taste (Ghettophilles)
exactly what it says on the tin.

34 Factory Floor – Two Different Ways 12” (DFA)
a record i would have loved to have made despite it sounding like its from 87.

33 Rrose X Bob Ostertag - Motormouth Variations (Sandwell District)
really after more experimental techno like this, anybody?. outer-limits meets 4/4

32 Moon Wiring Club - Clutch in like a Gonk (Gecophonic)
there’s an underlying menace to Clutch it Like a Gonk, making sex positive moles and their long nosed snouts dance.

31 Lil B - i’m gay (and happy) (Based_World)

30 Alias G - Delite Tonight (UTTU)
loved the bathtub recorded hook.

29 Ekoplekz - Intrusive Incidentalz (Punch Drunk)
don’t throw frisbees into pylons.

28 William Onyeabor - Anything You Sow
contains a valuable lesson about success.

27 Sculpture – Toad Blinker (Dekorder)
audio flicker book on vinyl!

26 DJ Diamond - Flight Muzik (Planet Mu)
more of that space-cowboy music, hope he’s heard Charro.

25 Inga Copeland (Rush Hour)

24 Dolphins into the Future - Two Romantic Landscapes (Beniffer Editions)
subaquatic mediations.

23 Actress Harrier - ATTK / Gershwin (Nonplus)
my favourite Actress tune.

22 Keudo - Severant (Planet Mu)
red shoes footwork ballet

21 Hype Willams - One Nation (Hippos In Tanks))

20 Ghaedalia Tazartes - Granny Awards (Alga Marghen)

19 Matsuo Ohno - I Saw The Outer Limits (EM)

18 Slowdive - Pygmalion
waited for this for ages.

17 V/A Historische Aufnahmen (Gagarin)
really astonishing bizarro found-sound archive

16 V/A Play That Beat Mr. Raja Vol. 1 (CARTILAGE RECORDS)
unbelievable stockmusic Tamal library tracks

15 James Ferraro - Far Side Virtual (Hippos In Tanks)
this man seems incapable of being shit.

13 Grouper – A I A : Alien Observer (Yellow Electric)
warm hugs indeed.

12 Chris Carter - Moonlight (Optimo)
TUNE from Mondobeat

11 V/A Bangs & Works Vol 2 (Planet Mu)

10 Anti-G - Presents Kentje’sz Beatsz (Planet Mu)
exactly what i want to hear in a club.

9 Matsuo Ohno - Play On Animals (EM
!!

8 Jürgen Müller - Science Of The Sea

not that it matters but the one-sheet is a total hoax.
7 Ekoplekx - Live @ Dubloaded (Further)e Sea (Digitalis)
kodak moment captured perfectly

6 James Ferraro - On Air (Underwater Peoples Records)
my favourite Ferraro record that was at least reissued on wax.

5 Chris Watson - El Tren Fantasma (Touch)
how on earth does he manage to do this?!

4 Pete UM - Cant Get Started (10-inch Grist)
at last, this suckers out. got a good review in the Wire, job done.

3 LES RALLIZES DENUDES - Great White Wonder
holygrail release from the heaviest band on the planet.

2 Conrad Schnitzler - Live ‘72 (Further)
blows everything.

1 Pete UM - Can’t Get Started (pre-hacked NOCHEXXX 12” draft) (Grist)
this version is way better than the released 10”, but then i would say that!

 

[Local Authority]

I'm going to echo some users and say that there hasn't been a great lot this year that actually made me stand up.

What I felt excited for last year seemed like a disappointment this year. I felt like I've been looking to the past rather then future.

Nonplus+, Sandwell District, Blackest Ever Black, Keysound, Hessle and Hotflush all had massive years. Hessle especially, for trying to weave together the threads of the hardcore continuum. Which I think is the only real way to move forward. Ben UFO has gone from strength to strength, he is possibly one of the best DJ's of now and I'm sure he will go down in history.

Pinch + Shackleton had what could be the biggest sleeper hit of ever. Didn't expect that at all.

The two artists that have constantly surprised me are LHF and 2562. LHF draws from the the heritage of the UK scene and mould's it into something reinvigorating whereas 2562 is just on some mad shit, looking forward to what When in Doubt has planned.

The "Bass" scene seems to have taken a weird turn this year. All of the labels from last year that were tipped to be the next big thing seem to have had poor years. I saw less of Hyperdub and Night Slugs then I did of Skrillex.

Dubstep has had a particularly bad year, no one seems to have made an original tune. The only artist that has done anything remotely interesting is Pinch, who had one of the best tunes of the first quarter with Croydon House.

Best Artist: 2562/LHF
Best Album: Tim Hecker - Ravedeath
Best Label: Sandwell District/Keysound
Best Mix: Scuba DJ Kicks
Best DJ: Ben UFO
Best Live Show: Aphex Twin

Biggest Shit: The hype machine.

 

[lazybones]

i like nochexxx's list.


no particular order;

chris carter
factory floor
james ferraro
oneohtrix point never
space ghost purp
lil b
clams casino
no not fun
MBV b sides
levon vincent
virgo four
carl craig live

quite a meh year overall.

 

[connect_icut]

MBV b sides

Are we talking about the bootleg with the demos and stuff on? That was certainly a highlight of the year for me. Great to have that stuff on vinyl.

 

[Benny Bunter]

whats that MBV bootleg like? Whats on it? Is it available on mp3 anywhere?

 

[connect_icut]

whats that MBV bootleg like? Whats on it? Is it available on mp3 anywhere?

It's definitely floating around out there. It started out as a CDR that was being passed around (possibly originating from the band themselves?) You might find a link on the forum at www.mybloodyvalentine.net

The tracklist is here:

http://musicbrainz.org/release/6d27daac-79aa-4cc9-aec6-33e24c2cddd8

 

[rrrivero]

Ah! I just remembered one of my fave tracks this year was the garage remix of 'Shopaholic' by Wideboys feat. Sway and McLean. Really cheesy and retro but completely irresistible to me. Have a listen it will put a smile on your face!

This is impressive I fucking loathe the original with a passion but this remix drew an instant smile from me as soon as the bass dropped

Been working my way through these and compiling my own list, probably gonna make a huge mix because I really did enjoy this year a lot, especially thanks to funky and dancehall. Have found some gems from here that I completely overlooked like that A1 Bassline track (cheers Andy)

 

[slackk]

Really wish I'd gotten into this Hype Williams album earlier. It's really good.

 

[luka]

id like to mention benny b for making me a really nice mix of uk funky with pop inclinations.

 

[Gombreak]

Really wish I'd gotten into this Hype Williams album earlier. It's really good.

The Hyperdub EP they put out after that plays as pretty much a companion piece to One Nation, and one of the two band members put out a solo EP thats probably one of the best pop(ish) releases this year for me.

http://www.discogs.com/Hype-Williams-Kelly-Price-W8-Gain-Vol-II/release/2964922
http://www.discogs.com/Inga-Copeland-Inga-Copeland/release/3037819

 

[grizzleb]

Fuck yes - Badmind from the Kelly Price EP is easily one of my choons of the year. Shivers up my spine from that vocal...

The new James Ferraro album is having to go down as a serious contender for one of my favourites of the year. So garish and 'classy' and fresh. Musically very adept. Has that furniture advertising aesthetic down to a tee.

 

[Benny Bunter]

id like to mention benny b for making me a really nice mix of uk funky with pop inclinations.

No probs luka, your posts have kept me entertained and put me onto loads of good stuff this year, so its just a favour returned really. Merry xmas to you and all the dissensus regulars.

 

[childrentalking]

this. it's a very subjective viewpoint but one i felt strongly this year in the spheres i operate in, like there was a switch from DJs, committed to upfront dubplate culture, pushing this ever expanding wave of what was possible by blowing your head off with music you didn't know you wanted yet to trying to hype everyone with known or dug up old classics. to me that just is too easy or it assumes the audience hasn't heard these old records (treating the records like dubplates), which might work for big audiences but just frustrates me. give me something i cant do/have, not what my record collection already is full of: again, very personal view here.

yes as you say this is subjective but this is surely a fairly limited view of the art of DJing? your perspective seems to be that the only point in downloading or listening to a mix is to hear 100% tunes you've never heard before. which leads to you making the assumption that the djs are assuming their audience hasn't heard these older records before...

perhaps it's because i come from a house/techno angle and i'm not always looking for the next new thing but i enjoy listening to my favourite djs play records i'm already familiar with - to hear what they do with them, how they contextualise them, how they use them. for example, hearing ben ufo mix with older records i've heard plenty of times before is always an inspiration and exciting because he brings them in at unexpected junctures, mixes with them in a completely different way to anyone else i've ever heard, makes old favourites sounds new again (and ultimately makes me want to go and have a mix myself!)

anyway, i am coming at this from completely the opposite perspective to you - i'm most excited about finding stuff from fifteen years ago that sounds like it could have been made yesterday... the concept of 'future' (or time/progress in general) means little to me these days (at least applied to music)

sorry if this derails the thread!

 

[e/y]

albums

Andy Stott - Passed Me By / We Stay Together (Modern Love)
Anti-G - Presents Kentje'sz Beatsz (Planet Mu)
Araabmuzik - Electronic Dream
BNJMN - Plastic World / Black Square (Rush Hour)
Danny Brown - XXX
FaltyDL - You Stand Uncertain (Planet Mu)
Fekky - This One's On Me
Gucci Mane - Writing On The Wall 2
James Blake - James Blake
Katy B - Katy On A Mission
Kode9 & The Spaceape - Black Sun (Hyperdub)
Kuedo - Severant (Planet Mu)
Laurel Halo - Hour Logic (Hippos In Tanks)
Lucy - Wordplay For Working Bees (Stroboscopic Artefacts)
Morphosis - What Have We Learned (Delsin)
Pinch & Shackleton - Pinch & Shackleton (Honest Jon's)
Roman Flugel - Fatty Folders (Dial)
Steffi - Yours & Mine (Ostgut Ton)
Sully - Carrier (Keysound)
Tiger & Woods - Through The Green
Vladislav Delay Quartet - Vladislav Delay Quartet
2562 - Fever


singles / EPs - either stuff I bought on vinyl or want to buy

Actress - Harrier ATTK / Gershwin (Nonplus)
Addison Groove - This Is It / Make Um Bounce (Tectonic)
Blawan - Getting Me Down
Blawan - What You Do With What You Have (R&S)
Karenn - Sheworks001
BNJMN - Second Kiss w/ Andy Stott Remix (Stolen Kisses)
BNJMN - 141
Bok Bok - Southside EP (Night Slugs)
Daphni - Daphni Edits Vol. 1
Carsten Jost / Lawrence - A Greater Administration Of Lower Interests (Dial)
Cooly G - Landscapes (Hyperdub)
D'Marc Cantu - Set Free (M>O>S)
D.O.K. - West Coast EP (Hyperdub)
Darq E Freaker - Cherryade EP
DJ Champion - Lighter EP & Sensitivity
FaltyDL - Hip Love
Four Tet / Daphni - Pinnacles / Ye Ye
Funkystepz Fuller / - Hurricane Riddim (Hyperdub)
Hype Williams - Kelly Price W8 Gain Vol II (Hyperdub)
Jacques Greene - Another Girl (LuckyMe)
Juju & Jordash -Unleash The Golem Part 1 (Golf Channel)
Kassem Mosse - Workshop 12 (Workshop)
Kassem Mosse - 2D EP
King Midas Sound - Kuedo & Mala Versions (Hyperdub)
Kingdom / Girl Unit - Ride It Every Time / Fogs (Night Slugs)
Kowton / Tom Dicicco - Untitled EP
Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans / Video Games
Lauer H.R. - Boss & Banned (Live At Robert Johnson)
Levon Vincent - Man Or Mistress (Novel Sounds)
Lukid - Spitting Bile EP
Maya Jane Coles -Can't Hide The Way I Feel
Midland - Through Moton EP (aus)
Mike Dehnert - Oblique (Clone)
MMM - Dex / Rio
Objekt - Objekt #1 & Objekt #2
Octa Octa - Let Me See You (100% Silk)
The Oliverwho Factory - Galactic Transit (Rush Hour)
Ossie - Tarantula
P Money & Blacks - Boo You (Butterz)
Peverelist - Dance Til The Police Come (Hessle)
Pangaea - Inna Daze / Won't Hurt (Hessle)
Pangaea - Hex / Fatalist (Hemlock)
Pearson Sound - NSWL007 (Night Slugs)
Recloose - Saturday Night Manifesto (Rush Hour)
Regis - In a Syrian Tongue (Blackest Ever Black)
Rivet - Inside Looking Out
S-X vs. Ramadanman - WooooGlut / Bricks (Butterz)
Senking - Tweek (Raster-Noton
Shackleton - Deadman (Honest Jon's)
Shackleton - Fireworks (Honest Jon's)
Shed - EQD 005
Shed - It's A Love Thing
Steffi - Yours
Pacific Blue - Industry Pt.1 / Pt.2
Teeth - Shawty
Tin Man - Acid Test 01 EP w/ Donato Dozzy Remix
Tropic Of Cancer - (The Sorrow Of Two Blooms Blackest Ever Black)
2562 - Take The Plunge


also really enjoyed the Rinse mixes from Ben UFO and Elijah / Skilliam, and Prosumer's Panorama Bar mix.

 

[gremino]

...anyway, i am coming at this from completely the opposite perspective to you - i'm most excited about finding stuff from fifteen years ago that sounds like it could have been made yesterday... the concept of 'future' (or time/progress in general) means little to me these days (at least applied to music)

Reynolds did a little post about this:

"The whole ethic of the band, though it was unwritten and rarely spoken, was to create new music, so if a piece had a similarity/reminded someone of another work it was generally rejected. The emphasis was on new... It was all about new sounds and new ways of writing a song.... Even now, making a new sound is still our first impulse, and that includes not repeating previous Pram recordings...To repeat ourselves or someone else would be boring and not really worth the effort.... My working life is ten times harder than it needs to be because I hate repeating what’s gone before.“ (- Pram's Matt Eaton)

There's people - quite a lot of people, I've discovered this year - who'll tell you that's an old-fashioned attitude, an outmoded approach.

http://blissout.blogspot.com/2011/12/kulkarni-continues-his-new-nineties.html#links

so if forward thinking-attitude is starting to be old-fashioned, it depresses me yeah i use alot references from past in my productions (and love 90's music), but still i'm mostly aiming at innovation. going to be dark times for forward thinking artists.

though i can't be fully negative, as i'm sure kids have to create something innovative from retro-ing. music just can't die like that (in terms of being fresh).

 

[SecondLine]

so if forward thinking-attitude is starting to be old-fashioned, it depresses me .

I wouldn't buy into the Reynolds line too easily - especially if it doesn't chime with your own experience of the sounds you're hearing atm. I think there are just as many people now doing things which they consider to be 'new' - that's what excites the majority of people as musicians, I don't think that impulse has died. But their criteria for what is 'new' has changed - it can involve a more overt dialogue with the past, say, or an even more direct 'reworking' of older music (that Coseph Jonrad album that Bass Clef did comes to mind, as one of many many examples). At least I think this is the aspect of contemporary music making which Reynolds is indirectly attacking.

It's just that that kind of aesthetic doesn't fit into Reynolds' conception of what constitutes the 'new'. If you get the same feeling as him from listening to new music, then fine, but if there's plenty of stuff that excites you then it seems a shame to let a middle aged critic convince you that it's all bunk. I think the persuasiveness of his writing (he's a brilliant writer) and his level of influence has, lately, convinced a lot of people that their tastes are in some way 'wrong'.