Thursday, 29 December 2011
Best of 2011
These are my favourites of 2011. It’s not an authorative comment on the year in music – it’s just what I liked as I trawled 100s of sites and previewed 100s of tracks looking for cool new stuff to play in various DJ sets and material for upcoming compilations. Hopefully you’ll discover something easily missed.
There is a section on the albums I tried that I didn’t like (or don’t like yet). It’s there to mute the ‘What happened to the Decemberists and Radiohead?’ comments.
Lastly there is a long list of songs. I rarely listen to full albums anymore. Most of my listening takes place in the car with the iPod on shuffle through the RECENTLY ADDED playlist.
I have not looked at any of the popular year end lists while compiling this. Now to see what I’ve missed out or treated unfairly…
Albums of 2011
Mogwai – Hardcore will never die but you will
Not since ‘Happy songs for Happy People’ with the smashing ‘Hunted by a freak’ have I been this drawn into a Mogwai album…and only 1 track over 20 minutes.
Eyes Like Mirrors – Crusades
SA’s own ‘Explosions in the sky’. Must see them live to fully appreciate
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/145394/
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness blues
More upper register folky Americana.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/147658/
Washed Out – Within & without
I found out recently that this falls into the ‘chillwave’ genre. Really…I suppose it is chilled and kinda ‘new wave-ish’
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/151793/
Low – C’mon
A return to form for one of my all-time favourite Mormon bands. Jokes aside – they play it slow and sad.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/147659/
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/11749220/C%27mon/
M83 – Hurry up, were dreaming
Featuring the synth heavy indie/dance floor filler ‘Midnight city’. There are some surprisingly dark moody soundtrack-like tracks on the album like ‘Where the boats go’ and ‘Another wave from you’ that remind me of Thomas Newman’s soundtrack work (Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, Nemo)
Vampire9000
Pretoria experimental and expansive lo-fi indie electronica pointing vaguely in the Postal Service direction. Download the 3 track EP below
http://vampire9000.bandcamp.com/
The Weeknd – House of balloons
Not big on new soul/R&B but there is something very organic, indie and understated about this album. Album is self-released via Bandcamp.com
Go Team – Rolling Blackouts
Sample heavy funk, noise-pop with some shouty 60s girl group wall of sound sensibilities. Their best yet. Features members of Deerhoof and Best Coast as guests.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/146218/
Austra – Feel it break
In a similar vein to Chelsea Wolfe and Zola Jesus but more electronic. The term ‘electro-goth’ sums it up neatly.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/151776/
The Black Keys – El Camino
Firm indie favourites can do no wrong. Blues riff heavy with white boy soul.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/13269603/El+Camino/
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/251924/
Chelsea Wolfe – Apokalypsis
Goth like apocalyptic lo-fi folk with mild electronics. Dark and pretty
Warpaint – Fool (Deluxe)
Originally out in 2010, this new edition includes an early EP. It’s taken some time but this album is grower. Look to tracks ‘Undertow’ and ’Billie Holiday’ for proof. Toured with the XX
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/12767728/The+Fool+%28Deluxe%29/
Dum Dum Girls – Only in dreams
Go-Go’s with JAMC as the house band.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/12763047/Only+In+Dreams/
Honourable album mentions
Black Hotels – Honey badger
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/11679120/Honey+Badger/
Shadowclub – Guns and money
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/12038784/Guns+And+Money/
Atlas Sounds - Parallax
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/253865/
Joy Formidable – Big roar
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/12008031/The+Big+Roar/
Javelin – Canyon Candy (Country & Western/Morricone inspired glitch/sample/easy listening)
Off my Christmas list…:
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
More of the same for me really, but everyone else seems to love it!
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/12038760/Bon+Iver/
Decemberists – King is dead
‘This is why we fight’ is an ok track. Never been a major fan but do try with every album.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/10715652/The+King+Is+Dead/
British Sea Power – Valhalla dancehall
I try every album but they never stick.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/10611250/Valhalla+Dancehall/
Florence + the Machine – Ceremonials
More produced and commercial than quirky debut LUNGS.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/12998351/Ceremonials+%28Deluxe+Edition%29/
James Blake
Big internet hype but just didn’t turn my knobs.
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/12786968/James+Blake/
PJ Harvey – Let England shake
2011 Mercury prize winner. A critics album if ever there was one
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/10809553/Let+England+Shake/
Horrors – Skying
Been moving further away with each album since their brilliant debut STRANGE HOUSE
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/mp3/album/12212739/Skying/
Radiohead – King of limbs
Indie favourites but I just don’t get the last few albums or this one
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/146626/
2011’s Load of rubbish:
Death in Vegas – Trans-love energies
Deefhoof – Deerhoof vs. Evil
Does it offend you yeah?
Still haven’t heard the new:
Tom Waits
Johnny Foreigner
Kate Bush
Songs of 2011
TOP 20 songs of 2011:
Dum Dum Girls – Coming down
Makeovers - Surfbored
Washed Out – Eyes be closed
EMA – The grey ship
Miracle Fortress – Raw spectacle
Spoek Mathambo – Follow my teeth Feat. The Frown
Germany Germany – Take me home
Those Darlins – Screws get loose
Kodaks – I’m bound to pack it up (White Stripes cover)
Go Team! – Rolling blackouts
Leisure – Green light
M83 – Midnight city
Sharon Van Etten - Serpents
Cults – Abducted
Us Kids Know – Parachute pants
Girls Names – Séance on a wet afternoon
Zola Jesus - Vessel
Mezzanine Owls – Tethered to the fountain
Low – Nothing but heart
Mogwai – White noise
The rest of the songs:
Indie
Anthem Facility – Trace
Uh Huh Her - Disdain
Antlers – Every night my teeth are falling out
Black Lips – Modern art
!!! – Jamie, my intentions are bass (MF/MB Remix)
Dirty Beaches – Stye eye
TV on the Radio – Caffienated conciousness
Generationals – Ten-twenty-ten
Peaking Lights – Amazing & wondeful
Gross Magic – Sweetest touch
Tennis – Is it true? (Brenda Lee cover)
Guards – Taxi cab (Vampire weekend cover) also liked their single ‘Do it again’
Lana Del Ray – Blue jeans & Video games
Rural Alberta Advantage – North star
CSS – City Grrl (Teeth Remix)
Sons & Daughters – Rose red
New Cassettes – Silent Guns
New Division - Starfield
Erland & the Carnival – I’m not really here
The Eversons – Hyacinth girl
Moving Units – Until she says
Bleep
Digitalism – 2 Hearts (Rory Phillips Mix)
Esben & the Witch – Chorea (Christian AIDS Remix)
Yacht – I walked alone (Get a room! Remix)
Grace Jones – Williams blood (Aeroplane remix)
We are enfant terrible – Filthy love (Shoes remix)
Miike Snow – Devil’s work
Zomby – Mozaik
Noah & the Whale – Life is life (Yuksek Remix)
Penelopes – Now now now (C90s mix)
Look out for MIXCLOUD links here to a few DJ mixes of some the tracks listed over the next few days. Follow the blog or join the RSS feed for updates.
Monday, 5 December 2011
Final fling for 2011 before JHB empies into the sea
Catch our final 2011 party on Sat 10 December from 9pm at KITCHENERS cnr Juta & De Beer strs in Braamfontein.
Our 2nd Birthday bash in November with its name & minor format change went down really well. We had our busiest night in our two year history...so busythat they had to stop people from coming in at one point!I'm busy editing 3 hours worth of mixes we recorded at the last old REFORM! party in October. I only realised a few days ago that
I left the flash disc in the mixer on record on the night. There are two of my sets and one of Charles. The cool thing is that it's straight out of the
desk so it's excatly what we played, when we played it. I edit out the start and end tracks that are incomplete, split the mix into three and save the files
into a smaller MP3s so they are a bit more managable (it's almost 2 Gigs in its raw .WAV state)
I'll post to MIXCLOUD tomorrow and make the links available here.A few months ago Charles migrated to his M-AUDIO DJ set-up on the mac with a controller. It's been going well. I've stubbornly stuck to the ol CDJ workhorses
and my trusted DJ bag and orginal CDs.
Last week I purchased an app for the iPad (and special splitter cable) that I'm seriously considering trying out in a live enviroment this Saturday.
It's pretty much a touch screen DJ set-up and works on the two turntable principle. The feel of it is amazing! I was mixing and using the effects
immediatley. It does all the things a pair of regular SL1200s can do right down to the power off effect but with so much more...
My only reservation is choosing songs from a library rather than trawling through CDs. My DJ bag is carefully catalogued and arranged. This sort
of organisation is not possible in the iPad library. One can, however, sort by artist or song (or just search...) I'm also pretty particular about
my file quality and always import or purchase at the highest bit rate available, so at least sound quality won't be compromised. I can't imagine pitching up to a DJ gig with an iPad, cable and a pair of headphones...it certianly beats my early days of a record box and two milk crates of CDs all
on the back of motorbike with those stretchy cable things and a bunch of black bags as back-up in case of rain.
Posted via email from REFORM!