Nathan’s Favorites of 2011

Michael Cina's "Illuminate"

Each year as I write my favorites list, I feel it’s necessary to say that I find ranking music to be utterly pointless. Seldom are two good records enjoyable for the exact same reasons, and so to attempt to assign any sort of empirical value to the expressions they hold doesn’t really make any sense to me. My favorites, therefore, all hold equal merit in my eyes. With that in mind, you’ll find a small selection of my favorite music released in 2011 after the jump.

Siriusmo – Mosaik (and Pearls and Embarrassments)

Siriusmo is probably my favorite electronic musician. Seemingly comfortable in any number of moods and styles, the stoic German has, through a measure of solitude and some anti-social tendencies, mastered all that is funky. Mosaik has its low moments (“Feromonikon” is just Boys Noize by another name, and “Bad Idea” comes off like someone feeding a dubstepper too many uppers—yes, guys, there is such a thing as too many, but you’ll learn that when your septum deviates) but the high points—and there are many—are stunning. ”High Together” is, without a doubt, one of my all-time favorite pieces of electronic music, period. Also astounding is the fact that Mosaik is Siriusmo’s first proper LP, despite the later-released Pearls and Embarrassments demonstrating his deep back-catalogue of hard-to-find releases. I was overjoyed to finally get my hands on tracks like “Cuba” and “Trommelleid”.

“High Together”:

Martyn – Ghost People

When crafting a full-length, all producers should aspire to the level of coherency found on Ghost People. The album brings danceability, melody, aggression and style all rolled into one fantastic package. The epic “We Are You In The Future” is certainly among the best—and biggest—tracks of the year. Martyn and Brainfeeder are making all of the right moves these days.

“We Are You In The Future”:

Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise

There are precious few producers who can claim their own sound to the extent that Nicolas Jaar has. Whether it’s the lurching soul of “I Got A Woman” or the ominous echoes of “Too Many Kids Finding Rain In The Dust”, Nico’s tunes seem to transport the listener to some far-off, smoke-filled bar, of the type where knife fights and dancing might be equally likely to erupt.

“Variations”:

Shlohmo – Bad Vibes

This album can’t really be boiled down to one or two sentences, but suffice it to say that Bad Vibes is some of the saddest, prettiest, and most painful music that came out in 2011. For a little more depth, you can check out my review.

“Sink”:

Dimlite – Grimm Reality

Dimlite has always been, to me, one of those producers who seems to find his stride best at the boundaries of convention; initially, he twisted the templates of beat-driven hip-hop, bending it to suit his musical inclinations, but apparently this wasn’t enough. Grimm Reality is a substantial departure from anything that could be considered “beat music”. Fuzz-drenched guitars and reverberant drum hits make up the meat of this latest offering; from the crazed explosions of “Than Them” to the restrained paranoia of “One Of Uh Infinity’s Countless Uh Tiny Cycles”, the album finds the Swiss artist unfolding what is, quite simply, a masterpiece of a record. The album art—made up of fragments from four different paintings—is hypnotizing as well.

“Heroine Roof” (apologies for the shoddy quality, there’s only one video of this track on Youtube):

Thundercat – The Golden Age of Apocalypse

I’ll just say this: Bruner can play. Records like this give me hope that young people might one day reject the assumption that jazz is music for old folks.

“Fleer Ultra”:

Austin Peralta – Endless Planets

Peralta’s music follows a more traditional jazz lineage, providing an excellent counterpart to Thundercat’s frenzied riffs. Seeing the two of them onstage together is an exhilarating experience.

“Capricornus”:

Kendrick Lamar – Section 80

It didn’t take too long for me to burn out on Odd Future’s all-too-rapey aesthetic, I enjoy A$AP Rocky largely for the excellent production he solicits from Clams Casino(one man can only be so “pretty”), and I think Danny Brown and Lil B should both probably be institutionalized. But Kendrick Lamar, often lumped in with the above as one of 2011’s new and notable hip-hop artists, has caught my ear and held it. “I’m standin’ in a field full of land mines/Doing the moonwalk, hoping I blow up in time,” raps Lamar on “HiiiPower”, and it’s just the sort of line that makes him worth your time; he takes introspection and intelligence and makes them fun to listen to.

“HiiiPower”:

Space Dimension Controller – The Pathway To Tiraquon6

Mr. 8040′s music has always conveyed a sense of cinema, as if each track is ripped from the soundtrack of some long-lost sci-fi epic. The Pathway To Tiraquon6 finds this idea realized more than ever, with track names like “Pulsovian Invasion” and a palette of sounds that bring conflict, action, climax and resolution in a structure that almost seems to paint the story as you listen. I only wish I could see the film.

“Flight Of The Escape Vessels”:

Shabazz Palaces – Black Up

First of all, get it through your head that this is the same dude who made “Rebirth of Slick“. Ishmael Butler has traveled the full spectrum of hip-hop and come out none the worse for wear. The drums and vocals tell me this is rap music, but I’m not sure I believe it. Despite reaching Of Montreal-like levels of annoyingly long and indecipherable titles, Black Up is a spectacular album.

“Swerve… The Reeping Of All That Is Worthwhile (Noir Not Withstanding)”:

So… that’s it for the full-lengths. But there’s so much more music that I loved in 2011; below, you’ll find what I would call the “honorable mentions”, if I were ranking things.

(These are all Youtube links)

Blawan – Shader

Knxwledge – Loavhorts

Battles – Wall Streeet

When Saints Go Machine – Parix

Mosca – Orange Jack

Paul Woolford and Psycatron – Stolen

Modeselektor – This (feat. Thom Yorke)

Dauwd – What’s There

Presk – Love Again

Das Racist – The Trick

Lucky Paul – Thought We Were Alone