Since 2004, already for the sixth time, we’ve been reviewing for you all the electronic dance music accomplishments of the passing year, and now have to choose, according to our subjective opinion, the ones which we feel were the best. Why are we doing this by ourselves? Frankly speaking, because we don’t trust democracy. Democracy elected Kaczynski to be the president of Poland, chose Van Buuren to be the best DJ in the world, and gave ‘Moderat’ enough votes to take... twentieth place in one RA’s best album recaps. Since the democratic world has already witnessed a significant number of goof-ups, we’ve decided not to take any risks and to recapitulate the year within the Sound Revolt crew. So, here they are – five different categories, within which we have chosen the winner and four equivalent ‘second’ places. Enough of the introduction - please enjoy reading further.
Electronic music, which has found its place amongst the best albums of 2009 is, when considering the history of our recaps, the most... well, electronic. Live instruments being part of electronic albums are nothing unusual any more, but in our top-5 their share is no bigger than a small decimal fraction. Frankly speaking, these are only vocals. The records we’ve chosen are full of synthetic sounds, sometimes raw digital, sometimes analogue and warm. These sounds form rhythm sections, leading themes, build up the tension, or simply create a unique character in all those records. The same helps us to sleep well, thus proving that electronic music resources will never be depleted.
What happens when artists, who’ve for years been unwittingly feeding different recaps with their productions, join their mighty forces? The answer is Moderat. They’ve simply placed the flag with their logo on top of this year’s electronic music accomplishments. We were also very close to including one of the tracks from their brilliant debut album in the Best Original Production category, but it wasn’t easy to choose the one which was the best. Actually, we believe that almost each and every Moderat’s track could be individually distinguished, as they are simply masterpieces in terms of both production techniques and the right dose of heartbreaking emotions.
Taking DJ Hell as an example, you could easily prove that time is of no significance to the devil. His work [teufelswerk = devil’s work] has, in many reviews, very often been described as ‘timeless’ and in this case the adjective fits the album very well. If you listened to ‘Teufelswerk’ without knowing by whom and when it was recorded, you would have most probably placed it in the era of electro renaissance, which began at the beginning of the 21st century. Some of the CD2 tracks sound even ‘older’, as they bring about associations with electronic productions of the early 1970s and 1980s. Then, how come we see Hell’s album as a breeze, or even a gust of fresh air? The answer knows the devil who, in 2009, lived in Helmut Greier’s body.
The title of this record forced our editor to search the Internet from a food and social culture perspective. It was worth it, as he quickly discovered that ‘Spanish Breakfast’ is a well-aimed metaphor to describe the tracks of the album. If the level of goodness in Spanish breakfasts is equally as high as the musical values in Rone’s album, then from now on we only want to dine on early meals on the Iberian Peninsula. Especially when the recommendation comes from an artist who resides in a country which is famous for having the best cuisine in the world – France. Light, subtle, melting in one’s mouth and arousing imagination. No, we’re no longer describing tastes, it’s all about Rone’s beautiful album.
Dutchman Martijn Deyjkers started to fill drum and bass catalogues way back in 2005. We’ve used the verb ‘fill’, as we think it describes the early stages of Martyn’s creative productivity quite well. However, when speaking of his debut album ‘Great Lengths’, replacing it with ‘enrich’ would not be even nearly enough. With this masterpiece, the artist has taken the bass format to a whole new level, by building tracks of widely different emotions, yet focusing the listener’s attention at the same time.
This category is closely followed by yet another debut album, in this case delivered by Lithuania-based Few Nolder (Linas Strockis). ‘New Folder’ is formed by nine synthetic yet dance-type tracks, diverse enough to place each of them on a shelf with different genre. Despite the multiplicity, the album emanates with the artist’s own musical style and, what’s even more important, with freshness, which we’re lacking so badly these days.
Words: Piotr Paterski
Translated by: Sebastian Napora
With ‘Balance 013’ topping the Best Compilation list of 2008, you could be forgiven for thinking that we were indulging in favouritism by selecting the follow-up release as best of 2009. But there’s a reason why Joris Voorn’s input to the exceptional Balance series tops the list this year, and it’s simply because it blew the rest of the competition away. What may at first seem like just another well-mixed techno/tech house record, it becomes truly remarkable when you look at the track-listing and discover that Voorn has fitted in over 100 tracks in the space of two discs, yet still made both mixes flow beautifully and coherently. Delve deeper and you’ll find that this is also so much more than just a techno record – the mixes span techno, house, ambient, with even hints of drum and bass, experimental hip-hop and dub from the likes of Goldie, Flying Lotus and Rhythm & Sound. ‘Balance 014’ will surely go down in the history books as one of dance music’s finest moments.
Mary Anne Hobbs has arguably done more than anyone to bring dubstep to the foreground in the UK and around the world, and this year saw the release of her third compilation based on the genre, ‘Wild Angels’. Mary Anne hosts BBC Radio 1’s ‘Experimental’ show, and this is probably her most experimental release to date, featuring the glitchy, wonky sound of Hudson Mohawke and Rustie, the instrumental off-beat hip-hop of Mono/poly and Teebs, as well as the darker, moodier and more atmospheric side of electronic music, such as Darkstar’s version of Radiohead’s ‘Videotape’. A must have for anyone looking to sink into the more innovative side of dubstep.
I have always had a soft spot for Commix, due to the fact that both them and me hail from Cambridge, so was quick to latch on to their Fabriclive mix when it dropped in February. However, geographical loyalty was soon to become insignificant, as ’Fabriclive 44’ proved to be one of the best drum and bass mixes I had ever heard, and one of the best compilations of any style I had picked up all year. This soulful and elegant creation should be the perfect antidote to anyone who’s growing tired of the lack of imagination found elsewhere in drum and bass these days.
Prins Thomas took charge of the second volume of the ‘Live at Robert Johnson’ series, and covered it in a layer of playful disco. A stylish record from start to finish, the mix takes in a number of tracks from dance music’s finest producers to create a fluid and consistently funky set, which should appeal to a broad range of dance fans.
Rather than just churn out another compilation of the newest minimal sounds around at the moment, destined to become old news within a matter of months, the collection of DJs who created The Grandfather Paradox decided to collate tracks ranging from 50 years ago to the present day. This original approach resulted in a diverse yet well-polished double CD, with the songs present in both mixed and unmixed form.
Words: Jack Scourfield
In this category, the battle for first place was between two IDM tracks, which is a big change compared to last year’s recap, in which all our choices were dancefloor oriented. And what do we have this time? A disturbing, speaker ripping breakcore tune as the winner and a melancholic story with a gorgeous synthline in second place. We’ve got nice vocals in both of them, but neither of the tracks are really danceable.
Clark and Telefon Tel Aviv are icons of IDM, but why is it that we value ‘Growl’s Garden’ more? Because it’s more unconventional? Or maybe because ‘Totem’s Flare’ is a better album than ‘Immolate Yourself’? Or maybe we just prefer it when things get dirty, angry and disturbing?
Actually, this category proves our love for disturbance and unconventionality. We’re thinking about the next two productions in the Top 5. The first session with ‘The Windey Man’ will make an experienced listener grab his head with amazement, while the ordinary music enthusiast might check to make sure that his player hasn’t accidently skipped to another tune. Sound Revolt would like to thank Justin Maxwell for showing other producers that there are still creative things that can be done in techno.
And we would like to thank Stimming for using a mouth organ, which is not a popular instrument in this genre of the music world. He used it with great feeling, which made it go together perfectly with a piercing vocal to create a tune that’s boiling with expression.
On the other hand, we’ve got a total lack of darkness and a bit of convention in the Horny Monster version of ‘Gnanmankoudji’. We’re even wondering if that’s how ‘Man With The Red Face’ would sound if it was released in 2009. Intentionally or not, Garnier did refer to his legendary track, but that doesn’t really bother us. It surely didn’t bother those people who were blown away by this monster at one of Laurent’s many concerts performed together with his band which includes a horn section.
Words: Lukasz Napora
There could be no other winner in this category. The main occupation of best-selling record labels should be, well, releasing best albums, and that’s the thing BPitch Control did last year very well. It was Ellen Allien’s imprint that pampered us with such great and primarily diverse releases such as the debut of Moderat or new albums from Telefon Tel Aviv, Fuckpony and the AGF/Delay duo. BPitch Control has been on the market for over a decade now and still maintains top-notch form.
In second place in our recap we have a much younger Canadian label, Wagon Repair, which pretty much hasn’t put out a bad record yet. In 2009, it released Dinky’s best album so far, ‘Anemik’, and a couple of great EPs, in particular ‘Achaemenid’ from the rookie Stephen Beaupré, ‘Traffic Jam’ by Cobblestone Jazz, recorded by now as a quartet, after The Mole joined the group, and ‘Doesn't Like You Back’ from the jazzman’s keyboarder Danuel Tate.
The next imprint we decided to mark out is Hyperdub, owned by Kode9. The best summary of its activity and input in various kinds of bass music is definitely embraced in the release in October of the ‘5: Five Years of Hyperdub’ compilation, which distinctly shows how manifold is this London imprint. By the end of the year, it also gave us a very interesting debut album from the duo King Midas Sound, ‘Waiting For You…’.
Australian label EQ Recordings released only a couple of records this year, but what records they were! Taking the ‘Balance’ series, part fourteen by Joris Voorn, gathered a complete set of votes and became our compilation of the year, while part fifteen from Will Saul undoubtedly would’ve appeared in the top ten. It’s time to forget about the times of luster of Global Underground and Renaissance, because today EQ is handing out the cards on the field of compilations with electronic dance music.
The last label that deserves appreciation is Innervisions. The fact that, in 2009, everybody suddenly discovered their love for deep house definitely didn’t harm Dixon’s and Âme’s child, but there is no doubt that Berlin’s imprint from the beginning of its existence is a synonym of quality and practically, as every record it releases deserves applause. In order to prove this, I will only mention a fantastic EP ‘The Bright Forest’ by the young South African producer Culoe De Song and an equally tasty compilation from one of the founders of Innervisions, Dixon’s ‘Temporary Secretary’.
Words: Wojtek Michaluk
Artist of the Year is a hard to define category. Producer abilities, DJ skills, live acts, gigs or non-music activity are not the only aspects that are taken into consideration. That’s why it was probably the biggest challenge to select the most eminent names in this category.
There were plenty of candidates, but the top one was easy to choose this year. The band Moderat, created by Sasha Ring, Sebastian Szary Gernot Bronsert and Pfadfinderei, was the winner without any doubts. Even if you are one of those who weren’t shocked by the fantastic level of their debut album, your suspicions should be dispelled by the group’s live gigs. Unforgettable show, full of sound experiences and outstanding visuals for many of us was the essence of 2009.
When it comes to analysing all the SR crew choices, one of the main conclusions is that dubstep is a very important part of the present electronic music. This year was also essential for music from London’s Basements. A few interesting talents have risen up, two of which have places in SR’s top five of the year. First is Martijn Dijkers, otherwise known as Martyn. We would like to grant an award to Martyn, not only because of his excellent album ‘Great Lengths’, but also for undertaking successful attempts to connect dubstep with other kinds of music genres. Second is Shackleton, who made progress this year with his ‘Three EPs’ and some highly appreciated remixes such as ‘Rusty Nails’ for Moderat.
DJ Hell was one of the finest stars of last year thanks to his ‘Teufelswerk’ LP. Beside that, he impressed with his statement which discredits trance music as modern electronic music. His opinion was loudly discussed and commented throughout 2009.
The fifth man who closes our list is one of our favorites – Ricardo Villalobos. His recent worldwide activity as a DJ has had negative impact on a number of the released tracks. Even without this, his productions/compositions were present on the best compilations of 2009 such as ‘Balance 014’, ‘Balance 015’ and ‘Prins Thomas – Live at Robert Johnson’. It shows that Villalobos means quality not quantity.
Words: Jakub Kuzmicki
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