Best of 2008 pt 1

I think this is possibly the first year that I am indulging in the fine tradition of the end of year music list as such. I have done it before but it was more like end of year articles/wrap up pieces, so it feels good to break with that and do something different.

I’m keeping it simple: 30 tracks of the best tracks from the year split across 3 posts, stream players, buying links, myspace links and short explanations as to why you should consider indulging. I’ll include direct download links for tracks that are available elsewhere on the web. I’m also in the process of doing a best of 08 podcast for Rhythm Incursions which will go live next weekend, and probably feature quite a few of these tracks and some others, so look out for that.

Disclaimer: The list is definitely slanted towards my own tastes at the moment and in the last year, it’s not that I don’t listen to anything else but I don’t really keep up with all sorts of different scenes and what not anymore, so this ‘best of’ reflects the slightly narrower focus I’ve had when writing/thinking/talking about music this year. So if you like hip hop, dub and various strands of electronic music you’ll probably like it, if not stick around you might discover something!

The tracks and artists are posted at random.

Why 2008 was a good year pt 1

Nosaj Thing – 1685 – Stussy

Buy this / Myspace

An ‘unknown kid’ from L.A. at the beginning of the year, Nosaj really blew towards the end of the year, and I’m willing to bet he might well do a Flying Lotus in 2009. He would deserve it too because his music is fresh. The rhythms are infectious and his blend of electronic and hip hop is really on point, never leaning too far in any one direction. 1685 is one of the catchiest tracks I heard this year, and he’s done a few more.

2tall – The Most High feat. Kashmere – Content

Buy the album / Download this track / Myspace

I’m probably a little biased here, not least because 2tall is a friend of mine and I did the promo on the album. But still, I was first sent a version of this in early 07 and immediatly I was like ‘damn.’ And for good reasons, 2tall crafted a beat of fonky proportions nicely complimented by Kashmere’s particularly inspired lyrics. To top it off it breaks out into a monstrous dubby riddim at the end. Hip hop needs more stuff like this. Look out for more in 09 from him, including an EP on Terrorhythm.

Appleblim & Peverelist – Circling – Skull Disco

Buy the single / Myspace

One of the first 12″s of the year on Skull Disco, a label that by the end of 08 gave us their parting shot with a second compilation. It’s a shame to see such a pioneering and inspiring label go, but all good things come to an end and I’d rather see them go on a high. This track nicely captures what makes the cross over of dubstep and minimal techno so appealing to me, taking the best from both ‘genres’ and blending them into something more than the sum of its parts. This cross over has at times become a bit of a victim of its own hype, but tracks like this show just how good it can be. RIP Skull Disco.

Blank Blue – In the Slim – Ubiquity

Buy the album / Myspace

Came across this about 6 months after it was released but I’m glad I didn’t miss it. Blank Blue is a side project of Nobody with singer Niki Randa. Not unlike some of his other solo output it’s got folk and psychedelic influences and the pair blend these with a hip hop aesthetic that’s hard to resist. ‘In the Slim’ is particularly catchy with its distorted, fuzz lead and haunting vocal hook. Recommended if you like hip hop that thinks outside the box.

Bungalow Zen – Twilight Zone – Relief Records

Buy the album / Myspace / Download another track from the album

This is a track taken from an album that has been nearly 3 years in the making. In the process the line up has included two renowned Italian musicians, bass player Lorenzo Feliciati and multi instrumentalist Bruno Briscik, has been kept together by the duo that started it, Tayone and Skizo, two Italian scratch DJs, and saw 3 incarnations of the album (all unreleased). You might think an album from 2 scratch DJs with a bunch of musicians might have a certain ‘sound’ to it (and I can tell you now it has none of the samples you might expect to hear), but Bungalow Zen took their time to deliver a surprisingly good album, varied and eclectic and which doesn’t fall into any obvious traps despite its scratch heritage. This song is my favourite from the album, with a beautiful vocal from South African Sean Martin.

Burial – Archangel – Hyperdub

Buy the album / Myspace

I gotta be honest I never really bought into the whole Burial hype thing. It might have a lot to do with the fact that I never really liked 2step garage. All that said, this track from his second album is one of the most beautiful and haunting pieces of dance music (and I use that term with some reserve) I’ve ever heard and I can’t resist it, everytime it gives me goosebumps and brings flashbacks of London and my early years in the city spent in raves and at free parties. It’s easy to understand the hype to an extent listening to this, and regardless of where you stand on it, it’s hard to deny the power and beauty of a track like this. Who said electronic music had to be cold?

Daedelus – Paperboy feat. Taz & Touchstone – Ninja Tune

Buy the album / Myspace

Taken from the ‘Love to Make Music To’ album which was the first Daedelus album to really catch my ear. The album itself is a raucous mix of styles and tempos squashed together under the idea of an ode to rave music (I think that’s what the press release said). It might sound odd on paper but it really works. This track is one of the more club friendly, bouncy of the lot in line with a lot of recent mainstream rap but retaining a heavy dose of individuality and style. Also the track ‘Hours, Minutes, Seconds’ is totally ridiculous and worth the album price alone.

Disrup – Jah Bit Invasion – Werk

Buy the album / Myspace / Download this track

Technically this track isn’t off the album, I don’t have my copy at hand, but a newer version of it appears on there. The recipe is simple and the execution on point: dub made on laptops with an 8-bit fixation. If you don’t need Jahtari yet then I can only recommend you head over to their site asap and download the masses of free music they have available. A label and bunch of artists who prove that digital and dub don’t necessarily need to be incompatible.

Evil Nine – Crooked feat. Aesop Rock – Marine Parade

Buy the album / Myspace

Was quite surprised when I got this, not least because I know Evil Nine only for their breakbeat related output. This however is an entirely different beast, a bouncy hip hop number that pounds along, with definite elements from their more common work and lyrics from Aesop Rock that are a good reminder as to why he is one of the best MCs out there by far, regardless of hype or backpack related non sense. The chorus gets stuck in your head like nothing.

Flying Lotus – Paper Crane Gang – Warp

Buy the album / Myspace

We finish part 1 with a track from the man who has to be the hip hop related artist of the year, at least in non commercial circles (though some of his remixes have definitely caught the ears of people quite far out his direct musical circles). This track is taken from the first of the L.A. EPs, which followed his debut album for Warp. While the album itself is good, with 6 months passed since it dropped I personally feel that the two EPs that follow it are actually more enjoyable in a way, though the comparison is a bit thin I’ll admit. This track is my favourite off the first EP, a perfect example of what has made Fly Lo quite possibly the most talked about producer this year outside of mainstream circles, with a loose and smoky approach to the backbone of hip hop, the beat. I’m curious to see what 09 brings for him following all this.

Part 2 coming up shortly, as well as a best mixes of the year post and another one looking more particularly at the best ‘beat’ related tracks of the year too. Enjoy!