Best Of 2015 - Albums & Mixtapes & ....

Reflekzionz/Enttropik EP - Ekoplekz
Another great LP from Nick Edwards and the EP has two of his best tunes ever. He's on a hell of a roll and is quite possibly the best living electronic artist on the planet.

Lost Themes - John Carpenter
Carpenter knocks his clones out of the park with this classic epic slab of prog-horror. He just does what he does and that's the beauty of this album.

Playclothes From Faraway Places/Why Does My House Make Creaking Moises? - Moon Wiring Club
MWC are still intriguing, captivating and delightful after 10 years. This is his best since Today Bread, Tomorrow Secrets and that's saying something as that's probably his 2nd best work. So this could end up at 1 or 3. This conjures images of ye olde English spectres breakdancing in dank haunted houses. Like Stereolab before him he makes writing about his music pointless as the song titles say it all 'Hide & Ghost Seek' 'Cobwebby Whodunit' 'Chic Exorcist' 'The Hushening' 'Haywire Assistants' 'Timeless Tea Gowns' etc. What is all that whispering about?

Barter 6/Slime Season - Young Thug
How the fuck does he keep it up? Two great releases from rap's weirdest tripper with the most original flow in hip-hop's history? Me like a very lot.

Nightvision - Mark Van Hoen
Mark continues on his merry way outside of trends and makes a little gem of an electronic LP in the process. Did anyone even notice?

Thrilla - Boosie Badazz
Ignore his stupid name change, he's still Lil Boosie to me but as he says he's a 'bad ass mother fucker.' He sounds like a real slime ball with the most menacing swagga in the game. When he gets in a maniacal zone it's as intensely infectious as prime Iggy Pop. Why isn't he as big as Kanye?

Rudeboyz EP - Rudeboyz
Mesmerising tumbling rhythms that bounce around amongst gloomy minimalism.

DS2 - Future
What a year Future's had, especially when you consider his inconsistent previous year. This album is just the tip of the iceberg of his 2015. This is his unapologetic paean to nihilistic hedonism and something tells me this all ain't gonna end well...

EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE - Rustie
Rustie makes a fine return to form and sets us adrift on memory bliss. It's so hard to resist this cheesy, cheap and cheerful noise.

Rich Off Mackin - RJ & Choice
Everyone wanted to write off DJ Mustard in 2015 (including my barber) but Rich Off Mackin can't be denied. This is gold and really feels like a true collaboration between RJ, Choice and Dijon. It's party time, people!

Houston 3AM - Beatking
Beatking continues to kill everything he does and Houston 3AM is up there with his best LPs/Mixtapes. The King is the most un-PC rapper in the game. Bret Easton Ellis needs to do a podcast with this guy!

Safe - Visionist
Everything about this on surface value make me wanna be sick ie. the cover, the artist's name, the song titles etc....omg I want to punch this C*** in the face. So it's with great disappointment then that I have to announce this music is good stuff: Minimal, thin & empty with occasional flourishes into neon lit sound. Hauntological Grime, anyone?

OTHERS I ALSO LIKED
Slime Season 2 - Young Thug
The Hateful Eight OST - Ennio Morricone
Cub OST - Steve Moore

London Overgrown - John Foxx
Tales From The Black Tangle - Howlround
Don't Let The Sauce Fool U - Sauce Twinz
I'm Movin' To Houston - Starlito
Beast Mode/56 Nights - Future
3 Weeks/Club God 4 - Beatking
Candy, Diamonds & Pills - Gangsta Boo
Life II Death - Amber London
What A Time To Be Alive - Drake & Future
12 Reasons To Die II - Ghostface Killah

WHAT'S WITH THESE???
John T Gast - Excerpts
Puts in perspective how good Scorn were circa Evanescence and Ekoplekz are now. Switch it off.
Father - Who's Gonna Get Fucked First?
Awful Records is a rather apt title for his label, innit?
Arca - Mutant
It's alright I'spose but am I gonna play it a 4th time? No.
Helm - Olympic Mess
Olympic snooze-fest.
*I could go on and on and on some more but that'll do.....

TELEVISION
Girls: These characters are so fucking awful, I hate them. Genius.

Better Call Saul was alright particularly the comedy gold of the Bingo scene in the final episode.

The American TV Golden Age didn't last long did it? Beginning with the first episode of Sopranos and ending somewhere around the last episode of the fourth season of Breaking Bad, I reckon. Britain however has pretty much been in a TV golden age since the 70s.

MOVIES
Remember when they used to make good movies?

2012 - A Look Back Part III

Best Internet Mixtapes/DJ Mixes 2012

Panabrite - Lunar Atrium Mix
Synthesiser vistas from his extensive Library music collection.
Mark Van Hoen - Pontone Mix #87
Electronic pop 101.
Ix Tab - Pontone Mix #95
The roots and traces of The Bregnut Tree.
K-Punk - Pontone Mix #91
4th world musical travels.
Evol - Fact Mix #330
Mentastic!
Dara - Blog To The Old Scool Mix
The ultimate 'ardcore 91 mix.

*A lot of time in 2012 I was putting together my own ultimate mixtapes of 'ardcore, Breakbeat, Darkside, Jungle and Ambient Jungle. So maybe I wasn't into other peoples mixes as much. I must admit my Acieeed! mix and Miami Bass mix haven't really got off the ground yet.

Re/Discovered, Not Reissued In 2012

• Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby
• Dave Graney - Knock Yourself Out/Hashish/We Wuz Curious
• Stereolab - 91-97 Catalogue
• Pulp - Intro/His n Hers/Different Class/We Love Life
• Cybotron - Clear
• The Black Dog - Book Of Dogma
• Primitive Calculators - Primitive Calculators/Primitive Calculators & Friends 1979-82
• Laughing Clowns - Cruel But Fair (3CD)
• Omni Trio - Vols 1-5
• Jacob's Optical Stairway - S/T
• A Guy Called Gerald - Black Secret Technology
• 4 Hero - Parallel Universe/The Early Plates
• Various - Reinforced Presents: Callin For Reinforcements & The Definition of Hardcore
• 2 Bad Mice/Kaotic Chemistry - Everything
• Various - Hardcore Leaders Of The New School
• Various - Torque - No U Turn Comp
• Wagon Christ - Throbbing Pouch
• The Wu-Tang Clan  - Group & Solo LPs 93-96
• Snoop Dog - Doggystyle
• Michael Hoenig & Manuel Gottching  - Early Water
• Ilitch - 10 Suicides
• Patrick Vian - Bruits Et Temps Analogues
• And every second track released on The Hardcore Continuum from like 90- 95. There I finally said it!

*I did end up listening to that Kendrick Lamar LP. Bit of a downer I thought, not bad and sonically pretty cool though.

Mixtapes again

Playground Mix 66-
Demdike Stare

Totally diggin this Playground Mix 66 by Demdike Stare. It comes from a Spanish website (I think) Playground Magazine. I once had a Demdike Stare record but didn't like it/give it much of a chance. Enjoying this mix so much and their musical tastes are up my alley making me reassess them, perhaps I should give them a second chance. Old faves Chrome, Branca and Cosmic Jokers mixed with unknowns (to me anyway) Jan Schaffer, Third Ear Band, Black Cat Bones and even one of their own tracks.

Then there are two (I don't think I've mentioned before) from Lunar Atrium aka Panabrite's blog. One is called Mix 3 Aquatic Sounds and is 25 minutes of the best underwater/aquatic library/oceanic documentary sounds you are likely to hear in such condensed form. At last check I had downloaded at least 12 aquatic themed records mainly from the Lunar Atrium site. Ever since I heard Sven Libeak's Inner Space LP many years ago I've been hooked on this kind of thing. I wish there was more of it out there. The mix includes Roger Davy, Eugen Thomas and Joel Vandroogenbroek amongst other luminaries of the library music scene. Choice.

Mix 3 Aquatic Sounds

Lunar Atrium

The other mixtape from Lunar Atrium is a fantastic cosmic synth mix with many arcane delights included. I think Phil Davies and Harry Ford are the only ones I know but that doesn't make it any less great. He's called it The Galaxyactivatorconnexionmix and it's every bit as quality as this years previously mentioned Lunar Atrium Mix.

Otherwise known as The Cosmic Synth Mix
From Lunar Atrium

Playground mix 73
by Mark Van Hoen.

This Playground mix 73 from Mark Van Hoen is much weirder than the last one on Pontone but no less interesting. Scott Walker on 16 rpm with Durrutti Column, Polysick, Cybertron and even Demdike Stare. What can I say this is one strange voyage. The wrong pills have been mixed with some bad punch and nobody knows what's lurking around the corner. Everything should turn out fine I think even if you're left a little disorientated.                                                                                                                         

Mixtapes: The Best Part II

Mark Van Hoen earlier this year did one of the best mixes for Pontone ever. Pontone Mixtape 87 might seem like a history lesson on paper but that makes it the best history lesson ever in electronic music. It.s so good I could listen over and over again despite being familiar with at least 2 3rds of the material here. Ligeti, Oneothrix, Japan, Oram, Derbyshire, Eno, Cluster, LFO and the list goes on. Somehow he makes it all gel and sound fresh. Another bewdy at Pontone is tape 77 Psychological Strategy Board Presents: Industry, What Industry? This is up there with the previously mentioned Moon Wiring Club tapes as well as being in similar territory. Actually I don't think I got this originally from Pontone, it may have been posted in several places anyway......

Rachel Evans of Motion Sickness of Time Travel did a cool mix a year or 2 back. The Electric Rain Mix was top shelf modern electronics that included Emeralds, Panabrite, Hobo Cubes etc.....dunno where this was from though.....It says on the track 'ssg special', which I'm guessing is some kind of blog........??

Electric Rain Mix
Rachel Evans

Now this one is an old skool classic-Sleaz & Cheez mix by DJ Soap from 2008. This is a fantastic sexadelic mix of French and Italian grooves. This'll get your spa party started for sure. Over 70 minutes of sonically sexual mischief including the likes of Mr Gainbourg, Morricone, Piero's Umiliani & Piccioni, Frances Lai, Nic Fidenco etc....anyway this came from The Sleazy Listening Blog which is fantastic for those sexotic sounds from 60s and 70s Euro soundtracks.



Sleaz & Cheez
Mix by Soap
2008
Sexadelic Baby!

  

2012 music

Gary War's new project.
On Spectrum Spools.

Is it just me or does there seem to be a dearth of good new music releases so far this year. Some of the new No Not Fun stuff Cruise Family, LX Sweat etc. it's ok but it's not that excitement like first hearing Sun Araw, Umberto, Ducktails et al. Then there is the 2012 disappointments Nite Jewel, Dolphins Into The Future (perhaps being a bit hasty only listened to it once), most music in the charts etc. The new Black Dice record, I dunno maybe I need more time to get into it or maybe I could just chuck it in the bin.  Editions Mego are doin OK though, Mark Van Hoen's record and Gary War's ..... sorry Human Teenager's new platter are good gear. The Revenant Diary sounds like Mark went into a deep sleep sometime in 1996 and woke up in 2012 and made a record as if nothing had happened. While the Human Teenager record Animal Husbandry sounds like a follow up to Gary War's top 2009 LP Horribles Parade. Human Teenager are his new collaboration with some other dude who was in Infinity Window I think. Gary War also has a solo record coming out soon too. It's not all bad news at No Not Fun, I'm lovin' Sand Circles new tape Motor City.  This is 2am driving music for the city's bewildered lost souls. Looking forward to the new Motion Sickness of Time Travel double LP on Spectrum Spools. Maybe I need to be lookin' elsewhere. I have been discovering some good 80s stuff from Ohio reissued on Columbus Discount Records, but I'm talkin about new music here. Any recommendations out there?

The Revenant Diary
Mark Van Hoen

Fabulous follow up to
Midnite Crimes