Dan Leach's Top 8 Tunes

Commentary

In all honesty I wasn’t going to do a top 8 this year, partly because at the key moments in my day I had no inspiration, but mainly because I am a lazy music enthusiast. But when Andy at Mind emailed to say “We’ve got work to do” I knew what had to be done. Writing for R$N has actually been a blessing this year for many reasons, not least because it has cut into my inertia and forced me to dip the wick of my Christmas candle into various musical treats to see what would ignite my..erm..tip.

In other words, below are my top eight tunes that I enjoyed in 2014 (though not necessarily released in 2014!):

Adolf Jyn – Sword for Hire

Ransom Noted: We brought you word of a young buck from Detroit who belies his years with this rustic samurai infused beat.

Dumplings En China – There Dat Boi Go

Deep, slightly dirty with a touch of funk – the man called Dumplings nails it here. The start of something big.

Arms & Sleepers – Swim Team

The popular Boston duo’s transcendental nostalgia-inducing beats just got a fuel injection.

Mayer Hawthorne – I Wish It Would Rain

Simple, catchy, touching. We remain thankful that Peanut Butter Wolf recognised the genius in the Mayer Hawthorne’s neo-soul productions.

James Pants – The Eyes of The Lord

Sums up everything beautiful about Stones Throw. Inventive, haunting, revelatory, nostalgic, soaring.

Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf – Methods

Classic hip-hop beats from Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf’s 4LP anthology to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of Charizma

Kormac – Another Screen

Kormac brings in guest vocalist Irvine Welsh to add authority to his tirade against the prevalence of “screens” in our lives – beautiful sounds to match a beautiful video.