2010 Round Up

Time for our round up of the year and it looks like we have a clear winner in the singles category with Begins Velocity with lots of love for Claremont and Golf Channel on the label front. Its been a good year in our eyes for lovely down tempo music and heres to 2011 and throwing more in the pot and seeing what comes out. Thanks to everyone who fed in on this one.

Single: Begin: Velocity (Begin)

Film: Of Gods And Men

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Virgo: RU Hot Enough

Label: Claremont 56

Book: William Maxwell The Chateau

DJ: Gareth Marshallsea

TV: Miranda

Singles: DJ Nature: Destiny Reprise & Joy Orbison: The Shrew

LP: Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM & Four Tet: There is Love In You

Film: Bird On A Wire

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: About a dozen Joy Division live bootlegs

Label: R&S (James Blake, Space Dimension Controller) or Golf Channel (DJ Nature & Gala Drop)

Book: Martin Beck series Maj Sjwall & Per Wahl

DJ: Jarvis Cocker on 6music

TV: New series of Futurama

Single: Falty DL: All In The Place (Discoko)

Album: Junip: Fields

Film: Toy Story 3

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Mundo Muzique: Andromeda

Label: Claremont 56 (Again!)

Book: Michael Lewis: The Big Short

DJ: Martin Dutton

TV: Breaking Bad

Spotify Playlist: Not really been near it lately.

Single: Storm Queen: Look Right Through

Film: Ghostwriter Roman Polanski or probably Downtown Calling if i already had the chance to see it

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Betty Wright: Got It Right (Moxie Edit)

Label: Golf Channel

Book: IQ84 Haruki Murakami

DJ: Harvey

Single: Begin: Velocity / Optical Holiday

Best Film: Monsters

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Alien Signal Dawn of a new era

Label: Cordings

Book: Take Ivy

DJ: Phil Mison / Phil South

TV: The Trip

Single: Four Hands Hizou

Film: Machete

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Afterhours Waterfalls

Label: (Sorry) Claremont 56

Book: Zola Germinal

DJ: Idjut Boys, Kelvin Andrews & Phil Mison

TV: Breaking Bad

Favourite Release Of The Year So Far: Its been a great year for music so not an easy choice. Misti and Veyland Stars for proving that piano riffs and a sense of humour are still alive and well in house music. The blazing horns and nyabinghi of Kumina Mento Rasta by Wareika Hill Sounds. And Play Music Selecta by Kalbata and Mixmonster, featuring Jah Thomas, for its thundering bassline and showing the dubsteppers what dub really means.

Film: Four Lions. Chris Morris confirms his genius with a film that manages simultaneously to be hilarious, tragic and thought-provoking.

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Ella and Louis Again Verve Records 1957. I dont know how this was recorded but it is by head and shoulders the best sounding record I own. Its like having them singing in the corner of the room. Oscar Peterson on piano is a nice touch.

Label: Honest Jons

Book: The Lunatic by Anthony Winkler, the very funny story of a rural Jamaican madman and his encounter with a solidly built German tourist.

DJ: Lil Louis at Corsica Studios blew me away. Amazing mix of jacking house and disco, climaxing with You Keep Me Hanging On by the Supremes.

TV: The World Cup

Spotify Playlist: Spotify hasnt reached Jamaica yet but having DJ Gabre Selassie online is all you need. Augustus Pablos bredrin keeps the Rockers flame alive http://www.ustream.tv/channel/rockers-sound-station

SINGLES

1. Begin: Velocity

2. Incarnations: Make You Mine

3. Storm Queen: Look Right Through

4. Broken Bells: The High Road

5. Holger Czukay: Persian Love

6. Midlake: Roscoe (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Re:animation)

7. Sam Sallon: You May Not Mean To Hurt Me (Leo Zero/Begin mixes)

8. Kurt Maloo/Sophie Zelmani: Afterglow/If I Could (Rune Lindbaek Mixes)

9. Mudd & Pollard: Vincent

10. Max Essa: Panorama Suite / Uptown Vibration

11. IFEEL STUDIO 001: Coptic Sun

12. Four Hands: Hizou

13. Locussoulus: Little Boots

14. Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Welcome To The Pleasuredome (Soul Mekanik remix)

15. Begin: Optical Holiday

16. Cantoma: Under The Stars / Gambarra (Ray Mang/Lexx Remixes)

17. Beach House: Zebra

18. Steve Mason: Am I Just A Man

19. Still Corners: Dont Fall In Love

20. Pacific Horizons: Universal Horizons / The Amulet

LPS

1. Steve Mason: Boys Outside

2. Beach House: Teen Dream

3. Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM

4. Massive Attack: Heligoland

5. Cantoma: Out Of Town

6. Prince: 20Ten

7. Junip: Fields

8. Incarnations: With All Due Respect

9. Caribou: Swim

10. Smoke Fairies: Through Low Light And Trees

REISSUES/COMPS/EDITS

1. Various: Down To The Sea & Back Volume 1

2. Mark Cappani: I Believe In Miracles

3. Various: Pomegranates

4. Lou Bond: Lou Bond

5. KM Editions: Feelings Of Ecstacy

6. The KBE Edits: Hairy Bush EP

Film: A Single Man, A Prophet, The Kids Are Alright, Toy Story 3, Kick-Ass, Harry Brown, Gainsbourg.

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Dust Springfield: Nothing Has Been Proved, Larry Heard: Sceneries Not Songs, Orange: Le Couleur, Depeche Mode: Enjoy The Silence (Hands & Feet Mix), Charles B: Lack Of Love

Label: Claremont 56/Leng stormed it again this year good efforts also from Finders Keepers, International Feel, Is It Balearic?

Book: Bill Bryson: A Short History Of Nearly Everything / Notes From A Small Island, Ian Flemming: Goldfinger / You Only Live Twice, Tim Lawrence: Hold Onto Your Dreams, Peter Mayne: A Year In Marrakesh, Ian MacDonald: Revolution in The Head, Stephen Fry: Moab Is My Washpot (again), Julian Cope: Head On (again)

DJ: Graeme Fisher at The Acid Tree, Lexx at Space (Folk Ibiza), Idjut Boys at Cutloose, Prins Thomas at The Cultural Vibez Weekender, Mike Bee at Plunge.

TV: The Trip, Mad Men, Sherlock, The Art Of Germany, Qi, The New Doctor Who was better than I expected as well.

Spotify Playlist: Jolyon, Aficionado

Singles: James Blake: CMYK (but hype now but got played to death), Games Strawberry Skies, Begin: Velocity & COS/MES: Natural Lifespan

LP: Oneohtrix Point Never: Returnal

Film: Pans Labyrinth (only three years late)

Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Barry Reynolds: Till The Doctor Gets Back

Label: Golf Channel / Claremont & Leng (both on fire this year)

Book: Roger Deakin: Waterlog

DJ: Phil Mison

TV: The Apprentice

Release: This has been much more difficult than I was expecting. Looking back at the new music I bought this year, right now I can`t see much that I couldnt be persuaded to part with. If you were to come round to mine I would most likely be excitedly playing you the antiques I have found. Though I did finally manage to get The XX (a year later), I havent felt very inspired by new music this year. As a consequence I have been feeling very old. I`m sure this wasnt because there wasnt a lot of interesting and groundbreaking new music released this year (that`s Tim`s job anyhow) but it does have something to do with me being 200 km from the nearest record shop and getting totally fucked off with buying stuff on-line (fucking 90 second clips, limited fucking runs of everything, and the incredible amount of warped fucking records (1/3?) that have turned up in the post this year). To the sane among you it will be clear that a format change is called for but unfortunately I think I love vinyl more than I love (recorded) music. This morning if you were to ask me I`d say Pacific Horizons Universal Horizons.

Film: I havent been to the cinema once this year and have only rented one DVD. The Wrestler. While the story could only be a clich, Rourke`s performance has maybe unfortunately stayed with me. This film and McCarthys The Road appear to be my current totems. What do you do when doing the best that you can just isnt good enough anymore? I have had to ban myself from playing the Springsteen theme song, since it puts me on a terminal downer. Such is its resonance.

Rediscovery: Got to be Chairmen Of The Boards The Skin Im In. Weatheralls Screamadelica show was a much needed wake up call. Wheres the soul gone? A mention in dispatches goes to Kokomos Use Your Imagination which has been played to a good response several times this year (thanks Tim).

Label: For new music, Hippos In Tanks continue to pique my interest (though I don`t often indulge) and I am still a sucker for the Echospace/Echochord sound. All the House I`ve bought seems to be on Clone or Rush Hour (or sub-labels thereof). There was the Cantoma CD (does the Four Hands count?) on Claremont56, The Struggle on IFeel, but maybe, just maybe RVNG for the Arp/Anthony Moore LP and CFCF`s The River.

For re-issues, Dug-Out have been pretty much essential and Light In The Attic have made available some truly great leftfield soul obscurities. Bureau B for all the Roedelius, and Minimal Wave definitely deserve a mention (particularly for the Ruins).

Book: Erik Davis Techgnosis. I have believed for a long-time that the future of the human race lies with machines and maybe the net (yep, I once smoked a lot of weed). With a little imagination a virtual facebook might allow us to teleport, time travel, leave the Earth and maybe achieve immortality. Here to go. But for a luddite like me the world wide web just seems to be one massive shop front. I am currently off-line learning acoustic guitar and campfire songs.

DJ: This was easy. Max Essa bar or club always gives 100%, is never obvious, & always always rocks it I think some people might be surprised really pleased that all his hard work this year seems to be paying off for him and his family. Also sports an admirable, seemingly endless, line in smart knitwear.

[Apiento]

Taken from the very excellent testpressing.org – home of music love. Check the site for a lot more – they been busy these past few weeks with a mad amount of posts!