Thread: Best of 2009

I believe it is time for some year-end lists. Favorite albums, songs, mixes, live-acts, etc.

I'm not going to rank mine just yet. I think I'll come back to it and edit here and there too. For now, a list of notables.

Martin Schulte - On the Moon [Sinergy Networks]
AGF/Delay - Symptoms [BPitch Control]
Ben Frost - By the Throat [Bedroom Community]
Burial & Four Tet - Moth / Wolf Cub 12" [Text Records]
Giuseppe Ielasi - Aix [12k]
Hannu - Hintergarten [Kesh Recordings]
Various Artists - 5 Years of Hyperdub [Hyperdub, 2009]
Intrusion - The Seduction of Silence [echospace]
2000F & J Kamata - You Don't Know What Love Is from Digidesign / You Don't Know What Love Is 12" [Hyperdub]
King Midas Sound - Waiting For You [Hyperdub]
King Midas Sound - One Ting (Dabrye Remix) from Cool Out EP [Hyperdub]
Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - II [Eskimo Recordings]
Loscil - Strathcona Variations [Ghostly International]
Luke Hess - Light In The Dark [Echocord]
Lukid - Foma [Werk Discs]
Martyn - Great Lengths [3024]
Brock Van Wey - White Clouds Drift On And On [echospace]
Leyland Kirby - Sadly, the Future Is No Longer What It Was [History Always Favours The Winners]
FaltyDL - Love Is A Liability [Planet Mu]
Meanderthals - Desire Lines [Smalltown Supersound]
Mika Vainio - Aíneen Musta Puhelin / Black Telephone Of Matter [Touch]
Millie & Andrea - Temper Tantrum / Vigilance 12" [Daphne]
Moderat - Moderat [BPitch Control]
Mohlao - Ambrose [Meanwhile]
Mokira - Persona [Type Records]
Moritz von Oswald Trio - Vertical Ascent [Honest Jon's Records]
Oren Ambarchi - Persona [Black Truffle]
Pangaea - Bear Witness / Mosaix 12" [Hotflush Recordings]
Pixel - The Drive [Raster-Noton]
Quantec - Cauldron Subsidence [echocord]
September Collective - Always Breathing Monster [Mosz]
Shackleton - Three EPs [Perlon]
The Sight Below - Murmur EP [Ghostly International]
Sven Weisemann - Xine [wandering]
Tomasz Bednarczyk - Let's Make Better Mistakes Tomorrow [12k]
Variant - The Setting Sun [echospace]
Vladislav Delay - Tummaa [Leaf]
William Basinski - 92982 [2062]
Yagya - Rigning [Sending Orbs]
2562 - Unbalance [Tectonic]

Updated.

I've ordered a copy of the King Midas Sound album on the strength of your glowing post, Jon...

Originally Posted by Tiggi

I've ordered a copy of the King Midas Sound album on the strength of your glowing post, Jon...

Wow. I hope it doesn't disappoint!

Popmatters Best Electronic Albums of 2009:

10. Brock Van Wey - White Clouds Drift on and On [Echospace]
09. 2562 - Unbalance [Tectonic]
08. Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue [Warp]
07. Gui Boratto - Take My Breath Away [Kompakt]
06. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us [Graveface]
05. Dan Deacon - Bromst [Carpark]
04. Harmonic 313 - When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence [Warp]
03. SND - Atavism [Raster - Noton]
02. Jon Hopkins - Insides [Domino]
01. FaltyDL - Love Is a Liability [Planet Mu]

I have half of these: 9, 7, 3, 2, and 1. Yes they're all great. I want the other five.

Pitchfork's The Year in Techno by Philip Sherburne

--follow the link for his essay and the full list. I'm editing this list down to ones I can vouch for to save space. Even so it is still quite long.

Notable Releases of 2009

St. Plomb: Escape Run [Brut!]
DJ Koze: "Mrs. Bojangels / Dr. ****" [Circus Company]
Matias Aguayo: "Bo Jack" [Cómeme]
Rebolledo: "Pitaya Frenesi [ft. Matias Aguayo]" [Cómeme]
Thomas Brinkmann: "Isch (+ Soulphiction Remisch)" [Petite]
Adam Marshall: North at Night [Cynosure]
Millie: "Sample Clearance / Path to Hell" [Daphne]
Andrea & Mille: "Temper Tantrum / Vigilance" [Daphne]
Levon Vincent: Invisible Bitchslap EP [Deconstruct Music]
Newworldaquarium: The Force (Ame Remixes) [NWAQ]
Newworldaquarium: "Trespassers" (Repress) [Delsin]
Redshape: The Dance Paradox [Delsin]
Carl Craig & Moritz von Oswald: ReComposed [Deutsche Grammophon]
Marcel Dettmann: "Helix" [Diamonds & Pearls]
Mikkel Metal: "Kenton" / "Kenton (Marcel Dettmann Remix)" [Echocord Colour]
Omar-S: "In Side My Head" [FXHE]
Omar-S: Still Serious Nic EP [FXHE]
Hauntologists: EP1 [Hauntologists]
Hauntologists: EP2 [Hauntologists]
Monolake: "Atlas" / "Titan" [Imbalance Computer Music]
Monolake: "T++ Remixes" [Imbalance Computer Music]
The Mole: "For the Lost" / "There's Hope" [Internasjonal]
Moodymann: Anotha Black Sunday [KDJ]
Moodymann: "Freaki Mutha F cker" [KDJ]
Mugwump: "Fears Inc." [Kompakt]
Burger/Voigt: Wand Aus Klang Remixes [Kompakt]
Matias Aguayo: Ay Ay Ay [Kompakt]
Motor City Drum Ensemble: "Raw Cuts #5/6" [MCDE]
Marcel Dettmann: MDR 06 [MDR]
Andy Stott: "Brief Encounter" / "Drippin" [Modern Love]
Andy Stott: "Night Jewel" [Modern Love]
MLZ: One Cycle [Modern Love]
Claro Intelecto: Chadderton EP [Modern Love]
DJ Sprinkles: "Grand Central Part I (Deep Into the Bowel of House)(MCDE Remixes)" [Mule Musiq]
Levon Vincent: "The Medium Is the Message" [Novel Sound]
Levon Vincent / DJ Jus-Ed: These Games EP [Novel Sound] (2008)
Nick Höppner: "Makeover" / "Foundling" [Ostgut Tonträger]
Ben Klock: Remixes [Ostgut Tonträger]
Basic Soul Unit / Lerosa: Panorama Bar 02 | Part I [Ostgut Tonträger]
Levon Vincent / Steffi: Panorama Bar 02 | Part II [Ostgut Tonträger]
Tony Lionni / Radio Slave: Berghain 03 | Part I [Ostgut Tonträger]
John Tejada / Josh Humphrey: "Concrete Safari" [Palette]
John Tejada: Vertex EP [Palette]
FaltyDL: To London EP [Ramp]
Radio Slave: "RJ" [Running Back]
Function: Remixed [Sandwell District]
Van Rivers: "Stretched Out on Pavement" [SD Records]
Will Saul & Tam Cooper: "3000AD (I:Cube Remixes)" [Simple]
Meanderthals: "Andromeda (Idjut Boys Mix)" [Smalltown Supersound]
STL: "Silent State" [Smallville]
Various: And Suddenly It's Morning [Smallville]
Osborne: Hovercrafting EP [Spectral Sound]
Tortoise: "Gigantes Version (Mark Ernestus Remix)" [Thrill Jockey]
Donato Dozzy & Cio D'or: "Menta" [Time to Express]
DJ Jus-Ed: GV-255 Step Up [Underground Quality]

Resident Advisor Top 20 Labels of 2009

20. FXHE
19. Cécille Records
18. Permanent Vacation
17. BPitch Control
16. Warp Records
15. Innervisions
14. 20:20 Vision
13. Crosstown Rebels
12. Mule Musiq
11. Perlon
10. Smallville
09. Sandwell District
08. DFA Records
07. Running Back
06. Underground Quality
05. Kompakt
04. Hotflush Recordings
03. Wolf + Lamb
02. Ostgut Ton
01. Hyperdub

Textura 2009 Top 20 Albums

01. Leyland Kirby: Sadly The Future Is No Longer What It Was [History Always Favours the Winners]
02. Brock Van Wey: White Clouds Drift On and On [Echospace (Detroit)]
03. orchestramaxfieldparrish presents ÆRA: To The Last Man / Index of Dreaming [Faith Strange]
04. Intrusion: The Seduction of Silence [Echospace (Detroit)]
05. James Blackshaw: The Glass Bead Game [Young God]
06. Alexander Turnquist: As the Twilight Crane Dreams in Colour [VHF]
07. Gareth Dickson: Collected Recordings [Drifting Falling]
08. David Åhlén: We Sprout in Thy Soil [Compunctio]
09. Bvdub: We Were the Sun [Quietus]
10. The Lickets: Her Name Came On Arrows / They Turned Our Desert Into Fire [International Corporation / Gandhara]
11. Balmorhea: All is Wild, All is Silent [Western Vinyl]
12. Aspidistrafly: I Hold a Wish For You [Kitchen.]
13. Rameses III: I Could Not Love You More [Type]
14. CYNE: Water From Mars [Hometapes]
15. Celer: Engaged Touches [Home Normal]
16. AREA C: Planetarium Project [Sedimental]
17. Rickard Jäverling: The Valleys [Kning Disk]
18. Jasper TX: Singing Stones [Fang Bomb]
19. Anduin: Abandoned in Sleep [SMTG]
20. Motohiro Nakamisha: We Hum on the Way Home [Schole]

This website favors the "home-listening" crowd. I don't think there is a dance record in the bunch. In fact not all of these are "electronic" per se, more just experimental. Some are more drone, folk, psych, post-rock etc.

Resident Advisor Top 20 Albums of 2009

01. DJ Sprinkles - Midtown 120 Blues [Mule Musiq]
02. Fever Ray - Fever Ray [Rabid Records / Mute]
03. Martyn - Great Lengths [3024]
04. Moritz von Oswald Trio - Vertical Ascent [Honest Jon's Records]
05. Shackleton - Three EP's [Perlon]
06. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion [Domino]
07. Matias Aguayo - Ay Ay Ay [Kompakt]
08. Ben Klock - One [Ostgut Tonträger]
09. Redshape - The Dance Paradox [Delsin / Present]
10. 2562 - Unbalance [Tectonic]
11. F*ck Buttons - Tarot Sport [ATP Recordings]
12. The Field - Yesterday and Today [Kompakt]
13. Black Meteoric Star - Black Meteoric Star [DFA]
14. Lawrence - Until Then, Goodbye [Mule Electronic]
15. Dinky - Anemik [Wagon Repair]
16. Ben Frost - By The Throat [Bedroom Community]
17. Bvdub: We Were the Sun [Quietus]
18. Black Jazz Consortium - Structure [Soul People Music]
19. Peverelist - Jarvik Mindstate [Punch Drunk]
20. Moderat - Moderat [BPitch Control]

I have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17 and 20. They're all super.

Anyone else listen to new electronic music in 2009? What are your favorites? Or what about electronic music that was new to you in 2009?

Basic_Sounds Best of 2009

martin schulte / depth of soul / lantern
- My new favourite artist discovery this year is Russian producer, Marat Shibaev aka Martin Schulte. Twenty-one year old, Martin Schulte successfully delivers delicious dub-inspired techno intertwined with floating ambient textures and atmospheric field recordings.

pablo bolivar / recall / regular
-Spanish producer, Pablo Bolivar develops clinical sequences into divine warm melodies and stunning techno grooves.

ametsub / the nothings of the north / progressive form
- 25 year old Tokyo-based musician Ametsub delivers satisfying glitchy IDM melodies.

lusine / a certain distance / ghostly
- Seattle based, Lusine aka Jeff McIlwain combines sophisticated pop structures with warm melodic IDM melodies.

jonathan johansson / en hand i himlen / hybris
- Jonathan Johansson creates infectious nostalgic Swedish synth-pop. I've become that annoying sixteen year-old high school girl that plays her favourite pop song over and over again.

quantec / cauldron subsidence / echocord
- Quantec aka Sven Schienhammer, delivers his second full length release with outstanding deep pulsating dub ambiance.

fluxion / constant limber / resopal schallware
- Fluxion combines deep delicious dub sounds over driven 4/4 beats.

pendle coven / self assessment / modern love
- Pendle Coven, known for being half of MLZ, presents his first full-length debut. Well produced dub techno with some straightforward dubstep, broken beat and shimmering ambiance.

pleq / the metamorphosis / u-cover
- Pleq constructs well-crafted glitchy ambiance, full of delicate shifting micro sounds, percussion clicks and orchestral sentiments.

brock van wey (aka bvdub) / white clouds drift on and on / echospace
- Brock Van Wey produces beautiful sentimental ambient music and is the first Echospace outsider to be accepted on the label.

black to comm / alphabet 1968 / type
- Beautiful drone ambient album full of haunting loops, distant lullabies and psychedelic classical structures.

lowfish / frozen and broken / noise factory
- Gregory de Rocher aka Lowfish produces quality grooving analogue synth-electro/techno full of catchy melodies.

ólafur arnalds / found songs / erased tapes
- Minimalist Icelandic composer, Ólafur Arnalds brilliantly managed to produce this sentimental classical album in seven days.

rone / spanish breakfast / infine
- French producer, Rone aka Erwan Castex, delivers a driving tech-house album full of cinematic overtones.

port-royal / dying in time / n5md
- Port-Royal deliver their original, emotionally elevated shoegaze ambience while incorporating distortions of techno and synth pop.

redshape / the dance paradox / delsin
- Redshape produces driven acid basslines with futuristic analogue warmth.

dj sprinkles / midtown 120 blues / mule
- Terre Thaemlitz aka Dj Sprinkles delivers a solid deep house album with a pinch of melancholy.

louderbach / autumn / m_nus
- Troy Pierce and Gibby Miller combines Miller's vocals with Pierce's dark minimal techno productions for clinical driven basslines and robotic introspective sounding love songs.

yagya / rigning / sending orbs
- Icelandic producer, Yagya aka Aalsteinn Gumundsson, delivers his third full-length release of hypnotizing melancholy ambient beats.

marconi union / tokyo / bine
- Minimalist ambient soundscapes with micro-beats and glitchy percussion.