Showing posts with label Hal Incandenza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hal Incandenza. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Top 100 Tracks of 2017: 75-51

Continuation of the list started yesterday: from 100-76, which also includes my disclaimer/preamble. Soundcloud playlist here and at the bottom.

#75: WRLD - Everything (ft. Ashdown)
One of only two DnB tracks on this list. It is delightful and spectacular sci-fi fun. The groove and its subsequent glitches are genius. It reminds me of Fred V & Grafix, which is saying something, and boy oh boy could I get into a set of this kind of liquid lusciousness.

#74: Falcons - Want Your Body
I can't count how many times I've heard this track, yet I still feel like it eludes my ability to properly characterize its quality. It's kind of sneaky, yet once it kicks in there's no avoiding its allure. The drum work is absolutely ingenious, propelling the production into a stratosphere unrivaled by any other tracks released this year. It is original and excellent, truly in a class of its own, but that's standard for Falcons.

#73: Ayo - Name Game
(As featured on EFYE) When a track doesn't need quality speakers to sound massive you know you've got something special. The bass Ayo's dropped here is quite simply the biggest thing in this whole list. In fact I'm fairly certain that if you play this on a big system, a hole in the time-space continuum is ripped open. Heed his advice and "play that shit again" and again and again.

#72: OAKS - Vibrations
Another almost old-school style track that takes me back to my early days exploring electronic music. It's got a great club churning groove that plays so perfectly with the synths and overall atmosphere. It's both wild yet some how still tempered in its tech house delivery. I swear I hadn't realized it until I played it live on Bump In The Hump, but I stand by my comparison to Boy 8-Bit, my favourite electronic artist.

#71: Jaxx Da Fishworks - Round Em Up
The typically house heavy BADLQQK crew had a huge year, and while there were several standouts, (particularly their RQQKIES) it was actually this breaks track that most caught my attention. Of course drums are the most important aspect of breaks, and boy do they ever do damage here. It's wobbly, warped and wicked good fun. And it's not just BADLQQK who had a big year, expect to see another track from Jaxx work its way into this list.

#70: Bicep - Aura
(As featured on EFYE) The unreleased Bicep track finally got its release after more than a year of magical teasing, and while it'll be remembered by most as a delirium-inducing demo, there's little better than having a full official release to play when and where we want. While I'll always be a sucker for their remix of "Tears I Can Afford," this may be Bicep at their best, navigating the line between a knock you off your feet, wall of sound and a feather-like tickling of your senses. Simply sublime.

Thursday, December 07, 2017

Shortlist For Album Of The Year

It's that time of year. Time to look back at some of our favourite moments. While I'm working on crafting my top 100 tracks countdown, I've decided to come through with a 'shortlist' of my favourite albums of the year. I've gone with 17 to tie in with the year itself and will cut down to a select few to tackle on a more in depth basis. For now I'll just share the list in alphabetical order, while saving the review and my reasoning for those that make the cut in the coming weeks. Of course this is by no means a scientific undertaking, just the simple act of sharing the music I most enjoyed this year (electronic or not). Enjoy!