Enlightened Listening for April 9

Another Friday means another edition of Enlightened Listening. This week's new music playlist opens with CFCF's incredible ride, memoryland, whose lead single, "Life Is Perfecto," has been one of my favourite tracks of the year so far. Immediately following that are a couple of captivating singles from Tor and Overmono, the former being gentle, gorgeous and organic, while the latter launches our playlist into space. Staying in the stars, Booka Shade and Bontan come together for galactic cruiser, St. Kilda Nights. Bringing in some tension, Solomun shows off his deft touch with "The Center Will Not Hold." 

Breaking the levy, we get a couple exhilarating offerings from Nikki Nair and Dropwizz, both of whom delivers a unique, inspired rush. Taking us into our final section of house/disco/pop, I've selected the closing cut from OCULA's Closer To The Edge EP, "Nevermore," a beautiful, groovy and uplifting affair. Working with grooves for the first time in a while, ANGELZ samples some CeeLo for fabulous "Inspheration." While it's not a cover of the same-named song from the Jungle Book as I'd hoped, Hammer's I Wanna Be Like You does indeed deliver a couple instances of dance-ready nostalgia. Finally, closing out the playlist is another pair of singles, in our first taste of Jayda G's forthcoming DJ-Kicks LP, ahead of the fabulous and funky finale from Petticoat.

Stream the new music playlist below and find each of the releases linked individually at the bottom. 

CFCF - memoryland

Tor - Eleuthera

Overmono - Echo Rush

Booka Shade & Bontan - St. Kilda Nights

Solomun - The Center Will Not Hold (Club Edit)

Kamus - Wallace (Nikki Nair Remix)

Dropwizz - Escape

OCULA - Nevermore

ANGELZ - Inspheration

Hammer - I Wanna Be Like You

Jayda G - All I Need

Petticoat - Bones

Top 100 Tracks Of 2020: 100-76

Starting today through New Year's Eve (Thursday), I'll be revealing my list of the "Top 100 Tracks Of 2020." The following is my disclaimer, as I feel it important to preface this kind of list with some insight into its creation and the methodology behind it. While I spent a lot of time seriously pouring through this year of music, this is not really a serious endeavour. No one was polled. Sales and streams are irrelevant. This is merely my fun way of sharing the tracks and artists that made my year better, in hopes they do the same for you. The rankings are not scientific or even fair, rather they are simply a reflection of how strongly I felt these tracks and how much praise I felt they deserved. 

You'll notice the thread of disco/funk continues to run through these year-end lists, while DnB and breaks appear more than ever before. Another trend continues as we see a further diminishing amount of club-type tracks included, primarily as circumstances changed consumption and led to the vast majority of my musical enjoyment coming on my many escapist bike rides. That said, the power of some of these tracks is unavoidable as they will assuredly kill when clubs come back.

Finally, I will once again say that this is by no means an exhaustive list; there are without a doubt exceptional tunes that somehow failed to make the cut. However, onward and, in this case, downward, from tracks 100 to 76 we go. Find the Soundcloud playlist here and Spotify here.

#100: Weiss & Harry Romero - Where Do We Go?

An early summer earworm. Makes masterful use of the sample from Alan Parsons Project "Games People Play." Not overly inventive or banging, but rather slick, smooth and altogether enjoyable. The first of many house tracks in this list that captured my heart this year, even if only for a moment.

#99: HAIM - I Know Alone

While it's been half a decade since I spent day after day with HAIM and Days Are Gone, the sisters and their work with Ariel Rechtshaid and Rostam Batmanglij remain close to my heart. A toss-up as both this and "Now I'm In It" are perfect for 2020, I landed on this garage joint thanks to its catchy, crisp and crackling production and overall atmosphere.

#98: MERCER - Lemonade

Fabulous French filter disco house. Almost too slick. Undeniably good and groovy. The kind of track that has you tapping your toes uncontrollably and later leaves you humming its magnificent melody.

#97: Nikki Nair - 3XL

An acid-induced fever dream. Propelled by Nair's potent percussion and scintillating synths. Like so many of the tracks in this year's list, "3XL" is all about the journey. There's no skipping ahead to a dope drop or sick section, rather one has to ride out this rolling wave of resplendence.

#96: SBK. - One Man

Perhaps the most ominous and irksome track in this list. Spine-tingling strings, all kinds of ingenious percussive hits and of course the equally screwface and shiver-inducing sub-bass. Truly diabolic dubstep.

#95: Soda State - Midnight

Among the year's most fun and funky productions. I know nothing about Soda State, nor had I ever heard them before this, however their inclusion in Magic Tape 98 made for an incredible introduction. An awesome mix of pop sensibilities alongside retro dance resplendence.

#94: SOSA - The Sax

A track so infectious that I can turn a blind eye to its misleading moniker. The trumpet (not sax) top-line is awesome, as are its babbling vocal bits, but it is the way those two elements play with the rollicking percussion that makes this track one of the year's best house offerings. Like many on this list, I expect this would have ranked much higher were clubbing possible in 2020.

Nikki Nair - Power Tool EP

Breaking from their tech-house status quo, Friday saw Dirtybird deliver an unreal EP from man-on-fire, Nikki Nair. Further straying from their two-track EP pattern, Power Tool features four inspired and ingenious productions that both; bridge breaks, DnB and old-school Dirtybird vibes, and apparently foreshadow "the label's future direction in 2021." So back to the future it is with this wicked EP.

Immediately awesome with its off-kilter groove and breaky drum beat, the EP opens with "Power Tool" which sets the scene for what I expect to be Nikki Nair's big coming-out party. Building around a sample from Notorious B.I.G.'s "Everyday Struggle," the title track is one hell of a screwface-inducer. There are no big drops or specific standout moments in this track, nor the EP itself, but rather the whole thing remains an incredible ride across a highly infectious and masterfully crafted Dirtybird debut. 

Following the pneumatic power of the synths in the opening track, Nair scales things back in the subtle sophomore selection "In My Car." With a laidback acid energy and brooding beauty, it too showcases Nair's knack for crisp percussion and deft, understated style. And here I have to note its resemblance to the equally simple and equally satisfying Benoit & Sergio affair, "Walk & Talk."

Picking the energy back up as Power Tool turns to its second half, "3XL" again sees Nair use highly altered vocals around an infectious, percussion-driven track. With a dreamy and delicate baseline, this track may be the most immersive and progressive of the bunch as it evolves into a fabulous, acid-driven fever dream. Along with the title track, "3XL" is my favourite of the bunch and a surefire addition to my Best Of 2020.

Closing out this incredible EP, "Automatic" appears as a spiritual successor to "Power Tool," again utilizing some massive, body-moving synths atop a brilliant breakbeat. The rollout of this one is wicked and, like "In My Car," it reminds me of another old-school classic in the earthshaking sub-power of Boy 8-Bit's "Fogbank." Now, I'm not usually one to compare pieces, as they ought to be able to stand on their own, but I do so here to illustrate just how highly I think of these productions from Nair by comparing them to two personal favourite and timeless classics.

Find Nikki Nair's fabulous Dirtybird debut Power Tool via Bandcamp below and everywhere else, here.

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