Best Of 2013 Lists

Leo

Well-known member
There's actually, I think, a particular thrill in enjoying a piece of music that you know is being enjoyed by millions of other people...

in those situations, i often wonder if society as a whole suddenly evolved and got much better tastes, or if it's just a fluke.

also, there seems to be a difference between a song/artist you like becoming really popular (nirvana, radiohead, dizzy, daft punk, MIA) and a song/artist that's already really popular when you discover it (i don't know, maybe some justin timberlake stuff). fairly or not, i find i tend to sour on the former but enjoy the latter.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I love that Ill Blu produced tune, Benny - listening to Brackles lately the afrobeats tunes he's been playing are fantastic. He's going to do a short mix of all that stuff for my blog soon, I'll link it on here fa sho. I actually could see funky coming back if afrobeats explodes, since it shares so much in common - the syncopated beats, the bongos, the poppy hooks, singing etc. I hope so anyway, would be just the thing for next summer.

I forgot this came out this year:


Which is weird cos it has to have been one of the most ubiquitous tracks of 2013.
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
tbh, i dont think afrobeats will ever blow up as its still just too 'ethnic'. dbanj was just the exception to the rule, not the new rule. i dont see how afrobeats would benefit from blowing up either - it seems the kind of scene that doesnt need that kind of international validation.

but yeah, i dont think there was much this year that really slayed (as in made me think it seemed really new in some way) totally except yeezus.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I just hear that afrobeats is getting big(ger) in London at the moment and its the only dance music I've heard this year that's made me really sit up and listen.

I think at the moment there's a surfeit of good quality stuff but nothing really exciting. I was thinking the other day, that this is a very profitable/successful era for dance music but also quite conservative - the house music that's huge (with no criticism of its quality) is very much stuff we've heard before. Even in the 'underground' (or what I can see of it!) its all house music, all reiterations of old stuff - though with maybe higher production quality or whatever.
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
i find rinse deeply boring these days. kind of depressing. its prob why ive gone back to listening to R&B and hip-hop again.

afrobeats is the only 'scene' i think is really 'alive' right now really (in the uk at least), agreed - i dont want it to blow up beyond where it is right now though. its good to have a scene with this much momentum which doesnt seem to care about going pop. that whole 'will it/wont it' argument has gotten pretty exhausting/dull for me after everyone into grime and funky obsessing over it.
 
Last edited:

Local Authority

bitch city
forest swords - engravings
Petre Inspirescu - Fabric
Nick Cave * THe bad seeds - push the sky away
felix k - flowers of destryctuion
scout niblett -
boc - tomorrows harverst
rp boo - legacy
julia holter - loud city song
drake - nopthing was the same
donato dozzy - plays bee mask
traumprinz/prince of denmark
rashad becker
dj sprinkles where dancefloors stand still
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
I love that Ill Blu produced tune, Benny - listening to Brackles lately the afrobeats tunes he's been playing are fantastic. He's going to do a short mix of all that stuff for my blog soon, I'll link it on here fa sho. I actually could see funky coming back if afrobeats explodes, since it shares so much in common - the syncopated beats, the bongos, the poppy hooks, singing etc. I hope so anyway, would be just the thing for next summer.

be quite interested to know what tunes Brackles has been playing and how he mixes them. My engagement with afrobeats kind of dwindled a bit this year but just recently a few tunes like that Ill Blu are rekindling my interest. Here's a wee selection of stuff I've liked from this year though

#ChingChangWallah - Waray Ent ft Skob, J.O.A.T, Tribal Magz, Vibe Squad & Gizmo

Stay Jay - Baby Lace

Kwaw Kese - Shoelace

Dylla ft. Gasmilla - Shashee Wowo

5five - Gargantuan body

Criss Waddle (R2Bees) - Ayi ft. Bisa Kdei

Bisa - Azonto Ghost

Donae'o Fire (Afro Beat Remix) ft Mista Silva & Fuse ODG

R2bees Ft Sarkodie Bayla Trap

Wizkid - Jaiye Jaiye ft. Femi Kuti

MAFIKIZOLO ft Uhuru - KHONA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhk52GlkhVA

DAVIDO - SKELEWU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6zixMk7gnQ

GURU - ALKAYIDA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rq1A8b6JPw
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion
Yeah, Austerity Dogs is an awesome record.
(You can listen/buy here: http://sleafordmods.bandcamp.com/album/austerity-dogs)

The other vocal album I've played loads this year is the Teho Teardo & Blixa Bargeld 'Still Smiling' one, which is probably my fav. of the year.

Otherwise, nearly all instrumental stuff, which I need to check whether they are 2013 related.

Best gigs*:
The Necks @Howard Assembly Rooms, Leeds (again);
Horse Loom, Kogamaza, Howie Reeve @Delius Arts and Cultural Centre, Bradford;
Barn Owl @Wharf Chambers, Leeds.


*tbh, this is nearly all the gigs I went to this year :(
 
Playing GTAV, driving around a virtual city as the sun goes down and the neon lights switch on, listening to ''West End Girls'' by the Pet Shop Boys and sundry other tunes. I was stoned, it was great. Felt so futuristic, especially when playing to this Kuedo tune.

that's my favourite kuedo tune, those synthetic strings..

where are the afrobeat raves happening?
 

PadaEtc

Emperor Penguin
Horse Loom, Kogamaza, Howie Reeve @Delius Arts and Cultural Centre, Bradford;

That's where my Dad works! Weird.

Howard Assembly rooms is a great venue too, a little polite though.

Most of the music I've bought this year hass been second hand or reissues.


Top 3 Reissues;
Steven Enchinas - Disco Illuision (Invisible City Editions)
Michael Boothman - Touch (Invisible City Editions)
Who is William Onyeabor? (Luaka Bop)
 
Last edited:

paolo

Mechanical phantoms
Reading about all this pop-house/afrobeats stuff makes me feel like an old fart for buying weirdo 'outsider' house on vinyl
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
2013 is the year i found it harder than ever keeping up to date with everything i wanted to keep up to date with. found i was listening to lots of older stuff that i didnt have time to listen to before (old wordsound stuff in particular).
 

CrowleyHead

Well-known member
This was a shit year personally for me, so I rarely paid attention to a lot of new music, even rap-wise (Which I'm just going to leave out for the moment because I may do an end of year list somewhere, so...). A lot of disappointment but some gems, definitely.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fhcpubAVdmc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Xt7JSI9y46g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oQ9l13bSuHs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ySJEcfE6gK4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gfjFKL2fbz4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/TZjTXh_zaXc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Other things too, just can't recall them at the moment.
 

Leo

Well-known member
not "the best" of 2013, but things i listened to the most this year:

black deer -- s/t (aka willie burns)
ikonika -- aerotropolis
jessy lanza -- pull my hair back
special request -- soul music
syclops -- a blink of an eye
tuff sherm -- struggle smell
inc. -- no world
these new puritans -- field of reeds
dj koze -- amygdala
steve moore -- light echos
dean blunt -- redeemer
faltyDL -- hardcourage
wolfgang voigt -- zukunft ohne menschen
 

Immryr

Well-known member
my list would just consist of kyary pamyu pamyu.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/teMdjJ3w9iM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Top