A friend linked to https://www.68to05.com, by Hanif Abdurraqib, on Twitter, and my jaw more than dropped. It’s obviously nice to be able to commission / write essays about various albums, but what a spectacular and thoughtful way to think about one’s music and one’s history in music.
I have been annoyed for some time about “spreadsheet music”, just displaying tracks in a row with no context, etc – not new critiques. I’ve been tinkering about how to improve things with different layouts and view, but this method of adding endless context is pretty amazing.
We have, in point of fact, been here for years. But it was still good to be back
Musclecars @ Mr Sunday
A peak experience. Mr. Sunday did a semi-secret show to welcome folks back, Eamon and Justin played, Muscle Cars played (and played some insane Strings Of Life megamix, including the Danny Krivit / Soul Central edit, a backspin, and the the original maybe?), and everyone was, for a few hours, happy. People talk about “vibe” and the kids these days talk about “energy”, and I have been to some parties in my time with lots of both – this was something special.
Mr. Sunday Lifetime Achievment Award
I think I gave out a general-purpose award to Mr. Sunday in maybe 2016, but it is time for another one. From the above first show back to Avalon Emerson raving it up to Honey Soundsystem sleazing it out for Pride to Mike Servito in the searing heat to the countless sunsets to the Halloween r-a-g-e-r, it remains one of the best and kindest parties in New York.
MoMA Ready @ Bossa Nova
BANG! POW! ZANG! MoMA Ready does not fuck around. Bossa Nova is also the sort of club where you hit one red line on the mixer, and the sound guy comes and turns you up to three.
Ben UFO @ Nowadays
The first real big headliner, during the everything-is-open-again summer. The dancefloor was full at 1115, and the best DJ of his generation ™ just kept holding down deep drum & bass for an hour or so, beforing warping into techno/dancehall hybrids, etc etc etc. I think Ben UFO has been in this list for the last 3 years, so I am sure you know the score.
Special honors to Perc’s thunderous live set at Basement; See You In The Shadows bringing greyscale techno at H0lO; a friend-who-shall-remain nameless’ birthday concert of live electronics in Bed-Stuy (that I opened for!); Kenji Herbert at Mika, and the single most joyous cover band ever at Carroll Place, care of Alex von Reyn and his crew.
A complex year, for obvious reasons: a sort of big contrast between the deeply introspective and the huge banger.
DJ Python – Virtually Nowadays
Not a lot of DJs would have the guts to start this deep and stay this deep for this long, even on a set for a radio show. This was another winter / spring listen, before things happened again – I would sit with the cat and think and worry and relax.
Jayda G – DJ Kicks
Contrariwise, not a lot of DJs would have the guts to casually walk from big-tune disco to essentially big-room trance and make it all seem trivially casual and smooth
DJ Voices – Honcho Campout Series / Holding Hands 21
Yowza, the latter of these is quicksilver contemporary techno / breaks / electro – the former is some sort of sideways set of anthems, including a flip of For An Angel and a closing track that sounds like the Final Fantasy Crystal theme.
Anz – Spring/Summer Dubs 2020
From 2020, sure, so what. This is as delightful a collection of big post-everything tunes as you could wish – including a ?!!?!? of a Robert Miles edit.
Mdou Moctar – RA 789
Tuareg / Northwest African guitar and pop and shuffle, and a sort of casual walk into another view of music entirely.
Honors and more honors to RA mixes from Andrea, Scratch DVA, and Laurine; Foodman’s sublime FACT mix; and Floating Points & Four Tet Live on NTS, fucking around with implausibly good records once again.
I for sure slept on this one, thinking maybe that “Running Like That” was worth getting as a single … and then it turns out that the album itself, taken as a whole, is a borderline perfect object.
Danny Clay – Ocean Park
I listened to this over and over and over again in the winter, which is probably all that needs to be said.
Space Afrika – Honest Labour
Calling this “the new Burial” does not give Space Afrika enough credit for their craft and touch with speech, space, and personality.
Jana Rush – Painful Enlightenment
I would not have thought footwork would become a shockingly personal / emotional / intimate genre, but, well, here’s Jana Rush.
Zack Nestel-Patt – at the hour of closing
Zack does it again, in, even better, a totally different way from his previous album. That’s all double bass, even the magical high notes.
Sofia Kourtesis – Fresia Magdalena Pitch perfect, unassuming, delightful, colorful, and sincere. 2020s house music? It’ll more than do for now
Honorable mentions to the sophistication and freedom and romance of Floating Points – Promises, BOOF’s Rebirth of Gerberdaisy, Anz’s spectacular All Hours, foodman – Yasuragi Land, Colleen – The Tunnel and the Clearing, and the summary wonder of Gallo Music’s From Marabi to Disco
Wooooosh. Vrooooom. Waaaaaa. Ultrapropulsive “peaktime ambient” – this is an epic record, as much as I hate the word.
Haus Of Altr Special Award
I couldn’t name a single MoMAReady / AceMo / Kush Jones / Haus Of Altr track or EP to honor here or in Albums … but they have all been the most vivid & personal music I have heard in the past two years.
Soul Central – Strings Of Life (Danny Krivit Re-Edit)
I think I had heard the un-edited version of cover of Strings of Life (of which there are more than you would think) and dismissed it as a poor, vocal-lead relation. But, it turns out the extremely over the top Danny Krivit edit adds an overly over the top drum-and-latin-ish-piano part, removes the vocal, and makes it a wonder all over again.
India Jordan – For You
Oh my god. (Yes, it came out last year, I bought it this year, them’s the rules)
Matio Batkovic feat. James Holden – CHOREA DUPLEX
Timeless Holden synth arps and … accordion improv? The combination I did not know I needed.
Honorable mentions to Mameen 3 – Against The Wall, Aluna’s beyond delightful Sneak, Photay – Doing It For The People, DOS – Work That, aya – the only solution i have found is to simply jump higher, and Geraldo Pino – Heavy Heavy Heavy.
If I didn’t think it understated his achievement, I’d nominate MoMA Ready as the new Chris Cowie.
Bossa Nova has also got to be one of very few places where, when you hit one red bar on the mixer, the sound guy comes and turns you *up* to three red bars.
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