Pantha Du Prince is a German minimal techno/microhouse/call-it-what-you-want artist, made famous (to me) for the heart-stoppingly beautiful Asha on 2007’s This Bliss. Previously on microhouse hero Lawrence’s Dial label, Pantha has relocated to the very not-techno Rough Trade for this, his third record. Featuring contributions from Noah Lennox (which should hopefully provide some clues to the direction of the upcoming Panda Bear record) on Stick To My Side and Tyler Pope (of LCD Soundsystem, !!!, and corrupting high schoolers fame) on The Splendour, this album is a musical creation in a world of its own. Layered yet minimal, the sound is so uniquely delicate that I must let Pantha Du Prince speak for himself:

“music slumbers in all matter; any sound, even silence, is already music. The mission, then, must be to render audible what is unheard and unheard of: black noise, a frequency that is inaudible to man. Black noise often presages natural disasters, earthquakes or floods; only some animals perceive this ‘calm before the storm.’ Black noise is something archaic and earthy. The music on Black Noise balances precariously on the slippery threshold between art and nature, between techno and folklore, which lends it a certain spectral and intangible aspect.”

This is electronic music and also much more.

If you listen to one techno release this year, nay, one electronic music release, have this be it.

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This is endlessly entertaining. From the oh-so-repetitive water droplet beat to the progressively ludicrous storyline, there is something here for everyone (unless you’re under…13, let’s say). I heard at one point they were developing this into a full Broadway musical, but plans seem to have stalled, either due to the economy (although the entertainment biz always does pretty well in recessions), or due to R. Kelly’s underage sex and child pornography trials. Listen to it if only to hear R. Kelly’s ridiculous attempt to imitate the voice of a hick white woman (named Bridget). Oh, and there’s a midget. You can’t make this stuff up.

Chapter 1-12

Chapter 13-22

I saw this album cover on some Russian warez forum and immediately downloaded it. Inside is some shocking, thrilling, exhilarating, and shamelessly silly porn music (not sex music, porn music). I recommend downloading it, if only to fill the spot of “eternal non sequiter” in your dance party mixes.

I posted this for two reasons: the album cover and the opportunity for me to finally include the tag “porn groove”

Suggested tracks: Give Me Anal Pleasure Please, Half An Hour Is For Free, Hatesex

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….off the top of my head:

Arcade Fire
Broken Social Scene
Goldfrapp
LCD Soundsystem
Panda Bear and Daft Punk (thanks, Marc!)
Radiohead (is this true? if so, awesome)
Gorillaz (full of awesome guest artists)

It’s like high school all over again!

Include your most anticipated albums in the comments. This post will be updated as I do more research and expand my musical horizons.

I’ve posted about Bullion before, but only recently did I find this remixtape he made laying his beats on top of the The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. Given the relatively recent surge in popularity of The Beach Boys (due in no small part to the success of artists such as Noah Lennox, whose vocal style is indebted to Brian Wilson’s genius harmonies) it is interesting to see a much different contemporary take on The Beach Boys influential sound. “In The Key of Dee” is an obvious reference to pioneering hip hop producer J.Dilla, and Bullion takes his cue by cutting up delicious vocal samples from both Pet Sounds and the outtakes from the recording sessions. J.Dilla’s work was groundbreaking for two reasons: the beauty and eclecticism of his source material, and the skill with which he manipulated it. Here, Bullion matches his skill with some endlessly creative and inspiring source material, and creates some pretty jaw-dropping tracks. Equal parts lounge and summer cruisin’, this is like a soundtrack to the coolest beach party you’ve never been to.

Best tracks: I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, God Only Knows, Wouldn’t It Be Nice

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These people are from Brooklyn (where else) and make hipster crunk (what else). It’s fun for all your shameless, filthy dance parties. Enjoy.

Check them out with Major Lazer and Rusko in Philly on April 2nd!

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My friend once told me something so right, he said to be careful of thieves in the night

Although they’ve always been one of my favorite bands, it is my personal assessment that Hot Chip can do no wrong. It doesn’t hurt that their last three albums are pretty perfect examples of thoughtful pop music that can make you dance and swoon at the same time (sounds like a hipster party to me!). Of course they keep the disco freshness rolling in, but there’s an added layer of quiet sentimentality that runs parallel to the playful blip-blop electronics they are so known for. Tracks such as Alley Cats (**best of album**) and Keep Quiet point towards a Hot Chip that is comfortable enough in their style to deliver delicately sung meditations on life between the dance parties. Hot Chip seems to have endured the test of time for our most scrupulous of generations, and continue to offer up innovative pop music that simultaneously defines and expands their sound.

Best tracks: to be honest, the only song that I haven’t played over and over (pardon the pun) is Slush.

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This is sweet, carefree balearic pop from an enigmatic duo known as jj. Released on the lovely Sincerely Yours label (leading some to incorrectly assume it was a side project for members of The Tough Alliance), it turns out jj is Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander of Sweden (big surprise). I was excited for jj since I first heard of them, mostly because I like beachy things and all their promo art had blood spattered on it. Much to my surprise their debut full length was quietly released and then quickly leaked in July; plus, with a blood spattered pot leaf as the design, it was hard to pass up.

This is a pleasant album, perfect for summer days and lazing around doing nothing for hours. However, once Pitchfork hopped on the jj train they blew it out of the water and made me not want to post this album. Although I thoroughly enjoyed this, I stand by my contention that this album is pleasant, no more no less. There is nothing wrong with pleasant, but it’s not life-changing. It’s just two artists with a quaint, deliberate vision, and that I think explains the surge in positive reception. It’s a work of unassuming beauty which caught the music world off guard with an understated sound that communicates so much with so little. Perhaps the recent popularity of bands such as jj and Honey Power faves the xx suggests an appreciation for a new aesthetic tendency in indie music, one that strips down sound for the sake of concept, content with the simple mantra, “less is more.” Fittingly, they are set to tour the US this spring with said artistic doppelgangers the xx. Be sure to grab their next LP, n° 3, out March 9th on Secretly Canadian (yes, jj are moving up in the world).

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I think last time I posted about Gold Panda I only put up the Miyamae and Before EPs. As great as those are, I first heard about Gold Panda through single Quitter’s Raga, and the rest of the EP doesn’t disappoint. Here, Gold Panda carves out a nicely-defined sonic niche for himself, right between electronic acts the likes of Joy Orbison, Mount Kimbie, and Bullion. There’s texture, depth, and most of all, clean, crisply arranged beats that bounce. At just 11 minutes, it’s hard not to listen to this once and come right back for more.

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This is pure sillyness. So silly. Tropical psych electronic from San Francisco. You might like this if you’re in art school, or wish you were. The great thing about electronic music is that no matter how strange it sounds you will dance to it if it has a good beat, and Lemonade never falls short on that front. Long story short: Sounds like Gang Gang Dance went to Ibiza.

Best tracks: Big Weekend, Sunchips, Bliss Out (remixes by Gold Panda and Rune Lindbaek)

Out on True Panther, which had a good year in 2009, featuring releases by Girls, Ty Segall, The Fly Girlz, Hunx and His Punx, and Glasser. Catch them as they tour the East Coast (US) this spring with These Are Powers.

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I love Arthur Russell’s work, disco and avant-garde alike. Recorded during the years of 1985-1990, this material is culled from two albums, Corn, which was completed in 1985 but never released, and an abandoned Rough Trade album. I would describe the sound as avant pop with a serious disco sensibility. The album was released in 2004 so it’s actually kind of a new release, and even if the music itself is older it still sounds unique and contemporary. It’s the weirdest music to ever get stuck in your head, but music you’ll want to listen to over and over. The last song, “Calling All Kids,” is one of my personal favorites, if only for the refrain, “Grownups are crazy!” set to what Pitchfork describes as the noise from a digital keychain. You might dance, you might sway, or you might move in strange coordinated herky-jerky movements listening to this album. The whole thing is goofy, fresh, and kind of brilliant.

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New Years Eve, 2009. As always happens around the end of one year/start of another, I begin to sift through the leftover albums that I once loaded on my iPod but never got a chance to thoroughly experience.

Sometimes you need comedown music. Around five thirty, most of us had burned out and were ready to crash, and someone in the house put Level Live Wires on repeat. This was the perfect end to a seemingly endless night of surprising adventures and sleepless social encounters. The music recalls the soft ambiance of early Broken Social Scene (Feel Good Lost era) and warm textural sounds from Kiln. Throw in some slow, monotonous rapping and breakbeat or two for good measure and you’ve got something close to Daedalus on downers. Walking around listening to this on my headphones, I couldn’t help but think that no album has ever made me feel so cool to be listening to music alone in a cold dark city. This dude has worked on the indie hip-hop label anticon and has remixed the likes of Boards of Canada, Notwist, and Nosaj Thing.

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The point behind this blog is that the entire thing should be a best-of list; so, for all of you who are inclined to number and rank the creative works you’ve consumed this year, here you go.

That being said, just because this blog is intended to be a best-of doesn’t mean that we’ve put up all the best albums from 2009, because, to be honest, 2009 was a KICK ASS year for music. There is always more to come, from the past, present, and even (near) future!

Hearing all the hype for the new Yeasayer album made me remember what little time I spent with their first album, All Hour Cymbals. Yeasayer is a psychedelic band from Brooklyn, and originally sounded like a much poppier version of Gang Gang Dance or a much more trippy version of TV On The Radio. All Hour Cymbals now reminds me (in the best parts) of 2009’s most under-appreciated act Here We Go Magic, which released their soft-spoken debut this year. It’s a well-executed and yet stubbornly unobjectionable psych rock album. Great for fans (and you may well become one!), but yesterday’s news for many others.

Now that the kids are going with the dance music, crossover success for an “experimental” band like Yeasayer means including electronic beats a la Animal Collective, which the lead single Ambling Alp does fairly well. The rest of the album follows in this vein by focusing on tight song structures that allow for experimental (and increasingly electronic) flourishes. If this album signals anything, it’s the arrival of post-Animal Collective indie music, which is at once accessible and experimental, sonically diverse yet technically focused on a pop aesthetic. It’s appropriate that it arrive at the beginning of 2010, as this firmly cements Animal Collective’s reputation as one of the most influential indie acts of the past decade, and decidedly thrusts the door open for a whole new generation of post-AC popsters. This is sure to hit big with the critics as did similar efforts from Dirty Projectors and the aforementioned Animal Collective this past year. And it should. It’s good. Above all, it’s a danceable freakshow, which is my favorite kind! Tracks like Ambling Alp, One, Mondegreen, and Rome will make you dance all jumpy-like and simply beg for remix treatment, while slower movers are lyrically interesting enough to keep you listening closely until the next beat kicks in. My bet is that 2010 will be a good year for Yeasayer.

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For the uninitiated, Owen Pallett is a brilliant violinist and singer known for his solo work (formerly under the name Final Fantasy) as well as his string arrangements for bands such as Arcade Fire and Beirut. His solo output consists of orchestral pop songs, and he often performs with just his violin, voice, and loop pedal. On this album, his first for Domino (which had a great year in 2009, featuring releases by Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Wild Beasts, and Arctic Monkeys), he ventures off into even more whimsical avant-pop territory. The entire record is a concept album about a farmer named Lewis in the fictional world of Spectrum. Each song is “a one-sided dialogue with Lewis, a young, ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator.” I’ve always been a fan of Owen Pallett for a lot of reasons, but this album is intricately composed in a way which reminds me of the elaborate routines on display at a circus. He borrows from a much wider palette of sounds, letting keyboards and electronic percussion bleed into a beautiful arrangement of piano and strings in “The Great Elsewhere”. One of my favorite tracks, “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” begins with another giddy and playful measure on the keyboard which he completes with a steady refrain of “I’m never gonna give it to you.” Pallett is deft at combining wit and sparkle in equal measure, and they make for a fantastic escape into a fairy tale of an album.

I had the good fortune of seeing Owen Pallett perform with Mountain Goats this November (back when he was still Final Fantasy). He played a great deal of new songs from this album, and after listening to the recorded version, it’s hard to say which I prefer. Pallett’s flawless technique and emotion translate on a different level in his live performances, so I recommend you make it your New Years’ Resolution to go see him.

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do the dance for me!

I’ve previously mentioned my love for Delphic, but upon hearing that they signed to Universal for the release of their debut album, Acolyte, I feared they would go the route of many over-hyped bands (like Passion Pit) and reduce their sound to a more comfortable exercise in dancey electronic pop, palatable to the coveted 18-34 set. Instead, they’ve refined their sound and vision, and emerged a more determined post-dance electrorock band. This strong debut combines the most energetic moments of bands like Friendly Fires with beautifully composed electronic sounds a la Hot Chip. Old favorites Counterpoint, This Momentary, and Doubt remain relatively unchanged, but new songs such as Red Lights and Remain provide a enticing look at a pulsing, anthemic Delphic that screams for life on the stage. Check them out on their tour of Europe this winter and be sure to keep an eye on Kitsune for more artists that can make you dance to practically anything.

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This video is so accurate. I want to grab a pair of kick-ass headphones and go dancing in the streets to this all day long. Too bad it’s so short!

Crystal Fighters - I Love London

Seefeel is old. I don’t even know if they are still around. They make dreamy ambient IDM, and were signed to Warp before I hit kindergarten. “Plainsong” is one of the most beautiful songs in the world. I forgot how much IDM I have (and like); hit me up with other similar bands - I know a lot of old IDM but has it passed its heyday? Is there any new great IDM scene I’m missing? Let me know in the comments.

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