From 10pm see in the New Year with Songs Of Praise – 3 hours of disco, funk, soul and house. Every track is a special (re)edit / extension by king of the edits Marbert aka The Mighty Mystery Man from Vatican City or Rod from Lancaster.
Consistently brilliant all year. Every single thing he touched, his own tracks either as Ramadanman or Pearson Sound, the remixes, collaborations - I loved the lot. I heard him on Rinse play a set with Joy Orbison a few weeks ago and he was pulling all kinds of deep stuff - Chicago house and Detroit techno. I couldn't get enough. Hessle Audio put out even more great stuff from James Blake, Blawan and of course Pangaea and both Ramadanman and Pearson Sound themselves.
I almost hope that in 2011 we don't see him moving into album territory as his productions are just so good as stand alone moments, it might shatter my illusions if an lp didn't quite work. Maybe production on someone else's albums in the style of Burial working with Jamie Woon or maybe he will take the James Blake / Darkstar / Mount Kimbie blueprint of taking the dubstep album off into new and uncharted territory. Or hopefully he'll just smash everyone again with another handful of absolute bangers.
Basically these are all the songs I have loved this year:
Glut Tempest Your Words Matter More Than You Know Grab Somebody Mir I Beg You A Couple More Years Work Them Void 23 (Carl Craig Edit) Night Air 1UP Blanked Blue Eyes It Takes A Muscle
Album of the year, some of the best singles and remixes of the year, great dj sets plus a record label going from strength to strength and yet despite me giving him the title this time last year on basically two songs, this time around Kieran Hebden slips down to number two.
Angel Echoes Sing (Floating Points Remix) Africa Drug (Four Tet Remix) Matthew And Toby (Four Tet Remix) Stick To My Side (Four Tet Remix) VCR (Four Tet Remix) FACT mix
Now today I can exactly pinpoint to the second that I consciously first heard my record of the year - the 7th May. See the Thunderloops show below to relive the moment.
I knew the name through the Untold remix from the back end of '09 and the earlier releases on Hemlock but it was still a huge slap in the face - it really was a stop everything what you are doing and shout to everyone this is the greatest thing since sliced bread type moment. To say I like it is a slight understatement yes.
The follow up tracks and remixes, especially the one for Mount Kimbie and the bootleg Harmonimix release just sealed his place as genius status in my eyes. He really didn't make a single duff note for me this year.
If the new lp isn't my record of 2011 then I can only assume the second coming is happening next year.
Just one final thing - how good have R&S been this year? Where on Earth did that come from? 20 years on from buying everything on sight, Energy Flash, Dominator, Plastic Dreams, Aphex Twin and CJ Boland to today again buying everything by Pariah, Space Dimension Controller, Untold, Model 500 back again and of course James Blake. I for one definitely did not see that one coming!
CMYK Klavierwerk Tell Her Safe Limit To Your Love Stop What You're Doing A Milli Bills Bills Bills
I think it came through one of Bake and All Caps ustreams early in the year when I first heard one of my favourite records of the year, Pariah's Orpheus. It was an odd one because every review I read about him around the time always talked about the Dilla-esque other side (turns out actually the a-side) whereas I was hooked on the Thelma Houston sampling garage track on the flip.
The same happened with the follow-up double pack, The Safehouses EP, which took in various styles a and really showed that there was a lot of breadth to this guy's talents from techno, electro and minimal, yet it was the 2step garage tracks that I really picked up on.
The Dummy mix from early in the summer showed that even as a relatively young lad at 21, he definitely knows his roots of garage and that he is a very accomplished dj as well as producer and as work for The XX and, here, Erykah Badu shows, remixer as well.
If you missed the classic Guardian 'new bands' article from August, you have to check it here. "Dilla goes Detroit" may be quote of the year :D
Detroit Falls Orpheus Prism Crossed Out On & On Dummy Mix
Second year running that Mark Pritchard has cracked the top 5 of the heroes list, again by just releasing (or is some cases still not releasing) just a few absolute gems.
Blen and How Does It Make You Feel as Africa HiTec, the bass rattling Elephant Dub and the 'oh that's where he sampled it' jazzy Heavy As Stone were all classics which I'm sure will go down amongst his already long list of very best work. Then in October when he guest hosted a show for Rinse, not only did he remind us all what a great dj he is (though I'm not sure anyone was under any other illusion) but he unleashed another monster us and once again adding another genre to the list - the juke anthem Out In The Street.
Blen How Does It Make You Feel Too Late Heavy As Stone Elephant Dub Rinse FM Show
Last year we said that an extended 3 hour show wasn't enough to cover our Best Of the year so this time we are taking over the station for the whole day! Join us from 8am til 8pm.
Samoyed - Message From The East (Lost In Translation)
Autechre - Ilanders
Autechre - Etchogon-S
Golau Glau - Unluted
The Black Dog - M1
Balam Acab - See Birds (Sun)
Four Tet - Angel Echoes (Jon Hopkins Remix)
Scuba - Descent
Mount Kimbie - Adriatic
8Bitch - Orpheus
Actress - Futureproofing
Autechre - D-sho Qub
Darkstar - In The Wings
Marcel Dettmann - Quasi (Intro)
Gold Panda - Same Dream China
Foals - Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie Remix)
Bob Holroyd - African Drug (Four Tet Remix)
Commix - Be True (Burial Remix)
Sigha - Light Swells (In A Distant Space) (Original Mix)
Oneohtrix Point Never - Describing Bodies
Shackleton - Man On A String Part 1 And 2
Lorn - Cherry Moon
Pangaea - Because Of You
Mark Pritchard - Elephant Dub
Mount Kimbie - Maybes (James Blake Remix)
Seefeel - Faults
Brian Eno - Emerald & Lime
Caribou - Sun
Darkstar - Gold
James Blake - I Only Know (What I Know Now)
Jamie Woon - Night Air (Ramadanman Refix)
Matthew Dear - Slowdance
Actress - Maze
Pantha du Prince - Stick To My Side (Four Tet Version)
Rocketnumbernine - Matthew And Toby (Four Tet Remix)
Pinch - Croydon House
Skudge - Convolution
Ciara - Ride (Buckmaster Intro Edit)
Mosca - Square One (Roska remix)
Kode9 - You Don't Wash (Dub)
Pangaea - 5-HTP
Pearson Sound - Blanked
Peverelist - Better Ways Of Living
Endgames - Ecstacy (Jam City Refix)
T++ - Cropped
Benga - Your Band (Descending)
Girl Unit - Showstoppa
DJ Nate - Get Off Me (Betta Get Back)
DJ Darkness - Go Fuck Your Mother
DJ Nate - Ima Burn Him
DJ Nate - FootWurk King
DJ Killa E - Conan Juke (Suidcide Intro)
DJ Nate - Where Yo Hops At (Mix)
Mark Pritchard - Out In The Street
Addison Groove - Footcrab
Addison Groove - Dumbshit
Digital Mystikz - Education
Digital Mystikz - Eyez
Donae'o - Riot Music (Skream! Remix)
Kingdom - Mind Reader (feat. Shyvonne) (L-Vis1990 Remix)
