Why thirty-five albums in this list? I reviewed almost eighty albums released last year (and many others released at least a year ago). I always recap the top half of the list, so thirty-five was about right. Everyone agrees that 2020 was a crappy year, but we had a lot of good music. A lot of bands and artists had nothing else to do but create amazing music to keep them and us sane.
#35: Rituals of Mine – Hype Nostalgia
This is a sharp album about being an outsider, love and lust, and knowing when to draw a line in the sand. It mixes electronica and synthwave well and constantly intrigues you.
#34: Sofia Kourtesis – Sarita Colonia
This EP is one of the best electro / dance records I heard all year. It wasn’t on my radar until I stumbled onto it via Bandcamp. It was a breath of fresh air as lovely as it sky on its cover this year.
#33: Melkbelly – PITH
These Chicago punks / post-punks / rockers / do they really need a label? came out swinging with their new album. It’s one of those records that make you think, “Damn, they’re not screwing around.”
#32: Oh Sees – Protean Threat
Am I the only one who thinks that if you cut up the album cover for Protean Threat into four squares and rearranged them in the right pattern that it would reveal a secret image? The album is one of many releases from Oh Sees / Osees this year, who might’ve been the most prolific band of 2020. It’s a wild, fun time, of course, full of blazing rockers and krautrock jams.
#31: New Bomb Turks – Nightmare Scenario (Diamond Edition)
This is easily my favorite re-release of the year. Ohio punk legends New Bomb Turks released a raw version of their classic mid-1990s album Nightmare Scenario for the album’s twenty-fifth anniversary. It shreds and was a much needed adrenaline boost in a year when we didn’t have much to be excited about in terms of entertainment and did have a lot of anger to expel.
Who cracks the top 30? Come back tomorrow to find out!
New Zealand-born, London-based singer, songwriter and producer October and The Eyes shares the new single/video, “Playing God,” from her debut EP, Dogs and Gods, out November 20th on KRO Records. Following lead single “All My Love,” “Playing God” is fierce and dark, October’s fuzzy vocals empowered over ricocheting percussion and wavy guitar.
“‘Playing God’ is about the innate human desire for power and control but also our ability to cry ‘poor little ole me’ when it all gets too much,” says October. “We’ve seen it time and time again throughout the history of man, and perhaps it feels even more relevant now than ever witnessing the powers that be struggle with the moral handling of a global pandemic. It’s also hugely laced with irony, humour and contradictions – I’ll be the first to admit my lust for control, yet I’m also ready to laugh at myself (at my own expense) at how farcical our trivial desires for such things seem in the grand scheme of life.”
The accompanying video references videographer Rich Kern’s Submit To Me Now. “To me the title and video of his film both represent the inherent sexual power that the female body and mind possess – our ability to play god at our own choosing,” says October. “Also it’s just a sick video visually and Lung Leg looks badass and I can only hope to be half as rad as her one day.” Watch “Playing God” Video: https://orcd.co/octoberplayinggod October is no newcomer to music – despite only being 23, she has been involved in musical pursuits since she was a child. She taught herself how to record and produce her own music at age 12, locking herself away in her bedroom for hours on end. Having moved halfway across the world to her new home in East London, October has remained true to her traditional isolated writing style by holing up in her East London flat for several months and writing a small collection of songs that can be described as dizzying, darkly kaleidoscopic, and dauntless above all. October produced the Dogs and Gods EP herself, creating a sonic universe that heralds her heroes of yesteryear. She describes her musical style as ‘collage-rock’ (not the be confused with college rock). Pulling musical inspiration from the likes of Bauhaus, Bowie, Siouxsie Sioux and Suicide, she then squeezes her influences through the gauze of modernity and electronics, creating something entirely her own. Watch “Playing God” Video: https://orcd.co/octoberplayinggod
Gabriela Jimeno, otherwise known as Ela Minus, doesn’t allow herself to make music using computers. Everything has to be made with analog gear to give it a human touch. Her sharp new record, Acts of Rebellion, is no exception. Despite its political and personal shouts, the album is intertwined with themes of love. Club beats and ambient waves mix like a two-colored cocktail served in a high-end club that’s located in an abandoned warehouse with sawdust all over the floor.
Opening track “N19 5NF” builds its synths like a Jon Hopkins track and then drops win Vangelis-like touches to immediately take you from the moment into a bright future you can’t quite make out but know is within reach. Her lyrics on “They Told Us It Was Hard, but They Were Wrong” encourage us to embrace compassion (“When you love, you love it all, and nothing seems impossible.” Her vocal stylings on it remind me of early Ladytron tracks.
The deep house bass of “El Cielo No Es de Nadie” instantly gets you grooving, and Minus’ native Spanish vocals move around you like a sexy spectre. “You don’t want to understand, you’re choosing to lead us apart. But against all odds, you still won’t make us stop,” she sings on the anthem-like “Megapunk.” Minus was formerly a drummer in a Colombian punk band, so standing up to The Man is par for the course for her. She now does it with analog synths instead of a drum kit.
“Dominique” is a bouncy, lovely track that has beats James Murphy would love to have written, but don’t let the peppy synths fool you. The song is about dark depression that can come after a lover leaves for good. On “Tony,” Minus gets out of the house and into the dance club to dance until dawn and break out of her funk. The closer, “Close,” features Helado Negro, and has Minus singing about keeping her lover closer, even when they’re apart. It’s a fun track that has some lullaby-like synths mixing with soft electronic beats that seem to come from a dream.
The album also has three instrumental tracks, which I always appreciate. Minus knows that sometimes lyrics get in the way of grooves, and it’s best to let the grooves stretch without them.
Love is an act of rebellion in this day and age. Acts of Rebellion is a delightful reminder of this.
It seems wrong to refer to London-based DJ / producer DJ Zinc‘s 2018 release, Crack House E.P., as an EP when it’s ten tracks in length. He’s the DJ, however, so who am I to argue with him? It’s ten tracks of bouncing house, jungle, and drum and bass that’s great for any house party or club – even if they are just in your backyard or apartment and consist of no one but you and your pets.
“Blunt Edge” gets the party started with its killer electro-beats and even wickeder synth-bass. “Pimp My Ride” adds Afro-beat dance rhythms and you’re already starting to sweat on the dance floor. “Jekyll and Hyde” is classic strut-your-stuff house with a bass groove that gets stuck in your head all night. “Number 1 Girls” is a straight-up dancehall track featuring vocals from Benga and Sweetie Irie.
“Watch Dis” blends that dancehall vibe into a wild jungle track that will have you jumping around your living room. “Nu Sound” continues the dancehall-laced beats and drops a sick bass line on you that sounds like DJ Zinc has transformed into some sort of rattlesnake working the decks with his tail.
“Horrible” isn’t horrible. It blends retro-rave sounds with vintage video game blasts and beats chopped up by a master chef. “Because” is aptly named as Zinc loops a woman saying just that throughout the track as synths and bass swirl around her voice and then drop out into a killer cut for any dark club any night of the week. Why? Because.
“No one can complete with our killa sound,” No_Lay sings on “Killa Sound.” It’s hard to argue with her, because she and Zinc make a killer team on this hot dancehall track. The closer, “128 Trek,” is one of Zinc’s biggest hits and the first song I ever heard by him. It made me immediately want to track down more of his work, and will do the same to you. The way Zinc drops and loops beats throughout it is immediately ear-catching. You’ll want it on every workout playlist you have.
Actually, you could just make all of Crack House E.P. a workout playlist. You can’t go wrong there. It works as a house project, cooking, or hot sex playlist as well. Get it while it’s (still, two years later) hot.
Keep your mind open.
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Colombian musician Ela Minus announces her debut album, acts of rebellion, out October 23rd on Domino. Performed, produced and recorded entirely by herself, acts of rebellion is a complex manifesto on simplicity, a call to fight, to live, to be present. It’s a collection about the personal as political and embracing the beauty of tiny acts of revolution in our everyday lives. This ethos is clear in the dreamy, pulsing new single/video, “el cielo no es de nadie,” “an ode to little, constant, every day acts of love” sung in Ela’s native Spanish.
Following “they told us it was hard, but they were wrong” and “megapunk,” “el cielo no es de nadie” defies the idea that one grandiose act means more than little ones. The video, co-directed by Ela and Pepi Ginsberg, presents striking images of Ela’s machines as she moves throughout the stage and hallways of a club. It gives a feel of Ela’s visceral, intimate world and urges finding a deeper connection to those around you. “‘el cielo no es de nadie’ is about all the love I see in small, everyday acts. It’s an invitation to appreciate unheroic, but constant and meaningful actions,” says Ela. “The song’s title, ‘el cielo no es de nadie,’ refers to the phrase ‘I’ll give you the sky,’ a common expression used in Spanish when in love. In the song, I defy it: ‘you can’t give me the sky’ / it isn’t yours to give.”
Before forging her path as a solo electronic artist, Ela was a drummer in a teenage hardcore band. She joined the band when she was just 12, performing with them for almost a decade. Ela then moved to the United States to attend Berklee College of Music, where she double-majored in jazz drumming and synthesizer design. This roving background instilled in her a belief that we all have the power to change things, and as she delved deeper into her work with synthesizers, she saw a clear connection between the freedom of the DIY scene she grew up in and club culture. “I deeply identify with club culture, and want to make music to dance to,” she says. “I also want to make songs in the more traditional sense, with melodies, lyrics, and singing. I want to make songs that stay with people through the years.” Using only hardware to perform, write and record, Ela creates complex, technical electronic music that exudes a warm vibrancy, along with a darker, almost celebratory understanding that our breaths aren’t infinite. Her sharp, coiled words are cathartic—due in part to her approach to writing them. “I always start writing by improvising alone,” she says. “Once I have some instrumentals I’m happy with, I intuitively grab the mic and sing a phrase with a melody in it. I always keep that initial phrase.”
On acts of rebellion, you sense the stories hidden in everyday things. You feel Ela’s personality and viewpoint; you sense her presence. The cover features a photo of her, most of her face obscured, but her eyes sharply focused. On acts of rebellion, she’s asking us to make contact not just with her, but also the people that inhabit our lives. She’s suggesting we leave our gadgets behind in favor of flesh-and-blood communities. She’s asking us to think, dance, and love, while she coaxes humanity from her hardware—machines that rattle and whirr alongside her and, in turn, make us feel more alive.
Ela is sharing DIY printable posters and projection art for fans to use and share as a means of embracing these tiny acts of revolution in our everyday lives. Please visit the participate section of elaminus.com to download the art. Pre-order acts of rebellion
acts of rebellion Tracklist 1.N19 5NF 2. they told us it was hard, but they were wrong. 3. el cielo no es de nadie 4. megapunk 5. pocket piano 6. dominique 7. let them have the internet 8. tony 9. do whatever you want, all the time. 10. Close (ft. Helado Negro)
Ela Minus Tour Dates: Thu. Feb. 18 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F Fri. Feb. 19 – Paris, FR @ Boule Noire Sat. Feb. 20 – Brussels, BE @ Rotonde Sun. Feb. 21 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg Tue. Feb. 23 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Ideal Bar Wed. Feb. 24 – Hamburg, DE @ Turmzimmer Thu. Feb. 25 – Berlin, DE @ Silent Green Sat. Feb. 27 – Vienna, AT @ B72 Sun. Feb. 28 – Munich, DE @ Strom Tue. March 2 – London, UK @ Electrowerkz Wed. March 3 – Madrid, ES @ El Sol
Following in the footsteps of his highly acclaimed debut album, Loud Patterns, Makeness invites us to jump aboard his latest single release – a laid-back downhill anthem.
A crafty blend of; east coast house, jazz laced chords, soaring leads and a lazy groove combine to give the track an effortless feel while the bridging elements and rhythmic breakdown create a euphoric path, awash with pathos and emotion. All this lays the foundation perfectly for Molleson’s ethereal vocal which floats over the top and drags you in even deeper.
Makeness, AKA Kyle Molleson, lives in South East London but has his roots in Scotland’s remote Outer Hebrides. These contrasting environments can be heard through his music with driving rhythms against a laid back pace and the embrace of both pop and the avante-guard. “Friend Credits” takes the listener on a journey of blissful fascination with its relentless building energy and sets a steady course for a summer classic.
Look out for remix duties by South East London’s prolific Ben Hauke released on 4th September, offering a definitive high octane flip to this original cosmic banger. “Friend Credits” was mastered at the Green Door Studios and is released digitally through EPM & Xelon (AU) on the 28th of August.
Keep your mind open.
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British producer / sound engineer / beat maker Alastair McNeill, also known as Yila, recently decided to stick it to The Man by going back to house music / rave music culture doing what it does best – energize people.
He linked up with French DJ (and sometimes Kasabian drummer) GIOM and drum and bass maestro Christian Croupa, also known as Alleged Witches, for Functional Collaborations and Combinations Vol. 1 – a double-sided single that accomplishes its mission. It will make you move.
“Scam Pan,” the team-up with GIOM, had such a wicked synth-bass beat that sneaks up on you and takes your groove to a different level. The Alleged Witches collaboration, “Murmurs,” has a great horror movie-like synth line running throughout it and that is highly suitable for futuristic disco dance floors.
It’s a sweet addition to any DJ’s set list or any playlist you have for house music.
Keep your mind open.
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Chicago-based musician, activist, and organizer RicWilson and GRAMMY-nominated producer Terrace Martin are thrilled to share their new video for “Don’t Kill The Wave,” a standout track off the pair’s collaborative EP, They Call Me Disco, a “jubilant six-song burst of summertime grooves and throwback funk” (Pitchfork) out this past May on Free Disco/EMPIRE/Sounds of Crenshaw. “Don’t Kill The Wave” is joyful and motivating. Its accompanying video, directed by A Solo Vision, is reflective of its energetic spirit as Wilson and his friends have a living room dance party. “I made this song for the dance floors at the block party, the cookout, the weddings, the rallies, the covid19 living room clubbbbbbbbs,” says Wilson.
2020 is shaping up to be another busy year for Wilson. Shortly after the release of They Call Me Disco, Wilson dropped his acclaimed protest song “Fight Like Ida B & Marsha P”. Produced by Norbert Bueno, “the song combines a funky, bouncy bass line, a little Detroit house influence and handclaps with powerful subject matter,” according to Cool Hunting.
“I hear people quoting a lot of black men who were freedom fighters, which is valid,” says Wilson, who has spent time organizing with the likes of We Charge Genocide, Black Youth Project 100, Chicago Freedom School, and much more. “But when I think about next level courage to ball your fist up and look bigotry, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia right in the eye and fight against it, I feel like blk women like Ida B. Wells and non-binary folks like Marsha P. Johnson are of the bravest of us all and if ima fight any injustice I wanna have the courage of freedom fighters like them. The liberation of black womxn and black trans womxn lead to the liberation of all black people.”
Techno producer/musician Kelly Lee Owens unveils a new single/video, “On,” from her forthcoming album, Inner Song, out August 28th on Smalltown Supersound. Following “Night” and “Melt!,” “On” is a rustling electro-pop glimmer that gives way to yo-yo synths and a tough-as-nails techno backbeat. It’s the alpha and omega of the Kelly Lee Owens experience, reflective of her ability to contain sonic and emotional multitudes within just one song. Shot on the Norwegian coastline, its accompanying video sees Kelly collaborating once again with Kasper Häggström, who also directed her “Throwing Lines” video. Like the song, it tells the story of a breakup.
“This is perhaps the most intimate and personal song I’ve written so far – the two halves of the track reflect upon sad acceptances of the truth and then the joyous aftermath of liberation that can come from that,” says Owens. “This can definitely be heard in the production and arrangement of the track – the first half sonically connecting to the inner revelations and the second half, the liberation in action, the forward motion.” Watch Kelly Lee Owens’ “On” Video Inner Song is the follow-up to Owens’ self-titled debut, which “introduced an extraordinary artist packing a hefty one-two combination of intimate, powerful electronic pop and cavernous, brain-melting techno” (MOJO), and was recognized as one of the most critically praised albums of 2017. It finds Owens diving deep into her own psyche—working through the struggles she’s faced over the last several years and exploring personal pain while embracing the beauty of the natural world. Sonically, Inner Song’s hair-raising bass and tickling textures drive home that, more so than ever, Owens is locked into delivering maximal aural pleasure, whether it be on a techno banger, covering Radiohead, or collaborating with fellow Welsh artist John Cale on a psychedelic lullaby. Listen to “Night” by Kelly Lee Owens
“The pounding four-on-the-floor rhythm section on ‘Melt!’ makes for both a club banger and a political comment, a dazzling dance macabre for impending environmental collapse.” — Pitchfork, “Best New Track”
“[Kelly Lee Owens] makes skittish techno that makes the hairs on your neck stand up and demands to be heard in a dripping warehouse.” — The Guardian
“a fathomless, flickering techno banger” — Gorilla vs. Bear Convention-blurring techno producer/musician Kelly Lee Owens releases a new song, “Night.” The track appears on her new album, Inner Song, which has been moved to August 28th on Smalltown Supersound. Following techno banger “Melt!,” “Night” opens with a monopoly synth and Owen’s soft, intimate vocals, before transforming with a danceable, staccato rhythm and jockeying beat.
“This track speaks as to how feelings and insights are more accessible to us at nighttime – how the veils are thinner somehow and therefore how we are more able to connect to our hearts true desires,” says Owens. “I wanted to release this track as a gift to you during this crazy time, to give a part of my heart to you all.” Listen to “Night” by Kelly Lee Owens https://KellyLeeOwens.lnk.to/night
