Wrapping up 2009... pt. 1

Personally, I consider 2009 to be a year of musical disappointments. And it's not because there were no good releases - quite on the contrary, I bought a huge number of quality stuff. The thing is, almost none of them I find touching enough to put onto my "favourite records ever" shelf. Either it is 'craftmanship replacing art' or me getting old... Despite all of that, my list of finest records of 2009 wasn't easy to pick at all; the first part of the result of my brainstorm lies ahead.

Monolake - Silence
Quite an obvious choice, as Mr Henke is my favourite producer. This is his darkest album so far, whether to call it the best I will decide in some time... But after a bit disappointing Atlas/Titan this is a solid proof that Monolake is back in shape.


Dj Sprinkles – Midtown 120 Blues
My friend brought my attention to this LP in December, few weeks before it was chosen as LP of the year by RA. I was really angry with myself, having missed this excellent release (more like – a series of vinyl releases which are now mostly impossible to get) earlier. Terre Thaemlitz is undoubtedly one of those unique artists who turn everything they touch into pure gold. There were plenty of quality deep house releases in 2009 (plenty of crap as well), but none of them gets even close to this one. And hey, Mule Japan guys, the world neeeds a repress!!!

Shackleton - 3 EPS
Since the closure of Skull Disco, Sam and Laurie have moved on. Both of them have their hits and misses, but I've been watching closely what they're coming out with and Perlon release is Sam's highlight so far. This ain't dubstep (well, another thing is - was it ever dubstep?) nor techno, it's pure Shackleton style. Eerie, oriental, tribal, dark, haunted... It's all there. A must!

Ancient Methods – Third Method
2009 was a good year for Ancient Methods boys, two of their own releases plus split EP on RSB and a collab with Regis on Downwards. First time I heard Third Method was a few weeks before it was officialy out and I was immediately enchanted. 'Else (Radio Edit)' is one of the best 'evil-techno' tracks of this millennium, and rest of the tracks is wicked as well. Can't wait for more!

Sigha - Expansions
Scuba's Hotflush II label is doing better and better at filling gaps between dubstep and techno. I know that very many 'Best of 2009' charts have Joy Orbison's 'Hyph Mngo' right on the top (which ain't a surprise, as it's absolutely wicked), but I found Sigha's release the highlight. Having debuted with this one, he managed to attract my attention immediately and that's why I consider him to be number one among new faces of 2009. 'Expansions' is raw, yet subtle, and each time I play it it manages to hypnotize me so that I can't resist but to listen till the very end. The other three releases he's put out this year are also stunning and something tells me the best is still ahead, so watch out for this guy!

ESSENCE