motel de moka

End of the year electronic album review. This year I actually manage to rank them, tho’ please listen to the albums, because a single track simply can’t do justice. I try to balance between presenting a top ten album endof year albums and listenable playlist.

01. Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Vertical Ascent. Rarely an electronic album can sustain acoustic percussion and sample balance like this one. Despite an entire album comprises of nothing but thick polyrhythmic layers, the interplay of acoustics drum, electronic echoes and samples are addictive and delightful. +++ 02. Squarepusher - Numbers Lucent. Tom Jenkinson understands jazz and can compose complicated pieces, uncommon skill in electronic circle. And he is back with an EP containing rave, DnB and funk. It is a candy colored psychedelia tricycle running at 200 mph. +++ 03. Wisp - The Shimmering Hour. This little gem may be more of an archive what Rephlex record, aka Richard D. James’s label, the Aphex Twin guy has done in the past few years. Seems like a small sketch book of things he considers well balance between abstract IDM, danceable electronica, experimental ambient and pop bleep. +++ 04. Few Nolder - New Folder . Minimal house done by Linus Strockis, from Viluis, Lithuania. The composition is refreshing. A proof that one doesn’t need to crowd entire frequency spectrum to shake things up. A bleep here, a boom there and off you go, happily bouncing on the floor. +++ 05. Vibrasphere - Selected Downbeats Vol. 2. A wholesome Swedish electronic album. Nothing outrageous or fancy, well balanced and can be left alone in stereo for weeks at a time.

06. Venetian Snares - Horsey Noisers. The latest EP from the bad boy himself, master of electronic layering and complex rhythm. This ep is danceable and fairly sane comparatively. Mother approved, child tested sort of breakcore. A good interlude for his beefier far too fast for your health album ‘Filth‘ +++ 07. Alva Noto - Xerrox Vol.2. Please people. I like this guy. Minimalism and glitch done right. And this latest album probably the most accessible from all his work. (aka, the frequency range is within mammalian biped hearing range, instead of a bat) +++ 08. 5 Years of Hyperdub. My lazy pick of the year. A compilation from hyperdub record. It’s delightful and full of work by known dubstep artists. Nothing earth shattering yet comfortable. +++ 09. Lusine - A Certain Distance. The most accessible album in this list. This album is classic downtempo. If you like “The Field” from 2007, this album is for you. Same texture, a bit louder. +++ 10. Peverelist - Jarvik Mindstate. I don’t know why not many people like this album. I thought this is album is charming. It doesn’t beg, but draw people in, calmly dishing out beat in his own term like a story teller who knows what his audience want to listen. A bit of a teaser actually. A perfect small room ambient DnB. +++ 11. Yppah - They Know What Ghost Know. Second album from an Austinite shoegazer meets house musician. Joe Corrales Jr. drifts deeper into electric guitar and relies less in house/dance beat, making this second album hard to define. Think odd pairing such as folktronica. It is happy spells backward afteral.

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” 11 Best Albums in 2009 and their track ”

01. Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Pattern 3
Vertical Ascent (Honest Jon’s, 2009)
02. Squarepusher - Arterial Fantasy
Numbers Lucent (MSI:Warp, 2009)
03. Wisp - Summoner’s Hollow
The Shimmering Hour (Rephlex, 2009)
04. Few Nolder - Top
New Folder (Planet Mu, 2009)
05. Vibrasphere - Tierra Azul (Omnimotion Feat. Krister Linder Remix)
Selected Downbeats Vol. 2 (Cloud 99 Music, 2009)
06. Venetian Snares - Horsey Vag Island
Horsey Noisers (Planet Mu, 2009)
07. Alva Noto - Xerrox Rin
Xerrox Vol.2 (Raster Music, 2009)
08. L.V. - Turn Away
5 Years of Hyperdub (Hyperdub, 2009)
09. Lusine - Twilight
A Certain Distance (Ghostly Int’l, 2009)
10. Peverelist - Valves
Jarvik Mindstate (Punch Drunk, 2009)
11. Yppah - Southern Sky Tells
They Know What Ghost Know (Ninja Tune, 2009)

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Also great in 2009. Boxcutter - Arecibo Message, Clark - Totems Flare, Mike Slott - Lucky 9Teen, Morphosis Records - Evolved Breaks, Pantha Du Prince - The Splendour, Printempo - Printempo, Shackleton - Three EPs LP,

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see also: Electronica 2008.