White Noise in 2012

As the first full year of White Noise draws to a close, I thought it was about time to take stock and look at what's happened over the last year. The site has grown way beyond the size I'd ever expected for this little hobby, and it's been a fun ride. So before we embark on another year of reviews, features and mixes, I thought I'd take a look back.

Firstly, I'd like to highlight a few choice features that I've written up over the last year. The highlight had to be Vocal Exercises, a history and investigation into the art of vocal sampling in today's scene. Elsewhere, I collected my very favourite remixes, both dance and home listening, to explore just how far a remixer can go from the original material. Later, White Noise drew the lines between modern classical music and ambient sounds, which might have more in common than you'd think. But in a surprising turn, the most viewed feature by far was this feature on the ongoing relevance and importance of the music of Aphex Twin, as well as a musical history of his finest moments.

Next, in case you missed them, here are our top picks from 2012. These lists should be give anyone some choice musical cuts to discover, from the casual observer to the diehard heads.

Year End Coverage

* Best Albums of 2012

* Best EPs of 2012

* Best Labels of 2012

* Best Breakthrough Artists of 2012

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 101-76

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 75-51

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 50-26

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 25-1

I'd also like to take this chance to remind readers that you can click on the drop-down box in the top left to find collected lists of all our reviews, playlists and features. You'll also find our Release Sheets section, an indispensable resource for keeping up to date with all the Bass scene's freshest releases.

You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter, where I endeavour to share a few choice tunes from the White Noise vaults every day.

I'll leave you with a fresh all-acid mix I did a few weeks back. Some killer 303 sounds here, which should tide you over until normal service resumes next week. Enjoy!

Thanks for all the support, I'll be back next week.

Tom