Best of 2013: Albums

25: Horror Inc – Briefly Eternal [Perlon]

 

  Dans La Nuit

Marc Leclair (aka Akufen)’s debut as Horror Inc on Perlon wasn’t a timely record. In fact, his brand of precision-edited microhouse would’ve sounded positively archaic in any hands but his own. Yet something timeless tugged at the corners of Briefly Eternal, beyond the beautiful instrumentals and the noir atmosphere. Beneath the immaculate surface lurked a rich, intruiging story, just waiting for the listener to draw it out.

24: Maxmillion Dunbar – House of Woo [RVNG Intl]

 

Woo

Max D’s assured second outing was a joyous record, melding his loves of house, boogie and hip hop in a colourful new-age rush. His melodic range was impressive, with heavenly woodwind coming as easily as fine-tuned synthwork, yet it was the record’s live-style drums and kaleidoscopic pacing that kept us coming back time and again.

23: Fishermen – Patterns And Paths [Skudge]

 

  Album Clips

Talk about stopping the presses: we only got our hands on this late 2013 release the day before this list was to be published. This turned out to be quite the stroke of luck: Fishermen followed their promising Skudge White EP with one of the year’s most diverse and vital techno records, ably hopping between ambient atmospherics and gritty dancefloor muscle, as at home with humid tribalism as they are with distorted industrialism.

22: Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest [Warp]

 

Reach For The Dead

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t possible for BoC to put out an album that would have lived up to our preposterous expectations. Tomorrow’s Harvest was more dark, knotty and cryptic than any of the Scottish duo’s work to date, yet the pair’s unique touch still lurked beneath these evocative compositions. We may not have loved it straight off as with the pair’s first two albums, but rest assured that we’ll probably still be listening in ten years, trying to work it all out.

21: Omar S – Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself [FXHE]

 

  Thank U 4 Letting Me Be Myself

Omar S is one of the most revered of Detriot house’s new school, and everything great about the man’s music found a place in this album. Amalthea and Air Of The Day brought the funk in inimitable style, we got not one but two anthems in the form of The Shit Baby and Thank U 4 Letting Me Be Myself, I Just Want and Helter Shelter took lofi to the warehouse, and after-hours was catered for on the sweaty soul of Rewind and Its Money In The D. For a comprehensive survey of today’s Detroit sounds, you need look no further.

20: DJ Rashad – Double Cup [Hyperdub]

Every Day Of My Life

Footwork was granted its best album to date on kingpin Rashad’s debut LP for Hyperdub, taking juke hybrids from their soul and hip hop homes to the future breeds of acid and abstract menace.

19: Floorplan – Paradise [M-Plant]

Baby Baby

Critics often bemoan dance albums being little more than a collection of dance tracks, but that’s because these albums are almost never as good as Robert Hood’s Paradise. This record contained ten muscular house outings veering from euphoric vocals and piano to dubby technoid mutations, a dream for both DJs and the listeners at home.

18: Akkord – Akkord [Houndstooth]

 

  Hex AD

Akkord’s debut LP showed the duo maturing considerably, shaping their hi-def dread meditations into a brilliant album which allowed the pair’s atmospheric talent to really shine. The menace of the UK’s hardcore tradition was given a futuristic update at once polished and rugged, while the album’s thoughtful structure lent it a narrative of emotion and tension often lacking in techno full-lengths.

17: Perfume Advert – Tulpa [1080p]

Swamp Star

One of the year’s best debuts came out of nowhere on 1080p. Perfume Advert’s live house jams are dense yet funky, loose-limbed grooves skipping across humid atmospherics on a lean LP which eschewed filler, leaving just the good stuff.

16: Walton – Beyond [Hyperdub]

Amazon

Walton’s excellent debut album showed a restless creative mind effortlessly hopping across genres and styles, fusing light and darkness with grooves plucked from the UK’s rich dance tradition. Whatever style Walton touched turned to gold, from the low-slung stomp of Amazon to the loved-up slink of Every Night.

15: Medlar – Sleep [Wolf]

Tides

Another fantastic UK debut came courtesy of Medlar, whose jazz-infused Sleep was a triumph of mood and organic production. Grooves stop and start according to some twisted dream logic, while a kaleidoscopic array of samples colours the productions in vivid strokes.

14: Dadub – You Are Eternity [Stroboscopic Artefacts]

 

Full Album

Sonic engineers Dadub were responsible for the year’s most immersive techno experiences on the taut monochrome trip of You Are Eternity. The mixed tracks trade in muggy atmospheres and impeccable beatscience, building to an unholy crescendo before returning to restrained ambience. The overall effect is involving, at times overwhelming, and as a whole verges on the spiritual.

13: Nils Frahm – Spaces [Erased Tapes]

Says

Germany’s unbelievably talented pianist decided that instead of a solo album of new material he would release live recordings of his performances and improvisations in concert. This stroke of brilliance allowed the full range of Frahm’s musicality to be proudly displayed, from beautiful reinterpretations of old favourites (Familiar, For, Tristana) to stunning new material such as the fragile, powerful Says.

12: DjRum – Seven Lies [2nd Drop]

 

Album Clips

Seven Lies made good on the promise of DjRum’s superb Mountains EP, taking the listener on a cinematic journey from hip hop to house to drum and bass. His fluency across genres and moods was staggering, but it was the impeccable mastery over sample processing and song structure which made each of Seven Lies’ tracks glitter like gemstones.

11: Special Request – Soul Music [Houndstooth]

 

Album Clips

Paul Woolford’s Special Request project came into a league of its own this year, culminating on his furious debut album for Houndstooth. Channelling the vital energy of pirate radio and the lost hardcore generation, Woolford’s rugged hybrids were intense and vital, a big middle finger to today’s generation of polished pop-house practitioners.

10: Holden – The Inheritors [Border Community]

 

Renata

Holden’s wild sophomore album was a powerful statement: rejecting polished sounds and conventional dance structure, his organic compositions on The Inheritors were in turns savage and beautiful, raucous and meditative, often mystical. It was a large, at times unwieldy album, but few others attempted a release as ambitious with as much success in 2013.

9: KWC 92 – Dream Of The Walled City (OST) [L.I.E.S.]

Missing

KWC 92’s trip to Kowloon was one of the year’s most evocative records, fusing retro synthscapes with Oriental samples and ghostly ambience to singular effect. The pair ask the listener to devise her own story for this imaginary soundtrack, turning the passive party on the end of the speakers into an active collaborator, forming narrative for the mournful beauty and lurking threat which haunt this stunning album.

8: Logos – Cold Mission [Keysound]

 

Seawolf

Logos ran the banner for grime’s new generation on Cold Mission, an exercise in both power and patience which reconfigured the genre’s signifiers in new spacious arrangements while never forgetting the lethal power of expertly deployed bassweight.

7: Damiano von Erckert – Love Based Music. [ava.]

 

All Good

No album made us feel as warm and hopeful as von Erckert’s blissful Love Based Music, and we’re betting that was exactly the point of this funky slab of wax. Funk, soul, hip hop, disco and house all found their place on this beautiful album, each treated with the care and authentic spirit of those genres’ decades-old originators.

6: Jessy Lanza – Pull My Hair Back [Hyperdub]

 

Keep Moving

Hyperdub’s choice to release an RnB-influenced singer raised a few eyebrows, but few expected the restrained rush of Pull My Hair Back. A pop album par excellence, Lanza’s wonderful vocals brought catchy hooks to a series of brilliantly produced electro-pop vignettes, all mastered with a subtlety and quality control which contributed to an utterly infectious whole.

5: Forest Swords – Engravings [Tri Angle]

 

Thor's Stone

Since his superb debut Dagger Paths, Forest Swords has never sounded like anyone but himself. Those deep, dubby soundscapes, searing guitar riffs and mystical atmospheres made a stunning return in Engravings, beckoning the listener into a sonic world of mist, myth and pure wonder.

4: Roly Porter – Life Cycle of a Massive Star [Subtext]

 

Album Clips

Few electronic artists have attempted a feat as ambitious as soundtracking the life of an interstellar body. Yet Roly Porter more than achieved his goal, creating in the process a profound meditation on mortality and cosmic human significance. With a combination of heavenly strings, brutal noise and techno know-how, Porter conjured the sublime, a classic which deserves to echo for future generations.

3: Oneohtrix Point Never – R Plus Seven [Warp]

 

Zebra

Daniel Lopatin has the mind of a true original: ever restless, with each release he seeks to expand and shift his sound, to make some new comment or sonic fusion. R Plus Seven channelled a century of American contemporary classical and electronic music history into a vibrant album which sought the beauty in the West’s saturated digital present, and is utterly enchanting from the first listen to the hundredth.

2: Various Artists – Livity Sound [Livity Sound]

 

Pev & Kowton - End Points

While strictly a compilation rather than an album, the collection of Pev, Kowton and Asusu’s releases on Livity Sound was doubtless one of the year’s finest long-players. There is a unity to the three producers’ sound which came across more clearly than ever when presented as a whole, a club-tooled sound where nothing is superfluous: just the rhythm and a few expertly-deployed melodies were responsible for a host of brilliant, mind-bending dance tracks. It’s almost unheard of for an album of eighteen tracks to feature not a single dud, but if you can trust anyone to keep evolving while never letting the quality slip an iota, it’s the boys at Livity.

1: Jon Hopkins – Immunity [Domino]

 

Open Eye Signal

While ordering this list proved to be a logistical nightmare, there was never any question which album would take the number one spot. Hopkins’ phenomenal compositions were alive: breathing, growing and contorting before your ears. The wealth of sonic detail never distracted from a pure clarity of thought behind each individual track, and from the blistering techno of the album’s first half to its meditative close each song blazed with musical mastery and a soaring inner beauty. 

Best of 2013: 16 Labels

In 2013 we were given more reasons than ever why record labels really matter. The glut of new producers needed sorting and supporting, the ever-oscillating sales of vinyl needed bolstering, and dance music’s tentative re-entry into the mainstream needed careful managing. Luckily, it seemed that there were more great labels and label-heads on hand to deal with these problems than ever before. It’s been a phenomenal and varied year in the world of dance, and here White Noise wants to pay tribute to the people behind the artists who make it all happen.

A good label can be many things: it can be a stamp of good taste, a reliable source of fresh tunes which earns the trust of the listener. A label can also be brought success by a discerning A&R man, who diligently picks out talented fledglings and nurtures them to greatness, or spots the glittering gem in a mire of soundcloud also-rans. A good label can be a stable which defines a style, whether local or global, better than anyone else – or even creates a home for exploring brand new sonic territory. It doesn’t even have to be all about the music: some labels are appreciated because of the care they put into their packaging and cover art, marrying great music to bold aesthetics. In 2013 more labels opened their doors than ever, while a few stalwarts clung to their positions among the industry's very best.

Before we begin, it’s worth spreading the word about a few labels not on the list that are looking promising for next year: the likes of Argot and Nous have been offering quality releases with a tight grip on quality control, while Sued has upped its output of superb techno EPs. Elsewhere new imprint Berceuse Heroique has had a memorable first year, with excellent slices from MGUN and Gesloten Cirkel pressed onto high quality 12”s. Another new label which attracted our attention was Fifth Wall, a Brooklyn-based imprint whose steady stream of roughneck techno has carved out a singular sound, demonstrated memorably on Divvorce’s Used Experience EP. Finally props go to Berlin’s Leisure System, who scored two home-runs this year with Visionist’s grime-trip Snakes and the blistering Tetrahymena, which marked the welcome return of electro vets Dopplereffekt.

Following from those worthy runners-up, we now present WN’s favourite labels of 2013:

16: R&S

Tessela - Horizon

‘In order to dance’. Many will recognise the slogan emblazoned on R&S’ vinyls, a statement of intent which has held true across the label’s lengthy career. R&S held onto its reputation as a dance institution this year by branching out, offering a more diverse range of records than ever before. While not all of these hit the mark (albums from Vondelpark and the promising Airhead proved blandly sentimental), R&S’ year was still far more hit than miss. They excelled in the singles department with superb offerings from Lone, Tessela and Paula Temple, while Welcome To Mikrosector-50 gave the delightful Space Dimension Controller some room to really let his imagination run wild. It was the most impressive year since the label’s recent relaunch, proving without a doubt that the old horse still has legs.

Essential Releases:

Tessela – Nancy’s Pantry

Lone – Airglow Fires

Space Dimension Controller – Welcome To Mikrosector-50

15: Mister Saturday Night

Dark Sky – In Brackets

After a debut release as impressive as Anthony Naples’ anthemic Mad Disrespect, many labels would spend the rest of their time desperately playing catch-up. Not so with Mister Saturday Night, a label run by the men behind Brooklyn’s popular loft party of the same name. The imprint showed their versatility through an impressive second year, with Lumigraph, Hank Jackson and a returning Naples demonstrating a tougher, noisier side of MSN, while Dark Sky and Alex Burkat’s releases plied an unparalleled softness.

Essential Releases:

Anthony Naples – Moscato

Dark Sky – In Brackets

Lumigraph – Yacht Cruiser

14: Wicked Bass

Innershades – That Girl

Kiev’s Wicked Bass stepped their game up a notch in 2012 with the release of Huerco S’ sublime No Jack EP, but all three of the label’s 2013 offerings show an imprint going from strength to strength, summoning the rawness of the lofi house scene without ever sacrificing a fierce lust for the groove. Two of this year’s releases come from big new talent Innershades, whose Dancemania-indebted That Girl turned into one of the year’s most compelling anthems. Elsewhere newcomer Raw Music Theory pumped out a scintillating debut EP, backed with ace remixes from fresh blood Greg Beato. Wicked Bass’ year was all about new talent, and they clearly had it in spades.

Essential Releases:

Innershades – That Girl

Raw Music Theory – Raw M.T.

Innershades - Gravure

13: Tri Angle

Forest Swords – Thor's Stone

The inimitable Tri Angle may have had a quieter year than last year’s musical masterclass, but each of the imprint’s releases was still a compelling invitation to the enigmatic darkness of Tri Angle’s sound. Genre-defying newcomer Fis closed the year with an intriguing offering alongside The Haxan Cloak’s heavyweight Excavation LP, yet Tri Angle’s biggest coup of 2013 was undoubtedly the return of the singular Forest Swords, whose album Engravings surpassed even our lofty expectations.

Essential Releases:

Forest Swords – Engravings

The Haxan Cloak – Excavation

Fis - Preparations

12: 100% Silk

Les Level – Fever Baby

Amanda Brown’s 100% Silk released an awful lot of music in 2013, perhaps too much, but the hit-rate was still more impressive than almost any other stable. Not Not Fun’s little sister is a dream for fans of retro house and synth-fed live jams, and this year gave us some gorgeous albums by Octo Octa and Coyote Clean Up, while Les Level, Bobby Draino and Bobby Browser were responsible for just a handful of the imprint’s run of ace EPs across the year.

Essential Releases:

Octo Octa – Between Two Selves

Les Level – House Of Need

Bobby Draino – Brain Drain

11: Opal Tapes

Patricia – Plural

Teeside’s Opal Tapes continued their unrivalled dominance of the cassette game in 2013, with an enviable slew of releases that straddled the worlds of noise, ambient and techno. OT’s quality control is always admirable, but some of its releases this year shone particularly bright, including those of Lumigraph, Karen Gwyer and Shapednoise, alongside a stellar debut for the more floor-focused material of Patricia. The latter garnered so much praise that label-head Stephen Bishop is launching the new Black Opal vinyl run next year, which sets expectations high for another bumper release schedule in 2014.

Essential Releases:

Patricia – Body Issues

Manse – Lying In Wait

Karen Gwyer – Kiki The Wormhole

10: Warp

Oneohtrix Point Never – Chrome Country

Sheffield’s venerable music outpost has surfed electronic music’s vanguard for almost fifteen years, and in 2013 it was the imprint’s ability to welcome talent both old and new which secured its ever-growing reputation. New albums from electronic legends (and label stalwarts) Boards of Canada and Autechre were worthy standard-bearers of the Warp tradition, but it was new work by the likes of Mark Pritchard and Oneohtrix Point Never which proved the imprint’s most exciting new releases.

Essential Releases:

Oneohtrix Point Never – R Plus Seven

Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest

Mark Pritchard – Lock Off

9: White Material

White Material EP Clips

While Brooklyn’s White Material have released less this year than any other label on this list, their position is secured by the quality of those two EPs and the strength of the label’s aesthetic. Starting out peddling self-described ‘working man’s techno’ in 2012, this year saw WM come to prominence in the underground scene, their limited-issue releases quickly reaching exorbitant prices on discogs (though a series of represses is apparently on the way). It’d be easy to pass it off as a case of the hype machine gone wild if it weren’t for the brilliance of their records: this year saw Galcher Lustwerk follow a superb mix with a debut EP that twinned gorgeous deep house grooves with languid spoken word accompaniment. Later came White Material, a collective statement that defined the label’s sound in four concise, compelling excursions into 4/4 territory.

Essential Releases:

Galcher Lustwerk – Tape 22

White Material – White Material

8: Keysound

Wen – Commotion

After almost fading away for a few years, grime has been on a very exciting upswing of late. The fresh new producers are undoubtedly to credit – free to produce without making sonic space for an MC’s vocals, the likes of Beneath, Wen, Logos and more have been charting strange, seductive territory in their lethal new grime hybrids. Yet these disparate producers are brought together by a few key voices in the scene: one is undoubtedly Slackk, whose Grimetapes blog continues to be an inspiration, while the other is Dusk and Blackdown’s dependable Keysound imprint. Keysound has been on ruder form than ever this year, with great EPs from Etch and Wen bookending the year and debut albums from E.M.M.A. and Logos. The latter’s Cold Mission was a particular triumph, and alongside the label’s vital This Is How We Roll comp, capped off what might just be the best in the label’s six year history.

Essential Releases:

Logos – Cold Mission

Wen – Commotion

Various Artists – This Is How We Roll

7: ava.

Damiano Von Erckert – The Dude Loop

You might have guessed from our recent label profile that we love Damiano Von Erckert’s ava imprint. In 2013 ava sailed through another beautiful year, pushing their signature house sounds all drenched in soul. Murat Tepeli spun gold on his Fee Fi Foe Funk For Me EP (backed by a monster Prosumer remix), but ava’s year belonged to label-head Von Erckert, who released not one but two stellar albums: his misty-eyed collaboration with beatmaker Tito Wun and his debut proper, the sublime Love Based Music.

Essential Releases:

Damiano von Erckert & Tito Wun – Mr. Pink, What Have You Been Smokin’?

Murat Tepeli – The Fee Fi Foe Funk For Me EP

Damiano Von Erckert – Love Based Music

6: Trilogy Tapes

Anthony Naples - Busy Signal

Will Bankhead’s impossibly tasteful Trilogy Tapes imprint completed its transition to vinyl this year, with stunning leftfield releases drawn from old talents and new. Tuff Sherm and Anthony Naples produced two of the label’s most compelling listens since MM/KM, while the likes of Eomac, Levantis and Rezzett brought that crunchy lofi sound in inimitable style. 

Essential Releases:

Anthony Naples – El Portal

Tuff Sherm – Burglar Loops

Levantis - Believe

5: Crème Organization

D’Marc Cantu – Alternate Frequency EP Clips

DJ TLR’s fantastic Crème label ran through a kaleidoscopic 2013 with all guns blazing, never once letting slip either their wild energy or their strict quality control. Almost all of Crème’s 2013 offerings were gold, with Willie Burns, D’Marc Cantu, Xosar and Simoncino peddling their distinct brands of off-kilter house, while floor-focused work came courtesy of Legowelt and Innershades. As if that wasn’t enough Crème went further– christening Orgue Electronique’s addictive Henry Saiz remix with a white label release, and offering a searing EP courtesy of The Exaltics. Then of course there’s R-Zone, the Crème-affiliated imprint which let out a quickfire schedule of top-notch ravework across the year under its own anonymous banner. Every year we think that TLR can’t possibly keep up the pace, and each year he proves us wrong. Here’s to an even madder 2014.

Essential Releases:

D’Marc Cantu – Alternate Frequency

Innershades – No Stopping

R-Zone – R-Zone 06

4: Hyperdub

DJ Rashad - Every Day Of My Life

In its nine year history, Kode9’s Hyperdub has yet to have a dull year. The label has managed to hold onto the bleeding edge of electronic music for nearly a decade, and its enviable position was held fast in 2013. The last twelve months were particularly bountiful on the album front, with superb long-players coming from talents as diverse as DJ Rashad, Jessy Lanza and Walton. It’s not just Hyperdub’s forward-thinking music which deserves plaudits, but also its dedication to showcasing female talent. Alongside Lanza’s sterling debut, this year saw great LPs from label-stalwarts Laurel Halo and Ikonika, who, alongside the likes of Inga Copeland and Cooly G, show that Hyperdub is interested in breaking more than just sonic boundaries.

Essential Releases:

Walton – Beyond

Jessy Lanza – Pull My Hair Back

DJ Rashad – Double Cup

3: Livity Sound

Pev & Kowton – End Point / Vapours

Pev, Kowton and Asusu have been quietly building their Bristol stronghold for the last two years, but it took this year’s superb compilation for us to take stock and realise just how brilliantly consistent the label’s output has been. Each club-tooled release seems better than the last; a blend of raw dancefloor know-how and inventive textures which never fail to hit the sweet spot. Besides four of the label’s best singles coming quick and strong over the year, their eponymous compilation showed just how singular Livity’s vision is: three distinct voices combined in a raging, vital roar.

Essential Releases:

Various Artists – Livity Sound

Pev – Aztec Chant

Pev & Kowton – End Point / Vapours

2: Houndstooth

Akkord - Hex_ad

No label in recent memory has had a stronger first year than Houndstooth. Helmed by Fabric and Rob Booth, what Houndstooth lacked in anonymous underdog appeal it more than made up for in quality releases, with a staggeringly impressive collection of records coming over the last twelve months. Houndstooth’s guiding vision is a dark, vigorous vein of dance that mines the UK’s rich tradition while never taking its eyes off the future. Call Super offered two EPs of sublime techno that kept us dancing through the cold, while UK dance history was dealt two monumental tributes in the hi-def dread of Akkord’s self-titled debut album and the raucous grit of Special Request’s Soul Music.

Essential Releases:

Call Super – Black Octagons

Special Request – Soul Music

Akkord - Akkord

1: L.I.E.S.

Florian Kupfer – Feelin

Like it or not, Ron Morelli’s L.I.E.S. is here to stay. The Brooklyn imprint released over twenty records in 2013, and while they weren’t all to everyone’s taste, the label released more music we loved than any other this year. Whether it’s the expanding scope of their lofi aesthetic, the compelling fusion of experimental sounds and dancefloor muscle or the label’s dedication to pushing new talent, L.I.E.S. undoubtedly ruled the roost in 2013.

The wonderful Music For Shut Ins compilation closed a year which, somewhat hypocritically, actually saw L.I.E.S. aim more for the dancefloor than ever before, with sterling EPs from Voiski, Legowelt, Delroy Edwards and Terekke among many, many others. The year also saw a new dedication to the long-player in the L.I.E.S. camp, with brilliant work from Gunnar Haslam and Marcos Cabral, all capped off by KWC 92’s phenomenal Dream Of The Walled City. And then there are the anthems: Kupfer’s blissful Feelin, the excellent title track from Samantha’s Vacation, Greg Beato’s murky Gimme A Light – any label would be hard pressed to have a better year than L.I.E.S. did in 2013. Despite the enormous amount of hype surrounding the label, in our view there’s no imprint currently more worthy of attention.

Essential Releases:

KWC 92 – Dream Of The Walled City

Florian Kupfer – Lifetrax

Various Artists – Music For Shut Ins

Terekke – YYYYYYYYYY

Voiski – IAI Movement 

Best of 2013:

* Best Labels of 2013

* Best EPs of 2013
* Best Tracks: 85-26
* Best Tracks: 25-1

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