best of 2013

[Lao Tsu Ben]

Hum, that Strokes album is still the most entertaining album of the year.
And I forgot the last Suede which, by the way, rocks.

[p_ano]

Posted this earlier today on Facebook, and figured I ought to post it here as well. The big surprise for me was DiSanto, who I hadn't heard of until a month ago; and even then the hype had me VERY skeptical, but goddamn, the record is amazing.

I haven't done a 'best of' list in ages, but since there were a handful of records that really touched me this year, I decided to give it a shot :

1. Michael Pisaro + Greg Stuart - Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds (Gravity Wave)

2. Olivia Block - Karren (Sedimental)

3. Keith Rowe + Graham Lambkin - Making A (Erstwhile Records)

4. Anne Guthrie + Richard Kamerman - Sinter (ErstAEU)

5. Devin DiSanto - Tracing a Boundary (Task)

Thank you to everyone for making 2013 a truly memorable year for new music!

Disclaimer : 'Photographs' and 'This Place / Is Love' are sitting on my desk -- still in the wrapper; so I may append this list at some point. :)

[liedwart]

my version of musical highlights this year in the format of top 25:

1. Norbert Möslang — Indoor_Outdoor (Ideologic Organ)
2. Miguel A. García & Nick Hoffman — Vile Cretin (Intonema)
3. Kevin Drumm — Tannenbaum (Hospital Productions)
4. Burkhard Stangl — Unfinished. For William Turner, Painter (Touch)
5. Joe Panzner / Greg Stuart — Dystonia Duos (Erstwhile)
6. Keith Rowe / Graham Lambkin — Making A (Erstwhile)
7. Graham Lambkin / Jason Lescalleet — Photographs (Erstwhile)
8. John Cage — Cartridge Music (Another Timbre)
9. Michael Pisaro — The Punishment Of The Tribe By Its Elders (Gravity Wave)
10. Jakob Ullmann — Fremde Zeit Addendum 4 (Edition RZ)
11. Olivia Block — Karren (Sedimental)
12. Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald — Borderland (Tresor)
13. John Butcher / Leonel Kaplan / Christof Kurzmann — Shortening Distance (L'Innomable)
14. Antoine Beuger — Cantor Quartets (Another Timbre)
15. Ryoji Ikeda — Supercodex (Raster-Noton)
16. John Tilbury & Oren Ambarchi — The Just Reproach (Black Truffle)
17. Hanno Leichtmann — Unfinished Portrait Of Youth Today (The Tapeworm)
18. DeepChord — 20 Electrostatic Soundfields (Soma)
19. Francisco Meirino — An Extended Meaning For Something Meaningless (Auditory Field Theory)
20. Robert Beatty — Soundtracks For Takeshi Murata (Glistening Examples)
21. Russell Haswell / Yasunao Tone — Convulsive Threshold (Editions Mego)
22. Phill Niblock — Touch Five (Touch)
23. Noise Nomads — Ernest, Thrasher (Feeding Tube)
24. Jim O'Rourke — Old News No. 9 (Old News)
25. Work/Death — Phone About To Ring (Type)

[mpisaro]

I think I'm going to need to hear the Möslang and the Stangl.

One I haven't seen mentioned (though maybe I missed it), and which I really enjoyed:

Rale, Probability A: Three Studies for Compositions of Infinite Length (Senufo)

As I understand it, they're endless loops which have been carved out to allow long silences. One might recognize the elements individually, but their combination is mysterious and unsettling.

[Daniel Jones]

8. John Cage — Cartridge Music (Another Timbre)

Nice to see this get a mention... thanks Kurt!

[WCrap]

for now ...

Hans Essel - Saitensack LP (Edition Telemark)
Roman Opalka - Spur der Zeit LP (Edition Bierammer)
Sleaford Mods - Austerity Dogs LP (Harbinger)
Anton Heybour - Rules of the Universe 2LP (Kye)
Jean-Claue Eloy - Electro-Anahata 2CD (Hors Territories)
G*Park - Sub 2CD (23five)
Kink Gong - Voices LP (Discrepant)
Kink Gong - Gongs of Cambodia & Laos 2LP (Tiger Gong)
Ilhan Mimaroglu / Jean Dubuffet - Coucou Bazar 2CD (Sub Rosa)
David Lynch - The Big Dream 2LP (Sunday Best)
Christina Kubisch & Eckehard Güther - Mosaique Mosaic CD (Grünrekorder)
Various - Longing for the Past 4CD+Book (Dust-To-Digital)
Michel Henritzi - Yokohama No Shadows CD (Dyin' Ghost)
Alvin Lucier - Orchestral Works CD (New World)
Junko - Voice & Destroy 2CD (Reveil)

[Wombatz]

Thinking about my comics top ten, I accidentally did one for music:

1 Rowe Lambkin Making A
2 Coppice Compound
3 Grisha Shakhnes Leave/Trace
4 Dean Blunt The Redeemer
5 Akos Rozmann Images of Dream and Death
6 Cornford Rodgers Boring Embroidery
7 Toshiya Tsunoda O Kokos
8 Rushford Talia Manhunter
9 Devin DiSanto Tracing a Boundary
10 Michael Pisaro The Punishment of the Tribe by Its Elders

(I'm surprised how much of the stuff mentioned in this thread I've heard, and this is mostly the same in partly different order. What's up with all the pretty piano music, though?)

[GregT]

1.Robert Piotrowicz 'When Snakeboy Is Dying ' ( LP - Musica Genera )
2.Stara Rzeka "Cien Wielkiej Gory.... ' ( CD Instant Classic )
3.Robert Piotrowicz 'Lincoln Sea' ( LP Musica Genera )
4.V/A Sound of Solitude in Memoriam of Tomasz Sikorski ( CD- Bolt )
5.Zenial ' Chimera' ( LP - Zoharum )
6.Strike ( Jon Rose/Mike Majkowski/Clayton Thomas) ‎– Wood, Wire & Sparks ( LP - Monotype )
7.Michal Kupicz - Bez Tytułu (MC - Sangoplasmo )

[mono tony]

the underachievers - indigoism

played it incessantly for a couple weeks, during summer.. really consistent album.

because of the "the mahdi" vid (in the IHM rap thread)

[Piano Mouth]

Yeah that's a great album.

Just checked out what the #1 album chosen by The Wire this year, Julia Holter's "Loud City Song"? I would have to disagree with that. It think she sounds a lot like a Jenny Hval rip off, both The Necks and Matana Roberts albums that came out this year are much better than Holter's IMO.

[bedouin]

Cage's Solo for Piano (the piano part for the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra) performed by Sabine Liebner on Wergo has to be heard to be believed. The longest version on record, a must if you adhere to the idea that Cage's work has much beauty in it if you treat it with the proper care and consideration. Lots of clever references to other pieces by him add to the enjoyment, seventy minutes that fly away in a whim.

+1


+
Polwechsel - Traces Of Wood

[frozen reeds]

The Necks - Open

Spent a lot of time with almost all their records this year. Saw them live too. This is yet another great one.

Also the Ullmann box appendix disc was superb, as noted above. As was the reissue of Fleetwood Mac's Then Play On with the original UK LP sequencing.

Forgot to mention this great reissue: http://www.amazon.com/Morton-Feldman-Ro ... B00F8OO3EC

[thecoloroflight]

Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet & 7-tette - Navigation (Firehouse 12 Recordings)
John Cage (performed by Jovita Zähl and Thomas Meixner) - The Piano Works 9 – First Recordings (Mode)
John Cage (performed by Sabine Liebner) - Solo for Piano (Wergo)
John Cage (performed by Gary Verkade) - The Works For Organ (Mode)
Antoine Beuger ‎– Cantor Quartets (Another Timbre)
Iannis Xenakis - GRM Works 1957-1962 (Recollection GRM ‎/ Editions Mego)
Graham Lambkin / Jason Lescalleet - Photographs (Erstwhile)
Kevin Drumm - Tannenbaum (Hospital Productions)
Eliane Radigue - Adnos I-III (Important Records)
Total Life - Bender / Drifter (Debacle Records)
Grammies - Award Winning (self-released)
Marina Rosenfeld - P.A. / Hard Love (Room40)
Julia Holter - Loud City Song (Domino Records)
Angel Olsen - Half Way Home (Bathetic Records)
Autechre - Exai (Warp Records)
Tuluum Shimmering ‎- Raag Wichikapache / Lake Of Mapang (Space Slave Editions)
｡-_-｡)a - Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/wolfbitee)
D/P/I ‎- Espresso Digital (CHANCEIMAG.es)
Mark Fell - n-Dimensional Analysis (Liberation Technologies)
Death Grips - Government Plates (Third Worlds)
The Kniφe - Shaking The Habitual (Brille Records / Mute)
Arca - Fader Mix
Sensate Focus - Sensate Focus 2 (Sensate Focus / Editions Mego)
Rainer Veil - Struck (Modern Love)
Sophie - Bipp / Elle (Numbers.)
Shlohmo - Laid Out (Friends of Friends)
Annie - The A&R EP (Pleasure Masters)
Annie - Tube Stops And Lonely Hearts (Totally)
AlunaGeorge - Body Music (Vagrant / Island)
Chvrches - The Bones Of What You Believe (Virgin)
Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball (RCA)
Sky Ferreira - You're Not The One (Capitol)
Abigail Wyles - Mantra (MTA Records)
Laura Welsh - Cold Front (CFCF Remix) (Polydor / Outsiders)
Drake - Hold On, We're Going Home (Cash Money Records)
Kanye West - Yeezus (Def Jam Recordings)

[hellowhoami]

(in terms of experimental music)
1. Hands To - Myasic / Vinhilation
2. Okkyung Lee - Ghil
3. Julie Hanssin / A. Typist - The Book Before Music
4. Russell Haswell & Yasunao Tone - Convulsive Threshold
5. blackhumour - Clones Of Megan

[_duif]

1. Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet – Photographs [2CD] [Erstwhile]
2. Peste Noire – Peste Noire [La Mesnie Herlequin]
3. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – Push the Sky Away [Bad Seed Ltd.]
4. Lee Patterson & Vanessa Rossetto – Temperament as Waveform [Another Timbre]
5. Joe Panzner & Greg Stuart – Dystonia Duos [Erstwhile]
6. Windhand – Soma [Relapse]
7. Eliane Radigue – Naldjorlak I II III [3CD] [Shiiin]
8. Clipping. – Midcity [self-released] + Rale - Probability A: Three Studies for Compositions of Infinite Length [Senufo]
9. Antoine Beuger & Michael Pisaro – This Place / Is Love [Erstwhile]
10. Paysage d’Hiver – Das Tor [Kunsthall]
11. Michael Pisaro – The Punishment of the Tribe by Its Elders + The Middle of Life (Die ganze Zeit) [Gravity Wave]
12. Fushitsusha – Mada atatakai uchi no kono ima ni subete no nazo o sosogikonde shimaou + Namae o tsukenai de hoshii namae o tsukete shimau to subete de naku natte shimau kara [Heartfast]
13. Olivia Block – Karren [LP] [Sedimental]
14. Phosphorescent – Muchacho [Dead Oceans]
15. Procession – To Reap Heavens Apart [High Roller]
16. Julia Holter – Loud City Song [Domino]
17. The Drones – I See Seaweed [MGM]
18. Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap [self-released]
19. Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile [Constellation]
20. Devin Disanto – Tracing a Boundary [Task]
21. Mael Mórdha – Damned When Dead [2013 Candlelight]
22. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – s/t [Palace]
23. Patrick Farmer & David Lacey – Pictures of Men. [Copy For Your Records]
24. Colin Stetson – New History Warfare vol. 3: To See More Light [Constellation]
25. Obliteration – Black Death Horizon [Indie]
26. SubRosa – More Constant than the Gods [Profound Lore]
27. Christina Carter – Texas Modern Exorcism [Many Breaths]
28. Skagos – Anarchic [Eternal Warfare / The Flenser]
29. The Prophecy – Salvation [Code666]
30. Nick Hennies – Duets for Solo Snare Drum [Weighter] + Flourish [Consumer Waste]

more here:
http://www.discogs.com/lists/Best-of-20 ... -me/189450

EDIT:

+ EPs and reissues etc:
http://www.discogs.com/lists/Best-of-20 ... lly/189614
http://www.discogs.com/lists/Best-of-20 ... ses/189616

[Hayao Yamaneko]

Just four. Not neccessarily the top four because that would feel a bit silly and arbitrary.
A very good four as they occur to me now

Predicate - Nails
Alex Ward, Dom Lash, Tim Hill & Mark Sanders making post-punkish jazzy energy music. Just a very satisfying forty-odd mins of well-ordered jazz noise. Reminded me of a more free-improv-ey, more British version of lot of music I used to listen to maybe 10 years ago when bands around the edges of labels like Load and Skingraft started being post punky and jazzy at the same time. It's not the beginning of anything, it's not especially zeitgeisty but I really enjoy listening to it, and have been doing so quite a lot. Wich is certainly enough.
http://gafferrecords.bandcamp.com/releases

Richard Glover - Logical Harmonies
The disc of new composed music from 2013 I've most completely and unreservedly enjoyed. To my ears it has a superbly stoic quality. Incredibly elegant compositions of transparent structure and considerable, unadorned, surface gorgeousness. Very satisfying to listen alongside the scores: reveals a lovely tension between concept and instantiation, between the formal precision and ingenuity of the scores and the degree of freedom and responsibility they hand implicitly and unshowily to the performers. Who as a result deserve a great deal of the credit for the disc's success.
http://www.anothertimbre.com/logicalharmonies.html

Stephen Cornford - 6 Tape Machines
Stephen made quite a few fine records this year, this was not one of them, being made a while back but released this year. I like it a lot.
It's at the same time very identifiably Cornford and maybe a little outside his current sound world - less bright, stark and up-front, a different species of the idea-born(e) materialism exhibited by Music for Earbuds his tape with mr Farmer and Binatone Galaxy. Regardless, the sound is very much right for this record - the beautifully observed textures are allowed to be enveloping and eloquent of interiors, fitting for the exploration of a technology associated with living rooms and studios.
http://www.infinite-limits.com/search.a ... LabelId=-1
http://www.accidierecords.com/AVAILABLE-RELEASES

Joe Panzner and Greg Stuart - Dystonia Duos
Completely engrossing. 3 perpetually precipitating continua of grind that balance visceral onslaught against formal invention and sophistication. A great deal of patience on show too - allowing textures and interactions to develop very gradually over long stretches of time in a way that belies the surface's constantly changing detail. Not an easy trick.
http://erstwhilerecords.com/catalog/EA001.html

[jon abbey]

OK, I tried to audtion anything and everything that seemed like I might be into it, but there were so many releases this year that I still didn't get to everything. that being said, I feel pretty good about this list, this will be the recommended list I send around to the ErstDist list in the next week or two. also as I've done the last few years, I included both Ersts and Gravity Waves for obvious reasons.

=============================================

Antoine Beuger-24 petits préludes pour la guitare (Edition Wandelweiser)
Antoine Beuger/Jürg Frey--Dedalus (Potlatch)
Antoine Beuger/Michael Pisaro-this place / is love (Erstwhile)
Olivia Block-Karren (Sedimental)
Lucio Capece-Less is Less: Music for Flying and Pendulating Speakers (Intonema)
Johnny Chang/Stefan Thut-Two Strings and Boxes (Flexion)
Stephen Cornford/Patrick Farmer-A Measure Of Ground (Consumer Waste)
Devin DiSanto-tracing a boundary (Task)
Kevin Drumm-Earrach (self-released)
Anne Guthrie/Richard Kamerman-Sinter (ErstAEU)
Haco/Toshiya Tsunoda-TramVibration (skiti)
Eva-Marie Houben-Piano Music (Irritable Hedgehog)
Dennis Johnson-November (Irritable Hedgehog/Penultimate Press)
Ernst Karel-Dreiländereck (Very Quiet)
Takahiro Kawaguchi/Choi Joonyong-Suncheon Hyanggyo (Balloon & Needle)
Madoka Kouno-inside-out, outside-in (Hitorri/Improvised Music From Japan)
Eric La Casa/Cedric Peyronnet-Zones Portuaires (Herbal)
Graham Lambkin/Jason Lescalleet-Photographs (Erstwhile)
Lionel Marchetti-23 Formes En Élastique (Sub Jam)
Joe Panzner/Greg Stuart-Dystonia Duos (ErstAEU)
Michael Pisaro-Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds (Gravity Wave)
Michael Pisaro-The Middle of Life (Die ganze Zeit) (Gravity Wave)
Michael Pisaro-The Punishment of the Tribe by its Elders (Gravity Wave)
Eliane Radigue-Naldjorlak I-III (Shiin)
Eliane Radigue-Psi 847 (Oral)
Keith Rowe/Graham Lambkin-Making A (Erstwhile)
James Rushford/Joe Talia-Manhunter (Kye)
Grisha Shakhnes-leave/trace (Glistening Examples)
Kunsu Shim-LOVE (performed by Nick Hennies/Greg Stuart) (Senufo)
Graham Stephenson/Aaron Zarzutzki-Touching (ErstAEU)
Taku Sugimoto/Moe Kamura-Live in Saritote (Ftarri/Improvised Music From Japan)
Stefan Thut-Drei, 1-21 (Edition Wandelweiser)
Toshiya Tsunoda-O Kokos Tis Anixis (Grains of Spring) (edition.t)
Toshiya Tsunoda-The Temple Recording (edition.t)
RLW- Fall Seliger Geister (Dirter)
Manfred Werder-5 ausführende seiten 22-29 (Copy For Your Records)

short list:

Antoine Beuger/Michael Pisaro-this place / is love (Erstwhile)
Olivia Block-Karren (Sedimental LP)
Anne Guthrie/Richard Kamerman-Sinter (ErstAEU)
Haco/Toshiya Tsunoda-TramVibration (skiti)
Graham Lambkin/Jason Lescalleet-Photographs (Erstwhile)
Joe Panzner/Greg Stuart-Dystonia Duos (ErstAEU)
Michael Pisaro-Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds (Gravity Wave)
Graham Stephenson/Aaron Zarzutzki-Touching (ErstAEU)
Toshiya Tsunoda-O Kokos Tis Anixis (Grains of Spring) (edition.t)

my record of the year:

Michael Pisaro-Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds (Gravity Wave)

[jon abbey]

also, I talked about it on FB already, but this was a really great year in live music for NYC (from my narrow/focused perspective), the strongest at least since Tonic closed in 2007. here are my own live highlights from a long list of good to truly memorable shows:

Keith Rowe/Graham Lambkin (Jan 15)
Choi Joonyong/Hong Chulki (Feb 11)
Joe Panzner/Greg Stuart (performing Michael Pisaro's 'Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds' and 'White Metal') (May 26)
Kevin Drumm/Jason Lescalleet (June 1)
Toshiya Tsunoda (Aug 9)
Olivia Block (Sept 14)
Graham Lambkin/Jason Lescalleet (Sept 28)
Malcolm LeGrice/Keith Rowe (Nov 9)

[ambiguous_figures]

there are some really nice albums being mentioned in this thread. im happy to see Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds is your favorite from this year jon! i really enjoyed it as well.

anyway here's a top 20 i made.
1 - Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet - Photographs
2 - Michael Pisaro - Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds
3 - Jakob Ullmann - Fremde Zeit Addendum 4
4 - Astor - Inland
5 - Lionel Marchetti - 5x2 (étude concrète) [EP]
6 - Keith Rowe & Graham Lambkin - Making A
7 - Lee Patterson & Vanessa Rossetto - Temperament as Waveform
8 - Olivia Block - Karren
9 - Antoine Beuger / Jürg Frey - Dedalus
10 - John Butcher, Thomas Lehn & John Tilbury - Exta

11 - Artificial Memory Trace - Currents
12 - Anne Guthrie & Richard Kamerman - Sinter
13 - Graham Lambkin - Abersayne / Attersaye [Single]
14 - Matthew Hopkins - Vent
15 - Lionel Marchetti - 23 formes en élastique
16 - Sarah Hughes - Accidents of Matter or of Space
17 - Katsura Mouri & Tim Olive - Various Histories
18 - James Rushford & Joe Talia - Manhunter
19 - Christopher McFall - Quivering Into Your Blood Night Radio
20 - José Soberanes - Peripheries of Reflection [EP]

I hadn't heard that Ralf Wehowsky yet so it might make an appearance and bump one of these off because I've really enjoyed everything I've heard of his so far. But we'll see.

[javier4w]

1.- Eliane Radigue - Naldjorlak I, II, III (Shiiin)
2.- Dennis Johnson - November (Irritable Hedgehog)
3.- Burkhard Stangl - Unfinished. For William Turner, painter (Touch)
4.- Kunsu Shim - Love (Senufo Editions)
5.- Heiner Goebbels - Stifters dinge (ECM New Series)
6.- Eva-Maria Houben - Piano music (Irritable Hedgehog)
7.- Jakob Ullmann - Fremde zeit addendum 4: solo III für orgel (Edition RZ)
8.- Eliane Radigue - Psi 847 (Oral Records)
9.- Polwechsel - Traces of wood (Hatology)
10.- Bryn Harrison - Vessels (Another Timbre)
11.- Eva-Maria Houben - Yosemite-Duo I/Duo II (Diafani)
12.- Anders Dahl/Skogen - Rows (Another Timbre)
13.- Michael Pisaro - The Punishment of the Tribe by its Elders (Gravity Wave)
14.- Haptic - Abeyance (Entr'acte)
15.- Antoine Beuger - Cantor quartets (Another Timbre)
16.- Nathan McLaughlin - Karen studies (Scissor Tail)
17.- Johnny Chang/Angharad Davies/Jamie Drouin/Phil Durrant/Lee Patterson/John Tilbury - Variable formations (Another Timbre)
18.- Lee Patterson/Vanessa Rossetto - Temperament as waveform (Another Timbre)
19.- Lucio Capece - Less is less (Intonema)
20.- Florian Wittenburg - Sympathetic, (A)Symmetric: New music for piano (Nurnichtnur)