best records of 2009

[Miguel Prado]

encouraged by the bestial billy bao's MAY 08, turning over in my head, here we go:

- Billy Bao - May 08
- Radu Malfatti/Klaus Filip - imaoto
- Keith Rowe - Erstlive 007
- robin hayward / rhodri davies / taku unami - valved strings calculator
- akauzazte danok - s/t
- Sugimoto, Taku, and Taku Unami. Tengu et Kitsune II.
- Capece, Lucio, Julia Eckhardt, Christian Kesten, Radu Malfatti, Toshimaru Nakamura, and Taku Sugimoto. Wedding Ceremony.

in a separate paragraph, I really enjoyed our three releases in taumaturgia

- julien skrobek - double entendre
- radu malfatti / taku unami - goat vs donquey
- ryu hankil - becoming typewriter

[Daniel Jones]

I certainly agree with 'Valved Strings Calculator' - easily a top 5 release for me this year!

But does the solo Keith Rowe release count? It was released December of last year wasn't it? Made a few people's lists back then too if I remember correctly...? I really like it a lot but hadn't heard it in time for my favourites of last year.

I haven't heard 'Imaoto' yet but it's on my Christmas list so I'll hopefully be able to listen in about 8 days...!

I also liked 'Tengu et Kitsune II' a lot but I'm not sure if it'd make my year end list... 'Goat vs. Donkey' and 'Becoming Typewriter' I only got recently too so couldn't process them in time to say whether they'd be in there - definitely like them but I don't find them easy listens!

Got home to 'Dogs in English Porcelain' last night as well and that may very well sneak in there... one listen on headphones and I was pretty engrossed!

Sorry, this is a bit of a pointless post. List to follow soon.. it's been a great year though!

[faster]

Imaoto is a phenomenal record.

[jon abbey]

But does the solo Keith Rowe release count? It was released December of last year wasn't it? Made a few people's lists back then too if I remember correctly...? I really like it a lot but hadn't heard it in time for my favourites of last year.

I think there's always leeway for end-of-the-year releases, depending on when you hear them. for instance, the latest batch of Another Timbres haven't arrived here yet, but that shouldn't preclude them from ever being eligible for a year-end list, too late for this year and too early for next.

[nhennies]

My favorite things this year:

Israel Quellet - Soni Sclavus
Seth Nehil - Flock & Tumble
Michael Pisaro - Hearing Metal 1
irr. app. (ext.) - Kreiselwelle
Jason Kahn - Vanishing Point
Olivier Capparos & Lionel Marchetti - EQUUS
Pierre Berthet - Extended Loudspeakers
Jason Crumer - Walk With Me
nmperign - Ommatidia
Cory Allen - Hearing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Hears

I'm sure there's dozens of good records I haven't heard, as always.

[Daniel Jones]

Actually... the best thing I heard all year was my baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday! Only thing to reduce me to a blubbering idiot anyway!

[bryan]

I think there's always leeway for end-of-the-year releases, depending on when you hear them.

Totally impure, dude.

[Dan Warburton]

You know how much I love Best Of lists , but since people keep asking, these are the ten I sent in to Wire HQ (needless to say this was early November, and a LOT's happened since then.. the Stangl Fagaschinski would probably make the cut too if I did it today)
Again, as I said to Anne at The Wire, these are NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER
Ab Baars / Ig Henneman / Misha Mengelberg SLIPTONG Wig
Borah Bergman / Stefano Pastor LIVE AT TORTONA Mutable
Phil Durrant / Lee Patterson / Paul Vogel BUOY Cathnor
Peter Evans NATURE / CULTURE psi
Group Doueh GUITAR MUSIC FROM THE WESTERN SAHARA Sublime Frequencies
Grutronic ESSEX FOAM PARTY psi
Radu Malfatti / Klaus Filip IMAOTO Erstwhile
Keith Rowe ERSTLIVE 007 Erstwhile (see? it made my list too haha)
Christine Sehnaoui / Michel Waisvisz SHORTWAVE Al Maslakh
V.A. AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE Infrequency

[RFKorp]

Actually... the best thing I heard all year was my baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday! Only thing to reduce me to a blubbering idiot anyway!

congrats!

[schiksalgemeinschaft]

non-eai:
Propaghandi - Supporting Caste
Night Control - Death Control (not metal btw)
Drudkh - Microcosmos
+
The Jesus Lizard reissues

eai-ish:
Imaoto
Neuschnee
EL007 (counts)

most listened to in 2009:
One Day

best live show:
Oneida - August 15, Utrecht, NL

popsingles:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7fav7 ... subt_music
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9ktc2 ... -new_music

[Dohol]

Actually... the best thing I heard all year was my baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday! Only thing to reduce me to a blubbering idiot anyway!

Ohh man...

Your life is going to change forever. In mostly a good way..(At least it's not twins! )


Congratulations!

[Jesse]

Actually... the best thing I heard all year was my baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday!

Sweet, best entry on a best-pre-natal-sounds thread. Congratulations, Daniel.

[jkudler]

congrats, daniel!

i don't usually love year-end lists, mostly because i feel like there's always tons and tons of things i've never heard (still haven't bought my own copy of imaoto, though i've heard it; buoy is on the way, etc.), but i've near-literally constantly had this one in my cd player (i have a 5-disc changer):

annette krebs and rhodri davis - kravis rhonn project (AT)

just gorgeous. lush sounds, excellent placement, perfect balance of surprise/new syntax and pure musical pleasure.

dan - gonna go read your review of grutonic now. first mention i heard was by damon in another thread last week.

-jesse

[jkudler]

oh, and i'll second goat vs. donkey. quite a lot to chew on, a lot of angles to consider it from. very engaging listen.

-j.

[Damon_Smith]

I am voting for Lee Patterson's Egg Fry.

[Daniel Jones]

Thanks everyone - I'm very happy!

So my list, in no particular order, is as follows...

Phil Durrant/Lee Patterson/Paul Vogel - Buoy
Stasis Duo - 3
Patrick Farmer - Apis mellifera, moved to and fro
Barry Chabala - An Unrhymed Chord (for 25 guitars)
Robin Hayward/Rhodri Davies/Taku Unami - Valved Strings Calculator
Andrea Neumann & Ivan Palacky - Pappeltalks
Jez riley French - Audible Silence
Lee Patterson - Seven Vignettes
Thomas Korber & Utah Kawasaki - Pocket Size Isolationism
and I suppose the Keith Rowe CD counts too then!

Lots of good 3" releases too and I'm sure I've missed something or other...

[Jesse]

Will Guthrie~ Spike-s [Picca-disk]

Radu Malfatti/Klaus Filip~ Imaoto [Erstwhile]

Ryu Hankil, Jin Sangtae, Choi Joonyong, Hong Chulki, Park Seungjun, Joe Foster,
Noid, Klaus Fliip, Dieb13, Kai Fagaschinski, Bonnie Jones,Mats Gustafsson,
Taku Sugimoto, Taku Unami, Iida Katsuaki, Toshimaru Nakamura ~ Relay: Archives 2007-2008 [Manual]

Vanessa Rossetto~ Dogs In English Porcelain [Music Appreciation]

Burkhard Stangl/Kai Fagaschinski~ Musik-Ein Portrait In Sehnsucht [Erstwhile]

Phil Durrant/Lee Patterson/Paul Vogel~ Buoy [Cathnor]

Keith Rowe~ Erstlive 007 [Erstwhile]

Asher Thal-Nir~ Miniatures [Sourdine]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fantastic releases on 3" this year:

Ryu Hankil/Bryan Eubanks~ 777 [Cathnor]

Daniel Jones//Jez riley French/Ivan Palackey~ Tierce [Engraved Glass]

Mike Shiflet~ Supreme Trading [Dokuro]

[leroysghost]

no one's mentioned Keith Rowe/Sachiko M - Contact yet, that's the one i've been spinning the most in the second half of this year (the first half being taken up almost entirely by Rowe/Unami - ErstLive006).

i'm pretty sure the rest of my favorites have already been mentioned:

Krebs/Davies - Kravis Rhonn Project
Hayward/Davies/Unami - Valved Strings Calculator
Malfatti/Unami - Goat vs Donkey
Ryu Hankil - Becoming Typewriter
V.A. - Relay: Archives 2007-2008
Yoshida/Nakamura - Soba To Bara (Edit:this one hasn't been mentioned yet, surprisingly)
Nmperign - Ommatidia
Unami/Noid - ㄱ + : * (Edit:i knew i was forgetting something!)

other good ones that i've only had for a short time:
Moniek Darge - Soundies
Graham Lambkin - Softly Softly Copy Copy
Rowe/Nakamura - ErstLive008 (i guess i'm going against the grain a little by saying that ErstLive007 is the one i like the least of the four AMPLIFY sets, though they are all pretty amazing)

i haven't gotten imaoto or Musik - Ein Porträt in Sehnsucht yet, but the excepts i've heard on Godbeni imperializem and elsewhere have been pretty stunning.

also

slept on classics of last year:
Greg Kelley - Self-Hate Index
Christine Sehnaoui/Michel Waisvisz - Shortwave

and

superb and essential compilations/re-issues:
The Shadow Ring - Life Review (1993-2003)
Incapacitants - Box is Stupid

[Dan Warburton]

I think Goat Donkey is pretty slight compared to Imaoto, to be honest, and the recording quality does not do the music justice. I can't see what you're all getting so excited about. The only Unami disc this year I've really enjoyed is the Hayward thing on Hibari.

[Dan Warburton]

..that Krebs Davies on Another Timbre is nice though