favorite releases of 2010

[Notice Recordings]

Here is a year-end list for Notice Recordings :

EVAN LINDORFF-ELLERY :

Graham Lambkin / Jason Lescalleet - Air Supply (Erstwhile)
Once again these two (Gentleman) have created something completely unique, despite a similar textural palette used from Breadwinner -- (but maybe they can't help that). I am completely taken into and within these sounds. All the miniature atmospherics coalesce into something slightly industrious and unfamiliar while remaining mostly pastoral and domestic. Everything works in conflict and compliment. Furthermore, the compositional placement of sound is flawless to my ears -- certainly a subjective analysis -- but I feel every sound fares better based on what came before and what is to come.
Totally original and innovative yet folkish and firmly grounded in the "high-class" of the contemporary music tradition, whatever that is.

Rhodri Davies / John Butcher - Carliol (Ftarri)

Annette Krebs / Taku Unami - Motubachii (Erstwhile)

Harley Gaber - Indra's Net (Edition RZ)

John Cage / (Ulrich Krieger) - A Cage of Saxophones, Vols. 3 & 4 (Mode Records)
Although seeming a bit sonically disconnected from what John Cage might have intended, I'm sure that's far from an issue. The performances and sounds on this CD are complete perfection and a fantastic display of the saxophone's capabilities, especially on the Number Pieces. Fittingly comfortable amongst modern "contemporary" releases, and an interesting contribution to John Cage's recorded history.

John Cage / Terry Jennings (perf. by John Tilbury / Sebastian Lexer) - Lost Daylight (Another Timbre)

John Cage (perf. by Friedrich Gauwerky / Mark Knoop) - Etudes Boreales / Harmonies / 10'40.3'' (Wergo)

John Cage (perf. by Annelie Gahl / Klaus Lang) - Melodies & Harmonies (Col Legno)
I'm unsure how I feel about this release. The compositions presented, Six Melodies and Thirteen Harmonies (taken from Apartment House 1776), are some of my favourite Cage pieces, and their respective histories are fascinating. That's another story. I question, however, the choice of the Fender Rhodes as the "keyboard" accompaniment to Annelie Gahl's vibrato-less violin. Klaus Lang's playing is lovingly sparse and well-paced, but it at times displaces and isolates the violin's more homey, traditional sound. There are wonderful moments, however, which somehow work, such as during the nearly epic Harmony 5. I have conflicting feelings in the end. At times I feel that the monochromatic spherical shapes produced by the Rhodes allow the violin to freely wander throughout the remaining spaces -- and yet sometimes the Rhodes is so pure and unforgiving that the amorphous resonance of the sounds produced by the violin's wooden chamber have no reasonable place to go. Lastly, I feel the sequencing of the tracks is all wrong. Scattering Six Melodies into disconnected parts makes their small movements seem less like miniature fascinations with melody and more like fragments of something far greater. The disc is lovingly presented, very well recorded by Christoph Amann, and I have the utmost respect for approaching these pieces in this way. However, my issues still hold precedence.

Rolf Julius - Music For The Ears - ( Small Music No. 1 ) (Western Vinyl)

Michael Pisaro, Barry Chabala - Black, White, Red, Green, Blue (Voyelles) (Winds Measure Recordings)

John Butcher - Trace (Tapeworm)
This is why the cassette tape medium can often function so well. These are glimpses into Butcher's experiments with the saxophone body's resonance, controlled feedback and breathing techniques. I don't find these ready for the traditional LP format, but it's wonderful that they're available and moreover relegated to specific "sides" of physical media. Cassette tapes allow artists to put forth examples of experiments in sound without worrying about the conceptual baggage of the finished, often overworked LP, and this release is a fine example of that.

Eleh - Location Momentum (Touch)

Jana Winderen - Energy Field (Touch)

Infinite Body - Carve Out The Face Of My God (Post Present Medium)

Mark Fell - Multistability (Raster Noton)
Still confounding, monumental, arrogant and beautiful. Thanks for this one.

Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal (Editions Mego)

Hecker - 3 Track 12" (Editions Mego)

Various - Monkeytek Hi-fi Volume 1 (Mississippi Records)

Ada Van Hoorebeke / L.R.J. Martens - De Eeuwige Jachtvelden (Cetacean Nation Cassettes)

Mirror to Mirror - Heart (Ekhein)

Talugung - Mole Crickets ( House of Sun)

Thoughts on Air - Mallo Yallo (Cloud Valley)

Harmonizer - [Self-titled] (NNA Tapes)
Thank you Jon Hassell for laying the other-worldly sonic groundwork for releases like this.

Marcel Türkowsky / Dolphins Into The Future - In Search Of The Miraculous / Fourth Possible Musics (Stenze Quo Musik)
My favourite tape of the year.

Tuluum Shimmering - Heart Of Sky Heart Of Earth (Housecraft Records)


TRAVIS BIRD :
Giuseppe Ielasi - Aix (Minority Records)
Expo 70 - Where Does The Mind Go ? (Immune Recordings)
Akira Rabelais - Caduceus (Samadhisound)
Jon Mueller - The Whole (Type)
Ashley Paul - To Much Togethers (R.E.L Records)
Thomas Koener - Nunatak • Teimo • Permafrost (Type)
Joshua Abrams - Natural Information (Eremite)
Friedrich Cerha - Spiegel (Kairos)
Corridors - Corridors (Sedimental Records)
Pikelet - Stem (Chapter)
Mike Reed's Loose Assembly w/ Roscoe Mitchell - Empathetic Parts (482 Music)

[Notice Recordings]

life changing discovery of the year: alfred schnittke

runner up: AMM

Can you elaborate on this a bit ? What do you recommend from Schnittke ?

[joeperucki]

however, there was one record that really lit me up :



Annette Krebs + Taku Unami - motubachii [Erstwhile]

I agree. It's been 3 years since I enjoyed a record at this level. I love every second.

[grisha]

i came into motubachii w/no knowledge/experience listening to annette krebs or taku unami, and i find most (aside from the first track) of the cd to be too dry and un-engaging.

how did you like the last track?

anyway, i'm with david. motubachii is easily my favourite album of the year (though i haven't heard that many this year). it's really been a while i heard a piece of music so confounding, challenging and enjoyable at the same time. it's absolutely not about the sounds used (though i can tell there is plenty). it's not about how it was done (though honestly i don't think i could ever guess). it's just doesn't really sound like anything i've ever heard, and instead of becoming familiar and it just becomes more confusing with each listen. and it's beautiful and a lot of fun, too.

"AIr Supply" would be the second. i was initially disappointed, probably expecting something along the lines of "Breadwinner" (which is one of my favourite records ever). took me a while to discover it's hidden charms, along with the amount of detail that is actually there. a tricky record, don't let it fool you into thinking it's just a nice drone.

and finally: syndromes - temporary perspectives. great job, kostis. hope the next one will be even better. more people should hear it, is all i can say.

[jkudler]

Annette Krebs + Taku Unami - motubachii [Erstwhile]

i had a stack of new releases on my desk but for some reason i kept listening to this disc. i love the way it was recorded--i love jon's production and sequencing (even the mischievous duplicate track).

jon produced and sequenced this?

-j.

[jon abbey]

if you're going to essentially put me on the spot, production can mean a lot of things and it was of course a collaborative effort, but I certainly had a fair amount of input. the duplicate track was my idea.

[dronist]

Many of my 2010 favourite cds appear in lists above, I won't repeat them but I didn't see this one:
"Free Classical Guitars" under FF HHH rec, samples among other ones there: http://soundcloud.com/ffhhh

[vamos]

life changing discovery of the year: alfred schnittke

runner up: AMM

Can you elaborate on this a bit ? What do you recommend from Schnittke ?

to start:

the first symphony

concerto for piano and strings


after that, anything

[sevenarts]

I've put up my best of the year up at my blog.

[DarkAttraktor]

[Snow Dog]

A few highlights from 2010

CD/LP
Smegma: Mirage (Important
Jazkamer: The Monroe Doctrine (Pica Disk)
Jazkamer: The Young Person's Guide to Jazkamer
Shining: Blackjazz (Indie Recordings)
Celeste: Morte(s) Nee(s) (Denovali)
Torstein Wjiik: Wjiik Let Angreben Af Influenza (Ambolthue)
Puma: Half Nelson Courtship (Rune Grammofon)
Lisa Dillan: Arousal (AIMsoundCity)

DVD
Rush: Beyond the lighted stage
(I know... I'm a jerk)

[grisha]

I've put up my best of the year up at my blog.

that's an intersting and beautifully written list. thanks, ed.

[RFKorp]

Jazkamer: The Monroe Doctrine (Pica Disk)
Jazkamer: The Young Person's Guide to Jazkamer

I was totally overwhelmed by all the Jazkamer CDs this year and couldn't afford the subscription when it started. Good to finally get some favorite picks from someone. May I ask which others were you debating putting on this list?

[notoriousd]

My favourites were:

John Zorn & Fred Frith - Late Works
Nate Wooley & Paul Lytton: creak above 33
Kihnoua - Unauthorized Caprices
Axel Dörner / Kazuo Imai / Nobuyoshi Ino / Noritaka Tanaka - rostbeständige Zeit
Doneda / Russel / Turner - The cigar that talks
Mural - Nectars of Emergence
Ingar Zach - M.O.S.
Vertex - Shapes & Phases
Agostino Di Scipio / Mario Gabola - UpSet
Ithaca Trio & Machinefabriek - Par Avion
Cogburn / Jones / Rainey - Arena Ladridos

These are grouped according to a vague sense of style, so if you like one of those records, then you will probably enjoy the ones which surround it.

I can also recommend the "Musica Improvvisa" 10CD box set on die Schachtel which has a good variety of variety of new improvised music from Italy

EDIT: I forgot to mention the electroacoustic album --- Maja S.K. Ratkje & Lasse Marhaug - Music For Gardening
and also --- mathias forge & olivier toulemonde - pie ‘n’ mash

[notoriousd]

Jazkamer: The Monroe Doctrine (Pica Disk)
Jazkamer: The Young Person's Guide to Jazkamer

I was totally overwhelmed by all the Jazkamer CDs this year and couldn't afford the subscription when it started. Good to finally get some favorite picks from someone. May I ask which others were you debating putting on this list?

I hadn't heard these guys before thanks!! It seems diffucult to find interesting noise music like this...

[LBx]

-> this guy <- was one of my favourites. i don't recall how i came about it, but am glad i did... would love to see a vinyl reissue.


and this:


and a few Lamps 7ers

not much in the way of noise-making-e.a.-improv stuff that people flip out over 'round here though. i'm pretty picky.





most of the stuff that really did it for me last year was from around the middle 2000's though: a good chunk of the whole Terry, Jim C, and etc arc / Spectre Folk / Mammal ~ 'Lonesome Drifter' / a ton of private press type folk stuff / an intro to Negative Trend 30 years late / blah blah blah...


and the OFF! singles i finally got around to listening too last week.

[Notice Recordings]

life changing discovery of the year: alfred schnittke

Can you elaborate on this a bit ? What do you recommend from Schnittke ?

to start:

the first symphony

concerto for piano and strings

after that, anything

Thank you.

[Snow Dog]

Jazkamer: The Monroe Doctrine (Pica Disk)
Jazkamer: The Young Person's Guide to Jazkamer

I was totally overwhelmed by all the Jazkamer CDs this year and couldn't afford the subscription when it started. Good to finally get some favorite picks from someone. May I ask which others were you debating putting on this list?

Yes, the subscription really boosted the discography, and for me it was well worth the money as I re-discovered them, and showed me some new interesting sides of them as well. We Want Epic Drama was certainly equally fun to listen to as The Monroe Doctrine, and Solitary Nail was piercing my brain in a good/hurting manner. It comes down to taste anyway, and you might want to have a look at the reviews I did of some of them: http://fishbonery.blogspot.com/search/label/Jazkamer
(I'm kind of slow on finding time, but eventually I will review them all...)

[Snow Dog]

Ingar Zach - M.O.S.

I was wondering if should get it, what was it like?

EDIT: I forgot to mention the electroacoustic album --- Maja S.K. Ratkje & Lasse Marhaug - Music For Gardening

Yes, also one I forgot! Usually I find most things Lasse gets his hands into quite good (as with Jazkamer)

[notoriousd]

Ingar Zach - M.O.S.

I was wondering if should get it, what was it like?

If you liked anything else with Ingar Zach I think you'll like it because it traverses all of his different playing styles. It starts off with a lot of bell ringing with some other delicate percussion, building up a cloud of shifting overtones over the rhythm; then it becomes full on drone with motorised percussion, electronics, and sruti boxes. After that the tonal presence dwindles, leaving a lot of nice clicking and whirring sounds behind . He then starts to use more silence, which he surrounds with some of that crazy bass drum wailing stuff closer to his old-style of playing (which was influenced by drummers like Oxley and Lytton) before he goes back to some crisp bell-ringing. The sound quality and mix of this album is also impeccable and much better than that of his previous solo album.