So many good records out these days, thought I'd do another chart complete with over-excited comments.
Matt Coleridge December 2003
1. John Spring - Strange - Sub Static
Definitely one of my tracks of the year. Shuffle-bounce, seriously-twisted tech-house. Kompakt distribution group can do no wrong these days. Steve Mack gets the nod for discovering this gem!
2. Layo & Bushwacka! - Let The Good Times Roll (Agoria Mix) - End
Absolutley huge proggy electro techno from one of the players of 2003, Agoria. Sounds like a Colecovision beaten up and left for dead in Phil Spektor's studio.
3. The Visitor - Our Lips Are Sealed/A Month of Sundays - Wall of Sound
Wall of Sound are my pick for label of the year. Two stunning tracks on this new one. One a bouncy retro-electro house vocal, the other a beautiful atmospheric prog piece with a bassline to die for.
4. Flow - Happy Shopper - Cuba
Gorgeous blissed out house, a bit techy, a bit proggy. Killer bassline again.
5. Style of Eye - Back Then - Classic
Badass electronic tech-house, with a wicked old-school feel that comes in at the end.
6. Layo & Bushwacka! - It's Up To You (Lee-Cabrera Dub) - End
Pounding hypnotic dancefloor oriented house with some crazy stutter effects.
7. Righteous - Stay Together - White Label
An incredible bootleg that morphs Tina Turner's "Let's Stay Together" into a M.A.N.D.Y. style blissed out summery proggy house track. The musical idea behind this bootleg is incredibly original, production is excellent and this mystery guy's from Toronto apparently! He's going to go a long way in this industry.
8. BSJ - The Music's In the Stronger (Undo/Redo Mix) - Mantra Vibes
Undo/Redo are the masters of producing DJ oriented club-tool house music. Standing alone it's not a huge piece, but in a DJ set I find it takes on a life of it's own.
9. Sami Koivikko - Materialist - Shitkatapult
Sami's stuff is usually too weird for me but this a sexy deep moody piece with killer compressed 80s drum patterns.
10. M. Mayer - Privat/Amarile - Kompakt
Kompakt have come out of the abstract/just-plain-strange-realm of electro-tech and are releasing some truly killer records. Tech-house/techno meets warm moody house, all with this proggy appeal to them. Definitely a label (and distribution group) to watch in 2004.
11. Kylie Minogue - Slow (Radio Slave) - Parlophone
The original is a beautiful dirty electro-pop piece, the kind of music that I'm so glad will get top-40 radio support. Radio Slave remold it into the chunky future-house experience. And the picture of Kylie on the coloured vinyl is worth the price alone.
12. Funk D'Void - Emotional Content - Soma
Another big moody tech-house piece, maybe not as big as Diablo but still with that subtle yet huge Funk D'Void emotion.
13. Kiki & Silversurfer - Wiredub - Crosstownrebels
Crazy step pattern, shuffle-beat dark ragga techno prog. Sounds like nothing else out there. Claws at you long after it's done like a serious coke addiction.
14. Martina Topley-Bird - I Still Feel(Jori Hulkkonen Mix) - Independiente.
Hulkkonen with a piece of pure musical mastery. Incredible chilled 21st century house.
15. Mysteryman - Electromode - Sub Up
Torturious elecro-trash but programmed in a dirty, angry, I-NEED-more-CRANK techno veign.
16. Featherweight - Featherweight - Boxer Sport
Deep dark progressive house track but still has that hint of german sprokets electro to it. Breaks mix on this rock too. Surprise surprise, Boxer Sport is part of the Kompakt group.
17. International Pony - Leaving Home (Radio Slave) - Skint
Radio Slave definitely hot right now. This is simple build it up, build it down house. But it has this awesome warm soul to it.
18. Roland Klinkenberg - Bounce & @/Melting Point - Taste
Melting Point is dark pounding 5am tribal prog and Bounce is a killer bassline driven tech track.
19. Noncando - Living in A New World - SOG
My most progressive record by far, and it's incredible. Sounds like full-on peak-time Underworld.
20. Chemical Brothers feat. Flaming Lips - Golden Path (Ewan Pearson Dub) - Virgin
Still my biggest record after a few months. Ewan Pearson dumps the vocals for the dub and destroys it with a massive come-out of nowhere explosion of a finale.
Matt Coleridge December 2003
1. John Spring - Strange - Sub Static
Definitely one of my tracks of the year. Shuffle-bounce, seriously-twisted tech-house. Kompakt distribution group can do no wrong these days. Steve Mack gets the nod for discovering this gem!
2. Layo & Bushwacka! - Let The Good Times Roll (Agoria Mix) - End
Absolutley huge proggy electro techno from one of the players of 2003, Agoria. Sounds like a Colecovision beaten up and left for dead in Phil Spektor's studio.
3. The Visitor - Our Lips Are Sealed/A Month of Sundays - Wall of Sound
Wall of Sound are my pick for label of the year. Two stunning tracks on this new one. One a bouncy retro-electro house vocal, the other a beautiful atmospheric prog piece with a bassline to die for.
4. Flow - Happy Shopper - Cuba
Gorgeous blissed out house, a bit techy, a bit proggy. Killer bassline again.
5. Style of Eye - Back Then - Classic
Badass electronic tech-house, with a wicked old-school feel that comes in at the end.
6. Layo & Bushwacka! - It's Up To You (Lee-Cabrera Dub) - End
Pounding hypnotic dancefloor oriented house with some crazy stutter effects.
7. Righteous - Stay Together - White Label
An incredible bootleg that morphs Tina Turner's "Let's Stay Together" into a M.A.N.D.Y. style blissed out summery proggy house track. The musical idea behind this bootleg is incredibly original, production is excellent and this mystery guy's from Toronto apparently! He's going to go a long way in this industry.
8. BSJ - The Music's In the Stronger (Undo/Redo Mix) - Mantra Vibes
Undo/Redo are the masters of producing DJ oriented club-tool house music. Standing alone it's not a huge piece, but in a DJ set I find it takes on a life of it's own.
9. Sami Koivikko - Materialist - Shitkatapult
Sami's stuff is usually too weird for me but this a sexy deep moody piece with killer compressed 80s drum patterns.
10. M. Mayer - Privat/Amarile - Kompakt
Kompakt have come out of the abstract/just-plain-strange-realm of electro-tech and are releasing some truly killer records. Tech-house/techno meets warm moody house, all with this proggy appeal to them. Definitely a label (and distribution group) to watch in 2004.
11. Kylie Minogue - Slow (Radio Slave) - Parlophone
The original is a beautiful dirty electro-pop piece, the kind of music that I'm so glad will get top-40 radio support. Radio Slave remold it into the chunky future-house experience. And the picture of Kylie on the coloured vinyl is worth the price alone.
12. Funk D'Void - Emotional Content - Soma
Another big moody tech-house piece, maybe not as big as Diablo but still with that subtle yet huge Funk D'Void emotion.
13. Kiki & Silversurfer - Wiredub - Crosstownrebels
Crazy step pattern, shuffle-beat dark ragga techno prog. Sounds like nothing else out there. Claws at you long after it's done like a serious coke addiction.
14. Martina Topley-Bird - I Still Feel(Jori Hulkkonen Mix) - Independiente.
Hulkkonen with a piece of pure musical mastery. Incredible chilled 21st century house.
15. Mysteryman - Electromode - Sub Up
Torturious elecro-trash but programmed in a dirty, angry, I-NEED-more-CRANK techno veign.
16. Featherweight - Featherweight - Boxer Sport
Deep dark progressive house track but still has that hint of german sprokets electro to it. Breaks mix on this rock too. Surprise surprise, Boxer Sport is part of the Kompakt group.
17. International Pony - Leaving Home (Radio Slave) - Skint
Radio Slave definitely hot right now. This is simple build it up, build it down house. But it has this awesome warm soul to it.
18. Roland Klinkenberg - Bounce & @/Melting Point - Taste
Melting Point is dark pounding 5am tribal prog and Bounce is a killer bassline driven tech track.
19. Noncando - Living in A New World - SOG
My most progressive record by far, and it's incredible. Sounds like full-on peak-time Underworld.
20. Chemical Brothers feat. Flaming Lips - Golden Path (Ewan Pearson Dub) - Virgin
Still my biggest record after a few months. Ewan Pearson dumps the vocals for the dub and destroys it with a massive come-out of nowhere explosion of a finale.
(& some great choices as always...)...