Yes, it is incredibly, "that time of year" when we take stock of the year's (and the decade's) greatest moments in music, film, books etc. Once again, in the next few weeks we will be getting "Best Of" lists from a variety of our friends both in and out of the music biz and once again, I will kick things off with my own picks. Feel free to chime in with what rocked your world this year. My Best of 2009 Bob Duskis- Co-Founder Six Degrees Records
Try as I may, I cannot think of another global/electronica record that I have enjoyed more this year than Liquid Stranger'sIntergalactic Slapstick. Martin Staaf has taken all of the crunchy, "bass in your face" power that I love about Dubstep and liberally mixed in elements that many of his contemporaries routinely leave out. (you know, little things like melody, nuance, texture and dynamics). I think this is a landmark release that stretches genres in wonderfully "ear opening" ways while still remaining accessible. If you've been wanting to "dip your toes" into the dubstep waters, look no further for the perfect entry point.
The Bon Iver Award for Best Singer Songwriter of the Year: J. Tillman- Year in the Kingdom- Don't let the fact that J. Tillman is the drummer for the now hugely popular Fleet Foxes, fool you. While I like the Foxes, I infinitely prefer Tillman's darker and more intimate songs to his band's relentlessly sunny harmonies. This is gorgeous music for people who like their singer songwriter's music to be both "haunting" and "haunted"
Most Enjoyable Movies of the Year: Tie between Pirate Radio & Fantastic Mr. Fox Notice that I don't say "Best" movies of the year. Neither one of these films is a groundbreaking work of genius- but both of them had me grinning from ear to ear throughout their entire running time. (Nowadays, that's a rare & beautiful gift). Mr. Fox was breezy, charming and perfectly enjoyable for my entire family (another incredible rarity) and Pirate Radio reminded me why I fell in love with radio as a kid and how much radio helped me to fall in love with music for life.
Best Book About Demons (Both Personal & Literal): Graham Joyce- How to Make Friends With Demons- Originally published in the UK as Confessions of a Master Forger, under the alias W. Heaney, Graham Joyce's latest is now out in the U.S. under a new title and under the author's real name. This tale of a book forger who can see the actual "personal demons" that have attached themselves to many of us, is a beautifully written examination of suffering & redemption and the often agonizingly difficult task of "getting on with life" despite the sins of the past. Although this sounds heavy, it is in fact often incredibly funny and acerbic and a pleasure to read throughout. You can't go wrong with anything by this wonderfully gifted author.
Best "Flipped Out" Band that has amazingly broken into the mainstream: Animal Collective- I'm not quite sure what it means when a group as beautifully bizarre as Animal Collective is showing up on the Billboard Pop Charts but I'm pretty sure that it's a good thing. Both the full length, Merriweather Post Pavilion and the new, Fall Be Kind EP were fantastic slices of hallucinogenic dream pop that conjure up images of the Beach Boys on some South American, shamanic drug ritual. It will be interesting to see what sneaks through the crack in the door that Animal Collective have pried open in the months to come. http://www.sacurrent.com/sb/72025/arts_friendswdemons_CMYK.jpg
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The new David Starfire full length lp, Bollyhood Bass is coming out on January 12th, the much anticipated album features collaborations with Freq Nasty, The Ragga Twins, iCatching and many more. In the meantime David has been busy remixing some amazing tracks like 'Koli Stance' by Sub Swara off their Coup d'Yah Remixes Volume 3 EP, who were kind enough to share this track with us today. David took it to some tribal dubstep areas, for all the low-end lovers! If you dig it you can embed the widget wherever you like by clicking "share" button. If you like the track, you can check out and buy the Coup d'Yah Remixes Volume 3 EP here. More information on David Starfire can be found here.
I love finding out about scrappy, like minded labels tucked away in the different corners of the world. For many years now, I have been corresponding with my man Roach from African Dope Records based out of South Africa. Far from your pre-conceived notions of what a South African label should sound like, African Dope has been putting out releases that focus on everything from hip hop, dubstep, breaks and glitch electronica all with a modern African flavor.
The label's excellent new "Cape of Good Dope 2 Mix" serves as a nice primer to what they are all about.
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Our friends at the fine Interchill label are releasing the latest from the great Liquid Stranger on Oct. 16th. The new album is called The Intergalactic Slapstick and to my ears, it is one of the most enjoyable fusions of dub, dubstep and psy-dub that I've ever heard. This is music that brings the bass in big, fat slabs but never forgets to throw texture and melody into the mix in large helpings. Whether you are a seasoned dubstep fiend or you're just dipping your toes into the bassbin shaking waters, this is an artist well worth exploring further. Be sure to check out the full record when it comes out, as well as the great remix Liquid Stranger did for our own Bombay Dub Orchestra for their 3 Cities in Dub release.
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is out now!
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