We asked for a top 10 favourites of 2018 the following: Khmer Rouge, Filtig (Fyta), Morah (Phormix), Pop tektonism (antiplayboy), Ur:Vaald (Sacra Geometria, Jacuelline), Manos (Last days of s.e.x., Solar Anus, Black Spring), ΔreamCcore , Carina, Kangela Tromokratisch, Kalpa

• MUN SING – Scissor & best live of 2018
• K.A. Posse – Our Love Stops And Goes (Re)
• François Bayle ‎– Electrucs ! (Re)
• Steve Coleman – Live at the Village
• Neana ‎– Evaser
• Teresa Winter – What The Night is For
• Amnesia Scanner — Another Life
• The Sprawl – EP 2
• Debit – Animus
• Eliza McCarthy Mica Levi – Slow Dark Green Murky Waterfall

• SOPHIE – Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides : Queer post-pop from a simultaneously accelerationist and utopian future and for a generation that feels equally at home with Lady Gaga and Autechre – let alone a project that combines the two! An important political work of our era.
• Hannah Silva – Talk In a Bit :The dadaist project of concrete poetry minus the all-male clever-dick-ness and combined with contemporary feminist politics and a dash of post-punk/DIY orchestration messthetics. A super complex work; proceed if you’re brave.
• Gazelle Twin – Pastoral : While the UK deals again with the colonial ghosts (of the past?), Gazelle Twin constructs a fantastic anti-pastoral anti-traditionalist satire with spoken repetitions, a superb avant-pop production, sampling of all sorts and an overall musical result that is utterly unclassifiable.
• Laibach – The Sound of Music : Laibach were the first band of a western context to play in North Korea and upon this invitation, they decided to present the soundtrack to the Sound of Music, a piece that defines notions of dreams, hopes and utopia for the ‘west’ (via Hollywood). Years on end, Laibach remain conceptual art pioneers.
• Miss Red – K.O. : Orchestration simplicity and political immediacy that reminds of early MIA. Extremely catchy dancehall music, finished off with a gently compressed production that leaves a breathing space to the listener. A discussion about whether a white israeli is culturally appropriating this sound has come up, but i won’t discuss this here.
• Marie Davidson – Working Class Woman : Spoken word and tons of humour over minimal electro and techno are the tools to paint a picture of the dark sides of club culture and share moments from the life of a female DJ. Intense, claustrophobic and self-referential, this is a dance meta-opera.
• 700 Bliss – Spa 700 : Drum and other machines, pitch-benders that distort vocals making them gender-fluid, open forms, postcolonial arabesques and more wonderful bits and pieces take place in the industrial hip-hop of Spa 700.
• Julia Holter – Aviary : Aviary is the most experimental so far offering from the ultimate avant-pop chanteuse of our era, lasting over 90 minutes! Incredible chamber pop instrumentations, rhythmic art-rock dissonance, personal stories mingle into a psychedelic folk for the future. More Kate Bush than Kate herself.
• Lucrecia Dalt – Anticlines : If the early work of Laurie Anderson and the abstract sounds and loops of Daphne Oram had an offspring, this album would be it. A mix of epistemological spoken word poetics and organised noise. Note: i have generally noticed that when people with a polytechnics background attempt to do art-pop the result is generally great
• Deena Abdelwahed – Khonnar : An artist from the (not so clearly defined but utterly fascinating) movement of arabfuturism, Deena Abdelwahed from Tunisia brings together a brutal dance production and mesmerising microtonal vocals to talk about the arabic term “khonnar”: that which is dark, hidden, shameful, unspoken of.

• Michael Idehall- Prophecies of The Storm (Ant-Zen) : A record that strongly emphasizes on a ritualistic path, that uses industrial mode as a pillar. In almost all of its known forms. While at the same time maintaining an ecstatic level of modulations: intense, rhythmic, animistic, seductive.
• Sëmandjëtrurité – Sëmandjëmendoré Ështënjë Njerëzimin (demo/self-released) : A haunting surprise, part of an unnamed circle of bands coming from Bosnia- Herzegovina. A totally lo- fi form of industrial ambiance that reeks of aerial movements. And feasts upon hazy, mystical terrains. A darkly electronic aspect of an abstract future reflection.
• Arkouzis – This Hollow World Knows Only Death (Sphingidae) : Death drone by this project, that merges death industrial motives and dark ambient accelerations into a spinning equilibrium. Bass heavy motion is prevalent, leading a palette of earthbound frequencies to a limitless climax. Destructive purity.
• Moonshine Effect – Our Eyes Should Meet (Moonshine Effect Recordings) : Elegant and beautiful art pop by this local unit. One of the best debuts of this year, it is a standing proof of a unification process: Nick Drake, Belle and Sebastian, Mazzy Star and Guy- Ernest Debord being its fountains. Velveteen dust surrounds us.
• The Cyclothymics- s/t (Είσοδος Κινδύνου) : Dada psych amalgamation. A blending of charm and inner/ outer oscillations. Drifting among past narrations along with a vivid sense of mutiny, this is a truly captivating record. Discretely spectacular.
• Skullflower- Werecat Powers Of The Crossroads At Midnight (Nashazphone) : Skullflower’ s presence here should come as no surprise. Orientalism, as a phrase rather than a sense, personified in a myriad of hypnotic drones. Inwards, reaching divine points that Tony Conrad and the Taj Mahal Travellers had once touched. From Kether to Malkuth.
• Spectral Lore/ Jute Gyte- Helian (I, Voidhanger) : Eclectic asceticism on Jute Gyte’s behalf. Majestic magnificence on Ayloss’ side. Another glimpse at future tendencies, perhaps. As well as an artistic triumph: re-shaping metal’ s limitations into a sea of oblivious images.
• Grouper- Grid Of Points (Kranky) : Not a full-length, not that it matters, actually. Grouper’ s sounds define beauty. And each release is a testament to that essence that her work is known for. Touching yet rewarding. Beyond words and worlds.
• Julia Kent, Jean DL- The Great Lake Swallows (Gizeh) : Vulnerability as power, in a series of wet landscapes. These compositions move awkwardly, giving shape to a majestic whole. Lake poetry, that is. Of grand proportions.
• Puce Mary- The Drought (PAN) : Perhaps the most ambitious name in contemporary noise, she is. And, instead of delivering a hipster type of exposure, she prefers to give birth to a collection of vibrant noises and signals. That lead to an ecstatic celebration.
• Disequilibrium- Material Substratum (The Throat) : The epitome of raw black metal, that actually stretches so far beyond, that, in the end, seems to defy the typical standards of the genre. Tortuous, yet enormously solemn.

• PRINCESS NOKIA: A Girl Cried Red, Digital EP/12”Vinyl, Rough Trade. : Some people were disappointed with her new ep, some others called it an emo parody. In my case, A Girl Cried Red is the album that I’ve listened the most for 2018. The answer for the music critiques is given in hwe song At the Top “I got everything I want, without anybody help. Do you think I give a fuck? Only care about myself, I’m a stone-cold killer, couple notches on my belt”
• Nicki Minaj: Queen, LP/CD, Young Money Entertainment/ Cash Money Records. No need to introduce you Nicki because either you’ll love her or hate her already. But that’s normal because she is a Queen!
• ADIKIA: Limbo, Digital EP ADIKIA’S new EP is a classic ADIKIA masterpiece! Explicit feminist rap from Helsinki. Unapologetic style, extreme flows and smashing productions are the basic characteristics of Limbo.
• AJA: AJA, Cassette, Opal Tapes. Harsh noisy techno with vocals and screams. AJA’s debut album is one of my Best of noisy music releases When I first met AJA’s work I immediately got fascinated by her flashy aesthetics and her harsh poppy sounds. I think that she is one of the most promising names in the noisy electronic “underground”.
• Enamuredweep: En Död Hare, Cassette, Confusion Specialist Records. What is going to happen if you combine emo, 8bit and Dark Ambient? Most probably a fail! This release is the sweetest failure I have ever listened to. En Död Hare It is really annoying, sweet, dark, obscure and charmy album.
• Bjørn Hatterud: Pataphysical Attractions at the Gym, Cassette, AntiPlay Boy the Label : This Cassette is full of Sticky gum synths, Pink liquid soundscapes and a lot fluid beats. I think that’s enough to be a favorite.
• Martyria: Martyria, CD/LP/Cassette, Malignant Records : One of my favorite one woman weird black metal project APOTOME is collaborating with one of my favorite one man weird black metal project This Is Past. Ok the result is not so weird but it is waking up my nightmares in the orthodox church and due to some personal traumatic experiences I am enjoying it.
• Free Aktion: Be Love Now, Vinyl LP, Half-Night Productions. : I am so Happy of having the opportunity to get to know this album. Its just a great house music experience and a bit experimental. Such a nice release, It makes me feel happy!
• Hvisdajek, Fetveit: Hvisdajek, Fetveit, LP/CD, Sanntids Musikk : Agnes Hvisdajek and Harald Fetveit are a noise improv duo. Agnes is doing vocal improvisation and Harald is playing electronics. The description sounds boring but the album has some of the most interesting sounds that I’ve listened to for a while.
• PAOLA: Den se fovame ourane, CD, PANIK PAOLA is back with a not so powerful album compare to her previous masterpiece Krivw Alitia but Den se fovame ourane is still PAOLA album and it’s still good! Best Moment of the album is Den Prepei.

• Cienfuegos – Fallen Angel Back Tattoo (Dead Gods)
• House of Kenzo- Bonfires of Urbanity (Ascetic House)
• OPERANT – Harnessed to Flesh (Instruments of Discipline)
• Lana del Rabies – Shadow World (Deathbomb)
• Hiro Kone- Pure Expenditure (Dais Records)
• Kris Baha- In your Arms (She lost kontrol)
• The Black Book- Various Artists (Ideal Recordings)
• The Empire Line- Rave (Northern Electronics)
• Techno Thriller – enfant de Sodom (unknown precept)
• Morah- The vessels of blood (return to disorder)

• Jasmine Infiniti – SiS “SiS is a work of very personal and emotional thematic material. It’s dealing with my experience as a black trans woman in this new era, in a time of discovery and publicity, where the gaze of the media found its attention on us, a time where Paris is Burning exists as a historical document. It’s for my sisters. It’s a commentary on fear, sexuality, the importance of community and camaraderie, and the anger and shade of it all. It’s also about how we are more similar than we are different, how more of us are sisters than we know.”
• ASJ – The Road To Become One “A Spiritual Journey (ASJ) is a Hong Kong born and raised producer. Thus birthed an album of highly melodious tracks, built on a bed of humanized sound textures that echo her motivation to drive the listener on an emotional and rejuvenating journey.“
• Sophia Loizou – Irregular Territories “With one foot in late ‘90s halcyon daze, and another toeing the future, Sophia combines a lust for the ruffneck with a sharp mind for complex structural integrity and inventive aesthetic.”
• TIRZAH – Devotion Tirzah’ s first LP Devotion, has smooth experimental pop vibes. Her bittersweet words when listen together with her vocal , makes you believe that this is the most honest album of 2018.
• LSDXOXO – BODY MODS The best dance album for this year, LSDXOXO is based in between NYC and Berlin, and the ambiance of his music and sets makes you wanna posing and voguing- thinking of ball culture in the late ’80s.
• RAIME – Am I Using Content Or Is Content Using Me? ”It’s thrilling, edge-of-seat music, and a relative breath of fresh air that’s certain to flip presumptions of Raime on their head and offer their followers a shocking new spin on their cherished sound. ”
• Dj Richard – Dies Ir? Xerox ”Picking up where he left us with the darker themes of Grind [2015], the NYC/Berlin-stationed producer pretty much leaves the slinkier house and techno themes for dust in order to better explore mutant, classic hardcore strains of electronic music in his own way.”
• M.D James – 5 Year Lapse ”Comprised of both sampled and original work, it is thematically situated within a liminal personal psyche, outlining a path towards health and power that requires the invocation of trauma and perceived self-harm.”
• Throwing Snow – Loma ”Simmer : This is the track I’ve always wanted to write. It combines many of my musical loves in one, it feels like jungle but at 125bpm. The main synth sound (the MFB Dominion Club) moves from a sub bass through to a 303 like acid work out and back again.’‘
• Basile3 – Malaise En Apparence ”Basile3 is a synth poet skilled-amateur. He navigates through the different energies he perceives and develops his syncretic sonic visions.”

• Gang Gang Dance “Kazuashita”
• Vinyl Williams “Opal”
• Matias Aguayo & the Desdemonas “Sofanopolis”
• The Breeders “All Nerve”
• Christeene “Basura”
• Noseholes “Danger Dance”
• Maoupa Mazzocchetti “Gag Flag”
• Gabe Guernsey “Physical”
• Guerilla Toss “Twisted Crystal”
• Tune-Yards “I can feel you creep into my private life”
  
  

• Doris Norton ‎– Nortoncomputerforpeace (2018 Reissue)
• Cyrnai ‎– 1980-1990 (2018 Reissue)
• 23 Skidoo – Seven Songs (2018 Reissue) 
• Siglo XX ‎– Dreams Of Pleasure (2018 Reissue)
• Die Krupps ‎– I (2018 Reissue)
• Throbbing Gristle ‎– Journey Through A Body (2018 Reissue)
• Nurse With Wound ‎– Homotopy To Marie (2018 Reissue)
• Various ‎– The Bedroom Tapes (A Compilation Of Minimal Wave From Around The World 1980-1991) (2018 Reissue)
• Alan Vega ‎– Power On To Zero Hour (2018 Reissue)
• Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft ‎– Gold Und Liebe (2018 Reissue)

• The Armed – Only love A pop album which is made out of chaos and nihilism that only hardcore/punk is able to deliver.
• Gouge Away – Burnt Sugar 90s punk/rock music filtered by a modern hardcore/punk band. The effect is like salted caramel.
• IDLES – Joy As An Act Of Resistance Politically charged post-punk with aggressive attitude and psychedelic twists, made in England.
• Birds In Row – We Already Lost The World The French trio behind the European screamo/hardcore punk wheel adds more layers to their emotional depth and reaches a wider audience with this one.
• Will Haven – Muerte Sacramento, CA quintet’s recipe is well-documented and extremely familiar by now, and yet this album sounds as fierce and menacing as any other in their back catalogue.
• Wayste – The Flesh & Blood Blasting hardcore punk from Leipzig with metallic attitude, great sound & impressive songwriting.
• THE HIRS COLLECTIVE – Friends. Lovers. Favorites. This feminist hardcore collective has maybe released the fiercest & loudest record of 2018.
• Underoath – Erase Me Yet another fine addition to the Floridians’ discography. The band does sound remarkably different on this album but, in the case of these emo/metalcore veterans, that is not necessarily a bad thing at this day and age.
• The Secret – Lux Tenebris This Italian powerhouse managed somehow to keep up to their last masterpiece called “Agnus Dei” adding enough black metal dissonance to the mix.
• Architects – Holly Hell Architects is arguably one of the most hard working modern metal bands out there. Listening to this -great- album, it’s noticeable that there is a significant piece missing, but in this instance you know that this piece is Tom Searle.

• Cuntroaches – ep (instruments of discipline) A wonderful mixture of noise rock, hardcore punk and lofi production for your local squat
• Black Merlin – Kosua A tribal industrial album dedicated to Papua New Guinea, Recorded during 2016 while being alone in the jungle for 14 days.
• The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage Four Fourth of the sixth lp series. Loops, sound collages decayed jazz samples, vinyl noise,fluidity. An ambient masterpiece
• Fuji Yuki & Michel Henritzi & Harutaka Mochizuki – Shiroi Kao This is what happens if you put in the same room a saxophone player, an ethereal pop vocalist and a noise guitarist.
• Orphx – Learn to Suffer A great release from one of the best industrial techno projects
• Mayuko Hino – Lunisolar Solo work of the female half of C.C.C.C. Noisy, psychedelic and japanese
• Philipp Münch – Greyscale This is a Synapscape side project. It is one of my favourite ant zen releases of the last years.
• Mats Gustafsson, Merzbow, Thurston Moore, Balazs Pandi – Cuts Up, Cuts Out An experimental supergroup. Have to say that I love the latest merzbow collaborations (hope it is not a part of my merzbow addiction)
• Keiji Haino & SUMAC Powerful quiet, improvised and loud at the same time.
• Sargasso Sea – True North Square Field recordings combined with noise. Slow and hypnotic. Imagine yourself being all alone during the night on a ship in the middle of nowhere.
• Immortal – Northern Chaos Gods I could resist in putting this one here. A wonderful comeback. no Abbath, no cry. Blashyrk Mighty Ravendrag.