It was a totally fucked up year, we all know it… Most of us stayed at home more than every other yea and some of us listened a lot of music. In any case here are some lists full of great music in order to listen to and have fun. Lets hope that next year everything will be better.
Manolis Pappas (coherent states)
TORI KUDO – The Last Song Of My Life LP (an’archives)
ALESSANDRA NOVAGA – I Should Have Been A Gardener LP (die schachtel)
ALICE KEMP – Sweetly My Blacken Doll MC (dead mind records)
AKI ONDA – Nam June’s Spirit Was Speaking To Me LP (recital)
BEATRIZ FERREYRA – Echos + LP (room40)
PHILIP CORNER – Through Mysterious Barricades with George Maciunas LP (recital)
TAKUMI AKAISHI – Memoria LP (art into life)
MARIE GOYETTE – Stone Memorial MC (dead mind records)
RED BRUT – Cloaked Travels LP (ikuisuus, lal lal lal)
KABOOM KARAVAN – The Log and the Leeway LP (miasmah)
Espectra Negra (fb,page,soundcloud,cyberpunk)
Yura Yura – Substance Noire – 03 – Shadow (Hands) Industrial Techno for industrial people.
Metapattern – 08 – Return To Dust (Occult Rhythms) Our Austrian/Australian friend always delivers.
Antonis Konstantaras (strawberry pills)
Working Men’s Club – Working Men’s Club My favourite album for 2020. You can hear so many cool influences in it, from the best of the Madchester scene to Italo Disco and Pulp. They are all partying in there together!
Fontains DC – A Hero’s Death I absolutely love this band. I’ve seen them live twice and can’t wait for the next one. I think I like the second album more than the first one. Simple, sad and poetic, just what I need.
Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters I never thought that I would like a Fionna Apple that much, but in my opinion this is a masterpiece. Listening to this album I feel like this is an artist who is free and takes me wherever she feels like going.Fetch the Bolt Cutters is one of those records that you grow old with!
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher I am a huge Elliott Smith fan, so, listening to a fellow Elliott Smith enthusiast making music is always something that I long for. Phoebe is a great songwriter and I think that thePunisher deserves the critical praise.
The Vagina Lips – Outsider Forever Lovely dream pop project from Thessaloniki, Greece. This is a great album and I am pretty sure that his fans loved it too.
Molchat Doma – Monument We played with them once and got blown away by their sound and onstage presence. This new album takes the group to another level.
The Flaming Lips – American Head They changed my life back in the day and helped me grow as a person and a musician. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by the last couple of records but this one is pretty close to their classics.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Sideways to New Italy A good friend of mine managed to brainwash me into liking this band. I can’t thank him enough. They remind me a lot of The Go-Betweens
Lebanon Hanover – Sci-Fi Sky I truly enjoyed the new approach to their sound. It’s not a record that you can play at any time of the day, but if you find the right moment you are in for an amazing sci-fi trip.
Hammilton Leithauser – The Loves of your Life Hammilton Leithaiser -of The Walkmen- wrote a solo album about his ex lovers. What a strange idea. It worked though!
FEMALE – PLEASURES THAT KILL / HOSPITAL PRODUCTIONS
UK producer and co-founder of Downwards, Peter Stutton releases this compilation with 40 tracks which is still stuck on repeat on my foobar playlist! Subtle development, forcefull minimalism, raw and repetitive are the main ingredients that makes you feel somehow trapped in this dark/self destructed yet liberating loop!
ECHO SPATIAL – LOW / SELF RELEASED
With only creterion that if a track makes you feel high on psychoactive substances while you listen to it for the very first time while you are sober, then it is definetly an eargasmic track!
So you better visit Dj & Producer’s bandcamp page so as to listen & download the track!!
MASS DISORDER V.A. / PHORMIX TAPES
Label founder & owner Morah curates this compilation in which i was invited to contribute with a track of mine (featuring Paramorphosi on vocals). Once again Phormix Tape’s consistancy, identity and aim to deliver music that does’t follow norms, gathers various artists, such as ANFS, Narog, Fragedis, Penelope’s fiance and as a result we get to sense music as a mean to deal with the side effects of life.
UNKNOWN – INFERNO / OSM TAPES
In november, Greek independant label releases a kick ass album produced by Uknown.
Imho producer’s alias and work won’t remain unknown for a very long time 😛
Raw, dirty ebm sounds combined with industrial techno elements (definetly my cup of tea)
makes you wanna move, dance and want even more of it!
PS: My favorite track is Deamons featuring Bad Faith Actor!
ALPHA SECT – Es Kommt von Innen / Kein Rauch Ohne Feuer
Recently i was introduced to Alpha Sect’s (Greek/French Producer) work.
His style combines EBM/Industrial that makes you want to dance away the harsh reality we have to face while the atmospheric pads makes you feel warm and mellow as if you were high! Totally recommended release, looking forward not only for his future work but also to work with him 😀
OUR SOUL SET SAIL V.A. / NEGATIVE SCIENCES
DIY music label & Musical Collective straight from Athens 1rst release is a compilation curated by Greek Dj & Producer Re/Act. This V.A. is more than a statement about the label’s
indentity but also a solid perception of human existence. Very excited about this label and looking forward its future releases!! 🙂
RELATIVES SCHOENSEIN V.A. / ADVENTUROUS MUSIC
I have been “making musicK” or even better trying to deconstruct soundscapes since 2017.
It was the very first time i felt very happy that i was asked to participate in a project/release like this one! Over than 40 sound artists such as Sturqen, Matter, Mai12, Kareem and Black Lung have contributed! The CD comes with a photobook. Each photograph (by Signalstoerung) is somehow linked to a track. 🙂
NOOR1 – ΑΨΜ / MODAL ANALYSIS
If you are interested in heavy industrial atmospheres combined with experimental/ambient aesthetics, then this release is a must have! An epic win release from a dynamic duo constisted of ANFS and ZEVLA!!
ZEVLA – MONA LYSSA / AGIA VARVARA ORIGINALS
Always super excited when it comes to releases from female producers, ZEVLA’s debut album on Vanila’s sublabel is a mixture of noise/power electronics/ industrial inspired by the Greek murkiness!
KUMASI – APOCALYPTIC BOOGALOO / EMPTY GESTURE RECORDINGS
Last but never least, skilled Dj & Producer KUMASI, is the first release of EMPTY GESTURE RECORDINGS which is strictly focused in techno. Kumasi’s sound may evolves as years go by but its identity has a coherence and the result is guaranteed.
An absolute gem.
The Severed Heads – Clean
Conrad Schnitzler – Auf Dem Schwarzen Kanal
Siglo XX – Siglo XX
Mydolls – Nova Grows Up / The Rapist / In Technicolor
Swans – Children Of God
Pylon – Gyrate
Diamanda Galas – Litanies of Satan
Jyl – Jyl
Lebanon Hanover – Tomb For Two
Doxa Sinistra – Universo: Selected Works 1982-1988
Manos Chrisovergis (last days of sex, solar anus, black spring)
Cabaret voltaire – Shadow of fear After 26 years the new album was worth waiting, using sounds that you are familiar with but played in a way that you feel like you meet them for the first time
Synapscape – a journey through concern. I just love every synapscape album. Rhythmic noise,distorted voice through a groovy idm lense. The best ant zen release of the year.
Rita mosss – Oλes The pervert noise rock duo from greece. I am sure they had enough sex together before giving birth to it.
Phormix – tortoiseshell strings Playing with industrial and dark electronic vibes making it a wonderful soundtrack for your private quarantine house party.
Mono No Aware – Shinshoo If rhythmic noise and techno had a child, Hands’s Mono No Aware’s new album would be its favourite one.
Crazy doberman – Illusory Expansion I ve discovered these guys through wolf eyes (it was mainly o John Olson collab project) and they excellently combine free jazz, synth improvisations, plenty of effects and trippy sounds.
William Basinski – Lamentations Basinski doing what he knows best: Playing with looped recordings until loops start playing with you.
日野繭子 (Mayuko Hino) and 大西蘭子 (Ranko Onishi) – Numbers Matter 121 It was the last addition which I listened to some days ago and the best way to end this year musically. Mayuko Hino ‘s (you may know her from the legendary C.C.C.C.) latest work contains all of japanese noise beauty, the ability to be harsh and trippy at the same time. It was a part a music video art project presented in Iklektik (experimental music space in london).
FRKSE – Desecration Anxiety II Field recordings, meditation, industrial sounds, chants, looped traditional instruments. A gift for Zoviet France and Mumslimgauze fans.
Crush of souls – Bad Trip Weird lofi electronics mixed with vocals (close to cassete black metal aesthetics), a distorted saxophone and a drum machine ready take you for a bad trip. For fans of chrome and dirty beaches.
