Welcome to my blog, I write about the music I like.
A few more late finds from 2021, including robust breakbeat techno from Ryan James Ford, syrupy synth pop from Men I Trust, and snaking beats winding their way through the streets of Lagos from Emeka Ogboh. And given how much I loved Mrs Jynx's collaboration with µ-Ziq, on Secret Garden last year - it seemed high time to check out more of her discography.
Throughout the ups and downs of 2021, music has been there. Here's a run down of my favourite 50 albums from a year in which I kept up to date with new releases for the first time in a very long time.
Despite its throwback nature, a predilection for 80s synth pop is not a requirement for enjoying ‘A Way Forward’. The song-writing is so assured and the production so meticulous production, that anyone who takes pleasure in unashamed, life-affirming pop music will find much to savour here.
Clinic are one of those rare bands who’ve managed to constantly evolve and develop their sound, so that each new album feels like a progression, yet all the while sounding exactly like themselves and no one else.
Immersing yourself in Colourgrade for the entirety of its forty-minute duration is an experience akin to being cocooned in a soft, warm duvet, in a state somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, as reality melts into daydreams and your limbs melt into the bed.
Nicolas Jaar's work as Darkside pulls off the feat of being deeply moody yet catchy, combining extended psychedelic grooves, richly detailed atmospherics and unexpected earworms.
Forest of Your Problems maintains a high energy level throughout, with the band not missing a beat as they transition from post-punk, to wigged out synth jams to the funky, ‘The Prince is Back’.
Together in Static is Avery’s document from a strange time and feels like a neat encapsulation of the feelings – hope, uncertainty, anticipation - shared by everyone looking forward to experiencing their next live music experience.
Rather than club music or urban music, Loraine James says that first and foremost, she produces ‘experimental music’.
It’s characteristic of the album as a whole, and in fact much of µ-Ziq’s discography - that Mike Paradinas' best moments come when he plays it a bit lighter and doesn’t overcomplicate things.
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