The ill-ec-tro-nic

If you were to track my record buying habits over the past 10 years, 2009 would have been a notable spike on the map but for all the wrong reasons. I bought far less records last year than in previous years due in part to having less time for visiting record stores but also due to spending more time listening to mixes than individual tracks due to the abundance of podcasts that seemed to spring up in 2009. The likes of Resident Advisor, mnmlssg's and FACT (to name but a few) were dishing out quality mixes with such regularity that I found myself almost addicted to listening to these offerings but at the same time also becoming swamped with the sheer number available that I still have a significant backlog to wade through. To me, and I'm sure many others, podcasts have become an important medium in electronic music and for this reason I've included them in my annual pick of the best mixes and compilations of the year.

Techno has been my foremost musical love for a long time now and I found myself sticking more and more to this genre throughout 2009. I agree with Langer's comments that a lot of producers are looking back towards the past and while new ideas are perhaps less obvious than they have been in previous years, the scene has reached a very healthy level of maturity and an abundance of exhilarating music continues to be produced. For me, the producer of the year was Ben Klock and while his releases weren't massively groundbreaking they were exceptionally solid and perfectly primed for dark warehouses spaces whilst still providing entertaining home listening - what more does one need? The other big powerhouse for me was Sandwell District through the excellent 12s they continued to unleash as well as the various DJ-related projects of many of its members.

The other main reason I spent less time listening to other's records was an attempt to spend more time writing my own stuff. On a personal production perspective, the highpoint of my year was performing my debut solo gig - something I hope to repeat on several occasions during 2010. The lowpoint was the long-awaited release of a compilation of which I had been told my debut release would be a part of, only for the record to come out and my track not to be on it (thanks Moodgadget - you suck!). However, just prior to year end, I managed to get signed to another label and my debut EP should be out around summer this year (more details later).

Anyhow, enough of my ramblings and on with my lists. Given my slightly sheltered nature this year, I'm sure there's a whole bunch of great stuff I've simply not heard but as I continue to wade through other end of year roundups and do some digging, I'm having great fun being educated.

Here's hoping 2010s another good one!

RAW's Top 30 Tracks Of 2009:
01 Ben Klock feat. Elif Bicer - Goodly Sin // Ostgut Ton
02 Millie & Andrea - Temper Tantrum // Daphne
03 Scuba - Speak // Naked Lunch
04 Kevin Gorman - Mikrowave 12 // Mikrowave
05 O/V/R - Interior // Blueprint
06 Burial & Four Tet - Moth // Text Records
07 Quantec - Halcyon // Echocord
08 Peter Van Hoesen - Attribute One // Time to Express
09 Levon Vincent - Late Night Jam // Ostgut Ton
10 Equalized - EQD002 // Equalized
11 Animal Collective - My Girls // Domino
12 Ben Klock - Subzero (Original + Sandwell District Mix) // Ostgut Ton
13 Pattern Repeat - Ofetriade (Original + Ben Klock Remix) // Echocord Colour
14 Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo // Hotflush
15 Moderat - Rusty Nails (Original + Shackleton Remix) // Bpitch / Fifty Weapons
16 Moderat - Seamonkey //Bpitch Control
17 Mount Kimbie - Maybes // Hotflush
18 TVO - Aklo Cut With Saffron // Highpoint Lowlife
19 Decoside - Reload 3 // Eclipsemusic
20 Joker - Digidesign // Hyperdub
21 TVO - Dots & Hashes // Stuffrecords
22 STP - The Fall // Subsolo
23 Tigrics - Boko (Friskfisk Remix) // Highpoint Lowlife
24 Jus Wan - Submersive // Naked Lunch
25 Guido - Orchestral Lab // Punch Drunk
26 Redshape - 2010 EP // Delsin
27 Ike Release - Misdeeds // Infrasonics
28 Unknown - RUR4 // RUR
29 Gold Panda - Mayuri // Various Production
30 CLP - Dip Shorty (Unsportmanslike Remix) // Shitkatapult

RAW's Top 10 Albums Of 2009:
01 Ben Klock - One // Ostgut Ton
02 Redshape - The Dance Paradox // Delsin
03 Martyn - Great Lengths // 3024
04 Falty DL - Love is a Liability // Planet Mu
05 Moderat - Moderat // Bpitch Control
06 LZ Kruzer - Manhood & Electronics // Uncharted Audio
07 Emptyset - Emptyset // Caravan
08 Sinner DC - Crystallized // Ai Records
09 Point B - Suicide Beauty Spot // Combat Recordings
10 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion // Domino

RAW's Top 10 Mixes / Compilations Of 2009:
1 Sandwell District - RA177 // Resident Advisor
2 Omar S - Fabric 45 // Fabric
3 TVO - FACT Mix 102 // FACT Magazine
4 SCB - SSGMX37 // mnmlssgs
5 Various - 5 Years of Hyperdub // Hyperdub
6 Surgeon - RA144 // Resident Advisor
7 Various - When I Was 10 // Ai Records
8 Various - Warp 20 (Unheard) // Warp
9 Modeselektor - Body Language Vol. 8 // Get Physical
10 Mark Solo - The Waters Have Broken // Soliton Research

Labels: 2009, Albums, Charts, Compilations, Mixes, Tracks