themilkman on Dec 20th 2007 11:24 pm
2007 is coming to a close, and with it comes legions of ‘best of the year’ lists. 2007 was also the year themilkfactory came back to life, so it is only fair to add to the background noise with our very own selection of the essential albums of 2007. 20 albums that you shouldn’t have missed. And don’t forget to check out the individual top 20 albums for each of the site contributors for a comprehensive overview of what 2007 was made of.
1.BURIAL
Untrue
Hyperdub
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Colin Buttimer on Dec 20th 2007 11:23 pm
These are the releases that’ve rocked my world this year. It’s felt like a bumper year, but looking over my list, I’m not quite so certain. Perhaps that’s because, like most people, I’ve also been listening to a lot of music released at other times, lots of world, reggae, pop and minimal (precious little Indie, though). One more reason to throw hands up in horror at this list: none of these releases appears in Q magazine’s top 50 albums of 2007 (though Rihanna’s Umbrella does appear in their top 10 tracks). Now I’d be alright, if I could only shake off the feeling that I’ve missed lots of stuff that I should have included - I do intend to check out the new ones from Radiohead when I get a chance.
1.UNDERWORLD
Oblivion With Bells
Vital
2.ARVE HENRIKSEN
Strjon
Rune Grammofon
3.MÚM
Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy
Fat-Cat Records
4.MIKA
Life In Cartoon Motion
Island
5.VON SÜDENFED
Tromatic Reflexxions
Domino Recording Co.
6.ALVA NOTO
Xerrox Vol. 1
Raster-Norton
7.RIHANNA
Good Girl Gone Bad
Mercury
8.SUPERSILENT
8
Rune Grammofon
9.BURIAL
Untrue
Hyperdub
10.FENNESZ & SAKAMOTO
Cendre
Touch
11.RICARDO VILLALOBOS
Fabric 36
Fabric
12.STEVE JANSEN
Slope
Samadhi Sound
13.DOMINIK EULBERG
Heimische Gefilde
Kompakt
14.FEIST
The Reminder
Universal
15.THE FIELD
From Here We Go To Sublime
Kompakt
16.GUI BORATTO
Chromophobia
Kompakt
17.SCOTT WALKER
And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball?
4AD
18.MODESELEKTOR
Happy Birthday!
BPitch Control
19.MORELENBAUM² /SAKAMOTO
Casa
Sony Classical
20.RÓISÍN MURPHY
Overpowered
EMI
David Abravanel
Joe Muggs
Max Schaefer
themilkman
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Joe Muggs on Dec 20th 2007 11:23 pm
In the year when Dubstep proved its staying power and went international, it still produced few artist albums: the mainstream of the sound still with its heart in the mixtape – but London’s Burial, Bristol’s Pinch and Nottingham’s Geiom produced absolutely brilliant spooky, soulful and brooding (respectively) takes on the sound. Further dub variations came with fizzing post-Basic Channel stuff from Germany (Disrupt) and Detroit (Echospace), while techno veteran Neil Landstrumm added the dubstep template to old-school rave on Restaurant Of Assassins.
The folktronic-indietronic-organic-electronic interface continued to be fertile, with Tunng, Muscovite producer Gultskra Artikler, Icelanders Múm, Canadian-in-London Caribou and Danes Efterklang further blurring the band/producer boundaries, while the brain-boggling Battles and Yeasayer produced a new strain of post-dance prog rock. Fennesz Sakamoto and Michaela Mélian produced some of the most beautiful pure ambient music of recent years, while the techno continuum showed its diversity with Cristian Vogel’s futurism, Supermayer’s good-natured fun, and Matthew Dear’s darkside pop. The Hot 8 Brass Band fused generations of funk to show that even near-destruction couldn’t still the heart of New Orleans, while The Black Dog’s terrifyingly rare early 90s rave-tronica tracks got a welcome re-issue.
1.BURIAL
Untrue
Hyperdub
2.DISRUPT
Foundation Bit
Werk Discs
3. FENNESZ SAKAMOTO
Cendre
Touch
4. TUNNG
Good Arrows
Full Time Hobby
GULTSKRA ARTIKLER
Kasha Iz Topora
Miasmah Recordings
6. CRISTIAN VOGEL
The Never Engine
Tresor
7. PINCH
Underwater Dancehall
Tectonic
8. MICHAELA MELIAN
Los Angeles
Monika Enterprise
9. DEEPCHORD PRESENTS ECHOSPACE
Coldest Season
Modern Love
10.SUPERMAYER
Save The World
Kompakt
11. MATTHEW DEAR
Asa Breed
Ghostly International
12. GEIOM
Island Noise
Berkane Sol
13. NEIL LANDSTRUMM
Restaurant Of Assassins
Planet Mu
14. HOT 8 BRASS BAND
Rock With The Hot 8
Tru Thoughts
15.MÚM
Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy
Fat-Cat Records
16. THE BLACK DOG
Book Of Dogma
Soma Quality Recordings
17. BATTLES
Mirrored
Warp Records
18. CARIBOU
Andorra
Merge Records
19. YEASAYER
All Hour Cymbals
We Are Free
20.EFTERKLANG
Parades
The Leaf Label
David Abravanel
Eleventh Volume
Max Schaefer
themilkman
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Max Schaefer on Dec 20th 2007 11:23 pm
As certain traditions would have it, a drawer, bedside table or any other such object is gradually overtaken by time, which solidifies until at last the object becomes the incarnation of a certain spirit. Thus the annual spring cleaning. Similarly, before the year goes out like a light, we shuffle through gifts, keepsakes, thoughts even - hoping to see where we stand. Here are some noteworthy tokens that I’ll be keeping with me from the past twelve months.
1. IKUE MORI
Bhima Swarga: The Journey Of The Soul From Hell To Heaven
Tzadik
2. ALISTAIR CROSBIE
This Quiet House (The Lonesome Age Of Mirrors - Volume One) / The Study Of Cycles (The Lonesome Age Of Mirrors - Volume Two)
Lefthand Pressings
3. BHOB RAINEY & RALF WEHOWSKY
I Don’t Think I Can See You Tonight
Sedimental
4.COH
Strings
Raster-Noton
5. YAIR ETZIONY
Flawed
Spekk
6. KEN IKEDA
Mist On The Window
Spekk
7. GIUSEPPE IELASI & NICOLA RATTI
Bellows
Kning Disk
8. SEBASTIEN ROUX
Revers Oust
Room 40
9. MACHINEFABRIEK
Weleer
Lampse
10. LISA BEILAWA
A Handful Of World
Tzadik
11. MIDORI HIRANO
Lushrush
Noble
12.MAILE COLBERT
Moborosi
Twenty Hertz
13. PJUSK
Sart
12K
14. HILDUR GUDNADOTTIR / BJ NILSEN / STILLUPPSTEYPA
Second Childhood
Quecksilber
15. PETER WRIGHT
At Last A New Dawn
Students Of Decay
16.STARS OF THE LID
And Their Refinement Of The Decline
Kranky
17.ISLAJA
Ulual Yyy
Fonal
18. MICHAEL SANTOS
Soft Pocket
U-Cover
19. KAMMERFLIMMER KOLLEKTIEF
Jinx
Staubgold
20. PIANA
Eternal Castle
Noble
David Abravanel
Eleventh Volume
Joe Muggs
themilkman
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David Abravanel on Dec 20th 2007 11:23 pm
Here we are, a year of music distilled into the 20 albums which made the biggest impression of me. Inevitably I’ve forgotten something, but for now, no regrets. The choice for number one was neither clear nor easy, but the Strings Of Consciousness tipped the scales with its adventurous spirit of collaboration, song, sound atmosphere, and poetry. 2007 was a good year for psychedelic electronics, represented here by artists as diverse as Supermayer, Ulrich Schnauss, and The Field.
In addition to the old favorites, some new mavericks came out of nowhere with leftfield brilliance, including releases by Burial and I Am Spoonbender. 2007 also saw a number of minimal masters expanding into new territories, whether it was Matthew Dear playing the role of singer-songwriter, Supermayer as a prog- and krautrock-loving comic book duo, The Field’s shoegazing atmospheres, or Ricardo Villalobos’ Japanese and jazz drumming.
All in all, 2007 was a year full of solid albums, looking to the past (Queens Of The Stone Age’s retro grit), the present (Matthew Dear’s modern-man situations) the future (Amon Tobin’s post-modern sample pastiche), and, in the case of Panda Bear’s updated Beach Boys harmonies or Björks earthy futurism, all three at once.
1.STRINGS OF CONCIOUSNESS
Our Moon Is Full
Central Control
2.AVEY TARE & KRIA BREKKAN
Pullhair Rubeye
Paw-Tracks
3.BURIAL
Untrue
Hyperdub
4. THE FIELD
From Here We Go Sublime
Kompakt
5. AMON TOBIN
Foley Room
Ninja Tune
6. PHAROAHE MONCH
Desire
SRC
7. THOBBING GRISTLE
Part Two: The Endless Not
Industrial / Mute
8. DIZZEE RASCAL
Maths + English
XL
9. PANDA BEAR
Person Pitch
Paw Tracks
10.SUPERMAYER
Save The World
Kompakt
11.RICARDO VILLALOBOS
Fabric 36
Fabric
12. MATTHEW DEAR
Asa Breed
Ghostly International
13. BJÖRK
One Little Indian
14.
Era Vulgaris
Intersope
15. FELIX DA HOUSECAT
Virgo, Blaktro & The Movie Disco
Nettwerk
16. ULRICH SCHNAUSS
Goodbye
Domino Recording Co.
17. UNDERWORLD
Oblivion With Bells
Side One
18. LUKE VIBERT
Planet Mu
19. GUS GUS
Forever
Gung Ho!
20. I AM SPOONBENDER
Buy Hidden Persuaders
Mesmer Detector Ltd.
Eleventh Volume
Joe Muggs
Max Schaefer
themilkman
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themilkman on Dec 20th 2007 11:22 pm
Week in week out, the vast conveyor belt that is the music industry pukes out a relentless flow of hideous banalities and hidden gems. This time of the year provides, for list enthusiasts at least, a perfect opportunity to pause for a moment, look back at the year gone and take stock of what has been ingurgitated, processed and digested, or not as the case may be, and try to condense this into an easily. Although indubitably flawed, as, after all, the said list is no more than a snapshot of a moment in time, and may bare little or no relation to a similar exercise conducted some time in the future. Some records require time to make sense while others loose all meaning taken out of their original context.
1.EFTERKLANG
Parades
The Leaf Label
2.BURIAL
Untrue
Hyperdub
3.MURCOF
Cosmos
The Leaf Label
4.ARVE HENRIKSEN
Strjon
Rune Grammofon
5.VALGEIR SIGURĐSSON
Eqvílibríum
Bedroom Community
6.DISRUPT
Foundation Bit
Werk Discs
7.MÚM
Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy
Fat-Cat Records
8.COLLEEN
Les Ondes Silencieuses
The Leaf Label
9.SUPERSILENT
8
Rune Grammofon
10.PANDA BEAR
Person Pitch
Paw Tracks
310
Sixes And Sevens
Conduit Records
12.ALOG
Amateur
Rune Grammofon
13.RAFAEL ANTON IRISARRI
Daydreaming
Miasmah Records
COPPÉ
Fi-lamenté
Mango & Sweet Rice
15.THE MARCIA BLAINE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
Halfway Into The Woods
Highpoint Lowlife
16.BEN FROST
Theory Of Machines
Bedroom Community
17.ÓLAFUR ARNALDS
Eulogy For Evolution
Erased Tapes
18.COCOROSIE
The Adventures Of Ghosthorse & Stillborn
Touch & Go
19.CALIKA
Seedling Mother
Audiobulb Records
20.ICARUS
Sylt
Rump Recordings
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David Abravanel on Dec 12th 2007 10:20 pm
THE FIELD
Sound Of Light
Heartbeats International 2007
04 Tracks. 60mins35secs
Music and hotels make interesting bedfellows (pun not necessarily intended). Some of the world’s poshest and most modern hotels have commissioned exclusive, original works to “soundtrack” one’s stay. Rifling through these compilations, one comes across a smattering of cool – trip hop, smooth house, jazzy breaks, among others – tailor-made to stick to walls and encourage a seductively elegant atmosphere.
Entering this fray are the designed-obsessed minds behind Stockholm’s Nordic Light Hotel, who have announced the Sound Of Light series as a chance for musicians to make an aural document of their stay. First up is Swedish techno artist The Field, aka Axel Willner. Continue Reading »
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David Abravanel on Dec 11th 2007 01:26 am
CLARK
Throttle Promoter
WAP238
Warp Records 2007
04 Tracks. 14mins39secs
Format: Digital / 12″
The press for Throttle Promoter, Clark’s newest release, has described the EP as a “surprise”, intended to pique interest for another surprise – his upcoming full-length, Turning Dragon, due January 2008. So much for months of pre-release hype, then, but it would seem that Clark has had enough of that. 2003’s Empty The Bones Of You was promoted as a more mature, darker, and more industrial Clark (still using his full name Chris Clark at the time), a promise upon which it delivered. 2006’s Body Riddle saw another reinvention of the persona, with the now-truncated Clark focusing on intricately layered, obsessively DSP’d beats, and more delicate and emotional atmospheres. Continue Reading »
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themilkman on Dec 8th 2007 05:57 pm
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themilkman on Dec 6th 2007 12:30 am
SILJE NES
Ames Room
FATSP16
Fat-Cat Records / Splinter Series 2007
14 Tracks. 42mins26secs
Born in a small town on the largest fjord in Norway and now living in Bergen, Silje Nes is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentist whose debut album, Ames Room, is a wonderfully evocative and playful collection of delicate pop vignettes.
Recorded entirely at home and alone, apart from the opening track, written and recorded with Kristan Stockhaus, of Norwegian rock band Ungdomskulen, Ames Room documents the development of Nes as an artist over the last three years and sees her experiment with a wide range of instruments, including cello, acoustic guitar, drums, xylophone, melodica and trumpet, over which discreet electronics and textures are sprinkled. The sonic environment resembles a finely woven fabric upon which Nes hangs fragile vocals. Continue Reading »
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