Twelve months compiled into just twenty albums. From the thousands of records released each year, it is difficult to get even a handful on the site, and even more difficult to decide which ones were the best of the lot. This is however the twenty albums that have marked 2009 for themilkfactory.

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Tyondai Braxton is a member of supergroup Battles, one of the most celebrated bands of recent years. Their debut album, Mirrored, saw them join Warp on the back of two EPs and a single released in a matter of months throughout 2004. The son of legendary experimental jazz composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton, Tyondai follows his debut solo album, released in 2002, with an extremely ambitious second record, Central Market on Warp, which combines experimental rock, electronics and full orchestral sections. We caught up with the man via email ahead of his performance, as part of Battles, for the Warp20 celebrations in New York to talk about how he made the transition from his earlier work to the vast expanses of Central Market and how he wants to take this even further. Continue Reading »

TYONDAI BRAXTON
Central Market
WARP184
Warp Records 2009
07 Tracks. 42mins47secs

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Best known as the guitarist, multi-instrumentist and vocalist of experimental super group Battles and as the son of celebrated jazz composer and musician Anthony Braxton, Tyondai Braxton first started to get noticed in the mid-nineties with electrifying live guitar improvisations. His first album, History That Has No Effect, attempted to concentrate the energy and drive of his live incarnation. Since, he has featured on a split LP with hardcore/noise outfit Parts & Labor, has also featured on a number of records, by Prefuse 73 notably, and has been seen performing live alongside people as diverse as Jim O’Rourke, Thurston Moore, Black Dice or TV On The Radio.

With Central Market, his second solo album, Tyondai Braxton has taken a major leap forward, combining the angular rock of Battles and of his own experiments, with electronics and vast orchestral élans. Continue Reading »