As 2010 bows out, it is time to look back on a year that has been rich in new music, some from very well established artists, and some from entirely new comers. Here are themilkfactory’s twenty favourite records of the year, and this year for the first time, this list is augmented with thirty other records that have marked the year.

With no less than four albums in the top 20, the year belonged to Rune Grammofon, and more particularly to Supersilent, who occupy two places, including the top spot. Room40 also place two albums in the twenty best records on 2010, while new imprints Desire Path, Hibernate and Textura also feature with some strong releases.
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ERIK K. SKODVIN
Flare
SONICPIECES009
Sonic Pieces 2010
10 Tracks. 36mims02secs

Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD

Graphic designer, head of the highly respected Miasmah Records, sound artist and musician with many projects under his belt; Erik Skodvin’s days must surely be pretty busy. Momentarily stepping away from his Svarte Greiner alter-ego, his latest album, Flare, is published on the excellent Berlin-based imprint Sonic Pieces in a run of just 450 handmade copies.

Very much like with his work as Svarte Greiner or as one half of Deaf Center, the Norwegian artists creates here a particularly striking soundtrack, each sonic vignette the catalyst for infinitely nuanced and detailed soundscapes, but here, the dark and dense electronic textures that have been key to his work until now have gone entirely. Instead, Skodvin works with acoustic guitars, pianos, violins and bass, using each sound in its raw, naked form. Continue Reading »