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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K11
Metaphonic Portrait: 1230 A.D.
AN02
Actual Noise 2010
04 Tracks. 41mins00secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: DLD

Behind the rather enigmatic K11 moniker is Italian experimental musician Pietro Riparbelli, who has released a number of haunting works under various names, and also recently collaborated with French multi-instrumentist Philippe Petit on the superb The Haunting Triptych album which was published on Boring Machines earlier this year.

Two years ago, Riparbelli released Voices From Thelema, an album built from sonic components and atmospheric noises recorded on short-wave radio receivers in the ruins of Thelema Abbey, in Sicily. These signals were later processed into stark instrumental pieces. Metaphonic Portrait 1230 A.D. follows a similar idea. For this project, Riparbelli set up camp in the lower basilica of Assisi Cathedral, in the Italian province of Umbria, feet away from the relics of St Francis Of Assisi, recording a vast array of ambient noises and sounds, which were then processed into the dense soundscapes forming the basis of the four tracks collected here. Voices and organ  were added to accentuate the emotional scope of these pieces. Continue Reading »

PHILIPPE PETIT & FRIENDS
Silk-Screened
TRACECD009
Trace Recordings 2010
07 Tracks. 44mins09secs

K11/PIETRO RIPARBELLI & PHILIPPE PETIT
The Haunting Triptych
BM020
Boring Machines 2010
03 Tracks. 45mins41secs

PHILIPPE PETIT & FRIENDS
A Scent Of Garmambrosia
AGO025
Aagoo Records 2010
07 Tracks. 46mins40secs

Silk-Screened: Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD Norman Records: CD iTunes: DLD
A Scent Of Garmambrosia: Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Norman Records: CD iTunes: DLD

If spreading oneself thin should be a very real risk for most artists, it doesn’t seem to be in the least a concern for self-professed music activist Philippe Petit, who, in recent years, has swapped his role as head of French imprint Bip-Hop for a much more active mandate as a musician, and has since collaborated with a great number of people on extremely diverse projects. He’s headed the wonderful Strings Of Consciousness collective, an ensemble counting up to fourteen musicians, with whom he has released two albums, including a collaboration with Angel released last year on Important Records, and a third one counting a handful of original pieces and remixes by the likes of Mira Calix, Rothko, Scanner, Kammerflimmer Kollektief or Leafcutter John, and has been involved in projects with Lydia Lunch or James Johnston. Three albums have materialised on various labels in recent months, two published as Philippe Petit & Friends, and featuring such collaborators as Graham Massey, playing bass clarinet, Bela Emerson, Jérome Paressant, Alexander Bruce or Raphaelle Raniaudo, while the third is a collaboration with Italian multi-media artist and composer Pietro Riparbelli, here operating under his K11 guise. Continue Reading »