ASIP’s A-Z of 2010

Instead of your usual top tens, top albums and top records, here’s an A-Z of music that has been big for me this year. You’ll find some of 2010′s best releases, some gems from 2009 that haven’t gone away, labels that keep on delivering, blogs that keep on giving, DJ’s that keep on entertaining and a few nods towards 2011…

Thanks to everyone mentioned and anyone else I’ve forgot. Bring on 2011. You can now download the ASIP ‘Reflection on 2010′ mix here, for even more 2010 favourites.

A is for  aKido
aKido’s Gamechanger – electronica find of the year for me and a favourite of anyone it touches. A production of such high quality, variation and best of all, originality, all neatly packed in to one free download. Get it here. Honourable mentions go to Airliner for his None LP and ASC‘s stunning RA mix and the unearthing of tens of ‘Deep Space’ mixes.

B is for bvdub
Brock Van Wey conveys an amazing sense of emotion through his music and none more so than his latest and best release to date, The Art of Dying Alone. “We all die alone, but some make it their last work of art”. Honourable mentions to Bitcrush for their ‘From Arcs to Embers’ release and The Black Dog, for what was probably the most amount of ambient mixes in one year along with a superb album ‘Music for Real Airports’.

C is for Caribou
Caribou. Caribou. Caribou. We must not forget the band that essentially owned ‘album of the year’ for many by April. A truly groundbreaking piece of work and a similarly excellent live act ensures Caribou are one of my biggest highlights of 2010. Coming close is Casino Versus Japan for the dark, ‘Night On Tape’ release and Com Truise – only this year have I really started to appreciate this guys work and luckily for us, a signing to Ghostly should mean plenty more in 2011.

D is for D_rradio
Probably the most under-rated release of 2010. ‘Parts’ features a wealth of beautiful ambient and melodic moments (despite each being very short). Keep up this kind of quality and Distraction Records will go from strength to strength in 2011.

E is for Endless Falls
Endless Falls, endless plays, endless beauty. A stunning record by Loscil which has been in many people’s top tens. Also worth mentioning is Loscil’s recent live set from the Western Front which duly reminded us all of this early 2010 release.

F is for Four Tet
A highly anticipated release from Kieran Hebden and not a disappointed face in sight. Boundaries crossed and genres smashed. One of the first to stream the album on Soundcloud too which meant the hype for ‘There Is Love In You’ went through the roof, and deservedly so. Also, a great remix of Jon Hopkins ‘Vessel’ ensures a top 2010 for Kieran. Honourable mention to FRKTL aka Sarah Badr for several stunning debut releases this year. One to watch out for in 2011.

G is for Geometry
A slightly fudged ‘G’ when really, I mean the man behind the Geometry album; Nick Brennan aka Tripswitch. Responsible for a truly refreshing downtempo/psychedelic release and a stunning isolatedmix, which has become a favourite for many. Watch out for several new releases in 2011 from Nicks label, Section Records. Honourable mentions go to to Gold Panda‘s well received Lucky Shiner and a big shout to Ghostly for another year of superb releases and the introduction of their Music Subscription service (GMS), which has left me with a burst hard-drive.

H is for Horizon Fire
To think I hadn’t heard Horizon Fire before 2010 is a crime. BoC fans and anyone with an ear for quality electronica needs to be all over Horizon Fire. Get it here. Hopefully next year we’ll see some more from Paul and maybe even an isolatedmix…

I is for ISO50
A close call for I, but I’ve settled on ISO50 due to another sterling year of blog posts, introductions to new artists and awesome free compilations. Next level stuff. Honourable mentions go to Rafael Anton Irisarri, for his work as The Sight Below and re-issues on Ghostly, a great shoegaze mix for FACT, The Demo Vault releases a live set from Cafe Oto along with his ‘Live’ record. Also, Interior Destinations should get a mention for a stunning mix which introduced me to Horizon Fire.

J is for Joey Fehrenbach
I haven’t had the chance to post about Joey Fehrenbach‘s latest album and it’s more than worthy of a mention here. ‘Don’t Wake Me’ is Joey’s long awaited second album and a refreshing take on downtempo/chill. Melodic and upbeat it’s one of those records you can come back to again and again and suits any mood. Honourable mention to Jon Hopkins for one of the best gigs of the year and his first full soundtrack for Monsters.

K is for Kompakt
Like a German Juggernaut, Kompakt keeps on coming. First we were treated with 2010′s Pop Ambient. Then Fehlmann’s Gute Luft. An album which beautifully depicts Fehlmanns Orb-esque sounds and unique approach to ambient/downtempo. The fact I also got to see Fehlmann live in Berlin this August probably excelled his impact on my year. But Gute Luft will go down as a classic for me. We shouldn’t forget ‘Walls’ release either, a stunning debut year for the Kompakt newbies.

L is for Lights Out Asia
‘In The Days of Jupiter’ from Lights Out Asia, one of the very few albums to span ambient, shoegaze, drone and electronica… and nail it. The loud, the quiet, the melodic, the guitars, it’s all there and guaranteed to blow your speakers – you can’t play this album quietly.

M is for Moderat
I debated this one for a while seeing as Moderat’s last release was 2009, but the sheer amount of times this year I’ve enjoyed mixes featuring a Moderat track just goes to show the influence these guys have had on everyone in 2010. From Todos’ Kilchurn Sessions, to Interior Destinations epic mix – Moderat’s music has been a stable ingredient for any progressive electronica mixes this year. Honourable mentions go to Markus Guentner‘s ambient mix along with Manual’s album, Drowned in Light.

N is for N5MD
A landmark year for N5MD has seen a string of quality releases from Bitcrush, Dalot, Lights Out Asia (as mentioned above) as well as a label compilation, ‘The Reconstruction of Fives’. 2011 looks set to be just as strong with the second full length from port-royal. Honourable mentions go to Nest for ‘Retold’ – an exemplary start to 2010 along with Naono, and a beautiful set of free ambient releases in the form of ‘Sleepy Pebbles‘ and ‘Tumbleweed Tracks’.

O is for Ous Mal
One of my favourite tracks of the year; Nuojava Halava. Originally featured on Nick Warren’s Soundgarden, and now regularly featuring on my iPod. Sheer beauty.

P is for Pantha Du Prince
A truly original release from PDP, ‘Black Noise’ has been breaking genres and infiltrating ambient, techno and minimal heads throughout the year. I’ve heard this record played from the least unexpected people, with just as many people asking what it was. Sure-fire sign of quality. Honourable mention goes to Phalanx for several awesome electronica compilations which have introduced me to several new artists.

Q is for…
There is no Q unfortunately so I’ll take this opportunity to substitute in the only numerical artist, 36. Dennis Huddleston aka 36 has been inspirational for me in 2010. ‘Memories in Widescreen’ and ‘Hollow’ are two of the best ambient releases of the year and his emotional, atmospheric approach hits the spot every time, not to mention his isolatedmix of course…

R is for Rich-Ears
Well, what can I say… the Pied Piper of mix sets, Rich-Ears is a busy lad. Not only has he contributed several exclusive mixes for ASIP (Balearic Brilliance 2, Sounds of Ancient Leafs… and Just Out Of Bed), he’s also keeping up his ‘Perfect’ series, with Aphex, Fourtet, Orbital, Monolake and Flying Lotus. And that’s just the start of it. Go knock yourself out with some Rich-Ears.

S is for Secret Station
January 25th 2010, my first post of what was to be many on Secret Station. There’s not much else I can say about this label – everyone who loves ambient or electronica should be tuning in. An absolute stunning year of releases most of which are available for free download and would have taken up every other letter in this post. So, to keep it simple, it’s a big shout out to every artist on the label for an amazing year of music. Honourable mentions go to Stellardrone for some sublime psy-amb and the emergence of electronica maestro Seams- look out for this guy in 2011.

T is for Tropics
‘Soft Vision’ by Tropics was an absolutely massive track for me this year. If I made music, I’d want it to be this good. You can read my praise for Tropics here and that just leaves me to look forward to his album and another EP due in 2011.

U is for Ultimae
Ultimae – another label with a wealth of talent and superb releases from Asura, Carbon Based Lifeforms and Solar Fields. The latter from Magnus Birgersson being the stand-out and an absolute must have. Honourable mention to Ulrich Schnauss for providing the rollercoaster of the year- “Yes another release from Schnauss! Oh wait, it’s not going to be released” Damn shame as ‘Epic’ is a mighty fine record. Still, we had ‘Missing Deadlines’ to fill the void until the master gets his next album done. 2011 maybe?

V is for Mach V
..and the accompanying Echaskech crew kept my year ticking along nicely. With Mach V providing monthly eclectic dives into the latest and greatest electronica, folk, house and everything in between. Whilst Dom and Andy kept us busy with a Max Cooper remix on my favourite techno label Traum, and a superb ‘Expressions’ mix for Futuresequence. Honourable mention goes to Verulf for one of Secret Stations best free releases of the year.

W is for Nick Warren
A fine 2010 for Mr Warren and his lesser known ambient alter-ego. A year of love for his SoundGarden show on Frisky Radio, which introduced me to Ous Mal and Rocket Empire to name a few. Plus the most downloaded isolatedmix to date – needless to say, a favourite of many.

X is for Dextro
Well X is in Dextro… (yes it was hard!) One of my favourite records of the year – ‘Zero Circle’ and a stunning ‘live’ accompanying remix on the same LP – that doesn’t happen very often. Honourable mention goes to one of the all time great labels – Ninja Tune for their year of XX releases and giveaways including mixes from Coldcut and The Orb.

Y is for Yagya
With no releases in 2010, this can be seen as a slightly forced entry but, Aðalsteinn’s superb ‘Rigning’, his live PA recording and the compilation by Das Kraftfuttermischwerk, have been played just as much as any other artist this year. With news of a collaboration with Kettle forthcoming on Sending Orbs, Yagya looks set to dominate my 2011 too. Honourable mention goes to Yoshinori Sunahara for a release recommended to me by Mach V – ‘Subliminal’ – some seriously melodic electronics.

Z is for Zaubernuss
A debut release for Traum’s new label Zaubernuss and of my favourites of the year – Mig Dfoe’s, ‘The Stone Master’. Mig has struck a chord with his melodic and organic techno induced electronica and I’m looking forward to seeing what Zaubernuss has up its sleeve in 2011.

—–
Follow ASIP on Facebook.
Follow ASIP on twitter.