2010 Favorites

Here’s a mix of some of the best electronic/soundtrack/hauntological music that I heard in 2010, though it’s not all actually from 2010.

EDIT: I removed the mix, as I was running out of space on Sound Cloud.

1. Francesco Clemente “Suoni Dalle Ombre Oltre” – 2004. Imaginary unreleased soundtrack from 1983, finally ‘unearthed’ in the early 00s. Giallo / John Carpenter soundtrack inspirations aplenty. (http://clone.nl/item4642.html)

2. Pye Corner Audio Transcription Services “We Have Visitors” – 2010. The greatest Ghost Box release ever, and not even released on Ghost Box. The darker elements of Belbury Poly mixed with distorted static winds and Basic Channel filter dub. (http://pyecorneraudio.bandcamp.com/)

3. Andrew Weatherall “Privately Electrified” – 2009. From cementing Primal Scream’s status as genre innovators to blazing beats across the dancefloor, Weatherall is an unmitigated genius. And he has the coolest post-punk vocals. (http://www.rottersgolfclub.co.uk/#)

4. Mirador “Dance of the Lantern People” – 2010. Second-best discovery of the year. Culty duo from PA weave a tribal-trance-techno spell that presses all of my happy buttons. (http://mirador.bandcamp.com/)

5. Demdike Stare “Caged in Stammheim” – 2010. How (why) do I <3 this band? Let me count the ways: dark ambient, drone, dub, musique concrete, library music, and sonic experimentation with endless occult references.
(http://boomkat.com/downloads/317634-demdike-stare-liberation-through-hearing)

6. Port-Royal “I Used to be Sad” – 2009. Post-rock as I always imagined it. Massive shoegaze swells, pulsing electronica, glitchy skittering, wistful vocals, and pure pop all within one track. A thrilling ride. (http://www.port-royal.it/discography/)

7. Brian Eno “Paleosonic” – 2010. Need I say anything about the man? (http://brian-eno.net/)

8. Mordant Music “You Are a Door” – 2009. Mordant Music is a Mystery. A band and a label. A challenging multimedia extravaganza with seemingly its own language and points of reference. MM’s album Symptoms is a sepulchral (some might say hauntological) cousin to Underworld’s Dubnobasswithmyheadman.
(http://www.mordantmusic.com/mmusic.htm)

9. Suizen “Cartesian Space 4d Mix” – 2010. Another fog-shrouded label promising monthly releases but only having issued one so far. But it’s an electronic-dub classic. (http://dub45.com/)

10. Black Tempest “Proxima Part 1” – 2010. Contemporary re-imaginings of Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra and Rubycon? Why of course. Please please me with those arpeggios. (http://blacktempest.bandcamp.com/album/proxima)

11. The Sight Below “New Dawn Fades” – 2010. A thoroughly successful cover of a Joy Division track. Ian Curtis was never this bleak. Dive in.
(http://rafaelantonirisarri.bandcamp.com/)

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