i waited till the last minute so i could remember everything, but
im sure ive forgotten some stuff. anyway, here's the best possible
stuff i could think of:
artists of the year:
1. Amp Fiddler - Love and War EP, Basementality EP, Waltz of a
Ghetto Fly LP, his work with Amp Dog Knights and the Detroit
Experiment and Moodymann and Only Child and John Arnold, his
performances @ Movement, etc - i really cant even begin to explain
how much pleasure ive received from this man in this year. as of
the movement festival, i think only the basementality and "im doin
fine" 12"s were out. i was still very excited to see him, and he
murdered it. his solo set was outstanding and his participation in
the detroit experiment set (possibly the best live set ive ever
seen) was outstanding as well. this guy is red hot.
2. Moodymann - Silence in the Secret Garden LP, Silence in the
Secret Garden EP, his label Mahogani which had many outstanding
releases, his participation in the 3 Chairs set @ Movement, the 3
Chairs 12", his remixes for Amp Fiddler, etc. - already one of my
heroes, moodymann had a fantastic year. his new mahogani label is
a cant miss buy-on-sight type label with the andres and AM records
standing out in particular. his LP is great not only for
dancefloor material but for listening pleasure.
3. Carl Craig - Tres Demented EP, Detroit Experiment LP, The
Workout Mix, Congos edit, Talking Heads edit, Angola Remix, Le Mer
Est Grande Remix, the Planet E label - not much actual new
material from this cat this year, but his choice of projects (all
his planet e related stuff and the detroit experiment) show his
vision and talent as a creator of more than just 12" dance
singles. he did flex his dancefloor smashing skills on his remixes
and edits as well as the tres demented single. the appreciation he
received during the detroit experiment's live set @ movement was
well appreciated.
4. Theo Parrish - Harmonie Park EP, Natural Aspirations EP, his
band Rotating Assembly's EP, 3 Chairs EP, Ugly Edits 4 + 5, Meg
Remix, 3 Chairs set @ Movement - my favorite musician had a
pretty great year. also using his talent to assemble a band (cant
wait for the rotating assembly LP!) as well as running the great
Sound Signature label, theo's usually deep output stepped it up a
notch. ugly edits 4 featured possibly the best edit he's released
to this point, and his own actual material is really picking up
steam heading into new territory. i finally got to witness his
deejaying with the 3 chairs, and it was everything i'd hoped for
and more, far and away the best set ive ever heard. it could have
gone on all night.
5. John Arnold - all the Ubiquity singles, the Neighborhood
Science LP, Duplex Remix, his work with Ayro and Amp Fiddler and
other detroit artists - another breakthrough talent from detroit.
everything he had involvement with this year was awesome. his
performances with seemingly every live performer @ Movement were
fantastic, as were his recent live and deejayed sets in
pittsburgh. his ability to switch styles up is awesome: his broken
beat tunes are as good as his house tunes or his techno tunes. in
addition to being a good musician, hes a really cool cat as well.
singles of the year (in no particular order):
1. Alton Miller - "Choose to Believe" - Mahogani
wow. this is everything a vocal house record should be.
2. Cesaria Evora - "Angola (Carl Craig Remix)" - BMG
this kills it EVERY time. everyone loves this tune, even if theyd
previously never heard it.
3. Andres - EP - Mahogani
every tune on here is good. this might be andres' best work.
4. Only Child feat Amp Fiddler - "U Bring Me Vibes" - Grand Central
this should become a house classic. amp fiddler kills it.
5. Rolando - "Aguila" - Underground Resistance
another uplifting house/techno classic.
6. Ugly Edits 4 - Theo Parrish - White
the side with the string loop is simply amazing.
7. Gary Martin - "Shakin That Thang" - Movin House Music
totally ridiculously good house track.
8. Krikor - "Peeping Tom" - Karat
shake dropped this @ movement and it killed it. totally classic
"bass" vocal.
9. Meg - "Kouro (Theo Parrish Remix)" - Joint
possibly theo's best remix. very dark deep disjointed house with a
nice vocal.
10. Kelly Polar Quartet - Rectial EP - Environ
awesome minimal tech-funk-house biz.
11. 3 Chairs - "All Over" - 3 Chairs
beatdown house meets basic channel.
12. Shawn Rudiman - "Kings of Sleep" - Technoir
sweet melodic kickdrum-less techno muzik.
13. Theo Parrish - "Twin Cities" - Harmonie Park
i can't get this tune out of my head. i just keep hearing it over
and over and over.
albums of the year (in no particular order):
1. Moodymann - Silence in the Secret Garden - Peacefrog
from abstract house to minimal techno, this album has all the
dance stuff i like on it.
2. Alton Miller - Stories From Bohemia - Peacefrog
i got this on CD back in the summer, and it's such a pleasant
listen that i couldn't wait to get it on vinyl. its got dancefloor
stuff on it for sure, but its good to just chill and listen to.
3. Amp Fiddler - Waltz of A Ghetto Fly - Genuine
great soul record. i hope this gets picked up by a US distributor
because i think amp could blow it up on the pop charts here.
4. Pavel Kostiuk - & the Musicals - 2000 Black
really off the charts broken beat nuttiness. especially recently,
i've been losing my faith in broken beat type stuff with the
proliferation of wack jazzy crapola. this album is more like sun
ra jazziness, in the best possible manner.
5. Andres - Untitled - Mahogani
mostly old stuff, but it flows so well. i got it on vinyl and CD.
6. Erykah Badu - Worldwide Underground - Motown
this sounds like moodymann or andres could have worked on it. i've
always liked erykah, but this one is especially abstract and
really fantastic.
7. Detroit Experiment - Detroit Experiment - Planet E
this is what all jazz/electronic hybrid stuff wishes it was. a
stellar lineup knocked out a stellar album under the production of
carl craig.
8. John Arnold - Neighborhood Science - Ubiquity
i had most of this stuff on all the singles that came out, but it
holds together very well in album form. john arnold is an ill
producer and a really cool guy as well.
9. Larry Heard - Where Life Begins - Track Mode
i love larry heard, and this lp continues what he's always been
good at: minimal spacey soulful house jams.
movies of the year:
1. Lost In Translation
i'm not sure when i'll see another movie this good. everything
about it was flawless.
2. Mystic River
a suprisingly good mainstream flick with awesome acting.
3. A Mighty Wind
f*cking hilarious.
4. City of God
easily one of the best gangster films of all time. this will
become a cult classic like "the harder they come".
5. Kill Bill Vol. 1
tarantino's homage to kung fu flicks was every bit as fantastic as
i'd hoped.
6. 28 Days Later
an existential story wrapped up in horror packaging.
tom
________________________________________________________________
andythepooh.com
