Vapor Eyes Sound System Elevated Level

My new album ‘Strange Places’ is out now! 14 songs, 55+ minutes of Vapor Eyes music for you to enjoy.

Dec 28

Top 10 Albums of 2012

In no particular order, here are ten of my favorite albums from 2012 that made me overthink the value of combining sounds and noises together to create something wonderful:

I’d been waiting semi-impatiently a few years for new Papadosio material to arrive and when it did it came in the form of this highly ambitious double disc masterpiece. The jamtronica/livetronica circuit has been blowing up and as such has had its natural watering down as well over the past couple years. I found this album to be a breath of fresh air within that scene, something fresh and creative, deep and spiritual. With no fear of genre hopping or being true to themselves, Papadosio are set to have a huge year after dropping this beast of a record. This is one of those albums that just completely resonates to me on all levels of the group’s vision. From the message, to the music, to the artwork, these dudes have nailed it. Inspiring to say the least.

I’ll just put it out there, I miss 90’s hip-hop. I can’t think of another time period within a genre where the output was so prolific and consistently solid than hip-hop from 1992 through 1996. I’m not necessarily a purist, but I do still gravitate and am inspired more by that era of hip-hop far more than anything going on as a whole within the genre over the last decade. That being said, Joey Bada$$’ “1999” record brought me straight back to that time period. A perfectly executed homage to the sound of hip-hop I so love, all coming from a 17 year old kid who wasn’t even in pre-school when this kind of music was overtaking the airwaves. Regardless of age, or existence through a certain time period, Joey and his Pro-Era crew hit the bullseye on the classic 90’s hip-hop sound. Super sweet lyrical prowess and dope beats all the way through, even a gem from Lord Finesse. There was a point in time in the late summer where my girl was giving me the business cause I was bumping this album so often.

Death Grips - The Money Store

I remember hearing Atari Teenage Riot’s “Burn Berlin Burn” for the first time somewhere in mid-high school and being absolutely stunned about something so crazy and aggressive and in-your-face. Since those years I’ve heard and taken in a large variety of music, so it takes a real whopper to get that ATR feeling back again. ”The Money Store” was the closest I’ve gotten in quite some time to that ‘holy shit’ feeling where the brain doesn’t really know how to process the information upon first listen. The older I get, the more my tastes seem to lean towards the more chill side of things, but I find a certain catharsis in this record that allows that lurking angsty/wild side to find its way out. This album is awesome. Original as hell, punk as fuck in attitude and holding no punches in the way this duo is conveying their own unique hybrid of rap, electronica, bass and hardcore. I do not get bored during any moment of this album. Stimulating music.

Griz - Mad Liberation

This was my car album of the year. I don’t believe I ever jammed this record outside of my whip. A total amalgamation and take on the “Colorado/Pretty Lights” sound, but superbly executed nonetheless. The fact that this kid is 21 and made this huge/slick sounding record in his bedroom is pretty awesome. This musical ground has been treaded before, yet I kept going back to this album because of its rock solid and high energy production. Out of all the producers out there biting this style, this kid has certainly done it best in my opinion. I’m looking forward to seeing this dude’s live show one of these days.

Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes

I’ve read the hype, I’ve seen the backlash, I don’t give two shits, this record is dope. FlyLo has brought experimental beat music to the limelight and its a good thing that people are paying attention to it. With all the spotlight on this dude I’m glad he continues to still push boundaries and engage listeners without any seeming amount of conformity to more popular trends. Interestingly structured and sequenced, FlyLo continues to create full blown journeys with his albums.

Ta-Ku - 50 Days for Dilla, Volumes 1 & 2

Straight up non-stop bangin’ hip-hop instrumentals. Covering a double album’s worth of 50 tracks, Ta-Ku brings nothing but heat on his tribute to the late great J Dilla. Excellent craftsmanship, hard hitting drums, amazing sample selections and songwriting consistency all lend to this being the ‘beat tape’ of the year for me.

Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City

The album that deserves to be in everyone’s top 10 list of 2012. If you love hip-hop, have a brain and gave this multiple listens to really absorb the music, skits content and skill being demonstrated here, then this needs no further explanation.

Memoryhouse - The Slideshow Effect

Every now and again a record comes along that I like to listen to strictly by myself. An album that brings out a certain introspection and forces me to face feelings and emotion that would not otherwise be brought to the surface with the company of others around. This was one of those records.

Honorable Mentions: Clams Casino - Instrumentals II, RYAT - Totem, Ratking - Wiki93, The Doppelgangaz - Beats for Brothels 1 & 2, Purity Ring - Shrines, Tame Impala - Lonerism, Ohbliv - Up, Yeasayer - Fragrant World

As far as live music was concerned some of my favorite non-festival related shows I attended in 2012 were: Tune-Yards at HOB, Dam-Funk at Metro, Tame Impala at Metro. I also got to hit up Fabric while out in London this past May, which was pretty raw to finally experience considering I’ve been listening to their mix series for many years now.

2012 was a great year overall. I travelled overseas for the first time, put out Golden Beats Volume #1, shared the main stage at North Coast Music Festival with two of my favorite acts: STS9 and EOTO, made new friends, was asked to join the Push Beats crew, put out my first Vapor Eyes music video and have a brand new full-length album that’s about a day away from completion that will see a release in early 2013. I feel grateful and humbled to be part of such a positive movement. Happy new year!

Vapor Eyes Sound System Elevated Level

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Top 10 Albums of 2012

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