Top 10 Albums of 2012

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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:

  • Papadosio - T.E.T.I.O.S.
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. 

  • Koan Sound - Funk Blaster / The Adventures of Mr. Fox EPs
Speaking of music scenes that have been getting watered down, the ‘bass’ music world is probably the most guilty culprit in that department. In come Koan Sound to save the day.  Mixing up elements of dubstep, hip-hop and funk, these dudes are pushing the bass music boundaries towards the next level.  Intricate and funky drum programming, exciting synth work, the unsuspecting emotional bridges and otherwise massive energy kept these two EPs in super heavy rotation through my speakers this year.  

  • Joey Bada$$ - 1999
I’ll just put it out there, I miss 90’s hip-hop.  I can’t think of another time period within a genre where the output was so prolific and consistently solid than hip-hop from 1992 through 1996.  I’m not necessarily a purist, but I do still gravitate and am inspired more by that era of hip-hop far more than anything going on as a whole within the genre over the last decade.  That being said, Joey Bada$$’ “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.

  • Peaking Lights - Lucifer
This was definitely my summer jam.  Slow, hazy, relaxing.  The perfect soundtrack for a hot summer.  I love the warm tones, instrumentation and swooning emotion that comes through on this one.  Zone out shit.  

  • 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!

Top 10 Albums of 2011

In no particular order, here are ten of my favorite albums from 2011 that stimulated my cerebral cortex / rustled up my soul :

  • Thundercat - The Golden Age of Apocalypse

Stunning.  Total excellence in musicianship, craft and originality.  The vibe on this album puts me in a place between the ancient and the future.  Features the phenomenal bass skills of Thundercat alongside FlyLo production with guest spots from Badu, Sa-Ra, Austin Peralta etc.  CAN’T go wrong. Props to Master Fader who copped me this on vinyl for my golden bday, which was the day this record came out. Golden. Brain food.

  • A$AP Rocky - LiveLoveA$AP

I’m normally not one for hype/blog/mainstream/drug obsessed rap.  I could give two shits about Drake, Gucci, Waka or Childish Gambino.  However, this album stands far above any of the aforementioned goofballs on a large number of levels. The woozy lo-fi aura of the whole thing puts one in the zone, even if you aren’t sippin on dat purple drank, which happens to be the album’s #1 matter of subject. I barely relate to the lyrical content being expressed here these days, but the dude’s versatile flow along with the hazy beats (many courtesy of other top 10 spotholder, Clams Casino) are super complementary on this homage to the dirty south from a Harlem cat.   

  • Davis - s/t EP

LA producer & cassette guru Matthewdavid along with Chi-town oddball rapper Serengeti pieced together a real gem on this seemingly one-off EP project.  Some very original art here. The rhymes are clever, at times reminding me of MF DOOM in his prime, while Matthewdavid provides the perfect warbled hip-hop soundscapes to this release. The six songs here clock in at just under ten minutes and left me wanting more. Sets a high-bar for unique left-field hip-hop.

  • Clams Casino - Instrumental Mixtape

Lo-fi and moody as hell, the way i love it. Dude is a beast. Producer of the year. 

  • Lostribe - Sophie

I have no idea where I came across this album.  Hell, I barely know anything about these guys except that this was a top player of mine this year since discovering it this past summer. Futuristic west coast production mixed with refreshing lyrical content / delivery and some dope guest features made this the surprise find of 2011 for me.

  • Salva - Complex Housing

Complex Housing had me gripped from the get-go. There was a Soundcloud stream of the whole album up a week or so before the release that I had become obsessed with right at that point.  Totally clean and super crisp production with great programming (mad 808s and great tom drums everywhere!). Salva blends classic old school sounds and styles to create something completely modern, trumping most of his peers in this bracket. 

  • Dam-Funk - Innafocusedazed EP

The leader of the ‘Modern Funk’ movement and to me one of the most inspiring people/musicians of this time period brought us this EP, holding fans over til his new fully drops in 2012.  The 4-song EP was offered to the people for free, but definitely contains no throwaway tracks or ‘skippers.’  Another all around solid ass release from Dam, complete with that funk from the soul and the classic analog sounds we’ve all came to love from this man. I had the good fortune to see Dam-Funk live in Los Angeles this fall with Master Blazter (R.I.P. J-1) and it was one of the best live performances of the year to me as well.  

  • Cities Aviv - Digital Lows

Hip-hop ain’t dead.  Its just lurking somewhere deep within a Bandcamp or Soundcloud page, which is exactly where I scored this album. Cities Aviv hits the mic with a ballsy attitude on this full-length. Great, classic sounding hip-hop beats make this head-nodder a perfect current record for those of us who like to cling onto the long-forgotten glory days of hip-hop.  No frills, just dope beats and rhymes here.

  • Disco Biscuits - Otherwise Law Abiding Citizens

The DB’s killed it again on their latest studio full-length.  Focusing this time on more of their live show element in the studio, no song clocks in at under six minutes.  One of the kings of the jam/electronica crossover scene, the Biscuits keep their musicianship rock solid throughout the whole effort, taking the listener on a journey, just as they would in concert. Lots of jamming on this one. Awesome to drive to on the highway or on road trips.   

  • Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact

Psychedelic, spaced out, weird, genre-defying, TIGHT.  I can really lose myself in this record and all the depth and emotion that was put into its musical and vocal performances.  I love records that make me feel like I’m taking drugs when I’m really not. 

Honorable Mentions: Kendrick Lamar - Section:80, Shabazz Palaces - Black Up, Lotus - Lotus, Radiohead - The King of Limbs, Saturn Never Sleeps - Yesterday’s Machine, TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light, Samiyam - Sam Baker’s Album

Local cats / homies who dropped some ill shit this year: Ro Knew - Fool’s Wisdom, Lagos - Lagos EP, Loyal Divide - Bodice Ripper, Raj Mahal, Local Nobodies - One, Push Beats, Cutz on Cuts, Save the Clocktower - Carousel, Ghosthouse - Ghosthouse, Dormlife  (keep it up y’all!!!)

2011 was a great year for live music too, I hit the festy circuit over the summer harder than ever and also finally got to attend the amazing Low End Theory out in LA!  

Also, on one last note, I released a new Vapor Eyes solo record this past March entitled It’s Moving So Fast It’s Standing Still.  Cop that for free here.  I had a great year performing some cool gigs, meeting inspiring people, having stellar life experiences and writing lots of new music to be released soon. Grateful for it all! Can’t wait to see what 2012 holds.  Peace!

top10.2010.

the following full-length albums were my favorites from the past year:

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh

Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

Mount Kimbie - Crooks & Lovers

Toro y Moi - Causers of This

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Lone - Emerald Fantasy Tracks

Best Coast - Crazy for You

Michal Menert - Dreaming of a Bigger Life

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

Solar Bears - She Was Coloured In

And although they technically came out in the latter portion of 2009 these get an honorable mention for getting heavy rotation in 2010:

STS9 - Ad Explorata

Dam-Funk - Toeachizown