2015 Music

Variables – various Bigo & Twigetti artists

This is my album of the year.  Created in just 7 days from conception to release. Variables features contributions from a variety of artist on the Bigo & Twigetti label.  In a testament to the collaborative spirit of the music, there are no individual credits for any of the tracks.  Despite the myriad of the contributors, it all hangs together remarkably well.

Listen and buy your own here…

The Race for Space – Public Service Broadcasting

These guys have a schtick, and it is a good schtick:  Archival recordings from NASA, recut and remixed with some lively pop-rock backgrounds.  There are a few goosebumps moments here.

Listen to Go

Tomorrow Was the Golden Age – Bing and Ruth

Low key doesn’t begin to describe the Bing and Ruth vibe.

Listen to We Are on the Side of Angels

Caelum – Oskar Schuster & Cypix

Everything on this 3 track EP is of a piece, to the extent that they are virtually indistinguishable.  It wouldn’t work on a full length release, but it does here.  I enjoyed these whenever they came up in a playlist during the year.

Listen and buy your own here:

Loon – Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm

These guys had a bunch of releases, individually and together, this year, but I think this is the best.  Meticulous and shiny.

Listen to W

Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys – Asleep at the Wheel

22 tracks and >80 minutes of Western swing goodness, with help from The Avett Brothers, Lyle Lovett, Kat Edmonton, Willie Nelson, Pokey Lafarge etc. etc.  Who cares if it’s all been done before.  This is the real deal.  

Listen to I Can’t Give You Anything But Love

Tölt – Flying Hórses

Jade Bergeron (piano, wurlitzer, celesta, glockenspiel, bells, chimes, music boxes) and Raphael Weinroth-Browne (cello) are Flying Horses, from Quebec, so I guess this is my nod to Canadian content.  Somewhat twee, but I enjoyed it.

Listen and buy your own here:

Music for Viola and Electronics II – Michel Banabila and Oene van Geel

Viola and electronics – who could want for more?  This is a good album, but Vleugels is the standout track.  8 minutes that would, I think, fall into the “post-rock” sub-genre, for those, like me, with an irresistible urge to classify.

Listen to Vleugels

ISKRA – Iskra String Quartet

Always the bridesmaid, now the bride: that’s Iskra String Quartet.  They’ve recorded and performed with some of the heavy hitters of contemporary music, including Steve Reich and Ólafur Arnalds.  That’s good enough for me.

Listen and buy your own here:

Waves – Francesco Berta

One track by multi-instrumentalist Francesco Berta and the gorgeous voice of Anne Van Den Hoogen.  But wait, there’s more!

Listen and buy your own here:

Bonus Recommendation:

Listend and buy this track by Francesco Berta and the Modern Dinosaurs (name your price) from 2013, that I just discovered this year (I think it is awesome):