Top releases of twenty-ten

With this article, 151 releases and 25 honorable mentions are highlighted as being titles that garnered the extra spins in 2010. These musicians (and associated labels) offered an abundance of quality productions coming from all corners of the globe with an emphasis on releasing music that doesn’t always follow a defined path.

[January 2011] Twenty-ten was definitely a good year for all forms of electronic music. The virtual audio landscape has obviously shifted, with digital releases becoming commonplace and accepted as a stand-alone medium next to CD, vinyl and even cassettes. With this article, 151 releases and 25 honorable mentions are highlighted as having garnered the extra spins in 2010. These musicians (and associated labels) offered an abundance of quality productions coming from all corners of the globe with an emphasis on releasing music that doesn’t always follow a defined path. We’re hoping you’ll be able to find a few gems that may have slipped under the radar over the past 12-months. A quick glance through the lists below reveals that heavyweight imprints such as Ad Noiseam, Ant-Zen, Hymen, Important, n5MD, Tympanik Audio, Type and Warp continually offer the finest in terms of wide-ranging selections that caught the attention of our contributors. While these labels tend to glide in terms of release frequency, many of the others have plenty to offer in their own respective fields, each creating an innovative path that should be heard by a wider audience. And this is really our goal at the end of the day; to bring much needed exposure to the musicians who are on top of their craft, to allow their music a chance to be heard and critiqued in these pages. With 2011 well underway, we hope to continue the expansion of coverage so that our readers have a resource to find the best in abstract electronics and to learn a little more about the people behind the machinery.

For this article we have collated lists from thirteen igloomag.com contributors and created a master bullet list featuring 125 albums, 6 compilations, 20 EP’s and 25 honorable mentions. We hope you enjoy the releases below as much as we have!

A special thanks to all of the artists, labels and readers of Igloo Magazine; your support over the past 10-years has been monumental in keeping this website alive and active. Here’s to another decade of music journalism covering experimental electronics and its affiliated sub-genre’s.

Contributor credits :: Alan Lockett [AL] :: Chris Bolszo [CZ] :: Chris Bradbury [CB] :: Craig Hitchings [CH] :: Francesca Da Sacco [FD] :: Greg Dutcher [GD] :: James Knapman [JK] :: Josh Bratton [JB] :: Jus Forrest [JF] :: Paul Lloyd [PL] :: Pietro Da Sacco [PD] :: TJ Norris [TJ] :: Robbie Geoghegan [RG]

TOP 125 ALBUMS ::

  • @c :: 0°-100° (Monochrome Vision / Baskaru) [TJ]
  • 36 :: Hollow (3six) [AL] [JB]
  • Access To Arasaka :: Void (): (Tympanik Audio) [PD] [FD]
  • A Guy Called Gerald :: Tronic Jazz: The Berlin Sessions (Laboratory Instinct) [JF]
  • Anders Ilar :: Stories of Old (Yard) [TJ]
  • Architect :: Consume Adapt Create (Hymen) [JB] [PL]
  • Asmus Tietchens :: Abraum (1000füssler) [TJ]
  • AUN :: Black Pyramid (Cyclic Law) [JB]
  • Autechre :: Oversteps (Warp) [CB] [CH] [JB] [JK] [PD] [PL] [TJ]
  • BJ Nilsen :: The Invisible City (Touch) [JB]
  • Bonobo :: Black Sands (Ninja Tune) [GD]
  • Bored Man Ganesh :: Evoke the Present (Install) [JB]
  • Brian Eno :: Small Craft on a Milk Sea (Warp) [PL]
  • Brian McBride :: The Effective Disconnect (Kranky) [JB]
  • Candle Nine :: The Muse In The Machine (Tympanik Audio) [PD] [JB]
  • Celer :: Dying Star (Dragon’s Eye) [TJ]
  • Celer :: Panoramic Dreams Bathed in Seldomness (Basses Frequences) [AL]
  • Cepia :: Cepia (Cepia Music) [PD]
  • CH District :: Conclusion (Tympanik Audio) [PL]
  • Christophe Charles / i8u :: Unter Den Linden / Und Transit (Nonvisual Objects) [TJ]
  • Clem Leek :: Holly Lane (Hibernate) [AL]
  • cliffordandcalix :: Lost Foundling 1999-2004 (Aperture) [PL]
  • d_rradio :: Parts (Distraction) [JB]
  • Dalot :: Loop Over Latitudes (n5MD) [PL]
  • David Tagg :: Pentecost (Install) [AL]
  • Demdike Stare :: Triptych (Modern Love) [AL] [JK]
  • Diaphane :: Samdhya (Ant-Zen) [JB]
  • Dryft :: Ventricle (n5MD) [FD] [JB] [PD]
  • Dustin O’Halloran :: Vorleben (Sonic Pieces) [JK]
  • Einsturzende Neubauten :: Strategies Against Architecture IV (Mute) [TJ]
  • Eleven Pond :: Bas Relief (Dark Entries) [RG]
  • Eleven Tigers :: Clouds Are Mountains (Soul Motive) [CH]
  • Emeralds :: Does It Look Like I’m Here (Editions Mego) [GD]
  • En :: The Absent Coast (Root Strata) [AL]
  • Erik K Skodvin :: Flare (Sonic Pieces) [JK]
  • F :: Energy Distortion (7even) [GD]
  • Famine :: Nature’s Twin Tendencies (Tympanik Audio) [JB]
  • Federico Durand :: La Siesta Del Cipre’s (Spekk) [TJ]
  • Fenn O’Berg :: In Stereo (Editions Mego) [CB]
  • Forest Swords :: Dagger Paths 2CD Edition (No Pain In Pop) [PL]
  • Francisco López :: Amarok (Glacial Movements) [JB]
  • Franck Vigroux :: Camera Police (D’Autres Cordes) [TJ]
  • Geomatic :: 64 Light Years Away (Tympanik Audio) [JK]
  • Gil Scott-Heron :: I’m New Here (XL) [PL]
  • Gintas K :: So On (Crónica) [TJ]
  • Giuseppe Ietasi :: Tools (12K) [TJ]
  • Grasslung :: Sincere Void (Root Strata) [AL]
  • Greg Haines :: Until the Point of Hushed Support (Sonic Pieces) [JB]
  • Jan Bang :: …And Poppies From Kandahar (Samadhisound) [JK]
  • Jared Wilson :: The Rise and Fall of the Machines (Part 1) (Lux) [RG]
  • Jefre Cantu-Ledesma :: Love is a Stream (Type) [AL]
  • Jon McMillion :: Jon McMillion LP The Remixes (Nuearth Kitchen) [CB]
  • Kid606 :: Songs About Fucking Steve Albini (Important) [CB]
  • Kinetix :: Final Archives (Silentes Minimal Editions)
  • Kloudbreak :: The River (Louse) [CH]
  • Kyle Bobby Dunn :: A Young Person’s Guide To? (Low Point) [AL]
  • Larsen & Nurse With Wound :: Erroneous: A Selection Of Errors (Important) [CB]
  • Logic Probe :: Hard Edit (self release) [CB]
  • Lovesliescrushing :: Girl. Echo. Suns. Veils. (Projekt) [CB]
  • LV & Untold :: Beacon (Hemlock) [CH]
  • Mark Van Hoen :: Where is the Truth (City Centre Offices) [CB]
  • Matmos / Wobbly / LSR :: Final (Important) [TJ]
  • Matthew Herbert :: One One (Accidental) [CB]
  • Maurizio Bianchi/M.B. :: Ynohpmys (Tourette) [TJ]
  • Meat Beat Manifesto :: Answers Come In Dreams (Metropolis / Hydrogen Dukebox) [PD] [FD]
  • Mika Goedrijk :: Looking Glass World (Ant-Zen) [FD] [PD]
  • Minamo + Lawrence English :: A Path Less Travelled (Room40) [TJ]
  • Mothboy :: Bunny (Ad Noiseam) [CH]
  • Mount Kimbie :: Crooks & Lovers (Hotflush) [CH]
  • Near the Parenthesis :: Music for the Forest Concourse (n5MD) [JB]
  • Neon Judgement :: Early Tapes (Dark Entries) [RG]
  • Nerfbau :: Error Swarms (Resipiscent) [TJ]
  • Nest :: Retold (Serein) [JK]
  • Niveau Zero :: In_Sect (Ad Noiseam) [CH]
  • Not Breathing :: Christy Cores (Noize:Tek) [FD] [PD]
  • No Vuoto :: A Work About Cosmic Vacuum (Farmacia 901) [TJ]
  • Oneohtrix Point Never :: Returnal (eMego) [JB]
  • Pan Sonic :: Gravitoni (Blast First Petite) [CB]
  • Pantha du Prince :: Black Noise (Rough Trade) [TJ]
  • Pausal :: Lapses (Barge) [AL]
  • Phaeleh :: There Will Be Morning’ (Soul Motive [CH]
  • Phoenecia :: Echelon Mall (Schematic / Alphabasic) [CB]
  • Pjusk :: Sval (12k) [AL]
  • Radio Dept :: Clinging To A Scheme (Labrador) [GD]
  • Rafael Anton Irisarri :: The North Bend (Room40) [AL] [JB]
  • Ran Slavin :: The Mediterranean Drift (Cronica) [CB]
  • Recoil :: Selected Deluxe Boxset (Mute) [PL]
  • Rene Hell :: Porecelain Opera/Rogue Camera (Type) [JK]
  • Rhinestones :: Rhinestones (self release) [CB]
  • Robert Curgenven :: Oltre (LINE) [JB]
  • Roel Funcken :: Vade (Ad Noiseam) [PD]
  • Rusty Egan/Richard Burgess :: Shock (Phonica) [JF]
  • Saburo Ubukata :: Multistory Scenery (Install) [JB]
  • Scott Cortez :: Twin Radiant Flux (Line) [AL]
  • SE :: L36 (Tympanik Audio) [JB] [PD]
  • Senking :: Pong (Raster Noton) [TJ]
  • Shackleton :: Fabric 55 (LP Mix) (Fabric) [CZ]
  • Shemale :: Opening the Astral Doors (Further) [RG]
  • Simon Scott :: Traba (Immune) [AL]
  • Skream :: Freeizm Vol 1-3 (self release) [CH]
  • Skytree :: Hyphae (Boltfish) [PD]
  • Slowcream :: River Of Flesh (Nonine) [PD]
  • Snog :: Last of the Great Romantics (Hymen) [JF]
  • Summons of Shining Ruins :: Hodai (Moufu-Rokuon) [JB]
  • The Books :: The Way Out (Temporary Residence) [GD]
  • The Besnard Lakes :: Are The Roaring Night (Jagjaguwar) [GD]
  • The Caretaker :: Persistent Repetition of Phrases (HAFTW) [JK]
  • The Fun Years :: God Was Like, No (Barge) [GD]
  • The Internal Tulips :: Mislead Into A Field By A Deformed Deer (Planet Mu) [CB]
  • The Irrepressibles :: Mirror Mirror (V2) [TJ]
  • The JD’s :: Education (Pretension) [FD] [JF] [PD]
  • The Short Wave Mystery :: Down And Out In A Town Of Yardsales (W|S Collective) [RG]
  • The Sight Below :: It All Falls Apart (Ghostly International) [CB]
  • Thomas Köner :: Nunatak|Teimo|Permafrost (Type) [AL] [JK]
  • Tipper :: Broken Soul Jamboree (Tippermusic) [CZ] [PD]
  • Tzolk’in :: Tonatiuh (Ant-Zen) [FD] [PD]
  • Ultravox :: Return to Eden: Live at the Roundhouse (Chrysalis/EMI) [JF]
  • Void Vision :: In 20 Years (Blind Prophet) [RG]
  • Wild Shores :: Illusion of Movement (M-Tronic) [PD]
  • Witch :: Introduction (Q.D.K. Media) [JF]
  • Women :: Public Strain (Jagjaguwar) [GD]
  • Working For A Nuclear Free City :: Jojo Burger Tempest (Melodic) [GD]
  • Wyndel Hunt :: Sunshine Noir (Dragon’s Eye) [CB]
  • Yellow Swans :: Going Places (Type) [CB] [GD]
  • Zero Degree :: Probe (Ant-Zen) [PD]
  • TOP 6 COMPILATIONS ::

  • Clicks & Cuts 5.1 :: Paradigm Shift (Mille Plateaux) [TJ]
  • Dark Room Beats (Aleph Zero) [JF]
  • Ministry of Sound (Electronic 80’s) [JF]
  • The Anna Logue Years – Fifth Year Anniversary (Anna Logue) [RG]
  • The Reconstruction of Fives (n5MD) [FD] [PD] [PL]
  • Underground Belgian Wave Volume 1 (Walhalla) [RG]
  • TOP 20 EP’s ::

  • Arne Weinberg :: Chrome (Diametric) [RG]
  • Bad Loop :: Fragments (Soft Phase) [PD]
  • Celer :: Weavings Of A Rapid Disenchantment (Basses Frequences) [AL]
  • CitizenGreen :: Foliage (High Grade Media) [FD] [PD]
  • Crewdson :: Dust (Slowfoot) [CH]
  • Digital Mistikz :: Return II Space (DMZ) [CZ]
  • Dimlite :: Prismic Tops (Now-Again) [CZ]
  • Einoma :: Tvenna (Lamadameaveclechien) [FD] [PD]
  • Hecq :: Sura (Ad Noiseam) [CZ] [FD] [PD]
  • Instra:mental :: Voyeur (single) (Disfigured Dubz) [CZ]
  • Karsten Pflum :: Nemo Loon (Ad Noiseam) [PD]
  • Liquid Apparatus :: Shuffle (High Grade Media) [PD]
  • Mark Pritchard :: Elephant Dub/Heavy as Stone (Deep Medi Musk) [CZ]
  • Meat Beat Manifesto :: Totally Together (Metropolis / Hydrogen Dukebox) [FD] [PD]
  • Robot Koch :: Death Star Droid Remix (Project: Mooncircle) [CZ]
  • Rustie :: Sunburst (Warp) [CZ]
  • Virta :: Spammers (ProForm Series) [RG]
  • V.I.V.I.K. :: Feel It (Deep Medi Musik) [CZ]
  • Worm Is Green :: The Politician (ata:Digital) [JF] [PD]
  • Xurba :: System 3 Remixes (Electric Studios) [PD]
  • TOP 25 HONORABLE MENTIONS ::

  • Alio Die & Mathias Grassow :: Praha Meditations (Hic Sunt Leones) [JB]
  • Arandel :: In D (Infiné) [JB]
  • Autechre :: Move of Ten (Warp) [JK]
  • Bvdub :: The Art of Dying Alone (Glacial Movements) [JB]
  • Christian Albrechtsen :: I wish all my songs were about the sea (Dynamophone) [JK]
  • Clem Leek :: Holly Lane (Hibernate) [JB]
  • Daniel Menche :: Terre Paroxysm (Utech) [JB]
  • Deepchord presents Echospace :: Liumin/Liumin Reduces (Modern Love) [JK]
  • Emmalee Crane :: Formantine (The Streetlight Farm) [JB]
  • Geistform :: Transistor Music (Hands Productions) [JB]
  • Ido Govrin :: Moraine (Interval) [JB]
  • Johann Johannsson :: And in the endless pause there came the sound of bees (Type) [JK]
  • Kattoo :: l–ll-ll l-ll ll-ll- l-ll- l–l-ll l–l-ll ll– ll– l- l–l- (self released) [JB] [PD]
  • Madlib :: Medicine Show No. 8: Advanced Jazz (Madlib Invazion) [JB]
  • Nicholas Szczepanik :: Dear Dad (Basses Frequences) [JB]
  • Olan Mill :: Pine (Serein) [JK]
  • Pan Sonic :: Gravitoni (Blast First Petite) [JB]
  • Pariah :: Safehouses (R&S) [JK]
  • Reklein :: Piedmont (High Grade Media) [PD]
  • Saito Koji :: Ocean (SEM) [JB]
  • Shinobu Nemoto :: Melting Loop Trip (Resting Bell) [JB]
  • Subheim :: No Land Called Home (Ad Noiseam) [JB]
  • V/A :: Chicken Accelerator (Astro Chicken) [JK]
  • Yvat :: Extant (U-Cover) [JB] [PD]
  • SEARCH AT AMAZON.COM ::