Beatportal’s Top 10 Albums of 2008

Beatportal’s Top 10 Albums of 2008

19 December, 2008 | 3.39PM

• Written by: Ryan Keeling
• Filed under: Music News: 2008 roundup

There isn’t much we can say that hasn’t already been said about this little lot.

As with our Top 10 Singles of the year list we argued long and hard about how to put together our Top 10 Albums of 2008 and, in the end, we gave up trying to please everybody and thought we’d just tell you what we liked.

If we’re honest, this isn’t an all-embracing selection of LPs from right across the electronic music spectrum; rather these are 10 albums that pricked up our ears, from artists whom we felt made a difference this year.

The dance music album has been a notorious stumbling block for so many producers over the years. Countless artists have tried unsuccessfully to break away from the tried-and-tested dance single format, but we felt in the case of the artists we have selected this year, they all did so effortlessly.

We sincerely hope these albums make you feel as sweaty and excited as they did us, but if not, be sure to leave your opinions noisily in the comments section below.

1. Flying Lotus ‘Los Angeles’ [Warp]

Back in June, Steven Ellison aka Flying Lotus released his second full length LP ‘Los Angeles’ through Warp Records to stunned critical acclaim. Existing predominantly between the realms of instrumental hip-hop and twisted electonica, the album picked at the very fibers of rhythm and sound through its hazy template of broken beats and ear-bending intricacies. With labelmate Prefuse 73 as its closest point of reference, the album spat a complex and woozy narrative of life amid an urban jungle.

Endless layers of lo-fi sheen were staunchly juxtaposed by space age synthesis, placing the album in a timeless grey area somewhere between the two. Originality was served-up in spades, as the story succeeded by keeping the listener treading a razor thin line between the familiar structural blueprint of hip-hop and something entirely removed from any genre-related comparisons.

Direct from the introductory tremolo wobble of ‘Brainfeeder’ the agenda was set. ‘Beginners Falafel’ threw around tightly compressed drums that punctured a warm, early nineties hip-hop backing, ‘Comet Course’ was a claustrophobic marriage between maniacal drums and dreamy strings, while ‘GNG BNG’ was as bold and brash as anything Beastie Boys ever committed to tape. 

The recurrent theme was one of contradictory influences playing out like miniature wars across the entire soundscape.

A choice selection of vocalists fitted glove-like on appearance; Dolly’s sultry contribution to ‘RobertaFlack’ and Gonja Sufi’s smoky delivery on ‘Testament’ being the finest examples.

This was an album that is almost impossible to fault, and should be given the time of day by anyone with even a passing interest in electronic music.

2. Shed ‘Shedding The Past’ [Ostgut Ton]

When describing ‘Shedding the Past’ it’s difficult not to eulogise over the album’s significance in a shift back towards the raw techno sound on which the genre was built.

Along with Shed, the movements of fellow Berghain cohorts Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock have been well documented so all that is left is to report on is the sheer brilliance of this album.

Moments of unwavering techno might sat happily alongside rhythmically awkward electronica, all characterised by the same sense of sparseness that made one of last year’s finest albums, Deepchord ‘The Coldest Season’, so essential. 

A sense of foreboding was cast from the simple, synth drone intro, which then neatly segued into ‘Another Wedged Chicken’, a track whose requisite parts seemed to have an acre of space in which to work their breaks-led magic.

‘The Lower Upside Down’ epitomised the at times uncomfortable nature of the rhythm section employed by Shed, while ‘That Beats Everything!’ was characterised by its sheer bloody will to push an unrelenting techno groove perpetually onwards. 

This was by no means an album that will strike you with its immediacy, but give it some time and the sheer undiluted will of its ideas will become crystal clear.

3. Hercules & Love Affair ‘Hercules & Love Affair’ [DFA]

If there’s one album that represents the sound of nu-disco this year, it is without a doubt the self-titled debut of Hercules & Love Affair.  An indisputable triumph, this album took dancefloors by storm in 2008, firmly paving the way for disco to reemerge in its revamped and highly accessible late noughties form.  In what seemed to happen overnight, Brooklyn’s Andy Butler and his 8-piece live act revolutionized the disco sound, giving it a modern facelift while staying true to its flare-wearing, roller-skating ‘70s/’80s roots. 

In a tribute to the gay disco culture of former days, Andy Butler along with his two-man horn section, three vocalists and a legendary New York vogueing dancer, took listeners and audiences on the mythic hero’s journey, referencing the Greek pantheon and their homoerotic storylines throughout.

His smooth and buttery androgynous vocals, interwoven seamlessly between an uplifting and driving chorus of trumpets and cymbals, weaved an epic tale, bewitching listeners into a vibrant landscape of emotion that ran the gamut from hope to despair and back again, leaving them sweaty and breathless on the other side.

One could go so far as to argue that ‘Blind’ was the best commercial dance track released this year, and while the slower tunes on the album took a few listens to warm to, eventually those also proved to have inescapable hooks. The drum programming of DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy laid a firm foundation for the album, and in a further testament to the old school, the opening track ‘Time Will’ found its essence in Frankie Knuckles’ ‘Your Love’, while ‘You Belong’ paid obvious homage to Inner City’s ‘Good Life’.

Overall, this album shines from a spot worthy of a celestial pantheon and has definitely found its place in the history books.

4. The Mole ‘As High As The Sky’ [Wagon Repair]

In the year that disco wormed its way back into the affections of the electronic community, it was Canadian house and techno label Wagon Repair that brought to the fore one of the most successful updates of the sound.

The Mole’s ties with Wagon Repair date back to the time of The Modern Deep Left Quartet, a sometime collective formed with the three members of Cobblestone Jazz that spilt last year due to geographical differences and an unfortunate studio theft. 

On ‘As High As The Sky’ Colin De La Plante aka The Mole, took a lingering gaze at the mirror ball that hung over much of 2008, although as is the case with most decent works that appear to fit a trend, The Mole had been forming this groove for many years.

It would be a huge short sight to label what is essentially a great house album as purely a disco LP - the loose and loopy nature of the offered productions do have ties with the revivalist take on the sounds of the ‘70s and ‘80s but the production is pure late ‘00s.

From the opening moody shuffle of ‘Still In My Corner’, the material very rarely digresses too distantly from the given loop in focus, but their almost irresistible nature effortlessly carries the mood. ‘Hey Girl (I Feel So Good)’ and the single ‘Baby You’re The One’ strut in the most overtly fun-filled manner with their full throttled, cut-and-paste loop action, sticking it to the dancefloor at two differing tempos.

‘Gracias A Los Ninos’ is no less funky but sings its tune in an altogether darker manner, while the modern techno influences become apparent on ‘Alice, You Need Him’ and ‘Like The Way’.

While no means groundbreaking, ‘As High as the Sky’ found its feet simply by tagging the human touch to its message, an attribute that is so sorely lacking from much modern EDM.

5. Move D & Benjamin Brunn ‘Songs From the Beehive’ [Smallville]

The source of David Moufang’s Move D stake as one of the artists of the year can be traced directly to this LP collaboration with Benjamin Brunn.

‘Songs from the Beehive’ seemed to land in some other worldly dimension between house, techno and electronica, avoiding any modern points of reference to exist entirely within its own space. Flickers of drums registered throughout, but it was the lush ambience and far-reaching quality of the soundscapes that really shone through.

‘Love The One You’re With’ opens the album like an audio awakening. In each passing moment the track picked up another notch of intensity, layering complimenting slithers of synthesis atop one another until a kick drum underlined what the track had been hinting at for the previous five minutes.

The album was best suited as a horizontal listening experience although ‘Honey’ did provide one of the few ‘dancefloor orientated’ moments with its full compliment of drums and single release.

Elsewhere, ‘Come In’ was a deep and dubby take on the album’s melancholic theme, ‘Radar’ generously offered 20 plus minutes of swirling atmospherics and clever bass, while ‘Velvet Paws’ pitted low-fi percussion against a dreamy backdrop of pads.

‘Songs From The Beehive’ becomes extra special when you factor in it was recorded as live improv sessions (often as a single take), composed entirely on the Clavia’s Nord Modular synth.

6. Deadbeat ‘Roots and Wire’ [Wagon Repair]

Having a mammoth 2007 didn’t stop Wagon Repair leading the charge once again during 2008. ‘Roots and Wire’ from Canadian producer Scott Monteith, aka Deadbeat, proved to be one of the label’s finest moments in a list of many.

Monteith, who recently swapped Montreal for Berlin, stayed true to his dub reggae roots while stirring in generous amounts of influences from his new hometown. ‘Roots and Wire’ existed at the fertile crossroads between dub and techno and effortlessly set off in either direction at any given moment.

Paul St. Hilaire’s vocal contribution to the sparse ‘Rise Again’ opened up the album and sounded as authentic a contribution to the contemporary dub/dubstep sound as you could wish for. ‘Grounation (Berghain Drum Track)’ laid out several minutes of overdriven, tribal percussion before triumphantly peaking with a flash of techno brilliance and a reassuring 4/4 stomp. ‘Deep Structure’ bore hallmarks of Martyn’s groundbreaking 2008 output while ‘Sun People (Dub Divisionaire)’ padded gracefully around in a manner akin to vintage Deepchord. 

‘Roots and Wire’ succeeded by tapping brilliantly into the emotive simplicity of delay and reverb – the very foundations the dub genre was based upon.

It will be compelling to see what musical rabbits Wagon Repair pull out of the hat during 2009…

7. Loco Dice ‘7 Dunham Place’ [Desolat]

Loco Dice and producer Martin Buttrich expanded upon their ever-excellent double act on the album ‘7 Dunham Place’ back in May. The over-arching theme of the record was the pair’s upheaval to New York for the creation of this record; a fact that was probably reflected more in the album’s track titles than anything musically related. Although not immediately similar to some of the pair’s previous material, the LP did move across a distinctly Dice/Buttrich axis, thanks to the former’s expert use of restraint, and the latter’s immaculate production skills.

It’s difficult to actually throw this album into an accurate genre box, but with an almost relentless 4/4 framework, it surfaces somewhere in a murky middle ground between melancholic house and reductionist techno. Every single molecule of sound was given its own space to breathe, and subsequently they work their way into your subconscious. 

Opening track ‘Breakfast at Nina’s’ places a wheezing synth line atop a tom-ridden groove and soulful vocals, ‘Black Truffles in the Snow’ sounds like the distant cousin of a Shed record and ‘La Esquina’ whacks a smart little piano skit over heavily processed beats and FX. The singles ‘Tight Laces’ and ‘Pimp Jackson Is Talkin Now!!!’ are naturally the most dancefloor facing numbers, although ‘How Do I Know?!’ did have a certain danceable appeal.

Loco Dice gainfully seized the chance to go beyond his impressive singles discography with this album, and further laid out his and Buttrich’s credentials as a top tier production pair in the process. 

8. Guy J ‘Esperanza’ [Bedrock]

While other albums in this list hogged the limelight this year through their immediate presence or showy sonic wizardry, Guy J’s debut artist album for Bedrock Records succeeded through a measured, self-assurance in its sound.

The Tel-Aviv producer is the latest to emerge from a citywide talent pool that has so far thrown-up the likes of Guy Gerber, Shlomi Aber and Gel Abril. The magic in ‘Esperanza’ lay with the liquid-like, melodic thread that ran directly through the core of the album, as tracks seeped effortlessly into one another. Although the album makes stops in the towns of ambient, techno, electro and house, it never feels at any point as though the journey veers off course.

‘Indigo Fields’ opens proceedings with all the melodic cheer of progressive house’s heady, hey days. The single ‘Geko’ could easily be held up alongside some of Border Community’s finer efforts - albeit in a more restrained manner to the UK label’s output. The far harsher ‘Mirko’ explores the outer limits of the Guy J sound through taut beats and a distressed saw-tooth lead line, while ‘Under Pressure’ would not sound out of place in a classic Sasha and John Digweed escapade.

For a producer whose career is still in its very early stages, ‘Esperanza’ was an accomplished body of work, well beyond the three years Guy J has been releasing records.

9. Marcel Dettmann ‘Berghain 02’ [Ostgut Ton]

Although not an artist album, we were willing to bend the rules slightly for this seminal mix compilation, which was released on Ostgut Ton back in July.

At the beginning of the 2008, the world of techno was still heavily under the spell of minimal. BPMs were still knocking around the 125 mark and the sonic blueprint of club music was languishing in bleep land. However over in Berlin, and in particular the Berghain club, resident Marcel Dettmann and his cohorts Ben Klock, Norman Nodge and Shed were making altogether different noises.

Drawing their influences from the classic techno blueprint, they took the stripped aesthetics of minimal, a somewhat increased tempo and ushered in a brooding collage of Basic Channel inspired synthesis that gave a hefty shot in the arm the to a scene that was in need of renewal. 

As a snapshot of the sound, ‘Berghain 02’ duly arrived and perfectly encapsulated everything that was so raw and exciting about what this collective was doing.

The tracks on offer read like a who’s who of forward thinking techno with Tobias., Substance, Norman Nodge, Shed, Radio Slave and of course Dettmann himself all getting in on the act. Dettmann has always been inclined to cast an affectionate eye to the past during his DJ sets and in this case, Risqué Rythm Team’s 1986 ‘The Jacking Zone’, Kevin Saunderson’s 1988 cut ‘Just Want Another Chance’ and the closing offering of Strand’s 1996 ‘Zephyr’ all appeared.

Although the ‘movement’ didn’t signal a full-scale shift as perhaps minimal did back in 2005, the sound of the Berghain did inject enough creative impetus to keep the fires of techno stoked for most of the year. 

10. Prosumer & Murat Tepeli ‘Serenity’ [Ostgut Ton]

The third entry for Ostgut Ton in our list should give you some idea of the unstoppable year they’ve had and the high regard in which we hold them. The Berlin-based label is most readily associated with the cavernous techno favoured by Shed and Marcel Dettmann, but it was definitely a case of ‘house rules’ on ‘Serenity’, Prosumer and Murat Tepeli’s sumptuous album-based collaboration.

For the sceptics out there, this LP could have been viewed as blatant plagiarism of the classic Chicago house sound. The album did overtly wear its Chi-town influences on its sleeve, however, the ideas were executed is such a loving and respectful manner it was very difficult not to fall for its seductive charms.

‘Serenity’ offers up pretty much any strain of house music you care to imagine - from jackin’ and acidic, right through to vocal and down-tempo, all bases we entertained. Prosumer’s voice – which appears on a good number of tracks – had its obvious limitations but in this context, seemed to work just fine.

For highlights try ‘The Craze’ with its straight-out-of ’88 bass action, the title track ‘Serenity’ with Prosumer’s blissfully hushed vocals and ‘Give And Take’, a cut that places its feet firmly on the ‘floor through tense drums and a rasping lead line. 

From a wider perspective, what it says about one of the albums-of-the-year being staunchly based upon 20-year-old sounds is an argument for another day – it is best just to slip this on and remind yourself of why you fell in love with house music in the first place.

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