 ~An article by The Silent Ballet Staff 30) Intrusion | The Seduction of Silence If there is one city that's sprinting to be the first down the shitter, it's Detroit. Recent estimates have put as much as 50% of the working-age population in unemployment, and it doesn't look like relief is coming anytime soon. In spite of the city's economic hardships, Echospace [Detroit] has produced two of the finest albums of the year - Brock Van Wey's White Clouds Drift On and On and Intrusion's The Seduction of Silence. The former sports major crossover appeal, and the latter can tout being one of the best dub techno works of the year. Stephen Hitchell may be better known for The Coldest Season, a record he created under the Echospace moniker with Rod Modell. Since then, both musicians have branched off into solo projects, but Hitchell's Intrusion stays much closer to The Coldest Season's vision than did Modell's flop from last year. And while any artist that ventures down the dub techno lane will have to face the ghost of Basic Channel, Hitchell is one of the few who actually brushes it off and continues his jaunt to limited fame and relative fortune. (Jordan Volz) 29) Kaito | Trust Trust is a surprisingly straightforward release for the Kompakt label, which generally deals in more obtuse and minimal electronica. Kaito's latest blends together techno and trance, stays in a relatively optimistic and upbeat mood, and has no qualms about time warping back into the past. It's this blast of nostalgia that will hook in listeners who are seeking to revisit the grand ol' nineties, where this type of thing was an irresistible drug to ravers. In 2009, Kaito updates the technique ever so slightly to give it an appeal to the home listening crowd; by filling out his sound, Kaito instills the record with a sense of urgency and determination that was all too absent from the previous decade. Trust is nothing short of a small triumph. (Jordan Volz) 28) Nosaj Thing | Drift 27) Midaircondo | Curtain Call 26) Lusine | A Certain Distance When I first read of the then upcoming new Lusine LP, I was crushed by reports of ‘poppy’ electronica and a shift towards commercial appeal over experimentalism. While A Certain Distance certainly has more commercial appeal than Serial Hodgepodge, this is a measurement relevant to documenting the speed of glaciers. As I noted in our review, the vocals are much more front and center on numerous tracks, but they are treated with such subtlety, care, and craft that the land of Britney Spears is still light years away. Maybe people were fooled by a more consistent up-tempo feel? Well, this set of ears wasn’t tricked. I rocked Lusine on the dance floor and headphones just as easily as Moderat or Paul White. Versatility like that has never spelled ‘pop’ doom for me. (Gabriel Bogart) 25) Data | Skywriter 24) Hudson Mohawke | Butter A debut that could only have sprung from a most confident and sure-footed artist, Hudson Mohawke leaps across genres with ludicrous ease. Building on the promise of a few singles and the Polyfolk Dance EP, the former DJ champion stretches and squeezes rhythms and bounces melody all over the top. Fans of SNES games will immediately identify with vast chunks of this, and Prince fans will be transported thanks to the contribution of singer Olivier DaySoul. It is almost impossible to sit through - first the head nods, then the foot taps, and sure enough one is careering around the kitchen propelled by the wonky beat, hoping nobody is looking in the window. But really, this is an album for communal listening - there is a party in the CD player and we're all invited. In this instance, Butter really can make one's life better. (Jeremy Bye) 23) worriedaboutsatan | Arrivals 22) 2562 | Unbalance Burial broke open the dubstep scene mid-decade, and since then a flood of producers trying to capitalize on the new market have come forth. Many of these artists haven't been contributing to the movement as much as they have been regurgitating ideas and sounds without improving upon them. But now, years later, several artists are beginning to step forward with enough experience and creativity to make some counters to Burial's signature blend. Dave Huisman, aka 2562, is one such musician. His 2008 debut, Aerial, sought to fuse the dubstep aesthetic with an atmospheric, Basic Channel-esque vibe, but ended up sounding flat. The idea of merging old and new was good enough to warrant a second try, and Unbalance gets the mix just right. Here the audience is treated to an sonic gem as the album has the energy of dubstep and the rich sound of dub techno. Nearly every track offered is top notch, making Unbalance essential listening for 2009. (Jordan Volz) 21) Luke Vibert | We Hear You Luke Vibert has heard all our requests loud and clear and has responded with the substantially elaborate We Hear You, an album introduced to me by the rare, yet beautiful phenomenon when one becomes fascinated enough with the album art to listen to an album, only to find out it was an exceptionally wise decision. Beyond the friendly cacti greetings lies a gigantic platter of mixed electronica, fused with bubbling acid-house reminders and edgy hip hop samples to create a perfect blend to jolt us from our lifeless seats, recharge our batteries, and send us back into the world with a renewed self-awareness. On his latest from Planet Mu, Vibert displays a world without global economic fallouts or costly, out-of-control wars; instead, connecting rhythmic sonic pieces together - both old and new - he creates that distinctive Vibert sound that is always so damn enjoyable. (Brett Hayes) 20) Moderat | Moderat Collaborations are a key feature of electronic music; at times they become a sort of clash of opposing creativities, at others they’re but mash-ups of respective styles, and at very rare others they hit a sweet spot of compelling flow and true community. Moderat (Modeselektor + Apparat) thankfully falls into the latter category, in a way that makes all the different elements of the album, such as IDM, ambient, and dub, merge into an emotional, sensual, and intellectual bit of electronic music unlike any other released during the year. This is truly the work of a ‘new’ artist created by the joining of styles, and the coherent diversity of the result has set an example for future collaborationists to follow. (David Murrieta) 19) Vladislav Delay | Tuumaa 18) Lukid | Foma The intricacy and subtlety of this album belie the relative youth of its creator, Lukid (or Luke Blair). On Foma, Lukid has more finely honed his craft of letting tracks be loose and groovy without succumbing to the youthful exuberance of trying to throw everything and the kitchen sink into the mix. With an assertive nod to hip hop, reggae, and loopy funk, Blair creates a record that is ass-shakingly nasty, yet all-too-blunted to give more energy than is necessary. So, it rides on an edgy path of being suitable for the dance club, but maybe just a touch mellow enough that this bass party is best thrown at home. Blair joins Paul White in providing clear and hard-hitting proof that, like the 60s British rock co-opting of American blues, the English take on hip hop is seriously dope. At the risk of offending many, I’d be ballsy enough to suggest that Lukid’s thumping bass party is much of what Flying Lotus really wishes to achieve. (Gabriel Bogart) 17) Two Fingers | Instrumentals Built of signature sounds from the Amon Tobin library, Instrumentals was extracted from the instrumental bits and bleeps of Two Fingers' debut effort. The combined effort of Tobin and Doubleclick dips deeper into the electri-fried sound of Foley Room, lending flavors of Tobin's early albums to the proceedings. Even when these tracks are stripped of their (sometimes) compelling lyricists and vocalists, they still have the steamrolling properties to leave one gazing over the tapestry of tweaked vocal samples, (foley) recordings, crushed noise, and some good old fashioned beats. Arguably, this is an extension plug to Foley Room for those who missed the (more danceable) edge on Tobin's last solo release, but in the end it's just good, clean fun with a plethora of sounds brought together in a novice - and sometimes remixed - blend of über-rhythmic, instrumental hip hop. (Jurgen Verhasselt) 16) Ultre | The Nest and the Skull Acoustic guitar, whether sampled and tweaked or left in a clean, crisp state, is the muse for Ultre. Sweet and often simple guitar melodies compose the main concepts for The Nest and The Skull. Light and snappy beats compliment the bright textures of the guitar and abstract electronic experimentation rounds out the sound in a way that accentuates both the guitar and beats perfectly. The sound is slightly glitchy and the guitar is often manipulated in a way that leaves it melodic, yet disjointed, but always perfectly complimentary to the whole of the song. Each element of each song has a purpose, and every sound is keenly juxtaposed against another to create sublime, rhythmic mayhem. While the guitar is central to the sound of The Nest and The Skull, It is by no means the most important element. The rhythmic elements and transformable processing of sounds make this album truly stunning. (Greg Norte)
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