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Listmania

ou've probably already read RA's lists of top singles and albums, so below are the two top 20s I submitted to the site. I did so in the hope that some of the voices I feel passionate about might get heard on such a widely-read platform. However, the truth is, I feel uncomfortable doing lists. It makes me feel like I am applying a hierarchical system to music, that in so doing I am stating that some work has more merit than others. The other main problem for me is that these lists are limited to a 12-month period. Many of my purchases this past year have been old singles and albums - for example, 2008 was the first time I heard anything by Silver Apples - so it's impossible to include them to a 'best of' list. Anyway, have a look at my choices and stay tuned for a proper lookback at the year either shortly after Christmas or in the new year. In the meantime, have a very happy and peaceful festive season!

Singles

Function     Anticipation     Sandwell District
 Morphosis     Dark Tales of Phonecia Part 2    Morphine Doser
 Seldom Felt    Seldom Felt 2    Seldom Felt
 Omar S     Psychotic Photosynthesis     FXHE
 Portable     Release    Perlon
 Aroy Dee    Summer    M<O<S
 Redshape    Blood Into Dust     Styrax Leaves
 Lowtec    Workshop 6     Workshop
 Silent Servant    Blood of our Kings     Sandwell District
 Yuro & Trago    Primary Roots     Rush Hour
 Donnacha Costello     It Simply Is     Minimise
 Patrice Scott    The Evolutions EP      Sistrum
 Claro Intelecto      When the Time is Right    Modern Love
 Equalized     Equalized 01     Equalized
Jackmaster Corky    Dimension 106    Crème Jak
 Marcel Dettmann    MDR 4     MDR
 Sleeparchive     Hadron     Sleeparchive
 Peter Van Hoesen    Casual Care     Time 2 Express
 Lawrence    Miles     Dial
 Ben Klock    Klockworks 4     Klockworks

Albums

Kenny Larkin    Keys, Strings  & Tambourines    Planet E
Petar Dundov    Escapements    Music Man
Osborne    Osborne    Spectral
James T Cotton     Like No One    Spectral
Shed       Shedding The Past      Ostgut
Neil Landstrumm    Lord for 39    Planet Mu
Prosumer & Murat Tepeli    Serenity    Ostgut
Dedbeat     Roots & Wire      Wagon Repair
Benjamin Brunn & Move D    Songs from the Beehive    Smallville
Jason Fine    Our Music Is a Secret Order    Kontra
Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia    Pain Disappears    Buzzin Fly
Claro Intelecto    Metanarrative    Modern Love
James Ruskin    The Dash    Tresor
The Third Man    Clarion Call     Ai
Barry Lynn      Balancing Lakes    Planet Mu
Hans-Joachim Roedelius & Tim Story    Inlandish    Gronland
Bochum Welt    R.O.B.    Rephlex
Italtek    Cyclical    Planet Mu
Bruno Pronsato     Why Can't We Be Like Us    Hello? Repeat
 Corrugated Tunnel     I Am Corrugated    Invisible Agent / Seedy R

Let the debate continue

RA have posted the compiled list of best remixes here.

Only a few from my list made it in (see below). They had asked me for a top 20, but these were the only ones I liked (or could remember liking!). So what were your favourite remixes?

The Black Dog    Train by the Autobahn     Rob Hood DJ remix    Soma
Tadeo    Reflection Nebula     Substance remix    Apnea
Substance     Relish    Shed remix    Scion Versions
Gowentgone    M.A.M.     Marcel Dettmann remix    Vidab
Silent Servant     Violencia    Kalon & Function remixes    Sandwell District
Pacou    Minus    MLZ remix    Cache
Yuro & Trago    Primary Roots    Redshape remix    Rush Hour
Gonna    I Don't Need No Competition    Donnacha Costello remix    Beyond
Steve Bug    Honeymoon    Russ Gabriel remix    Raw Elements
Peter Van Hoesen    Trusted    Norman Nodge reconstruction    Time 2 Express
Miss Kittin     Grace    Sleeparchive remix    Nobody's Bizness
Adverb    Leaves    Paul Mac remix    Sula Muse
Sebbo Watamu Beach Moritz van Oswald remix (Desolat)
Marco Bernardi     Mystery of Nazareth     Redshape Late Bite remix    Clone
Vladislav Delay     Recovery Idea    Andy Stott remix    Semantica
Peter Van Hoesen    Casual Care     Samuli Kemmpi remix    Time 2 Express

Let the debate begin...

Resident Advisor has just published its top 20 labels of 2008 here. It was compiled using input from a long list of contributors to the site (listed at the bottom of the page), so everyone will have a different opinion about what the best labels were this year. Out of interest, here's the list of my favourite labels that I submitted to RA:

Sandwell District
Ostgut
Delsin / Ann Aimee
Modern Love
Spectral
Dial /  Smallville
M<O<S<
Wagon Repair
Time 2 Express
Clone /  Clone Classics
Perlon
Creme / Crème Jak
Workshop
Rush Hour
Underground Quality
FXHE
Yore
Minimise
Nature
MDR

I chose them on the basis that they released my favourite records this year. So what were yours?

A new way

So another year comes to an end and, like last year, it appears to bring with it bad news for techno music. Or is it? The news that German distributor Neuton is to close, followed swiftly by Pinnacle -  although indie-focused, it also distributed electronic labels -  and straight after that, the closure of Intergroove Spain were unexpected and indeed confidence-shattering. These events suggest that selling vinyl has become increasingly difficult, and, given that Neuton distributed Perlon, a vinyl-only operation but an iconic operation at that, it would not be unreasonable to posit that it would be difficult for anyone else to succeed where they appear to have failed. The easiest reaction at this stage would be to admit defeat, claim that the game was up for vinyl and that the digital evangelists were right all along. However, to do so, especially when confronted with such overwhelming business evidence in the shape of Neuton's demise, would be to overlook one key factor that has got us this far for so long: passion. Passion is one of the main reasons why 2008 was such an inspirational year for electronic music. It goes a long way to explain the Workshops, Sandwell Districts, Modern Loves, MDRs, FXHEs, Dials and Sistrums of this world. It explains why great art - and yes, it is art, no matter how often it is reduced to a series of files in a computer folder - refuses to shirk in the face of crushing commercial arguments. Passion is also the reason why labels continue to release on vinyl, because they realise that it is at the heart of techno's soul -  to work without it would be to rip its still-beating heart from its body. But is this enough? Just imagine if this passion could  be copperfastened to a new way of doing business for small labels, how much powerful would it be? This is something I have touched on before, ironically, around a year ago, when Amato went out of business. The same concept still prevails, and I was glad to see that some of the posters over at mnml ssgs have also started to open a dialogue about it. Faced with closing distros and ever-tightening margins, small labels have to rethink how they sell their 'product' to the world. The time is still right -  it was also right last year  -  for small labels to deal with shops and online stores directly, to cut out the middleman and boost their margins. Someone mentioned that this is 'hassle', but welcome to the real world. Hassle is working a day job, hassle is having a close relative die, hassle is holding a sick child in your arms as they try to sleep -  emailing or phoning outlets to offer them and yourself and de facto your customers better margins for your releases is not hassle, setting up a website (for free) to sell your releases, to deal directly with your audience is not a huge hassle either. In both instances, you would make far more money than the piteous margins distros offer. This extra money can then be re-invested in your label to pay your artists, focus more on your artwork, secure the services of a  great remixer or even pay yourself -  using potential extra revenue for any of these options would benefit your label and the small label sector in general. Of course, sometimes small labels can't do it themselves for a variety of reasons, and this is why the second part of last year's plan is still relevant. If you can't do it yourself, join forces with a few other small labels and set up a co-operative. Pool resources to deal with shops, your website, promotion, or press a few releases at the same time to try to get a discount -  if you keep doing this you will get a manufacturing deal with the plant. Look at Clone and Hardwax, learn from the example they have set, but stay small, lean and focused, consolidate your base and stay part of a tightly-knit group - many of the distributors who closed since the start of this decade did so because they tried to grow too fast, took on way too many labels and lost sight of their core business. Having said all that, there are still some great distro operations out there, and maybe the best way forward is to work independently but also as part of their network. Techno music is great at re-inventing itself, but this time a quantum leap in how labels operate is required. Passion and creativity will only get them part of the way - that last, agonising 100 metres in the marathon is dependent on them being proactive, perceptive and shrewd to get across the finishing line.

That Listless Feeling

It's the first week of December and for me, that always means being stuck in end of year list hell. I'm trying to put together annual best-ofs for three different sites/mags -  RA, Boomkat and Hot Press -  but I am nearly always disappointed with the lists I submit, mainly because, due to space constraints, I have been forced to exclude records that deserved the props. The same problem presents itself yet again with the three 'best ofs' I'm compiling this week: too many good records and not enough space. Due to these constraints, the temptation exists to focus on one release from a specific stylistic sub-cluster -  eg, a Berghain or Clone record. It could also be argued that given space restrictions, this approach could provide a balanced (but ultimately limited) snapshot of a year's worth of releases -  a little bit of everything. Of course, it is preferable to just put together a longer list, to dedicate the space and time to all of the music that deserves it. For that reason, I'll be putting together longer best ofs on this site over the next week or so. I can't say for sure how long each single/albums list will be -  I'm not going to bother with stuff like remixes, live acts, etc - but given the amount of great music released this year, it will probably be quite extensive.