Acid digidub, Japanese lo-fi, razor-sharp electro and more.
With reissues and reissue singles behind us, we turn our attention to new music. As ever, we are splitting our new music round-ups by format into three lists: 7s & 10s, 12s and LPs.
Typically the home of the pop single, the 7s has been repurpose and reclaimed in recent years by labels and artists to test new ideas and sonic possibilities.
This year, the scope has been similarly experimental, with a broad cross-section of genres represented, whether in the acidic electro of Tecwaa, the digidub of Jahder, or James Massiahs spoken word reimagined for the dance floor.
Elsewhere, we saw artists repurpose the punk legacy of the 7 for new genres, as with Collocutors The Angry One or NTS Radios inaugural release, which paired two artists who have consistently taken a DIY approach to making music.
Making a conscious decision not to include tracks featured elsewhere on albums but instead focus on those releases which make a virtue of the format in its own right, our favourite 7s and 10s should offer an exploratory cross-section of music not often collected in the same place.
Catch up on the rest of VFs 2019 round-ups here:
Our 30 favourite reissues of 2019Our 12 favourite reissue singles of 2019The best turntables of 2019The best speakers of 2019The best amplifiers of 2019The best headphones of 2019
(Planet Rescue)
Buy
Planet Rescue only dropped a pair of releases in 2019, but rest assured you should find room for both in your collection. Bagigi Dub / WW Dub sticks with the imprints hardware aesthetic, but swaps wigged-out tape funk for skunky dub, and marks a return to studio business for occasional collaborators Bear Bones, Lay Low, David Vanzan and Virginia Genta, more commonly known as Yader. Presented in a suitably weed-laden sleeve, the two tracks sway through scuzzy tape delay and cavernous echo, exploring stripped-back skank on the A-side and more melodious meandering on the flip. Patrick Ryder
(Olindo Records)
Buy
Olindo Records continued to offer an outpost for Venezuelan music in the UK, this time featuring Caracas-based multi-instrumentalist Isaac Sasson. The floating Paseo en un Sueo does exactly what it says on the tin, combining folk-influenced instrumentation with a wistful melody, while Cancin para mi Familia, Venezuela takes things into darker realms its undulating tempo and rising intensity held together by a defiant beating drum. London-based producer Hector Plimmer, who released a new album Next To Nothing on Alberts Favourites this year, strips back the title track for a slow-burning remix to close out proceedings. Be sure to also check out Olindos vinyl release of Betsayda Machados Lo Lo a powerful collection of vocal and percussion-led, Afro-Venezuelan songs. Anton Spice
(TIO-Series)
Buy
Following Leifs flora and fauna-inspired Loom Dream LP on Whities earlier this year, he returned to his TIO-Series imprint for Montpelier / Rumex. Swaying on a tightrope between more techno-orientated rhythms and downtempo sensibilities, Montpelier / Rumex avoids falling directly into either camp. Rumex provides the perfect score for the final hours of a festival, gently winding the excitement down. However, its the dreamy Montpelier that is the real standout an expansive soundscape that dissolves the barriers between an imagined woodland and modernist mechanics of a club. Lazlo Rugoff
(On The Corner)
Buy
Tamar Osborns Collocutor followed 2018s Black Satin with a surprise 7 for On the Corner earlier this year that packs a serious punch into just about 5 minutes of music. Angular improvisations, raw sax wig-outs and a wonky groove make The Angry One a recklessly brilliant tune, before Tamar goes head-to-head with Magnus Pi for the honk-fest on the flip. Channeling punks short, sharp bursts of anti-establishment ire, The Angry One taps into the cathartic potential of improvisation, and refuses to be held down. AS
(Hga Nord Rekords)
Buy
Gothenburgs Hga Nord continued to feed heads, making an appearance in our 7 list thanks to a nuanced double header from the mysterious Tecwaa C / Xenth. Inspired by roots in the Yorkshire rave scene, the hardware mystic wrapped percolating 303 lines around razor-sharp electro rhythms for A-side offering C, turning up the intensity around the midpoint with brooding bass notes. Things take a turn for tribal-techno on the B-side, as computer-generated hand drums and exotic electronics sat beneath cinematic vocal samples and bleep-based melodies, transporting us to a far off land of new beat and new psychedelics. PR
(NTS)
Buy
Londons NTS Radio released its first 7 in late 2019, pairing two artists whose work regularly pushes at the boundaries between electronic and experimental classical music. On the A-side, Mica Levi delivered Hosting, a 2-minute lullaby, where off-kilter, plucked strings provided an unnerving counterpoint to meandering flute melodies a duet where both parts seem to stray from the score only to resolve in the silence between notes. On the flip, Duval Timothy continued his exploration of minimalism and field recordings, allowing the gothic slashes of electric guitar to dissolve into a sun-dappled RnB groove. Weaving snippets of conversations and a gentle piano melody into the fabric of the track, DYE pulled together influences from UK and Sierra Leone and expands on the documentary recordings that underpinned 2018s 2 Sim. AS
(Lobster Theremin)
Buy
Dance music can sometimes feel stifling in its too cool for school seriousness, which is why the fun patrol can be where its at. Entr DJ Skechers and Yung Dolphin with a triple punch that didnt solve world hunger, but it did put a spring in the step all year long. Do It (With My Skechers On) kicks the 7 off with a serviceable number about the producers trainers. But its the B-side where the party lies, thanks to its title track Delphin Invasion an aquatic Swiss-German house ode to dolphins. Heres the rub: at first listen you probably thought what the hell is this? until you played it again, and realised: oh, hang on, this is pretty flippin good. A swerved-down, syrupy final track called Fly Away (Chopped & Screwed) seconded that emotion. The 7 was the pice de rsistance from Lobster Theremin a label that released a bevvy of records in 2019 that are well worth checking out. Gabriela Helfet
(Caroline)
Buy
Ending a three year break from songwriting, Japanese lo-fi multi-instrumentalist Shintaro Sakamoto returned with a blissful 7 on Zelon Records, enlisting Eddie Corman (aka Miyazima Hitomi) for ethereal backing vocals on both tracks. A-side Boat saw Sakamotos dulcet, warped-California-surf-via-Nippon synths, guitars and vocals shimmy through Corcorans tones to balmy effect. On the flip, Dear Future Person (Cornelius) channelled Haruomi Hosono psychedelia woven with horns and guitars to create one of the years dreamiest ballads. Boat / Dear Future Person (Cornelius) is welcome return from Sakamoto, as well as an endearing introduction to Hitomi, who well hopefully hear more from in the near future. GH
(Warp)
Buy
Over twenty years since her debut 10 for Warp Records, Mira Calix returned to Warp in early 2019 with Utopia, a quartet of cut and paste, downtempo tracks built around jagged, industrial percussion and clipped, playful aphorisms for the digital age. Using her soundtrack to Adam Thirwells Random Acts short as the basis of lead track, rightclick dives into the schism between dys- and u- topia for what Calix calls something for friends to move to in the early hours of a louche house party. Fascinated by the potential of collage in music, theres a reconstructed feel to Utopia, which uses sound sources in innovative ways to mirror Calixs work for art installations (like Our Time for UVAs Other Spaces exhibition), which has dominated her practice in recent years. AS
(Levels)
Buy
A slung-out and hypnotic encapsulation of South London sounds in 2019, in swooped poet and DJ James Massiah with a self-produced EP called Natural Born Killers (Ride For Me) on Jon Rusts Levels imprint. Its physical release, a tidy two-track 7, offered something different to the digital EP. On the A-side, Pete OGrady (aka Joy O) assumed rework duties on the low-slung dancehall-fuelled rhythmics of its title track, with a glassy, vinyl-only edit. (Natural Born Killers (Ride For Me) also received a stellar, cinematic sizzler of a music video, directed by Ian Pons Jewell.) Meanwhile on the flip, 144,000 swirled sultry sonic smoke through a stripped-back Nightrider-esque, rnb sieve the perfect tune for nocturnal road trips across LDN. GH
Artwork by Patrick Savile.
See the article here:
Our 10 favourite 7s and 10s of 2019 - The Vinyl Factory
- Travel & Resources: DELHI / NEW DELHI - Utopia [Last Updated On: June 15th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 15th, 2016]
- Travel & Resources: DELHI / NEW DELHI - Utopia [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Utopia - New World Encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Utopia (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Chanel Mirage, Utopia, New Moon Illusion d'Ombre ... [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2016]
- New Utopia Design Build - Los Angeles, CA, US 90012 [Last Updated On: August 14th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 14th, 2016]
- THE NEW UTOPIA - Libertarian [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2016]
- NEW TOWN UTOPIA by Christopher Ian Smith Kickstarter [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2016]
- Travel & Resources: HONG KONG - Gay Asia and... - Utopia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- THE NEW CHAIN REACTION - Game Show Utopia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- DELHI / NEW DELHI: Massage and Spas - Utopia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- First Listen: Sinkane, 'Life & Livin' It' - NPR [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Who is authorized to bind your family business to contracts? - Lexology (registration) [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Meanwhile in Canada Things Are Just as Bad - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia expansion lets you craft megastructural ringworlds - PC Gamer [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- 'Stellaris' Utopia DLC Gets First Trailer; Will Introduce New Buildings And Perks - iDigitalTimes.com [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Utopia Pipeline project to bring 300 temporary jobs to New Philadelphia - New Philadelphia Times Reporter [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- With violin in hand, Mark Menzies finds hope for the future in the past - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Revolution: Russian Art review from utopia to the gulag, via ... - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Brooklyn's A/D/O Co-Working Space Is Building a Utopia for Creatives of All Kinds - Artsy [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Austra encourages listeners to imagine new, bolder futures - San Francisco Chronicle [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Michael Loong Proposes New, Sustainable Ideology to Achieve Utopia in China - Satellite PR News (press release) [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- French photographer builds supernatural Astana, calls it Utopia of the 21st Century - Astana Times [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- The village aiming to create a white utopia - BBC News [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- A notable show BAMPFA's 'Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for ... - Berkeleyside [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- British Airways Concorde 'Alpha Foxtrot' Arrives at New Bristol Home - AirlineGeeks.com (blog) [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- In praise of utopias, not dystopias: Salutin - Toronto Star [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- The Bannon-Trump Arc of History - American Spectator [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Everybody's Pop-Up Shop Throws a Wild AntiFashion Week Party With Adwoa Aboah - Vogue.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Plotting 'No-Place' in 'Utopia Neighborhood Club' - Seattle Weekly [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Utopia releases its next version of master data governance solution ... - SDTimes.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Bruno Ganz on New Film About Last Days of East Germany: 'This Is a Subject That Will Never Let Me Go' - Variety [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- New Barbarians: Inside Rolling Stones' Wild Seventies Spin-Off - RollingStone.com [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Drought-crazed utopia flushes away common sense - NewHampshire.com [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Lenkom Theater: From Soviet utopia to post-modern dystopia - Russia Beyond the Headlines [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- GHOST To Record "Darker" New Album This Summer, Tease Completely New Lineup - Metal Injection.net [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Protest Cabaret: Ithaca's Resistance - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Fighting for Utopia in Tough Times - AlterNet [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Mardi Gras brings on the fun - Tullahoma News and Guardian [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Angela Henderson-Bentley: New take on Jack the Ripper an idea whose 'Time' has come - Huntington Herald Dispatch [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Knowledge can fight ignorance: New speakers series will shed light on Yemen - Detroit Metro Times [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Hygge Is Where the Heart Is - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Utopia is coming, with a basic income for all - The Times (subscription) [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Government shakeups and political unrest are coming to Stellaris in its Utopia expansion - PCGamesN [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Rutger Bregman: 'We could cut the working week by a third' - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- The board hoard: your guide to the best new board games - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Tempted To Move Out Of The US? New Zealand Wants To Help You Escape - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC to Welcome New 'Georg von Trapp' on Tour in Hershey - Broadway World [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia Gameplay Expansion Out In April - Attack of the Fanboy [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- At BAMPFA, 'Hippie Modernism' Proves the Fight for Utopia is Far from Over - KQED [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia Set To Launch April 6th - One Angry Gamer (blog) [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Railcar derailment in Utopia due to vandalism: Cando Rail Services - Simcoe.com [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia Path to Ascension release date trailer - Gameplanet [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- JUSTIN JOHNSON: It's a TRAP! - SCNow [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Watch brutal Xenomorph attack in new 'Alien: Covenant' trailer - CNET [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Dr. John to headline Utopia Fest in final year at Four Sisters Ranch - austin360 (blog) [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Want utopia? Start with universal basic income and a 15-hour work week - Wired.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Extreme Channel 4 reality challenge Mutiny makes its sailors suffer - iNews [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Utopia Frozen Yogurt and Coffee House | Ellensburg, WA [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- March 4, 2017 - EDP Foundation - Utopia/Dystopia / Hctor Zamora: Order and Progress - E-Flux [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Utopia for Realists and How We Can Get There by Rutger Bregman digested read - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- A taste of 'Utopia' - Otago Daily Times [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Father John Misty references Taylor Swift in new song, 'Total Entertainment Forever' - EW.com [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Time After Time May Be Your New Bad TV Obsession - Gizmodo [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- 'Time After Time' delivers Jack the Ripper to modern-day New York - Long Beach Press Telegram [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Why everyone hates the GOP's new health plan - The Week Magazine [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- A modern utopia: Inside the UK's first women-only housing community - International Business Times UK [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Utopia Now! - Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Hello Cuba, Adios Utopia: Cuban Art in Texas - Observer [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Whole of It: 'Free Cake at the Top' - Scottsbluff Star Herald [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Utopia in the Time of Trump - lareviewofbooks [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- The Nature of Robots - Film School Rejects [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- Utopia Multimedia Festival brings artistic talents together in one place - Taranaki Daily News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- The Electoral College is right for New Mexico - Albuquerque Journal [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Equal writes and the best new women fiction: Book reviews - Express.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Liberal America Has A Sweden Fetish - GOOD Magazine [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- Utopia Creations travels to Florida - Journalism.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- A Well-Ventilated Utopia - The New York Review of Books [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- 500 years after Sir Thomas More's Utopia, what have we learned? - The Sydney Morning Herald [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- This Swiss Startup Is Bringing AI to the Music Label Business - Bloomberg [Last Updated On: March 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 23rd, 2017]