Header picture: Four Tet live at FYF Festival by Neon Tommy, 2011.

There it was. Covered in a thick layer of dust, you finally found that old vinyl below a broken and unnecessary antique. Is curious how this things happen. You knew it existed, never actually played it, but you kept it, being an important heirloom. Now that you’re really into that artist, well, might as well enjoy it in its original release format. Is also amazing how great it sounds after all these years. Yeah, the record itself may carry some wear at this stage but the music itself is as exciting as back in the day. ‘This art really is marvelous’ you conclude, as the glowing synths and beautiful sample melodies fill the room. ‘There’s an special value in listening back, you know?‘

New music is created every day, artists relentlessly finding new ways of expression even surrounded by a global crisis, but the past rewards exploring, going further deep beyond the ‘classics’ and ‘legacy artists’. The phone rings. ‘You found it?’ asks Faye in the other side of the line. ‘Yes!’ you answer, excited. ‘Good! I was thinking we can listen to it but after the one I’m bringing. ‘The one you’re bringing? What do you mean?’. Faye laughs at your bewilderment. ‘It’s a surprise, Dummy! See you later…’. You hang up. The emphasis in the last word leaves you thinking: ‘Did she meant…?’. It’s getting dark, the music, suprisingly adequate for the hour, lets you wander for a bit: ‘Funny how having to listen old or really old records stresses me out, because the only one putting the pressure on me is myself!’. But you know it’s not a 9 to 5 job with deadlines and annoying bosses. ‘It is something some could do for the rest of their lives, and they could still discover something new every day’. For that right there, that life may be worth it.

Even more relevant than the Honorable Mentions list, there’s a collection of records from before 2021 that may have been equally or more alluring than the new releases of the year I listened to. They are sometimes connected, linked by the widely-analyzed inheritance of the genres, the influence of certain groundbreaking artist, the needed collaboration. But in many cases you just wanted to visited that isolated record your friend recommended, the one you parents kept putting on and you never payed attention, the one from that artist you love you’ve actually never tried to listen. If you want, the possibilites are infinite. One of the most important gifts of music.

Here are 15 examples. Hope you enjoy them.

Selected Ambient Works 85-92 by Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin (pseudonym for the English musician Richard D. James) is not a popularizer of electronic music, but he is definitely influential. His first album, Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is a collection of tracks recorded into tape, reportedly during the entitled period of time. The title could mislead you a little though: yes it was inevitable for me to think of videogame scores, Blade Runner scenes, and Brian Eno’s seminal 70s output when listening to the more ambient tracks. But the subdued beats and more energic tracks are a form of techno that’s rarely seen today. And that is my point, James would later lean onto house and more rhythmic forms of techno (with success) but for a moment, at the beginning of an eclectic decade in music, Aphex Twin was creating something that even today, sounds exceptional.

Sweet slices: ‘Pulsewidth’, ‘We Are The Music Makers’, ‘Ptolemy’.

Transaction do Novo by Bedhead

Last year it was The American Analog Set now it’s Bedhead. Indie-rock keeps on giving. And although the term is, at the very least, uneven now, but this subgenre of alternative rock promoted by independent record stores was a thing at the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s, and in the case of Transaction do Novo, boy, what a thing. The album, packing firm and gentle guitars, sudden bursts of distorted riffs, and calm vocals that excel in intimacy is Bedhead’s last and their own innocuous climax. The combination of these musical elements and their affecting and straightforward lyricism about love, longing, and thoughtful meditations on the mind, result in a beautiful work of textured guitar music. You could say they’re slowcore (and Texan) Yo La Tengo, but Transaction do Novo triumphs in its affectionate aesthetic thanks to Bedhead’s ability to shine a light in their instrumental and melodic interactions, which makes the album unique among its peers.

Sweet slices: ‘Lepidoptera’, ‘Psychosomatica’, ‘Half-Thought’.

Station to Station by David Bowie

Oh, Bowie. I definitely think I’ll never manage to grasp the deep artistry of his output, not only because of how extensive it is, but also because of how special and relevant. Introducing us to his performance persona, the Thin White Duke, Station to Station is the last of his art-rock stream of albums that started with 1971’s Hunky Dory. 5 years later you can listen that he’s matured the approach and for that, the album sounds greatly accomplished despite having only 6 tracks. In all its deep reflection of Bowie’s troubled mind at the time, Station to Station is also a transition, an album that gently introduces more experimentation that would be fully expressed in the following 3 records, the famous Berlin Trilogy with Brian Eno. I somehow regret not hearing this when I first approached Bowie’s golden 70s era, but founding it all these years later (5 after his sad passing) just shines a light on how essential his art is and how his music, as much as his kaleidoscopic persona, is timeless.

Sweet slices: ‘Station to Station’, ‘TVC 15’, ‘Stay’.

3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul

The three members of De La Soul famously borrow their voices in an engaging segment of one of the most successful (and best) singles of the century, ‘Feel Good Inc.’ by Gorillaz. Before that though, they were already household names in the hip-hop world. 3 Feet High and Rising is more than enough evidence of the trio’s crisp, undeniable groove and flow, the three rappers giving themselves space and support in each of the album’s 24 tracks. The album, which paints itself as a game TV show, with several interludes alluding to that, is a record of never-ending ideas of how to approach a genre that was in an artistic rise. There were plenty (and I mean plenty) of hip-hop and rap albums in the ’90s that would define and become cornerstones of that music after 3 Feet was released but, although influenced by De La Soul’s groundbreaking debut, not even one sounds quite like it. Put them on streaming already!

Sweet slices: ‘The Magic Number’, ‘Eye Know’, ‘Potholes In My Lawn’.

Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus

Electronic music extraordinaire Steven Ellison, releasing music as Flying Lotus since 2006, reaches a new level of musical euphoria and volatile rhythms with his third album, Cosmogramma. In this record heavily influenced by jazz, afrobeat, hip-hop production and IDM, Flying Lotus crafts songs that can be groovy and funky but spell-binding and revelatory at times. The sounds tackled throughout its 45 minute running time feel like an interstellar journey, one that it is carefully piloted by an artist at the top of his game, adding intrumentation from many genres and types. There’s polyrhytms attacking you from both sides of the speakers, but they never feel confronting thanks to the album’s esoteric tendencies and the intentional dreamlike passages that are as immersive as watching a movie of fluctuating sequences. Featuring contributions from Thom Yorke, Thundercat, Ravi Coltrane and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Cosmogramma is an eclectic yet amazingly consistent record that may fool you to believe you’ve understood it only to transport you to another entirely different plane by the next track, something that turns out to be really enjoyable.

Sweet slices: ‘…And the World Laughs With You’, ‘Do The Astral Plane’, ‘Zodiac Shit’.

Everything Ecstatic by Four Tet

I have not listened to any artist since this retched pandemic began more than Four Tet. Proof enough is that he was on this list a year back and that I mention two of his albums this time. And one of the main reasons is that he never ceases to amaze me. Yes, his catalog has reached at this point somewhat stagnation to be honest, his last albums being less engaging than his 2000’s output. That’s where Everything Ecstatic stems from, a period of time where Kieran Hebden was at his creative peak. The album is dynamic, embracing more acoustic percussion than before resulting in a free-jazz-influenced record that never ceases to push itself onwards. Everything Ecstatic (which at this point is unavailable on streaming services along 2000’s Pause and 2003’s Rounds due to an ongoing legal battle over fair royalties between Hebden and Domino Records) is an outlier relative to the rest of the artist’s discography, especially its later iterations, but exactly because of that it is all the more interesting and captivating.

Sweet slices: ‘Smile Around the Face’, ‘And Then Patterns’, ‘You Were There With Me’.

Pink by Four Tet

Being a collection of singles released throughout 2011 and 2012, Pink is a surprisingly cohesive ensemble of songs that portray where Kieran Hebden was artistically after his excellent 2010 album There Is Love In You. A combination of more club-leaning house tracks, and the more ambient works he would indulge in for the next releases, Pink is for me just another reason to love Four Tet’s music. The way he builds up tracks works brilliantly, opening with a gentle beat, never one similar to the previous, and then embellishing it with bright synths, brooding keyboards, or an ethereal sample. Pink would represent in the long run a threshold that saw Hebden lean into more ambient than ever before, and whether the results were commendable or not, they would show a side of an artist that has never ceased to explore and in Pink he presented a greatly curated micro-house exhibition.

Sweet slices: ‘Locked’, ‘Ocoras’, ‘Peace on Earth’.

Bonito Generation by Kero Kero Bonito

I would definitely believe that the 21st Century, and especially the last decade, brought a sub-genre called ‘festival music’ to life. And I could infer that you know which one I’m talking about. The wave of artists creating songs of booming capabilities with glowing synths and energetic percussions and vocals and a full-blown aesthetic to make thousands of sun-dazed people grabbing beer glasses jump in unison. Kero Kero Bonito rides in this aesthetic and makes it a lot more interesting, fun and curious. In their excellent 2016 debut, Bonito Generation, this British indie-pop trio, the songs are in constant movement, sometimes literally referring to one, and most of the time the voice of Sarah Midori Perry feels like the narrator of a colorful and immersive videogame. Sarah, being half-Japanese, embellishes her infectious and straightforward lyrics with that language, and that helps their particular brand of indie-pop shine brighter than most of their peers. In the end, Bonito Generation works so well, because its intention of being catchy, fun, and, of course, festival ready music, is perfectly executed. Count me in.

Sweet slices: ‘Trampoline’, ‘Big City’, ‘Break’.

Madvillainy by Madvillain

Although I could put here a few albums of Daniel Dumile, the artist famously known as MF DOOM, that I finally listened after his tragic and early passing at the end of December 2020, the most meaningful for me was the superb Madvillainy released with acclaimed hip-hop producer Madlib as Madvillain. Dumile’s unabating style of rapping and his powerful lyricism which is delivered with his usual crisp is of course front and center enveloped by Madlib’s beats, production and heavy use of samples that is at times colorful and engaging and, like in some voice-less cuts, alienating, but nevertheless intriguing. Is amazing how immersive the result is while listening to the short, rhythmically assorted vignettes Madvillainy is composed of. The connection between Madlib’s soundcraft and DOOM’s uprooted stream-of-consciousness in these 22 tracks is one rarely seen in the hip-hop genre and despite it’s painted as a surreal, beat-induced journey, its inherently vigorous nature is inescapable. RIP. ALL CAPS.

Sweet slices: ‘Raid’, ‘Figaro’, ‘All Caps’.

Dummy by Portishead

Portishead lives in a solar system of their own. Dummy is their particular blast into existence. Packing steady trip-hop beats, bright instrumental samples, lush keyboards and gentle synths, the Bristol’s trio’s debut is as strong as first efforts can be. Beth Gibbons’ unconventional delivery, makes her sweet voice sound like she’s only a special guest in an otherwise grim party but her melodies are as approachable as they are addictive. Despite their ominous chemistry and being well-regarded overall, Portishead’s existence is fragile. After listening to Dummy I immediately played 1997’s Portishead and 2008’s Third. That’s the only studio albums to their name and their discography only adds a live album (which is great) and a few singles. They are so far active, but despite 14 years without a release, they’ve managed to keep themselves relevant by simply crafting an aesthetic that’s never receded, one that is unique and affecting all these years after and Dummy is the star at the center of it all.

Sweet slices: ‘It Could Be Sweet’, ‘Wandering Star’, ‘It’s A Fire’.

Eve by Rapsody

Marlanna Evans, an American rapper known as Rapsody, names many women in her great third album, Eve, all of them influential and relevant to the development of the Civil Rights movement or important contemporaries that keep pushing for the justice so denied in the past for Black people and especially Black women. Rapsody, being a defiant artist uses her platform, something that is maybe possible thanks to these women, to celebrate them and put herself in the context of her actual reality. The record, packing a lot of eclectic sampling (from Nina Simone to Björk to Phil Collins) has pristine production and the most striking thing is how much Evans is capable of saying in one song, not only because of the urgency and high technical level of her rapping but also in the weight of her words. Brilliant contributions from well-known hip-hop artists like GZA, J Cole, and D’Angelo only add texture to an album that bursts with passion and is all the more relevant because Evans is not only honoring her heroes, she’s following their steps.

Sweet slices: ‘Ibtihaj’, ‘Hatshepsut’, ‘Sojourner’.

Your Queen Is a Reptile by Sons of Kemet

This percussive, beat-driven jazz outfit is outstanding, to say the least. Enriching themselves with Afrobeats and free-jazz alike, Sons of Kemet’s percussions, once they get momentum, are relentless. The wind instruments only increase the urgency by way of reaching high notes and playing repetitive bars displaying musicianship that shatters any obstacle. Is amazing how they manage to be socially charged without saying a word, by, for example, celebrating African, American, and British black women by naming them their queens in the titles of each track on their third album, Your Queen Is A Reptile. Being a British band, there’s also an indirect bite in the title. The music does all the talking anyway, propelled by bandleader Shabaka Hutchings, and his ancestry linked to the Commonwealth. There is an embedded protest in these tracks which are nothing short of astonishing.

Sweet slices: ‘My Queen is Julia Cooper’, ‘My Queen is Angela Davis’, ‘My Queen is Albertina Sisulu’.

Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy

There is an edge to Thin Lizzy’s music, that many other hard-rock or hair-metal bands I’ve heard of the time don’t really have. Of course, the sad thing here is that I didn’t know that until last year. Yes, you see the name on best-of lists, when reviewers make comparisons with contemporaneous artists and even hear them in Guitar Hero. So what stops you? For me, it was putting them in the same bag as the aforementioned bands, a rock tendency I’ve been veering away from for a while now. Jailbreak has now grabbed me by the neck, taking me on a trip of engaging, lyrically sensible, and instantly attractive hard rock tracks that really sound like nothing of the era. Yes, the angular, distorted guitars, pummeling drums, and fiery vocals are all included, but its combination with melodic, relatable sketches of worker quotidian lives’, heartbreak, and societal hate, make Thin Lizzy’s brand of rock and roll something inviting for me, just when I thought I was way past that.

Sweet slices: ‘Angel from The Coast’, ‘Cowboy Song’, ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ (this one I definitely knew).

Simple Pleasure by Tindersticks

At this point, it seems that there’s going to be a Tindersticks album in every list I make. At the end of the ’90s, Tindersticks were dealing with founding themselves together for almost 10 years. Their consistency was key for keeping their first few releases moving forward and interesting. Simple Pleasure is the start of an evolution, a little more influenced by jazz and soul than their first three releases. It courts the dark textures Stuart A. Staples and company heavily use nowadays and keeps transporting you evenly throughout thanks to the expertly use of elements well-known by the band. Guest vocals that sweetly join Staples’ unmistakable voice, inviting melodies at every turn, and, something I consider to be a quintessential Tindersticks move: adding a sudden unexpected instrument to the mix, whether is at the front taking the spotlight or in the background incrementing certain atmosphere; all these things make Simple Pleasure pretty special. However, it is Tindersticks’ care and attention to detail that embraces you in every track here and is hard to pinpoint exactly how they do it. Not that you need to know.

Sweet slices: ‘If You’re Looking For A Way Out’, ‘If She’s Torn’, ‘I Know That Loving’.

Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan

A classic. A goddamned, unanimously considered classic. However, when it comes to hip-hop, those are the ones I’m right now approaching. It varies among artists and groups. I became an instant fan of A Tribe Called Quest a few years ago, and I listened to almost all their discography. There’s another east-coast hip-hop classic in this list. You just don’t plan this. Nevertheless, hip-hop is relevant. I can’t even start comprehending how widespread and important it has become in popular music. But its rise, although relatively quick, took some years. Living in the underground for the most part of the 80s and grabbing the world in their fists by the time the 20th century ended, hip-hop artists and rappers are now mainstream conquerors, and still, in the underground scene, there are variations, creativity, and emotion blooming at every turn. There are always forebears, creators that break new ground for what’s coming, essential and basic part of something that has become an indelible part of music nowadays. Enter The Wu-Tang is one of the pillars. That’s it.

Sweet slices: ‘Shame on A N***a’, ‘Can It Be All So Simple/Intermission’, ‘C.R.E.A.M.’