10 for 09

The list below is our final selection for the best 10 albums that have been doing the rounds on the Fluid playlist this year…

This hasn’t been an easy selection by any means as there has been so much great music sent to us over the past 12 months which has meant many other releases missing out. I was tempted to go with a top 20, but even then there was still many more albums I wanted to include, so I stayed disciplined and kept it at 10.

A big respect goes out to all the labels and artists that have been involved with Fluid Radio this year, and if you never made the list below, you know you still have our full respect as any music that gets played/posted on the site has to be of a high standard in the first place!

To accompany this wonderful selection of music we have created a mix with tracks playing in the order from which the albums have been listed in our top 10…

No.1: Richard Skelton – Landings

I only received this album/book in the post yesterday morning and yet within just 24 hours it has had a huge impact on me both musically and emotionally. ‘Landings’ is one of those albums that has that extra something about it. The music alone would have probably made the grade for the No.1 slot, but what makes this extra special is the book that accompanies the project. Without going into to much detail I can say that Richard’s personal writings had a powerful effect on me last night and the ‘Landings’ project is a complete masterpiece!

‘After only a few early playthroughs, Landings feels like a more ambitious and substantial package than previous Skelton outings thanks to an expanded instrumental palette and a duration that permits the exploration of a more complete and varied narrative’.- Boomkat

Full info here

No.2: Danny Norbury – Light in August

Along with Mr Skelton’s project I have to be honest here and say that listening to ‘Light In August’ for the first time made me cry. This seems to happen every now and again, and is a big indicator that I am listening to music that’s a bit special! Norbury’s release fits perfectly into the ‘Special’ catergory and will without doubt be one of those releases that still sounds as good as ever in 10 years to come. If you have never heard this album I strongly urge you to grab a copy, sit back and listen to some experimental stringed bliss!

‘This incredible full-length, Light In August, finds Norbury assuming the role of a one-man ensemble, spinning a collection of understated string and piano elegies harnessing an incredibly intimate cinematic quality’.- Boomkat

Full info here

No.3: Machinefabriek & Peter Broderick – Blank Grey Canvas Sky

There are collaborations and then there are COLLABORATIONS…This album has been a constant on the ipod over the last few months and just seems to get better and better with every listen. Have you ever listened to an album and every time noticed something new within each composition? Well that is what seems to happen everytime I listen to this little gem. The two artists have come up with a pioneering project that is way ahead of it’s time in regards to the experimental nature of it’s work and is definately the shape of things to come in 2010 and beyond on the main Fluid broadcast.

‘It’s like a hallucinated symphony orchestra drifting across airwaves before slowly disintegrating into bad reception by the piece’s oddly poignant end’. – Boomkat

Full info here

No.4: J. Tillman – Year In The Kingdom

Alternative Folk music has always been close to my heart and J. Tillman’s ‘Year In The Kingdom’ has been my special companion on many a late evening whilst pondering all things philosophical. With the new second broadcast channel imminent on Fluid Radio, Mr Tillman’s album has been a big influence for me finally taking action and getiing the upcoming experimental Folk channel in place. This guy has one of those voices that literally sends shivers down my spine, and the whole album is gorgeous.

‘Abstract folk sensibility marked out by hammered dulcimer, polyphonic vocals and an Espers-like ear for constructing a subtly ethereal, airy production’. – Boomkat

Full info here

No.5: Nest – Retold

Now I know I’ll be getting emails saying that this release shouldn’t be in the 2009 line-up as it doesn’t get released until Jan 2010, but hey, it’s a corker and as I have been listening to a promo copy for the past 6 weeks or so I just have to include it! Here we have another very interesting collaboration from Otto Totland (one half of Deaf Center) and Serain label owner Huw Roberts. This is another one of those emotionally charged projects with a refined ‘filmscape’ quality running through it. ‘Retold’ is deeeeeep man. Simple as that! Combining elements of modern/neo classical structures and experimental ambient, the album is superb and comes highly recommended for those looking to spend some dosh after the Christmas season.

Taking cues from film soundtracks and contemporary classical music, the story is woven using a myriad of instrumentation. Dulcet piano tones are backed by string and horn arrangements, unidentifiable plucked instruments and the sound of the Welsh harp: often heavily processed, Retold is an album that has as much in common with experimental electronic music as it does with the modern classical approach.

Full info here

No.6: Le Lendemain – Fires

Yet another collaboration! Seems to be the ‘in thing’ for 2009. Danny Norbury and David Wengrenn make up the Le Lendemain project, and what a project it is to behold! The ‘Fires’ release runs in a similar vein to Nest’s ‘Retold’, combining elements of modern classical along with electronic ambient structures. For those that have never listened to ‘Fires’ where have you been? It’s a phenomenol album released on the Home Normal label. If you don’t want to take my word for it go and listen to track 5: ‘Lois’ in the above mix. Easily my favourite track of 2009!

‘It feels like a romanticised simulation of what classical music becomes when filtered through the language of soundtracks rather than the more academic corners of composition’. – Boomkat

Full info here

No.7: Zelienople – Give it up

To say I was a ‘little excited’ on hearing Zelienople was back in the studio working on a new album would probably be the understatement of the century. The project is like nothing I have ever heard before (at least not at this high standard), and ‘Give It Up’ is no exception to the rule. Fusing elements of post rock experimentation alongside droned ambient manipulation and haunted vocals, the album is taking the genre (whatever genre that is) to another level all together! Futuristic business indeed!

There’s something unspeakably magical about the way this band somehow alchemise familiar components into this deep, almost haunting mass of sound, making for an album that’s virtually impossible to categorise but which will no doubt end up taking up one of those hallowed spots in your collection reserved for the most special, moving records you feel the rest of the world just couldn’t possibly understand. Immense. – Boomkat

Full info here

No.8: Aaron Martin – Chautauqua

Aaron Martin is one of those artists that completely fascinate me. This guy has such a unique sound that quite possibly belongs somewhere in 2020 to be honest. That is meant as a huge compliment! His experimental approach to the cello/violin, organ and banjo is a sound that has me completely captivated and one that we are keen to promote more and more on the Fluid broadcast. ‘Chautauqua’ definitly takes Aarons sound that little bit further into the unkown and for anyone looking to hear groundbreaking, innovative structured compositions then this album is a must!

‘The pieces on Chautauqua are interwoven with field recordings as well as sounds from home movies, creating an edge tingling with a heightened, ghostly kind of nostalgia’. – Preservation

Full info here

No.9: Solo Andata – Solo Andata

The self titled second release coming from the 12k stables is a complete stunner! If you are looking to grab yourself an album that takes the listener on an emotionally charged journey from light to dark and then back again then this little beauty comes highly recommended!

‘Solo Andata utilizes very little, if any, electronic instruments. Acoustic guitar, piano, cello and the natural resonances of organic materials (usually by way of a violin bow, pluck, or home-made contraption) become their main instruments, and as their live shows often attest to, Solo Andata can turn almost any object into an instrument capable of producing beautiful, other-worldly music’. – 12k

Full info here

No.10: Nils Frahm – The Bells

Nils Frahm is one artist we have been paying close attention to in 2009. ‘The Bells’ is one of those albums that just seemed to come out of nowhere and completely took me by surprise. Nils has an ability to create piano structures that paint unique and inspiring sonic soundscapes full of emotion and energy. A firm personal favoutite of mine this year that often can be heard in our household when friends are round for dinner.

‘Upon first hearing Frahm’s improvisations Broderick himself was overwhelmed: “I remember thinking to myself as I lay there stunned, that I could spend ten years trying to write an amazing piece of piano music, and still it would never be half as good as these improvisations.’ – Boomkat

Full info here

Labels:

www.typerecords.com
www.alicecasey.com
www.fangbomb.com
www.bellaunion.com
www.serein.co.uk
www.homenormal.com
www.typerecords.com
www.preservation.com.au
www.12k.com
www.kningdisk.com
www.erasedtapes.com

Artists:

www.myspace.com/landingsdiary
www.myspace.com/dannynorbury
www.myspace.com/machinefabriek
www.myspace.com/peterbroderick
www.myspace.com/jtillman
www.myspace.com/lendemain
www.myspace.com/zelienople
www.myspace.com/prisonwine
www.myspace.com/soloandata
www.myspace.com/nilsfrahm