At the end of each year, I create a playlist with my favourite songs of the year and publish it Spotify. I also try to have a list of favourite releases. I am happy to announce that the list is finished. However, this year I tried something different. I decided not to write anything as I have been listening to a lot more music than usual, thanks to the global pandemic. I can, however, say that 2020 was, once again, a great year for music releases.
Even though I have decided not to write anything, I will say this: every single release below has touched me one way or another. The real surprises came from Dog Unit, Ras, Star Feminine Band, Patricia, Vex Ruffin, Etive and Black Country, New Road.
Dog Unit – Barking To Gospel 👏🏾 
Four Tet – Sixteen Oceans 
Chromeo – Quarantine Casanova 
Jessy Lanza – All The Time 
Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad with Marcos Valle – Jazz Is Dead 3 👏🏾 
Ras – Ras II 
Tenderlonious – After The Storm 
Jahari Massamba Unit – Pardon My French 👏🏾 
Romare – Home 
Runaway Nuns – Spit 
Galcher Lustwerk – Information 
Patricia – Maxyboy 
Star Feminine Band – Star Feminine Band 
Admas – Sons Of Ethiopia 👏🏾 
Khruangbin – Mordechai 👏🏾 
Kamaaal Williams – Wu Hen 
Takuya Kuroda – Fly Moon Die Soon 
Omar S – Simply 👏🏾 
Ikonika – Bodies EP -👏🏾 
Vex Ruffin – Emilio 👏🏾 
Emma-Jean Thackray – Rain Dance 
IDLES – Ultra Mono 
Kate Hamann – When I Grow Up 
Low End Activist – Game Theory 👏🏾 
Machine drun & Holly – Berry Patch 
Tim Reaper – Cityscapes EP 
Etive – Etive EP 👏🏾 
VCF – Breadkrumz 
The Streets – None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive 
Black Country, New Road – Science Fair 
Kamasi Wahington – Becoming 
Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes – What Kinda Music 👏🏾 
The Mauskovic Dance Band – Shadance Hall 
Damu The Fudgemnuk with Archie Shepp & Raw Poetic – Ocean Bridges 
Etch – Strange Days 
Run The Jewels – RTJ4 
Serial Killers – Summer Of Sam 
Elaquent – Forever Is a Long Time 
The Four Owls – Nocturnal Instinct 
Nas – King’s Disease 
Ivan Ave – Double Goodbyes 
Lord Finesse – Motown State Of Mind
Out of all the 42 releases above, here is my Top 10 in no particular order:
• Admas – Sons Of Ethiopia (electronic smooth Ethiopian jazz from the ’80s)
• Jahari Massamba Unit – Pardon My French (jazz by hip-hop producers and multi-instrumentalists)
• Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad with Marcos Valle – Jazz Is Dead 3 (hip-hop producers meet a master of bossa nova and Brazillian jazz)
• Khruangbin – Mordechai (chill psychedelic funk surf rock)
• Omar S – Simply (unapologetic deep house)
• Dog Unit – Barking To Gospel (Uk post-rock mixed by an electronica master)
• Etive – Etive EP (intimate and intense ambient-ish micro-house)
• Ikonika – Bodies EP (UK electronic intense dance music about the hardships of pregnancy)
• Vex Ruffin – Emilio (lo-fi post-rock from Southern California)
• Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes – What Kinda Music? (another great Blue Note record)
I hope that you’ve enjoyed knowing about my favourite releases of 2020. I can’t wait to know which records made it in your Top 10 in 2020.
✌🏾