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 ππΎ Four Tet – Sixteen Oceans Chromeo – Quarantine Casanova Jessy Lanza – All The Time Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad with Marcos Valle – Jazz Is Dead 3 ππΎ Ras – Ras II Tenderlonious – After The Storm Jahari Massamba Unit – Pardon My French ππΎ Romare – Home Runaway Nuns – Spit Galcher Lustwerk – Information Patricia – Maxyboy Star Feminine Band – Star Feminine Band Admas – Sons Of Ethiopia ππΎ Khruangbin – Mordechai ππΎ Kamaaal Williams – Wu Hen Takuya Kuroda – Fly Moon Die Soon Omar S – Simply ππΎ Ikonika – Bodies EP -ππΎ Vex Ruffin – Emilio ππΎ Emma-Jean Thackray – Rain Dance IDLES – Ultra Mono Kate Hamann – When I Grow Up Low End Activist – Game Theory ππΎ Machine drun & Holly – Berry Patch Tim Reaper – Cityscapes EP Etive – Etive EP ππΎ 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 ππΎ 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:
β’ Admas – Sons Of Ethiopia (electronic smooth Ethiopian jazz from the ’80s)
β’ Jahari Massamba Unit – Pardon My French (jazz by hip-hop producers and multi-instrumentalists)
β’ Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad with Marcos Valle – Jazz Is Dead 3 (hip-hop producers meet a master of bossa nova and Brazillian jazz)
β’ Khruangbin – Mordechai (chill psychedelic funk surf rock)
β’ Omar S – Simply (unapologetic deep house)
β’ Dog Unit – Barking To Gospel (Uk post-rock mixed by an electronica master)
β’ Etive – Etive EP (intimate and intense ambient-ish micro-house)
β’ Ikonika – Bodies EP (UK electronic intense dance music about the hardships of pregnancy)
β’ Vex Ruffin – Emilio (lo-fi post-rock from Southern California)
β’ 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.
βπΎ