Bertrand Belin - Parcs

Katy J Pearson - Return

Sonny & The Sunsets - Pretend You Love Me

Pet Grotesque - Pingin Alone

Minding The Gap - Bing Liu

Leila, Like Weather.

I bought the vinyl from my mate Michael.

Sick Dog, Mica Levi

Hard Life SAULT.

Incredible song and incredible album.

Infinite Wisdom, Laura Groves

Saint Maud- the best horror film I’ve seen.

Erika de Casier – Essentials

cute and reassuring hits for uncertain times

Haiyti – SUI SUI soundtrack to all car and bike journeys since it came out in july/

Jerskin Fendrix – Winterreise

jerskin’s first-born

Ghazal – Fire in my Heart

ghazal is kayhan kalhor and shujaat husain khan,  performing traditional indian and persian improvisations. it's beautiful and was the perfect soundtrack for those long and hot nights we had back in summer

/Unknown – I Know What You Want (Nasty King Kurl Rework) this remix soundtracks part of a video work my friend anna ehrenstein called Tupamaras Technophallus, and it’s a banger. check anna’s work as well, it’s great.

WOOM – Walk

everything WOOM do is gorgeous and no exception here. perfect for those autumn afternoons as the days got shorter and the sunlight retreated.

Nabarun – The Film

directed by qaushiq mukherjee (q), this is a bizarre and beautiful portrait of the bengali magic realist writer nabarun bhattacharya. /also, Claws, which isn’t a film, but a series. florida swampland dixie-mafia pill-pushing meets acrylic nail salons and all-round mayhem.

I, Brute Force, Confections of Love by Brute Force.

Its like the Muppets, but better.

Jump Rope Gazers by The Beths.

I can close my eyes and imagine myself at a festival again. Thats the best we’re gonna get.

WIND’Y SOUP by Takashi Nishioka

I once listened to this song on repeat on the bus for half an hour. It was madness.

Regretting It by Rosehip Teahouse.

This song is everything.

Couples Come Dine with Me - Blackpool (2x02). This blew my mind. If you want to see both the most iconic couple, and most horrendous woman on the same show, here goes. If you watch it again and again I guess it could be a really long and repetitive movie.

Ana Roxanne - because of a flower

Her music makes me feel so small and wide at the same time, the pure minimalism of some tracks rationalises thoughts and the movement of nature around me into patterns of numbers that dance in organized and sometimes a little less so, rhythms.

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Elvis Presley - All Shook Up

At the hight of lockdown it was the only thing that would get me up in the morning. Thank you Elvis.

Grand Veymont - persistence and changement

Think an arpeggiated landscape/soundscape with the melodic colouring of Stereolab mixed with the vacancy of broadcast. This 40 minutes piece is great for dancing on tip toes or walking to the tops of hills.

Before Sunrise - Somehow this film totally missed me until I found it mid lockdown craving something romantic. Apparently the director asked a lot of the script to be improvised when filming and you could really feel the slightly nervous awkward energy throughout it which was sometimes super visceral. I really love feeling that in film. The film is set over one whole day and with just two characters. There is also my favorite song moment in maybe any film I’ve seen when Come Here by Kath Bloom plays. It was so strong that now when I listen to the song, the feeling of that scene is everywhere.

eel.comp 1 by the label Eel based in Falmouth, hard to find any electronic as sprawling and weird as this but they’ve done it, can only dream of making a track like Riberak’s ‘Plague’.

Really difficult question but it might have to be ‘Rebirth of Gerberdaisy’ by Boof aka. Maurice Fulton, best dance music representation of what it’s like to be a flower

‘Machine Gun’ by Slowdive, got properly into shoegaze this year maybe because it’s a very kind of dissociative music, useful to offset any pandemic-related suffering

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Starchild’ by Uh, saw them in March and quickly become both a fan and friend at the same time. More long-form new age biomusic please

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My answer to this is probably always going to be ‘Feherlofia’, a beautiful animated fairytale classic from Hungary that saw a re-release this year. 

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György Ligeti - The Ligeti Project

I tried to seek out more classical music this year. This hugely complex 59-track collection was the prize find.

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Jerskin Fendrix - Winterreise

A total triumph of pop and classical. Like Ligeti, i have no clue what is going on at times but I love it.

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William H Stepp - Bonaparte's Retreat

I've listened to a lot of Alan Lomax's field recordings over the years but recently just found this 90 second blast of fiddle that was lifted almost intact by Aaron Copland for his Rodeo ballet.

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Sorry - Ode To Boy

Sorry's 925 album was full of really good singles but this quirky little pop track just stuck in my ear.

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I suppose it's Parasite but my favouirte film I watched this year was Meek's Cutoff from 2010; can't beat a revisionist western

I fell completely in love with Jon Hassell's entire discography this year but especially his album Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street, and I listened to its titular track nonstop for most of the first lockdown awake and asleep, I couldn't get enough of it. Absolute masterpiece.

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- Tiña - Positive Mental Health Music, obviously.

- I also really loved Black Devil Disco Club's Lucifer is a Flower, The Green Child's Shimmering Basset and both Gentle Stranger's album Love and Unlearn and subsequent remix album Loved and Unlearnt.

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- Snickersnee by Thee Oh Sees (according to Spotify)

- Life Is Suffering by Deerhoof hit a note this year, plus I hadn't paid much attention to Deerhoof before, they're really great.

- The Shape You're In by Art Feynman was also a good discovery

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- Dark Blue - Caroline

- Say The Name - clipping.

- Hey You - Katy J Pearson

- Jacob's Ladder - Lewsberg

- Monsters - SAULT

- Pyro - Good Sad Happy Bad

Kajillionaire directed by Miranda July. I didn't see many great films released this year but this was perfect. It's so funny and touching and totally bizarre.

Women in Music Part III by Haim

This album is perfect. I don’t have anything else to say about it, so instead I’ll tell you about the idea I had to do a gay parody of their song ‘Gasoline’ called ‘Vaseline’ all about lubrication. A bit niche?

Dedicated to the One I Love by The Mamas & The Papas

Fattest drop of 1967 at 0:31.

On the Floor by Perfume Genius

This is one of those songs where you don’t even need to listen to the lyrics to know exactly what it’s about. It captures that terrifying adrenaline rush of first love like nothing I’ve ever heard. Big fat sad gay hipster disco.

I don’t know if you’ve heard of it but there’s this really great film called Parasite?

Heavy Metal - LP4 (KILLING YOURSELF TO OWN YOUR PARENTS AND THE TORIES)

I went on a deep Bandcamp dive during lockdown 1.0 and found this album. It’s a double album of snotty experimental punk (couldn’t you tell by the title?). Heavy Metal share members with Diat and Itchy Bugger, who I would also highly highly recommend.

Bar Italia - Quarell

We started stocking this record in the warehouse I’ve just started working in and when I found out it was on Dean Blunt’s World Music label I instantly bought it because they never hang around for long. I think it’s the most exciting thing to put a record Dean Blunt is somehow involved in on a turntable without any prior knowledge of what it is. This record is so incredible, a hark to Joanne Robertson and Dean Blunts more guitar centric work. If anyone knows who’s behind it, get @ me!

Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City

I’ve never really liked Bruce Springsteen but this year his album Nebraska finally cracked me… or i cracked it? As someone who writes lyrics I’m striving to find a way to write stories and words that transcend my own experiences and take audiences on an easily digestible but meaningful journey. The Boss demonstrates this skill I so desperately want in 3 minutes and 56 seconds. Bastard.

Sad Music - Jessica Winter

Pure pop bliss this one. It will always take me back to recording our album at Dan Carey’s in the summer of 2020. I probably played this song at least 3 times a day for an entire month, walking around Streatham in the blistering heat feeling sassy af.

La Haine 2020 4K Re-Release

Saw this in the brief window the cinemas were open this year. Such a classic and was great to watch on the big screen. La Haine has always been an unflinching look at systemic racism, class, violence, toxic masculinity and growing up but it felt like 2020 was the most important time for a rewatch of this classic. Everyone should watch this film.

Iowa dream - Arthur Russell

Shades - good happy and sad

One secound to tow the line - cindy lee

Star - good happy sad bad

Parasite

'Melody' by Melody English

I love how this turns from indie to choral and b

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'Bad Magic' by Weyes Blood‍

I saw her perform this at Rough Trade and I don't think any recording could do her voice justice. It's a song I've returned to in many moods.

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'City Hell' by Jockstrap

'DO YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME???'

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I'm Thinking of Ending Things

A horror film that morphs, perfectly, into the structure of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical- the rendition of "Lonely Room" at the end of the film, arguably one of the big game-changer songs in the musical canon, is so thoughtfully placed. Even the original film of "Oklahoma" turns away from the song because of its dark undertones and weird narrative complexity, it was so refreshing to see it recontextualized in a way that fleshes it out.

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Tower of Love by Jim Noir

such beautiful and unique songwriting across the whole album. Influencially you can hear loads of music that I already really like in the album like the beach boys. - Charlie

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Tony Allen and Hugh Maskela’s Rejoice
Great album reworked after the passing Maskela, the two met playing with Fela Kuti. Such colourful and rhythmic melodies underneath Allen’s driving beats.
Tony Allen also passed away in 2020 adding to its significance - Ben

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Bushel Hyde by Jessica Pratt - Charlie

Ned Doheny - Get It Up For Love - I didn't think too much of this song when I first heard it but after a few listens I realised how smooth and well executed the arrangement was, it all blends perfectly. - Charlie Brown

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Favourite song released in 2020 is by our good friend Sarah Meth called ‘If Only You Knew’ - Milankar

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Parasite

Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I

Unsuspecting, earnest, funny, aggressive, genre-agnostic and so damn catchy, I was absolutely gutted to find that someone had already made the music I’ve been failing to make my whole life.

Jerskin Fendrix - Winterreise

Self-flagellation and heartbreak. Thanks 2020.

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Martha Tilton - Moon Dreams

Just so woozy and blissful. The perfect song to let your mind float away somewhere nicer

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500 - Until We Fold Into Eachother Again

I've been loving everything from Genome 6.66 Mbp as a label and this song just hits me in the chest so hard.  

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Come Dine With Me (Series 1, Episode 35 [Netflix])

Grizzly betrayal on the final night of the week, dousing any remaining embers of faith in humanity.

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MJ Cole. Sincere (Deluxe) - Josh

john fahey - god time and causality  - Ella

Prefab Sprout - Swoon - Louis

Ant Clemons - happy 2 be here - Josh

Songs & Instrumentals Adrienne Lenker or Face Down in Meta Pet Shimmers - Ella

New Me, Same Us. Little Dragon - Louis

DJ Rashad - In da club before eleven o’clock - Josh

Sonny & The Sunsets- green blood - Ella

Curtis Mayfield - The Makings of You - Live @ Bitter End, NYC.- Louis

Ant Clemons - Aladdin - Josh

Eartheater - Below The Clavicle - Ella

Pet Grotesque -Blanket- Louis

Portrait of A Lady On Fire - Ella

Ema - Louis

STOOGES - RAW POWER (IGGY "VIOLENT" MIXES, 1973/1997)

STILL HOUSE PLANTS - "FAST EDIT" (2020, BISON)

PROFESSOR LONGHAIR - "GO TO MARDI GRAS"

ILANA - "MILD GIRL" (2020, MEMORIALS OF DISTINCTION)

ROCKS (2020, DIR. SARAH GAVRON)

Bjork - Vespertine

I'd heard a lot of the songs on this album for, but I'd never listened to it fully until this year, it's up there with the best Bjork albums for sure!

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Slauson Malone - Vergangenheitsbewaltingun (Crater Speak)

This is a really strangely composed and structured album, dealing with things like isolation, white supremacy, racial inequality, depression and death, the things that have ended up defining this year, it's a simultaneously hopeful and apocalyptic album which really speaks to the present moment.

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Mina - Se Telefondo

This song was mentioned in an interview with Marta Salogni, it's a really well known Italian pop song from the 60s, but I only heard it this year. It's such a passionate and heartfelt song and performance.

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OTTO - about you now

Really fun cover of Sugababes song, lots of nice dancing at home to this 1.

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cant lie probably blade runner 2049, it's a perfect sequel - the world it creates is so sick, it's very underrated i think

Kaliber 44 - Ksiega Tajemnicza.

I would say I came back to this album, rather than found it this year. It's a beautiful Polish psychorap from the late 90s that I was too scared of to listen to when I was a kid.

Good Sad Happy Bad - Shades / Ariana Grande - Positions

Shades was my favourite soundtrack for my autumn walks; 'Positions' has a mind blowing vocal production that together with string arrangements create spacious, soft and cushion-like moments

J. S. Bach BWV 578 - Little Fugue in G minor

Tried to listen/study Bach a lot this year and this is probably my favourite fugue for the time being

Scuti - You know

Listening to it on repeat when working late at night

Maya Deren - Meshes of the Afternoon / Al Reinert - For All Mankind - two films I would watch quite often this year late at night when I couldn't fall asleep - they would put me at peace and make me feel like everything is going to be just fine

Αττίκ, Ηχογραφήσεις 1926 -1956

Echo+ by Beatriz Ferreyra

Motel Blues by Loudon Wainwright iii

Marking time by Pauline Anna Strom

he Late Departure by Ivan Krzeszowiec - www.thelatedeparture.com

Modus Vivendi by 070 Shake

070 Shake is the stage name of Danielle Balbuena signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D label. Interesting, refreshing album.

Could heaven ever be like this by Idris Muhamad (From the 1977 album "Turn This Mutha Out").

This song will cheer you up for sure. I found it a few months ago and played it on repeat for quite a while.

oh my god from Sevdaliza

flawless sound and production. Before the pandemic, I had the chance to play it in a few DJ sets and was amazed by the atmosphere it immediately created each time. Works perfectly in headphones as well.

“The death of cinema and my father too”. Revolutionary israeli film that tells the story of the relationship of a father and son. I watched it a few days ago and found it very inspiring as it breaks many conventions and creates a strong feeling that remains long after the watch.

Against the rule by Vita Noctis

Vita Noctis are a trio from Belgium from the early 80's described as cold wave, they only released two cassettes but have recently been selling for a lot

Whats tonight to eternity by Cindy Lee

our housemate was playing it really loudly from his room and we were both lying in bed and instantly felt shmoozed by it

Heaven in your heart by Beverly Glenn-Copeland

This song makes us feel drunk

Any of these by Tara Clerkin Trio

Tara Clerkin Trio are old friends and always make beautiful enigmatic music. Tara also makes beautiful pottery mugs and cups and bowls.

Secrets and Lies by Mike Leigh it has this ability to be so full on and serious but at the same time as being so poignantly comical

David Westlake - Play Dusty For Me

A hidden gem, Lou Reed-esk, used to be in the Servants, this was early lockdown walking by the canal type despair music.

ELG - Les particules OST

An incredible minimal soundtrack to a less good film, super stripped to its core elements, very relaxing.

SDS =Zero= (Subscription Double Suicide)

A mad collection of Japanese bubble-gum trap, electronica and Bass

King Krule - Man Alive!

This is the album that could turn anyone who didn't originally like King Krule, its a rich, ambient soundscape and sounds exactly what its like to be in London right now.

The Fleetwoods - Time Of Love

I became obsessed with The Fleetwoods after hearing Unchained Melody at the end of the film Things To Come, this is doomsdays music with a smile.

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Good Sad Happy Bad - Shades

Another doomsday song, this sums up the year for me, these bright sides are hurting my eyes.

Robbie And Mona - Wallpaper

Out on pals Spinny Nights label, super lovely progressive chords that sit so right

Pearson Sound - Alien Mode

I am losing my mind

Fiona Apple - Ladies

The best lyrics ive ever heard

Mank

A delirious mess of Hollywood, i love this stuff.

Nadah el Shazly - Ahwar

Tim Perry (who runs the Windmill) showed it to me to keep me occupied during lockdown and while writing this sentence I had to put it on because I've fallen so much in love with it. Save the Windmill!

I thought "Song for our Daughter" by Laura Marling was probably my "pandemic" album. Even though it has nothing to do with Covid-19, it has this rhythm of resilient, bitter renewal that's been really significant for me.

i'm thinking of ending things. It was probably the most beautiful and exciting thing I've seen this year and Toni Collette once again demonstrated she is the most talented film actor of all time.

HTTP404 by Oscar Scheller

oscar’s so underrated, a flawless songwriter - everything on this record is on that sweet spot between edge and pop

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Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa ‍

Banger after banger after banger. after this, no one can use that old excuse that sophomore albums have to be shit. they can be even better than the debut as f.n. proves

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So Hot You Are Hurting My Feeling - Caroline Polachek

i was avoiding the youtube recommendation for this for ages and when i finally listened, this song was on loop for most of 2020

Obvious Guy by Alfie Templeman

i remember cycling through central london screaming the chorus to this at the top of my voice at the height of summer

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Parasite

simultaneously rooting for every character in this film but seeing their downfall from a mile off was stressful/fucking entertaining

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Musst Musst - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

A friend recommended me this when i was going to marrakech just before lockdown.

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Favourite Album released in 2020?

Relax Kevin - Relax Kevin

Most undercover releases 2020 by kev

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Gentra Pasundan -Warung Pojok

came across some gamelan music and the unexpected bass frequency at one point convinced me to listen again, and again (...)

Quigley - Sticking fingers in my eyes

Another song I have listened to a lot is Sticking Fingers in my eyes by; Quigley, who passed away this year , too soon -

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Gino-Cochise - ALM

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The tale of princess kaguya

'Global Vibrations' compilation released by Groove School Records.

The compilation is filled with artists from across the world, bringing us the VIBES, my favourite track off the compilation being "Leave It All Alone" by VEDA BLACK, Chewbeats &  Joel Dawe)

'New Me, Same Us' by Little Dragon.

Since I was 19 Little Dragon have never gotten old for me and are still a massive influence. Favourite tracks off the album are "Rush" and "Hold On" .

'Sunu' by This.

I randomly came across this track on Spotify, and instantly loved it. I was shocked to find that it was quite an underground independent release. More people need to listen to this song and artist.

Air' by Sans Soucis.

Another indepenendent release that deserves more recognition. I have definitely found myself singing this song in my head at the supermarket, when I'm cycling, when I'm cooking, when I wake up, you know the feeling.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things" directed by Charlie Kaufman. As an "Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind" fan, naturally I also became a fan of "I'm Thinking of Ending Things." It's mindbogling, unexpectable, weird, and a breath of fresh air.