To celebrate the year that was, Melbourne Deepcast curator Myles Mac reviews his stand out tracks for the year with a 2 hour long assortment of techno, electro, acid and house, giving particular focus to a number of emerging local producers doing big things at home and abroad.
1. Lee Gamble – You Concrete // PAN
Lee Gamble delivered a genuine masterpiece for his latest album Koch on the impressive PAN imprint this year, and the ambient hiss of ‘You Concrete’ was one of the many tracks on the record that stayed with me for some time after listening.
2. Cloudface – Bobok // Black Opal
Opal Tapes’ vinyl offshoot Black Opal put out a delightful debut LP from a relatively new producer named Cloudface, with equal parts ambient, slow dubby techno, acid and experimental jams making the cut. This deep acidy dub track was my choice but the whole album is incredibly lush and worth listening to from start to finish.
3. Tin Man – No New Violence // Absurd
Tin Man’s ODE was the album of 2014 for me, with four or five timeless tracks that genuinely took me away to another place. His 303 purrs with absolute precision on the dubby ‘No New Violence’, but ‘Ode’, ‘In Your System’ and ‘Depleted Serotonin’ are equally transcendent.
4. Daywalker + CF – Take Me To Your Leader // Emotional Response
Willie Burns’ latest side project, this time with fellow US producer Jon Beall, is probably his best yet. ‘Take Me To Your Leader’ has got to be one of the best melodic techno tracks I have ever come across, and their ‘Supersonic Transport’ record released earlier in the year on L.I.E.S. was equally mesmerising. Really can’t wait to hear what these guys come up with next.
5. Keita Sano – She Was The One // Mister Saturday Night
Mister Saturday Night built further upon their label’s eclectic discography this year thanks to the Japanese producer Keita Sano who produced a stomping piece of dub techno in ‘She Was The One’ to accompany the slightly heavier and noisier A-side.
6. Austin Cesear – 1 Year // Proibito
Emerging Brooklyn based producer Austin Cesear provided Anthony Naples’ label Proibito with a dazzling 10 minute excursion of house and dub, and was my pick from the year on that label.
7. Aroy Dee – Until The Music Dies // M>O>S
I have been obsessed with Aroy Dee’s music this year. Whether it be his wonderfully curated label M>O>S Recordings, or its offshot M>O>S Deep, or his DJ sets and podcasts (check MDC.119) which are always gold mines for discovering new music. But most impressively, his long awaited debut album Sketches was something of a masterstroke and ‘Until The Music Dies’ was one of the many highlights from that record.
8. Sleep D – The Magic Arpet Ride // Butter Sessions
Melbourne based duo Sleep D were easily my favourite local live act of the year, and their offering on the second Butter Sessions release is a gorgeous piece of raw melodic house, full of juicy analogue emotion.
9. Floating Points – Nuits Sonores // Eglo
Nuits Sonores was a step in a new direction for Floating Points this year, with the ebbing and flowing 12 minute epic some of his rawest and funkiest work to date.
10. Xenogears – Kislev // Restoration
The Analogue Cops’ debut LP under their more techno focussed Xenogears alias flew somewhat under the radar this year, but had a few moments of sheer unrelenting brilliance, none more so than the loopy hypnotic stomper ‘Kislev’.
11. Legowelt – Experiential Awakening // Crème Organization
2014 was another busy year for ultra prolific Legowelt, and while I loved his Los Alamos Motel EP on PPU, this spacey futuristic jam off his Crystal Cult 2080 LP on Crème Organization was his stand out for me.
12. Golden Teacher – Love // Optimo Music
Glasgow’s electronic live outfit Golden Teacher provided a solid follow up record to their debut on Optimo Music last year, with the driving late night A-side ‘Love’ hitting all the right spots.
13. Jay Daniel – 4 Red // Wild Oats
Jay Daniel packs a serious punch here on his debut LP for Kyle Hall’s Wild Oats label, one of the many pieces of crunchy Detroit goodness on the album.
14. Gesloten Cirkel – Feat. Liette // Murder Capital
There isn’t a great deal known about Gesloten Cirkel, but his debut album Submit X this year contained some of the most ferocious chunks of acid techno and electro I have heard in a long time. The stomping ‘Fiet. Liette’ is pure heat.
15. Terekke – Untitled (A2) // L.I.E.S.
We were treated to another top shelf 4-tracker from Terekke on L.I.E.S. this year, and the dreamy Untiled (A2) house number is definitely one of his best to date.
16. Francis Inferno Orchestra – The More You Like // Voyeurhythm
Melbourne’s Francis Inferno Orchestra, now based in London, finally shared with the world his lovely debut album A New Way Of Living this year on the always on point Voyeurhythm label. A really dope collection of summery house done in his signature style with ‘The More You Like’ my pick of the bunch.
17. Daze – Lips (’07 Skyline Mix) // Lobster Theremin
Ballarat based newcomer Daze wowed us all with his debut Lips EP this year on London’s Lobster Theremin label, with the peak time burner becoming somewhat of an underground anthem here in Melbourne. The ’07 Skyline Mix chugs along with supreme swagger.
18. Voiski – Wax Fashion // L.I.E.S.
It’s becoming harder and harder to keep up with all the L.I.E.S. releases these days, but thankfully this one from one of my absolute favourite producers for the year Voiski didn’t slip under my radar. An epic journey to say the least.
19. Delivery – Bahgtfo // L.A. Club Resource
Hard, pounding acid techno made specifically for the club. Brilliant extended cut from Delivery on Delroy Edwards’ L.A. Club Resource label.
20. Lee Gamble – Jove Layup // PAN
Lee Gamble’s Koch LP was so solid that I had to include two of the tracks from the album. ‘Jove Layup’ is deep left field techno that moves you.
21. Annanan – Acid X2 // Forbidden Planet
Montreal based imprint Forbidden Planet, along with Lobster Theremin, was one of the most impressive new labels of the year for me, with this souring chunk of acid from Annanan destroying just about anything that gets in its way.
22. Zanzibar Chanel – One Question // Home Loan
Melbourne’s Zanzibar Chanel are another steadily emerging duo that you should take notice of. Their long awaited 4-track EP for Home Loan Records provided two definitive highlights for me, with ‘One Question’ and ‘Drunk at the Jazz Club’ perfect examples of their unique raw talent.
23. The Exaltics – Some Other Place // Clone West Coast Series
It’s hard to listen to The Exaltics’ music and not think of Drexciya’s The Other People Place, which is where I’m guessing the main part of his inspiration came from for the aptly titled ‘Some Other Place’ series of EPs for the Clone West Coast Series. This is by no means a bad thing though, especially considering the beauty of the title track. A chunk of electro worth its weight in gold.
24. Plant43 – Cavernous Bones // Shipwrec
This track of the UK electro producer’s latest album Scars Of Intransigence is a moody gem, much like the rest of the LP which is a wonderful showcase of his talents for making top shelf electro in its many forms.
25. Vakula – Ukrainian Landscape // Bandura
Vakula’s proficiency for making unbelievably hypnotic cosmic house and techno is on full display in his second EP for his own Bandura label this year, with the subaquatic ‘Ukrainian Landscape’ a truly blissful bit of melodic house.
26. DJ Qu – Soma // Strength Music
DJ Qu rarely puts a foot wrong, and his Raw 7 EP on his own Strength Music this year has a bit for everyone. The deeper head nodding techno B-Side ‘Soma’ complete with signature Qu vocals is all class, as is the housier A-side number ‘Untitled (Hi-Life)’.
27. Dan White – Death Flutes // Forbidden Planet
Melbourne’s newest live techno act Dan White has had a fantastic year, firstly releasing on Sleep D’s Butter Sessions label, then following it up with a wonderful 4-track EP on the aforementioned Canadian Forbidden Planet label. He is definitely one to keep a close eye on in 2015. ‘Death Flutes’ is one of the better end of the night tracks I came across this year.
28. Mos Howieson – Bastion // Eyes of My Eyes
While on ‘ones to watch’ for the new year, fellow Melbournian producer Mos Howieson is about to explode with some big records set to be released in 2015. His offering for the Eyes of My Eyes label this year, complete with a wonderful remix from Marco Shuttle, was just a glimpse into what we can expect from a producer who constantly blows my mind with his own brand of hypnotic ambient electronica and techno.