When I first listened to this I couldn’t believe how absolutely great this album was. An Offspring record in 2021, which sounds like such a good evolution of them. It’s part serious but part fun, it has drag and beat, it’s all around good punk rock, I just cannot help stamping my feet when listening to it. Although I’m still wrapping up my year-end conclusions but this one is pretty close to being my favorite rock album this year.
Dead Can Dance – Live, 2005
In 2005 when Dead Can Dance reunited they recorded and released a series of shows as limited edition records. Now these got published on Spotify. Naturally it is beautiful material. But also, listening to live concert recordings in the times of lockdowns and cancelled events is a life saver. Part pain of absence but part breath of life.
On a completely side note, thinking about the ethics of republishing of previously limited material. I imagine you can say that the limited experience at his point is the physical copy anyone purchased in 2005. But that sounds kinda like an excuse. I’ve recently seen a sale where previously Kickstarted board games found in the publisher’s storage were being sold, with Kickstarter exclusives included. Makes me go hm.
Blazej Malinowski & Claudio PRC – Future Retro
Amazing tripping techno with dancefloor tempo. This makes me miss a good techno party bad.
Jayda G – DJ-Kicks
I spent the Saturday packing up my apartment and organizing things. Perfect soundtrack for that.
The Black Dog – Liber Dogma
I’m not as amazed by this as I was with Post-Truth and Black Daisy Wheel but it’s still a good listen and worth noting. Genrewise this is a bit all over the place from IDM to techno and electro. That said, I’m not fan of the more experimental tracks on this one and like the more laid back, easy-going tunes.
Sasha – LUZoSCURA
Nu skool breaks and progressive house Sasha style. Go for the continuous mixed version.
Floex – Papetura Soundtrack
I’ve been listening to this back and forth for a whole day and this is so beautiful. Peaceful ambient to calm and comfort. I love how Floex can transform his wonderful clarinet-based tunes to any instrumentation but still you find his soul in everything he creates.
Om Unit – Acid Dub Studies
It’s a straight-up electronic dub record. Perfect soundtrack for work.
Eomac – Cracks
Techno at heart, mid tempo, lots of bass, some epic melodies, introvert and meditative headspace. Definitely one of the highlights of the year. One ceveat is that it has the potentiall to put me on this downward spiral in terms of mood so I can only digest it with careful measure.
Lake Haze – Sun Rising On Concrete Landscapes
Steffi‘s Yours & Mine is my forever favorite work music. When I need to push push push it in the most efficient way that is my go-to. Now, this album is the pretty close to that. It is good music, has some great vibes and tunes and drag to it, but neutral and non-disruptive enough to be able to fully concentrate on what I’m working on. It contains a couple different flavors of electro and a general dub techno mood.