Another mix?! That’s four in just over a month!

Well, yes, but there’s a simple explanation…

I have genre folders in my iTunes library — Ambient, House, Tech, Cosmic Disco, etc. — where I put tracks that I fancy whenever I stumble upon them.

So, every once in a while, I peek into those folders and when there’s enough raw material to consider recording a mix, I toy around with said raw material to see if the muses are with me.

It’s no mystery, then, how this Ambient mix, the previous Cosmix 8 and Merry Techmas and a Happy New House came to be.

As for Cosmix 7.5, that was commissioned, with a due date and a fixed exclusivity period, hence the 30 days between it and Cosmix 8.

Add that to the fact that the more I mix, the more I want to mix…

It’s always been like that and a keen observer will notice that my production often comes in such bursts. Many artists operate with the same impetus.

In any case, the creation of this Ambient mix was guided by harmonic progression but created out of pure expressionist instinct and it’s de facto very personal. This might mean that some people won’t like it, but I humbly doubt that.

I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

As usual, you can stream it
Moving Stillness or download it by right-clicking the image on the right.

As always, your donations are welcome to help me pay for the file hosting!

TRACKLISTING

Moving Stillness

1. Flowers for Yulia – Max Richter
2. Spangle (Autechre remix) – Seefeel
3. Sun Drugs – Stars of the Lid
4. Deep Blue Day – Brian Eno
5. Signals – Seefeel
6. Assassin (Chocolate Hills Of Bohol Mix) – The Orb
7. Jack And Jill (Selffish Remix) – Benfay
8. Regressor – Demdike Stare
9. Wooloomooloo – Jean-Michel Jarre
10. Six Fantasies on a Poem by Thomas Campion: Her Song – Paul Lansky
11. Low and Order – Frank Martiniq
12. Extwistle Hall – Demdike Stare
13. Harmonium – Max Richter
14. Irradian Irradiant – Jesse Somfay
15. Basscadet (Basscadubmx) – Autechre
16. Into The Fourth Dimension (Essenses In Starlight) – The Orb
17. Sealand – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
18. Articulate Silences part 2 – Stars of the Lid
19. Late Anthropocene – Brian Eno

A couple of months ago, I was offered to do an ambient set on my friend Jeff Prémont‘s radio show, in Quebec City, but for some reason, things didn’t pan out.

Nonetheless, I thought recording an ambient mix was a good idea.

While preparing that set I’ve titled Headspace, I decided I also wanted to record another one that would be some of my favourite tracks that don’t really fall into a specific genre, or rather that fall into so many different ones that it would be hard to fit them in my more niche oriented sets like Tech House and Cosmic Disco.

Monsieur Seb’s Headspace, vol. 1

As usual, you can stream it
Headspace or download it by right-clicking the image above.

If you’re wondering about the title of this post, well, I guess after listening to the them, you’ll understand…

Loungin’ with Monsieur Seb, vol. 3

As usual, you can stream it
Loungin3 or download it by right-clicking the image on the right.

As always, your donations are welcome to help me pay for the file hosting!

 

TRACKLISTING

Monsieur Seb’s Headspace, vol. 1

1. Dog Shelter – Burial
2. The Secret Place – Brian Eno
3. The Atomium Part 3 – Stars of the Lid
4. Ships Without Meaning – Oneohtrix Point Never
5. He Loved Him Madly – Miles Davis
6. Preludes, Book 1, L 117: Danseuses De Delphes – Debussy / Jean-Yves Thibaudet
7. Yes? – Seb & Greg
8. Altibzz – Autechre
9. Exp3 (Aka Two Sequencers Are Better Than One) – John Daly
10. Echoes (Deep Sea Mix) – Pink Floyd
11. Cherry Coloured Funk (Seefeel Mix) – Cocteau Twins
12. Fricative White – Jesse Somfay

Loungin’ with Monsieur Seb, vol. 3

1. Start. Peter Gabriel
2. The Thin Air. Magazine
3. In Every Dream Home A Heartache. Roxy Music
4. Me And The Devil. Gill Scott-Heron
5. Bring Me The Disco King. David Bowie
6. Splitting the Atom. Massive Attack
7. Hello Goodbye (Uncool). Lupe Fiasco Feat. Unkle
8. Pray for Rain. Massive Attack
9. Nowhere. Ride
10. Stars And Sons. Broken Social Scene
11. Fugue En Sol Inconnu. Daniel Bélanger
12. The Truth. Jedi Knights
13. I Sing Rain. Gary Numan
14. Ghost sYMbOL. Zero 7
15. Space Odyssey. Detroit Experiment
16. Chase The Tear. Portishead
17. Sine Of The Dub. Kode 9
    

Must’ve been the pressure from all those blogs and other sources of information I read daily, but I suddenly got the urge to post my favourite music of the last decade. A list of my favourite from 2009 has been posted a few days ago. I didn’t restrain myself to a certain number, it just so happens that I ended up with 32.

All I can tell you is that as this decade comes to an end, with the many life changes that are accompanying it into the past, these are the albums or songs or artists that come to mind instantly, or almost so, as I reflect upon the music that has shaped who I’ve become in the past 10 years…

MONSIEUR SEB’S BEST OF 2000s in alphabetical order

Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not I’ve often said, throughout the 2000s that rock would only achieve some form of renewal by breaking its structure rather than exploring sonorities, and that’s what the Monkeys have not done! Their structure is pretty classic ans their sound even more so, but still, when I first heard them, I truly had the impression of a majestic wave of freshness. Maybe it’s Alex Turner’s plume, which reminds me — in some strange way I can’t really explain — of Donald Fagen’s, but there’s something about the Monkeys that’s unique. And I’m not even talking about their stage presence and performance skills… The video below is a B-side from a single off their first album, and one of my favourite tracks of theirs.

Beat Pharmacy/The Echologist/Brendon Moeller No one does trippy dubbed out techno and deep house like Brendon does: NO ONE! This South African born gentleman (and I know he is, it’s not just a figure of speech) now residing in New York (and who is A&R for François K’s Wave Music) has dominated the 2000s, as far as I’m concerned, when it come to hybridizing the aesthetics of dub to those of electronica. PERIOD.

Bent Bent? Barely even really know them, but heck! what I know of them has consistently blown my mind. Their main hits have moved me WAY too much for me to leave them out of my favourite tracks from the past 10 years. They’re just one step up from a one hit wonder, but that doesn’t mean their music has less quality!

Bran Van 3000 James Di Salvio is, to me, one of the greats of this early 21st century. The man is no great composer, but he is a truly GREAT music lover who doesn’t just sample tracks, he pays them hommage. OK, two thirds of his albums have been released in the 2000s and they’ve all been received in a rather ambiguous way, but I’m one fan fini, and you don’t know what a Bran Van party is untul you’ve seen them live.

Brian Eno – Another Day on Earth Well, of course Brian Eno is a music God, among other things, but this album is a little gem that everyone should get acquainted with, if only because he does have a great singing voice!

Burial – Untrue When Burial’s second album came out, I had been aware of Dubstep for a while, but that genre had yet to impress me. But when I first listened to Untrue, my jaw dropped to the floor. I was listening to a genre-defining album, much like Massive Attack’s Blue Lines 15 years before or Kraftwerk’s Trans-Europe Express before that, to name just those two. It will become a timeless classic, I can tell you that much.

Donald Fagen – Morph the Cat People who know me know that Steely Dan and Donald Fagen have made and are still making some of my favouritest music, and a new solo album by Fagen is a cause for rejoicing in and of itself, and Morph was even more so, with some of his best songwriting yet.

Doves Ah! The Doves. No doubt one of my favouritest British rock bands. They have yet to disappoint me, and what’s more, they seem to be getting consistently better after four albums. Their classic tracks are such monuments of beauty… I’ll just let them do the talking…

Gonzales – Solo Piano Jason Charles Beck, originally from Montreal (unless I’m mistaken) is one of those true artists who can do just about anything, and well. He’s done electro, hip hop, and even classical music on his Solo Piano album. That record sees him channeling the spirit of every great composer for the piano from Debussy to Keith Jarrett. The CD is an absolute must, but if you get the chance to catch him in concert, don’t miss it, because to top it all off, he is an amazing performer!

Gorillaz vs. Spacemonkeyz – Laika Come Home Little heard of before or since, the Spacemonkeyz had the idea of remixing the entire Gorillaz first album à la Dub, and thus was born Laika Come Home, my favourite Gorillaz album. No, really, I think this one is the best of the lot even though it’s not entirely a Gorillaz album. If you like Dub, this album is really worth the fistful of peanuts it’ll cost ya.

Jesse Somfay – A Catch in the Voice Like I said in my best of 2009, this human being has the uncommon talent to create beauty, but with his 2009 album A Catch in the Voice released on Pheek’s Archipel imprint, what he created is beyond words. Strictly speaking it is “electronic” music, but incredibly organic at the same time. In any case, like I just said, trying to affix words to his creations is quite futile. Just let the waves wash over you…

Jesse Somfay – Fricative White (From a whisper to a scream) All I can add to what I said about the previous entry is that this work of art is one of my favourite tracks of all time. Period. The video below is an edited version, but I URGE you to get the complete 27 minutes version (there’s a free legal download link to the complete version @192 kbps). One day you’ll thank me (but thank Jesse, he’s the one that deserves it).

Johnny Cash – American IV: The Man Comes Around I picked this one because it’s the one that introduced me to Rick Rubin’s American series with Cash, but I might as well have picked any of them as they all contained blindingly eloquent examples of Cash’s talent as an interpreter. When he sings someone else’s song, it instantly becomes his. Many artists that were covered by Cash in the American series have said they felt they could no longer sing their song after hearing Cash sing it… The day he died was a sad day for the world, but a happy one for him, since I was finally reunited with his life’s true love, June Carter. RIP, Man in Black.

Jose Gonzales It took a Swede of Argentinian origins to reconcile me with Folk music. I first heard this Gonzales as a guest singer on a Zero 7 album (see below, they are also part of my best of the 2000s) where he sang on their version of his song Crosses, and I was immediately under the spell of his voice, so I decided to explore and discovered a wonderful album, Veneer, which was followed by an equally wonderful second album, In Our Nature.

Kings of Convenience It took a pair of Norwegian to reconcile me with Folk music… Although in their case, I’d say they (Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe) are not as clearly folksy as Gonzales (see above), with strong jazz and even bossa inflections in their music. In both cases, nonetheless, it is their voices that first drew me to their music.

LCD Soundsystem Talk about zeitgeist: one can almost smell New York when listening to a LCD track, but one can also hear, condensed in a few sharp words, the whole youth underground culture of the 2000s and its intense hybridization (re. Losing my Edge). Is James Murphy God? Nah! But he sure is one of the best artists of the 2000s, definitely. I would’ve loved to include the cover of Carl Craig (as Paperclip People)’s Throw that LCD do live, but the only clip I found was too short and sounded bad. Regardless: to me, the very idea of covering such a dancefloor track with a live band says it all about Murphy et al.

Lindstrøm Yeah… Saying I love Lindstrøm has become cliché by now, as people who know me well will readily tell you. Still, this man has singlehandedly led a whole movement for the past five years or more (depending on where you place the beginning) and keeps banging out incredible tracks, like his recent 42 minutes version of the Christmas classic Little Drummer Boy or Baby Can’t Stop, from his upcoming album with vocalist Christabelle which sees him going in a disco-funk direction à la M.J. circa Off the Wall! Boogie on!

Luomo – Vocalcity I picked Vocalcity because it was SO important to me when it came out, but especially the track Tessio, which gave me back hope that true House wasn’t on its way out, as it seemed to me back then (in 2000). If you hold any pretention of loving electronic music, your record collection simply isn’t complete without Vocalcity, and with the shortest track clocking in at 9:56, you can rest assured you’re getting your money’s worth with this one!

Malajube – Labyrinthes If you’re from outside North America, chances are slim you’ve heard of these guys, unless you ear is firmly pressed on the indie-rock railroad track. I wasn’t a fan of theirs before this third album. As a matter of fact, I barely knew more than their name and didn’t try to learn more, as I tend to shy away from bands that are too hyped, as was the case when their second album came out. However, when I received Labyrinthes in the mail last February, I thought I’d give them a real listen, and they blew me away. Definitely in my top 3 best albums of 2009 and top 5 of the 2000s. Indie-rock, yes, but with Prog flourishes that don’t need to blush in the presence of their elder statemen, Labyrinthes is an album borne out of personal hardship and, as most such albums, it radiates an intense light. And I did listen back to their earlier stuff: doesn’t measure up to this. Here’s a link to download the excellent opening track Ursuline.

Martin Léon Here’s another Québec artist who you probable never heard of if you live outside this province. I even feel strange writing about him in English! But what Martin Léon does different from most other Québec artists is write stuf that’s beyond the usual pop love song drivel. He is a true composer (who has studied with Ennio Morricone) and a great writer, and his ear is atuned to what’s going on in the world. The result are amazingly unique little gems. He’s only got two albums (more if you include his stint with the band Ann Victor), but they are priceless, with a little favoritism on my part for his first, Kiki BBQ.

Miguel Graça Initially, I was only going to include Mig’s first full length, Miguel Graça presents Soulnotmind: Shining Stars, but then, while researching for links and stuff, I realized that his other albums released during the 2000s had as much impact on me as that first one, although it does hold a special place in my mind and heart. Quite difficult to find stuff to link to, but here’s one taken off his second album, Monkey Mass, and co-produced with my buddy Fred Everything.

Mocky Dominic Salole is an artist who’s part of of the incredibly talented gang sometimes referred to as the “Canadian Crew” that includes Gonzales, Feist, Peaches and Taylor Savvy. Mocky is a multi-instrumentalist with an uncanny talent for great productions and even greater melodies; he’s often involved in the album production of his fellow Canadian Crew members. On his own, he’s released four albums in the 2000′s, with the latest, Saskamodie, almost being a pure jazz album. The whole Canadian Crew is worth discovering, but my suggestion is that you begin by Mocky’s productions (and save Feist for last, since y’all probably know her anyways).   Mocky feat. Feist – Fighting Away The Tears envoyé par raphal1050. – Regardez plus de clips, en HD !

Moloko – Statues / Forever More (FKEK Remix) I would’ve included the whole Moloko catalog if I could, but Statues is their only album which came out in the 2000s (oops, not true: Things to Make and Do came out in late 2000) and, sadly, t was to be their last album, too (so far). In a way, although it is sad, it is also a good thing because Moloko can only be Mark Brydon and Róisín Murphy, and the proof is in the pudding: what dear Róisín has done since is OK, at best. However, to cite Wikipedia: “While both currently pursue projects outside of Moloko and state that there are no plans for Moloko at the moment, Murphy has been keen to stress that the group are not necessarily defunct and that she has no interest in ‘burying’ the project.” So, there. I’ve put emphasis on the François Kevorkian and Eric Kupper remix of Forever More because, well… It is one of their best productions, simple as that!

New Order – Get Ready I’ve always been a great fan of N.O. and I can’t tell you how elated I was when rumours of a new album started floating around in 2000. I think a lot of people were surprised, at first, at how much more rock-sounding Get Ready was compared to what Barney & Co. had done before, especially Republic, which had preceded it 10 years before. Well, not I. I embraced this new hard sounding sound which perfectly suits Hooky’s bass and Barney’s voice. In any case, it also contains one of their best songs, Run Wild. I did enjoy Waiting for the Siren’s Call, but nowhere near as much as Get Ready.

Quantic/Quantic Soul Orchestra Wow! Here’s one guy who really blew my mind during the 2000s (although I’ve been a bit less into his productions of late). Will Holland is a rare musical genius who can play almost everything and compose in almost any style. As a matter of fact I’m certain he can compose any style of music, I just haven’t heard him do so. He’s known as The Quantic Soul Orchestra, The Limp Twins, Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro and other monikers, he works alone or with a full orchestra and everything he touches becomes groovy. Y’all should really hook up with Will, trust me!

Social System – Autumn > Spring Dearest Pheek, a true visionnary and a dedicated man. I have immense respect for him as a person and as an artist, but also as a label manager: he has great flair for discovering and nurturing fresh talent. This album is a collaboration between Jean-Patrice and Jason Corder. Now, Pheek’s releases are amazing little gems, and Jason can hold his own, too, but together, they created something that’s greater than the sum of its parts, and Autumn > Spring is an aboslute must in any record collection. JP, I couldn’t find any other source, so I’m embedding a track off your album instead of a YouTube clip. It is protected even in the source code, so in principle it is impossible to download and besides I’ve encoded it @ 128kbps. If you want me to remove it, let me know.   Social System – Milk Clouded (Archipel, 2006) Milk Clouded

Stars of the Lid – And Their Refinement of the Decline I really honestly don’t know what to say about SotL and this album in particular. They compose and play what has become my favourite ambient music. I don’t feel I need to add anything else…

The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Much like Luomo gave me back hope that House was not dying, the Flaming Lips gave me hope that rock was still able to offer something creative. Wayne Coyne et al. have been at it for almost thirty years already, and they show no sign of slowing down or losing their edge, and if only for that, they deserve their presence on this list. And once you listen to their integral cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, you’ll either love them for life or hate them forever.

Trentemøller – The Last Resort Much maligned after his immense and relatively rapid rise to fame, Trentemøller still deserves his spot on my list of the best of the 2000s. The Last Resort, whether they care to admit it or not, blew everyone’s mind by (to my ears, anyways) bridging the gap between minimal techno and more melodic House. Now, let’s just wait and see if he’ll top himself. So far it’s been over 3 years since he’s done anything worthwhile…

Underworld They’ve only released two albums in the 2000s, but I’d be hard-pressed to say which is best. No matter that, Underworld have been one of my favourite electronic bands since the day I first heard dubnoheadwithmybassman in 1994, so even if their latest releases had been total crap, I’d still have included them on my list!

Zero 7 Ah! my darlings Zero 7! Hardaker and Binns (whose name even sounds like a cool menswear line or pocket knife brand) have never produced anything I didn’t totally fall in love with, even their latest album, Yeah Ghost, which has left many a fan perplexed. Their music is always soothing and uplifting, even though it knows how to be a bit sad, at times. One of my fantasies: drivng along the Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible while listening to the track below…

Also rans

Wish I could’ve included The Art of Noise’s The Seduction of Claude Debussy, but it officially came out in 1999, even though I discovered it in 2000. Same goes for Electronic’s Twisted Tenderness. I would also have included Oasis’ Dig Out Your Soul and The Verve’s Forth in the best of 2009, but they came out in 2008 and weren’t so good as to make the cut for the best of the 2000′s, although they are both kick-ass albums IMHO. I wish I could’ve included my friend Jean-Pierre reissues of Handful of Snowdrops and Spaceful of Astronauts, but reissues don’t count in my book — which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t rush to discover what I’m talking about if you don’t already know.

Must’ve been the pressure from all those blogs and other sources of information I read daily, but I suddenly got the urge to post my favourite music of 2009. A list of my favourite from the whole decade will follow shortly. I didn’t restrain myself to a certain number, it just so happens that I ended up with 20.

All I can tell you is that as this year comes to an end, with the many life changes that are accompanying it into the past, these are the albums or songs or artists that come to mind instantly, or almost so, as I reflect upon the music that has shaped who I’ve become in the past year…

MONSIEUR SEB’S BEST OF 2009 in alphabetical order

DJ Hell – Teufelswerk Rarely does an album, particularly in the electronic world, capture so aptly the zeitgeist. Two excellent cameos by P. Diddy on The DJ (the man DOES have a sense of humour) and Bryan Ferry — singing an unreleased track of his (U Can Dance, see below) are alone worth the price of the album, but the rest of the tracks are stellar, too. Some have hailed it as the best dance album ever. I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s certainly one of the best of 2009. The track The DJ is featured on my promo mix Inside Me, while U Can Dance can be heard on I Am Rhyhtm.

Doves – Jetstream (Lindstrøm Remix) The original is one of the best on the Doves’ latest, and we all know Lindstrøm is very close to being a musical genius, but on this totally groovy remix, he pulled out all the stops and in the first half the keyboard playing almost sounds like Elton John on acid. Major dancefloor scorcher, if you ask me. If I had presented this best of list in some kind of preference order, this one would paobably be my number 1.

Doves – Kingdom of Rust Ah! The Doves. No doubt one of my favouritest British rock bands. They have yet to disappoint me, and what’s more, they seem to be getting consistently better after four albums. Compulsion has all the potential to become a classic rock track, as do many others on this opus.

Jesse Somfay – A Catch in the Voice All I can say is that this human being has the uncommon talent to create beauty… Heck, even his Facebook statuses are little gems.

John Daly – Sea & Sky Released on François K’s Wave Music, this first album by the Irish producer encompasses his best productions so far plus three new tracks, and it hits the right spot. To quote Resident Advisor: “…this full-length makes its clear that tagging Daly as deep house only covers about half of what he’s up to.” His track exp3 from this album is featured on my promo mix Cosmix, vol IV.

Jonsi & Alex – Riceboy Sleeps Ambient done right by Sigur Ros’ singer Jón Pór Birgisson and his life partner Alex Somers. Somewhat reminiscent of my darlings Stars of the Lid, but “cleaner”. According to Wikipedia, Boy 1904 is said to feature the last known castrato singer ever recorded. Definitely an album of potent introspective power and luminescent beauty.

Jori Hulkkonen – Man from Earth Already a seventh album for Finland’s Jori Hulkkonen, not couting his mix CD a few years back on Turbo. As always, there’s a certain quality to his productions that’s hard to describe yet immediately apparent… I’m tempted to pin it on his nordicity, but I could be wrong. The standout tracks on this album are I Am Dead, Dancerous, Undercover, Bend Over Beethoven and the title track.

Lindstrøm – Little Drummer Boy Yes, another Lindstrøm oeuvre on my best of the year. I did include the Norwegian in my best of the 2000′s, but I sure wasn’t going te refrain from including his totally flabberghasting take on this Christmas classic on my best of cette année. Now, it is a well-known fact that I love long jams, and as long jams go, this is one of the best with its 42:43 seconds, ranking it just between Manuel Göttsching’s E2-E4 (59:35) and The Orb’s Blue Room (40:00), and it is not only its length that places it in such stellar company, but its intrinsic worth, too. With this production, Hans Peter proves he’s got nothing to envy those guys (as if we needed any more proof after his 2008 album Where You Go I Go Too). Here’s a link to a free download of the edited version, but you won’t have lived a full life until you carefully listen to the full version a few times…

Malajube – Labyrinthes If you’re from outside North America, chances are slim you’ve heard of these guys, unless you ear is firmly pressed on the indie-rock railroad track. I wasn’t a fan of theirs before this third album. As a matter of fact, I barely knew more than their name and didn’t try to learn more, as I tend to shy away from bands that are too hyped, as was the case when their second album came out. However, when I received Labyrinthes in the mail last February, I thought I’d give them a real listen, and they blew me away. Definitely in my top 3 best albums of 2009. Indie-rock, yes, but with Prog flourishes that don’t need to blush in the presence of their elder statemen, Labyrinthes is an album borne out of personal hardship and, as most such albums, it radiates an intense light. And I did listen back to their earlier stuff: doesn’t measure up to this. Here’s a link to download the excellent opening track Ursuline.

Massive Attack – Splitting the Atom If this four track EP is any indication of what’s to come on their new album Heligoland, due out in February 2010, my guess is that it will be their best album yet, IMHO. The four songs on StA are as beautiful as they are intense, and if you listen carefully, you’ll hear elements from all their previous albums, a sign of true artistic vision.

Max Essa – Continental Drift UK born but Japan based Max Essa releases mainly on Bear Funk, one of the labels to keep an eye on if you’re into the Cosmic Disco thing, although Essa’s album would fall more into the Balearic Beat category, if you want to be specific. This link will lead you to an interestingly eclectic promo mix by Essa.

Milton Jackson – Crash To me, Freerange Records is the label that replaced the late Paper Recordings as the best Deep House label in England and probably the world, and Jackson has been a stalwart of Freerange for a while, although he’s not the one I’d follow the most closely. That is until he released Crash an elegant exercice de style in (relative) minimalism and deep houseness. Not an album whose tracks you’ll likely hear on dancefloors, but I’d definitely recommend it as a driving album!

Mungolian Jetset – We Gave It All Away… And Now We Are Taking It Back One of Norway’s best kept and most valuable treasure, these guys are unique: NO ONE sounds like them (and if you think to yourself “Well, this remix reminds me of so and so”, just listen to another one of their productions: no two are alike). I can only urge you to Google them and explore the breadth and scope of their productions… We Gave It All Away is the perfect tool to do so, but it is only technically an album from 2009, because it is a double compilation of their productions and remixes and, sadly, most of them have been edited, because the Mungs tend to make epic tracks often busting the ten minutes mark (for example Clairevoyage [featured on my first Cosmix promo mix], a Dominique Leone track remixed jointly with Lindstrøm and that hit 12 minutes in its original full length, but was edited down to 10 minutes for this compilation). However, edited or not, unless you want to embark on a hunt for their releases (not an esay task), this release is the next best thing. This track is NOT pon that compilation, but it is definitely one of their good productions.

Pezzner Formerly known as one half of Jacob London, Dave Pezzner had created a solid reputation for himself in two short years with no less than 20 releases and remixes, including three releases of original material on Freerange. His first album is slated for spring 2010 on that label, so lets just hope it won’t be the usual collection of previously released material with a few new tracks. Below is one of my favourite remixes he did in 2009 which is featured on my promo mix I Am Rhythm

Radio Slave Certainly not a newcomer, Matt Edwards’ productions and remixes under his monikers Radio Slave and Quiet Village have yet to disappoint this DJ and music lover. Standout track of 2009, to me: his 28 minutes version of DJ Hell’s The DJ. He took the concept to its logical limit and you gotta respect anyone who does that! My buddy Nic B once said that the true Trance inducing electronic music is House and Mat Edwards seems hell-bent on proving so. The track below is also featured in my promo mix Inside Me.

Roberto Rodriguez Yes, another producer whose output didn’t once disappoint in 2009, and besides having that little je ne sais quoi that makes me love his productions so much, he excels in many different styles, which is an automatic respect earner for me. The video below is my favourite of his 2009 productions and is featured on my promo mix Inside Me.

Shit Robot – Simple Things (Serge Santiago Remix) I’m just gonna let the music talk. You can hear this track on my promo mix Inside Me.

Stimming – The Loneliness I could’ve presented Stimming’s whole Reflections album in this best of 2009 list, but this track stands out so much that I decided it deserved to be featured on its own. You can hear this track on my promo mix Inside Me.

The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs – Dark Side of the Moon The Lips are in my opinion one of the only good rock bands in the U. S. of A., one that has consistently dared to explore different sonorities and structures and one that has avoided the pitfalls that are typical of trying to gain or retain an audience that is only superficially interested in their musical creations. Their version of the entire iconic Pink Floyd album, while it might seemingly help them gain a wider audience, probably won’t do so. Not because it is not good: far from it! But the usual “HOW could they do THAT to such a classic album!” type of reaction is easily predictable from 99% of the people who’ll listen to it (if you exclude their fan-base, I mean). Long live Coyne, Drozd et al.!

The Phenomenal Handclap Band Live instrumentation dance-oriented rock that channels the spirit of prog rock, blues, disco and eveything in between, this band is made up of members from such bands as TV on the Radio, L’Trimm, Calla, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Mooney Suzuki, and Sí Se. One of their tracks is featured on my ilve mix at Picnik Electronik this past August.

I’ve known for a long while that Jesse Somfay is one outstanding artist in the music world (yes, at large, not just in the electronic one), as his work as a composer has proved many times over.

Now, the man has dropped an even bigger bomb on our avid — and possibly unsuspecting — ears yesterday via SoundCloud.

It came in the form of an astounding three hours and twenty seven minutes mix recorded for Henry Salz’s podcast The Labyrinth.

Again, I’ll let his work speak for itself, but…

ALL DJS SHOULD TAKE HEED.

Seriously.

I know I have.

And don’t miss his masterpieces A Catch In The Voice and the mind-blowing Fricative White.

Here’s the very impressive tracklist:

01 Atlas Sound – A Ghost Story
02 Brothomstates – In
03 Autechre – Dropp
04 Plaid – Sincetta
05 Brothomstates – Adozenaday
06 Bola – Forcasa 3
07 Plaid – Cedar City
08 Bola – Effanajor
09 Boards of Canada – A Moment of Clarity
10 Boards of Canada – Amo Bishop Roden
11 Wisp – Flat Rock
12 Autechre – Rae
13 Clark – Future Daniel
14 Boards of Canada – Tears from The Compound Eye
15 Boards of Canada – You Could Feel The Sky
16 Burial – Archangel
17 Current Value – Requiem (Balkansky Rework)
18 Burial – You Hurt Me
19 Sneaker Pimps – Spin Spin Sugar
20 Burial – Prayer
21 Nine Inch Nails – In This Twilight
22 Nine Inch Nails – Head Down
23 Portishead – Roads
24 Beck – Chemtrails
25 Radiohead – Scatterbrain
26 Blonde Redhead – Dr. Strangeluv
27 Radiohead – 2+2=5
28 Nine Inch Nails – We’re In This Together
29 Nine Inch Nails – Beside You In Time
30 Torche – Across The Shields
31 Acid King – Bad Vision
32 Kyuss – One Inch Man
33 Oneida – 10:30 at the Oasis
34 That Fucking Tank – Ludwig II Of Bavaria
35 Boris – Farewell
36 Deftones – Minerva
37 Slowdive – Melon Yellow
38 Astrobrite – Amorotic Zoom
39 Sigur Ros – Untitled
40 Belong – I Never Lose. Never Really
41 Grouper – Heavy Water / I’d Rather Be Sleeping
42 Belong – Remove the Inside
43 Ulrich Schnauss – On My Own
44 Ladytron – Tomorrow
45 Radiohead – Let Down
46 Nine Inch Nails – Right Where it Belongs V2