most honourable mentions - 2013

so, might i let my final entry in this years musical reflections be dedicated to some most honourable mentions; the releases that i was forced to agonisingly remove from my final short-list of exceptional works that saw the light of day across the last twelve months.

in some cases i found the releases to be slightly flawed, or perhaps a little too patchy, when forced to be over-critical, but for the most part it was simply a case of forcing myself to strip back the final list to the absolute bare essentials. either way, the selection reads thusly.

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ancient mith - and the dead shall lie there

always a pleasure to get to audition a new long-player from the perennially captivating ancient mith. how he is more than capable of  delivering a full albums' worth of texts without once losing sight of the cohesive whole or growing tedious... and here's to the next eu-tour!

david lynch - the big dream

anything new from david lynch will always be a notable moment, since my teenage fascination with his creative world, and how intruiged i am to see him release a new album so soon since the previous outing. more confounding, infuriating, mesmerising, captivating material to be sure.

soso - not for nothing

how i have long been partial to the works of the mighty soso, and how this latest outing is immediately captivating and remains so for its short duration. i am always struck by the sheer craft that he employs with each of his releases, giving them always the necessary gravitas to enthrall.

nosunnofood - nosunnofood

edison has been one of my 'all-time-favourite' producers for a long time now and how any outing from his musical realm is surely guaranteed to captivate, enthrall, entertain, sooth and stimulate. a perfect excursion back into his sonic landscapes between official solo releases.

james p honey - dIv_ØØNYgHN

the young captain honey murdering his way through half-an-hour of barbed materials. for my money always more visceral and captivating when stripped-down, these songs are further proof of his magnificent artistic path over the last few years.

earl sweatshirt - doris

probably the most 'hyped' release on this small list and how it was a curiously-intriguing item indeed. there can be no denying his incredibly powerful voice, nor his excellent flow, and how the lyrics and, for the most part beats, were able to generate a consistent journey though his world.

prodigy & alchemist - albert einstein

an unexpected treat to be sure. i cannot begin to explain how much i listened to the early mobb deep records as a teenager, nor how bemused i was by their plunging descent into utter dross. so, what a delight to hear prodigy offering bar after bar of gold, over a full-albums' worth of solid beats.

action bronson & harry fraud - saab stories

scarcely able to bring myself to allow this release art onto this blog, but i cannot deny how many times i listened to 'alligator' and 'seven series triplets' this year; only two out of the six songs on offer, but just so compelling as to carry the weight of the release onto this list.

tesk - nerves

an absolutely stunning debut release from the masterful tesk. how it probably would have been in the short-list had it not arrived so late in the year, only giving me the chance to begin to be blown away by all that lays within. a full tape of shimmering magical hues. utter bliss.

home - word

how little could be more welcome that a futher release from the always-masterful home. how this new set of ten songs carried me forward through this year on buoyant wings, always offering a keen and clear eye on the reasons why we are indeed moving forward. truly wonderful.

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so, there we have it, my humble take on the musical facts in the case of 2013. i sincerely hope that you found a few enjoyable moments within, have managed to discover some new treats for your own archives, or simply enjoyed the shared understanding of mutual tastes, and how i sincerely hope that we are all still here this time next year to celebrate once again.

in final parting, i would also like to reference a number of artists that didn't make it onto any of these lists, simply by way of my having not had the chance to audition their works over the last twelve months. i am keenly looking forward to hearing the latest releases from the following:

jesu, boards of canada, carcass, odd nosdam, the haxan cloak, arcade fire, low, billy woods & blockhead, cathedral, burial, bill callahan, dakota, tim hecker and many more ...the tale is ongoing indeed...

sending all the love, keep safe and take care

jamesreindeer

leipzig, deutschland
30th december 2013

skribblepott communion

after some time swept up in a host of activities taking me betwixt the rhein-main and leipzig, time was finally found to return once again to the skribblepott to re-commune dyxz.born.rndr in the studio for a weekend, to take in the performance of a band of buriers on the outset of their latest tour and to help celebrate the birthday of one of the skribblepott's most beautiful daughters, miss sinja possekel. a perfect and unmissable constellation of events which saw me eagerly gathering myself up and bidding farewell to the streets of connewitz, shimmering in the frozen still of a hazy wintry sun last thursday morning.

i rode the train line watching the fields, hilsides, towns and farms stretch out before me, just reflecting on the changing of the seasons, seeing the early morning frost stretch out across the scene and dearly looking forward to once again being with the wonderful extended-family that awaited in the north-west. after some delays, missing my connexion and being stuck in hannover for an hour, what better way to be welcomed that by the almighty dyxz waiting to pick me up at duisburg hauptbahnhof, already full of myriad stories, tales, news and the latest developments; my favourite welcome indeed.

we ran some errands before making our way back to his eppinghoferstrasse safehouse, doubling as one of the skribble / ana ott / glbc radio / shiny toys headquarters, with enough time to commune for a splendid meal with the legendary jan ehlen, enough time to write some field reports and enough time to brew a number of pots of the earl grey 69; an essential element in our frequent protracted kitchen communions. word was also exchanged with the mighty martin born and how he would soon be safely en route from mainz to join us in time for the concert which we ourselves we soon gathering ourselves up to be in early attendance for.

dyxz and i paced quickly through the streets of mülheim in the early-evening air to the near-legendary residence of the impossibly enchanting elisa, kara and ana; three of the arrestingly-warm-hearted skribble sisterhood and purveyors of the most legendary house shows, perhaps in the whole world; at least the old world for sure. we were welcomed at the door by miss elisa with wide smiles, hugs and kisses and soon found ourselves back in the cosy warmth of their perfectly-cosy abode, and being greeted by warmest hug after warmest hug from each and every family member, notably including the buriers family, this time in attendance as a three-man constellation with their new-ish drummer ramon, making his skribblepott debut and clearly reveling in the fact.

the guests arrived thick and fast til we were at full capacity, with too many dear names to mention, but the arrival of the omnipotent angel martin born would clearly be worth adding to the record. we took our seats and began to ingest the magical musical performances of the evening, beginning with the utterly unique captain pitt, marauding under his a giraffe persona with a wonderfully-off-the-cuff collection of songs, aided and abetted on second vocal by the hypnotic voice of elisa, before the buriers took the room by storm with their latest collection of songs, all of which directly found a place in the hearts of all assembled; magical moments indeed.

still, how the night pressed on so fast and we were soon relunctantly bidding each other farewells til the morrow, or only til next time. martin, dyxz and i wandered back across mülheim to the eppinghoferstrasse safehouse, took a final pot of earl at the kitchen table and then retired to fall away into the dreaming, knowing full-well that we had a very packed program ahead of us for the subsequent days. but how each moment should surely be made to count in such a situation as precious as that in which we found ourselves embroiled.

we arose in reasonable time, but not quite reasonable enough to be able to catch the buriers for frühstück before they made their way down to the rhein-main to catch the knertz family for their offenbach show. instead we took our fill with kara and ana, and spent the time reflecting on what a magical evening it had been and how wonderful a gathering of souls it had been, and how this new day continued in such a charming fashion. we managed to find ourselves in essen by nightfall, being treated to some exclusive sounds pertaining to the upcoming tesk cassette release on ana ott, from the mighty hands of edis bassdeaph, before communing into the late of the evening at the overwhelmingly cosy residence of the endlessly-enchanting sinja possekel for her bithday celebrations; and once again getting to bathe in the majesty of her waldraum.

but all of this heart-warming fun was far too heart-warming and fun, and how we had to get into the serious business of invoking blackest storms in the studio in the name of throne burner and the dyxz.born.rndr trio. saturday and sunday was spent exactly thus. we had graciously been afforded use of the live room at the highly professional dialogstudios in oberhausen by the masterful captain joost schnitzler, and made good opportunity of the time. we managed to fit in three sessions in the time, rehearsing, refining our sounds, experimenting with new textures and field recordings and indeed recording some test-pieces in preparation for compiling materials for our debut cassette tape release, forthcoming via ana ott in the new year.

sunday also gladly saw us making our way to the ana ott / skribble / glbc radio oberhausen safehouse and the residence of the impossbly amazing felïx möser aka bohemian output. we communed in his attic apartment and took tea in the warmth as the frozen grey and cold extended above the muted tones of the rooftops out of the windows. we were fortunate enough to view the physical version of the tesk tape release first hand and to get to hear some of the upcoming releases the label has in store for the world; a truly mouth-watering collection indeed. be sure to keep your eyes and ears pealed, at all costs.

the evening gladly saw us once again communed around the kitchen table with a beautiful constellation of friends for a last supper before martin and i would have to issue our sad farewells and return to mainz and leipzig respectively. we ate so well, all taking our fill and subsequently taking earl and talking long into the evening before it was time for our dear guests to slowly make their ways back out into the cold of the evening. dyxz, martin and i managed to somehow remain assembled around the table into the early hours, brewing pot after pot of the earl, talking long on what became such silly subjects; managing to squeeze the very last out of such a glorious weekend.

monday morning was cold and wet, grey skies and a faint drizzle of rain falling across the whole of the ruhrgebiet. we gathered at the table one last time for frühstück before the marching on of the hour forced us to begin our farewells. martin was reduced to disappearing first, taking the bus back to mainz and how, but a short while later, dyxz was in turn driving me back to the hauptbahnhof where the pressing time forced us into fleeting farewells. i found a seat on the train and sat staring out of the window as the ruhrpott slowly disappeared from view once more, and how my heart was heavy with all of the weight of these forced separations, but how in my heart i rejoiced at the wonderful magical warmth that lays within the hearts of all these amazing souls. there are so many flickering lights of hope in this dark world, how lucky we are to be able to witness them gathering together, and playing our own part in this ongoing play.

sending so much love to all of the skribblepott family, the buriers and every soul that still believes

keep safe and warm

jamesreindeer

connewitz, leipzig

19th november

2013