2022 have been a great year. Whether it’ll be a vintage year will remain to be seen, but its looking like it might be. At the end of the year there is always a time to reflect back on everything that you have listened to, read and consumed. There is a need to sum up the old before you embark on the new. The below feels like a way to do that, without just listing things ad nauseum whilst listing things ad nauseum.
Coby Sey Interview
This year my favourite album of the year is Coby Sey’s debut album Conduit. Its everything I wanted from Sey but not what I expected. Over the past few years Sey has been releases music that flits between urban, pop, classical, film scores, R&B and the avant-garde. In the summer I was lucky enough to have an hour of his time while he was on tour. It was the first time I’d spoken to Sey, and while it was online, I felt a real connection to Sey, and it made me appreciate his music more. If this isn’t an album you’ve heard I implore you do check it out. The music is slightly claustrophobic and dank, but peppered with hope.
SAULT
A delightfully surprising moment of 2022 was when SAULT (pronounced ‘Soo’) surprise released not one, not two, not three but five, yes FIVE, new albums available for free through their website for a limited time, I was over the moon. A few days after downloading them I had the prospect of some long train journeys. My soundtrack was sorted. The music ranges form neo-soul, R&B, gospel, psychedelic and funk. What is the most remarkable thing about these releases is just how strong, and diverse, the music is. There is no dip in quality. Each album just brings it. The psych album is as powerful as the gospel album. SAULT might be one of the most important groups working in music today, and these releases show it.
Helen Ganya
There is an expression that good things comes to those who wait. And while its only been a couple of years, the wait for Helen Ganya’s follow up to 2019’s Vanishing Lands is definitely worth it. On ‘Polish the Machine’ Ganya really raises her game lyrically and musically. Its still in that singer songwriter vein, but the addition of electronics elevates this album over everything else Ganya has released. Which in itself is pretty impressive, but the 11-songs on the album also have the power to touch, and move, you while listening to the album. Give it a go. I think you’d like it.
Xiu Xiu Subscription
Xiu Xiu are a band that I’ve liked, loved, admired and respected for a number of years, but it was only this year that decided to join the Xiu Xiu army on Bandcamp. Monthly subscriptions to bands, and labels, isn’t a new thing. I’ve signed up to some before but with Xiu Xiu it feels different. For less than the price of a drink a month I’m not getting one EP (a cover and some longer experimental tracks) that has never disappointed yet. Some stems of a back catalogue release and anything else the band decide to throw at me. I also have access to over 100 exclusive releases. This is beyond value for money and you are helping out one of the best bands currently doing it now.
https://xiuxiu69.bandcamp.com/xiu-mutha-fuckin-xiu
Binker and Moses
Since 2015 my favourite UK jazz, and jazz for that matter, act has been Binker and Moses. Their music has constantly evolved from their seminal debut Dem Ones. At the time it felt full of promise and excitement and listening back to it now, seven years later, it still feels that way. (Apart from the exceptional music), The best thing is how you can’t predict where the duo will go next. After listening to the, slightly more, conventional Escape the Flames I thought that their night album might be something post-bop but I was not anticipating what I heard. Feeding the Machine is a more electronic affair, sounding more like Miles Davis’ all over the shop classic ‘On the Corner’. Its also the densest music the duo have produced. On a first listen its almost impregnable. The interplay between Binker and Moses is almost washed any by the dank electronics, but with each listen you hear more and more of what the duo are doing. The most remarkable thing is how I still get the same excitement from this album as I did their debut, and every album since. Binker and Moses deserve to have their names shouted from the rooftops until our voices grow hoarse and our feet turn to ice. Then we should shout some more!
Greater Boston and Unlicensed
As well as a slew of quality music being released in 2022 podcasts always upped their game. One was a returning favourite and the other was something new made by some existing favourites. ‘Greater Boston’ makes its return since series three ended in 2019. Yes, since then there have been a slew of mini, and live, episodes but no full follow up of the story about the residents of Boston who have turned a part of their transport system, the Red Line, into housing. Its part comedy, drama, historical and surrealist, but mostly its brilliant. ‘Unlicensed’ is from Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, the main bods behind ‘Welcome to Night Vale’, and is about a private detective in LA. That’s all I’m going to say. I can’t say more without give shit away. So I won’t say any more. I need to stop talking about this in case I give anything away. Why won’t I stop talking about this? Ok. Stopped.
Low
This year Mimi Parker, one half of Low, sadly passed away. It wasn’t just a loss to music, it was, but to her bandmate/husband Alan Sparhawk and their family. Since her passing I’ve been playing Low’s back catalogue and thinking about the one time I interview Low. It was one of the easiest interviews I’ve never conducted. Alan and Mimi were consulate pros and I was invited into their lives for an hour. I often think about the way they interacted with each other. Their laughs and mannerisms. I only spoke to them for an hour, but they made me feel part of their gang. Imagine how people who really knew Mimi must feel. Parker’s passing is beyond sad, but at least she’ll never be forgotten due to interactions like mine and her flawless body of work.
Baby Hair
As well as loving more conventional music, I have spent a LARGE portion of 2022 listening to experimental/avant-garde music. One album that I’ve been playing a lot of Baby Hair The Album. Baby Hair are a duo from Brighton who merge skewed melodies with vocal harmonies. I’m not really doing a great job to describe it, but that’s because it’s a hard thing to describe. On the track ‘Mayday’ the main lyric, or mantra is, “Its May and everyone’s in love”. This is what Baby Hair do really well. They take concepts, being in love, with avant-garde music to create something memorable and dark.
