1. Howling – Phases
Ry X was going to make it on this list somewhere, I love his solo work, The Acid and Howling. I love what’s done with the cut up vocals on the intro, it really draws you in. Really emotive and keeps building, it makes even more sense when listening in the early hours.
2. Thomas Bangalter – Colossus
If i think people have come back for a party then it has to be something from Thomas Bangalter or from his Roule label. Feel good house music at it’s best.
3. Jim-E Stack – Forgiven
It’s hard to define the term ‘vibe’ but this track has tons of it. Every sound has so much character and the groove is sick. Instantly makes me feel like I’m in the cosy arms of a valium.
4. Mao Ra Sun – Miscommunication
This is an anthem, totally epic stuff. it leaves you with that feeling that everything is gonna be alright, even if the world is going to shit, this leaves you with a sense of hope.
5. Kiasmos – Blurred (Bonobo remix)
I’m a huge fan of both Kiasmos and Bonobo, I think this is the perfect balance of the two. Lots of lovely textures and layers. It doesn’t feel too busy yet it keeps building and the tension keeps rising with each new section, really beautiful stuff.
6. Kool A.D – Dum Diary
This is what good Hip-Hop is all about, the string loop is beautiful, even after 9 minutes I still want more. Each time I listen to this track I pick up on some lyric that I haven’t noticed before or some of the lyrics take on new meanings, this guy is a genius.
7. BadBadNotGood feat Samuel. T. Herring – I Don’t Know
This is a real masterpiece, it has the feel that it’s existed for eternity, even the mp3 sounds like a dusty old record. Samuel. T. Herring’s voice has got so much character and soul to it, you really can get lost in this track.
8. Maribou State feat Holly Walker – Midas
Portraits was the album I probably listened to the most in 2015, I love the lush piano chords and the skippy groove of Midas, Holly Walker’s voice is a perfect fit.
9. Klaxons – Not Over Yet
Sometimes when I have people back to mine, I’m not ready for the night to wind down, if that’s the case and I feel like turning the living room into a mosh pit then this does the job.
10. Peace – 1998
Trance got a really bad reputation for itself in the early 2000’s and it was mostly justified. However hearing Peace transform Binary Finary’s trance classic into a powerful emotive shoegaze piece shows that under the cheesy buzz saw synths and drum sounds, there was in fact a really emotive song trying to get out.
Dominic Gentry is Attaque, an electronic artist whose exhilarating experiments with genre, rhythm and song-writing have seen him tipped for big things by The Guardian, Q, NME and Radio 1. His dance singles, melding two-step garage, minimal house and techno, have been championed by Tiga and Erol Alkan, while his first album, 2014’s On Ly Ou came decorated in beguiling details, twinkling bells and vocals, hinting at influences from Burial to Pantha Du Prince and Mogwai.
Gentry, originally from Colchester, has a keen ear for melody, and his music has a disarming emotional power. These qualities have earned him radio play from Lauren Laverne, Huw Stephens, Tom Ravenscroft and Toddla T, while his coruscating live show has graced stages in Fabric, London, at Secret Garden Party, and around the world at Air Tokyo, Razzmatazz in Barcelona, Social Club Paris and Mysteryland, Amsterdam.
After extensive touring in 2014, Gentry built a new recording studio at a farm on the Essex-Suffolk border, producing for artists including Belgian techno maven Charlotte De Witte. But dissatisfied with the direction of his own material, in 2016 he set off around South East Asia with portable recording equipment. The inspiration came flooding out, and, now signed to Amplify Recordings, his new record Projection represents a bold new path for the producer.
Further developing the dance side of Attaque’s personality, the first of four new singles, the instrumental ‘Over Not Yet’ beckons us in with warm synth chords, gentle vocals and melancholy harp, before erupting into a rolling breakbeat, android bass and a hypnotic gated riff.
https://www.facebook.com/Attaquemusic/
