CD Album Recommendations Best Of 2016

Review: Having contributed a stellar track to Gerd Janson's Musik For Autobahns 2 compilation, it's little surprise to see Leon Vynehall pop up on Running Back. Rojus (Designed To Dance) is an expansive affair, with Gerd Janson deeming the eight-track set worthy of his CD edition to go alongside the doublepack for the vinyl heads. It's also predictably varied; contrast, for example, the drowsy ambient chords and twinkling electronics of opener "Beyond This", and the deep-jack-goes-rave sweatiness of "Beau Sovereign". Vynehall also finds space for the Balearic jazz-house swing of "Paradisea", the wall-of-sound Detroit deep house of "Blush", and the African influenced drum workout "...There Is You". In other words, it's a versatile cracker.

Review: Alex "Omar" Smith has never been one for modesty, so we shouldn't be too surprised that he's called his latest full-length - his fifth in total - The Best. To be fair, he is rather good at producing high-grade deep house, and here unveils another eleven gems. Interestingly, he's recruited an impressive cast-list of collaborators and guests, including Norman Talley, Kyle Hall, OB Ignitt and, most surprisingly of all, Bristol-based Tom Bug. Highlights are plentiful, from the dusty afro and blues influences of the tribal "Chama Piru's", and hazy, Rhodes-heavy vocal cut "AhRevolution", to the hip-wigglin' disco-house influences of "Seen Was Set", and retro-futurist, Inner City style Divinity hook-up "On Your Way".

Review: Given the length of his career, it's rather surprising to find that Under The Sun is Mark Pritchard's first under his given name. As critics have pointed out, it's an overwhelmingly beautiful and poignant set, built around an intoxicating fusion of ambient electronics, soft touch instrumentation, bubbling beats, grandiose chords, and on-point collaborations (check the vocal contributions of Beans, Thom Yorke, and Linda Perhacs). In some ways, it recalls Pritchard's pioneering work with Tom Middleton as Global Communication, while feeling altogether more grown up and musically complex. Regardless, it's an undeniably brilliant album.

Review: Jazz-wise deep house and downtempo producer Hanna has a string of fine albums to his name stretching back to the tail end of the '90s. Bless, though, is his first full-length since 2008, and sees the Cleveland, Ohio man transfer to Theo Parrish's legendary Sound Signature imprint. Each of the album's ten tracks comes dripping in hazy, late night soul, as Hanna smoothly shuffles between hazy nu-jazz explorations and various strains of sensual deep house. For the DJs there are plenty of floor-friendly moments, while the inclusion of a string of groovier downtempo workouts should please the home listening posse.

Review: There was naturally much excitement when A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead's surprise ninth studio set, popped up on streaming and download services back in May. Here it gets a CD release, offering those who prefer physical products a chance to bathe in its' woozy eccentricities. Seen by some as a return to their arty rock roots following an extended period spend exploring electronics, the album's 11 tracks draw on a variety of influences (krautrock, ambient, Pavement, James Blake, Stockhausen, intense melancholia etc.), with predictably impressive results. Occasionally elegant, string-laden and grandiose, always beautiful, and sometimes intensely moving, A Moon Shaped Pool is undeniably up there with the band's best work.

Review: Globetrotting producer Mark Barrott has been creatively reinvigorated since moving from Uruguay to Ibiza a few years back. Here, the exiled Sheffielder serves up a second helping of Sketches From An Island, once again proving that his Balearic instincts are as sharp as ever. As with the first volume, Barrott focuses on sun-kissed positivity, variously blending head-nodding hip-hop beats, jazzy guitars, dreamy synths, hazy trumpet solos, Jose Padilla influences, Reichian marimba patterns, and a variety of knowing global influences. This is music to soundtrack sunsets, sunrises, lazy afternoons by the pool, and humid evenings supping ice-cold cocktails. In truth, few do it better than Barrott.

Review: The last time we heard Fred P under his FP-Oner guise was for an album, the minimally named 5, which came out on Japan's powerful Mule Musiq stable. As such, FP-Oner returns with 6 for the same label, carrying a similar load of molecular deep house music coated in a distinctive sci-fi kinda feel. This is what Fred P does best; that is, constructing intricate patterns of sound and giving them a shape through house. In other words, each of these eight tunes tell a much more interesting story than the dancefloor and, instead, they force the listener to enter a world of its own, guided by airy, mystical synths and plenty of electronic manipulation. Excellent, as always, Mr P.

Review: Here's something to quicken the pulse of any dedicated techno fan: a first new album from Anthony Child in Surgeon mode for five years. Predictably, From Farthest Known Objects is a strong set, with the veteran noisemaker delving deep into his collection of analogue hardware to deliver a set that pops and whizzes with far-sighted intensity. Perhaps the album's most impressive feature is it's wonky melodic appeal, with the Birmingham-born producer delivering fizzing, intergalactic refrains that sound like they were created on broken space hardware. While the rhythms are sometimes as dense and full-throttle as you'd expect, he also doffs a cap to Drexciyan electro, and the kind of distorted, hard-to-describe grooves that were once a hallmark of Autechre. It's a blend that works wonderfully well.

Review: While he's barely paused for breath in the last decade, it's still been eight years since Fumiya Tanaka delivered his last album, Unknown 3. The epitome of long overdue, You Find The Key is his fourth album. Interestingly, it sees the 44 year-old, Japanese producer tweaking his now familiar bass-heavy minimal techno blueprint. Thrillingly, the bass lines are bolder and jauntier, and the beats jazzier, resulting in an altogether funkier take on the minimal techno style. Of course, there are still moments that recall his previous work - see the deep and dubby "Swallowed Memory" - but it's those that take a sideways step towards funk-fuelled pastures ("Munich Uncertain", "The Only Your Researching") that stand out.

Review: Under the A Vision of Panorama alias, Mikhail Khavsko has released some of the most beguiling nu-Balearic music of the past few years. Aquafusion is his long-awaited debut album, and is sure to further enhance his already high reputation. Drawing on sun kissed synthesizer grooves, languid nu-disco and hazy pop for inspiration, the album boasts all manner of ear-pleasing highlights. These include the new age inspired ambient slinkiness of "Open Sequences", the Gigi Masin style bliss of "Seagulls", the mid-'80s synth-pop-goes-dancing bounce of "Barbados", and the baked, horizontal pop of "Duality" (which notably features the drowsy vocals of Krista Michaela).

Review: Robert Hood's Floorplan alias has been a real hit over the years. Not content with captivating audiences for two decades with his minimal-futurist hypnotism on M-Plant, Floorplan explored his love of sampling, bringing back the vibe of early noughties DJ tools that looped up funk and disco classics for infectious dancefloor dynamics. The Victorious LP is the project's second full length since 2013's Paradise and is co-produced by his daughter Lyric. It features the absolutely massive "Tell You No Lie" which works those loops from the 1977 disco classic "Lovin' You Is Really My Game" by Brainstorm to full effect.

Review: Given the sheer brilliance of their early singles, and subsequent debut album, it could be argued that Tiger & Woods have been struggling to meet their own standards ever since. On The Green Again, their second full-length, may lack a little of the surprise sparkle that accompanied their early work, but it's still stacked to the rafters with club-ready material in their distinctive sample-heavy, looped-up, boogie-house style. Highlights include the bubbling synth-funk builds and drops of "Come & Get My Lovin", the elastic electric bass, fizzing synths and hazy vocal samples of "Bestissimo", and the breezy, warehouse-friendly bliss of late night throbber "Phoenix". It is, though, universally impressive.

Review: How one appropriates themselves is allegedly what Guy Brewer looked inwards and asked himself regarding his current penchant for techno and experimental music and covering up a somewhat secretive past as part of drum and bass duo Commix. The Appropriation Stories LP addresses this subject head on, for his second full length release on Hospital Productions since 2013's Under A Single Banner. The Berlin based producer conducts experiments merging the worlds of harsh and textural techno (as heard on his respected Avian imprint) with industrial noise mayhem as executed under his Covered In Sand or Alexander Lewis aliases. All in all a compelling listen that provides moments of cerebral listening with adrenalised dancefloor fodder.

Review: There have been plenty of column inches devoted to this collaborative debut album from hyped producer Kamaal Williams (AKA Rhythm Section International sort Henry Wu), and fast-rising Afrobeat drummer Yussef Dayes. With such raw talent to choose from, it's little surprise to find that Black Focus is as good as the critics claim. Their sound is distinctive: a London-centric take on jazz-funk that's loose, rich, organic and shot through with soul. Their major influences seem to be the work of West London broken beat pioneer Kaidi Tatham, and his inspiration, jazz-funk legend Herbie Hancock. These touchstones, combined with Dayes' brilliant drumming and Williams' superb synth solos and jammed-out Rhodes lines, makes Black Focus a hugely alluring set.

Review: Pete "Technicolour" Rogers and Andy "Komatic" Powell first joined forces as Techninamtic back in 2012, subsequently releasing their acclaimed debut album, Desire Paths, two years later. That album was considered something of a modern liquid D&B classic, and this follow-up is similarly inclined. Musically expansive, emotionally rich and hugely enjoyable, it sees the duo fluctuate between hazy, ear-pleasing vocal cuts (Jinadu, Zara Kershaw, Lucy Kitchen and Maiday all feature), sweeping, semi-cinematic anthems, and dreamy, LTJ Bukem-championed dancefloor shufflers. Throughout, the rhythms remain skittish and punchy, and the chords more comfortable than a heavyweight duvet in the midst of a bleak midwinter.

Review: For the recording sessions for Gorthleck, long-running collaborators Paul 'Mudd' Murphy and Ben Smith set up a small studio in a loch-side house in the Scottish highlands. The dramatic scenery and ever-changing weather patterns seem to have proved inspirational, because the album is arguably the downtempo duo's strongest to date. Variously influenced by kosmiche, Balearica, neo-folk, ambient, Tangerine Dream and movie soundtracks, the album's nine tracks meander along impressively, subtly shifting shape whilst winding their way into your subconscious. It's a beautiful set from start to finish, rich with hazy musicality and mood-enhancing moments, and comes highly recommended.

Review: Fluxion's Vibrant Forms series was launched by Basic Channel offshoot Chain Reaction at the tail end of the '90s, and gathered together previously vinyl-only cuts and previously unreleased tracks. On this third volume, the Greek producer has decided to take a different approach. In his words, this is a "proper album" rather than a compilation. It's typically atmospheric and immersive, offering up tracks that nestle somewhere between minimal techno hypnotism, smoker-friendly dub techno, and deliciously spaced out ambient dub. Rhythmically, it's a little more eclectic and mixed-up than we've come to expect, but his core values - use of space, tape delay and lo-fi aural textures - remain in tact throughout.

Review: Some years back, Aleksi Perala joined forces with Rephlex co-founder Grant Wilson-Claridge to invent a custom musical scale, The Colundi Sequence, which boasts 128 frequencies "chosen via experimentation and philosophy". Perala has been using this as the basis of his attractive electronic work for some time, self-releasing 15 EPs of tracks since 2014. This epic, triple-vinyl album gathers together highlights from the previously download-only series - all with deliberately obtuse titles, made up of letters and numbers - and accurately showcases the depth and diversity of Perala's work. Clone is calling it "spiritual techno", and that's an excellent catch-all description for a set that variously touches on Motor City futurism, IDM, electro, dub techno, ambient and Rephlex-esque "braindance".

Review: A-Ton is a new label from Berlin heavyweights Ostgut Ton, designed to focus on "ambient, archive and alternative music". They've pulled off something of a coup for this debut release, persuading British techno legend Luke Slater to open up the archives of his '90s intelligent techno project, The 7th Plain. Chronicles I boasts a mixture of previously released and unheard material, which moves from glistening, outer-space ambience (the near perfect "Boundaries", "Grace"), to fizzing Motor City techno ("T-Funk Statues"), via intergalactic intelligent techno, dusty downtempo grooves (the jazzy hip-hop rhythms and ambient electronics of "Slip 7 Sideways"), and melodious IDM.

Review: Since making his debut back in 2000, few have done more to further the cause of liquid D&B and "jungle jazz" than Luke "Utah Jazz" Wilson. The Music Factory is the producer's fifth full-length, and sees him continue to explore the potential of deep, melodious and emotion-rich drum and bass. While there are guest appearances dotted throughout - DRS, MC Fava, MC Tina, and Random Movement all feature - Wilson is at his best when laying down spine-tingling, string-drenched solo rollers. As a result, highlights come thick and fast, from the punchy breakbeats, sweeping electronics and hazy late night vocal samples of "Neverland", to the classic Good Looking Records flex of "Give It To Me Right", and the smoky, loved-up sweetness of "One Of A Kind".

Review: Despite now being 25 years into their career, Plaid duo Ed Handley and Andy Turner show no signs of showing up. If The Digging Remedy - their 11th studio set - is anything to go by, their instincts remain as sharp as ever. They've always been capable of creating magical music that contrasts experimental electronic rhythms with picturesque melodies and mood-enhancing sounds, and The Digging Remedy is full of the stuff. Intriguingly, many of the tracks seem deeper and more subdued than previous explorations, with clear ambient and neo-classical influences amongst the classic electro and IDM flavours you'll find on the album's more up-tempo moments.

Review: For fans of Demdike Stare's brand of intense techno and dystopian late night electronica, this edition of new album Wonderland is something of an early Christmas present. You see, it not only includes their new full-length in all its percussive, pleasingly funky glory - a reflection of their move towards more club-friendly pastures, even if their love of experimental noise and dark, wayward electronics remains intact - but also two discs of material from the duo's acclaimed, previously vinyl-only Testpressings series of white label 12" singles. Given that these works, which gleefully mutilate the rhythm structures of techno, dancehall, UK garage and IDM, hugely influenced the creation of Wonderland, it's a move that makes perfect sense.

Review: It's been a long time between drinks for "daisy age" hip-hop pioneers De La Soul. While they've remained a familiar presence on the live circuit, And The Anonymous Nobody - their ninth album - is their first studio set for a decade. Predictably, it's rather good. It's built around warm, sometimes lushly orchestrated grooves created by session musicians, rather than hand-picked samples, and as a result feels loose and groovy, with their trademark raps perfectly fitting the head-nodding, life-affirming backing tracks. It's packed with big name cameos, too, with Jill Scott, David Byrne, Damon Albarn, Snoop Dogg, Estelle, Pete Rock and Usher, amongst others, all doing their bit to lend a hand.

Review: When they delivered their stupendously sample-heavy debut album, Since I Left You, back in 2000, The Avalanches were tipped for big things. For some reason, they failed to capitalize, all but fading from view. That album remains a much-loved listen for many people so there has been an expected degree of anticipation regarding this follow-up, Wildflower. Happily, it's something of a resounding success, with the Melbourne trio serving up another whirlwind trip through sample-heavy, hip-hop era psychedelia. At 21 tracks deep, and with more changes of direction than your average three-week cycle race, it's something of a beast. It is, though, well worth the effort, as repeat listens simply uncovers more layers of hazy, glassy-eyed goodness (be it bluesy trip-hop, slipped disco, dreamy acid-pop, folksy beat-scapes or baked hypno-rock).