Best Of 2012: Top 100 EPs/singles

Power Vacuum’s unrelenting revival of industrially charged acid techno has been a key component of why techno’s been so interesting in 2012, with their releases worthy of inclusion on this list for so many reasons. Any label with a verbose and fanciful mastery in the art of press release writing will always find favour at Juno Plus given how dry the majority are, and Power Vacuum have personality in spades: “Cerberus belches out of the darkness like a shotgun blast to the face” being the opening gambit to their second, triumphant release from EDMX aka UK underground veteran Ed Upton. The three tracks here should really come accompanied by a public health warning, which makes the fact they were embraced by everyone from Ben UFO to Tiga all the more impressive. The mythical Greek beast referenced in the title track all too apt for a production that made for primal, stony faced techno at its finest, while “I’m Rushing My Tits Off” was contender for track title of the year.

One of 2012’s 1,243 new labels, Brothers started with an impressive mission statement, to bring together the artists it loves in a spirit of collaboration across the techno spectrum. The music on its debut 12” certainly didn’t disappoint; the A-Side saw genuine brothers Tessela and Truss deliver “UC”, a broken techno track that combined the best of Tessela’s weighty rhythmic swing and the disjointed acid of Truss’s MPIA3 project. The B-Side meanwhile saw AnD and Tom Dicicco come together for “Multiple Visions”, a track so dishevelled in texture and tone it would give Hieroglyphic Being a run for his money in the audio fidelity stakes. The A-Side was one of Perc’s favourite tracks of the year, and it’s easy to see why.

Blackest Ever Black rounded off an impeccable year of releases with Mitchell Heisman, the 10 inch shaped inauguration of Dalhous, a new project from the Young Hunting pair of Marc Dall and Alex Ander. Described by the label as “the beginning of a new chapter” for the Edinburgh based duo, this two track release lived up to its billing with the droning, paganistic soundscapes of their Young Hunting output the backdrop to something explicitly more industrial. Where rhythms once seemed a distant, almost hidden concern, here they were steeled up and very much at the forefront of the Dalhous sound. “You Don’t Know What You Want, Do You” artfully merged the juddering piston style rhythms of Coil with the kind of sample based atmospherics that you’d expect on a Boards Of Canada release while the swelling mass of drama that was “Success Is Her Sensuality” was notable for some expert sampling of the dinosaur that dined on the fat guy in Jurassic Park.

If we learned anything this year it’s that loudly shouting “Frak!” ranks high on the satisfaction stakes, almost as high as the raft of twelve inches the Swedish trio released. Honourable mentions must be uttered for the trilogy of twelves Frak released via the especially commissioned Kontra White Label series – particularly Triffid Gossip – however it was their induction into the Sex Tags hall of fame that resonated most for us at Juno Plus. It could of course be argued that the approach adopted by the Sex Tags operation is directly influenced by Frak, something alluded to in the fact the Borft EP is named after the imprint the elder statesmen of Swedish oddball techno oversee. Regardless, what was important was the music and you couldn’t fault the three tracks of electro leaning acid techno that had no higher design for life than perfectly fitting the sweatiest moments of a night in a dark basement.

The name and track titles might read like they were plucked out of the air by a cat that sat on a laptop, but the techno of SHXCXCHCXSH provided one of Avian’s most serious records of the year, and one that neatly encapsulated the strong aesthetic Avian have been cultivating over the past year. Somewhere between the laser guided techno of Function and the frazzled industrial grit of The Black Dog, SHXCXCHCXSH’s techno is like a Lovecraftian nightmare, rippling with acidic tendrils that play tricks on your sense of perception, ensuring rhythmic relentlessness without suffering from the plodding rigidity that can dog so much techno of its type.

This year saw Theo Parrish at his most esoteric, releasing one of his most adventurous 12”s to date in Any Other Styles, and also at his most cheeky, overseeing the Sound Signature Sounds II compilation described by Philip Sherburne as the “muddiest mastering job ever committed to CD”. But by tapping up the talents of London dweller Andrew Ashong for a 12” on Sound Signature, Parrish also reminded us of his penchant for twinkling, soulful grooves, and Flowers was as deliciously fragrant as freshly cut grass on a crisp summer morning. The title track sees Ashong crooning about sunshine turning to rain; it was both perfectly timed and maddeningly redolent of the summer passed, with Parrish’s production influence felt in the crisp, jazzy bump of the drums. Elsewhere on the EP Andrew went it alone, with “Take It Slow” representing a much more uptempo approach starkly defined by lightly strummed acoustic guitar and funky-as-hell Moog bass, while “The Way She Moves” was arresting in its simplicity, revolving around a simple two-chord pattern and careful layering of vocals.

Wild Oats boss Kyle Hall and our favourite Eglozoid Funkineven inaugurated their brilliantly titled Funkinevil project in the best possible fashion with the killer plate Night. Alluded to, hinted at, disclosed via short video footage at a Detroit mastering studio, played to thousands at festivals; all this came before the record was finally unleashed, though the far reaching results ensured that the delay was more than worthy. This twelve essentially laid down a marker for the different approaches Funkinevil could take, rubbing the rugged DJ tool of the title track up against the markedly smoother B Side “Dusk”. The way the percussion spits viciously out of the speakers on “Night” is reason alone for inclusion; the casual vocodered “evil” intonation throughout ramming home their intentions. There’s already YouTube footage swilling around the world wide ether of more Funkinevil material and any subsequent releases from the pair have some lofty standards to match.

By their own admission, Glasgow label Numbers have had a quiet 2012 in comparison to the previous two calendar years, largely boosting their profile via numerous parties, an ongoing Rinse FM residency and the announcement of a rather fine looking new festival called Pleasure Principle. Releasing three records among all this is no mean feat however, and each 12” would be a highlight of any label’s schedule, with more techno brilliance from Numbers favourite Lory D and the early 90s secret weapon from Unspecified Enemies complementary emissions to the brilliant debut from Kodiak. Spreo Superbus was a powerful statement from the retiring London duo, immaculately drawing on various shades of UK electronic music without fully embracing any of them. Numbers flexed their clout in commissioning Girl Unit and Actress for two diverse remixes that only heightened our sense of wonder, while the kaleidoscopic responsive music video from Remote Location and Mike Tucker demonstrated how much thought the label puts into each project.

Emboldened by the praise heaped on the Warp Records reissue of Sweet Exorcist last year, Richard H Kirk’s co-conspirator and namesake Richard Barratt stole himself a little slice of glory this year with the brilliant Crooked Man project. Barratt’s role in 90s Sheffield House history as DJ Parrot is without question and his re-emergence under the Crooked Man banner was aimed as a response to the current state of laptop made abstracted, chopped-up ADHD dance music. Preset was the first of four planned vinyl releases from Barrat on the eponymous Crooked Man label, and set the tone for what has followed: no-nonsense song based house music, or ‘fraudulent disco’ as he calls it. Crucially in an age where everyone seems to be adopting the hardware approach, Crooked Man’s usage of out of date software and a digital desk proved that it’s not what you use, it’s how you use it.

2012 was adorned by some typically uncompromising work from the minds of Mark Fell and Terre Thaemlitz, the former’s Sensate Focus series for Editions Mego and the latter’s Soulnessless project being two stark examples of their respective art. That the two should collaborate on the Complete Spiral EP was unexpected though in retrospect made perfect sense; the three tracks of effervescent house steeped in the tropes of 90s New York were also as superb as you’d expect, and a marked cut above many other attempts. A twelve minute long title track was the undoubted centre piece; Fell and Sprinkles allowed the space to work their magic on a wondrously slinky production filled with intricate polyrhythms that flirted elegantly with the liquefied melodics. As appropriate for repeat listen as “Complete Spiral” was, it was perhaps overshadowed by the accompanying “Say It Slow (N U M mix)” which offered Sprinkles the opportunity to indulge his polemicist leanings via a sampled speech of 80s Trade Unionist Arthur Scargill.

This year L.I.E.S. chief Ron Morelli and his perennially underrated New York cohort Doug Lee unveiled their Bad News project with a hand stamped white label release. Labelled as “autistic techno”, the unhinged bombast of title track “Real Bad News” sounds like a pitched down British Murder Boys record, and was turned into an unlikely crossover hit with UK DJing deity Erol Alkan including it on his I Love Techno mix CD. B-Side cut “More Bad News” was grubbier still, with abused drum machines strangled into a brutal, unrelenting groove replete with sheets of industrial noise and buried vocals gurgles. In a year in which Morelli has been rightly praised for his curatorial skills, it’s been equally pleasing to witness his growing stature as a producer in his own right.

While the long-delayed release of “Swims” may have started off the year for the high profile pairing of Boddika & Joy Orbison, it’s the releases on their Sunklo imprint that they’ll be remembered for in 2012. Of the three 12”s, none was more effective than the first pairing. “Froth” combined the leaden weight of Boddika’s techno forays with Orbison’s lightness of touch. On the flip was “Mercy”, an unashamed banger filled with airhorns and percussion that sounded like steam being let out of a pressure cooker, impressive for two reasons. First is the very singularly British form of techno they’ve created – one that genuinely feels like an evolution of dubstep rather than a combination of things, and second is the sheer brute force of these tracks. “Juggernauts” would be one way to describe them, but a more accurate way of looking at them would be to say they’re the musical equivalent of black holes; dense creations with the kind of mass that disrupts surrounding orbits.

Coming to prominence with a pair of self-released white labels on his own No Symbols imprint, Beneath immediately marked himself out as a very singular producer in the underground bass scene. His dark, ice cold interpretation of UK funky explored the untapped potential of the genre’s original promise rather than get mired down in techno/house crossovers that seem to be yielding ever diminishing returns. His style caught the attention of Keysound’s Martin Clark, who wisely tapped him up for this excellent EP filled with tribal rhythms and the same kind of alienating, nihilistic atmosphere that occasionally permeates Shackleton’s best work. This year more than ever, the ever expanding bass continuum needed someone to strip everything right back – and Beneath was that producer.

Arguably the best of this year’s crop of jungle-referencing hybrids, Pangaea’s Release saw him continue to expand on the template he established on last year’s “Hex” and “Inna Daze”. Although at eight tracks it could have easily counted as an album, it’s more of a doublepack of dancefloor killers in the traditional sense, with a set of tracks that make you feel like you’re in the midst of a flailing mass of bodies in a darkened basement. But most crucially Release was really the moment where he seemed to finally find the sound to call his own – combining the techno that makes up much of his DJ sets with the dubstep of his early productions into something that actually fulfils the promise of the term “bass music”.

The success of MPIA3 is the perfect example of how sometimes it’s a good thing to take a risk. The alias of established techno producer Truss, he has arguably received more attention as MPIA3 thanks to deciding to create what Blawan has described as “slowed-down acid gabba”, his music standing out for its completely demented WTF nature. Easily the best of the growing catalogue can be found on the fifth Avian release; “Ely” combines an eardrum bursting 909 kick, a malfunctioning acid line and very little else, coiling itself up like a rubber band before its gnarled 303 unfurls itself in one swift motion. “Squatter’s Dog” on the other hand bristles with atonal flecks designed to cause maximum discomfort. In a year where techno went harder than it has in a long time, MPIA3 outstripped everyone else.

Having flirted with Ninja Tune last year with the four track Atlantis EP, FaltyDL returned to the UK label in style over the summer months with Hardcourage, a steely eyed nod to the heritage of 90s UK hardcore that was reflected in the vintage sleeve art it came housed in. Artist and label subsequently announced the relationship was to develop with the release of the New Yorker’s third LP early in 2013, brandishing the same name as this killer 12” though possibly heading in a different direction. Such a thought isn’t hard to fathom given the chameleonic nature of FaltyDL’s output since he first surfaced, but few could argue that Lustman had lost any grasp of the tools to make a floor shake on “Hardcourage”. There was a joyous instant gratification in the way those rattling metallic snares and unpredictable organ stabs rode out the ever swelling sub bass, though the production’s delicacies lend it a longevity that makes it one of those tracks that will remain worthy of play long into the future.

Eglo reached the three year mark in 2012, electing to use the landmark as a chance to take their roster across the world (at the time of writing Floating Points and co are on a Japanese tour). As a result the label’s release schedule was a lot sparser than previous years, but this didn’t affect the quality one jot. Along with the humongous “Phone Line” from Funkineven and Fatima, Eglo scored a coup with this stellar three track showcase from LA based Gifted & Blessed. We think the label and artist were made for each other, with Eglo’s non genre approach to releasing music matched by Gifted & Blessed’s unerring approach to soul edged analogue productions that have no clear loyalty to any one style. GB Presents The Abstract Eye demonstrated how much the producer lives up to his name, balancing his productions effortlessly between neck snapping percussion and intricately layered bursts of sumptuous kaleidoscopic colour.

Young Echo member Kahn is one of those producers who seems to be able to turn his hand to any genre he puts his mind to. On Punch Drunk last year it was dubstep’s “purple” sound and classic UK garage, this year, he’s on Deep Medi with a pair of tracks that recall the best of dubstep’s early days. Both “Dread” and “Late Night Blues” sound like they could have been lost dubplates, the tension in “Dread” lying between its rough, cut and pasted reggae sample and the sleek production that holds everything together. Kahn may not have one style that marks him out, or the marked experimentation of his Young Echo peers – but his understanding of what he loves is obvious, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that that “Dread” is not just one of the one of the best dubstep productions of the past several years, but one of the best dubstep productions full stop.

Amsterdam graphic designer-turned-producer Marco Sterk has an ear for melody, and in the space of a few releases has showcased a beguiling penchant for crafting sweet, minimalist percussive grooves reminiscent of Steve Reich. This, fused with a love of Balearic melodies and titanium-clad drum machine rhythms, gives the Dutchman his distinctive sound, and this trademark was further developed on Video Days. While both tracks here have echoes of his previous 12” for New York imprint ESP Institute, they’re arguably a cut above anything he’s done to date: the title track delivers a blast of warm, tropical air based around a rising and falling arpeggio that recalls the glass-clear synthesizer melodies of Ryuichi Sakamoto. “Later Than You Think” meanwhile is characterised by spacious, intergalactic touches, with fizzing synths winding their way around the jazz-flecked drums for an underlying feeling of gentle euphoria.

A key factor in the widespread acclaim for PAN has been their continued efforts to coax those idiosyncratic Casio heavy house manipulations out of Heatsick. Stephen Warwick was heavily prolific in the DIY tape scene that’s remained a feverish undercurrent for experimental artists, and each subsequent Heatsick record has been treated with fervour here at Juno Plus, ever since he emerged on the format outshining Diegors and Prins Thomas on a Cocktail D’Amour 12” last year. For fresh ears, the Deviation 12” made for a perfect entry point to Heatsick, those tinny drums and plodding MIDI motif blessed by the most charming of musical naivety forming a groove that’s the best form of aural liquor. Drunk off this, the hazy funk of “C’etait Un Rendez-vous” proffered an unexpected twist in the shape of Warwick’s own Ian Dury style vocal turn.

There was a tangible frission of excitement in the Juno Plus office as a member of the editorial crew dialled the number advertised on the Hotline Recordings website for a taste of the label’s first 12” from Kahn and Neek. The people behind the Bristol-based imprint appear intent on tapping into an age of dance music characterised by pirate radio, word of mouth parties and floating ephemera, and their first release saw Kahn & Neek backing up their bombastic Flow Dan sampling “Percy” with a two track fusion of grime, dub and bashy dancehall. The nagging vocal hook on A-Side cut “Backchat” rides relentlessly over a primal beat, splashing dirty effects over strings and vicious lyrics, while “Dubchat” sees the malice shorn away by a heavily skunked half-speed atmosphere, with the sharp deployment of cavernous chords and industrial drum hits taking it into an entirely different place.

One of the most rewarding subplots of FXHE’s glorious run of releases over the past 12 months was the emergence of Aaron Siegel as a producer in his own right. Siegel’s role in current strains of Detroit techno and house can’t be underplayed, overseeing operations at Fit Distribution and the Fit Sounds label that grew out of it, but his previous technical credits on records have been replaced by fully fledged productions that are filled with promise. Alongside the various productions Siegel completed with Omar S and vocalist L Renee, the one release that stuck out was Enter The Fog, completed alongside Gunnar “Kassem Mosse” Wendel. The record explicitly states who did what right down to the type of machine used, with Wendel’s role restricted to taking care of beats. Listening to the tracks, it transpires Wendel wisely chose to let Siegel loose on some bewitching raw melodics that take centre stage.

This year saw Horizontal Ground emerge from the shadows, consciously shifting away from its early days as a faceless techno imprint into a label with a more singular aesthetic. Samuel Kerridge’s Auris Interna was an auspicious debut, showcasing a sound that sits somewhere between classic Basic Channel, the knackered house of Andy Stott and the warped industrial shapes of Powell. “In & Out” combines deep chords with brushed kicks, wrapping everything up in a codeine fog; “Auditory System” drops the BPM to an even more funereal crawl, filling its bleak soundscape with distant breakbeats and electrical surges. On the flip, the industrial leaning “Remove Yourself” brings a marked aggression to proceedings, as distorted bass meet with Cut Hands inspired afro-futurist rhythms, while “Membranous Labyrinth” closes the EP with a heavy slice of industrial drone in the Emptyset mould, slowly giving way to a thick, ominous kick drum. With such an accomplished debut behind him, it’ll be interesting to see where Kerridge takes his sound next.

Swedish techno duo Skudge’s imprint was on a fantastic run of form this year, expanding their artist series with a number of fine contributions, and in our opinion the best by far was from Bristol producer October. His stock trade may be in deeply melodic house jams – of which he made a fair few this year – but the Empires EP was a far more muscular affair. “Empire Of Man” plunged decaying rave stabs into an abyss of reverb, but this 12” was all about “Push”, whose 909 kicks had a decimating effect on any nearby masonry, and whose strained chords and detuned vocals sounded like a wheezing death rattle.

Although Unknown To The Unknown released a slew of tracks this year, spanning Detroit electro, Chicago house and bassline garage, our favourite by far was this all too rare outing from Capracara. Although inspired by the same 90s garage house that has inspired a deluge of meek clones in 2012, “Ronin” demonstrates that Jonny Burnip is no Jonny-come-lately to the world of house music, with a heaving kick drum and a vibrancy the rest of the pack lacked. UTTU are also a label with a fine form for remixes, and for “Ronin” they drafted in Kodiak, who transformed the track with their typically flamboyant touch – creating what can only be described as impressionistic, ketamine-laced UK funky painted with broad brushstrokes of neon vapour.