We’re halfway through 2014, and you might have already clocked our First and Second Quarter Reports – the FACT team’s collective favourite albums of 2014’s first two quarters.
Much like we did last year, we’ve also invited our full-time staff and regular contributors to rank their favourite 10 tracks from the last six months. Picks extend far and wide, but a few trends are discernible: there’s a lot of love for artists constellating around the Boxed (Rabit, Samename, Mumdance) and PC Music (A.G Cook, Hannah Diamond) camps; Nicki Minaj is having a knockout year; there’s been some cracking lesser-known pop emerging from Africa and the Caribbean; and, as Maya Kalev forcefully points out, you ignore Courtney Love at your peril.
Head here to see our contributors’ favourite albums of 2014.
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Peter Rix
Copeland – ‘Fact I’ (Self-released)
DJ Q feat. Kassandra – ‘Every Time’ (Local Action)
Facta – ‘Loveless’ (Idle Hands)
Sully – ‘Solitaire’ (Keysound)
Kassem Mosse – ‘Untitled A2’ (Workshop)
Dreesvn – ‘Untitled (DJ Sotofett Remix)’ (Acido)
Shackleton – ‘White Flower With Silvery Eye’ (Woe To The Septic Heart!)
Powell feat. Russell Haswell [above] – ‘Maniac’ (Diagonal)
Fis – ‘Iterations’ (Tri Angle)
Jackmate – ‘Broken’ (Phil E)
Joe Moynihan
1. Suzuka – ‘Few’ (Self-released)
2. Rabit – ‘Red Candles’ (Boxed)
3. Doss – ‘Here Tonight’ (Acéphale)
4. Mr Mitch [above] – ‘The Lion, The Bitch and The Bordeaux’ (Gobstopper)
5. Flower – ‘熱帯魚の涙’ (Sony)
6. Moleskin – ‘Grand Ballet’ (Keysound)
7. SD Laika – ‘You Were Wrong’ (Tri Angle)
8. Pearson Sound – ‘Raindrops’ (Pearson Sound)
9. Samename – ‘Sakura’ (Pelican Fly)
10. Mokadem – ‘Pretend Ur Mine’ (Melodica)
Tom Lea
Miss Modular – ‘Reflector Pack’
The G.F.O.T.Y. track at 18 mins of the PC Music DISown mix
Hannah Diamond – ‘Attachment’
Mumdance and Novelist – ‘Take Time’
All Murlo tracks
Dubbel Dutch – ‘Load It’ Edit
Finn – ‘Only Boy’
Future feat. Andre 3000 – ‘Benz Friends (Whatchutola)’
Dark0 – ‘Gaia’ / ‘Black Rose’ / Against the Clock demo
Chris Brown – ‘Loyal’
Maya Kalev
Tracks:
Beneath – ‘Stress 1’ (PAN)
Call Super – ‘Depicta’ or ‘Acéphale II’ (Houndstooth)
Clay Rendering – ‘Temple Walking’ (Hospital Productions)
Lana Del Rey – ‘West Coast’ (Interscope)
Holly Herndon [above] – ‘Chorus’ (RVNG Intl)
Nicki Minaj feat. Soulja Boy – ‘Yasss Bish!’ (Young Money)
Mumdance – ‘Take Time’ feat. Novelist (Rinse)
Shackleton – ‘Freezing Opening Thawing’ (Woe To The Septic Heart)
Tomorrow the Rain Will Fall Upwards – ‘Thus They Sang In The Golden Skies’ (Blackest Ever Black)
YG feat. Tee Cee – ‘Meet The Flockers’ (Def Jam)
…and Top 10 Courtney Love moments:
Instructional video on dressing for court
Interview with shoutout to Wolf Eyes
Finding the missing Flight MH370
Coming out on stage to Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ at every show
Playing a gig in a Clapton coffee shop
Telling Liam Gallagher he looks like a “13th-century serf from Monty Python”
A comeback single that’s actually quite good
Reforming Hole with OG lineup
Alex Macpherson
1. Nicki Minaj – ‘Lookin’ Ass’ (Young Money)
2. Runtown ft. Davido – ‘Gallardo’ (Pent Hauz)
3. Davido ft. Mafikizolo – ‘Tchelete (Good Life)’
4. Neon Jungle [above] – ‘Braveheart’ (RCA)
5. Tinashe ft. Schoolboy Q – ‘2 On’ (RCA)
6. Meridian Dan ft. Big H & JME – ‘German Whip’ (PMR)
7. Kiesza – ‘Hideaway (Gorgon City Remix)’ (Lokal Legend)
8. DJ Pioneer & TJ ft. Dana McKeon – ‘Circles’ (SOTU Recordings)
9. Ciara ft. Future – ‘Anytime’ (Epic)
10. Toyboy & Robin ft. Alex Adams – ‘Better Places’ (MTA Records)
…and 10 more to boot
11. Henry Knight – ‘Olopa’ (DZ Entertainment)
12. Galcher Lustwerk – ‘Chillin’ In The Booth’ (Tsuba)
13. Lord Of The Isles – ‘301c Symphony’ (Permanent Vacation)
14. Yemi Alade – ‘Johnny’ (Effyzzie )
15. Danity Kane ft. Tyga – ‘Lemonade’ (Stereotypes Music)
16. DJ Snake & Lil Jon – ‘Turn Down For What’ (Columbia)
17. QQ – ‘Mosquito Net’ (Twelve 9 Records)
18. Ondo Fudd – ‘There Will Be A Time’ (The Trilogy Tapes)
19. Le1f – ‘Sup’ (XL)
20. Jazmine Sullivan ft. Meek Mill – ‘Dumb’
Chris Kelly
01. Que – ‘Jungle Fever’ (Self-released)
02. Bok Bok ft. Kelela – ‘Melba’s Call’ (Night Slugs)
03. Mumdance – ‘Springtime’ (Unknown To The Unknown)
04. AG Cook – ‘Had 1’ (PC Music)
05. Nicki Minaj ft. Soulja Boy – ‘Yasss Bish!’ (Cash Money)
06. Dat Oven – ‘Icy Lake (Total Freedom Remix)’ (Fade To Mind)
07. The GTW [above] – ‘Calling Cards’ (Auda)
08. Dark0 – ‘Chaos’ (Lost Codes)
09. TRC vs Murlo – ‘You & Me’ (Crazylegs)
10. Jeremih ft. YG – ‘Don’t Tell Em’ (Def Jam)
John Twells
1. Skepta [above] – ‘That’s Not Me’ (Boy Better Know)
2. Mumdance – ‘Take Time’ (Rinse)
3. Young Thug/Zuse/DunDeal – ‘Treasure’ (Self-released)
4. Katy Perry – ‘Dark Horse’ (Capitol)
5. Gage – ‘Telo’ (Crazylegs)
6. Miss Modular – ‘Reflector Pack’ (Her)
7. Zmoney – ‘Dope Boy Magic’ (Self-released)
8. Rabit – ‘Bloody Eye’
9. Que – ‘OG Bobby Johnson’ (Self-released)
10. TeeFlii – ’24 Hours’ (Epic)
Laurent Fintoni
Addison Groove – ‘Space Apples’ (50Weapons)
Jeedeci – ‘Love U 4 Life’ (Dirt Tech Reck)
Al Dobson Jr – ‘South East Clicks’ (IZWID)
LV & Joshua Idehen – ‘Imminent (EAN remix)’ (Keysound)
Joe Howe – ‘Musografik’ (Sound Pellegrino)
Pharaohe Monch – ‘Bad M.F’ (W.A.R. Media)
Badbadnotgood [above] – ‘Can’t Leave The Night’ (Innovative Leisure)
Te’Amir – ‘Move Just’ (Self-released)
Akkord – ‘Continuum’ (Houndstooth)
Danny Scrilla x Om Unit – ‘Hunch (Epoch remix)’ (Cosmic Bridge)
Kristan J. Caryl
Theo Parish – ‘Footwork’ (Sound Signature)
Moodymann – ‘Sloppy Cosmic’ (KDJ)
John Barera & Will Martin – ‘Awake’ (Supply)
Neville Watson – ‘Heartstring’ (The Nothing Special)
Scott Grooves – ‘Deeply Uncomfortable’ (Natural Midi)
Shanti Celeste [above] – ‘Days Like This’ (BRSTL)
Pender Street Steppers – ‘M Flight’ (Peoples Potential Unlimited)
Magic Mountain High – ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina (No Compromise Mix)’ (Off Minor)
Kai Alce – ‘Be Bop’ (Kolour LTD)
Traumprinz – ‘Something Magic’ (Traumprinz)
Joseph Morpurgo
Daniele Baldelli & DJ Rocca – ‘Complotto Geometrico’ (Andrew Weatherall remix) (Nang)
Metronomy – ‘I’m Aquarius’ (Because Music)
Delroy Edwards – ‘B4 (Untitled)’ (The Death Of Rave)
Quirke – ‘Break A Mirrored Leg’ (Young Turks) – although I remember when it was this.
Skepta – ‘That’s Not Me’ (Boy Better Know)
Kassem Mosse – ‘A3 (Untitled)’ (Workshop)
Ben Frost [above] – ‘Nolan’ (Mute)
Joey Anderson – ‘It’s A Choice’ (Dekmantel)
Doubt – ‘Remember Fono’ (Mistress)
Hannah Diamond – ‘Attachment’ (PC Music)
Joe Muggs
Allison Chanic – ‘Painlessly in Love (Lakker Remix)’ (Bedouin)
Moody Good – ‘Ziambey’ (feat. Big Narstie) (Owsla)
Theo Parrish – ‘Petey Wheetfeet’ (Trilogy Tapes)
SRC – ‘1997’ (Progressive Intelligence)
Blackmass Plastics – ‘Newton’s Cradle’ (Ugly Funk)
Turner – ‘Locked in the Cella’ (Hatched)
Bodhi – ‘Soul Seeker’ (Ten Thousand Yen)
MMM – ‘Syncro’ (MMM)
Flava D x Moony – ‘Who I Am’ (Flava D Bandcamp)
Flowdan – ‘F About’ (Hyperdub)
…and six more
Clearlight – ‘Circular Thinking’ (Subaltern)
Pinch & Mumdance – ‘Turbo Mitzi’ (Tectonic)
Clap! Clap! – ‘Elon Mentana’ feat. DJ Khalab (Black Acre)
040 – ‘Let it be Known’ (Butterz)
Nightwave [above] – ‘Fire Hoes’ (Hekatrax)
LAS & Gantz – ‘Firepusher’ (System)
Mr. Beatnick
Telephones – ‘Hot Destinations For A Cooler You’ (Running Back)
Seven Davis Jr – ‘Celebrations’ (Funkineven Edit) (Apron)
Rezzett – ‘Zootie’ (Trilogy Tapes)
Francis Inferno Orchestra – ‘GABOS’
Bok Bok – ‘Da Foxtrot’ (Night Slugs)
Pender Street Steppers – ‘M Flight’ (Peoples Potential Unlimited)
Samoyed – ‘Dumpling’ (Astro Dynamics)
Al Dobson Jr – ‘Cameroun Special’ (Rhythm Section International)
Minor Science – ‘Hapless’ (Trilogy Tapes)
Vynehall – ‘Be Brave Clench Fists’ (3024)
