18 – Logan Takahashi – NoGeo (Ghostly International)
There’s something Aphexian about the nostalgia of Takahashi. And nostalgia it is: the title is partly a throwback to an old Japanese games console. Which is good because the album sounds like a bunch of awkward party-goers in the kitchen of an Atari.
Speaking of awkward, you’ve not seen me use a dual controller, have you? I learned gaming with Spectrums and the original Playstation. With a dual controller, my avatars crash into walls and walk on people’s faces. That’s why people like me listen to music like this.
Much of the album was made from an Elektron Monomachine, a synthesis unit as plain as a fuse box. From the opening analogue funk to the strangled closing hi-hats, NoGeo turns minimalism into drama. NoGeo? YES-geo, amiright?!
Scroll all of the best 2016 electronic albums by clicking here.