Commended electronic music albums of 2022: part one

 

Before we get to the top 50 best albums of 2022, here are some records that didn't quite make the cut. No particular reason. It's just how it all shook down when I was compiling stuff. Everything here is 100% worth your time, energy and ears.

I'll split this into five blog posts, with about four or five in each. See the whole countdown here.

Stephen Mallinder: tick tick tick (Dais Records)

“Its headline instruments are gorgeous bristly basslines that sometimes lead the march, and sometimes get caught in swirls of equally rhythmic lead synth…. Thank goodness Mallinder has rediscovered his solo groove. This ticks the boxes. All three of them.”

Soichi Terada: Asakusa Light (Rush Hour)

Festival-friendly house music from a Japanese video game soundtracker. Imagine playing an immersive game but wrapped in cotton wool and there’s an especially friendly manatee giving you a foot massage. Simply a whole bunch of nice.

Brassfoot: SWEAT (NCA)

Brassfoot runs a cassette tape label for experimental music, so this scuzzy techno has all the hissy roughness you’d expect. Warehouse bangers, chopped synth loops, lots of claustrophobia. You could probably play it on a 78 as well as cassette, I’d imagine.

Decius: Decius Vol. I (The Leaf Label)

The newly formed Decius would make a great accompaniment to Mallinder. Mechanical beats meet clipped acid and pumping electronic disco. Features Lias Saoudi from Fat White Family. Keyboard workouts to keep you going until the milkman delivers.

This is part of a series of the Best Electronic Music Albums of 2022. Read it all here.