Best electronic albums of 2020: eat these special mention woozy foods

Let's visit some more special mentions: albums which didn't make the top 25 but are well worth a listen. "But Fat Roland," you wibble, "I've not finished the special mentions from yesterday." Well, it's not MY fault you filled up on leftover mince pies instead, IS IT. Now eat your special mentions. No, you may not borrow the ketchup.

I had this bunch filed under "woozy", and although I don't think that's an accurate description, they certainly transport us somewhere interesting. 

Actress's Karma and Desire (Ninja Tune), featuring vocals from Mercury winner Sampha, saw the beat-wobbler in a more ambient mode: the smoke rising from the nightclub vents rather than the club itself. The return of Darkstar with Civic Jams (Warp) placed us squarely under the stage lights, their burning siren songs feeling as elemental as ever, thrumming with (Wu) life. 

The bouncing bass and smokin' electronics of Fritz von Runte's The Last Album (Marshall Records) brought a cracking space jam to 2020, so fresh and so clean: it had Graham Massey and Bill Drummond on audio and word duties respectively. An album with a similar quirky independent feel was Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (Warp) from, you guessed it, Oneohtrix Point Never. However, I was less convinced by the weird processed nature of Oneohtrix's ninth album, especially those vocals. One-y needs to borrow some guest vocalists from Fritz.

Speaking of vocals, Lyra Pramuk's voice on Fountain (Bedroom Community) was processed to heckery, and to tremendous effect. Comprising only her vocals, Fountain was an engrossing and unique work, and it feels like a crime to not include this in the Top 25. Seriously, give it a listen. Not so much in-the-club as outside the club listening to the queue chatter but slowed down a thousand times.

What's left in this little pile? Ah yes, there was Matmos's epic The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form (Thrill Jockey), which was three hours of bizarre 99bpm electronics with 99 collaborators, including Matthew Herbert, the aforemented Oneohtrix and Andi from Mouse on Mars. As PC Danny Butterman once said, this is "off the fricking chain". And finally, let's get back to woozy: Beatrice Dillon debut album Workaround (PAN) embraced the obscure, the minimal beats existing in some otherplace: not so much a nightclub as a cubist impression of a nightclub.

There are plenty more special mentions to come. Gobble them up. Gobble them right up.

 

Browse the rest of the Best Electronic Albums of 2020

Best electronic albums of 2019: experimental drop-outs

Before we start the top 20 proper, here are some best-of-the-rest works that didn't quite make my list of top electronic albums of 2019. All of the following longlisted albums can probably be filed under "experimental".

I loved the attention-deficit collage that was Madteo's Dropped Out Sunshine (DDS), which at points felt so tightly wound-up, I thought my ears were going to snap. Berlin artist Ziúr took a similar ear-bending route on ATØ (Planet Mu), an album that chewed up pop music and spat out a tasty techno fusion. This all sounds very Holly Herndon, which is good because she also had an album out this year. Proto (4AD) was superbly enchanting.

For Plastic Anniversary (Thrill Jockey), Matmos made a special edition that was "rendered virtually unplayable by the plastic floating within". The clicks and squeaks of the album itself were welcome, as was its green message. Meanwhile, Boreal Massif took on the theme of climate extinction with the trippy meditations and drony vibes of We All Have An Impact (Pessimist Productions).

Efdemin's New Atlantis (Ostgut Ton) gave us banging hippy techno leavened with dulcimers, hurdy-gurdy and a smidgeon of Francis Bacon. The multi-abstract ambience of Klein's Lifetime (ijn inc) included elements of light jazz, southern gospel and what sounded like a marching band being fed through a mincer.

33EMYBW called the electrotribal Arthropods (SVBKVLT) "limb dance” as she pushed the boundaries of the experimental Shanghai club scene. And finally for this section, I liked the playful beats of Violet's Bed of Roses (Dark Entries) — and yes, it's named after a Bon Jovi song.





Scroll the full best-of-2019 list here.

A final bunch of also-rans: all the way from Aa to Zomby

Before I reveal the toppest top albums atop the album top table, here are a final few names that didn't make the top 20 but are well worth a mention.

Baauer fiiiiinally dropped a debut album: Aa (LuckyMe) was full of scrunchy bangers to shake yer Harlems and much more besides. A grimier, stronger brother to that album is Skepta's Konnichiwa (Boy Better Know), with Novelist guesting on both those albums. Incidentally, this is not a hip hop list, but while we're on an MC tip, get yourself And The Anonymous Nobody by De La Soul (AOI Records).

Machinedrum bogged off to California to turn out his poppiest long-player yet, Human Energy (Ninja Tune). The rambling Callus (Warp Records) saw Gonjasufi in as psychedelic a mood as ever before. DJ Earl brought in Oneohtrix Point Never for his delightfully dizzying footwork experiment Open Your Eyes (Teklife). And Mala took in some Peruvian inspiration (and panpipes) for the bass-heavy and beguiling Mirrors (Brownswood Recordings). I was less convinced by Zomby's Ultra (Hyperdub) which seemed to float by unnoticed.

On EARS (Western Vinyl), Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith did some wonderful things with voice on an unusual and captivating album. These Hidden Hands did some weird things to my brain on the woozy and surreal Vicarious Memories (Hidden Hundred). Lakker did strange, dark things on the theme of water with Struggle & Emerge (R&S Records). And finally, Matmos did some unspeakable things to a washing machine on Ultimate Care II (Thrill Jockey). No really. The whole album is constructed from washing machine samples.

That's the last of the rejects. Over 100 albums mentioned... and just two to go in the final top 20 countdown. Coming up: a big number two followed by a big number one. You'll enjoy that, won't you? You disgust me.





Scroll all of the best 2016 electronic albums by clicking here.