Top 50 electronic music albums of 2022: Kuedo, 96 Back, Robert Ames & Ben Corrigan

   

Let's get into the top 50 bestest favourite electronic music albums of 2022. Although they're not presented in any particular order, this next series of blog posts feature albums inside my top 50 but outside the top 20. The kind of chart position that would have been disappointing for Lisa from Steps, but would have been brilliant for H from Steps. I'll blog a few at a time. Here goes!

See the full countdown here.

Kuedo: Infinite Window (Brainfeeder)

I’m not sure an infinite window would work. Where would you put the walls? Despite its architectural impracticality, Jamie Teasdale delivers a stunning selection of keyboard wizardy. From beatless synth shininess to bass-heavy slo-mo electro, this first Kuedo album in six years crosses the full spectrum from noon-bright prog electronics to, er, more noon-bright prog electronics.

96 Back: Cute Melody, Window Down! (96 Music)

I always thought 96 Back was some moody anonymous geezer, until I saw him in Manchester recently and he chatted excitedly between tracks like a wedding DJ. Lovely guy. He follows a productive 2021 with further forays into synth fun. An ever-inventice collage of beat-bustin’ bangers and Lorenzo Senni-style synth noodles. Plus a more responsible attitude to windows.

Robert Ames & Ben Corrigan: Carbs (Nomad Music Productions) 

There’s a touch of Kiasmos to this collaboration between two esteemed contemporary classical composers. Or perhaps Rival Consoles or Max Cooper. It’s a synth album, but these graceful pieces could easily have been played on a church organ. Listen to the swells, the emotion, the rich dynamics that could only come from a couple of classical kids. Gorgeous.

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

90 best electronic music albums of 2021: Ripatti, Robert Ames, RP Boo, Sarah Davachi & Sedibus

Fat Roland's Best Electronic Music Albums of 2021 presents five more brilliant albums:

Ripatti – Fun Is Not A Straight Line (Planet Mu)

Vladislav Delay, real name Sasu Ripatti, joins Planet Mu for some fearsomely frantic footwork beats. "Ever shoved a rapper through a mincer?" said my review of the album in Electronic Sound back in the summer. "Vladislav Delay cleaves hip hop into stuttered vocal shards, pelting them with frenetic drums... rushes of glorious techno, underpinned by bass deep enough to blow your mincer’s electrics. Dissected dopeness of the highest order." Dizzying and fragmentary, yet it all makes sense.

Robert Ames – Change Ringing (Modern Recordings)

What a CV. Co-founder of the London Contemporary Orchestra. Conducting for Jonny Greenwood and Little Simz. Playing strings for Frank flipping Ocean. It's remarkable, then, that this rich ambient classical album is Ames' debut. Think Sigur Ros filtered via Philip Glass. Amazingly, he recorded a bunch of music, slowed it down, then annotated the slower version on sheet music for the purpose of rerecording. A proper old-school approach to something that turned out symphonic and distinctly sistine.

RP Boo – Established! (Planet Mu) 

Let's get one thing out of the way. Yes, that's a sample of Phil Collins' voice on All Over. You know what? It works. This is the only acceptable use of Phil Collins ever. maybe with the exception of Luke Vibert's I Can Phil It. The fourth solo Planet Mu album from this massively influential Chicago producer explores his early experiences with footwork and ghetto house. The result is an accessible collection of vocal slices, choppy rhythms and stuttering beats: a great primer on Boo even with the Collins.

Sarah Davachi – Antiphonals (Late Music)

I always thought a mellotron was something you could eat. Turns out its a mini-keyboard that operates with magnetic tape. The instrument was a key component in this latest work from Canada's favourite electroacoustic experimentalist. From horns to harpsichords, Davachi uses all the skills in her musical arsenal to come up with an ethereal collection of ambient meditations. It almost sounds like the echo of folklore past: stories of ancestors drifting on the wind. And it's definitely not edible, so don't chomp it.

Sedibus: The Heavens (Orbscure Recordings) 

Alex Paterson teams up with his old Orb mate Andy ‘Ultraworld’ Falconer for a debut release on his new Orbscure label. "Welcome to a wonderful evocation of classic-era Orb," I said in Electronic Sound. "Over four sprawling tracks, liquid chords curl around portentous piano, then rise into post-club euphoria that would make Sabres of Paradise proud." It's dead Orb-y. No, really. Cut it in half, and you'll find ORB written down its middle. Enjoy this adventure right back into the ultraworld.

This is part of a series of the Best Electronic Music Albums of 2021. Read it all here.