It’s a symbol of having accepted that there is a difference between being alone and being lonely. (Especially instrumentals by iconoclastic producers like Premier, RZA and New York’s crushing DITC crew, Reiner remembers.) As he turned 16, he was playing guitar “religiously,” he says, as well as listening intently to Slayer and Cannibal Corpse on the way to ferocious hardcore shows on the fringes of Los Angeles. neighborhood of Eagle Rock with a father telling war stories about seeing Black Flag and the Germs play and with a set of cousins who’d get him started listening to hip-hop. And whether it’s inspiring a trip deep into the discography of Steve Reich or into California’s beautifully desolate Ansel Adams Wilderness, it’s that fearless spirit of exploration that brought Automaton to life. It’s less an album than an environment all its own, or a journey into the unexplored. For all the electronic fans, these are for you.Gossamer is Evan Reiner-the producer, guitarist, synthesizer scientist and urban-spelunking field recorder whose full-length debut Automaton dissolves the genre-breaking electronica of Autechre and Boards of Canada into a bottomless sea of found sound and ambient atmosphere. All of these might have made it onto my earlier Overlooked Records Of The Year list, and here I am again, repping them hard. Gossamer & Heathered Pearls definitely lean on the more ambient and downtempo side of things while Ash Koosha and Lakker are far louder and more intense. There’s a good collection of somewhat bizarre (depending on who you’re talking to) electronic records in Ash Koosha, Gossamer, Heathered Pearls & Lakker. The hooks! The riffs! The melodies! It’s honestly all here and it’s so badass. Like Sicko Mobb, each of these songs has the potential to get stuck in your head. Then we have White Reaper, partying the night away. I can’t believe it won me over but here I am, head over heels for this album. The songs are catchy as all hell and each one is an infectious sugar rush. It’s like happy drill music with absurd skits laced throughout. With Sicko Mobb, I mean, have you even listened to this yet? This album is bonkers. It was absolutely perfect for the immediate post-grad relax time and also doubled as a de-stresser once shit got bananas. Juan is such a lovable, goofy dude and his simple music is great time. Three of the most fun albums of the year are present here – Juan Wauters, Sicko Mobb & White Reaper. Definitely inspired me to re-listen to their back catalog and hoo-boy was that a good decision. But I digress – both of these albums I held the expected hesitation towards before they were released and was elated to find that they’re both awesome! Never been the most involved Sleater-Kinney fan, but this album kicks ass. The only post punk record that really crushed me this year was Viet Cong’s, which you’ll see on my Top 50.Ĭomeback albums from New Order & Sleater-Kinney succeeded with me! I even had the pleasure of working with the New Order record at college radio, which was a blast, although it was a bit dispiriting to hear “who’s New Order” or even “who’s Joy Division” from college kids who listen to music for a living. Sauna Youth & Institute also put out great post punk records that I dug a bunch, but faded quick. That one didn’t really impact on me at all. Same goes for the Protomartyr record, but to a lesser degree. I thought the Ought record was great, but something about it was just… I dunno, not spectacular. Not really sure what happened, but for some reason I had a bit of a fallout with it. Something happened with me and post punk this year. Just sample around – there are some similar rhythms all over the place. Speaking of “6 God” I’m 100% certain that the beat was lifted from Donkey Kong Country 2. I’m one step closer to fully understanding the 6 God, maybe 2016 will make me a true believer. There’s still the occasional line that makes me throw my headphones across the room, but wow his aesthetic came through hard and fast on this thing and its undeniably intoxicating.

I gotta hand it to If You’re Reading This… as it finally converted me into somewhat of a Drake fan. White Reaper – White Reaper Does It Again.Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.Also 50 and 15 is cleaner, capiche? Bada boom bada bing, let’s see these honorable mentions of 2015: It would get ugly, let’s put it that way. Norm is a fragile, fragile man with a weak mind. A list of 65 would break the norm and you know how I hate breaking Norm. I wanted to make a list of 50 because I always make a list of 50. Let me stress this again though, these are very, very good. Hello valued reader – welcome to the list of records that are good but not as good as 50 others according to me.

Gossamer automaton