Bandcloud Lists 2019 (part i)
List season 2019 (part i)
Since 2016, and the demise of Juno Plus, I've been asking friends, artists, writers etc to provide lists that reflected their year. Since lists are so arbitrary it seems like a more appropriate way to reflect on the previous 12 months. Why were these things important? That's a better question, I think, than just asking what these things were. This year we have straightforward lists of music alongside photographs of special moments, clubbing highlights and even a list of wines. That's a first for this project. Anyway. Enjoy!
Ryan A Diduck (Repeater Books, CultMTL)
the 2010s in music
A lot of people don’t like lists. I don’t like some lists. I don’t like ranked or rated lists, the lists that exist more to exclude than include, the lists that try to sell me and tell me what’s best. I only make lists for myself. I’ve never accepted money for a list, and I only give them to people who ask. In time, I’ve learned things from other people’s lists, those made in the best of faith.
Actress – Splazsh (Honest Jon’s) June 8, 2010
Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972 (Kranky) February 14, 2011
Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland – Black Is Beautiful (Hyperdub) April 16, 2012
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – ‘Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (Constellation) October 1, 2012
Andy Stott – Luxury Problems (Modern Love) November 6, 2012
Tomasz Stańko’s New York Quartet – Wisława (ECM) March 19, 2013
These New Puritans – Field of Reeds (Infectious) June 10, 2013
Dawn of MIDI – Dysnomia (Thirsty Ear) June 20, 2013
Tropic of Cancer – Restless Idylls (Blackest Ever Black) September 23, 2013
Oneohtrix Point Never – R Plus Seven (Warp) October 1, 2013
Grouper – Ruins (Kranky) October 31, 2014
Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld – Never Were the Way She Was (Constellation) April 28, 2015
David Bowie – Blackstar (RCA) January 8, 2016
Daniel Lanois – Goodbye to Language (Anti-) September 9, 2016
Jóhann Jóhannsson – Orphée (Deutsche Grammophon) September 16, 2016
Solange – A Seat at the Table (Columbia) September 30, 2016
Jlin – Black Origami (Planet Mu) May 11, 2017
Jay-Z – 4:44 (Roc Nation) June 30, 2017
Jonny Greenwood – Phantom Thread OST (Nonesuch) January 12, 2018
Daniel O’Sullivan – Folly (O Genesis) April 5, 2019
DJ Voices (Working Women, Nowadays)
16 of my favorite things in 2019
1. Turning 30 in Berlin - We stayed up all night and I laughed until my stomach hurt. A good reminder that I'm still young. A perfect night into day. I wouldn't have changed a thing about it.
2. Remedios Varos, Leonora Carrington, & surrealist women painters in general - Not a discovery in 2019 but certainly an anchor I returned to time and again. This year, as reality plunged into a chaos & misery we could've barely imagined, there was something that felt crucial to me about these painters' expression of their desires and imaginations - of what the world could be, of what things could be - dark at times, supernatural always, but often hopeful.
3. Nowadays - The end of this year will mark just over a year of my work at Nowadays, which I feel so privileged to be a part of. It's my favorite club in New York, but it's also so much more than that. It's home. Some of my favorite moments include D. Tiffany on New Year's Day, Lee Gamble, PLO Man all night, Kelman Duran at Planetarium, DJ Lag, Scott Z at RA 24/7, FNV at Mister Sunday Pride, crying on mushrooms to Bob Marley after a Mister Sunday, getting a tattoo at the party while Juliana Huxtable was playing, the list could go on really)
4. Daisychain mix series. A large although non exhaustive survey of women and nb talent.
5. "Sandra" by Museum
6. Ron Like Hell
7. Filling my home with ceramics by Ginny Sims
8. My best friend's wedding - No, not the film (although I did revisit that this year too and I can attest - it still holds up!).
9. Finding my dj voice and playing some of my favorite gigs to date. Sustain-Release and Hot Mass were actual dreams come true, experiences I'll never forget. Also on the list - playing Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh with Eris Drew, and playing b2b with Martyn.
10. Sybil's mix for Discwoman
11. Tony Rainwater - Psalm 63:7
12. Powder closing set at Sustain-Release
13. Becoming a contributor to Love Injection - an essential archive New York is so very lucky to have.
14. Spending time with the Pickles family in London
15. Museo de Arte Popular in CDMX
16. @huge.dj.party.alerts
Lætitia Deering (Annex Agency, www)
Some of my 2019 highlights…
ddr.
Lankum - The Livelong Day [Rough Trade]
Maria Somerville - All My People [Not on label]
Sean Being - The Brikc [Where The Time Goes]
Michael O’Shea [Allchival]
SiR - John Redcorn (slow jam of the year!)
Megan Thee Stallion
PDA Compilation Vol. 1 - And The Beat Goes On [PDA]
Felicia Atkinson - The Flower and the Vessel [Shelter Press]
Dreamcrusher
The Irish music scene and amazing community that has come with it
Club Comfort Carnival at the Dublin Fringe Festival
Emma Dabiri - Don’t Touch My Hair
Rosalia & J Balvin - Con Altura [Sony Music]
Rabit - The Dope Show and Kold Summer mixtapes [Self Released]
Sikka Rymes - Love Di People [Bokeh Versions]
Crookhaven, West Cork
Slatts pub, Inchicore
PNL - Deux Frères [QLF]
Triad God - Triad [Presto!?]
Jasmine Infiniti - SiS [Club Chai]
Playing Ruff Squad at a corporate event
www
Savile
SAVILE'S TOP 12 WINES OF THE 2019
Cantina Giardino - T’ara ra' Greco
Drank at: Ops, Brooklyn NYC
Favorite wine of the year, drank at Ops in Brooklyn. Ops is definitely my most visited restaurant this year… they make incredible pizza and pour dreamy wines. This glass from Cantina Giardino was full on pineapple explosion, the juiciest and most enjoyable profile. Like floating on a cloud of fruity mist. For the rest of the year I was usually referencing this bottle when looking for wine.Gerard Schueller - Gerwurztraminer
Drank at: Ops, Brooklyn NYC
Another one that stuck with me all year, this glass from legend Schueller was a passion fruit bomb. I guess in 2019 I like drinking wine that tastes like fruit juice. Maybe I should just drink fruit juice but this is more fun.Cantina Giardino - Vino Rosato Anfora Magnum
Drank at: Ops, Brooklyn NYC
Giardino 2019 obsession continues w/ another straight “JUICE” kind of wine. A huge bottle of amazing red grapes.Cantina Giardino - Vino Bianco Magnum
Drank at: Ops, Brooklyn NYCClos Du Tue-Boeuf - Vin Rogue 2018
Drank at my house in Queens, bought at Dandelion Wines, Greenpoint NYC
I had this for the first time in 2018 and was instantly obsessed. 100% Gamay from Loire, legendary old producer making affordable dank wines. Drank this for the first time in 2018 and searched for it all 2019 until finding a bottle at Dandelion Wines in NYC. Drink this, it’ll make u smile xKorab - Orange Pet-Nat 2017
Drank at: my friend Kamal’s house in Berlin
Pablo, a good friend who knows great wine, recommended I stop by this small schnapps shop in Berlin to grab a very special bottle of fizzy orange wine. I ended up seeking out another bottle on a return trip to EU earlier this year because it was so good. Fizzy fruity bomb w some barnyard vibes… try and find it next time yr in Berlin!Barranco Oscuro - Vino Costa
Drank at Bodega Anyora, Valencia, Spain
Amazing Rose from Spain, drank during a solo lunch at a tiny wine bar in Valencia. It was the day after one of my favorite gigs of the year, thrown by this phenomenal group of young artists called Cero En Conducta. I went out in search of good wine after waking up late the next day, and found this spot, sat at the empty bar in the middle of the afternoon, and just about died over these perfect plates of properly creative tapas. The somm kept pouring glasses of very local wine, and I spent about two hours in there with a grin on my face. This was my favourite glass from that meal.Le Costa - Litrozzo Blanc
From Dandelion Wines, Greenpoint NYC- More Italian wine! These big liters of great unfiltered white wine showed up in Brooklyn shops this summer and it was in constant rotation for months.Le Costa - Litrozzo Rosato
From Dandelion Wines, Greenpoint NYCValentina Passalacqua - Sottoterra
From Henry’s Wine, Brooklyn NYC
The first of three Valentina bottles that I loved this year. All of these are the most drinkable, fresh wines, things that make you want to return to them multiple times. They taste like the sea and the forest and the air. These three wines were had multiple times over the year, drank with smiles and exchanges of conversation with friends.Valentina Passalacqua - Mezzorosa
From Bedvyne, Bed Stuy NYCValentina Passalacqua - Mare E Foresta
From Henry’s Wine, Brooklyn NYC
Objekt
Not much of a theme here, just a handful of tracks, EPs and albums I found myself coming back to throughout the year. Some cooking dinner records, some driving records, some doing admin records, some special-moment-inna-club records, some heart-melting ear worms (hi Reptant, Barker, Spooky), some records that are terrible for my anxiety but that’s not gonna stop me listening anyway (looking at you Klein), some records by producers with a more singular vision than I could ever hope to possess (sup 33EMYBW & Zaliva-D). A few records I wish I’d made myself and plenty more whose influence I’m still figuring out how best to channel into my own music. Mostly (but not all) from 2019.
33EMYBW - Arthropods LP
Barker - Paradise Engineering
Call Super & Parris - Chiselers Rush
Caterina Barbieri - Ecstatic Computation LP
Céline Gillain - Wealthy Humans
Gooooose - Rusted Silicon LP
Jenny Hval - The Practice of Love LP
Klein - Lifetime LP
Lorraine James - For You And I LP
MC Yallah - Kubali LP
Reptant - Lizard Theme
Ron Wells/Secret Squirrel/Electronic Experienced/Fast Floor reissues
RUI HO - In Pursuit of the Sun 逐日 EP
Setaoc Mass - Electro Forgives
Spooky - Little Bullet (Dum Dum Mix) (thanks Gatto Fritto for the ID)
SSIEGE - Fading Summer LP
Zaliva-D - Calling EP, Forsaken LP
Pic by Kasia Zacharko
Jio (Pear, Off Target)
bits & pieces from a busy year
- mozzarella di bufala
- the meteoric rise of the EMA <3
- butt-tweeting
- Soma, In To Da Groove & Party Girl Theme :)
- yacht rock & autonomic d'n'b
- Dingle! Other Voices! €4.50 pints of Guinness too
- @yusucooks b2b @toriaisaturtle
- the random dude (who's name I never found out) playing UK Funky up in that treehouse room in Wilde Renate at Savour the Moment in February. big ups!
- the continued reign of Fio Fa <3
- big shout out to friends who ground you during times of great change/uncertainty
- Regularfantasy, Peach, Yu Su, New Jackson, New Members, Project Pablo, DJ Voices & Ben UFO for all being wonderful guests this year at Pear parties
- DYAD Agency finally up & running. love to Tom & Richie for their continued hard work (all the while balancing a full time job!) and to all our roster for sticking with us. lots to do yet!!
- Give Us The Night
Eamon Ivri (Lighght)
Aidan initially approached me with doing this list on top memes of 2019, and while I considered it, I just felt the meme world is too ephemeral and quick moving - memes which happened just a few weeks ago feel like they are from another era.
Instead I want to discuss a topic which memes form a part of - “That which gives me joy and feelings of fun”. I’m sure I could come up with a better term for this. I’m sure some people already have. Even though I discuss music here please know that this is not a “best of” list, but if it were this music would undoubtedly feature. Rather I’m here to discuss a variety of things, that to put it simply, gave me joy by being fun.
Old XL’s Rogue Intruder, Soul Enhancer was a beautiful and sincere record, sprinkled throughout with something i can only describe as humour , the whippet high-pitched vocals, track titles such as “Sniper Baby” and a beautiful take on Beck’s Loser. It will be on a variety of end of year lists I’m sure, but this one stuck with me as one of the most joyous and fun records of the year.
The ‘burly men explaining things meme’, was something I absolutely loved this year. I’m not sure if that is the exact name for it but it is an accurate depiction. It subverts expectation in a few ways. Firstly the often toxic interaction of asking for advice on an internet form is flipped, with the muscle men happily offering advice that is constructive and encouraging. Secondly there is a flip with how we might perceive these bodybuilder types positing them as kind and helpful souls as opposed to the stereotype of short tempered hot heads. Finally the meme in of itself is just really helpful, as opposed to being used to get out a quick joke or too I’ve frequently been educated on quite niche subjects from the info the bodybuilders would give.
Slugabed’s magical album, any attempt to control the environment or the self by means that are either untested or untestable, such as charms or spells, intrigued me instantly with it’s wonderful cover art and askew album and track titles. The work itself has a wonderful sense of playfulness evident throughout, from the quick and wonky cuts in ‘spirit thru the ceiling’ to the metal guitar riffs which close of ‘storm the palace’.
Playing my cat videos of birds on the laptop which people specially create to keep cats entertained. He either bounces around the room searching for the sources of the noise, searching for them in front of and behind the laptop. If he is a bit tired he just enjoys to go to sleep near it, cosy inside but amongst the sounds of nature, purring contently.
Rui HO’s In Pursuit of the Sun 逐日 absolute joy from top to bottom. The spitting flutes on ‘Wings Of Light’, the strident synth melodies on ‘Acceleration’, and just the absolute energy of ‘The Heat’. Inspired by Chinese folklore and told through the colourful lens of rave and hardcore this record is a kaleidoscope.
Milan Kundera’s recent book The Festival Of Insignificance (2013, but I read it this year) gets special mention for being an absolute gem, an airy and short novel about a few friends looking to have a lighthearted and good time, it deftly floats between comedy and absurdism.
Opening her Uniqlo Tate Late set with wry humour AYA (fka LOFT) declares that she is “from Manchester, which is like here but better”. From there she takes the place on a whirlwind - colourful and emotive club cuts filled with raucous energy. Regularly using the talkback AYA injects the set with so much personality: “How do you fit so many feelings into one chord?” she asks at one point and I feel this way about every moment of this wonderful mix.
Honestly, this list could just be nothing but AYA quotes from this set.
From the the harsh screamed vocals to the fusion jazz guitar riffs Field Whispers (Into The Crystal Palace) by Fire-Toolz really is an album like no other. It has brought so many smiles to my face this year every time I listen. Each song is like watching someone pull off some ridiculous skateboard trick and being absolutely amazed when they land it, not because you doubted them, but because you doubted that humanity even could.
Finally, it was too easy to put the entire 100 gecs album on this list so instead I offer you to play a video of dancing Detective Pikachu alongside the very silly very ska ‘Stupid Horse’. Stupendous. (speed the Detective Pikachu clip up a little, trust me).
adab
(see here for full-size images)
For this list I decided to list my top 10 pictures I’ve taken while traveling for gigs this year. One of my initial artistic pursuits was in the visual arts, specifically photography, so it’s good to get back to it in a basic but memorable way while working on another craft.
1. Altar pieces and records of mine I took to Pittsburgh to decorate the booth for Motherbeat III at Hot Mass alongside Eris Drew, Kiernan Laveaux, Sold, and Hi-Vis. My loves Father of Two and CCL played the next day for a super memorable Honcho x In Training party we curated as well. It was also the first time I’d ever heard CCL play and I remember being so happy that someone was playing the entire breadth of sounds I love haha. Overall it was just a queer, magical weekend (and my 29th birthday celebration) so it’s forever tied to extremely positive memories.
2. Some of the decor for a gig I did in Kansas City for the Un/Tuck collective (shout out <3). It was part of their Transfiguration Music Fest, two days of queer art and music in celebration of pride. I met a bunch of really good people there and got to experience a pride celebration where I felt welcome which sometimes can be rare.
3. This one is from the Gays Hate Techno 2019 pool stage. It was a particularly special gathering because a group of us Midwest deejays were all booked to play this beautiful California valley pool area. So many people I know and love had really great sets under these lights by the talented Justin of Stratus Lighting (they're a sweetheart, hire em <3).
4. Lighting from the Smangtasia 2019 Pavilion stage that me and the rest of the In Training family played alongside Kamal Naeem, CCL, CIEL, Russel L. Butler, Turtle Bugg, Phillip Chung, Sagotsky, And Abby Echiverri. I like this one in particular cause its after the events for the evening have shifted to other stages and there's nothing but the lights by visual artist Kip Davis, these two slabs on concrete for holding the technics, and the art installations that were all over the pavilion courtesy of A.POP.
5. If you’ve never been to the Gropius Bau in Berlin I highly suggest going if the opportunity presents itself. I went while I was there in September with friends who suggested it and just so happened to walk into this amazing collective works project called “The Garden of Earthly Delights”. It was basically a project framed around five thematic groups that took up the entirety of the first floor;
- Pairidaeza, Paradise, Utopia, Dystopia
- Anthropocene, Chthulucene
- Urban Gardening
- Garden as a system/structure of thought
- Colonialism, Migration, and Botany
Among the many different pieces from renowned artists was the center piece from the famous triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights” and this amazing cube of plants, audio, and video in the atrium by Rashid Johnson.
6. This is the radiant sun created by Yuki Kojima of Room 4 Resistance for the “Room 4 Resistance x Motherbeat” party I went to play in Berlin. I was at their apartment to chill for a bit post the party a few days later and this sun with red tendrils (originally suspended above the dancefloor of Trauma Bar und Kino for the party) was hanging in their living room. I snapped this one real fast as the sun was setting.
7. Given that this year I got to experience my first time traveling abroad for deejaying, it was mandatory that I had to get at least one good airplane window picture while doing so. This one in particular is from my flight out of NYC to Berlin as the sun was setting. I had a middle row seat so the window was a little in the distance surrounded by darkness and it’s honestly what makes me enjoy this one so much.
8. While in the EU I visited Copenhagen to play “Self Disrupt” at Ved Siden Af alongside Perko, Savile, and CCL. They put me and Ceci up in this crazy penthouse hostel type situation in the middle of Copenhagen not far from the main square, Parliament, etc. owned by a friend of theirs. I spent so much time smoking on this roof simply because the view couldn’t be beat and for that reason it’s also where my most recent press shots by Ceci were taken haha.
9. A window in the stairway of my friend Kamal's Apartment around Görlitzer Park in Berlin. I spent a portion of my time abroad staying at his beautiful place and staring out this window a bit whenever Id go to walk around the area for some wine, food, and general adventure. Im still captivated by the lush plants and vines on the window panes and hope I get to see this lovely view again one day.
10. This may be another common one whenever a deejay visits Hardwax for the first time, cause it is a really pretty courtyard entrance, but I love this one cause it’s made out of the ordinary by my friends Glenna’s hair (and new Sound Metaphors tote). They’re matching the pink accents of posters and stickers on the door, while their jacket does the same with the foliage and it makes for a really well composed image. Plus I was able to get a copy of the new DJ Fulltono “After the Storm” EP I wanted there!
Really hope to take more photos consciously as I travel more these days. I’ve always found that it’s a beautiful way to catalogue your experiences, but even more importantly for me it’s a way to always remember what I’ve managed to achieve as a black person in America when so many of my own cannot. Hope you enjoyed!
Headshot by Cecilia Corsano-Leopizzi
That's it???
Not at all. More lists to come tomorrow...