Albums I really like from 2003

In the end nothing else matched the moods of this tiny-label Hamilton release that hardly anyone heard. Rich dense drones from Hamilton, sometimes warm and enveloping, sometimes eerie, sometimes noisy and damaged, with nothing ever rushed, everything allowed to take its time. Guitars, voices, piano, bells, chimes, drum, bass all melted into one mass.

2 Dave Douglas – Freak In

Ikue Mori’s intricate and detailed drum machine layers, along with the synths and loops, and all the different live drums, provide the basis on which delightful and expertly executed jazz/funk/fusion riffs and melodies are developed and played with by the horns. Marc Ribot throws in another dimension with his guitar parts, sometimes noisy, sometimes rocking, sometimes delicate and intricate, only getting at all wanky on “Black Rock Park”. Good balance of upbeat dancy material, mellow ballads, and more urgently emotional stuff.

3 Diamanda Galas – La Serpenta Cantata

Back to the voice and piano on well-known songs, with occasional electronic treatment, she shreds her throat purring, howling, screaming, and whispering her way through these. She actually sounds a little huskier than on Malediction and Prayer, which works. She never struck me as quite so banshee-like before, almost had me looking over my shoulder. The interpretation of Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman” is spellbinding. “Burning Hell” is terrifying.

4 Steve Reich/Beryl Korot – Three Tales

A real progression from his old stuff, working the minimalism into shorter sections with more drama, narrative, and purpose in the whole. Denser, darker, more dissonant harmonies. Voices, both sung and sampled, messed up electronically all over the whole thing. The DVD really adds another dimension. In one way it could maybe be limiting in that the sounds are sort of fixed in their meaning by the social/political commentary of the images. At the same time, the visuals are often just dazzling and are, even just aesthetically, a perfect complement to the music so that after watching I didn't see how they could even be separated. The way the talking heads in the last sections are spliced and layered the same way that the interview samples are treated sonically was particularly great. Another standout moment was the treatment of the film of Bikini islanders in the second part - when the photographs were stopped and then degenerated was really impressive. And it does force you to at least consider the issues that are raised, though I do tend to prefer my art a little less didactic. It's made me want to at least find out more about the Bikini nuclear tests and the Hindenburg zeppelin.

5 T. N. Krishnan – Carnatic Violin

He and Trichy Sankaran (mrdangam) connect so perfectly and fluidly, as they demonstrated in concert this year. Just such emotional range and depth in their playing, violent, darkly moodly, energetic, joyful, peaceful.

6 Bill Frisell – The Intercontinentals

“Good Old People” is a standout, where the washes of texture give way to the layered intricate guitar melodies. Uplifting. The gentle vocal on “Perritos” is also marvelous. The moments where the long violin strains join the guitar solos over the layers of rhythm in “Boubacar”. Frisell’s trademark layering and washing-out of guitar sound, along with his subtly virtuosic soloing and downright folky picking, are deftly combined with Middle Eastern and North African strings, vocals, and rhythm.

7 Building Castles Out of Matchsticks – Blue Skies, Wet Tears, and Broken Hearts

There may have been more accomplished or ‘important’ IDM releases from the year but none I felt the urge to play as often, maybe just because this was so much more overtly emotional and heart-on-the-sleeve about it all. And if the emotions in question are more or less wimpy angsty indie sap, well, better a laptop than an acoustic guitar. Picked-apart 80s synthpop hooks, beats, and glazes; bleeps; hums; sheets of noise; cut-up blank or bitter or bitchy spoken voices become the ink for this teenage diary. “This Could Be the One That Makes It” is possibly my favourite single track of the year. The straight clean lines of its unforgettable science doc synth tune sound like they get sucked into a whirlpool then yanked back out. Tapers off a bit at the end. The words to “OK, Have It Your Way” turned me off at first before I grew to love the track.

8 Spring Heel Jack/Matthew Shipp/Evan Parker/J Spaceman/William Parker/Han Bennink – Live

Sprawling improvisations moving from rock-out guitar thrashing to spacy tinkling to grooves to spread-out noise to building creeping beautiful drones. An inspired collaboration.

9 Kevin Drumm – Land of Lurches

Opens with a crushing mass of static, then builds in intensity. Elsewhere we have more streamlined ambient drones and cool pulsing.

10 Fenn O’Berg – The Return of Fenn O’Berg

Epic pieces that split the difference between IDM and electroacoustic music. Each piece is its own surreal journey.

11 Kid Koala – Some Of My Best Friends Are DJs

(Mostly) jazz samples are bent and cut up on the turntable. Disorienting but fun.

12 Brett Larner/Joelle Léandre/Kazuhisa Uchihashi – No Day Rising

Guitars, bass, koto, daxophone improvising freely. Sometimes a struggle of scrapes, sometimes beautiful ripples.

13 Autechre – Draft 7.30

You know the score, clicks and hums and pulses that give you a groove then throw it out the window. Some lovely chilled moments, some jarring ones.

14 Radiohead – Hail to the Thief

Not as perfect as Amnesiac, not as deep as Kid A but more epic, more varied, more rock, more of a grand statement. “Where I End and You Begin” glides and floats, “Myxamatosis” kicks in its spazzness. I didn’t love his voice when he could sing. It says more to me now that it’s an off-key whine.

15 John Butcher – Invisible Ear

Saxophone becomes electronic studio by close-miking and manipulating the feedback. My favourite tracks are the ones with overdubbed layers producing ghostly resonances.

16 Rez Abbasi Trio – Snake Charmer

Fusion in both the jazz-rock sense and in the East-West sense. Intricate rhythmic and melodic playing and writing, with sitar-guitar, tables, and Hindustani vocals working as a sincere consideration of one’s background rather than as culturally appropriated kitsch.

17 Aruna Sairam – Kutcheri: December Season 2002

A warm voice with lots of range, solid playing, flawless recording.

18 Twine – s/t

IDM beats, glitches, and textures, with indie-style detuned guitars and goth-style doom glazes and warbling women. I just gave it one full listen since I just got it but it’s well put together, calming, and atmospheric.

19 Luke Vibert – YosepH

I don’t know tons about this stuff (acid techno?) but it’s fun with mid-tempo beats, sci-fi sonics, robotic voices, and memorable 70s-ish synth hooks.