Hype and Slander: What are you voting for in ILM's 2021 End of Year Tracks and Albums Poll?

Jordan I will absolutely rep the Howie Lee album - Birdy Island It's fantastic.

Think of Smile-era Beach Boys instrumentals composed by a Chinese leftfield grime producer and that's kind of getting there, but it's just a total trip.

This wasn't a big year for albums for me but this is very much up there

Re: See Dem - yes I think those are duplicates. Left Teddy Johnson off by accident when I nominated.

7 tracks - Billie Eilish

We gonna coordinate, avocadostans(?)

aya - im hole is wonderful and I'll be voting it high. Very much love.

oh wow "cawe yoko" rules

Voting is open! ILM's 2021 End of Year Tracks & Albums Poll / VOTING THREAD

under the radar stuff y'all need to check out:

Albums

DJ Manny - Signals in My Head
Footwork/Juke AOTY imho. U Want It is one of my favorite songs of the year and is catchy as all hell

Arushi Jain - Under the Lilac Sky
Probably my AOTY of electronic music - this is a transcendent album of gorgeous modular electronics, much more lush and immersive than recent Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, and incorporates Jain's voice using South Asian musical inspiration. This album is far more therapeutic and ready for a trippin' than Jon Hopkins' latest effort.

Nite Jewel - No Sun
Heart breaking. Minimalist R&B perfection. Can't get over how good this is front to back.

Koreless - Agor
This has been mentioned elsewhere here, but want to bring it up again as it's seriously that good. Ambient deconstructed club record that sounds at once futuristic and nostalgic.

Altin Gün - Yol
This Turkish retro funk band BRINGS it. Every time I throw it on I'm blown away again.

Sofia Kourtesis - Fresia Magdalena
This EP has more bangers than most great albums. Easily my favorite dance record of the year, most of the songs here will probably be on my tracks ballot. Drop anything here in a set FTW.

Songs

Kind of obsessed with these couple songs - again more dance/hip hop oriented stuff, but these are the tracks that just get me excited to DJ

Mano Le Tough - Man of Aran
Herbert - Fantasy (feat. Verushka)
Nightmares on Wax - Creator SOS (feat. Haile Supreme & Wolfgang Haffner)
Nightmares on Wax - Wonder (feat. Haile Supreme & Shabaka Hutchings)
BASSIDE - NYC2MIA (SOPHIE REMIX)

More tracks (the Eomac in particular is an awesome hard hard banger):

Brijean - Hey Boy
Eomac - Mandate For Murder

+1 on Nite Jewel and Kourtesis.

Find of the day on shuffle was DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ. 2 hour albums of uh.. is 'future funk' still a thing? This is the one that came on first and hooked me.

i'll hype up my very faves later on if they havent been covered... and they don't change while i'm shuffling.

the most wonderful time of the year

(oh i fixed my playlist and i'm not tinkering with that smarterplaylists junk no more. it's 266 nommed albums that had nommed tracks, on Spotify. thank u)

Sans Soucis - On Time For Her (album)
I saw this London artist recommended on Twitter and was surprised she had not been mentioned here. Good, breezy indie soul w/ diverse influences.
I nominated a different track but this is the catchiest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBQaGZzZ6-8

I am going to do my best to try to get through every nominated single. Bear in mind that I have a tendency to listen to tracks four or five times apiece unless I utterly hate them on contact so this is a bit of a process.

Is Tim F not active anymore? Enjoyed his eoy thread.

Xpost: First time hearing the Arushi Jain and loving it. Thanks.

I'm not gonna campaign for much this year, because eh, but by golly that Mabe Fratti album blew me away. Spare some votes for it if you can. I'd love to see it in top 77, even if it's in the low reaches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCjmlYPC2-g

A few tracks that not everyone may have stumbled over

Tinashe – Small Reminders – cascades of r&b sensuality over angular rocks of bass, follow the thread in the labyrinth
Dunnie feat. Oxlade – Overdose remix – pure charm poured directly over your face
Maria Arnal i Marcel Bagel - El Gran Silencio – flying into the night to explore the icy, dreamy and lyrical regions on the artistic side of electro-pop
Linn da Quebrada – I míssil – if you're missing the astuteness and sensuality of a Brazilian trans artist in your ballot
Lost Girls – Real Life – Phantomatic reverberations of krautrock by the best Scandinavian narrator talking about her email inbox
Marina Sena - Voltei Pra Mim - If you know about Marisa Monte, Céu, Tulipa Ruiz, Luia Maita and are looking for an additional album to listen to, consider 'De Primeira'

Just want to say that UK Drill made some incredible pop music this year. There's no shame in voting for Body even though it went to #1 and Tion Wayne later did a track based on an Ed Sheeran sample. Still a great great song.

Also, give the BackRoad Gee album a chance. His focus on ad libs and onomatopoeia over flows perhaps makes it lyrically weak, but the sound of it was incredible. Check the dog samples on Lost in the Flesh for instance.

Tapestry Of Sound - Maypole Theme (Surrealist Piano Roll Mix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_qNpm5bCMM

breakbeat, garage, trance, or big piano house anthem? I feel like 2021 was a really good time for bobbins despite barely being able to go out dancing, this one managed to tie together so many different influences and styles, in both a classic and a fresh way.

Finn & India Jordan - The Big B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3TnDqwKNLo

big-room, hi-energy, relentless banger, made of thick bass and a hook as catchy as "Inspector Norse" or "Rej"

Very much enjoying the Spotify Tracks playlist. Definitely more hits than misses for me and lots of new discoveries. Thanks everyone.

“Getting Older” is my Billie jam.

Speaking of the Local Action crew, I want to stump for Anz - You Could Be (feat. George Riley). It's both throwback and fresh, perfect pop dance, and the bassline reminds me of Levert's Casanova.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E36658KPKac

Tyla feat DJ Lag & Kooldrink - Overdue
one of last year's amapiano highlights. this is probably going to be overlooked in favour of "getting late" which was her earlier hit but "overdue" is even better

― ufo, Tuesday, January 4, 2022 6:06 PM (yesterday)

This is nice! I don't know what ~ILM taste~ is anymore, but a few years back I would have said this had potential to be a borad anthem (though I'm not sure I personally think it's better than Getting Late)

a great punk/post-hardcore album I'll be voting for is BUMMER - Dead Horse
https://bummerkc.bandcamp.com/album/dead-horse

for fans of Pissed Jeans, Scratch Acid, Drug Church, Killdozer etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8xUxcoO2js

also, this is another one I'll surely vote for. could be a good metal/regular poll crossover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ4kqVYnB04

Local Action/2 B Real is probably my favourite label this year - "Microdosing" and "Wish It Would Rain" and "Baby" were all standout bobbins for me too

Sofia Kourtesis - Fresia Magdalena
This EP has more bangers than most great albums. Easily my favorite dance record of the year, most of the songs here will probably be on my tracks ballot. Drop anything here in a set FTW.

― octobeard, Tuesday, January 4, 2022 8:38 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

+1 (my nom). I will be voting for the EP, I think; too many good tracks to just pick one.

Find of the day on shuffle was DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ. 2 hour albums of uh.. is 'future funk' still a thing? This is the one that came on first and hooked me.

― maf you one two (maffew12), Tuesday, January 4, 2022 8:47 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Nice - another of my noms. Found it in the EOY list cycle and couldn't resist it. Reminds me of the first Avalanches album, especially bouncier songs like "Electricity". Sample-heavy dance album. Here's one of the tighter songs, as many run over 10 min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER7g9hWCOxs

I will rep for two country tracks:

Carly Pearce - "Next Girl"

My pop country SOTY. Clever, double entendre-laced songwriting with a muscular beat. Co-written with Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, the tandem behind many of the great Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, and Sam Hunt songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5KKh5gFock

Jason Eady - "French Summer Sun"

A beautiful, patient acoustic song from one of the most talented country songwriters of the last decade that delivers it's plain message about the costs of war through vivid narrative. I do believe John Prine would've loved this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGevzDkqhVk

Glad some folks like Cawe Yoko, Fely Tchaco is fun. The guitar on that track is ridiculous but I love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSXXvHiqkvw

Here's another good one by her, not nominated but just fwiw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMXHjlIoI-k

May as well post the one song that I will absolutely, positively be the sole voter for:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5jcXNbFfKQ

Pleasant discoveries I've made from the playlists so far:

Rochelle Jordan
Linda Frederiksson
Bilal Nasser - Where the Orange Groves Grow
Maxine Funk
Joy Crookes
Insides - Soft Bonds
Moritz von Oswald Trio - Dissent

Although the last one made me put on the Soccer96 because of how incredible it sounds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38tfTqJFI6I

Oh cool, glad you liked Bilal's album.

I just want to rep for the LADY BLACKBIRD album, a vocal jazz album that doesn't do anything groundbreaking but it's impeccably produced and she has a really beautiful voice - somewhere between Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughn - I've been enjoying this one immensely this winter season.

There are three wonderful songs of her in the tracks nominations. My nom and vote will go towards "Fix It" which is based on Bill Evans' "peace piece" and floors me everytime. My second favorite would be the James Gang cover of 'Collage' which has a light psychedelic jazz vibe and a great bass sound to it but that one wasn't nominated.

FIX IT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9-w37kmtKA

Pleasant discoveries I've made from the playlists so far:

Rochelle Jordan
Linda Frederiksson
Bilal Nasser - Where the Orange Groves Grow
Maxine Funk
Joy Crookes
Insides - Soft Bonds
Moritz von Oswald Trio - Dissent

LindaFred album is sort of cuddly-ECM - no idea whether it got much traction anywhere but it's gorgeous.

Would love to see Insides and Rochelle make the 77 - both very high on my ballot. The Rochelle is joyously hooky and frothy and really grew in stature all year.

Find of the day on shuffle was DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ. 2 hour albums of uh.. is 'future funk' still a thing? This is the one that came on first and hooked me.

Did not expect that one to come up here! Being Alone is also really really really good and was my entry point into that record. That album is crazy epic and the artist is ridiculously prolific.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz8410zKbhY

The artist she reminds me of is Mylo a bit more than the Avalanches, but that turn of the millennium nostalgia is def there.

Here are a few pretty accessible tracks from me:

SUEP - Domesticated Dream
I meant to post about this on one of the indie-related threads but kept forgetting. A project from the keyboardist of Porridge Radio (and feat some other DIY pals), this is a laid-back bop that gets very earwormy and I love it.

Kanano Senritsu - Drop
J-pop with a bit of a footwork influence. Slams.

Wheelchair Sports Camp - YESS i'm a MESS
Kalyn Heffernan is a pretty new discovery for me but I'm completely won over by this hip-hoppy pean to everything being fucking awful.

Taraka - 0010110
Ex-Prince Rama member with a sick psych-pop jam.

And of course Go_A - ШУМ (SHUM)
The song that should have won the Eurovision Song Contest and should by rights win this poll too. (There's actually an alternative version I prefer but this is the official one, and it rules almost as much.)

Whoa at the J-pop + Jersey club song

crypto, i love that uncle watson track! painfully accurate

ooh "drop" is excellent, that's one track produced by kenmochi hidefumi (of wednesday campanella fame) i hadn't heard

If the table is the table is in here, I wanna see your ballot

Thanks, whoever did it, for that Moritz Von Oswald album nom! Completely overlooked it and it’s amazing.

Xenia Rubinos is probably my AOTY.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_X7yrfWU_U

I really like the Griff EP and "Black Hole" in particular. Sort of expected her to make more of a splash but not yet I guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2SK_jb68dk

And I just love this Mandy, Indiana track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sUSDQxUV7A

ooh "drop" is excellent, that's one track produced by kenmochi hidefumi (of wednesday campanella fame) i hadn't heard

― ufo, Wednesday, January 5, 2022 7:04 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

ahaaa. Yep. I'm in.

Speaking of the Local Action crew, I want to stump for Anz - You Could Be (feat. George Riley). It's both throwback and fresh, perfect pop dance, and the bassline reminds me of Levert's Casanova.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E36658KPKac

― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, January 6, 2022 2:45 AM (thirteen hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

This will be close to my #1. Barely stopped rinsing it since I first heard it.

the other fantastic george riley track this year was "power", sublime r&d&b

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDpZGvnKqSc

quite possibly voting for both

R&b-wise, 'Amber Mark - What it is' is dead certain to be on my ballot

I'm considering about 5-10 Amapiano / SA songs, and from the top I have a hard time choosing between Ngixolele and Mmapula from Busta 929. Then there's at least Osama, Higher, LiYoshona, Phakade Lami, Gupta, Tyla, nobody nominated La vie est belle so I guess Folasade from the album with Tresor. Choices choices...

Vilde Tuv is a Norwegian artist who's worked in an interesting, melodic modern singer-songwriter landscape, but she took a couple of years off to study electronic music production, came back with those skills and a recorder flute and made an instrumental trance epic - the album Melting Songs, which is on the noms list

She's currently in the process of adding music videos to each track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLYbTcV1zBc

The k-pop lowdown:

Weeekly - After School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfVuRQX0ydQ

A fairly new group that I hadn't noticed before releases a song of pure, bright delight. The chorus is undeniable, the verses have just the right pep.

Aespa - Savage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPdWvnAAurg

Aespa's hate it or love it embrace of SM's divisive signature mashed up sound peaked with 'Savage', going from the harsh and metallic to the soaring rnb bridge. For me it's a welcome statement in a scene where some artists with international ambitions water down their sound:

the Busta 929 (f. Boohle) song I really liked was Ekseni

The Bevis Frond - Dreams of Flying: I stopped three times to check to see how long this was gonna keep playing for, but it wasn’t until now that I looked to see the name of the artist. Hard pass.

This is really on me cuz I think I nominated the wrong track but if I had the chance to do it again I'd nominate the entire album bcz its legitimately incredible and wdve easily made top 15 if not top 10

yeah I somehow missed that in the options so didn't vote for it, but it's good

everybody please vote for the maria arnal i marcel bagés album
― roflrofl fight (voodoo chili), Friday, January 14, 2022 4:34 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

I highly recommend their previous album as well. Fantastic incorporation of Spanish music into art pop / ambient singer-songwriter, and what a full-bodied voice she has. Should appeal to fans of Mabe Fratti for example.

(Not nominated in 2017 on ILM, so I guess we are all catching up)

Glad to see Gardna getting some EOY love, he’s been doing some consistently chipper music (and club nights here in Bristol) for a while now. Bit biased as he’s a pal of a pal but seems like a good egg.

I didn't vote, guys, sorry, I just didn't vibe with the nominees I listened to enough to get excited about voting but I am still really looking forward to the rollout where I always find some exciting tracks!

I'm really excited for the rollout, tbh— I always discover some faves from that thread.

still need to check out Gardna but he seems like a great lad

Good job with this year's final winning lineup btw. There's lots missing that I both voted or and/or should have voted for but after some rigorous listening, there's definitely not more than 10 songs out of 77 that I just don't like.

Oh sick, ten of my votes made it ;)

MC Boing made it to the top 77 then

wait... am i missing something? we haven't rolled out yet have we?

lol

wait... am i missing something? we haven't rolled out yet have we?
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Thursday, January 27, 2022 1:20 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

No, it's just forks and moka discussing the results over coffee and telling us how interesting it all is :D

Do 77-60 tomorrow and then 15 a day next week imo

No no it's fine, we can all wait, namaste

wait... am i missing something? we haven't rolled out yet have we?

That Wet Leg one two surprised me

We're starting on Monday.

VOTE BITCOIN

can we put the results on the blockchain?

Will the graphics be sold as nfts?

The graphic for our #8 placement which is a song called “player of games” by Grimes will be sold as an NFT, yes.

That Wet Leg one two surprised me

I went to POLL and I got the big D

if the blockchain is how we get rid of fakeouts, then I'm a cryptobro now

ahoy
ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2021

So I am deep listening to the "F" artists now, about 350 tracks out of 1110. Maybe will go back to posting reactions here?

Go for it, I enjoy your write ups