2018 Album of the Year nominations

I have to add the Stroboscopic Artefacts compilation Flowers from the Ashes released, which I had on heavy rotation.

Great cuts included:

prolly not cool to mention since it's been shilled and shoved down everyones throats to hell and back but Rosalia's album was great

Various - The Black Book (on iDEAL), 2 aces in the pack via Jim O'Rourke's trance horror wtf & Rob Lowe's bubbling drones are a class apart, mint for mixes, mountain missions & rare family-free nights of the edible

https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Black-Book/release/12783066

Gazelle Twin - Pastoral

dunno if it's my top 2018 but nobody's mentioned jensen interceptor's mother so far. it's a good one

  On 11/10/2018 at 3:59 PM, mokz said:

 

  On 11/10/2018 at 7:20 AM, mokz said:

Too early again? I haven't even listened to everything I have meant to.. Lots of releases in previous posts that I need to go check out.

 

Anyway, I'll start with these:

 

Autechre - NTS Sessions (obvs)

Appleblim - Life in a Laser

Dead Can Dance - Dionysus

Mark Van Hoen - Invisible Threads

Wanderwelle - Gathering of the Ancient Spirits

Yann Novak - The Future is a Forward Escape into the Past

Adding:

 

Star Shepherd - Current Explorations in Star Synthesis

S>>D - Co Intel Pro

Mike Cooper - Tropical Gothic

 

Also:

Oberman Knocks - Trilate Shift

EXM-MITOMA - FF0000

Concrete Islands' top 25 of 2018:

https://concreteislands.com/concrete-islands-albums-of-the-year-2018/

  On 12/16/2018 at 11:41 AM, Rubin Farr said:

Concrete Islands' top 25 of 2018:

 

https://concreteislands.com/concrete-islands-albums-of-the-year-2018/

I love the more niche lists like this - nice break from seeing the same big names re-ordered different ways

Here's a selection of my favs from the year:

• Autechre – NTS
• Alva Noto – Uniqav
• Skee Mask – Compro
• Lawrence English/Alessandro Corsini – Immediate Horizon
• Jim O’Rourke – Sleep Like It’s Winter
• Ital Tek – Bodied
• Mogwai – Kin
• Richard Skelton – A Channel for Water
• Steve Hauschildt – Dissolvi
• Norm Westburg – After Vacation
• Mika Vainio/Ryoji Ikeda/Alva Noto – Live 2002
• Helena Hauff – Qualm
• Xor Gate – Conic Sections
• Eno/Shields – The Weight of History / Only Once Away My Son
• I-LP-On – Aanet
• J Mascis – Elastic Days
• Agnarkea – Black Helicopters
• Kelly Moran - Ultraviolet
• The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time
• Dylan Carlson - Conquistador

Been going back through a lot of Pan Sonic / Vainio stuff too this year - loved Live 2002 (Vainio and Noto is a bit of a dream combo for me - Uniqav is awesome). Lawrence English has had a couple of great collaborations this year - do like the Basinski one, but Immediate Horizon stands out. Loved NTS and the sense of AE-overwhelm this year, and the Caretaker and Jim O'Rourke were predictably excellent too. 

  On 12/6/2018 at 10:12 PM, kirm said:

 

  On 12/6/2018 at 5:31 PM, Rubin Farr said:

Posthuman - Mutant City Acid (Cassette)

Seconded.. though the regular album worth a nomination as well! Been my go to driving music for last couple of weeks

 

Got mine, very nice

some Albums I haven't seen mentioned itt , bandcamp URL incl. (discogs as a fallback) & minireview + bit of a description of the sound. this year was yuge. 

(alphabetical ordr) 
Agargara - Dovetail Groove Madness (Eerik Inpuj Sound) Super fun chiptuny epic all programmed on a NintendoDS, def the last bunch of tracks are nyum.
Aleksandir - Contrails (Church) Lush mellow soulful house trax. 
Aclds - {Qa./br.e (Not On Label / Self-Released) Computer seizure, some lush plinkyplonk bits in this one. 
Dalglish - I/'[]n\f/]c/|_/T\_ (Not On Label / Self-Released) Another computer mechanical meltdown, with more textury pads and donk donk knockknocks. This and the previous are my fave of the recent Chris Douglas releases / unload. 
Cool and Frank - My Brooklyn Dad Winter Coat (Not On Label / Self-Released) Nice squiggly braindance from a WATMMer. 
Daedelus - Taut (Magical Properties) Daedelus' best one in a bit maybe ever, shimmering synths and super nice snare/rimshots. 
Derek Carr - Contact (Subwax Excursions) Oldschool spacetechno (Detroit, Chicago, a.i.). 
Dmitri Mazurov - Simulacra (Detroit Underground) Nasty fucking idm here, the track "Ruins" has the crunchiest grossest fart. Oh and a Grischa Lichtenberger remix!
Docetism - Breast And Vulture (Rohs! Records) Dub techno bro, very pro spacious stuff. Play on a system with BASS obviously. 
Ekke - Klangfarbenmodular (Detroit Underground) Cutesy modular plinkyplonks with idm beats. 
Ekoplekz - Impressionz (Not On Label / Self-Released) Ekoplekz OWNS!!!
Eli Keszler - Stadium (Shelter Press) Jazzy drum stuff with organic synthwork, quality. 
Forest Drive West - Apparitions (Livity Sound) Rich and heavy techno jams. 
goto80 - Son Ionic (Data Airlines) Goto80 tracks played live with a tesla coil, crunchy af. 
Hieroglyphic Being - The Language Of Strings Vol. 3 (Mathematics Recordings) Get yo azz on that dancefloo. 
Hieroglyphic Being - The Red Notes (Soul Jazz Records) Hella dank Jamal Moss techno jazz, incredible to say the least. 
HVL - Ostati (Organic Analogue Records) Georgian contemporary inspired by that a.i. sound. 
John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album (Impulse!, Verve Records, UMe) Would normally consider this an Anthology or Reissue but it's kind of an unreleased album, so yeah. Coltrane 1963. 
John Tejada - Dead Start Program (Kompakt) Funzies braindance, bikeride music. 
Johnny Jewel - Digital Rain (Italians Do It Better) This guy sure likes to make scifi computer startup music. This was super addictive to me earlier in the year. 
Jonny Greenwood - Phantom Thread (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Nonesuch) Beautiful romantic period classical music, great film too!
Junes - A View (Dote) Heavy / light minim.house. 
Jung An Tagen - Agent Im Objekt (Editions Mego) Welcome to the bouncy robot club, singular sound w/ variations rather than independent tracks maybe. 
Kate NV - для FOR (Rvng Intl.) Wholesome meme cute and bubbly tunes. 
Korridor - End of Cycle (Northern Electronics) Colundi turns evil. 
Kyle Gann - Hyperchromatica (Other Minds) Microtonal piano music, absolutely titanic. 
Laurel Halo - Raw Silk Uncut Wood (Latency) If you dig the second track "Mercury" than that Eli Keszler album I mentioned earlier might be something for you. This mini-album is definitely a nice listen too, but sadly it does not compare to what she and the drummer did live at Sonar Barcelona. 
Loud Neighbor - Interference Pattern (Detroit Underground) Modular synth techno. 
Potter Natalizia Zen - Shut Your Eyes on the Way Out (Ecstatic) Drony industrial ambient things. 
Ras G & The Afrikan Space Program - Stargate Music (Leaving Records) Thick beats, and ooohw Ras as as as craziness. 
SHXCXCHCXSH - OUFOUFOF (Rösten) WicWicWicWicWicWickedkedkedkedkedWicked. Wacko techno. 
Siimplex - Fragments (Schematic) Ooh that's nasty (idm/breakcore). 
Steve Hadfield - Pile of Worlds (Disintegration State) More a.i. inspired stuff. 
Sugai Ken - 岩石考 -yOrUkOrU- (Yerevan Tapes) Love the sounds of this Japanese fella, at least listen to the track "Shiiha"! 
Thomas Fehlmann / Terrence Dixon - We Take It from Here (Tresor) Incredible classic techno. 
Topdown Dialectic - Topdown Dialectic (Peak Oil) Slightly off-kilter ambient techno dub. 
xuiqen - moiré (Not On Label / Self-Released) Sadly you won't be able to find this anywhere anymore, but will supposedly be re-released in 2019. Relentless IDMz. 
Yoshinori Hayashi - Ambivalence (Smalltown Supersound) Jazzy ambient with funky synths and other instrumentations, lovely. The track "0208" owns hard. 
 
 
My entire list up here on discogs
fav 10ish to follow round 31st (incl stuff that has been mentioned)

Ekoplekz released a new album this year?!

 That Eli Keszler album is nice stuff, adding a second recommendation on that one.

Also this Yamaneko - Afterglow EP is SUPER lush, grabbed it after it was recced in the FACT best ambient of 2018 list, some pretty good stuff in that list:

  On 12/21/2018 at 2:20 AM, usagi said:

Ekoplekz released a new album this year?!

  On 12/21/2018 at 2:20 AM, usagi said:

Ekoplekz released a new album this year?!

Some session tracks from 2014 that never made an album cut.

He also released a 10" EP a few weeks ago, consisting of 12 tracks 2 minutes long! 

https://ekoplekz.bandcamp.com/album/radiochronikz

Daphne and Celeste/Max Tundra: Save the World

  On 12/21/2018 at 4:51 AM, ghOsty said:

That Eli Keszler album is nice stuff, adding a second recommendation on that one.

Eli Keszler — Stadium also n°1 on the boomkat

cear, thanks for that list. bunch of stuff i haven’t listened to it

this Sugai Ken record rules

This album came out last year, but I've been listening to it heavily recently: https://prettiesteyes.bandcamp.com/album/pools

It's refreshing to know that young kids are still making punk music and mixing it with electronics.

after already classics EOD Named and Dunal Dunal Chronicles II came out this year i didn't think it could get any better but boy was i wrong

The Seneschal Arrives just dropped this 100% all killer no filler avant-pop masterpiece out of nowhere
https://tendens.bandcamp.com/album/entranced-deceived-hunted-injured-captured-sacd-master

some ablums

Binary Digit 38000 - Summer Hits
Ceephax - Camelot Arcade
EOD - Named
J. Mono - Redate
James Shinra - Vital Heat
Pearl River Sound - Train With No Name
Steven Rutter - BrainFog
X-Altera - X-Altera
XOR Gate - Conic Sections
4rd - Perfect Weather For Perfect People

In no order

Epic45 - Through Broken Summer

My Autumn Empire - Oh, Leaking Universe

Field Harmonics - Corpsing

Autumn of Communion - Moonstreams

Autumn of Communion - Reservoir of Video Souls

Mick Chillage - Harmonic Connections

Experiments of Science - Escape to the Skyline

Ishqamatics - Elements

Ambidextrous - Echoes of Science

2xitram - Quantized Memories

Jacob Newman - Biospherica

Cremation Lily - In England Now, Underwater

FSOL - From Archives Vol 9

Roel Funcken - Dear of the Yog

Blocks + Escher - Something Blue

Yimino - AEng

r beny - eistla

Morphology - Traveller

Steven Rutter - Brainfog

Posthuman - Mutant Acid City

Hotel Neon - Means of Knowing

Warmth - Parallel

Luis Miehlich - Silences

ASC - Astral Projection

Helios - Veriditas

Halftribe - For the Summer, or Forever

EPS

Aphex Twin - Collapse

Ex Terrestrial - All of his Eps this year

Rising Sun - Realism

ASC - The Outer Limits

New white album remix. Fucking blows all that shit ^ away