Here at Radio UTD we value that stance and chose albums that sung the most correct to us; albums that kept us moody; albums that kept us dancing; albums that kept us pensive. We’re proud to show you 10 of our favorite electronic releases from 2016 (unordered).
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Tim Hecker – Love Streams
Love Streams is Tim Hecker’s response to himself, a lateral step from his previous works but a forward motion in his music. The atmospheric soundscapes are ethereal, lush and colorful even when it drones its sounds into abyss. The distortion of live sound, including human voice, is a change for the otherwise digital artist. His architecture of sound is the combination of many elements, some well known to him and others as foreign, and it’s this combination which entrances us at first listen and soothes the times thereafter. – Demir Candas
Arca – Entrañas
Entrañas translates to bowels in English, which presents linguistic duality of meaning: a section of the tucked away intestines or deep seclusion inside something larger. When one endures deterioration, perception of time is altered in such a way that sometimes it seems that hours do not pass. Arca’s cavernous study on body horror urgently entails the physicality of pain by movement of force that closely mirrors how what’s visceral can possess when psychological inertia haunts us. The disjointed purging of Entrañas examines interior depths that’s similar to the external observations regarding decay and taphonomy from kusozu. Both meditate on gradual process and evaluate aid for liberation of themselves in relationship to their local communities. – Tony Nguyen
Jenny Hval – Blood Bitch
Jenny Hval’s Blood Bitch is an experimental concept album at its core, and a baroque pop record at its surface. Hval tackles ideas of capitalism and womanhood through focusing in on symbols like blood and vampires throughout the album. In a short interlude titled “The Great Undressing”, Hval is questioned by her bandmate: “What’s this album about, Jenny?” she asks. “It’s about vampires… Well, it’s about more things than that…” Hval replies. Hval’s adventurous use of synthesizers, samples, and ASMR audio communicate this theme, pairing with the deeper messages of her music, to create a stark and moody electronic pallete and form one of the most interesting experimental electronic albums of the year. – Shiloh Wilk
Leon Vynehall – Rojus (Designed to Dance)
There isn’t anything quite like a good house album. Producers and DJs of the UK crop up like the harvest but only a few make albums equating to the blue ribbon winning squash. Rojus is that winning album, a beautiful successor to the also great debut of 2014, which supplies bangers fit for the year and, most importantly, fit for the club. The four-to-the-floor beats are tastefully and masterfully overlayed with many a sample, including the inspired birds of paradise which subtly interweave the theme of the album, and the progressions are satisfyingly climactic. Leon Vynehall held up to his reputation and has now maintained rapport with the house community with this one. – Demir Candas
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Dedekind Cut – $uccessor
Lee Bannon dropped the captivating mix “BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN 3D” before transitioning to releasing his first solo release as Dedekind Cut. Both the mix and $uccessor draw upon the grotesque with the latter blurring the lines of new age, ambient and noise. The sonic language presented, especially that of new age and ambient, pull and demand what these genres typically “expect”. Completely ethereal, surreal and atmospheric, Dedekind Cut aggressively exerts his rich soundscape and proves to be a auditory force to be reckoned with. – Tony Nguyen
Babyfather – BBF
Dean Blunt’s newest project, Babyfather, is as confusing as the aura Dean has shrouded himself in over the years. Babyfather is a group of sorts, consisting of Dean, DJ Escrow, and Gassman D (although the actual identities of Escrow and Gassman have been heavily debated online). Mystery aside, the mixtape/album “BBF Hosted By DJ Escrow” is one of the most interesting and original releases of the year – which is funny, because it draws from some of the most unoriginal themes we see in today’s hip-hop landscape: mixtapes rehosted by DJs into oblivion and MCs focusing on the same aspects of urban life hoping to make it big.
Kaytranada – 99.9%
It was easy to chose Kaytranada. As an urban beat producer, 99.9% is a fusion album, arguably more R&B/Hip-Hop, but there’s a quality that can’t be named so clearly. Perhaps it’s the undeniably groovy dance tracks of “TRACK UNO” or “LITE SPOTS” which push the style of dance into one of music’s most inventive years. But even aside from those, the production is fashionably crisp and stylistically unique, warranting the acclaim behind 99.9%. What allows the win for Kaytranada is the personality and skill that the album embodies – a selection of tracks which can stand alone among the string of Soundcloud singles which his fame was birthed from, and yet, a complete and modern take on production with the help of friends and well curated featured artists, spanning between rap, soul and a lot of nuanced funk. – Demir Candas
Elysia Crampton – Demon City
As Elysia Crampton, a trans latinx who forms a utopia in Demon City that sounds absolutely like hell, she and her collaborators seize the surrounding entropy around them. Histories of oppression and their contemporary testimonies haunt Demon City‘s aesthetic. Demon City recites quotes from Veronica Bolina, a transgender woman beaten by police in Brazil, juxtaposed with Frederick Douglass as focal points of terror and brutality. Fundamentally, these fantasies reflect current reality but Crampton offer glimpses of hope by offering marginalized groups’ voices to be heard. Ultimately, it’s like poetic experimental director Jonas Mekas once articulated, “An adventurer can always return home; an exile cannot. So I decided that culture would be my home.” – Tony Nguyen
Lorenzo Senni – Persona EP
Lorenzo Senni’s “Persona EP”, at its most basic, is an ode to classic trance music. Fully composed and performed on the legendary Roland JP-8000 synthesizer (a staple of early tance), the Persona EP contains no drum tracks or samples: only the JP-8000 and external effects. What Senni creates on this album is a bright but hollow skeleton of trance music– trance stripped down to the bare essentials. The album is full of complex rhythms and melodies that I’d imagine would envelop the dancefloor in a whimsical haze rather than inspire movement. The synth compositions on this album are stunning to say the least, and definitely the most poignant and compelling ones I’ve heard all year. – Shiloh Wilk
Jessy Lanza – Oh No
Lanza’s sophomore release Oh No was destined for something different. Her collaboration process with Jeremy Greenspan had made her the comeup pop/electronic artist of anyone’s radar, and she needed Oh No to prove it. Her experiences of living cold well within Canada, anxiousness and all the cons of life were channeled into this piece and presented in the form of brilliantly conducted pop, all the while possessing all the somber feelings of Lanza. Her surface shyness at a glance is obliterated by distinct R&B vocals with footwork-esque production, intricate from any electronic standard but dizzying from the pop perspective. Oh No bested Lanza’s already thumbs-up status, offering a versatile mix of fan favorites and yet still descriptive lyricism with beautiful beats to match. – Demir Candas