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Best music of 2017

The particular sound I sensed from 2017 is very deep, alluring and eerie, or that's at least what I was more exposed/inclined to. An important transition year for me that brought a new paradigm, a new challenge, a feeling that will be revealed in some of my choices for this list. I'm probably missing something important to include here that got lost in my downloads folder which is very messy since I check out new music in an almost daily basis; I rather include the ones I listened the most to and the ones that were handy at my facebook and soundcloud feeds, bandcamp collection and blog. Very hard decision, I had to make the list bigger this year, I really can't take any of them out. I sorted 25 albums, 5 tracks and 2 mixes into 8 categories to make it easier to relate to, apart from kind of telling a story with a wonderful end : ) Enjoy the ride!



Special mention: NLN, one of my favs. Beautiful music, carefully composed. Something between ambient, techno, some breaks here and there.

The club of the recurring labels: The ones that made it into the list with two or more releases/tracks/sets

Tehnofonika this year made it into my list with 2 albums and 1 track I love. Regarding the first one, Sonornote, my favorite artist in 2017, he has a very special touch to make something beautiful between techno, IDM and ambient, somewhat similar to BoC in past works, but in general even more similar to the best of Aphex Twin, a requisite that seems to be important for my choices. A very inspiring person to me in many aspects, he made it so easily into the top of the top for me. Regarding dub techno, I have had F.L.O. at the top for some time now. Third is a track I chose from the compilation they made for their 3rd anniversary, which I adore. As I mentioned, I love Tehnofonika and its goddamn perfect quality, and it's the kind of thing I think nobody in the world can resist.

Expect some soft techno with very special atmospheres.

Sonornote - Everheard

Listen to more of his work here. 

F.L.O. - Pruinae

Mechanist - Yevl

Next recurring label is ACR. I'm relatively new to this one, but I found two very beautiful releases that I wanted to include in this list. In short, this is ambient of the most powerfully introspective kind.

IJO - Melancholika Vol. 2

 

Endurance - Molecular Shrine

Guess what label made it into the list with no less than 3 releases? Yeap, another insanely-good quality label, Archives, which holds a lot of similarities with Tehnofonika. Starting with Halftribe, which made it into my favs in 2016 and I adore so much, and keeping on the line with some high quality ambient, a soft beat here and there, very relaxing material, very crisp sound, very lucid feeling.

Halftribe - Daydreams in low fidelity

Purl - Emptiness is form

Shuta Yasukochi - Short stories

Last in this category, an album and a set from the label that will never fail to appear in my lists: Shimmering Moods. Starting with a very enchanting album. When I introduced this list I talked about eerie and alluring; this is what was in my mind. You feel in some weird space, everything renders mysterious. Closely linked to that feeling, the second link, a set they made, turned out to be very powerful to me: I played it to take a nap to it, it gave me a wonderful experience, carried me along my dream in a very nice trip that I will never forget. Enjoy the most beautiful thing of this world that is music, the most powerful thing we could have got in our hands.

Rime Trails - Solstice

@ Resonance Extra #16

The piano brothers: Melancholic modern classical

 To take a break from the dense soundscapes, a brief category dedicated to beautiful piano melodies.

Roger Eno - This floating world

Preview the whole album here.

Angus MacRae - Cry wolf

Into other worlds: Mysterious soundscapes
Getting lost into some dense feelings. A very beautiful album and two enchanting tracks. Very dense ambient, many layers, a heavy dream-like feeling; very strong introspective power.

Leaaves - First sickness

Foundling - Total disruption

Legowelt - Vanished in Tromso

- Paradigm shift: Losing old ground

Getting into more energetic grounds, way more beats than the previous categories. Four albums that bring the pace faster but still in the eerie grounds of other worlds. Still lost, still melancholic, going through IDM and techno, still layers of ambient, but eventually stepping out in some kind of violent way, ending with heavy acid beats.

Bandhagens Musikförening - Protokoll A

Arovane & Hior Chronik - Into my own

Various Artists - Hallucino Attics (Dissolved Re-constructed 2001-2006)

Various Artists - TM 100 Acid driller

+ Paradigm shift: Gaining new ground

Renewed energy. Lovely electronic music going through the same styles as the last category. Way more cheerful, this category features only stuff that will make your day brighter.

Four Tet - New energy

Whole album is here.

Sinan Alakus - Do me a solid

Doka - Konstrukt

Coppice Halifax - Plastic acre

Machine Girl - Xleepy

Recovery: The calm phase

Ambient for the renewed spirit. A smile on face. Contemplation. Starting with a wonderful mix that will live in my heart forever.

Ario/The Chi factory - Smoke Machine mix

David Helpling - A sea without  memory

Hyldýpi - Ljósvitund

Rhucle - Before it started raining

Tape Loop Orchestra - Instrumental transcommunications

Hear the preview here.

The curious geniuses: Making instant classics

This tiny category is for these two albums that I feel represent very well experimental electronic music. Highly harmonious, very playful. Reminds of early electronic music experimentation. Feels like kids molding sound and presenting it in a very pure form. 

Expect some analog goodness and organic sounds.

Cloudface - Variations

Visible Cloaks - Reassemblage

A majestic departure: The end

Happy new year : )