I would start off with 'well it's that time of year again', when in fact that time was about 3 weeks ago. But here's my 2012 list nevertheless, better late than never and all that. Yes, it's in some sort of order, and yes there are 2 mixtapes and a best of in there, so deal with it. Saying that I will probably have forgotten something and disagree with this as soon as I've pressed post. Oh well. Enjoy and disagree...
21. Polica - Give You The Ghost
Favourite track: Dark Star
20. Grizzly Bear - Shields
Favourite track: Sleeping Ute
19. Plan B - Ill Manors
Favourite track - Ill Manors
18. Nas - Life Is Good
Favourite track: Nasty
17. Purity Ring - Shrines
Favourite track: Lofticries
16. Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
Favourite track: Petur
15. Django Django - Django Django
Favourite track: Hail Bop
14. Yeasayer - Fragrant World
Favourite track: Reagan's Skeleton
13. Bat For Lashes - The Haunted Man
Favourite track: Laura
12. Hot Chip - In Our Heads
Favourite track: Flutes
11. Passion Pit - Gossamer
Favourite track: Talk A Walk
10. Alt - J - An Awesome Wave
Favourite track: Something Good
9. Grimes - Visions
Favourite track: Oblivion
8. Hodgy Beats - Untitled (Mixtape)
Favourite track: In A Dream
7. Japandroids - Celebration Rock
Favourite track: The House That Heaven Built
6. DJ Shadow - Reconstructed (Best of)
Favourite track: Midnight In A Perfect World
5. The XX - Coexist
Favourite track: Fiction
4. Kendrick Lamar - good kid m.a.a.d city
Favourite track: Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst
There has been no one faster rising in the past year or so than Frank Ocean. From the most hyped hip-hop group of recent years, Odd Future, Frank Ocean has created his own and deserved presence. This presence has seen a critically acclaimed mixtape, followed by an equally acclaimed debut album and collaborations with Jay Z and Kanye West. He notably also was perhaps the first R&B/hip-hop to come out as bi-sexual, a massive step for the industry. His rise seems to have hit new heights the past 24 hours as he was given the honor of the opening show of Saturday Night Live's latest season, performing with John Mayer, smashing it. And then releasing his latest, in a string of amazing videos, for Pyramids.
See his performance on SNL of Pyramids (top) and Thinkin' About You (above). And then below is the video for Pyramids, which see a rather trippy Frank ride across the desert and into a strip club, full of some very bootilicious, yet slightly creepy girls.
Frank Ocean, of Odd Future fame, came out today. A huge step for hip-hop and gay rights. But what intrigued me the most was how beautifully he did it. Frank used all the tools in his songwriting quota to put together an elequent and vivid explanation.
Almost anything that comes from the hands, mouths and minds of Kanye and Jay-Z needs to be recognised and I was lucky enough to experience this first hand last week. I finally got to see the two of them live at London's O2, and wow. Just WOW. It was an incredible night, such energy, such experience, such skill. It was truly one of the best gigs I've ever been too, and my respect for the two grew even higher.
A few of the images from their latest video, No Church In The Wild (featuring Frank Ocean) were displayed on huge screens as Ye and Hov stood and stared accompanied by "What a wonderful world" in the background. Epic stuff. However saying that, I feel that this is the weakest from WTT yet. That's not to say it's bad, these boys set the bar high - it doesn't get much higher - it just doesn't quite work with the song or as a video for me, and that's a shame. Nevertheless it is still a good video and director Romain Gavras did a good job. But that's just it, it's good, when we all expect greatness.
Each year the holy BBC puts together a list of their music predictions for the upcoming year. This list is based on a range of musical knowing people from critics, broadcasters, reviewers and other people with ears. Past results have suggested that the predictions are pretty spot on as Adele, Ellie Goulding and Keane are all previous winners (even if Jessie J did win it last year).
This year I can say that I am thoroughly impressed and pleased with the top three results this year; Azealia Banks, Frank Ocean and winner Michael Kiwanuka.
3. Azealia Banks
Azealia Banks blew up and she blew up with one song, 212. As soon as I heard the song I loved it and everything about. Rhyming obscenities whilst wearing a Mickey Mouse jumper is quite a way to get attention. Team that up with a great beat (that she stole from Lady Jay - Lady Jay was not happy about this), some chicken dancing and a whole lot of attitude and you've got a hell of a tune. With other songs, such as Liquorice and team up with the Scissor Sisters, she's proving that she is definitely not a one hit wonder. If she stays true to her roots, there could be one hell of an album here.
2. Frank Ocean
Now people have big first years, and then people have a year like Frank Ocean. His group, Odd Future, exploded onto the scene in a big old ball of hype and some individuals of the group, most notably Tyler The Creator and Frank Ocean showed the world their solo work. Not only did Frank have one of the most critically acclaimed albums, Nostalgia Ultra, of the year that he gave away for free, he featured on possibly one of the biggest albums of the year, Watch The Throne. You know, the one with Kanye West and Jay-Z. Yeah, that one. Imagine getting that call.
Despite this year, he still comes across as humble and intelligent, and this is reflected in his song writing. He, along with The Weeknd, made me like R&B. Yep. The guy not only writes great lyrics, but also produces great beats and puts together some amazing videos, namely in the form of Novacane and Swim Good. A serious, serious talent.
Michael Kiwanuka
The first time I heard Michael Kiwanuka was on Jools Holland and was instantly taken by his voice. Admittedly, I've listen to his less than the others but I still love his voice. It's smooth, soulful and he clearly knows his way around a guitar. Like Ocean, he comes across as humble and hardworking, and also like Ocean, he has received a phone call from Jay-Z. It looks like Hov still knows his talent. Not only from his say-so, but also from Michael's music you can tell that there is a variety of influences in, which makes it all the more interesting to listen to that a standard singer-songwriter. It should make the album a interesting and complete listen, can't wait.
This was a treat to come back from holiday to. The Odd Future boys are making some serious moves, Tyler is winding everybody up and winning a Moonman, Hodgy Beats is producing some serious stuff and Frank Ocean has produced one of the first R&B albums I have liked in a long time. Swim Good is probably the showpiece track from his album Nostalgia/Ultra, and it has finally got some pretty epic visuals. It's directed by Nabil would was also behind the Bon Iver Holocene video which was another treat for your eyes. And he's done it again with Frank Ocean, it doesn't all make sense, but why should we care?
I felt the need for this song to be in this week's post so much, I had to scougre the internet, download it and then quickly mash together a very poor Youtube video. This song makes no excuses. It just goes for it. It's a catchy, party rock song and I absolutely love it for that. It's only 2 minutes long, but that will more than do.
Drake - Headlines
So yeah this song has pretty much taken the internet by storm, and with good reason. It's Drake back to what he does best, putting some slick words over a simple beat, and he knows how to make that formula work better than most.
Frank Ocean - Thinking About You
Frank Ocean is certainly riding on the well deserved hype wave he's found himself on since Odd Future blew up all over everyones faces. The guy can seriously write a song, and he can then seriously sing those words. I'm from an R&B fan but this boy is putting some fresh talent into the genre.
Laura Marling - Sophia
Speaking of talented people, the English singer songwriter Laura Marling is here with yet another beautiful song to gently please our ears. The modest and hardworking Marling is gradually creeping into the nations hearts and rightfully so, and songs like this are going to do her no harm.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Odd Future's got talent. It may not be a talent you particularly adhere to, but you definitely should appreciate it. Though Frank Ocean didn't direct his latest video himself, I'm sure he was right in there with the styling and content of it. It's a great reflection of the song as it gets inside it's dark and murky lyrics and brings that to a visual status.
Say what you like about Tyler The Creator, and many have, but the kids is a talent. Maybe his raps about rape and suicide or his videos featuring him eating cockroaches doesn't prove this to you, but be patient and watch, this boy will shine to all.
This video for his track with Frank Ocean, She, was directed by Tyler himself and gives him a chance to show off his diversity. It's far from the simple, yet dark as blackest marker, video that was Yonker, there's comedy in there as well as some well thought out shot.
And Tyler is scary as hell at the end.
Keep watching.
Another great visual feast for your eyes, this time from Odd Future's Frank Ocean. This video has some beautiful shots and top editing and is a world apart from Tyler's Yonkers, and so it should be. I love the colours and filters used in the video and the credit must go to director Dave Wilson. Enjoy.
Wow, 50 that's kind of special. Thanks to everyone that checks out the blog every week, or even more often, it really does mean a lot. And thanks for everyone who puts up with my shameless plugging on Twitter and Facebook. It's a pretty huge dance special (almost entirely) this week for you. Here we go.
Toddla T - Take It Back (Dillon Francis Remix)
It’s amazing what a remix can do to a song, sometimes it takes some of the original and just freshens it up a bit, sometimes it can completely destroy a song and there’s the times that it completely transforms it into a new beast. The original Toddla T track featuring Shola Ama and J2K, is ok, just ok. However when Dillion Francis got his mucky mits on it, the song went straight from just ok to incredible. This track does everything I want it to, just when I want it to. Needless to say it’s been on repeat.
Jakwob - Right Beside You
Jakwob is one of my favourite producers and has been for some time now, whether it’s with his remixes or tracks under his own name, it’s always some special. Jakwob always seems to manage to produce soemthing new and different from everyone else, yet strangely familiar. Great new track.
DJ Fresh - Louder
Remember Gold Dust? Remember how good that tune was? Well DJ Fresh is back with Louder, a song that you’ll likely to become pretty familiar with over the next few weeks. Not only will it be all over the radio, but it’s also backing the latest Lucozade advert. I don’t think it quite lives upto Gold Dust, but it’s a big summer tune anyways.
The Bullitts - Landspeeder
Here we are, back to some hip hop. And what a way to come back. This is the latest installment from the hip hop project, The Bullitts. Another fantastic, cinematic effort, it is definitely the sort of thing that can be expected in the future from a projected that includes Jay Electronica, Mos Def and a narration from Lucy Liu. I simply can’t wait to hear the finished article, it’s truly going to be something special.
Tyler The Creator and Frank Ocean - She
When I first heard Frank Ocean, I wasn’t really sure how he fitted into Odd Future, but this track with OF front man Tyler shows that they can go hard and soft, all in the same song. An impressive effort from a group that continue to impress and will do so for a long time.
Wednesday?? I know, I'm sorry. I've been in London the last few days, mainly to see City and Colour (more of that is to come later), so this is the first chance I've had to catch up. But never fear, it is definitely worth the wait.
Skrillex - Slats Slats Slats
Straight in there, this is how to start off this week's post: some electro-dub dance from DJ Skrillex. I've literally had this tune on repeat all week. I love the rhythms, the contrast of dub and trance horns, the way it bounces around all of the place. It's just so perfect for summer, just imagine this with some cider and sun. See?
Lower Than Atlantis - Motorway of Life
And whilst the tempo's high, Lower Than Atlantis. It's rare for a band in this genre to sound this good live, trust me I've seen of them, and with another track from their new album it only makes me want to see them more. It's nothing boundary stretching, but sometimes it's good to sit in the familiar.
Tom Vek - A Chore
Yeah Tom Vek is back, pretty much from out of the blue. It's a great comeback single coupled with a cool video. Just enjoy, the man is back.
Frank Ocean - Swim
If you know Odd Future, then you'll probably know of Tyler, Hodgy Beats and Earl, but here's the latest talent to emerge from the gang, Frank Ocean. Have a listen. Yes he really is in Odd Future, I know. It doesn't really make sense, this is so not OF, but it really shows the diversity and talent this group has in there, which will only continue their destruction and dominance of the music industry.
