Shayne's Top 10 Albums of 2013

Welcome back to the quietest blog on the interweb, Supersonic Speakerbox! It seems we have taken a bit of a hiatus from blogging in the past few months, due to a rare paradoxical combination of extreme business and extreme laziness. Nevertheless, we return triumphantly, and congratulate ourselves for existing for over a year now! And we've had a cheeky little facelift to kick off the new year too. Great success!

Holy smokes! What a year for music! 2013 turned out to be one of the most exciting, diverse and memorable years in recent music history, with plenty of comebacks from established artists and many more new artists bursting onto the scene and treating us with never-before-heard sound explosions. There was so much out-of-the-box music released last year that it seems people have finally just decided to throw the box away! So without further explanation, here are my favourite 10 albums of 2013.


10.Outrun by Kavinski

Outrun (and Kavinsky's music as a whole) has a very distinct sound and feel to it and is somewhat conceptually driven. The concept is that Kavinsky was killed in a road accident in 1986 after crashing his Ferrari Testarossa, and has now come back as an electronic-music-making zombie. Rather far-fetched, but it helps in understanding the sound. His music almost sounds as if it could be a soundtrack for an 80's car-chase movie, and when listening to any one of the tracks it is almost impossible not to picture an old school red Ferrari driving at full speed in the night time through the streets. Not quite for the clubs but the sound is really appealing to me, he has really captured the 80's action movie/video game vibe but in a cool modern way and this music seems perfect for cruising around in your car at night wearing sunglasses (sunglasses not recommended). Not every track on the album is a winner, some get rather repetitive, but standouts include Odd Look (co-produced by SebastiAn), ProtoVision, First Blood, and of course the unmistakable 2010 electronic classic Nightcall.


9. Brand New Machine by Chase & Status

The drum & bass gods are back with their third album, and have duly showered us with blessings. On this LP, the duo really showcase their versatility in production, and prove that not only can they make excellent Dn'B, but just about everything else in between. With a wide variety of guest features ranging from Major Lazer to Nile Rogers, the album is punctuated with satisfying and diverse vocals that range from gangsta rhyme styles to soulful crooning. Surprisingly, their expert beats themselves are even more diverse than the guest artists; these guys can make anything it seems, Chase & Status are slowly defying classification when it comes to genre. Brand New Machine contains everything from Dn'B to UK garage styles to trap and bass to soulful mellow electronica to futuristic hip hop beats, there's something for everyone on this album. My favourite track would have to be the Major Lazer collaboration Pressure, that seductively dark and groovy bassline! Almost snapped my booty in half!


8. Damage Control by Mat Zo

Although I generally tend to stay away from anything termed "EDM" these days, this particular artist caught my attention in a big way. This is no run-of-the-mill EDM effort, it is an exploration of dance music, with so many different textures and influences that it just manages to escape classification, a distinction which (in my opinion) separates visionary music from niche music. Mat Zo's Damage Control is so thoroughly enjoyable and pure; there are moments of sonic beauty, dirty beats to get down to and a generally eclectic mix of awesomeness that is rare to find in a market filled with fleeting throw-away dancefloor hits. Not only does it have some serious bangers, but is interspersed with delicious and carefully constructed interludes that just make you want more. Having been 4 years in-the-making, one can definitely tell that this album was a labour of love, and more electronic artists should take a page out of Mat Zo's extremely colourful and intelligent book.


7. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 by Eminem

The self-crowned Rap God made a triumphant return in 2013 with the sequel to his massively successful Marshall Mathers LP released way back in 2000. MMLP2 shows us a different side of Slim Shady, older, wiser and on less drugs. Sounds boring? Definitely not, as Mr Mathers is still as talented as ever. If anything, this album showcases his lyrical ability more than ever. There are so many rhymes, so many lyrics and punchlines, that you don't even catch most of the nuances of his brilliant raps on the first listen. While some of the beats are less impressive, Slim is still as witty and entertaining as ever, and without exxagerating, there probably isn't an MC in the world who could beat him in a battle, he has truly mastered his craft. The fact that there is only one other guest MC on the album is telling of the fact that not many out there can come close to him, and the fact that it is Kendrick Lamar tells you just how good you have to be to get on an Eminem album at this stage in his career.


6. Afraid of Heights by Wavves

The third LP from Wavves brings back that winning combination that makes them so interesting to listen to: their music is kind of paradoxical, in that the music itself has a really happy uptempo punk vibe to it, but the lyrics are really dark, depressing and apathetic in an "everything is stupid, life sucks" kinda way (and unfortunately are quite relatable sometimes). This combination makes for some intriguing and really catchy music, especially if you are into surf-rock/punk/grunge blends with emo lyrics. I get the feeling that Wavves like to make fun music to get away from their apparently depressing lives, and one can often hear lyrical gems that (sadly) reflect the disheartened, bored and hopeless attitudes of our generation. But fuck it, let's just go surf.


5. Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend

The critically acclaimed third release from indie darlings Vampire Weekend is so acclaimed for a reason: its really really good! With many publications naming it as album of the year, Modern Vampires of the City is a brilliant piece of work, both musically and lyrically, and sees the band maturing thematically. The album deals with themes of growing-up, disillusionment, religion, mortality, relationships and more. Not only do these tracks deal with these complex themes in a mature and original way, but they're also catchy as hell! There are so many musical influences that merge together so seamlessly to form music that is joyous even in it's moments of melancholy. Modern Vampires of the City is a mature and complex album that is disguised in the brilliant simplicity of it's musicality. My favourite pick from the bunch would have to be the eloquent Ya Hey, a beautifully structured and sincere conversation with God.


4. Run The Jewels by Run The Jewels

This debut from rap duo Run The Jewels really blew me away. Comprising of Killer Mike (who you may recognise from his many collaborations with the mighty Outkast) and rapper/producer El-P, whom have both worked with each other in the past, the two decided to make a kick-ass album together and release it for free! Their combination is explosive, as the duo exchange spitfire rhymes over El-P's banging underground beats, an aggressive, infectious and head-nod-inducing combination of electronic elements and sounds from old school hip hop canons. Lyrically the two are on top form, with Killer Mike showing us his skills as a lesser-known veteran in the game, with rhymes that are clever, relevant, humourous and thought-provoking. The impressive lyrical potency on this album stems from the combined experience of these two MC's, and the phat beats anchor their bad-ass sound. Apperently a follow-up is in the works for 2014, I excite!


3. Settle by Disclosure

Name one party you went to last year where you didn't hear a Disclosure tune play? Even if you can, it was probably a really lame party and you should find cooler people to hang out with. These two brothers have taken the dance music world by storm with their unique take on the UK garage/house sound, making tunes that feel just as comfortable in your living room as they do so well in the clurrb. They have managed to revive and reinvigorate the unique sounds of 90's UK garage-house and have done so in style, this music is so funky and danceable that you can play the whole record from start to finish without a dull moment. 2013 was a big year for Disclosure, with the success of Settle causing everyone to want to work with them from Mary J Blige to Lorde. Watch out 2014, the Disclosure brothers are going to be doing big big things if the phenomenal Settle is anything to judge by.


2. Yeezus by Kanye West

Perhaps the most polarising album of the year, Kanye West's Yeezus either excited you or made you want to turn it off and run away to live in the countryside. Safe to say, I don't live in the countryside. Unorthodox, experimental, aggressive and dark, the controversial Yeezus introduced us to a new disturbing sound from the mad genius that is Kanye West. The album breaks so many traditions and boundaries and has such bizarre moments that one begins to wonder if this is even hip hop anymore. But Kanye has never been one for conforming, and with his 6th album has managed to "break the glass ceiling" as he puts it. An evolution in popular music, Kanye shows us that when it comes to creativity, its best to forget about the rules. The raw, industrial, electronic and insane music of Yeezus is nothing short of avant-garde, and even if you prefer Mr West's earlier 'lighter' work, you gotta respect the bad-assery and progressive thinking behind this killer album.


1. Random Access Memories by Daft Punk

What can I say, I love this album! Easily my favourite album of the year; it's a masterpiece of modern music, with every single aspect and detail finely crafted and beautifully executed to "give life back to music". Daft Punk's ode to the disco origins of dance music found them creating an LP entirely with live instrumentation to celebrate the work of their predecessors and the musical foundation that inspired them. Enlisting the help of some of the best studio musicians around the world, young and old, Daft Punk created compositions with so much soul, life and energy that it sounded like it came from outer space, even though it was made right here on Earth, using techniques that have existed for decades. Music this good would inevitably dominate the charts due to its supreme quality, and the Robots were even rewarded for their stellar effort with the the highly coveted Best Album Award at the 2014 Grammys. The fact that I can still listen to this record almost a year later is testament to how excellent and timeless it is. A classic.



And that's it folks, those are the albums that gave me so much listening pleasure in 2013. There were of course a few albums that didn't manage to make the Top 10, but with so much great music being released last year, it was difficult to decide! The following is list of quality and noteworthy albums that did not make the cut:

• The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake
• Aleph by Gesaffelstein
• Bankrupt! by Phoenix
• Body Music by AlunaGeorge
• Three Second Memory by Goldfish
• Electric Lady by Janelle Monae

I hope that 2014 can exceed the awesome musical expectations set by 2013, and that Supersonic Speakerbox will continue (or, ahem, resume) to bring you the freshest and most innovative beats and sounds that give our lives so much spice.


Shayne

Random Access Memories

I officially declared this past week to be unofficially declared Daft Punk week, with the release of their highly anticipated (understatement) fourth studio album, Random Access Memories. Although much of the interweb has already had to say what they want to say about their latest work, Supersonic Speakerbox would also like to share our opinion, as avid and long-time Daft Punk fans (but then again, who isn't?).

Random Access Memories is nothing short of a game-changer in my opinion, but I suppose time will reveal this to be true or not. Daft Punk had allegedly been working on this record since 2008, but the mysterious duo had somehow managed to keep it under wraps until a few months before it was released, accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign and general internet hype-mania. Every new 10 seconds of a song that may or may not have been from the album was looped and remixed and played ad nauseum (see here), and people simply could not wait to hear the final thing for themselves. So was it worth all the fuss? Worth all the tears and sleepless nights yearning and trawling the internet for a new snippet? Worth selling your internal organs to get a pre-released version from a Columbian smuggler? Worth breaking into Thomas Bangalter's house with a crowbar and some blank re-writable CD's on a quiet French evening? Yes! Yes it was!

From what I have heard and what people have told me, it seems that you either love or hate this album. When listening to it, it helps a lot to understand the background, development and concept behind it, as it is somewhat of a concept album. The Robots intended to go back to a time where music sounded like it was still made by human beings, sick and tired of today's over saturated mechanical musical landscape, especially in the now massive EDM scene that they themselves helped create. This involved going back to the very conception of electronic music, the Disco era. This was a time when producers like Giorgio Moroder began to use the synthesizer in the composition of popular music, not knowing what impact it would eventually have, and this little narrative forms part of the 3rd song on the album, Giorgio By Moroder, a nice way to explain the context for us people who weren't alive in the 1970's. And with this frame of reference, Daft Punk set out to make the album using live instrumentation almost entirely.

And this ladies and gentlemen is why I believe that Random Access Memories may very well become a game-changer as I mentioned earlier, when arguably the biggest name in electronic music today make music without the use of electronics as we've come to know it to be. This music has soul, feeling, texture, and emotion that so many of its contemporaries lack. And it is for this reason that so many people (myself included) will love it, but it is for that same reason that so many people will dislike it as well. I suppose it depends on your taste, but the average young listener will give comments like "it sounds so old, my parents would listen to this". But we won't worry about these people for now, back to the music...

Give Life Back To Music, the album's groovy opening track states exactly what Daft Punk intended on doing, and while the music of RAM may not be exactly what DP fans are used to, it is always distinctly Daft Punky on every track. I personally have been listening to this CD on repeat almost every day, I can't seem to get enough of it's infectious grooves and jams on the more up-tempo tracks, and the soulful and emotional melodies on the slower tempo's. I am not really qualified or knowledgeable enough to be able to tell you about all the beautifully crafted musicality on the album, created by collaborating with a wide array of top-class session musicians and recording artists, but what I can tell you is that this is good music. Even if it is not your favourite style or genre, you can still appreciate all the effort that went into it's creation and admire what they are trying to achieve, and decide for yourself whether or not they achieved it.

At this point I will usually say which are my favourite cuts from the record, and although there are a few standouts, I would have to say the entire album as a whole. Man these tunes are far too groovy for my young bones to handle. If you are a true Daft Punk fan, there is no way you will be disappointed. One of the best things about them is that they hide their identities behind their iconic helmets, so that nobody gets caught up in the celebrity glitz and glamour, its just about the music. Music given to us by two sublime, mysterious and enigmatic French robots who seem to have come from another world, to give life back to music.

Shayne

Daft Punk - No End (We Plants Are Happy Plants Remix)

Mmmm... Intersting events... If you don't know anything about the hype around the new Daft Punk album dropping sometime this year, then let me inform you. The mysterious, robotic men Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter known as Daft Punk signed a new record deal with Columbia records and disco-funk icon Nile Rodgers said this "The next time (April 2013) I set foot in Japan, my collaboration with Daft Punk would have started to hit people's eardrums." There have also been other names that have been confirmed to have worked on the album which seems almost certain to drop this year.

The last time these French electronic superstars dropped an album was in 2005 in "Human after All". Its been way too long. As if this wasn't enough to get people excited, Daft Punk released a 15 second teaser on Saturday Night Live which could be a preview of whats to come on the album. This clip caused a huge internet and social network buzz with #NoEnd even trending on twitter. There have been DJ's that have taken that 15 second teaser and have created extended versions and remixes, most notably We Plants Are Happy Plants. However we have no idea what to expect from these guys.

SSSB are huge fans of these Daft Punks and hopefully this album will live up to the hype surrounding it. #NoEnd

Below is the 15 second teaser played on SNL and the extended version that We Plants Are Happy Plants have created.






Tozz