Saturday, December 31, 2011

SHREM'S 2011 COUNTDOWN OF CHOONS - 40-31

40 "Into You (French Fries Remix)" - Greenmoney feat. Roses Gabor - UK Funky number 1 diva and her 3rd appearance in my top 100 following the tracks with Buraka Som Sistema and SBTRKT, curious to see what 2012 might bring for this very special lady
Greenmoney - Into You (French Fries Remix) by MrFrenchFries

39 "Love on Top" - Beyoncé - Miss Knowles and her spectacular 5 key changes in this 1990's R'N'B flavoured true gem, the VMA performance remains the best vocal I heard all year!


38 "Indigo" - Azari & III - no news I am totally in love with this Toronto crew responsible for some of the freshest house sounds I heard in a decade!
Azari & III - Indigo by DISCODUST

37 "Prisoner Of Love" - Jessica 6 feat. Antony Hegarty - as anthemic as Hercules & Love Affair's "Blind", the exquisite nu disco queen Nomi Ruiz and the unusually discolicious Antony Hegarty - a dream team!


36 "Selfoss" - Gus Gus - icicle electronica, Nordic soundscapes with an accordion solo - a momentous opening to this year's best album: "Arabian Horse", a pompous piece in the most subtle and sublime way possible... GENIUS!


35 "Thunderbolt" - Björk - from my very first interaction with Björk's futuristic and spellbinding "Biophilia" I knew this was one of the stand-out tracks on her uncompromising 7th studio album


34 "Night or Day" - Cubic Zirconia feat. Bilal - enigmatic, moody and sexy, completely unique sound by the one and only NYC trio



33 "Caméleon Chameleon (Club Remix)" - Escort - this 17-piece disco crew has been gracing us with fantastic singles for the past 5 years but 2011 finally brought their debut album out announced by this joyful song
Escort - Caméleon Chameleon (Club Remix) by Escort Records

32 "Echoes" - Washed Out - chillwave wonder child and my personal favourite from his mesmerising debut album


31 "Bax" - Mosca - UK Club Music at its best, ecstatic, brazen and dirty!
Bax by DeejayMosca

Friday, December 30, 2011

SHREM'S DOUBLE TROUBLE: "FUNKY PEOPLE" - Blaze /// "LET ME BE YOUR UNDERWEAR" - Club 69



Two classic 1990's house singles which would still make we wanna dance at any given time and place. Looking at the results of this year's 2011 ranking of mine (still top 40 to be published) I'm reminded again that house really is my prime love in music. So here's ultra-funky legends of Blaze and oh so very camp and anthemic Kim Cooper and the fantabulous Club 69.





Thursday, December 29, 2011

SHREM'S 2011 COUNTDOWN OF CHOONS - 50-41

50 "MindKilla" - Gang Gang Dance - never thought Gang Gang Dance matching the utter-brilliance of their 2009 "House Jam" so quickly... Here's a phenomenal live version from 4AD Sessions I haven't shared here yet:


49 "Demon Lover" - Róisín Murphy feat. Wiley - La Murphy goes urban, just as well this never officially released song leaked otherwise perhaps we would have never had a chance to enjoy this pure dancefloor jewel as Róisín's 3rd solo album is looking less and less likely to be released at all... Grime superhero Wiley adds his bit too
Demon Lover (feat. Wiley) (Audio Monsters Remix) - Róisín Murphy by makemeadancer3

48 "Melting Ice" - Ladytron - immaculate melody, intricate harmonies and esoteric production - the strongest track on Ladytron's 5th album


47 "Blown Minded" - Young Galaxy - possibly the most beautiful melody composed in 2011, possibly maybe...


46 "Lights On" - Katy B feat. Ms Dynamite - even though I wasn't as enthusiastic about Katy B's debut album as the rest of the blogosphere, I was instantly hooked by this anthem of a collaboration with Ms Dy-Na-Mi-Tee


45 "Want A Gang" - Bonjay - as the dancehall reinventing duo themselves tweeted back to me "not one that many have shouted about, but one of our personal favourites. . ." Top Tune!
Bonjay - Want a Gang by snipelondon

44 "Lucid In the Sky" - Cubic Zirconia - last year's top 10 act (remember Slappy Josephine?) and their free download (via Scion A/V) which heralded their long anticipated debut album, it never actually made the final cut but remains one of my favourite tracks they recorded so far, Tiombe Lockheart gives a mesmerising vocal performance
Cubic Zirconia - Lucid In The Sky by ScionAV

43 "I Can Get Love" - Toro y Moi - get funky with Toro Y Moi's saturday night essential track taken from his precious "Freaking Out" EP


42 "N'wagezani My Love" - Zinja Hlungwani - South African electro piece that blew my mind at the beginning of the year, AMAZINGNESS!!!


41 "Within You" - Gus Gus
- we're already at number 41 and this is only the 1st out of 5 tunes by Icelandic veterans of electronica in my top 100, no surprise there as I have chosen "Arabian Horse" the best album of 2011 in my yesterday's ranking

Gus Gus - Within You by groovemusicstation


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

SHREM'S TOP 20 BEST ALBUMS OF 2011

20 "BLUE SONGS" - Hercules And Love Affair
TOP TUNE: "Painted Eyes"
LABEL: Moshi Moshi Records
MOST PLAYED: "My House"

19 "SOFT METALS" - Soft Metals
TOP TUNE: "Psychic Driving"
LABEL: Captured Tracks
MOST PLAYED:
"Psychic Driving"
18 "EYE CONTACT" - Gang Gang Dance
TOP TUNE: "MindKilla"
LABEL: 4AD
MOST PLAYED: "MindKilla"

17 "YOU STAND UNCERTAIN" - FaltyDL
TOP TUNE: "Voyager"
LABEL: Planet Mu
MOST PLAYED: "Brazil"

16 "ARABXILLA" - Aérea Negrot
TOP TUNE: "Todeloo"
LABEL: BPitch Control
MOST PLAYED:
"Todeloo"
15 "FOLLOW YOUR HEART" - Cubic Zirconia
TOP TUNE: "Cherry Nights" (feat. Coltrane)
LABEL: Fool's Gold Records
MOST PLAYED: "Night or Day" (feat. Bilal)

14 "UNDERNEATH THE PINE" - Toro y Moi
TOP TUNE: "New Beat"
LABEL: Carpark
MOST PLAYED: "Still Sound"

13 "MIRRORWRITING" - Jamie Woon
TOP TUNE: "Street"
LABEL: Polydor
MOST PLAYED: "Lady Luck"

12 "SBTRKT" - SBTRKT
TOP TUNE: "Pharaohs"
LABEL: Young Turks
MOST PLAYED: "Wildfire" (with Yukimi Nagano)

11 "RITUAL UNION" - Little Dragon
TOP TUNE: "Little Man"
LABEL: Peacefrog Holdings
MOST PLAYED: "Ritual Union"

10 "NEW LOOK" - New Look
TOP TUNE: "Nap on the Bow"
LABEL: !K7 Records
MOST PLAYED: "Nap on the Bow"

09 "WITHIN AND WITHOUT" - Washed Out
TOP TUNE: "Echoes"
LABEL: Domino Recording
MOST PLAYED: "Echoes"

08 "GRAVITY THE SEDUCER" - Ladytron
TOP TUNE: "Melting Ice"
LABEL: Nettwerk
MOST PLAYED: "White Elephant"

07 "GALACTIC MELT" - Com Truise
TOP TUNE: "VHS Sex"
LABEL: Ghostly International
MOST PLAYED: "Space Dust"

06 "BENT" - SSION
TOP TUNE: "Luvvbazaar"
LABEL: self released
MOST PLAYED:
"Luvvbazaar"
05 "ESCORT" - Escort
TOP TUNE: "Love in Indigo"
LABEL: Tirk
MOST PLAYED: "Cocaine Blues"

04 "BIOPHILIA" - Björk
TOP TUNE: "Crystalline"
LABEL: One Little Indian
MOST PLAYED: "Thunderbolt"

03 "SEE THE LIGHT" - Jessica 6
TOP TUNE: "In The Heat"
LABEL: Peacefrog Holdings
MOST PLAYED: "Prisoner of Love" (with Antony Hegarty)

02 "AZARI & III" - Azari & III
TOP TUNE: "Manic"
LABEL: Loose Lips Records
MOST PLAYED: "Reckless"

01 "ARABIAN HORSE" - Gus Gus
TOP TUNE: "Over"
LABEL: Kompakt
MOST PLAYED: "Over"


SHREM'S CLUB BIZARRE INTRODUCING: "Amanaemonesia" - Chairlift


Ernest Greene aka Washed Out doesn't stop to amaze me this year. Not only that he recorded easily one of this year's most memorable albums (check out the whole top 20 later on today), he's also treated us to an iTunes exlusive set full of his favourite tracks - a super-eclectic playlist where Aphex Twin, P.M. Dawn, Mayer Hawthorne and OMD play back-2-back. Finally earlier on this week, while browsing through Pitchfork's guest lists, I have discovered Washed Out's top tracks of 2011 where I found this absolute gem. No other single this year sounded (and looked!) quite like this...


Tuesday, December 27, 2011

SHREM'S 2011 COUNTDOWN OF CHOONS - 60-51

60 "Little Man" - Little Dragon - 3rd and final track by the multi-talented Swedes in my chart, Miss Yukimi still my number 1 girl crush after all these years...


59 "Fun Girl" - Jessica 6 - it really was a sensational year for Miss Nomi Ruiz, her collaborations with Eli Escobar and Beni, her style, her dj-sets and above all Jessica 6's debut album filled with true gems like this one:



58 "Someone's Watching Me" - Midnight Magic - Tiffany Roth recorded some of the most spectacular and discolicious vocals in 2011! From "What The Eyes Can't See" aka the nu-disco EP of the year!
Someone's Watching Me by Midnight Magic


57 "Lointain" - Popular Computer - French Touch at its freshest, from Monsieur Ordinateur's (as I call him) brand new EP packed with anthemic mixes, can't wait for the whole album to drop!
Popular Computer - Lointain by popularcomputer

56 "White Elephant" - Ladytron - it's hard to believe this Liverpool based quartet managed to release their 5th album in a row without any disappointments... Reliable for over a decade now and this isn't the highest peaking track from "Gravity The Seducer" yet...


55 "No Limit (Nathan G Deeper Vocal Mix)" - Nathan G & Blackfrog feat. Byron Stingily - one of the juiciest house tracks of the past few years, missed out on it completely in 2010 here it is in my ranking of 2011 instead... My rules are quite adjustable and flexible as you can see. Mr Byron-Come-On-Get-Up-Everybody-Stingily delivers delicious vocals too!
54 "Vanguardian" - Steed Lord - what a year for Icelandic music, Gus Gus, Steed Lord and Björk share 10% of the entire chart!
Steed Lord - Vanguardian by Steed Lord

53 "Temperature Rising" - Brenmar - An extremely tempting invitation to dance with this 2-step/garage/uk funky + house potion of pure dancefloor heaven. Temperature rising indeed.


52 "Lady Luck" - Jamie Woon - quite simply the most beautiful male voice I've heard this year... And don't get me started on Woon's superiority over the much over-rated James Blake!


51 "Can't Shake This Feeling (Grum Club Mix)" - Grum - no one does cheesy 80's sounds nowadays as convincingly as team Grum, it's uncanny!
Cant Shake This Feeling (Grum Club Remix) by Heartbeats Records