various / 14 tracks

The Best of 2012: Part Three

This 3rd part of our annual round-up checks a spectrum of lushly melodic and heavy psychedelic electronics orbiting the dimensions of 4.1 world ambient, trance techno, psyche-dub and those hard-to-place integers that don't have a name yet. At one extreme we find Gnod calling for drum machine reinforcements on the psychoactive epic 'Shitting Through The Eye Of A Needle In A Haystack', and at the other Lorenzo Senni's breathless ascendance, 'Digital '√ı Tzunami' - ostensibly hailing from different spheres, yet with similarly transcendent ideals. Within that imagined space between, Laurel Halo's incredible, Æ-esque 'Carcass' was a regular in our playlists, while Rob Lowe aka Lichens astonished with the off-planet electro-dub of 'M'Bondo', which strangely shared something in common with Regis's optimised Ike Yard remix. Meanwhile, Holly Herndon dazzled with the hi-tech trancer 'Fade' - possibly the most obvious, yet gratifying cut from a hugely diverse debut LP - and our hearts were repeatedly melted by the subtle beauty of 1991's debut album. Our favourite ambient bits of the year came from Madalyn Merkey with the fluttering bliss of her 'Scent' LP, while Ital's remix for Awesome Tapes From Africa blurred the borders between Afro-futurism and lo-fi electronics with terrifically individual results.