various / 14 tracks

The Best of 2012: Part Four

We finish 2012 at a juncture of pop, techno and avant-garde with 14 tracks that stuck in our heads all year. Respect is due to the masters, with Richard Youngs offering 'The Healing Of Everyone' on his stunning 'Core To The Brave' LP for Root Strata, Alice Cohen making '80s magic on OESB and Wolfgang Voigt at his Gas-like best with the 'Rückverzauberung' for Magazine. The dancefloor was taken to extremes by both Shackleton, with his debut album proper, plus Demdike Stare's modern classic, 'Falling Off The Edge' from the 'Elemental' LP, and the peerless tech-step rollige of 'Imperium' by Regis and Ancient Methods aka Ugandan Methods (exclusively available here). Pop zones were blurred by the near-cinematic efforts of Tropic Of Cancer and Dean Blunt, or the rhythm driven oddities of FAY and Gary War's Human Teenager, while the underground wave oscillated between Thought Broadcast's ultra-blunted 'Mad Tea Party', Pye Corner Audio's 'Palais Spectres' and the incredible electro-acoustic disciplines of Bee Mask. It's both unnecessary and fruitless to draw a line between all these artists, other than inferring a sense the future is to be found somewhere between the analog and digital realms, and that genre boundaries are increasingly pointless, built to be broken down however you see fit. Just make yourself acquainted and enjoy the holidays!