Release Of The Year 2014

Its late enough in the game that I feel I can confidently put my finger on my personal top release of the year, despite the potential for me to be proven wrong by some seminal and standout release yet to come. Certainly something truly phenomenal would have to come out in December, and I think it unlikely that anything will have the sublime distinctiveness and impeccable polish to dethrone this year’s selection, which is why I am jumping the gun ever so slightly here. That, and because I really want to adulate here and I can be a man of minimal restraint, especially in relation to things I am so very passionate about.

2014 was a fantastic year, overall, for dance music. For starters, I am of the personal opinion that we are seeing the beginnings of a decline in the EDM phenomenon in the States (cue vigorous applause), both because it has become well and truly out of hand – increasingly seeming a satire of itself – and because I am personally noticing a slight trend towards rather more aesthetic and measured forms of electronic music, perhaps best exemplified by the widespread popularity of Disclosure. Dubstep in particular seems to have experienced something of a revolution towards an older sound that is more focused on understated, sternum-crushing bass and skanking grooves than the abrasive squealing of the electronic death-metal/pop derivation it became in the last half decade. Meanwhile the “Big Room” fad seems to have achieved new highs both in the potential popularity of EDM, and it’s capacity for unutterably shallow, commercial, and contrived artistic merit. It is this gratuitous genre that most makes me question whether or not these fans can actually still be taking this stuff seriously. I reckon for every disillusioned Martin Garrix fan there is an individual who is going to seek out more underground music, and has the potential to get past the tip of the immense iceberg that is dance music and dive down that deep, deep rabbit hole.

Carl Cox had a rather widely circulated quote from a Mixmag interview this year that I think sums things up very nicely, not to mention positively:

For me, there was a ton of good stuff from a lot of places. Drumcode was particularly prolific, with the A-Sides Vol. II compilations as well as excellent material from Paganini, Zahn, Fitzpatrick, and Beyer himself. There was also Gesloten Cirkel’s absolutely incredible debut LP Submit X, decidedly a runner up to my favourite release of the year.

Another major honorable mention in the Techno department needs to go to DVS1 for his effort on the 13th Klockworks release, including what is tentatively my top single track of the year, the incredible Black Russian.

I also felt it was something of a breakthrough year for G-House, with Shiba San’s incredibly well received Okay on Dirtybird and various excellent efforts from Amine Edge & Dance, Destructo, Vanilla Ace, the Beatangers, and Thee Cool Cats. There was even some great Hip-Hop, including Freddie Gibbs’ Piñata, El & Mike’s second Run The Jewels release, and the fantastic underground Crow / Horn from 18+, released on none other than Houndstooth.

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But one thing stands above all this, this year…

Leon Vynehall’s Mini LP/Double EP, Music For The Uninvited.

Vynehall made a name for himself in 2013 with the Open EP, which included the unique dancefloor weapon Step or Stone Breath or Bone. Early this year he really proved his value though, and I am incredibly excited to see what he comes out with in 2015.

Music For The Uninvited was and is incredibly well-liked in the House and dance music community, and deservedly so. Tinged with a lovely, warm, sensual lo-fi sound it is an extremely distinctive journey beginning to end, from the sublimely arranged Cello in Inside The Deku Tree (courtesy of the very talented Eagles With Hands) right up to the gorgeous textures and meandering bassline of downtempo gem St. Sinclair. It is vivacious without being bombastic, understated without lacking impact. It is simultaneously accessible and appealing while remaining underground and really, we can’t ask more than that.

From the first moment I heard the organically overwhelming affair that is Deku Tree, before the LPs release, I was totally sold. I listened that track to death on Aliasizm’s Youtube channel, and when the album finally dropped I was too thrilled for words. When I finally got to listen to it back to front, I was speechless. So often, truly great art music grows on you over time, with repeated listens, until it is stenciled into your heart. This album did that but it did it while also blowing me away on the very first listen.

Every track is pristine, but of particular note is the beautiful, string-driven deep house joint Be Brave, Clench Fists (A Godspeed You, Black Emperor song title if I ever heard one) and what is widely regarded as the release’s high point, Its Just (House Of Dupree) which really showcases Vynehall’s whimsical style with its psychadelic summer synth-n-samples vibe. Genuinely though, every track is absolute class and that fact is a major contributor to the release taking my personal top of the year spot, along with its incredibly distinctive, forward-thinking House feel.

Not content to sit on his laurels, Vynehall followed this up with a single on Clone Royal Oak, proving that Uninvited was no fluke with the absolutely brilliant Butterflies. And here’s a shocker for you – the B-Side is great too.

These Youtube uploads really don’t tell the story, so go and grab yourself a copy of Music For The Uninvited, and here’s a hint – get it on wax. You can do this at Discogs, although I believe deejay.de still has it in stock. You can also cop it on Amazon for $6.00 if you’re lacking in the turntable department.

http://www.deejay.de/30240242X12_-_Leon_Vynehall_-_Music_For_The_Uninvited_2x12_-_Vinyl__142190

http://www.discogs.com/Leon-Vynehall-Music-For-The-Uninvited-/release/5503794

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Uninvited-Leon-Vynehall/dp/B00IZLP3NK

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