1.
2. Confusion
Favorite Albums:
Rich Gang - Tha Tour Pt. 1
FKA twigs - LP1
St. Vincent - St. Vincent
La Roux - Trouble in Paradise
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
Favorite Songs:
T.I. ft. Young Thug - "About the Money"
FKA twigs - "Pendulum"
Rich Gang ft. Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan - "Imma Ride"
La Roux - "Sexotheque"
Boogie -"Bitter Raps"
DP - "Jabar"
Future - "Hardly"
Lykke Li - "Just Like a Dream"
Rustie ft. Danny Brown -"Attak"
King Louie - "Live & Die in Chicago"
Favorite New Artists:
Kwamie Liv
Tobias Jesso Jr.
D.R.A.M.
DP
Kevin Abstract
Favorite Music Moment:
I don't love concerts. I never have. I'm not a people person, so the idea of being in a packed room with a bunch of strangers all fighting for a good view of the stage is just not my favorite thing in the world. That being said, there's something undeniably powerful about witnessing another human being make music right in front of your eyes, and this year I had plenty of great experiences with live music. Shout out to No Ceilings.
But my favorite experience with live music wasn't at a concert, it was at a performance under a bridge in Central Park. We were shooting a video with Kwamie Liv, and we couldn't book a wine cellar so we ventured a few blocks from the office and found the nearest tunnel. This video stuff was still new to me, so I wasn't sure if this was going to work. As we were setting up, people were walking by, the noises of NYC were echoing through the space, and to top it all off, Kwamie was saying that her guitar was out of tune. And then she started playing Tom Waits' "Fish & Bird."
I already gushed about this moment in detail here, but when I think back on 2014, that's still the moment that stands out to me. Being so immersed in music and writing about it every day, I've started to think about it differently. I'm still in love with music as much as ever, but I have less of those true fan moments. When I'm at shows or meeting artists, I'm usually thinking about taking notes or remembering little things that I can write about later. I'm looking at it as part of my job, not something I'm there to enjoy. But something about watching Kwamie Liv under that bridge had me lost in the moment. For that moment, I got to be a fan for a few minutes.
3. Jon Tanners
4. Joe Price
5. Constant Gardner
6. Katie Kelly
7. Adrienne Black
8. Cedar Pasori
9. John Walaszek
10. Joyce Ng
11. Jules Muir
12. Tim Larew
13. Graham Corrigan
14. Khal
Favorite Albums:
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
TEKLIFE and Hyperdub - Next Life
RL Grime - Void
LAKIM - This Is Her
Traxman - Da Mind Of Traxman Vol. 2
Favorite Songs:
Dej Loaf - “Try Me”
Nadus - “Nxwxrk”
The Roots - “The Dark (Trinity)”
Ratking - “Cocoa '88”
Porter Robinson - “Sad Machine”
Darq E Freaker - “Minger”
Joker - “Midnight”
Lido - “Money”
Digital, Spirit, and Response - “Garrison Law”
Rustie ft. Danny Brown - “Attak”
Favorite New Artists:
Lido
Dej Loaf
Ateph Elidja
Rae Sremmurd
Emerald Soul
Favorite Music Moment:
My favorite music moment of 2014 was when Lil Poopy dropped his mixtape when DoAndroidsDance got the props it deserved... hell, I'm not sure. I've had religious moments with music, actually went out once to see music performed live, and helped put on a few artists. Truthfully, my favorite moment is similar to moments I've been having since 2000 when I lived with my mom and wasn't blogging or writing or editing. I spent most of those days illegally downloading new music on FTPs and whatever other weird programs you'd use to download MP3s in those days (AudioGalaxy, anyone?), and I'd spent Saturday mornings loading up Winamp (which I still use to this day) with new drum & bass releases to blast while cleaning up my mom's house.
I have my own home now, and don't blast drum & bass when I'm cleaning it (that's what headphones are for), but I still spend time each week downloading promos, and giving records their "first listen." I've never been a DJ, but I've heard plenty of stories where DJs talk about getting a tune for the first time and it blowing their minds... it can be like a drug. You're always chasing those feels you had the first time you heard a new sound or artist. In any case, laaaate Friday nights/early Saturday mornings are my time to really gut my inbox and figure out what I may have missed.
One such night, I happened upon Shogun Audio's 10-year anniversary compilation. The label's always been upfront in terms of drum & bass, and the lone dnb DJ on Radio 1 (DJ Friction) is the head of the imprint. I'd not been keeping up with his show in a bit, so I'm not sure if I'd missed a first play of it on the radio, but it doesn't matter: Friction sorted out a tune entitled "Chimera" for the compilation, and it blew me away. I probably included it on a weekly P&P feature, and I know I drafted a post on it within 10 minutes of hearing it. Most of you probably don't know it, and I'm not sure if the dnb community has been rinsing it out—I just know what I felt when I heard it.
See, I try to live this "writing about music on the Internets" shit without pretension. I don't like knowing a lot about new producers when I hear their music, and don't come to the same conclusions as others when formulating spaces in time that certain songs come into play. I just want to forever be a fan, or at least speak to the forever fans who are out there, going to clubs like I did—without the aid of drugs (well, aside from some alcohol and maybe a lil bit of the reefers), just really losing yourself in the moment of the music. This track felt like an anomaly for a bit: there wasn't the usual pattern of ~2 minute intro, or anything that makes dnb from the last, say, decade what it is. It came in creepy, dropped into a rousing rumble, slacked a bit, then jumped right back in. It definitely maintained the sinister vibe throughout, with a simple melody played out over hyper kicks and some edited breakbeats that laid right on top of those kicks. It was a million rabbit punches to the gut... and I loved it.
So what, right? What makes that so important? Well, nothing. I don't look at myself as a tastemaker, because fuck that. It's truly just being about sharing dope shit with like-minded people. And while most of bits that get covered on P&P have vocals, I revel in a world where you don't need words to evoke emotion, be it raw energy or complete sadness.
My favorite musical moment of 2014 didn't happen at the first #NoCeilings show—although Daytrip and that whiskey (hey KK) had me open—nor was it when I got to interview Skrillex (although he's probably one of the nicest DJ/producer types I'd ever met). It was me, on my back steps, smoking a Black & Mild around 1AM with my headphones in, some Heineken in my system, totally enjoying something I'd never heard before.
15. Gus Turner
16. Sydney Gore
