Roo's Record Round Up: 2019

Roo rounds up her favourite tracks, albums and releases of the year from the cosmic keys of Kaidi Tatham to the dreamy electro soundscape of Escape Artist... The count down begins here.

35. HNNY - Hosoi [Hosoi Recordings]

Listening bar turned label Hosoi introduced HNNY back onto the scene this year, after a hiatus which saw him quit both performing and producing. Keeping to the downtempo, laid back beats he's been releasing on his own label Puss, 'Hosoi' features vintage sounds evoking nostalgia for a past time.

34. Joe Armon Jones - Turn to Clear View LP [Brownswood] Freedom in a record. Free flowing improvisation which calls to 70's jazz fusion, armed with some incredible musicians, vocalists and the dexterous fingers of Joe Armon Jones, solo jazz pianoist and member of Ezra Collective.

33. Release the Kraken EP - Fouk [House of Disco Records]

Daniel Leesman and Hans Peeman (Junction) providing the funk filled goodies once again.

32. Bobo - And They All Look Like You [Jerk It]

We were very lucky to premiere 'And They All Look Like You' from Manchester based Jerk It's first release earlier this year.

Dreamy zig zagging synths, lush percussive pads, break beat, euphoric atmospherics and more on this LP with a wildly diverse range of tracks.

31. Native Cruise - Skyrider EP [Byrd Out]

Hedonistic, laid back beats packed with baeleric influences and delicious pads from London based Native Cruise.

30. Full Beam! - For Gees Only Volume 2 [Red Laser Records]

Only for gees so most of you wouldn't have heard of this one...

No audio for it either but I guess your going to have trust me like I trusted Red Laser Records.

29. Grant - Fantasy LP [Lobster Theremin]

Lobster Theremin has a housed a handful of great releases from Grant, with his very distinctive deep house sound which has plenty of soul and warmth - this time hosting the wonderful 'Fantasy'.

28. Hiroshi Matsui - Samba De Howa Howa (So Happy) [Studio Mule]

Japanese house, with four absolute weapons from Hiroshi Matsui designed for the club. Repressed for 2019, a top pick for vinyl lovers and I was lucky enough to nab one of the 300 copies.

27. The Vision feat. Andreya Triana - Heaven (Danny Krivit Edit) [Defected Records]

From one of the edit masters. Because it just makes you feel so damn good. It's that simple.

26. Medlar - WOLFEP50 [Wolf Recordings]

Bouncy & fun UK garage baby.

25. Ex-Terrestrial - Gamma Infolded LP [NAFF Recordings]

Ex-Terrestial's debut album exists in a genre defying dimension, tucked somewhere in between house, techno, electro and breakbeat, yet simulatenoulsy existing outside it ... give it a listen to find out what I mean.

24. S3A - Pages LP [Dirt Crew Recordings]

A funk fuelled debut album from French artist Max Fader aka S3A, moving away from the heavy sampled style found on previous releases to tracks created in live performances which were rearranged for the album.

23. Jayda G - Move to the Funk (Disco Mix) (Dam-Funk Re-Freak)

A deeeep bassline groove in Dam-Funk's remix of 'Move to the Funk' on Jayda G's debut album.

22. Patrice Scott - Chasing Dreams

Delicate and deep detroit sounds from Sistrum Recordings boss Patrice Scott.

21. Charlie H - Lowercase [Self Released]

My ex flatmate who has one of the best selection's around (trust me) put out his debut EP this year.

An environmentally conscious release which takes the listeners through house's aquatic side with playful bouncing basses, floaty synths and retro melodies... However, don’t be fooled the EP's titles point to a darkness hovering under the surface, ready to burst out. Delve deeper and this ocean becomes a mass of plastic…

20. Byron the Aquarius - Astral Travelling [Mutual Intentions]

Cosmically divine, buttery smooth rhodes piano drawing influences from hip hop, soul and funk. One beautiful album.

19. Larry Houl - Diaries [D.KO Records]

Sounding remarkably like Jamiroquai, I came across Larry Houl through his involvement with the Secret Value Orchestra. His solo project is also just a good with irresistible grooves, a super cheesy video and a banging remix from Mezingue which I've been playing out a lot this year.

18. Paranoid London - PL LP [Paranoid London Recordings]

Apart from having a highly recognisable sound - once that squelching disorted acid comes on you know exactly who you're listening to - Paranoid London also manage to merge a 90's rave euphoria with a brilliant absurdity which really works. Go to their live show and you will know exactly what I mean. In fact, their Glastonbury performance was one of my gig highlights of the year with Mutado Pintado donning his cowboy hat and sunglasses, muttering nonsensical phrases over lines of booting shaking acid and jacking chicago basslines... Trust me you will wish every gig was that bizarre.

17. Hanna - I Needed [Meldoes International]

Another repress on my list, this one coming from US producer Hanna with some beaut deep vibes.

16. Kaidi Tatham - You Find That I Got It [2000 Black]

A load of jazz infused cosmic keys, off beat percussion and luscious chords from the broken beat wizard Kaidi Tatham.

15. Detroit's Filthiest - Counterfeit Culture [Philthtrax Holland]

This one goes out to my Detroit gal Romy. Electro laced delightfully with funk & jazz. There's nothing filthy about this release.

14. 30/70 - Fluid Motion LP [Rhythm Section]

Bradley Zero's Rhythm Section back with another brilliant album from Melbourne based collective 30/70 with Allysha Joy driving the collective with smooth neo soul vocals, crossing the boundaries between soul, funk, jazz, rap and broken beat.

13. Apiento - Down that Road [World Building US]

A late entry into the list, with the release date earlier this month. But oh my is a good one with an acid laced bassline, divine vocals and and a grooving drum pattern.

12. Toyin Agbetu Presents Nemesis - The Transgressive Storms EP [Frame Of Mind]

I was big fan of Toyin Agbetu's 'Shades of Black Compilation compilation' so I was very excited to see another repress of highly sought after 90's house trax and boy did it deliver, featuring some real club groovers.

11. Jacuzzi Boys - Fred Fades & Jawn Rice LP [Mutual Intentions]

For those eagle eyes readers this is the second release from Oslo based label Mutual Intentions on my list, but what can I say, they've put out two wonderful albums this year. This album saw Fred Fades team up with Jawn Rice to create the extremely deep and soulful Jacuzzi Boys which calls back to the roots of house music.

10. Bellaire & Georges - Contrasts EP [AOC Records]

This year has seen Bellaire & Georges team up for live shows, with Bellaire's signature style of fast dexterous piano keys, grooving sax and Georges jazz infused guitar melodies which later developed into the wonderful Contrasts EP, packed with energy.

9. Fruit - Drommeland [Coastal Haze]

Seb Wildblood's label Coastal Haze has had some beautiful releases, however this one topped the list when it was released in May this year. in particular the title track seemed to capture vibes from 90's artists like Dreamscape and Love Craft with dream like soundscapes, glowing synths and trippy atmospherics.

8. Ruf Dug - Ruf Dug Presents The Committee [Rhythm Section International]

Ruf Dug, Bradley Zero, Mali - I, Sienna Mustafa, Nadina Mustafa and Natalie Wildgoose... anyone would be lucky to have this bunch as their Committee.

I really enjoyed Ruf Dug's 'Boat Party' as well but there was something very special about this release. When I heard 'Fell From The Stars' I could not stop playing it. It's the return of street soul baby! Let's hope it's here to stay.

Although, I'm not too sure about Bradley Zero on the vocals ...

7. Look Like - Garden of Eden EP [Clone Records]

Retro, video game vibes from Look Like (I'm 99.9% sure Nokia Nostalgia samples Donkey Kong Country which we managed to complete on SNES this year - a BIG achievement, who decided to make the game so hard?). 8 bit synths, break beat, bouncing basses, acid lines. What's not to love?

6. Escape Artist - Supernature EP [Salt Mines]

An interplanetary exploration in Escape Artist's second release on Salt Mines. Moving between jungle soundscapes, acid laced utopia's and aquatic kingdoms, complete with garage basslines, stuttering breakbeat and ascending cyber lines.

5. Cody Currie, Joel Holmes - New Chapter [Toy Tonics]

Cody Currie and Joel Holmes make a delightful duo.

Soooo much soul. And anyone that knows me knows that I can't get enough of the soul. Add some bossa nova, a sprinkle of jazz infused keys and broken beat and you have yourself Toy Tonics release of the year (or so I think anyway).

4. Parviz - Zerzura EP [Omena]

An absolutely exquisite release from French-Persian composer Parviz. Twinkling keys, laid back trumpets, luscious pads and funk fueled basslines transporting you straight to the jazz club.

3. Telephones - From The Vaults 1998-2018 Vol 1 [European Carryall]

Ring Ring....

Digging into his collection from the 90's to now, Norwegian producer Telephones launched his new label with this one, and has bought us a series of From The Vaults this year, all oozing a magical baeleric charm. However, this edition was my personal favourite with the track Amerikadegari (453-459 mix) featuring dialed key melodies, a bouncing bass and jingling atmospherics.

2. Shinichoro Yokota - I Know You Like It LP [Far East Recordings]

If happiness could be defined by a record, I'd like to think it would be this one. Upbeat Japanese synth melodies combined with delightful flutes, exquisite atmospherics and deep rhodes. If you're ever feeling down give this one a listen.

P.S 'Ultimate Yokota 1991-2019' was released in October featuring tracks previously unreleased on vinyl! Thank you Shinichoro Yokota for spoiling us this year.

1. Chaos In The CBD - Orange Blank / Green Dove [In Dust We Trust]

My number one was an easy one this year.

When I heard Orange Blank played by Chaos at Thekla in Bristol I knew I had to have it. And then I discovered Green Dove on the same release and wow...magical, euphoric, floaty, transformative. I found this one harder to describe then some of the others on this list but closing my eyes I can imagine myself floating around in the cosmos, weaving between clouds of interstellar dust. If you like the sound of that then you know where to find it.

Also, big shout out to all the releases on In Dust We Trust, Jon Sable & Chaos have been killing it.