2018 ARTIST PICKS

For this year's article, artists whose works appeared in the “2018 Top 10s & 20s” lists were asked to share their own favourite picks of the year, regardless of whether the material was issued during 2018 or earlier. textura is extremely grateful to those who contributed to the article (especially when the call for contributions comes at such a busy time of year), and thank them not only for their generosity but also for the many hours of pleasure their music brought us during 2018.

36AshanSandro Ivo BartoliMadhavi DeviLara Downes Anne GarnerMarie GoudyJacob GreenbergToby HayKenji KiharaBruce LevingstonLibrary TapesChloë MarchBrona McVittieJames MurrayNorthumbriaMeg OkuraKeiron PhelanMichael RobinsonJoe SheehanSlow Dancing SocietyToronto Jazz OrchestraWako

36 (#4 EPs / Cassettes: Circuit Bloom EP, 3six Recordings)

(Dennis Huddleston) I've been really busy this year, working practically nonstop on new music, so I haven't heard as much music from other artists as I'd like. However, one album that definitely stood out for me was Wanderwelle's Gathering of the Ancient Spirits. Silent Season is a great label, and anything released on there is pretty much guaranteed to be worth a listen, but even among such a great discography, this album stands out. It gives me vibes of classic ambient albums like Biosphere's Substrata, with simple but technically flawless production, highly emotive melodies, and an overall sense of mystery that I find lacking in many modern ambient albums. I feel like every time I listen to it new layers are discovered. It's a proper ‘album' in that it feels like an actual journey from start to end.

Ashan (#2 EPs / Cassettes: Far Drift Afield, Inner Islands)

(Sean Conrad) Two of my favourite releases this year have been Vision Songs Vol. 1 by Laraaji and Yililok by Yialmelic Frequencies. Both albums have a way of making me feel more present and engaged with my inner sense of knowing and self. That, for me, is when I feel most inspired by sound and its malleability and power.

Sandro Ivo Bartoli (#20 Classical: Giacomo Puccini: Complete Piano Works and Selected Opera Transcriptions, Solaire Records)

The release I enjoyed most this year was the one my friend Luca Ciammarughi devoted to the chamber music of Alfredo Casella on Concerto Classics. Titled In Casella's Salon, it coincided with a major exhibition of works by Carlo Carrà, of whom the composer was an avid collector, and it features several rare solo piano works as well as the relatively famous “Barcarola e Scherzo” for flute and piano (with Tommaso Benciolini) and a selection of works for violin and piano (with Emy Bernecoli). Casella was an early love of mine: my second ASV release in the mid-‘90s was devoted to his solo piano music, and later I returned to him in an eclectic collection called Fugitives that included his “à la maniére de....”

I was somewhat surprised at Luca's decision to record Casella as for all the years I've known him I was particularly struck by his qualities as a Schubert interpreter and unique poet of French baroque works. I thought Casella might be too arid for his sensibility, but how wrong I was! The longest track on the record is the "Minuetto" from Scarlattiana arranged for violin and piano, which at seven minutes hardly constitutes a ‘big piece.' Yet, the CD makes for entertaining listening as it does what few of today's commercial recordings do: it tells a story! The playing is world-class, both from Ciammarughi and his colleagues: inspired and cultivated, it's performed with such aplomb and spontaneity it's hard to believe we're listening to a studio recording.

Madhavi Devi (#3 Ambient: The Truth of Being, Spotted Peccary)

While my album The Truth of Being was in ‘final mix and master' mode over the last year before its fall 2018 release, Steve Roach's re-release of Dreamtime Return was also undergoing its final re-mastering at Spotted Peccary Studios in Portland, Oregon. I had the luxury to relax into hours of deep listening to this album as the finishing touches were carefully and meticulously polished into the final re-master of Steve's soul-shifting classic work. I also had the opportunity to attend his live Dreamtime Return concert last year in Tucson, Arizona in February 2018.

I've learned so very much from Steve over the years, observing his supreme expertise with his instruments and technology and his incomparable focus and concentration on perfecting his art and its relevant expression, resulting in absolutely profound time-suspending, dimension-shifting live performances and mythological journeys into the progressive cosmic space his music evokes. I owe a huge debt to Steve and to Howard Givens and the other greats at Spotted Peccary Studios; if my own musical art has merit and transcendence, it is largely because of the influences of these wonderful and dedicated artists.

Lara Downes (#4 Classical: For Lenny, Sony Classical)

An album that really thrilled me this year is Alicia Hall Moran's Here Today, released in December 2017. It takes an extraordinary vision to find the unexpected connections in music by composers from Georges Bizet to Stevie Wonder, and an extraordinary voice to weave them into a silky tapestry so rich and colourful and full of surprises. I find new magic every time I listen to this record. And it's been another thrill to collaborate with Alicia this year! Look for our recording of “Just For A Thrill” on my new album Holes in the Sky, coming next month.

Some other 2018 favourites (albums and singles): Jon Batiste: Hollywood Africans; Simone Dinnerstein: Circles; Jonathan Singletary: "Peace In The Morning"; Judy Collins: "Dreamers"; Ibeyi: "Away Away"; Hilary Hahn: "Blue Curve of the Earth"; and Aaron Diehl: "Single Petal of a Rose."

Anne Garner (#1 Electronic / Experimental / Folk / Pop / Prog / Rock: Lost Play, Slowcraft Records)

I love it when a piece of music reaches somewhere hard to pinpoint in my psyche and awakens a forgotten feeling. Whatever the form and however it's dressed I want to hear it again straight away. I want to be with it.

This year there have been two albums that especially affected me in this way. We spent this Christmas in Margate and went to see their Shell Grotto, a subterranean network of passageways discovered in 1835, covered entirely in beautiful mosaics made out of sea shells. No one knows who made it or why and this mysterious, dark, and unique work of art is an experience we'll never forget. At the place we stayed we watched a documentary about the life of Léon Theremin, inventor of the theremin, and Clara Rockmore, virtuoso performer of the instrument. She performed Ravel's Kaddish and her interpretation cast a spell on me. It cast me at once back to the grotto, full of mystery and otherworldly beauty.

Being married to James Murray, I'm lucky to often be the first person to hear his new work. The unforgettable Falling Backwards is one of my all-time favourite albums of his. When I first encountered “Father Figure” I adored it from the opening chords, and now as I listen back to “Living Treasure” his exquisite sound design reminds me of the same alluring mosaics and electric atmosphere of those haunted passages we explored together.

Marie Goudy (#8 Jazz: The Bitter Suite, Marie Goudy)

If I can pick an album released in 2017, my favourite recent album is Christine Jensen's Under the Influence Suite with l'Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal. It's an absolutely incredible work of jazz orchestra that pays homage to five different influential composers and really captures all their spirits while allowing Christine's compositional voice to shine through.

Jacob Greenberg (#8 Classical: Hanging Gardens, New Focus Recordings)

I'm recommending two albums from fellow ICE members:

Levy Lorenzo and Peter Evans: Q (More is More): Trumpeter Evans's craft of improvisation is extremely distinctive in its restless invention, humour, and harmonic sureness. Lorenzo, the percussionist, electronic musician, and instrument inventor, is an equal partner in their thrilling collaboration.

Cory Smythe: Circulate Susanna (Pyroclastic): Pianist Smythe's avant-garde ear erases the distance between old styles of playing that we think we know and the truly new. In this release, which highlights a collaboration with vocalist Sofia Jernberg and guitarist Daniel Lippel, Smythe imagines a past where he played old-country American folk music with his family. He ‘recalls' this mythic history as he layers the music with virtuosic extended instrumental techniques and electronic sounds.

Toby Hay (#2 Electronic / Experimental / Folk / Pop / Prog / Rock: The Longest Day, The state51 Conspiracy)

It's tricky to pick my favourite album of 2018, but I'm going with Soar, the second offering from the brilliant Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita. It's been soundtracking many of my long car journeys this year, and I was fortunate enough to catch them live back in April, which was a mesmeric experience. As a guitar player, I find a lot of my inspiration comes from other stringed instruments from around the world. This combination of harp and kora is a dream collaboration and is music full of life.

Kenji Kihara (#1 EPs / Cassettes: Scenes of Scapes, Inner Islands)

My favourite album of 2018 is Hiroshi Yoshimura's Music for Nine Post Cards (Empire of Signs), which brings about calm and peace of mind.

Bruce Levingston (#13 Classical: Windows, Sono Luminus)

One of my favourite new releases of the past year was Johnny Gandelsman's album of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas. Johnny has played these great works for many years and every note is deep inside his bones and soul. There is a kind of direct rawness and honesty to his interpretations that goes right to the gut…and to the heart.

Library Tapes (#1 Compilations / Reissues: VA: EP Box Set, 1631 Recordings)

(David Wenngren) Not counting 1631 Recordings' own releases and the demos sent to the label, I didn't listen to too music this year, but I did watch quite a few films and series, where I discovered Sol Seppy's “Enter One.” The song is originally from 2006, but with its minimal piano, strings, and whispered vocals it's a lovely track that's worth hearing, either again or for the very first time.

Chloë March (#4 Electronic / Experimental / Folk / Pop / Prog / Rock: Blood-Red Spark, Hidden Shoal)

Gwenno: Le Kov (Heavenly): I knew I was going to love this after hearing the opening chords of the first song on the album. For me, the soundworld and harmonic palette carry an undertow of melancholy and nostalgia. The album is overall quite rhythmically upbeat and psychedelic, but it's that harmonic movement combined with a soundworld of manipulated piano, fuzzy synths, and guitars that makes it evocative and atmospheric. Gwenno's vocals have a lovely soft timbre across the range, velvety but with that strong purity of tone. A major reason that I love this is that all the songs are written and performed in Cornish, a language I'm not at all familiar with but that sounds just beautiful and wildly enjoyable to sing. Gwenno has described the musical ‘freedom' of singing in a language that only a small number of people can understand, and I relate to that this year after having performed on an album actually in my own invented language! It was fascinating then to come to these Gwenno vocals and have that kind of experience as a listener.

Laura Veirs: The Lookout (Bella Union): From a language I don't know to lyrics of clear beautiful poetry. I've only just recently come to this album, and I know I'm going to want to listen to it again and again. Combined with her voice, which I find utterly addictive, is an incredible musicianship and songwriting craft that is mesmerizing and a pure delight. The variety of tone in her voice is so impressive and her melodic lines are magical. It's also a deeply moving album. I hear it as a kind of ode to earthly beauty, fragility, love, and to music itself, which during this very strange and sometimes frightening year is profoundly consoling.

Brona McVittie (#7 Electronic / Experimental / Folk / Pop / Prog / Rock: We Are the Wildlife, Company of Corkbots)

One choice has to be The Breath's Let the Cards Fall; when I heard the title track earlier this year I became completely addicted to the voice of Ríoghnach Connolly and listened to the album on repeat all day! The subtle accompaniment provided by Stuart McCallum is just perfect as the understated partner to Connolly's voice.

The other is Anne Garner's Lost Play. I was involved much earlier than the release date and was very honoured to record harp for her. So I already knew the album would be a gem, but when I heard it for the first time in its entirety, I just wept. Knowing Anne personally I found the songs all the more impressive: to be able to distill trauma into such great beauty and so subtly is perhaps the greatest gift of all. Of course credit where credit's due: James Murray's production on the album is equal in magnificence to the songwriting. This for me is her landmark album, although she'll probably completely blow us away with the next one, which I know she's already recorded.

James Murray (#5 Ambient: Falling Backwards, Home Normal)

I issued three artist works on Slowcraft in 2018 besides Anne Garner's Lost Play, a beautiful, deeply vulnerable album that was recognized here on textura and elsewhere as the capstone recording of 2018. It's these three Slowcraft Presents releases I'd like to draw attention to. Selecting records of the year exclusively from one's own imprint is an indulgence of course, perhaps one I can claim in this first year as a fully rostered label after eight years as a platform solely for Anne's music and my own. My motives are pure enough: to make a small sign of gratitude to these artists, now my friends, for entrusting works to my care that have now become significant personal touchstones for me. Each release is emblematic, in a different way, of this memorable first year of carefully opening the label doors to other creators whose aesthetic hearts beat in sync with our own.

Alapastel: Hidden for the Eyes (Slowcraft Records): Hidden for the Eyes is a one-off, an extraordinary hybrid of electroacoustic, neo-classical, ambient and vocal folk music. Lukáš described to me with humility, courtesy and a quiet pride the eight years he had spent crafting this album and carefully explained why he believed my label, with which he was very familiar, was the ideal fit to his mind. The first time I heard “Bride of the Mountains” I knew he was right; the tender, imaginative material this young Slovak composer had lovingly conjured convinced me single-handedly to open up the label to other artists' work for the first time. This album is a hugely successful demonstration of what dedication, talent, and sensitivity can achieve when directed together in a sustained, honest, and open-hearted way.

Neotropic: The Absolute Elsewhere (Slowcraft Records): Not long after I resolved to release Lukáš' album, while developing the package design for what would become the Slowcraft Presents series, this album appeared in my inbox. I knew Riz Maslen a little already through our mutual friend Oliver Cherer and was familiar with her earlier work. Nothing quite prepared me for The Absolute Elsewhere though. This is a compelling, uncompromising collection that draws on a great many influences yet sounds like nothing else at all. Deep, dark, and otherworldly, the album's release under our evolving banner of “exceptional, unclassifiable music” just made perfect, intuitive sense.

Gri + Mosconi: Between Ocean and Sky (Slowcraft Records): With each handcrafted CD edition taking around three months to produce, it was clear I only had the capacity for a third and final Slowcraft Presents release in 2018. When I heard Between Ocean and Sky I knew it was the one. Collaborations should always exhibit the qualities of one or both contributors, but in this work I sensed a kind of escalatory dynamic occurring; these two artists seemed to reflect and amplify one another, driving the sum of their sounds to greater heights. The combination of the deep tidal strength in Federico's processed guitar work and Francis' tender melodic touch at the piano won my heart at once, and the record continues to reward with every listen. This debut was a perfectly weighted way to close out a beautiful year of collaboration.

Northumbria (#8 Ambient: Vinland, Cryo Chamber)

(Dorian Williamson) Northaunt: Istid III (Glacial Movements): This follow-up to the brilliant double CD Istid I-II was the perfect soundtrack to escaping the brutal summer heat. Norway's Hærleif Langås has been crafting exquisite dark ambient soundscapes under the Northaunt moniker for years and has been a huge influence on my own music. His Istid series (Norwegian for Ice age) instrumentally explores the concept of a pre-human landscape, its vastness, purity, and mystery. Melodic and minimal electronic elements intersect with heavily treated and perfectly placed field recordings. The result is jaw-dropping immersion and totally inspiring.

Birds of Passage: The Death of Our Invention (Denovali): I've been following Alicia Merz's music for a long time now, but her latest offering is so achingly beautiful! Melancholic but massive sounding, extremely personal yet simultaneously universal, her gorgeous layered vocals reach out through the ambience. She's a mighty talent and on this record has hit a real emotional and technical high, exploring themes of darkness and shaping them into a heartbreakingly beautiful set of songs. It's the kind of record you feel thankful for because it so clearly came from the heart of the artist.

Meg Okura (#4 Jazz: Ima Ima, Meg Okura & The Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble)

We The Gleaners: We The Gleaners (Chant Records): I feel butterflies in my stomach when I encounter music I am fond of. It's akin to a secret crush—familiar and novel, and like meeting someone with a scent that reminds you of your ex-boyfriend yet speaks with an exotic accent. When I heard We The Gleaners, my heart started to beat a bit faster. The sound of the violin, electronics, improvisation, and chamber music, all of these aspects took me to my past, yet in a foreign space.

Keiron Phelan (#6 Electronic / Experimental / Folk / Pop / Prog / Rock: Peace Signs, Gare du Nord Recordings)

Full disclosure, I have acquaintance with the people whose albums I'm picking out. They're not my best and oldest friends, you understand, but I make no apology anyway. I'm very fortunate in knowing a large number of talented musicians many of who seem to be in the process of creating their finest work. So, here we roll.

Firstly, Papernut Cambridge's Outstairs Instairs. Ian Button's strange conglomeration of a band always delights me. Musically this album is an eclectic fusion of styles that has its roots in the pop-rock of the early ‘70s. Yet these influences are always exceeded, Button becoming a kind of musical Dr. Who, moving back and forth through time while weaving his own distinct story. Papernut often conveys an irresistible joie de vivre best demonstrated here by the opener “Buckminster Fullerene,” a sublime slice of recorder-laden pop wherein a scientist is berated by his girlfriend for his poor dress sense. “Tulips in a Top Hat” is an almost narcotically dreamy, bossa nova tale of self-abandonment in a (possibly) imaginary French town, while the heartfelt “Crying” resembles a solo John Lennon-esque lament taking an offbeat musical swerve into a chaotic children's party. Outstairs Instairs is weird, wonderful, and entirely embraceable.

For my other pick I'm going to double up on textura's own number 1, which is Anne Garner's remarkable Lost Play. Her albums don't come along very often, and Lost Play has the feel of the definitive about it, the sound of a very individual songwriter at the height of her powers. Using one's own life as musical subject matter, especially a slightly damaged area of it, is no easy task. Many writers try this but few can pull it off. If poorly executed it can lead to lyrical self-indulgence and navel-gazing. None of that here. Garner entertains neither self pity nor becomes the object of pity. She simply and poetically reveals a complicated part of her existence. What is yet more impressive is that she does this in an almost haiku style of expressive vocal economy. She's a lyricist able to conjure more in a handful of lines than many other writers achieve in whole songs. Musically Lost Play is meditative, melodically sublime, and very much a complete entity. Mood pieces and yet ones of genuine compositional substance. I guarantee that you will be touched by this work.

Michael Robinson (#11 Electronic / Experimental / Folk / Pop / Prog / Rock: Nectar-Spells, Azure Miles Records)

My Music My Life by Ravi Shankar remains for me the greatest book on music ever written, never imagining that twenty years after first reading it while in high school I would be studying with the person who actually recorded Ravi's words for the book, his senior disciple Harihar Rao. Both men are part of the legendary Maihar gharana (school), named for the small village where Allauddhin Khan lived and taught, other students including Ali Akbar Khan, Annapurna Devi, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Nikhil Banerjee, and Aashish Khan. In 2018, I was fortunate to learn of two Allauddhin Khan disciples who had previously eluded me: sitarist Indranil Bhattacharya and sarodist Vasant Rai. My discovery of Indranil came while visiting YouTube, finding the Homage to our Guru album, also featuring Aashish on sarod and Anindo Chatterjee on tabla. This recording on the superb Chhandra Dara label features an inspired realization of Raga Kirvani, the ravishing sweetness, ripeness, and liquidity of Bhattacharya's playing synergizing with the miraculous artistry we're accustomed to from Anindo and Aashish.

Another exemplary Indian classical music label, Oriental Records, is where I discovered Vasant's Splendour of the Sarod album, revealing a spellbindingly glowing, exquisitely sonorous approach to sarod playing, here accompanied by none less than Alla Rakha. Allauddhin Khan, a key collaborator with Ravi Shankar's older brother, dancer/choreographer Uday Shankar, is remarkable for teaching individuals who went on to develop widely diverse musical personalities while becoming innovators themselves by developing his principal concepts, including the transformation of traditional instruments for musical ends, focus on the liberation of both tabla and musical rhythm in general, and mixing varying traditions together to create new forms, the recordings here bearing witness.

Joe Sheehan (#5 Classical: Songs of Lake Volta, Ansonica Records)

Laura Mvula: Sing to the Moon (Sony, 2013): A magical debut that I finally discovered. Exquisite songwriting and powerful lyrics are surrounded by a gorgeous orchestral palette that defies genre and categorization.

James Francies: Flight (Blue Note, 2018): Modern, hip jazz pianist who shares a hometown (Houston) and approach with luminary Robert Glasper. Uncompromising, but Francies reveals mesmerizing sounds in his textures, collaborating musicians, and effects.

Slow Dancing Society (#1 Ambient: The Torchlight Parade Vols. I-II, Hidden Shoal)

My favourite release this year is the double album by The Paper Kites, On The Train Ride Home / On The Corner Where You Live. This album to me is pure moody rock bliss that is incredibly simple and deep. It reminds me of that era where the ‘80s and ‘90s esthetics blended in the college rock radio world like The Replacements, Tommy Keene, Concrete Blonde...etc. I played and played and played this one throughout the year—definitely a classic.

Toronto Jazz Orchestra (#20 Jazz: 20, TJO)

(Josh Grossman, Artistic Director, TJO) Here are three albums I seemed to keep returning to over the course of 2018:

Phronesis with Frankfurt Radio Big Band: The Behemoth (Edition): Of the piano trios emerging from the Bad Plus/EST tradition, Phronesis to me is one of the most interesting. Creative compositions, riveting solos; each musician brings the jazz influences of his respective country (Sweden, Denmark, the UK) to the trio. And as a big band leader, I'm knocked out by the arrangements and the playing on this album; it's no small task to seamlessly incorporate a small ensemble into the larger ensemble, and I think the piano trio work and big band work well together.

Sons of Kemet: Your Queen is a Reptile (Verve): There is some very exciting music being made by younger musicians in London, and Sons of Kemet encapsulates much of what makes that scene so vibrant. Unique instrumentation (two drums, tenor sax, tuba), outstanding playing, and a fascinating mashup of musical styles, jazz for sure, but this is also dance music with African and Caribbean grooves. There is a variety of young chordless bands on the scene today (Moon Hooch, Too Many Zoos, and Lucky Chops come to mind), but to me Sons of Kemet is the most musically satisfying, and their live show in September in Toronto was one of the best shows of the year.

Cecile McLorin Salvant: The Window (Mack Avenue): In my mind, Salvant is that rare gem in the world of jazz vocalists; I think she's the real deal. She possesses an outstanding instrument, but it is what she does with her voice which consistently moves me: the range, the passion, the control…she does not simply sing songs, she makes them her own. Cecile is able to draw out the emotion (and that could mean laughter just as often as pain) of every tune she works with. The Window is sparsely arranged and perhaps more mellow than her previous releases, but for me that means an opportunity to focus more intently on the artistry on display.

Wako (#10 Jazz: Urolige Sinn, Øra Fonogram)

Some of our favourites from 2018:

(Simon Olderskog Albertsen) Louis Cole's Time. The music is cool, but most of all I like it because Cole feels so genuine and unapologetic in being himself and doing what he wants. He's not afraid to be silly, edgy, and humorous. I find that very inspiring.

(Martin Myhre Olsen) Morphogenesis by Steve Coleman. Crazy album!

(Bárður Reinert Polusen) Trondheim Jazzorkester's Happy Endlings and Honey by Robyn!

(Kjetil André Mulelid) New Place Always by Nitai Hershkovits, Returnings by Jakob Bro, and Decade by Lee Konitz & Dan Tepfer. Some really great albums that I've enjoyed a lot.

January 2019