2011-2012

Sure I have been a bit slow in reintroducing the blog into 2012, maybe I have been excessively pondering how to write my seminal piece for 2011, or maybe I have just been too darn busy working for the most amazing catering company (I love serving canapés). Either way, my conclusion of 2011 is simple; it has been a really great year for music. There were plenty of exciting music releases and it also seemed to be the year of new innovative ways of self-promotion for the artist and their music. (MF Doom re-releases Operation: Doomsdays in a Lunch box)

Highlights for me were Shabazz Palaces – Black Up, Hype Williams – One Nation, Julia Holter – Tragedy and other albums from Ducktails, Eric Copeland, Panda Bear, Rustie, John Maus, Laurel Halo, Young Montana, and LA Vampires goes Ital etc. It was a good year.

But I thought the best way to conclude 2011 would actually be to discuss my personal aims for 2012. I listen to a lot of music via free downloads, last fm, loads of blogs, twitter uploads, basically anything for a quick listen while surfing the net. I have become the victim/problem of the way music has been distributed and what the music industry is becoming. Essentially its all about the instant access; I want it all and I bloody want it right now so I can listen to it on the train. This is not unusual; I am the typical music consumer of the internet generation. But the problem I find is that I do not only miss out on a heck of lot music which is not so blogged about, not so cool, but I also do not listen to whole albums. And then listen to that same album over and over again. So very simply, 2012 is going to be the year of albums.

To start this year everyone should take some real time and listen to this amazing disco mix by Al Kent. The mix was produced to promote his new LP ‘Best of Disco Demand’s’. The album is a compilation of rare 1970s – 80s Disco tunes. It is sadly 50 tunes long, not the best album to start 2012 on, so I will probably be ignoring my album policy for this one, but the mix is far more manageable. If you had a average New Year, take a listen to this and it will go some way to making up for it.