December 30, 2013 / Thoughts & Opinion

While still at university, and eager for a multitude of ways to avoid coursework, my friends and I used to regularly compile “ultimate best of” CDs and mixes for each other – a practice that I sorely miss these days. I used to love trying to out-music the other folk who had made compilations, trying to spot themes running through seemingly unconnected tracks, and the inevitable great debate over the end of year lists and compilations we’d meticulously craft.

This year, in classic tradition, I wanted to put together my favourite releases, and mix my favourite track from each release in to one long extended mix for those who were patient enough to sit through  it.

I present to you this year’s “best of”.

You can download the entire mix as a high quality mp3 here:
Download the 2013 “best of” mix (mp3 – 320kbps – 220Mb)

Alternatively 17 of these tracks are available as a Spotify Playlist here:
http://open.spotify.com/user/grafyte/playlist/5LghU7soU6ApIpKGaYPlmC
(missing Machinedrum, Lulu Rouge and Artisan Loyalist)

01 KRTS – Berlin Girls [The Foreigner]
02 Keep Shelly In Athens – Madmen Love [At Home]
03 Omar – The Man [The Man]
04 Folly & the Hunter – Moth in the Porch Light [Tragic Care]
05 Akkord – 3dOS [Akkord]
06 Apparat – Lighton [Krieg Und Frieden – Music For Theatre]
07 Volor Flex & Encode – Altiplano [Altiplano EP]
08 Machinedrum – Talk 2 Me [Vision Center EP]
09 Seba – Madness [Identity]
10 Alix Perez – We Could Have Been [Chroma Chords]
11 No Ceremony – FEELSOLOW [No Ceremony///]
12 Om Unit – Corridor 2013 [Threads]
13 Lulu Rouge – The Song Is In The Drum [The Song Is in the Drum]
14 The Boxer Rebellion – Keep Moving [Promises]
15 Fossil Collective – Think Again [The Water EP]
16 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Monki [II]
17 Robert Glasper Experiment – Baby Tonight [Black Radio 2]
18 Artisan Loyalist – The Redeeming [You’re Glory EP]
19 CLOSE – OSCAR [Getting Closer]
20 Kurt Vile – Too Hard [Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze]

Hopefully this list gives you some new musical fodder to look up – and perhaps highlights some of the ace releases you may have missed over the past 12 months.

Let the debate commence…