More lists

More best of 2010 musical selections - this time from the folk at Conch Records. See below.

Tokimonsta - Midnight Menu (Listen Up)
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Pt. 2 (Motown)
Chico Mann - Analog Drift (Wax Poetics)
Billy Love - Melloghettomental (Sound Signature)
Gappy Ranks - Put the Stereo On (Greensleeves)
Lord Echo - Melodies (Economy)
Darkstar - North (Hyperdub)
Jose James - Blackmagic (Brownswood)
Mount Kimbie - Crooks & Lovers (Hotflush)
Oriol - Night & Day (Planet Mu)
The Roots - How I Got Over (Def Jam)
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (Warp)
Scuba - Triangulation (Hot Flush)
Gil Scott Heron - I’m New Here (XL)
Grooveman Spot - Change Situations (Planet Groove)

Also, Oliver Wang weighs in at Soulsides, with his musical faves, including mentioning Lord Echo (Mike Fabulous of Black Seeds/Fly My Pretties) in his list of favourite singles, for Thinking of you (Sister Sledge cover).


Grant Smithies in the Sunday Star Times dropped his best of list yesterday. His favourite albums from 2010 were the latest releases from Homebrew, Phoenix Foundation, Naked and Famous, Connan Mockasin, Ruby Suns, Street chant, Surf city, Grayson Gilmour, Die die die, Ali Farke Toure and Toumani Diabete, LCD soundsystem, The Fall, and Tame Impala. His local album of the year was from Robert Scott, which he called "warm, gentle and charming... and equal to anything he's done with his more celebrated bands The Bats and The Clean". Smithies named the latest from Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma - as his album of the year. It's an album that didn't grab me first time out and I need to return to it and spend more time with it.

Another album I enjoyed last year (that I forgot to add to my list - doh) was the latest from Caribou - Swim. I only discovered this outfit when I heard they were on the lineup for Splore City (happening in Aotea Square next month - Splore is back out at the beach for 2012). I asked on Twitter what Caribou songs to start with, and some very helpful folk pointed me in the right direction. It's kinda cool when you discover an act (that's new to you), and then find out they've got a bunch of back catalog to dig through.