2018-12-21
Hey City Zen of 2018
Was I busy in 2018! Still another great year for music! I am sure I missed really great stuff, but here is the best City Zen of the year. I thought of this list without seeing anybody else's best-of lists, so I am sure some great stuff is missing, but this is what made my radar. I may update it if something great gets released before the end of the year. Top 25 Albums, Top 99 Tracks, Top 31 Remixes/Edits (from E-Trash's DJ sets), Box Sets, and Live albums. The top tracks and remixes are assembled in a Spotify List as well. Update (January 15, 2019): I did not add Teymori's EP earlier because it is not a full album, but it has more great tracks than most albums these days. So I added a special best EP mention. Update (February 9, 2019): Added Tom Misch's Geography to best albums. Not sure how I missed this gem in 2018...
Top 27 Albums + 1 EP of 2018
There are definitely 5 albums that stood above for innovation, heart of just fun and which I listened the most to (alphabetically):
David Byrne - American Utopia
Chromeo - Head over Heels
Corine - Un air de fête
Rhye - Blood
Tracey Thorn - Record
The other 20 alphabetically:
Top 99 Tracks of 2018
Top 31 Remixes and Edits of 2018
Best Live Albums of 2018
The best live show of the year was definitely David Byrne's America Utopia tour---probably one of the best live shows ever. The recent live recording of some of its stops does not capture the visual brilliancy of the show, but is still a great live record on its own:
David Byrne - "...The Best Live Show Of All Time” —NME
The other two live recordings that stood out in 2018 are:
Top 27 Albums + 1 EP of 2018
There are definitely 5 albums that stood above for innovation, heart of just fun and which I listened the most to (alphabetically):
David Byrne - American Utopia
Chromeo - Head over Heels
Corine - Un air de fête
Rhye - Blood
Tracey Thorn - Record
The other 20 alphabetically:
Pedro Abrunhosa - Espiritual
Lily Allen - No Shame
Claptone – Fantast
Gal Costa - A Pele do
Futuro
Carl Craig – Versus
Dead Combo - Odeon Hotel
Baxter Dury,
Etienne de Crecy, Delilah Holiday - B.E.D.
Florence and the
Machine - High As Hope
David Fonseca
- Radio Gemini
Amerigo Gazaway
- Nina Simone & Lauryn Hill - The
Miseducation of Eunice Waymon
Chilly Gonzalez
- Other People's Pieces
Gorgon City - Escape
Gorillaz - The Now Now
Jungle - For Ever
Kronos Quartet and
Laurie Anderson – Landfall
Mariza – Mariza
Tom Misch - Geography
Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer
Tom Misch - Geography
Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer
Meshell Ndegeocello – Ventroloquism
Jimi Tenor - Order of Nothingness
Paul Weller - True Meanings
Young Fathers
- Cocoa Sugar
Special Mention for best EP: Teymori - Teymori
Special Mention for best EP: Teymori - Teymori
The best way to display this is via a Spotify list which also includes the remixes below (in no particular order):
Top 31 Remixes and Edits of 2018
So many great remixes and edits this year. There were definitely 4 remixes above the rest, which took the original into another place of excellence. All remixes, edits and mashups below elevate the originals either into a whole different place or their distilled essence. It is great when a track has two great lives, which is a remix at its best:
David Fonseca - Get Up (Moullinex Remix)
Sophie Lloyd feat. Dames Brown - Calling Out (Danny Krivit Edit)
Sophie Lloyd feat. Dames Brown - Calling Out (Danny Krivit Edit)
Paul Simon - Graceland (MK & KC Lights Remix)
Sylvester - I Need Somebody To Love Tonight (Psychemagik Remix)
The remaining awesome remixes alphabetically:
Dave Aju &
thatmanmonkz - They Sleep we Love (Sec's Bay Area Remix)
Bobby D’Ambrosio
feat. Michelle Weeks – The Day (Alaia &Gallo Remix)
Cardi B - I Like It (Dillon Francis Remix)
Christine And The
Queens feat. DÃm-Funk - Damn, Dis-Moi
(Gerd Janson's
Balearic Remix Edit Version)
Christine And The
Queens feat. DÃm-Funk - Damn, Dis-Moi (Palms Trax Remix)
Claptone feat. Ben
Duffy & Pirupa - Stronger (Pirupa Remix)
Leonard Cohen -
You Want it Darker (Solomun Remix)
Carl Craig
with Francesco Tristano, Les Siecles,
and Francois-Xavier Roth -The Melody (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
The Chuck Davis
Orchestra - Spirit of Sunshine (Holy Ghost! Remix)
Charlotte
Gainsbourg - Ring-A-Ring O'Roses (Sebastian "On the
Beat" Remix)
Calvin Harris feat. Dua
Lipa - One Kiss (Oliver Helden's Extended
Remix)
Jungle - Beat 54 (Krystal Klear 12" Mix)
Janelle Monae -
Make Me Feel (Moullinex Edit)
Morcheeba - It's Summertime (Lindstrom & Prins Thomas Remix)
Kelly Lee Owens -
Bird (Prins Thomas Diskomiks DJ Edit)
Polo & Pan -
Mexicali (Simple Symmetry Remix)
Powerdance - A Safe and Happy Place (JKriv Remix)
Purple Disco
Machine - Encore (Mousse
T. Remix)
Red Rack'Em - Wonky Baseline Disco Banger (Greg Wilson Edit)
Paul Simon - The Boy In the Bubble (Richy Ahmed Remix)
Nina Simone &
Lauryn Hill - Care For What (Amerigo Gazaway Mashup)
Shit Robot - Rotation (Vin Sol Remix)
Tracey Thorn -
Dancefloor (Pearson and Lindblad Italo Remix)
Tinush (feat. Aretha Franklin) - Struggle (Franky
Rizardo Acid Mix)
Weiss - Feel my Needs (Gorgon City Extended Mix)
Xinobi - See Me (Ali Kuru Remix)
Xinobi - Skateboarding (Kraak & Smaak Remix)
Best Box Sets of 2018
David Bowie - Loving the Alien (1983-1988)
Soft Cell - Keychains & Showstorms
Best Live Albums of 2018
The best live show of the year was definitely David Byrne's America Utopia tour---probably one of the best live shows ever. The recent live recording of some of its stops does not capture the visual brilliancy of the show, but is still a great live record on its own:
David Byrne - "...The Best Live Show Of All Time” —NME
The other two live recordings that stood out in 2018 are:
David Bowie - Glastonbury 2000
Prince - Piano & a Microphone 1983
Labels: #2018, #BestOf, #Music
# posted by Luis Rocha @ 15:21 
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