2024-01-02
Hey City Zen 2023
2023 was another hardworking year, full of fun travel for work and with friends and family. Unfortunately, war, horrible World leaders and nationalism made it particularly sad and dangerous! Despite it all, I continued to DJ #happymusic to full clubs again. Every year is a great year for music, with such amazing tracks, even if perhaps fewer great albums. I am sure I missed really excellent stuff, but here is the best City Zen of the year that made my radar. Top 40 Albums (plus a few live collections), Top 100 Tracks, Top 20 Remixes/Edits (from E-Trash's DJ sets). The top tracks and remixes are assembled in a Spotify List as well.
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Top 40 Albums of 2023
Grouped alphabetically in 4 groups below.Diamond Cut
There were 10 albums that stood above the rest. From dance manifestoes to new blues, these are amazing and creative from start to finish.
The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling
Everything But the Girl – Fuse
Folamour – Manifesto
Gabriels – Angels & Queens – Part II
Róisín Murphy – Hit Parade
The Pretenders – Relentless
Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS
The Sparks – The Girl is Crying in her Latte
Supershy – Happy Music
Tensnake – Stimulate
Platinum Set
These 6 albums, coming from very distinct genres, are almost flawless and I could not get enough of them:
Blur – The Ballad of Darren
Dadi Freyr – I Made an Album
Macklemore – BEN
Jalen Ngonda – Come Around and Love me
The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
Romy – Mid Air
Gold Circle
ANOHNI, and the Johnsons – My back was a bridge for you to cross
Corine – R
The Legendary Tigerman – ZEITGEIST
Donny McCaslin – I want More
Kylie Minogue – Tension
The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein
Meshell Ndegeocello – The Omnichord real Book
Portugal. the Man – Chris Black Changed my Life
Tiga & Hudson Mohawke – L’Ecstasy
Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good
Silver Line
Isabelle Adjani – Adjani, bande originale
Amaarae – Fountain Baby
Bakermat – From a Bakermat Point of View
Lana Del Rey – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
Depeche Mode – Memento Mori
Alison Goldfrapp – The Love Invention
Mayer Hawthorne – For All Time
Jungle – Volcano
Janelle Monáe – The Age of Pleasure
Aya Nakamura – DNK
Caroline Polacheck – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
Poolside – Blame it all on Love
Iggy Pop – EVERY LOSER
Benny Sings – Young Hearts
Best Live and Soundtrack albums of 2023
Kirsty MacColl – Live at the Jazz Café (London 12 October 1999)
Rosa Passos – Samba Sem Você (Live at Copenhagen Jazzhouse 2001)
Cat Power - Sings Bob Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert
Nina Simone – You’ve Got to Learn (Live)
Best EPs of 2023
Three EPs were on rotation a lot, with more good tracks than many albums:
Bellaire – Sunset Ballad
Channel Tres – Real cultural shit
Jon Dixon – Musicality
Pet Shop Boys – Lost
Top 100 Tracks of 2023
The best way to display this is via a Spotify list which also includes the remixes below at the end. I created the list to be listened to in the order shown, but can also be listened to at random of course:
Top 20 Remixes and Edits of 2023
So many great remixes and edits this year. There were definitely 4 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, a distilled essence, or simply make it work so well on the dance floor. It is great when a track has two great lives, which is a remix at its best:
Paramore – C’est Comme ça (Re: Wet Leg)
The Rolling Stones – Mess it up (Purple Disco Machine Remix)
Wham! – Club Tropicana (Sigala & Manovski Balearic Breeze Remix)
Yard Act – The Trench Coat Museum (Arthur Baker Remix)
The remaining awesome remixes alphabetically:
Bosq & Kaleta – Meji Meji (Folamour Remix)
BT – Kintsugi (Siskin Remix)
David Bowie – Golden Years (TOKiMONSTA Remix)
Chromeo – Word with you (Tchami Remix)
Gal Costa – Flor de Maracujá (Bruce Leroys *Aureum Remix))
Cristalli Liquidi – Rosso Carnale (Bottin’s Fast Tape Dub)
Gabriels – Love and Hate in a Different Time (Greg Wilson & Ché Wilson Full-Length Remix)
Alison Goldfrapp – The Beat Divine (Theo Kottis Remix)
Felipe Gordon – For Martha (Kai Alcé NDATL ClubJazz Remix)
Jayda G – Scars (Kerri Chandler Edit)
Kraak & Smaak – Let’s Go Back (Joe Goddard Remix)
Klaus Nomi – The Cold Song (Arnaud Rebotini Remix)
Rita Ora – Praising you (Fatboy Slim Remix)
Portugal. the Man feat. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Summer of Love (Bakermat Remix)
Royksopp – Feel It (LP Giobbi Remix)
Xinobi – La Tormenta (Adam Ten & Mita Gami Remix)
Labels: #2023, #BestOf, #DJ, #Lists, #Music, #YearEnd
