Undomondo

Chick Corea - What Game Shall We Play Today

Chick Corea, Grammy-winning jazz musician, dies at 79

The composer, keyboardist and bandleader, who won 23 Grammy awards, has died of a rare form of cancer

Undomondo’s Best of 2020

What a year this was! Barren socially, yet elated creatively. It took the last three days to sort out the already fleshed out best of list.

An overwhelming amount of music has been released during the pandemic, and it’s always hard to judge different genres against each other. I’ve spent a lot of time and brain cells, going back and listening to snippets of songs and albums. In the end making year lists are always very subjective, trying to balance repeat listen albums with albums breaking new ground stylistically. After countless hours I think I’ve done justice to MY OWN listening history this year.

Undomodno Best of 2020 Spotify Playlist

Here are some notes:

UK dance/funk/soul troupe Sault wins 2020 easily, by releasing two albums that both end up in the Top 30.

I feel I’ve listened way more hip-hop this year than previous years, and artists like Armand Hammer, Freddie Gibbs, Conway the Machine and the Griselda label, Clipping. & The Koreatown Oddity are breaking new ground in hip-hop.

Jazz features significantly like always. Aaron Parks topped my jazz releases this year, with a close call by Makaya McCraven’s remake of Gil Scott-Heron’s final album, but there are some amazing albums by the mighty Sun Ra Arkestra, Jeff Parker, Alabaster DePlume, Moses Boyd, Idris Ackamoor..

Usual Undomondo suspects like Oranssi Pazuzu, Protomartyr, Bohren, Bill Callahan, Tigran Hamasyan, Meridian Brothers, Khruangbin, Woods and No Age feature on the list, although I should single out Oranssi Pazuzu, as they are the best avant/psych extreme metal band by leaps and bounds. I’ve picked them for The Attic’s end of year list. (which is a required read that I will attend to after I wrap this up, because there’s so much I’ve missed on that list.)

Debutantes on the list are Billy Nomates, Tara Clerkin, K-Lone, Villaelvinand Vague Imaginaires — whom released 2 amazing albums this year that I had trouble picking — .

Some amount of major label artists such as Natalia Fourcade, Jessie Ware, Lianne La Havas & Fiona Apple can be found among a 90% indie label list. It’s alright, don’t fret, even major labels can sometimes put out good stuff. :)

I’m now a fullblown Afrobeats fan (do not confuse it with Fela’s afrobeat) after listening to Burna Boy non stop last year. Wizkid’s Ginger has been my most scrobbled song this year, even though it was released in the last Q.

We’ve lost two Tony Allen & Andrew Weatherall, Hum returned to form after 25 years, Kruder & Dorfmeister found their lost 1995 album, The Microphones and Aksak Maboul are back..

Helsinki label, We Jazz has been my favourite jazz label this year. Although not represented on the list — songs by JAF Trio and Superposition, Jonah Parzen-Johnson are on the playlist — was one of the most consistent labels this year with over 5 avantgarde jazz albums all worth repeat listens.

Strangely no label had 3 releases, but Nuclear Blast, Sub Pop, Stones Throw, Thrill Jockey, Ghostly, Strut, Century Media, International Anthem, Ninja Tune and Drag City all have 2 releases in the long list..

I’ve handpicked and loosely tied together 170 songs which amounts to over 13 hours of music and around 20 genres, both from albums noted below and from other material. Please do take your time, I’ve really put a lot of effort and I truly believe this music is the creme of the crop.

Like earlier years, I’ve missed around 15 albums that I feel might have ended on this list if I had the time.. This is -unfortunately- the way! More on those later.

And without further ado, here’s the best music that has reached my eardrums this year.

Top 30

1. Sault — Untitled (Black Is) (Forever Living Originals) 2. Oranssi Pazuzu — Mestarin Kynsi (Nuclear Blast) 3. Hum — Inlet (Earth Analog) 4. Billy Nomates — Billy Nomates (Invada) 5. Aaron Parks — Little Big II: Dreams of a Mechanical Man (Ropeadope) 6. Armand Hammer — Shrines (Backwoodz Studios) 7. Koniec Pola — Trop EP (Spoldzielnia) 8. Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven — We’re New Again (XL Recordings) 9. Y-Bayani & Baby Naa And The Band of Enlightenment, Reason & Love — Nsie Nsie (Philophon) 10. Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes — What Kinda Music (Beyond the Groove) 11. Alabaster DePlume — To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 (International Anthem) 12. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist — Alfredo (ESGN) 13. Conway the Machine — From King to A GOD (Griselda) 14. Ana Roxanne — Because of a Flower (Kranky) 15. Clipping. — Visions of Bodies Being Burned (Sub Pop) 16. Protomartyr — Ultimate Success Today (Domino) 17. Bill Callahan — Gold Record (Drag City) 18. Jessie Ware — What’s your Pleasure? (Universal) 19. Sault — Untitled (Rise) (Forever Living Originals) 20. The Koreatown Oddity — Little Dominiques Nosebleed (Stones Throw) 21. Laura Marling — Song for our Daughter (Chrysalis) 22. Porridge Radio — Every Bad (Secretly Canadian) 23. Wood River — More than I can see (yellowbird) 24. Art Feynman — Half Price at 3:30 (Western Vinyl) 25. Bohren & Der Club of Gore — Patchouli Blue (PIAS) 26. Nubya Garcia — SOURCE (Concord) 27. WizKid — Made in Lagos (Starboy/RCA) 28. Pallbearer — Forgotten Days (Nuclear Blast) 29. Lianne La Havas — Lianne La Havas (Warner Music) 30. The Microphones — Microphones in 2020 (P.W. Elverum & Sun)

Just Missed

31. Causa Sui — Szabodelico (El Paraiso) 32. Obongjayar — Which way is forward? EP (September Recordings) 33. DJ Python — Mas Amable (Incienso) 34. Automat — Modul (Compost) 35. Tara Clerkin Trio — Self Titled (Laura Lies In) 36. Fiona Apple — Fetch the Bolt Cutters (Epic / Sony) 37. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs — Viscerals (Rocket Recordings) 38. Moaning — Uneasy Laughter (Sub Pop) 39. Tiwa Savage — Celia (Universal) 40. Khruangbin — Mordechai (Dead Oceans) 41. Laurent Bardainne & Tigre d’Eau Douce — Love is Everywhere (Heavenly Sweetness) 42. Moses Boyd — Dark Matter (Exodus Records) 43. Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou — May Our Chambers be Full (Sacred Bones) 44. FUJIIIITA — iki (Hallow Ground) 45. Imperial Triumphant — Alphaville (Century Media) 46. Tigran Hamasyan — The Call Within (Nonesuch) 47. Keeley Forsyth — Debris (The Leaf Label) 48. Vague Imaginaires — L’île D’or (Not Not Fun) 49. TOPS — I Feel Alive (Arbutus Records) 50. Sevdaliza — Shabrang (Twisted Elegance)

Mentions

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