Top 10 Albums of 2011: #1

Without any further ado the winner is....

1. Jamie Woon - Mirrorwriting



I first heard Jamie Woon on a TruThoughts covers compilation album a couple of years back doing a cover of Olive’s You’re Not Alone, it took a while to get from then to the release of a full album but boy was it worth the wait.

The album has easily been the most played album of my year hence the award of album of the year. Lady Luck has also found its way into 90% of my DJ sets this year, also having a crossover appeal with house DJ and king of DC10 Luciano making an edit of it and dropping it in his sets too.

The ethereal feel of Mirrorwriting encapsulates the feeling of being in a big city surrounded by people, yet feeling alone in a subtle and beautiful manner. Night Air begins the journey and sets the tone, with a little help of the genius that is Burial, with his trademark beats and haunting melodies coupled with Woon’s emotive voice. There aren’t enough superlatives to express how good this album is, it glides effortlessly from track to track losing you in the moment and before you know it you are at your final destination (assuming you have it on while travelling). Anyone who has watched the Youtube version of Spirits can bear witness to the talent of Jamie Woon where he plays as a one man band with the use of a sampler and he played a part in the production, writing and obviously vocals of Mirrorwriting, a multi talented exceptional artist.

The only criticism I can offer is that Jamie Woon’s live show left me disappointed on two occasions this year, while the sound of his voice is as good live as it is on the album I found the live performances a little wooden and lacking in personality. However this is an album of the year feature not a live performance of the year feature so Mirrorwriting wins hands down.

TRM Recommends: 3 J's for January

2010 was a fantastic year for music, whittling down all the albums to compile a top ten was extremely difficult. It appears 2011 could be just as, if not more difficult. Three names have jumped out to me opening days of the year and they all have very similar names and are all producing high quality electronic music. Below is a bit of information about each of the 3 J's and a track by each of them.

Starting first with the man who I think is going to end up becoming my favourite artist of the year, despite the fact his album dropping in February I think it's an early contender for album of the year. From what I've heard I certainly hope it gets a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize. James Blake having made a fair few productions and a couple of EP's notably the Kelis sampling anthem of summer 2010 - CMYK, Blake has decided to go deeper and add his own soulful voice in the mix. The track that's really doing it for me is Wilhelms Scream which is hauntingly beautiful.

02 - Wilhelms Scream by indieistanbul

Note: Also worth checking is the BBC Sound of 2011 page for Mr Blake which includes a mesmerising live version of the above track as well as a couple of others and some interviews. The album drops on the 7th February.

Next on the agenda is a man who's DJ Mix for a French boutique was constantly on my iPod over the summer 2010. His band was also without a shadow of a doubt the best thing I seen all summer, well probably all year! Jamie XX has an exciting 2011 in front of him, there is a remix album with Gil Scott Heron about to drop soon from which two tracks have been teased out and they are both extremely strong! I hear he has a solo EP to come out some time in the year too. I would like to see and hope that a Jamie XX/Fantastic Mr Fox collaboration is in the pipe line, which would be mouth watering stuff! The track I've chosen for the blog is something that I just cannot stop playing over and over again is his remix of Adele. The percussion, the vocals and the strings are just arranged so well. It's quite dancey.



Note: Jamie XX recently did a DJ mix for Benji B which is well worth a listen, it includes the above track. It can be found at Pinglewood's blog.

Finally last but by no means least is someone who I have been a bit later getting onto than the two above mentioned artists. He is another with a widely anticipated debut abum dropping in the early part of 2011. Jamie Woon has a distinctive R&B voice laden with soul, not too dissimilar an artist to James Blake. However the smooth soulful vocals are more prominent on Woon's tracks than that of his counterpart yet it is still very much in the realms of the urban soundscape that is what you might call "Post Dubstep". The track I've chosen is actually a remix, as I am a sucker for a Burial remix. If this guy has got Burial's backing he has definitely got mine.



Note. Jamie Woon is playing in Liverpool on the 25th February at The Shipping Forecast.