Top 10 Albums of 2011: Summary

2011 has been an incredibly strong year musically. It has also saw a major shift in the way I consume music having spent the majority of my adult life preferring to visit clubs and allow DJs to shape my night. I grew disillusioned to an extent with club nights and DJs in favour of catching live acts and this has reflected on the albums I have listened to. The majority of albums I have heard this year I have actually managed to catch the artist live.

There have been some good albums that could quite feasible made the list Rustie's Glass Swords and Sepalcure's self titled album both suffered from being released late in the year the same applies to Drake's Take Care which for what it's worth was probably the best hip hop album released this year especially after the disappointment of Watch The Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West. There were other highlights Battles and Wu Lyf both released albums that were more destined for live performance than home listening and both delivered scintillating live performances at the Kazimier. The list of albums I enjoyed is vast Metronomy delivered a great indie pop record, Nicolas Jaar a lovely LP of electronica, Aloe Blacc's LP oozed soul and Balam Acab some haunting future bass music. However, none of the aforementioned albums moved me as much as the below list.

The Real Mikaél's Albums of 2011
10. VA - Fabriclive 57 (Mixed by Jackmaster)
9. Modeselektor - Monkeytown
8. LV & Joshua Idehen - Routes
7. Jamie XX & Gil Scott Heron - We're New Here
6. Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam
5. SBTRKT - SBTRKT
4. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia Ultra
3. James Blake - James Blake
2. The Weeknd - House of Balloons
1. Jamie Woon - Mirrorwriting

I hope you have enjoyed reading the feature as much as I have enjoyed putting it together, the year truly was a brilliant year for music.

Top 10 Albums of 2011: #6

A Mercury Music Prize nominee and yet another Londoner comes in at number 6. Though while a Londoner Ghostpoet is actually a fan of Liverpool FC, something he demonstrated at the Liverpool Music Week closing party by entering the stage with an LFC scarf, the poor chap didn’t count on the partisan nature of the LFC/Everton divide and a chorus of boo’s comically rained down upon him. Yet, he did produce a standout album hence his inclusion here.

6. Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam



If ever there was an aptly named artist then it’s Ghostpoet. The quirkily named Peanut Butter Blue and Melancholy Jam brings together urban poetry and haunting electronic production not to dissimilar to that of Burial at times. Spoken rather than rapped the London voice of Ghostpoet narrates through a story of struggles in a 21st century city, much like Joshua Idehen does on the earlier mentioned Routes. Despite the chapters which deal with struggles with alcohol and heartbreak the album has a resistant element of embracing the struggles, as depicted in the uplifting Survive It. The live show is well worth a look, having caught Ghostpoet twice this year I was not left disappointed especially at The Big Chill where to quote the man himself “I must admit it got quite wild”.