Top 10 Tracks of 2011

It's been a brilliant year for music as already outlined in the Top 10 Albums of 2011 feature. There were some artists who really impressed this year without making it on to that list, there were also ovbiously some amazing tracks featured on the albums of that list. So this short feature is to pay homage to some of the tracks that have racked up the most plays on my iTunes, iPhone and in my DJ sets during the year. Though it is ranked, not a great deal of significance should be taken from the position all tunes are in here on merit and they are all incredibly high quality.

Note: Tracks that were included in the recent 'Dancefloor Tracks of 2011' feature haven't been considered for this for the sake of avoiding repetition.

10. Metronomy - The Bay



9. SBTRKT ft. Little Dragon - Wildfire (Drake remix)



8. Battles ft. Matias Aguayo - Ice Cream



7. Little Dragon - Ritual Union



6. Chase & Status ft. Delilah - Time



5. Rustie - Ultra Thizz



4. Adele - Rolling in the Deep (Jamie XX Shuffle)



3. Jessie Ware & Sampha - Valentine



2. Jamie Woon - Lady Luck



1. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream

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: #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.

Top 10 Albums of 2011: #2

It's another mixtape at number 2, I'm not the only person to rate it so highly too with House of Balloons being made FACT magazine's album of 2011 not quite there for me but I'm sure The Weeknd will get over it!

2. The Weeknd - House of Balloons



A recommendation from a friend was how I discovered The Weeknd (Cheers Gary!) and what a discovery it was too. House of Balloons is the first in a trilogy of mixtapes, the second was recently released and is of outstanding quality. However it is House of Balloons what we are here to talk about primarily, some of the production makes me thing that this is what Burial would sound like if he was a vocalist and making R&B. Unlike the earlier mentioned Frank Ocean, this is a record that probably is R&B but it is much less radio friendly than Frank’s offering.

The Weeknd started off with a bit of a Burial vibe enigmatic approach, a secrecy to identity, recent collaborations with fellow Canadian Drake have entered him more into the eyes of the mainstream and deservedly so. My favourite DJ of the year Oneman has been championing tracks from the album all year, the sumptuous ‘What You Need’ in particular. The mixtape has the usual samples of well known records, but they are expertly chosen and used in such a complimentary fashion none more so than the Juan Maclean version of Happy House by Siouxsie and the Banshees. All in all this body of work is something that is extremely easy to listen to over and over again, I haven’t met a single person who could disagree with that either.

Both mixtapes mentioned in this piece are available for FREE DOWNLOAD on The Weeknd's official website. A third is due to drop in 2012, which I for one am eagerly anticipating.

Top 10 Albums of 2011: #3

The album at number 3 was given a full review on this blog upon release in February and was given 9/10 so it was a given that it was always going to be in and around the contenders at the end of year awards.

3. James Blake - James Blake



James Blake’s self titled LP was much anticipated and did not fail to deliver. Rightly included in the BBC Sound of 2011 feature he has had a brilliant year touring the album with an incredibly charming live show which I was fortunate enough to witness in a 300 capacity dark room in Liverpool as well as on the main stage of The Big Chill festival with about 20,000 other revellers.

James’ voice is brilliant and in ‘Give Me My Month’ he showcases it with only a piano for company resulting in an effortlessly beautiful two minutes. The album contains what has to be credited as the most emotive track of the year the mesmerising Wilhelms Scream. It’s not just raw emotion and ballads on this body of work though Limit To Your Love has a quivering bass and I Never Learnt to Share a synth laden breakdown that would certainly wake you up if listened to on the morning commute to work. All in all what James Blake offered with this album was something I had never heard before and it will continue to be played for many years to come.