Council Meeting Memo #086 — Squatney District Council’s Top 10 for 2023
Music Memoria 2023 Preset
Everyone has a story to tell about 2023 right? It’s been a mix of diminishing highs and a continual stream of minor lows for me. Ongoing health issues as well as family related nonsense are a drain. And lets not forget the turbulence going on in the wider world. Whilst active on social media, I couldn’t find any value in airing my insignificant thoughts on issues such as Gaza, Ukraine, the environment or the fucking Tories. I’ve tried to keep it positive and focus on the two things that have been reliable emotional bedrocks from the start: music and movies.
New Music
1. Purelink: Purelink (Peak Oil)
Totally evokes the innocence of mid 90’s ambient techno before jettisoning it into new spheres. This was the most played record in the District Council offices, hands down.
2. Various Artists: Bleeps, Breaks + Bass Volume 1 and 2 (Musique Pour La Danse)
Do you like bleeps? Do like breaks? Do you like Bass? Then you’ll love Bleeps, Breaks + Bass. It’s me favourite!
3. Goat (JP): Joy In Fear (NAKID)
Best gig of the year (was the only gig for me so it’s the best by default). All the hyperbole is truly deserved, this lot fucking rule.
4. Vril: Animist (Delsin)
He never disappoints, a balanced mix of pulverising techno, Basic Channel bothering shenanigans and melodies that soar.
5. Catherine Christer Hennix: Solo For Tamburium (Blank Forms Editions)
If you only ever buy one drone album this year, then make it this one, yeah? Another artist that took the stairway to heaven too. 😟
6. Khanate: To Be Cruel (Sacred Bones)
A slow sonic torture. Will eat at you from the inside and work its way outwards. And not in a good way. The reissue of the self titled album was also just as much fun.
7. SDEM: Vortices (SKAM)
I’ve been following Tom’s stuff for a while now with a slew of killa cassette releases. So it seemed only natural that SKAM be home to his latest album. And what a statement! Sick artwork too.
8. Ryuichi Sakamoto: 12 (Commmons)
Sakamoto’s death was the musical low point of 2023, f’real. This, his last studio album was minimalist in content but maximalist in emotion. The sound of his laboured breathing over the still piano pieces still haunts me.
9. RRrose: Please Touch (EAUX)
I’m biased ‘cos RRose lives near me and I have to be nice to this album, otherwise I’ll be ex-communicated. Joking aside, it’s a proper workout in textural techno. ‘Spines’ is the one that does the most damage.
10. Philip Jeck & Chris Watson: Oxmardyke (Touch)
The passing of Philip Jeck in 2022 hit hard and this sublime collaboration with ex-Cabaret Voltaire member and sound recording artist Chris Watson is sonic manna from heaven.
Reissues
1. Black Dog Productions: Bytes / Spanners (Warp)
2. Speedy J: Ginger (Warp)
3. Photek: Modus Operandi (Virgin)
4. Soul Oddity: Tone Capsule (Capsule Freak)
5. Abstract Thought: Hypothetical Situations (Clone Aqualung Series)
6. Amorphous Androgynous: Tales of Ephidrina (Quigley)
7. Merzbow: Pulse Demon (Relapse)
8. Jai Paul: Leak 04–13 (Bait Ones) (XL)
9. Laraaji: Segue To Infinity (Numero Group)
10. Khanate: Khanate (Southern Lord)
Movies
1. The Beasts (Sorogoyen)
2. Oppenheimer (Nolan)
3. Return to Seoul (Chou)
4. Tar (Field)
5. Alcarràs (Simón)
6. Anatomy of a Fall (Triet)
7. Kill Boksoon (Sung-hyun)
8. Past Lives (Song)
9. The Holdovers (Payne)
10. Zone Of Interest (Glazer)
