At the end of every year there is this “informal” mania, creating lists of what are called the “Best albums of the year”. Underneath this sweet “side effect”, it is impossible not to ask each of us some deep questions that seek an answer. What does the concept of “best of” means and what makes something better than something else? In some of the lists that some of my friends shared on social media, I discerned that the process of creating a list may have taken them more time than it should be, trying to include a wide range of musical genres, sometimes somewhat exaggerating. Really … I don’t blame them. Maybe for me, the criteria I set for myself for the “best albums” should be somewhat more “personal”. For this reason, it would be immature of me to claim that I am one of those listeners who is interested in a wide spectrum of the music industry and the truth is that I am probably following a very small music scene with very specific sound characteristics. For me, the “best albums” of 2024 are probably the ones I spent the most time listening to. Sometimes, they put me in a sweet process to think about what I’m listening to or I just thought that… Wow, that would be a release I would happily release on Moremars!
So what do I have for this year on my list?
I certainly didn’t include any Moremars releases on this list, even if some of them could be in here. But if you would like you can check them on your own, as more info about them are available in this website or to our bandcamp!
My Very Best Albums of 2024
1. Jim Strong – My Enemies Are Mine to Keep (Horn of Plenty, LP)
I think Jim Strong made the strongest comeback this year! I don’t know if this is just in my head, because I consider him one of the most talented musicians today. Among his top previous releases “The Sallow Rakes” (Vitrine, 2016), “Voluntary Letters” (Moremars, 2021) & “36fibulae” (Chocolate Monk, 2022), this year, I will definitely add in this list, the “My Enemies Are Mine”, which in addition to being an excellent album, is also a step beyond, in terms of what Jim has presented us to date. If there is one thing that characterizes it, it is its straightforwardness and this is probably the element that makes the big difference. Great job Jim!!!
link: https://horn-of-plenty.bandcamp.com/album/my-enemies-are-mine-to-keep
2. Rory Salter – On the Floor, by the Door (Index Clean, CD)
This is one of the albums I regret not buying. I think when I first listened it it was already sold out. I think Rory Salter does an amazing job here, combining different recordings, such as field recordings, acoustic instruments, etc. It was probably the album I spent the most time with … the truth is that I am a big fan of albums that have a good narrative flow as their main element … and there is certainly enough here!!
link: https://rorysalter.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-floor-by-the-door
3. Clinton Green – A Conduit (Shame File Music, CD)
It’s one of those albums that I listened to and was immediately excited with. I didn’t regret it at all. I think it’s one of Clinton’s most exciting sound works. The whole idea of using tape recorder sounds and the way he composed them is absolutely something that interests me sonically and this was a really good example of what you can do with those sounds. To avoid verbosity, you can find an interview I did with Clinton Green about this album as well, so you can find more information here.
link: https://shamefilemusic.bandcamp.com/album/a-conduit
4. Meilt – Jasu Jest (Krim Kram, CS)
Of course, over the last years, Krim Kram’s releases have caught my attention and I’m sure I’m not the only one. One of the first ones that I bought was the homonymous album by Dressing, which was released in 2022. After that, I’ve been following his work, which I think is quite interesting. However, this particular release exceeded my expectations and I think it’s because it’s a collaboration between Dressing and Uoerhe! Both of them did a great job, presenting us one of the most interesting noise albums of the year. And that is because, what we have here is a noise music album that is not lacking in composition. There’s a lot going on here, like drones, tape manipulation, loops, etc., mixed all with great care. The album is very short, about 20 minutes, but it was enough for me to tune in to it… besides, the whole effect was quite meditative. It’s the release I envied the most and I really wish I had released on my own label.
Link: https://krimkram.bandcamp.com/album/jasu-jest
5. Dan Michiu – Pithecanthropus Carpathicus (Molt Fluid, CS)
Dan Michiu is a new name for me and the truth is that I heard “Pithecanthropus Carpathicus” quite by chance … although nothing is by chance, as his audio material was released by Molt Fluid records! The recipe has been kept simple and the sounds from Tapes & electronics have been recorded live. The whole atmosphere is reminiscent of early industrial music with a fairly repetitive flow. Both sides of the cassette include the same composition and its total duration is 27+ minutes. However, “Pithecanthropus Carpathicus” is an album that I listened to with great pleasure and several times!
link: https://moltfluid.bandcamp.com/album/pithecanthropus-carpathicus
6. T.D. – Mouth Music (New Forces, CS)
The “Music Mouth” follows “Voiceprints & Aircuts: Sound Poetry by Other Means,” as Tomas’ second attempt at creating an album based on sound poetry. Here we have a more robust construction, based on primitive noises, microphonisms and the sonic chaos that the human voice can produce through analog devices. This is a nice album that could be considered as the natural continuation of Thomas DeAngelo’s experimentation with noise music and the concept of sound poetry.
Link: https://newforces.bandcamp.com/album/mouth-music
7. Arek Gulbenkoglu – The Greek Tape (Index Clean, CD)
“The Greek Tape” is one of those albums that I could classify as “difficult”. The album consists of 6 parts that are presented here as one long piece with a duration of 40 minutes. What intrigued me the most is the unpredictability of the composition. However, it is not a composition that could be considered an “easy” listening and the listener should definitely mast have some previous listenings in order to be able to understand it. Nevertheless, Arek Gulbenkoglu managed to create a rather special composition, which deserves your attention.
Link: https://arekgulbenkoglu-indexclean.bandcamp.com/album/the-greek-tape
8. Shadow Pattern – Chimerism (Adhuman, 2XCD)
Even if this album is essentially a collection of older recording by Nathan Ivanco, that it was released originally to his “Hamilton Tapes” label , I decided to include it here, as this is a release that probably introduced a larger audience to Shadow Pattern’s music. This is a fairly substantial release, consisting of 2 cds and a lot of music to listen to! Shadow Pattern’s music has a fairly personal character and the whole concept of his music is based on homemade experimentation with noise, cassette loops, objects etc. This release made a real hype and I think it sold out pretty quickly. If I am not wrong, after this compilation, there was two more releases out by Shadow Pattern, the “Underthought” (Chocolate Monk) & an unexpected collaboration with Blod (Förlag För Fri Musik) + two more to his own label! Because of all the activity that Nathan Ivanco has developed this year, I think a list would be somewhat lacking without including his name, since 2024 was certainly a good year for him.
Link: https://adhuman.bandcamp.com/album/chimerism
9. Nærværet (LP)
This is probably the release I’ve listened to the least of all the ones I’ve listed here, and that’s because it was released at the end of 2024. The name Nærværet didn’t initially remind me of anything, but as soon as I heard some audio excerpts, I realized that this album would be of interest to me. When I noticed that the specific project was a collaboration between Mattias Gustafsson and Andreas Barsleth, I immediately understood why its sound intrigued me so much. On the one hand, Mattias Gustafsson’s sound work, whether it’s released as Altar Of Flies or under another of his personal projects, always fasinated me, with its distorted distopia feeling. On the other hand, I am familiar with Andreas Barsleth’s work as JORDMENNESKE. Both artists operate on the same wavelength. They use analog real-to-real tape recorders, creating faded loops. In their music, they place repetition in the center of their music creation, leading us to a hypnotic sound experience. And this is perhaps the element of their music that makes it so interesting to me and ofcourse recognizable. Probably I will listen this album more this year or maybe not, but until now I feel that it could be included on this “Best of” list.
Link: https://altarofflies.bandcamp.com/album/n-r-man-ser-inn-i-en-annens-hjerte
10. Ezio Piermattei – Gran trotto remastered LP (Holidays, LP)
Finally, I have a release that is not new, but a reissue. “Gran trotto” was released as a CDr on Chocolate Monk, in 2018, in a very limited number of copies. The fullness of time came in 2024 and Ezio’s work was reissued in just 100 vinyl copies. “Gran trotto” as well as “Holo Orbita”, a collaboration between Ezio Piermattei and Grip Casino, were what prompted me a few years ago to suggest to Ezio to release his work on Moremars. Then “From Afar It Looks Like An Oriflamme” came! Both of them shares common sound elements. They both constitute a peculiar narrative model of composition, like an audio diary. Ezio Piermattei’s compositions are highly radiophonic, anthropocentric, and have the ability to transport us to the Italian soundscape and the lifestyle of its permanent residents. I wonder, is Ezio’s music is what post-war II Italian neorealism in cinema was for, or is it simply a lost memory of the Italian way of life that changes to something different today?
Link: https://eziopiermattei.bandcamp.com/album/gran-trotto