2020 Review - Top Ten Electronic Albums

 2020 has been a great year for electronica - maybe it's because it's often made by individuals alone and in isolation, something a lot of people experienced this year. Here is my pick of the best releases.

1. Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song

A brilliant mix of throbbing instrumentals and gentler vocal tracks, plus you won't find a better combination of Welsh legends than Michael Sheen being in the video for 'Corner Of My Sky', the track which features John Cale.

2. Caribou - Suddenly

The fifth album from Dan Snaith's Caribou is the best yet.

3. Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans

Totally uplifting and warm dance vibes.

4. Rival Consoles - Articulation

6 tracks of pure quality from Ryan West

5. Romare - Home

Another artist who just keeps getting better and better.

6. Darkstar - Civic Jams

A very personal and warm album from the duo.

7. Daniel Avery - Love + Light

An album recorded and released quickly during lockdown, with 2 distinct personalities - throbbing techno and ambient headscapes.

8. Against All Logic - 2017-2019

Another great collection from Nicolas Jaar.

9. Nathan Fake - Blizzards

A great slice of chunky electronica.

10. Luke Abbott - Translate

Modular synth loveliness from the depths of Norfolk.

Albums of the Year - 2020

 Let's not dwell on how crap this year has been. The dark times have at least provided me with more time to listen to (recorded) music, even if the buzz of live performances has been curtailed. Here are the records that stood out for me:

1. Sault - Untitled (Black Is)

The first of two albums released by the mysterious Sault this year initially draws you in through its brilliant production. It's hard to tell whether the music is mostly sample based, freshly recorded, or a mixture of the two, but it somehow has a timeless and non-geographic quality that means you could believe it was recorded in Bristol in the early 90s, or New York this year, or at any point in between. The lyrical themes are bang on the 2020 agenda, but they're more like a whisper in your ear than a punch in the face, subtly getting their message across. Their second album of 2020 'Untitled (Rise)' was a more upbeat affair but is equally worth checking out, but this one edges it for me. Powerful stuff.

2. Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song

There have been some great electronic albums this year, but this is the clear winner for me. A great mix of throbbing instrumentals and more gentle vocal tracks, topped off with a guest appearance from John Cale and a belting cover of Radiohead's 'Weird Fishes'. I can't wait to experience this album live once we can all be together in dark sweaty rooms again.

3. Caribou - Suddenly

Caribou's fifth album is their most diverse and best yet. There's a warmth to the recordings that elevate them from bedroom electronica and the whole record has a surprisingly analogue feel. There are snippets and samples of other people's songs as well as what seems like Snaith sampling his own unreleased tracks to build into layers of different songs. Give it a few plays and it will become a familiar friend.

4. Mura Masa - Raw Youth Collage

I love the warmth and nostalgia of this record, and how it talks about a longing for times that perhaps seem look better looking back than they did as you were living them. With guest appearances from Wolf Alice, slowthai, Georgia and Clairo, it still manages to feel like a complete piece of work and was clearly a labour of love for him, especially the accompanying book. I'm surprised that this didn't really get highlighted in any of the big media end of year reviews, but it's one of my favourites even if no-one else recognises its quality.

5. The Avalanches - We Will Always Love You

Although the full album only appeared in December, a number of tracks had been released in the preceding months and already felt this was going to be a great record. And I wasn't disappointed - despite the plethora of guest performers this is a wonderfully cohesive record, full of warmth, with lots of soft moments as well as a few dancefloor boogies. The whole experience of it is like a having a duvet for your soul.

6. Working Men's Club - Working Men's Club

Syd Minsky, the driving force behind this band, is possibly the most driven and focussed 18 year old in the country at the moment, and certainly in the music business. Making music that sounds like New Order and The Fall chucked in a blender and whizzed back and forward in time for a while, he's somehow created a sound that feels fresh and new for people around his age, but warmly familiar for those of use with a few more miles on the clock. The last band I went to see before Covid struck, and the first I saw at a socially distanced gig afterwards, this is the debut album of the year.

7. Modern Nature - Annual

I'm not entirely sure if this is an album or an EP, but either way it's gorgeous. Like a modern day pastoral it evokes nature, countryside, the warm sun and just a general good feeling of being outdoors and experiencing life. Beautiful artwork too.

8. Moses Boyd - Dark Matter

The 'new jazz' scene in England shows no signs of getting old, and this year's breakthrough came for brilliant drummer Moses Boyd. The Mercury Prize-nominated 'Dark Matter' sounds current and classic all at once, with intricate rhythms and skilful arrangements. With a recent presenting slot on BBC's Jazz 625 programme, the future looks the opposite of dark for Mr Boyd.

9. The Wytches - Three Mile Ditch

Possibly the most surprising inclusion on here, I wasn't expecting this album to be anywhere near as good as it is. It's a real step forward for the band in terms of both melody and production - at times it sounds like Radiohead or The Longpigs, and yet it still has some full pelt psychedelic freak-outs on it. It's enough to make you fall back in love with guitar music again.

10. Disq - Collector

Talking of guitar music, here's an album full of fuzzed guitars, melodies and even a bona fide pop song or two, he 5 piece from Wisconsin conjure up vibes from Fountains of Wayne and Weezer as well as more recent acts like Bodega, and wrap everything up in a bundle of joy and energy.

15 more that nearly made the cut:

• Everything Is Recorded - Friday Forever
• Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans
• Pottery - Welcome To Bobby's Motel
• Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas
• Crack Cloud - Pain Olympics
• Rival Consoles - Articulation
• Car Seat Headrest -  Making A Door Less Open
• Romare - Home
• Khruangbin - Mordechai
• Bob Vylan - We Live Here
• Run The Jewels - RTJ4
• LA Priest - Gene
• Westerman - Your Hero Is Not Dead
• Against All Logic (A.A.L.) - 2017-2019
• Bananagun - The Tue Story of Bananagun

New mixtape - DJ Cull presents The Lockdown Getdown

So we've all been stuck indoors now for far too long, but one of the upsides is some extra time to do stuff we might usually be too busy for. As well as reading tons of books and watching the whole of the Star Wars saga (including The Mandalorian, which I thought was great) I've got the mixing gear out again and made the mixtape above. It's mostly tracks from 2020 with a few new versions of older songs thrown into the mix - I just wanted to make something positive and upbeat to put a smile on your face and a beat for your feet. Here's the tracklisting:

1. Valentine - Violet Sky [Joe Goddard Remix]
2. Holy Fuck - Deleters (feat. Angus Andrew)[APRE Remix]
3. Basement Jaxx - Red Alert [The Cube Guys Remix]
4. Sonny Federa & King Henry - Before U (feat. AlunaGeorge)[Illyus & Barrientos Remix]
5. New Order - Fine Time [Nollan Remix]
6. Love Regenerator - Peace Love Happiness
7. Robbie Doherty & Keees - Pour The Milk [ExtendedMix]
8. Jacques Greene - Night Service (feat. Cadence Weapon)[Fort Romeau Remix]
9. Caribou - Never Come Back [Morgan Geist Remix]
10. Four Tet - Baby
11. Bicep - Atlas
12. Darkstar - Wolf [John Talabot's Euphoric Remix]

Track of the Day: 'Pure Luxury' by NZCA Lines

This rather full on slice of synth-pop heralds the return of NZCA Lines, with a song about luxury, status and pursuing material wealth in the face of environmental catastrophe. Could it be any more relevant?

Over the course of 4 minutes it manages to cram in about three decades of pop references, somehow sounding like Prince, The Beach Boys and LCD Soundsystem all at once.

The track is out now on Memphis Industries and the band have announced a headline show at Heaven in London on October 28th.

Recommended music: 'Thug Ambient' by Dale Cornish

It's a weird kind of situation to be releasing new records into. Some acts have pushed theirs back (including Jarvis Cocker, which surprised me) while other have soldiered on, giving us some welcome distractions from the world around us. This new one from Londoner Dale Cornish came out a couple of weeks ago and I picked it up on Friday from Bandcamp when they were having their special day to support artists.

Over the course of its 11 tracks this is a pretty intense and occasionally brutal record, with few moments of calm. But I've found that to be a relief to be honest, there's only so long you can try and think happy thoughts and be gentle before you want to listen to something that's going to put up a fight, which is what this record does for me.

So then, how best to describe this album? I asked Dale and he said that 'this album...isn't worried about fitting into certain categories / tribal affiliations', which is just as well as it would be pretty hard to pigeonhole. I mean, you could say it sounds like New Order on a messy night out with Venetian Snares, or you could say it sounds like the 8-bit soundtrack to the most violent game of Mario Kart ever invented. But why bother? The best thing to do with this album is to just stick your head inside it and play it really LOUD, let it pound through your bones and drive the virus out of your system. I'm particularly keen on the last 4 tracks on the album but you can pretty much dive in anwhere and see what you think of it.

Cornish might have been called a 'thug' when he went to a gig aged 16 wearing trackies, but if this is the sound of him embracing that label then I'm all for it.

You can listen to the full album below, and if you feel inclined then buy a copy too.

Track of the Day: 'Atlas' by Bicep

Back with their first single since 2018, Bicep have released this powerful, brooding track which positively throbs with dark vibes. Calling to mind Four Tet, Aphex Twin and Underworld, it's sure to set dancefloors and gigs alight once we're all allowed to go back outside. Until then you'll just have to turn it up LOUD at home and dance on your own, isolation style.

'Atlas' will be released physically on Ninja Tune on April 2nd.

Recommended music: 'Mother' by Cold Beat

The fifth album from this San Franciscan sees them deliver a perfect mix of 80s nostalgia and 20s ennui. Seemingly tailor made for soundtracks and/or personal reminiscing, you could hear some of these tracks on 'Deutschland 83' or 'Stranger Things' and believe that they were originals for the time. Take 'Prism' for example, a driving synth and guitar slice of power pop with just the right level of disdain in the vocals.


'Gloves' pulls off the Gremanic cool so such great effect that you can picture the video had it been made in the 80s, all shiny pvc, smoke and fast cars. 'Pearls' meanwhile has that effortless simplicity that Vince Clarke always employed to great effect in his songs for Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure.


Interestingly the songs here were written by singer Hannah Lew while she was pregnant, hence the title and the lyrics, which are designed to describe the Earth to a new visitor, be that a newborn child or an alien visitor.

You can listen to the whole album below, and if you like it then why not buy it? Musicians are struggling in the current crisis, not being able to tour and promote their records, so they need all the support you can give them.

Track of the Day: 'Pearls' by Cold Beat

Taken from their new album 'Mother', it's hard to believe that this track hasn't been stolen from the vaults of Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode / Yazoo / Erasure) and just spruced up a bit before being set free in 2020. It's the perfect mix of simplicity and melody, you could imagine it soundtracking a film or a tv series like Stranger Things.

I've only just come across this San Franscican band since they moved to DFA Records but apparently this is their fifth album so there's plenty more from them to check out!

Recommended music: 'Sixteen Oceans' by Four Tet

Since this record was released a week ago a lot of people have been saying that it's exactly the record we need right now. I'm not sure that releasing a record during a global pandemic is at all beneficial for an artist but I know for sure that it's helping me through these difficult times.

The best and most consistent album that Four Tet has released for a few years, this is a record that seems infused with solar energy. It's crisp and bright and uplifting, expertly produced with just the right mix of dancefloor fillers and reflective moments. The surprising appearance of Ellie Goulding on 'Baby', albeit chopped into pieces, feels like the most natural thing in the world after a couple of listens (and I guess after he sampled Nelly Furtado last year on 'Only Human' it's maybe not that much of a leap).


In an album full of great moments it's hard to isolate highlights, but for me 'Love Salad' is the best uptempo track on here, I love its rumbling groove and the array of keyboard sounds.

I'm really looking forward to listening to this on vinyl - apparently there was a manufacturing error and the original pressings had to be scrapped but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. With this and the Caribou record released a couple of weeks ago it's already looking like a great year for electronic music (if nothing else). You can listen to the full album below.

Recommended music: 'Suddenly' by Caribou

The fifth album from Dan Snaith's Caribou has recently been released and I'm starting to think it might be the best thing he's ever done. A couple of things before I start, which are going to sound like cliches but are particularly true of this record, The first is that despite the fact its and electroinc record the warmth of the re recordings really come through if you listen to it on vinyl. The second thing is that if it doesn't grab you on first listen you need to make sure you go back to it again and again. It might feel a little disjointed at first but over time the idiosyncrasies of the samples and production really start to burrow into your brain and meld together into a perfectly formed album

'Suddenly' certainly seems to be more diverse than previous Caribou albums - there are more samples (some of which you might expect to appear in Snaith's Daphni guise) and more variations in style and sound. There's even a couple of racks on here that, with different arrangements, could be lost 'Yacht Rock' classics, 'You and I' in particular.



I read in an interview that Snaith bounces a lot of his ideas off Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) who encouraged him to move forward with some of the tracks.It's great that Dan takes input like that and has used it to craft some of these songs, putting bits and pieces together to create a brilliant sounding record.

Hopefully we'll get the chance to hear this stuff live at some point; Caribou are always an enticing proposition for a night out. In the meantime give it a few listens and maybe buy a vinyl copy too.



'Suddenly' is out now on City Slang Records.

Recommended music: 'Sister' by Ultraísta

After a gap of 6 years the trio of Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker and Laura Bettinson are back with their second album 'Sister'. One of the things that's immediately noticeable about this record is the influence and input that Godrich must have on Thom Yorke / Atoms For Peace records, and Radiohead as well. Some of these tracks could easily be Atoms For Peace tracks with female vocals. Elsewhere there are a couple of songs that remind me of Polica, and a hint of Unloved in the singing too.



It all wraps together in an engaging sound that's part electronic beats, a few funky basslines and some woozy vocals and sounds. It's the sort of record that would be equally at home soundtracking a long drive in the sun, relaxing by the pool or a chilled night in a bar with some friends. The fact that we can't really do any of things at the moment shouldn't detract from the pleasure of listening to this music, it'll be good for your headspace. You can listen to the whole album below.

Recommended music: 'The Road: Part 1' by UNKLE

It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of UNKLE, but that doesn't mean that I think everything they've put out has been an unqualified success. In particular the last album 'Where Does The Night Fall' suffered from having too many guest vocalists and a lack of a single vision or theme - to me it didn't really know what it wanted to be which meant in reality it really wasn't much at all.

I'm pleased to say that's not the case with 'The Road: Part 1' though.With the exception of Mark Lanegan there are no real 'starry' guests - instead Lavelle chooses to work here with a pool of singers he's been using for some years now, to much greater effect. On a number of tracks they - Elliott Power, Eska, Mink - share the vocals which adds to the ensemble feel of the record. And while there are number of different types of UNKLE on display here - instrumental soundtrack UNKLE, deep beats UNKLE, rock band UNKLE - there's a cohesiveness to this album that's been lacking in the past. It's a cliche but 'The Road' does feel like something of a journey, and it least on here all of the participants are travelling in the same direction.



Mostly Lavelle's desire to front a rock band is kept in check, in favour of strings, some dark electronics and more sombre, more atmospheric tunes (although the Elliott Power-led songs do now make it sound like he wants to front Massive Attack instead). We can forgive him his moment on the mic on 'Nowhere To Run / Bandits', even if it does prove he's a better producer than lyricist. The tracks that have been around for a while - 'Cowboys or Indians' for example - fit well with the ones we've not heard before, and show that he's been thinking about this release as a whole items rather than just a collection of tracks he's gathered over the past 5 years.



It's clear that this record means a lot to Lavelle, particularly in the way he's packaged it and tried to present it almost as an art project rather than just a record - and as a result of this care and attention he's given us a record that's up there with UNKLE's finest output. I can only hope that there's a 'Part 2' and we don't have to wait as long for it as we did for 'Part 1'.

Recommended music: 'Midnight Versions' by Roosevelt

Having seen Roosevelt as a support band (I can't remember who for) I was keen to give this EP a try when I saw it. It really hits the spot, sounding like a long-lost collection of remixes from the 80s (which I'm all for). Each track is allowed to extend and get its groove on, and I particularly like all the percussion sounds which sound exactly like a lot of my favourite 80s tracks. From the starting funky bass of 'Close' (a track which reminds me of a slowed-down version of George Benson's 'Gimme The Night') through the electro-pop of 'Night Moves' and the congas and house-piano of 'Colours' and finishing with synth and guitar-led 'Wait Up', it's a glorious ride through the sunshine of the past.

You can stream the whole EP and get it on a 'pay what you want' deal below.

Track of the Day: 'Say What You Want' by Andrew Hung

Andrew Hung is increasingly branching out from his role as half of electronic duo Fuck Buttons. Lately he's co-written and produced the excellent 'Kidsticks' by Beth Orton, released a couple of EPs and also recorded the soundtrack to the polarising movie 'The Greasy Strangler'. Next up in October will be his own solo album, which you might be surprised to find features vocals from Andrew himself. Even Andrew is not entirely sure what to make of the vocals, having said "Yes, it's me, but it's not me. I see an oscillation between myself and the character of the album".

The first track from 'Realisationship' is 'Say What You Want', which contains some Talking Heads rhythms and a mantra-like vocal that will get stuck in your head for weeks. The album is out on October 6th through Lex Records.

Remix of the Day: 'Your Maker (Daddy G Remix)' by Gonjasufi

Having called Massive Attack 'one of the most influential groups of all time'. Gonjasufi was honoured to have Daddy G remix the opening track from his recent album 'Callus'. It's a great job too, making the track both more tuneful and more insistent, amping up the threat. You can listen to it below or click here for a free download.

Track of the Day: 'Coma' by Ghost Culture

This hypnotic dance groove is the lead track from Ghost Culture's new EP 'Nucleus, which will be out on 24th February through Phantasy Records. It's a proper head-nodder, with a really positive feel and also a particular sound every now and then that reminds me of 'Blue Monday'. Have a listen below, and pre-order the vinyl here.

DJ Cull presents January Jams

It's the last day of January so here's a mix of the tracks I've listened to most this month. Hopefully I'll do one every month and then it will make the selection of my 'Best Of 2017' tracks much easier at the end of the year! Here's the tracklisting:

1. Beyond The Wizards Sleeve - White Crow (Erol Alkan Rework)
2. sir Was - Falcon
3. Loyle Carner - The Isle of Arran
4. Thundercat - Drunk (feat. Michael McDonald & Kenny Loggins)
5. Sinkane - U'Huh
6. Romare - All Night
7. Matthew Dear - Wrong With Us
8. The xx - On Hold
9. Run The Jewels - Talk To Me

Track of the Day: 'Lit' by Gidge

Taken from the album 'LNLNN' which is out today on Atomnation, this is a beautifully Scandinavian slice of crisp and clean electronica. The tracks on the new album have evolved from their last album 'Lulin', but this time the ambient shapes have been defined into a more dancefloor-oriented style.

Remix of the Day: 'Utopia (Jana Hunter Remix)' by Austra

'Utopia' is the first track from 'Future Politics', the new Austra album which is released on January 20th. Here Jana Hunter (Lower Dens) remixes it, and in doing so she somehow make me thing of Eurythmics. It's definitely got an 80s vibe to it, have a listen and see what you think.

Track of the Day: 'Wrong With Us' by Matthew Dear

Created in collaboration with Simian Mobile Disco, this is Dear's state of the nation address over a deep and dark house groove. "As time marches on I don't know what else I can do" he sings, "maybe something's wrong with us". Unfortunately he's probably right.

This track is featured on Dear's forthcoming DJ-Kicks collection which is out on January 27th through !K7.