Best In Music 2009 – Lensco

2009 was a great year for music again, and with the year end traditionally comes a plethora of ‘best of’ lists. But rather than simply drop a bland enumeration of the 10 best records of the year, we decided to broaden the scope and list the best things to happen in music in 2009, and write a line or two about each. First up is Lensco’s selection:

• Best tunes of the year – Joy Orbison: Mr. Orbison single-handedly injected a much needed boost of musicality into the dubstep genre. While they’re not rockit-science his tracks effectively moved people, on the dancefloor as well in the living room sofa.
• Phlash & Friends – Deep Electronic Sound: No silly downtempo tracks or interlude filler, but more than a dozen excellent straight up house tunes where the guests actually matter.
• Trend of the year – Dubstep maturing: It really became a proper genre with a wide spectrum of interesting branches. Also, the Dutch dudes 2562 and Martyn came, saw and won the dubstep match, big time.
• Tortoise – Beacons Of Ancestorship: I presumed them dead, but fusing their old post rock style with Ammoncontact like beats, these lads made one the most interesting albums of the year.
• The Cinematic Orchestra – The Crimson Wing: Mystery Of The Flamingos: Utterly beautiful nature documentary score, with a unique take on classical music from Swinscoe and the boys.
• Best podcast – Bopstar Radio Sessions: Excellent house, bruk, soul and jazz, with plenty of exclusives and previews. That show makes me lookup and buy tunes.
• Nicolay – City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya: An album like they don’t make ’em a lot these days, one where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The styles and genres don’t matter, Shibuya is about a story, impressions and athmosphere.
• Best producer – Atjazz: Be it remixing or producing original tracks, Martin had a consistent high quality output in the past twelve months, with beats and sounds to die for.
• Best music related movie – Still Bill: So maybe I’ve seen very few music related movies last year, this one is still a beauty. If you not only want to learn about the music but also about the personality of Bill Withers, watch this gem.
• Also: great albums by Little Dragon, Kira Neris, Zero 7, Tosca, Black Jazz Consortium, Aybee, Clara Moreno, Emanative, Tuomo, the B12 Records Archives, …