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Album of the Year 2003

Late spot - Rhythm & Sound put out an album of their then recent 12s...I remember a lot of love for these on urban bitd
Rhythm & Sound w/ Cornell Campbell– King In My Empire
Rhythm & Sound w/ Jennifer Lara– Queen In My Empire
Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire– Jah Rule
Rhythm & Sound w/ Shalom– We Been Troddin
Rhythm & Sound w/ The Chosen Brothers– Mash Down Babylon
Rhythm & Sound w/ Jah Batta– Music Hit You
Rhythm & Sound w/ Love Joys– Best Friend
Rhythm & Sound w/ The Chosen Brothers– Making History

theres a dub set too

can count as one vote i expect


 
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Compiling my list - I WILL send one in this time. Late addition to my list will be Sole's Selling Live Water. One of my favorite Anticon releases.



Another cracking Anticon release from 2003 was the instrumental album Muted by Alias - (I just discovered through googling to check the release year that Alias, one of the founders of Anticon died a few years ago :()

 
this is pretty special, i wasnt aware of this...in 1989 Stakker, as in Stakker Humanoid (think that got to #1?) put out a VHS with these great visuals and amazing music on it....it never got an audio release...was VHS only....then in 2003 Rephlex (Aphex Twins label) released it as an album

...its 21 tracks smushed together in short bursts, but still prefer this to most everything actually from 2003 tbh
think i'll vote for it whether it counts or not

The visuals are amazing but dont sync with the music
A better later bit of work was VR Cyberdelia, equally brilliant soundtrack and amazing visuals (possibly using the same equipment? very similiar in effect) - both need a bluray release (and uploading onto the internet ;) ) shame the youtube rips are so blurry

this also hasnt had a non VHS release from waht I can tell - I love this as an album
***fuck me just found out this was Guru Josh!! wow, amazing bit of work
And stakker was basically future sound of london

a highpoint in visuals IMO - no idea why people arent doing stuff like this nowadays
 
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Rachel's - Systems/Layers . The Rachel's were the pioneer post classical ensemble in many ways. It's a bigger market now and listening to this again it seems like it could have been released far more recently than 20 years ago, it hasn't aged at all. To be fair post classical might give you a vague direction but the album is more expansive than that . At times it's a sound collage of snippets of conversations, background drones, bits of radio and field recordings driven by pianos, cellos and strings, recorded in what seems to be a hall or auditorium with natural space and echo.

It's a record that you have to sit down and absorb yourself in, ambient in many ways but certainly not background or mood music.

Described in one review as" a Dark Side of the Moon for the Debussy set" It was their last, perhaps finest album and its magnificent.


 
this is pretty special, i wasnt aware of this...in 1989 Stakker, as in Stakker Humanoid (think that got to #1?) put out a VHS with these great visuals and amazing music on it....it never got an audio release...was VHS only....then in 2003 Rephlex (Aphex Twins label) released it as an album

...its 21 tracks smushed together in short bursts, but still prefer this to most everything actually from 2003 tbh
think i'll vote for it whether it counts or not

The visuals are amazing but dont sync with the music
A better later bit of work was VR Cyberdelia, equally brilliant soundtrack and amazing visuals (possibly using the same equipment? very similiar in effect) - both need a bluray release (and uploading onto the internet ;) ) shame the youtube rips are so blurry

this also hasnt had a non VHS release from waht I can tell - I love this as an album
***fuck me just found out this was Guru Josh!! wow, amazing bit of work
And stakker was basically future sound of london

a highpoint in visuals IMO - no idea why people arent doing stuff like this nowadays

I thought that would probably have something to do with Guru Josh, he was also releasing visual mixes as Dr Devious at the time
 
Rachel's - Systems/Layers . The Rachel's were the pioneer post classical ensemble in many ways. It's a bigger market now and listening to this again it seems like it could have been released far more recently than 20 years ago, it hasn't aged at all. To be fair post classical might give you a vague direction but the album is more expansive than that . At times it's a sound collage of snippets of conversations, background drones, bits of radio and field recordings driven by pianos, cellos and strings, recorded in what seems to be a hall or auditorium with natural space and echo.

It's a record that you have to sit down and absorb yourself in, ambient in many ways but certainly not background or mood music.

Described in one review as" a Dark Side of the Moon for the Debussy set" It was their last, perhaps finest album and its magnificent.




On my list :cool:
 
Never got around to listening to it yet, but Silver & the Mt Zions had an album out that year, you may be shocked to learn it has a bit of a silly name:
 
Never got around to listening to it yet, but Silver & the Mt Zions had an album out that year, you may be shocked to learn it has a bit of a silly name:


Also on Constellation was the Do Make Say Think album Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn - which is lovely and will feature on my list.

I'm about to submit my list in fact - just to make sure I don't forget. Always struggle with the ordering. Is The Bug's Pressure better than Magnolia Electric co. Impossible to say..... I might as well use a random number generator....
 
I'm doing the vote count but I may sit this one out. At the time I really wasn't paying any attention to music or even listening to old music.

I will say that I'm a bit wowed by the Dizzy Rascal album on first listen. Grime is a whole scene that I've just missed out on.

Anyway have some Wolf Eyes & Black Dice



The Necks



Jaga Jazzist Horns/Motorpsycho

 
Bit late, but I don’t think anyone has mentioned the last album by the Creatures, Hai. It’s fucking great.

 
Came up with my top 30. Obviously in a fairly arbitrary order cos like braindancer says above, it's not like you can really measure whether King Gheedorah is better than Jeffrey Lewis or whatever. Then I remembered someone had pointed out that Four Tet's Rounds was 2003 and that probably still deserves a vote even if I've not listened in years, so think I've submitted my top 31 now.
 
Techno!
Millsart - Every Dog Has Its Day Vol 4


Really feeling this Jeff Mills one - right mood as the rain beats down - I need to get this whole series - only heard one other and really like that also
anyone know why volumes 5-13 all came out in 2020 and what the story is with that? when were they made? in the 17 intervening years between volume 4?

ETA: finished it...its really class this album, top to bottom, love it
 
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"call that minimal techno? you should check out some Robert Hood!"
Well, you should. :)

I can't find any reference to it in this thread, but Hood released a lovely album this year. A long way from his brutal Minimal Nation dancefloor destroyers, it's melodic, lush and comfy as fuck.


 
Well, you should. :)

I can't find any reference to it in this thread, but Hood released a lovely album this year. A long way from his brutal Minimal Nation dancefloor destroyers, it's melodic, lush and comfy as fuck.




Don't think I've heard this so I'll check it out now - I do love a bit of comfy techno....

Don't think I've heard the Mills album Ska posted above either so that will be next.
 
Compiling my list - I WILL send one in this time. Late addition to my list will be Sole's Selling Live Water. One of my favorite Anticon releases.



Another cracking Anticon release from 2003 was the instrumental album Muted by Alias - (I just discovered through googling to check the release year that Alias, one of the founders of Anticon died a few years ago :()



I re-listened to the Alias album and found it very dull - so I retract my recommendation of that one.... tastes change, I absolutely loved it at the time and was constantly banging on about it :D
 
Don't think I've heard this so I'll check it out now - I do love a bit of comfy techno....

Don't think I've heard the Mills album Ska posted above either so that will be next.
I almost put it at number one i enjoyed it that much! (but im not that into this 2003 batch overall )

I abandoned the Hood - wasn't feeling it - didn't find it comfy at all, quite the opposite in fact - but loving the Mills.
 
I've discovered I submitted an album I've never listened to :D - the Microphones - Mt. Eerie...

I was thinking of a different Microphones album. However, I'm now listening to Mt. Eerie and it's pretty great - phew!
 
Really feeling this Jeff Mills one - right mood as the rain beats down - I need to get this whole series - only heard one other and really like that also
anyone know why volumes 5-13 all came out in 2020 and what the story is with that? when were they made? in the 17 intervening years between volume 4?
I like all the EDHID albums I've heard. As far as I can tell after the first four he moved onto other ideas - new soundtracks for old films, numerous spacey techno albums, the Something in the Sky series of more banging stuff, working with orchestras or Tony Allen - until 17 years later he deciding to go back to Millsart & EDHID. No idea when it was all recorded, whether it was stuff he had laying around or came from one burst of creativity. Nine albums in one year was too much of a good thing though. I listened to vol. 5 and vol. 6 - both great - but they just kept on coming and I didn't keep up.
 
I've put mine in and a late addition to my list was :
Alpha- Stargazing

Chilled out trip-hop lullabies, peaceful, intense and ultimately inspiring

 
Submitted me list. The top few are ace, but overall I think this was a bad year for my tastes. Or maybe, like nogojones said, all the best music was on other formats.

Some nice 12s:







 
Well I actually did a short list in the end. There's more from this year that I remember than I thought I would.
 
I'm going to start the count down now but stragglers can still submit.

If anybody wants to host the run down then been my guest. I'll send you the list.
 
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