Just Good Music 1/23/07 - Best Of 2006

A few of my favorites from 2006.

Artist - Track (Label)

1. Fat Eyes - Assult Rifle (Soul Jazz) - Buy

Soul Jazz effortlessly puts together 25 years of dancehall in all it's style's and connects it to today's dub step/grime/digital scenes. The Rekid album also on SJR was another highlight of the year.

2. Alice Smith - Love Endeavor (BBE) - Info

Maurice Fulton gives us a beautiful dubby disco/boogie rework of Alice Smith.

3. Owusu & Hannibal - Lonnie's Secret (Ubiquity) Buy

Great album from Danish duo. Skillfully produced futuristic soul music.

4. 3 Chairs - BABO (3 Chairs) Info

Out-there Detroit house - how can a 3 chairs record not be in my best of the year?

5. Nomo - Nutones (Ubiquity) Buy

Another one from Ubiquity. Tight afro beat outfit from Detroit.

6. Rhythm & Sound - See Mi Version (Burial Mix) Buy

Rhythm & Sound's 'See Mi Yah' album gets remixed, with highlight's from Carl Craig, Sleeparchive and Hallucinator. Mark and Moritz don their Basic Channel guise for remix duties as well.

7. Kode 9 & The Spaceape - Victims (Hyperdub) Buy

Hyperdub released 2 widely acclaimed albums in 2006. Both the Burial and Kode 9 lp's are dark, menacing and deeply compelling.

8. Cobblestone Jazz - Dump Truck (Wagon Repair) Buy

Superb record from Cobblestone Jazz - quirky electronics, with nice keys on the latter half of  Dump Truck.

9. F.S.T.R. - Basic Track (Unrestricted Access) Buy

Shelter keeps up the pressure with a solid amount of releases from Quentin Harris, Filsonik and Timmy Regisford with more of an emphasis on the tribal tracky side of house - just the way I like it.

10. A Guy Called Gerald - Sweet You (Laboratory Instinct) Buy

Acid house pioneer Gerald Simpson goes back to his roots and gives us 24 raw club tracks inspired by 80's Chicago & Detroit.

11. Omar S & Shadow Ray - Oasis Collaborating (FXHE) Buy

A second round-up of releases from FXHE - one of the most interesting labels in Detroit right now.

12. Martin Buttrich - Full Clip (Planet E) Buy

Great release on Planet E. Programmer sounds like an updated 'Acid Eiffel'. Buttrich's 'Cloudy Bay' release on Poker Flat was also excellent.

13. John Tejada - The End Of It All (Palette) Buy

Solid release from John Tejada's Palette label. His remix of Jimpster's 'Square Up' was also superb.