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Frequencies: Year in Review 2008
1. Cut Copy In Ghost Colours (Modular)
There are many effective ways of gauging if a band has had a breakout year. The first is usually record sales and chart placement, followed by critical reception, number of gigs, MySpace plays, and to a lesser extent, number of interviews given. For Melbourne, Australia’s Cut Copy, the figures go like this: 4,000 units sold in Canada, 50,000 sold in the U.S. and 35,000 in their home country for their second album, In Ghost Colours; a number one debut on the Australian album charts; a 79 out of 100 score on Metacritic.com based on 17 reviews (one of which was a highly coveted 8.8 from Pitchforkmedia); over 100 concerts performed through to the end of 2008, which included appearances at high profile events such as South By Southwest, Coachella, and Glastonbury; and by the time you’re reading this, the six songs on their MySpace player will have exceeded five million plays.
All very impressive, yes, but where Cut Copy have undoubtedly reigned supreme in 2008, aside from in the ears of Exclaim! writers, is in giving interviews. One Google search of “Cut Copy” and “interview” pulls up what seems like endless pages of results for features on the band. So, come mid-November, it must be a trying experience to be sitting in an airport, forcing out one more chat about influences, how In Ghost Colours was conceived and the year in review, but the band’s front-man and founder Dan Whitford is not only game, but also aware that he and his band-mates have broken some sort of record for interviews given in one year.
He laughs but seems prepared. “Don’t take offence to this but we were just sitting in an airline lounge right now ordering some food, and our tour manager came up and said that I had to do an interview,” he explains. “And Ben [Browning], our bass player who just started playing with us this year said, ‘Y’know, I think I could actually do this interview and answer all of the questions correctly.’ Because we’ve done so many and he’s heard them all, it’s almost to the point where we already have the answers to any possible questions you could ask about the record or us — we’ve answered them at least five or six times already.”
There’s no denying Cut Copy earned the success they’ve had this year. To some, answering the same questions over and over as many times as they have is enough. But it’s been a seven-year journey to this point, and prior to the release of In Ghost Colours in April, the Australian trio (also including Tim Hoey and Mitchell Scott in the official line-up) were lost in a sea of rock bands armed with synthesizers trying to keep a steady balance of electro with their pop.
Beginning as a solo project for Whitford, a DJ with a graphic design background, Hoey, Scott and briefly Bennett Foddy, joined in to make it a proper band and help finish Cut Copy’s debut album. Released by the hip Australian boutique label Modular in 2004, Bright Like Neon Love was a straight-up fusion of dance and rock, awash in an ’80s new wave glow with a strong nod to French touch. It put them on the map, earning them an opening slot on a North American tour with Franz Ferdinand and TV On the Radio and eventually an Australian tour opening up for Daft Punk in 2007. But it wasn’t until the release of In Ghost Colours that the band noticed a shift that resulted in the album debuting at the top spot of their country’s album charts.
“We’ve noticed, certainly in our country, a new audience for that kind of music, because I think people who were too young to actually go and buy tickets to our shows and go to bars to see us when the first record came out are now out there partying,” says Whitford. “It’s almost like they’ve adopted that type of music as their own, so it definitely feels like there’s a subtle shift in the music that young people are into. In the last few years that’s made things a lot better for us. It’s a readymade audience for us this time, whereas with the first record we felt like we were battling to get a crowd or battling to get people to understand the kind of music we’re making, and this time it felt like people just got it straight away.”
The times are certainly changing for Cut Copy, who along with acts like Justice, Hot Chip and compatriots Midnight Juggernauts use electronic foundations like electro, house and techno and construct their music with the pop format in mind. “It always felt like dance music and guitar-based music were always separate,” explains Whitford. “Dance music was always kind of minimal and more of a niche thing, whereas now it feels like the two converge a lot more. Dance music is a lot more poppy, with more ‘regular’ song structures, than it was ten years ago. Maybe it’s a reflection of that, and why our music is more palatable.”
Whitford is selling his music short. Whereas there are so many generic artists now using synths with guitars to make dance music along the lines of Cut Copy’s first record, In Ghost Colours is that rare find you cherish digging in crates: an album that breaks free from a deep pigeonhole to blur the boundaries we use to assign genres. You can hear traces of everything from expected components like Daft Punk’s filter house (“Far Away”) and New Romantic synthesizing (“Out There On the Ice” and “Strangers in the Wind”) to newfound flecks like the energy of Italo house (“Hearts On Fire”), My Bloody Valentine’s swelling guitar noise (“We Fight For Diamonds” and “So Haunted”) and triumphant ’70s arena rock (“Unforgettable Season”). As Whitford sees it, the band, along with co-producer Tim Goldsworthy (DFA Records), were out to try and shake up their foundation without messing with their soft spot for pop song structures.
“The main idea was to make music that was harder to define,” says Whitford. “And I guess that can be a problem sometimes when it comes to defining our own music because it’s quite difficult. We tried to make a record that didn’t sound like a particular style, we write songs that transition from guitar-based stuff into more studio/club sounds, and there’s even some folk-inspired stuff on this record. I guess this time around, with a similar intention as the first record to write pop songs and create something that interested us. I think probably we just got close to the kind of record we wanted to make this time around, and hopefully for the next one, again, as we learn better how to make records and write songs.” And I’m guessing, not try and defend that record of theirs in the process.
Cam Lindsay
2. Hercules and Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair (DFA)
The “disco sucks” movement was rooted in ugly homophobia, so how perfect for modern music’s greatest gay singer Antony Hegarty (of “…and the Johnsons”) to lend his androgynous pipes to a project dedicated to bringing disco back in all its sweaty, shimmery, tear-soaked beauty. Over the arms-raised neo-italo beats of Andy Butler, Hegarty and other guest singers apply a pop structure to the euphoric songs and a longing to every lyric, fretting about flying blind amidst uplifting disco-house horns. By album’s end you’ll forget the retro signifiers — this is even better than the real thing.
Joshua Ostroff
3. Lindstrøm Where You Go I Go Too (Smalltown Supersound)
The scruffy-looking smiling Norwegian on the cover does not exactly scream poster-boy for Italian-cosmic disco. But Hans-Peter Lindstrøm has used his leftfield advantage to resurrect and reinvent the genre itself (with help from collaborator Thomas Prins). Not beholden to form or formula, Lindstrøm’s full-length debut delivers just three tracks, yet each one clocks over 10 minutes. Nothing short of a sensory experience, his three cosmic operas pleasure the ear with kaleidoscopic shifts in tempo, astral washes, motorik beats, and melodic climaxes. Though firmly rooted in Italian disco, his album, past singles, and countless remixes prove that Lindstrøm won’t be bound by convention.
Matt Harrison
4. The Bug London Zoo (Ninja Tune)
Perhaps it’s a result of his uncanny ability to make extreme music ahead of its time, but Kevin Martin has quietly become one of the most under-recognized forces in bass evolution over the last two decades. Whether he’s making metal, drone, or dancehall as part of Experimental Audio Research, Techno Animal, God, or the Bug, Martin is a veritable weather vane of where music is headed. London Zoo is the first occasion he’s slowed down enough to let the rest of us catch up and, fittingly, music fans have taken notice. The album is the most accessible and well rounded of his long career, a victory lap now that his pioneering efforts have finally been affirmed.
Dimitri Nasrallah
5. Flying Lotus Los Angeles (Warp)
From its hazy, organic atmosphere to the cornucopia of genres it draws from, it’s easy to understand why Los Angeles, the second full-length from Flying Lotus, has been undeniably assaulting the ears of music aficionados around the world. Experimental music producer FlyLo (Steve Ellison) combines jazz, hip-hop, electronic and world music, puts his own smoky spin on the mix, and drops fat synths and warm, slightly off-tempo beats to complete the killer package. The result is a city narrative that runs from the gritty ambient underbelly of the operation, right down to the sublime.
Ashley Hampson
6. Fuck Buttons Street Horrrsing (ATP)
On this spin of the genre wheel the marker came up “electronic,” but this album is oh so much more. Hypnotic, tribal beats are but one of the many elements that make this debut so much exhilarating fun. Throw a dash of noise, maybe a little punk and, hell, why not some pop? Each song is a master class in keeping the listener guessing whether the next sound is going to be distorted shrieks, pounding drums or ambient sound. This is music without boundaries, limited only by two insanely warped imaginations willing to press any and all buttons.
Chris Whibbs
7. The Mole As High As the Sky (Wagon Repair)
Like a microcosm of the expedition in a great night of techno under the stars, As High As The Sky pays tribute to the night and beat-based music. The album opens ambiently with static and ocean waves washing onto the shore before stepping into Adam Beyer’s remix of the boxing ring imagery on “Still In My Corner.” Each track has a soul and transmits that rhythm without ambiguity. While As High As The Sky conveys a range of sonic auras, it is all clearly and distinctly the Mole’s work.
Sarah Ferguson
8. Girl Talk Feed the Animals (Illegal Art)
In many ways, all previous Girl Talk records have merely been a warm-up to Gregg Gillis’ Feed the Animals. No longer are his “songs” cramped, claustrophobic pieces of pop-culture tribute, but living, breathing party starters, where everyone’s all-time favourite bits of their all-time favourite songs are exquisitely weaved together, not crudely mashed up. And with some 300 uncleared samples — ranging from top 40 hits to hip-hop bangers to snooty indie jams to golden oldies — there’s a lot here to get you sweaty and keep you that way. Simply put, Gillis’ Girl Talk has perfected his practice.
Brock Thiessen
9. Benga Diary of an Afro Warrior (Tempa)
In another successful year for dubstep, Benga was at the forefront of its continuing development. His second album at only age 21 exhibits greater progression and diversity with the predominantly monophonic “26 Basslines” or “Crunked Up” offset against lush harmonies like “Emotions” or the radio crossover “Night” and driving tribal rhythms contrasting deep grooves. Reaching far beyond the genres core audience with a sound as listenable at home as satisfying tearing apart club speakers, Diary achieved significant respect from peers as a musical work more than just another collection of club anthems.
Rob Woo
10. Sebastien Tellier Sexuality (Record Makers)
From the funny and provocative album art, the hypersexual theme, and the American Apparel cross promotion, Sebastien Tellier’s Sexuality could have been all gimmick. Fortunately, it’s saved by masterful works that teeter between irony and sincerity. Approaching his work with the attention of a classical composer, Tellier doesn’t force his songs to shine when they don’t have to, instead building textures with layered synths. Resembling the lost soundtrack of a bizarre, likely pornographic sci-fi movie, Sexuality is both fascinating and moving.
Josiah Hughes
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Artists to Watch 2009
Guns’n’Bombs
Forget the irony of America’s answer to Justice being called Guns’n’Bombs and just revel in the dance floor destroying electro that these robo-rockers pump out. The L.A. duo’s growing rep has been staked on a few dirty-ass singles, remixes (they actually made Chromeo’s “Fancy Footwork” sound tough) and blog-distro’d mixtapes. Not to mention a walloping live set they recently took on the road opening for Digitalism. Though their first tracks came out on Franco-hipster label Kitsuné, Filip Turbotito (also of Imarobot) and Johnny Love are currently unsigned. But expect Gn’B’s debut album to drop in ’09 and live up to their slogan: “all bangers, no mash.”
Joshua Ostroff
CFCF
Through killer remixes for the likes of Crystal Castles, Sally Shapiro, Justice and Health, Montreal’s CFCF (aka Mike Silver) has quickly become one of electro’s most hotly tipped up-and-comers, and rightly so. CFCF’s combo of vintage keys, low-res electronics and that always-lovable French house flair packs a deadly punch, and one that’s set to get a lot deadlier. Not only does CFCF have his debut EP of originals on the way, but also a full-length follow-up, both of which are due out next year on Paper Bag.
Brock Thiessen
Martyn
Dutch producer Martyn (aka Martijn Deykers) started off cutting mutative drum & bass, but by 2007’s “Broken/Shadowcasting” single he’d found his groove in hybridized deep-bass transmissions that leaned heavily into dubstep. A second-generation dubstepper in line with Peverelist, 2562, and Appleblim, this year has seen Martyn’s stock rise internationally as this group of producers has pushed the dubstep sound away from London and closer to Berlin’s minimal techno. The rapid evolution of this fusion was one of the major highlights of 2008 electronic music, and 2009 looks to break Martyn and his 3024 label even further toward dance music’s forefronts.
Dimitri Nasrallah
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Aggressive Tendencies: Year in Review 2008
 1. Genghis Tron Board Up The House (Relapse)
“The cliché is that as you get older, you soften up in terms of musical taste, and our band have seemingly gone in that direction.” Those aren’t the words most fans of a band known for their technical blend of whiplash grind and synth-battered electronics want to hear, but for Genghis Tron’s screaming keyboardist Mookie Singerman, it’s an undeniable truth. “We rarely listen to super brutal, technical stuff anymore so I don't think those elements are as present on Board Up the House as they were on previous records.”...Read More
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Wood Wires & Whiskey: Year in Review 2008
 1. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy Lie Down In the Light (Drag City)
Fifteen years after releasing his first record, Will Oldham continues to compose some of the greatest American folk music of our time. While his profile has had peaks and valleys, Oldham has never disappeared nor diminished; with humility and a sense of purpose, he’s steadfastly completed the work most natural to him, instinctually expressing himself with authoritative force and enviable prolificacy. The consistency of Oldham’s genius is almost unsettling and, given his remarkable output, some fans can’t help but take his work for granted. It would be an outright shame, however, to wilfully ignore albums such as 2006’s brooding The Letting Go and its sunnier 2008 follow-up Lie Down in the Light, both artful, majestic works from a master....Read More
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Pop Rocks: Year in Review 2008
 1. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop)
Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold was once a tenth-grade dropout with an insatiable curiosity about music. Like any imaginative listener, he had fantastic visions of the geographic locales that spawned his favourite artists. “Growing up, I had a lot of crazy ideas about the UK because of Led Zeppelin and Lord of the Rings,” he laughs, on the phone in the middle of a European tour. “I probably thought when I went there I’d see thatched huts and all these fairy tales before my eyes.” He chuckles, adding, “Those ideas have certainly dissipated.”...Read More
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No Future: Year in Review 2008
 1. Fucked Up The Chemistry of Common Life (Matador)
“I’m almost completely satisfied with the way it turned out,” Damian Abraham, lead vocalist for Fucked Up tells me about his band’s newest album. Where the band’s previous full-length, Hidden World, relied heavily on long, meandering moments to create a visceral sonic landscape, ChemCom takes more of a direct approach. “The problem with Hidden World was that we never really did get the chance to self-edit,” Abraham says. “We were never given the opportunity to sit back and go, like, ‘maybe this is going on a little bit.’”...Read More
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Groove: Year in Review 2008
 1. Erykah Badu New Amerykah Pt. 1: 4th World War (Motown)
When one-time neo-soul torchbearer Erykah Badu dropped the particularly directionless Worldwide Underground experiment back in 2003, many wondered if the world would ever again relive the euphoria surrounding her richly creative early releases. To some it seemed that a few years of misguided tour match-ups with powerhouse performer Jill Scott had stripped her of a bit of confidence, or that a life of motherhood had removed some of her musical drive. To say that there was great surprise that Badu could come back with such a strong and progressive record in this year’s New Amerykah after such a prolonged absence would be an understatement....Read More
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Destination Out: Year in Review 2008
 Instead of building one top ten list from the many disparate styles of electronic ambience, non-linear improv, experimental rock, avant jazz, droning noise and many more, we’ve asked ten frequent contributors to the Destination Out reviews section to write about one release that most excited them this year....Read More
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Beats & Rhymes: Year in Review 2008
 1. Lil Wayne Tha Carter III (Cash Money)
The endless period of prosperity that has blessed Cash Money millionaire Lil Wayne these past few years reached its stratospheric peak in 2008 with a record that firmly solidified the ever-maturing rapper’s dominant status. Tracks from the third instalment of his eye-opening namesake series were already burning through speakers months before the disc’s official birth date, but when Tha Carter III finally hit stores, cash registers long rusted shut from disuse were ringing the unfamiliar tune of a million-plus first week sales....Read More
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Though recently implying that he's tapped out musically, Sufjan Stevens has never created something as pointedly ambitious as The BQE. Originally commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a 2007 performance, as a take-home release The BQE consists of an uncompromising essay ostensibly all about the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, a visually stunning film, a stirring orchestral soundtrack, a stereoscopic View-Master reel, and, in limited edition, a 40-page comic book about characters known as the Hooper Heroes....
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