Before we drop what’s probably considered to be the ultimate year-end list (ya know, albums), here are some of our favorite EPs of 2012. The only label to appear more than once on this list is, umm, Self-Released. Good job, guys.
This new Water Borders record seems to have come out of nowhere, but hey, we can’t say we mind. Entitled Each Dream a Scheme, the follow-up to their Tri Angle debut LP Harbored Mantras (one of our 2011favorites), drops today via Tundra Dubs. Get the digital release here. The album shows the band further exploring their signature future-goth sound over the course of three compositions, two of which clock in around 15 minutes. Stream an excerpt from the opening track:
Water Borders‘ debut album made it in our top 10, and here are top 10 albums of the year from both members of the duo. Harbored Mantras is out now on Tri Angle.
Loric: Pinch & Shackleton: S/T Portable: Into Infinity Blawan: What You Do With What You Have / everything else he did in 2011 Perc: Wicker & Steel Peaking Lights: 936 Holy Other: With U Andy Stott: Passed Me By / We Stay Together Drake: Take Care Byetone: Symeta Chelsea Wolfe: ??????????
Amitai: Cindytalk: Hold Everything Dear Julia Holter: Tragedy Prizehog: Thought Nest Ayshay: Warn U Of The Wand & The Moon: The Lone Descent Aelter: III Planningtorock: W Chelsea Wolfe: ?????????? Leyland Kirby: Eager to Tear Apart the Stars Gang Gang Dance: Eye Contact
If you’ve been even remotely regular in following this blog, our number one shouldn’t come as a surprise – I believe I’ve already bothered you enough with myloveof Gang Gang Dance’s latest effort (and GGD in general). I’ll leave the list unnumbered because, except for the first 7-8 entries, the rest come in kind of (but not entirely) particular order. And it’s not a strictly albums-of-the-year list, as I’ve included some mixtapes/remix albums/ compilations. Also, I just realised we haven’t covered half of this on the blog… Don’t know how that happens to us every year! Anyway, enough with the explanations, here be the list:
Gang Gang Dance: Eye Contact John Maus: We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves Julia Holter: Tragedy Prurient: Bermuda Drain Water Borders: Harbored Mantras James Pants: James Pants The Weeknd: House of Balloons Nguzunguzu: The Perfect Lullaby Silk Flowers: Ltd. Form Belong: Common Era Planningtorock: W Shabazz Palaces: Black Up King Midas Sound: Without You Tropic of Cancer: The End of All Things SLEEP ? OVER: Forever Austra: Feel it Break Peaking Lights: 936 Clams Casino: Instrumentals Frank Ocean: Nostalgia, Ultra. Araabmuzik: Electronic Dream Chelsea Wolfe: ?????????? U.S. Girls: U.S. Girls on Kraak Leyland Kirby: Eager to Tear Apart the Stars Death in Vegas: Trans-Love Energies James Blake: James Blake Soft Metals: Soft Metals Demdike Stare: Triptych Kindest Lines: Covered in Dust Oneohtrix Point Never: Replica Steve Hauschildt: Tragedy & Geometry Grouper: A I A : Alien Observer / A I A : Dream Loss Nicolas Jaar: Space Is Only Noise Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972 Maria Minerva: Cabaret Cixous Bvdub: Tribes at the Temple of Silence Kate Bush: 50 Words for Snow Tearist: Living: 2009-Present ASAP Rocky: LiveLoveA$AP Zola Jesus: Conatus Rustie: Glass Swords
Off the top of my head (and according to the charts from my several last.fm accounts), here are 25 songs I’ve had on repeat sometime in 2011. Also, judging from our previous experience, having a post with a bunch of mp3s is good for driving traffic!
San Francisco duo Water Borders dropped a rad remix of Chelsea Wolfe‘s gem ‘Mer’. The song is taken from her latest album ??????????, out now on Pendu Sound Recordings. Water Borders also released an excellent album recently, their Harbored Mantras is out on Tri Angle.
Water Borders sent over their remix of ‘Monday Morning/Monongah, WV’ by their old friends Weekend. Think I like it better than the original version (watch the video here). Oh, and we sure hope you’ve checked out that awesome mix Water Borders made for us recently.
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Last year was all about Summer. This year it was quite the opposite. So once again, instead of doing a songs-of-the-year list, our list focuses on what we picked up to be the dominant trend this year. Cos we’re all about being hip and relevant. Here are some of our favorite weird dark gems and year round winter hits.
Here’s a very special guest mix by the San Francisco duo Water Borders. We’ll let the band introduce it themselves: “This mix is particularly special to us – it’s a collection of some of our favorite Bay Area electronic musicians past and present (mostly present). Most of these tracks come from dear friends of ours and almost all of them are unreleased (for the time being). Enjoy!” A perfect soundtrack to some weird party:
01. Patrick Cowley – Mutant Man
02. Ssleeping DesiresS – Bird’s Eye View
03. Jaws – Joined
04. Bookworms – Magazine
05. Jealousy – Sentenced to Life
06. Bronze – One Night in Mexico
07. Psychic Reality – Fruit
08. Mi Ami – Hard Up
09. Wav Dwgs – Oh Hi
10. Breath Control – Ice Phase
11. Thunderball – Runaway (Ghosts on Tape Remix)
12. Nero’s Day at Disneyland – Thomas Kinkade Puking it all Back Up
13. Alexis – Lonely Sea (Water Borders Lonely Sih remix)
14. Monte Cazazza – Mary Bell
15. Group Rhoda – Concrete Jungle
FACT just premiered the new video by San Francisco’s Water Borders. The song is taken from Akko 12″, out now on Hungry for Power. Grab one of the remixes from the B-side and watch the video for ‘Akko’ below. So goth:
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San Francisco’s Water Borders are releasing their debut 6-track EP on Disaro next week. Snatch the first track below and stream two more songs on their Myspace if you’re up for some “witch house”.
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Truly Carrying
Visionquest
