2019 According to Pipecock

Yeah, so here it is. My year end wrap up.

2019 has been a weird one. I’ve been mostly off FB and Tw*tter, and even before that I had blocked most dance music media and any hipster or trash DJs/producers/fans. So I’ve just been damn near completely oblivious to anything popular, which was refreshing. At the same time, however, I’ve had many private conversations with music heads/producers/DJs and nobody is feeling really great about the current state our little corner of music. I bought probably by far the smallest number of new records this year than in any previous, but thankfully the quality was very high. It might actually feel repetitious to constantly be feeling only a small number of producers and labels year after year if only these labels and producers weren’t so damn good at what they do. They keep it interesting and don’t just make the same track over and over again.

It really feels to me like things are becoming more and more segregated. DJs seem more likely to play exclusively old music or exclusively new music, and the genres (even the heavily related ones of deep house, disco, and soulful techno) appear to be more separate from each other than I would ever prefer. And if you’re not a hipster, you’re probably considered irrelevant by the dance music scene at large. I’m beginning to think we are approaching a time not entirely dissimilar to the early to mid 00s in America, the post-rave era where this music had close to zero popularity outside of the True Believers. And to be honest, that’s what I think we need more of. I guess we shall see. I do know myself and a number of other producers and DJs are planning new projects, new approaches, and new music to keep the bullshit away.

Anyway, enough about my feelings. Now we are on to the music itself. I’ll do a little Y*uT*be playlist here for all ya’ll lazy motherfuckers out there. Ima keep it kinda brief on each thing I mention just because I’ve already written about most of these already in the year. You can go back through the ISM archives if you need to read more. This is music that exists in the cracks, it’s mostly vinyl-centric if not exclusively, but it isn’t widely embraced by the popular dance media. It’s loosely soulful in nature, but not exactly the kind of thing you’ll read about on Tr*xsource’s year end list. This is underground American house and techno music.

Click here for a Y*uT*be playlist of many of the tracks from this list…Many are not on Y*uT*be so go seek out the records to hear them!!!

Kai Alcé/NDATL

I’m not doing any _____ of the Decade lists, but if I was I imagine this guy would be at the top. He’s been consistently outstanding the whole time as a producer and DJ, and his label has also held it down. He’s thrown great parties and a great house music festival. It’s truly hard to overstate just how good he has been for house music. I could be lazy and say this year was just another good one for him and NDATL, but the truth is that he dropped such a ridiculous amount of great music in the past 12 months that it’s almost hard to give it a quick overview. But I’m gonna try.

I’ll start by saying that his remixes of Guy, Kemit and Carl McIntosh, Kamasi Washington, and Gregory Porter are already all no-doubt classics. Four classics in one year. That alone would be an insanely productive year for most people, but it doesn’t end there. He also dropped a comp 12” of more remixes he had previously released digi only, and gave us one nice original jam on the Deep Detroit Special Edition record (that also features some deep joints by Brett Dancer and Nick Holder). On top of that, NDATL dropped dope EPs by Spinna and Hugo LX, Ricky Corey Project, Kemetic Just, and Ed Nine. That’s a lot of incredible music.

Theo Parrish/Sound Signature

Another strong contender for consistency over the past ten years, who also had a nice 2019. Theo’s “This Is For You” featuring Maurissa Rose is probably my track of the year, and just an immediate classic as soon as you first hear it. His collaborative vocal cut “What You Gonna Ask For” from earlier in the year is also one of the better joints from 2019, and getting Dego to put a spin on it was definitely a good idea. In addition, Sound Signature released the aforementioned Kemit joint as remixed by Kai, as well as Julion De’Angelo’s In-Patience mix CD.

Teflon Dons/Worldship Music

Teflon Dons and their Worldship Music label have been back in full effect this year. They kicked things off with a 7” issue of “Tomorrow People”, their 1999 vocal garage bomb that was one of the first appearances of Gregory Porter on vinyl which also included the dub that had not been recently reissued. Even better, though, was the LA Housin’ Authority EP, which featured brand new deep garage jams by Aaron Paar from Teflon Dons. And the year was topped off with The Pur Royale Project which combined a very deserving reissue of a sought after Greg Royal jam from the 90s with vocal and instrumental versions of “Christopher”, a previously unreleased heater featuring Greg Bowers on vox.

Fxhe

Omar-S’ label is usually a solid bet, but oddly all of my favorite jams from it this year are disco sampling house cuts. Norm Talley’s Pier Place Project, Tink Thomas’ Vibrationz: EP, and the much needed reissue of Marc Pharoah’s Soul Sounds 3 are all extremely nice and deep examples of how this style can still be done well.

Albums

I always love a good album and this year definitely had more that felt essential than any recent years.

My favorite album from this year is H-Fusion’s Captured Entities, a raw, grimy set of tracks that cover a large range of tempos and styles from deep house to banging ghetto tech. In a year where I had much desire to hear harder music, it was difficult to find a lot of it that was both new and interesting to my ears. This one felt super fresh and modern for me, but still rooted in methods and vibes of the past.

Glenn Underground and Boo Williams united to bring us the final Strictly Jaz Unit album, and The Tempest is a stunningly beautiful one. Deep, musical acid that is mature while still having a nice edge to it. For a companion piece, I recommend their 12” Project from earlier in the year.

Sound Stream has been around for over 20 years but just got around to dropping his first LP Love Remedy in 2019. He hasn’t altered his approach for the full length format, instead this is just eight disco chopped dancefloor bangers.

The Connection Machine made one of my favorite techno albums, Painless, all the way back in the mid 90s. Originally slated for release on Planet E, it didn’t see light of day until the great Down Low released it as a CD in 2004. The long planned vinyl edition had to wait until 2019 to finally drop, but the good news is that the contents have not dated at all. Melancholy machine music that sounds especially good in the winter. Also can’t wait to see what else Down Low brings us now that they are back in action!

Jay Daniel’s Tala came out digitally near the end of 2018, but finally came out on vinyl this year. This album sees him depart even further from the dancefloor approach of his first records, with most of the jams here feeling more like hiphop or soul instrumentals. Tala is nice for creating atmosphere or detailed listening.

Taelue’s Reflections is a single disc, but with just over 30 minutes of music that leans more towards continuity and atmosphere than slamming dancefloors, I think that it counts as an album. And as his debut solo release, it creates quite a statement for the quality and maturity of his music.

Andrés’ long awaited IV finally provides a proper follow up to his classic II, and the wait was definitely worth it with some of his best material in a while. Also his Hizou 12” fits right in with the vibe but with longer tracks for extended blending.

In addition to Andrés’ album on his Mahogani label, Moodymann blessed us with his own Sinner on KDJ Records. With five tracks spread across two discs, this one is a little more directly dancefloor oriented than most of his recent albums, with sparse and funky Prince-inspired jams given a bit of an acid house twist.

EPs

There seemed to be an increasing number of shorter records that managed to be both dancefloor friendly but also home listening appropriate as well.

Kyle Hall’s first one on Forget The Clock uses its beautiful artwork to set the scene perfectly for his recent style’s mix of synths with jazzy deep house and broken rhythms.

Patrice Scott’s Sistrum dropped a nice record by Henry Maldonado’s Son of Sound alias, fitting him right in with the same kind of jazzy broken house vibe that the label has been pushing the past few years.

Stefan Ringer came correct with the second release on his FWM Entertainment, again tapping into his sleazy but soulful broken house feel, with “SO” being the standout.

Central AYR Productions’ debut release on PPU is full of material recorded in the 90s on four track cassette, but the lofi soulful funk here actually fits in flawlessly with the music of today that I have been talking about, sounding like an unidentified joint off of a Theo Parrish mixtape.

One of my secret weapon producers over the last few years has been Vincent Halliburton. He doesn’t have a ton of releases, and a number of his best tracks appear on compilation EPs or in collaboration with others. For whatever reason, he is very much overlooked. Every single record he puts out is a candidate for sickest deep record of the year, and the second EP on his Algorithm Detroit label is no different. Three deeper than deep jams for the heads.

Julion De’Angelo and Thomas Xu teamed up a few years back for an excellent split 12” on Sound Signature. 2019 saw each step out on their own with two very different but equally cool EPs. Julion’s Stand on Your Square is that kind of abstract and loose feeling house music you expect from the D, while Thomas’ Different Wisdoms on his own Steady Flight Circle label takes a more beautiful ambient techno approach.

Jeremiah Shaw was responsible for my favorite electro record last year, and he did it again in 2019 with Shawscape Renegade’s Escapism. Another self released joint timed for DEMF weekend, this one is maybe a bit more sparse and less melodic but still full of that soulful Electrofunk sound that is so rare to come across these days.

Javonntte has been quite prolific, it’s almost difficult to keep up. But his tribute to his old label on the Le Nouveau Riche EP captures all the house dance rhythms and soulful keyboard playing that make his music what it is.

Singles

Sometimes all a record needs is one killer on it.

One of the early leads for track of the year for me is still standing tall: Patrick Gibin featuring Mark De Clive-Lowe and Javonntte’s “Cloud Nine”. An absolutely infectious vocal house cut, this one still feels a bit under appreciated somehow. I imagine this one will continue to grow in popularity as it gets beaten by some of the best DJs in the world.

Newworldaquarium is one of those producers who can take deepness to the next level. He’s a master of using just a few parts along with heavy repetition to make something that is simultaneously both futuristic and timeless. This year it was tucked away on a B side where “Levels Halo” lurked, probably appropriately as the general public is not really ready to go to these levels without a proper breathing apparatus.

Scott Grooves almost always makes this list which is a testament to his quality level as well as his consistency. This year it was a single sided white label containing a live band cover of his own “Over You” with Thornetta Davis on vocals. Despite being recorded back in the 90s, this version has been unavailable until now and it manages to fit into modern day soulful house music while also standing out thanks to the great playing and arrangement that drip with elegance.

Louie Vega has been on a really hot streak for a few years now, and this time it’s the B side that does it (even though the A side is also dope, a nice flip of Tony Silvester’s “Cosmic Lady”) on the excellent “A Place Where We Can All Be Free”. Louie takes advantage of his production and engineering skills as well as working with excellent musicians to create a loopy soulful disco jam in 2019.

Whodat has been one of the homies for a while, and her best jam so far is on her collaborative 12” with Viola Klein entitled “Funeral Song”. This one gives off some UR style hi tech funk vibes, but loopier with a rhythm that alternates between house and half tempo.

Dego’s most recent outing for the great Neroli label is a two track single, but it’s the B side’s Roy Ayers style deep funk groove “Just Give It A Long Shot” that stands out the most for me out of all of his music from this year.

Jon Dixon got a nice crew of musicians together for “Want It”, the new 4evr 4wrd 12”, but the best mix is tucked away on the B2 by someone called Darrius Quince whom I haven’t heard of before. Here he gives us the most dancefloor of the mixes included, and keeps it simple but funky.

ISM writer Vincent launched his Rhythm Nation label this year with a record by Sol Ortega from Buenos Aires. Here she combines hi tek soul and house music, with the remixes by Ricardo Miranda providing a little extra kick.

Last but most certainly not least, Marcellus Pittman’s lone release for the year was an abstract 7” single that showcases the more downtempo side of his style which is still immediately recognizable as him. There are also two new Unirhythm 12”s that are awaiting release that will be dropping in 2020 most likely, and their signature brand of strange electronic funk grooves will make them highlights whenever they come out.

—————

There you have it. If you dig this list, please spread it around to your friends and fellow music aficionados. Help get the word out on some sick music.