A soundtrack to the end of the world.

While we’ve been waiting for the vaccine we’ve had no choice but to occupy ourselves by consuming media of all forms, but we thought this would make a more interesting article than one about Netflix box sets. Everyone has been trapped in their rooms, including your favourite artists: they’ve had no excuse to not to do their jobs and release some bangers. So, we’ve rounded some up some pals to give you their unwarranted and unprofessional opinions on the standout musical releases of the shit-show that was last year.

Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Crater Speak) — Slauson Malone

Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Crater Speak) is a continuation on the ideas first presented in Slauson Malones’ previous album: 2018’s ‘A Quiet Farwell, 2016–2018 (Crater Speak)’. It feels wrong to talk about Vergangenheitsbewältigung without mentioning its predecessor. A Quiet Farwell was a busy, almost hectic album, it felt… full. Like Slauson’s mind was overflowing with ideas and emotion, all of which he managed to get across in its comparatively short runtime. Chaotic sampling, electronic elements and layers of hip-hop and jazz influence came together to create something that sounded unlike anything I’d ever heard. I don’t mean this in a bad way — the album is incredible. Vergangenheitsbewältigung in comparison is like the quiet after the storm, reminiscing on the chaos of the first album. Many of the songs continue ideas and motifs created on the first album but this time they’re accompanied by stripped back acoustic guitar and piano. The chaos of the first album is referenced here, as are the hip-hop and jazz elements that made the first so great, but they’re not the focus of Vergangenheitsbewältigung by any means. Despite its similarly short length the ideas here don’t feel as cramped and bursting to get out. By being a more subdued continuation of the first album, Vergangenheitsbewältigung finds its own sound without losing any of the magic Slauson initially created. It’s hard to find the words to describe both of these albums, Slauson is doing something that few others are right now, and you should most definitely check him out.

Bluenote: Reimagined — Various Artists

It’s safe to say that the UK jazz scene is in a great place at the moment. 2020 saw releases from Moses Boyd, Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes, Yazmin Lacey, Alfa Mist; the list goes on. For me though, Bluenote Reimagined was the standout release. That’s not to say that the individual releases we saw this year were lacking in quality, but Bluenote Reimagined felt significant for UK jazz as a whole. Bluenote is a heritage jazz label that’s been around since 1939, releasing music from some of the heaviest hitters in the game: we’re talking Coltrane, Hancock and Davis here. Bluenote: Reimagined is exactly what it says, reimagined versions of classic songs from the label’s back catalogue by some of the most exciting UK jazz artists making music right now (this isn’t the first time Bluenote have experimented with music from their archives: see Shades of Blue from legendary hip-hop producer Madlib). Alfa Mist, Ezra Collective, Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia and a host of others make contributions to the track listing, covering and reworking music from the label’s previous releases. Influence from other genres can be felt across the album; R&B vocals from Jorja Smith and Yazmin Lacey and electronic beats from Emma Jean Thackray immediately spring to mind. Importantly though, this collaboration feels like a celebration, and to some extent validation, of the UK scene; now internationally and culturally recognised for the consistent quality of its output.

A soundtrack to the end of the world.

Written by Joel Footring