Andrew Bird - My Finest Work Yet; Album Cover - Amanda Demme
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC COUNTDOWN
<10>
正しい街
Sheena Ringo
Supreme queen of J Pop Sheena Ringo has the vocal prowess of the likes of Björk, the power and emotion of Alanis Morissette. She is as prolific as Kylie Minogue, as versatile as Tori Amos and has the stage presence of Beyoncé. Ringo can do anything and her immense 2019 album 三毒史 (Sandokushi) shows no exception to this fact. I particularly like 正しい街 (The Right City) because of the power and anger in the chorus in contrast to the more reflective mood in the verse, where minor chords coupled with anticipated beats create rhythmic tension and release as the song builds. Her commitment to working with top live instrumentalists when recording and performing is enviable and her back up bands are quite literally epic.
<9>
Maybe You're the Reason
The Japanese House
Amber Bain who wholly comprises The Japanese House is a total talent. The level of detail in every aspect of her work is extraordinary. In Maybe You’re The Reason, the production skills are smooth and transport you to a unique sound that blends Bain’s great skills on the guitar and keyboard. Her vocals have weight, are emotive and soulful. What instantly wowed me on this track is the interesting modulation of the chords and clever use of large intervals in the melody, which parallel the searching, contemplation and sometimes disillusionment in lyrics that strike deep in my bitter heart.
<8>
Moth
Kitt Philippa
There’s an almost supernatural atmosphere that surrounds Northern Irish musician Kitt Philippa and their music. Perhaps because of the experimental use of instruments such as a bicycle wheel along with prayer bowl, organ, clarinet, piano, and guitar. The composition of KP’s track is as imaginative as their use of words. Moth takes us on an auditory journey that starts with rain and opens up by adding more and more beautifully crafted instrumental lines from a violin, cello, piano trio underneath the sonorous vocals. My favourite moment is when KP blends a french horn with vocal note bending. This up-and-coming artist is drawing us in and I’m here for the ride.
<7>
Fallorun
Andrew Bird
Originally a jazz singer and violinist, Andrew Bird has since had a prolific career releasing several successful art-folk-indie-pop-rock albums. Dancing around his loop/effects pedals while singing, bowing his fiddle and whistling… he is an absolute joy to watch live. Bird is a wordsmith, as we hear in Fallorun. The opening verses and bridges are complimented with off beat rhythms by plucked strings, layered with violin effects and piano chords that combine to paint a dark picture. A clever constructor also, Bird hints at the bridge after the first verse, then reveals it in its full beauty after the second verse. So by denying us the chorus until after the first two verses, this gives more impact when we finally release into uplifting excitement, with band in full force. His finest work yet indeed!
<6> TIE
Don't Miss It
James Blake
Mountains
Ainslie Wills
These two tracks scored the same total with little difference for seemingly obvious reasons. Both artists are masterful poets with massive vocal range and performance power. They have similar approaches to composition with their use of live piano and its interplay with production. While Blake’s Don’t Miss It scored higher for production; vocal and piano effects, placement, contrast in clarity and compression plus use of the body of the piano as a percussion instrument, Wills’s scored more for her expressive musicality in Mountains; particularly where she paints a picture of terror and anxiety while going from the depth of her voice up to the falsetto - I well up every time. Both songs read me and my mental health to filth and I love every crying minute of it.
<5>
Zenit
ONUKA
Ukrainian electro-folk band ONUKA have blasted 2019 away with the December release of their song Zenit (Zenith). Haiku-like lyrics are sung with a dexterity in vocal timbre that rivals Sia. The imagery and simplicity of the words leave space for the incredible sounds of the traditional folk instruments and choir which transport the listener to a truly unique soundscape. And it bops! (While I’ve not considered videos when scoring, I can’t leave this post without saying the music video for Zenit is INCREDIBLE!).
<4>
Tired Creature
Osquello / Poppy Billingham
Few songs on this list can rival the slick and detailed production used in Tired Creature. The blend of instruments as they flow through the auditory dimension feels like a warm bath in zero gravity - like floating in LCL (Link Connect Liquid) in the cockpit of an EVA. Or it’s like eating a fresh-out-the-oven, gooey-centred caramel brownie. The ability to include this number of instruments - especially considering the depth and quality of reverb - without sacrificing anything is sheer brilliance. The composition is intelligent, the band is tight and the technicality of both vocalists is impressive. The end result is a dream state I don’t want to wake up from.
<3>
Zero Gravity
Kate Miller-Heidke
Australia’s Eurovision entry, Zero Gravity, is an example of classical training crossing into the mainstream seamlessly. Kate Miller-Heidke is no stranger to switching between vocal techniques in her songs which lends to a range of tone and expression like no other; her control and technical ability are astounding (even while performing aerial acrobatics!). In Zero Gravity, this treatment of vocals parallels the storytelling: overcoming inner demons by launching into outer space. Another effective combination in this track is the use of electronic instruments and a full orchestra, complete with piano, harp and timpani, produced by Pip Norman to a stratospheric level.
<2>
Receipts
Serpentwithfeet
From the clarity, lyrical dexterity and gorgeous vibrato in his vocal tone to the harmonic and rhythmic precision in his composing style, Serpentwithfeet is a musical genius. Receipts, in collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign, illustrates the bewilderment of feeling loved by someone. The lyrics are perfection, supported by a harmonic modulation that feels as though it is questioning itself as much as the performers themselves. The production and use of live piano and string instruments compliment this intermingling of poetic and musical artistry in every respect. Serpentwithfeet is hands down one of the most original musical artists today.
<1>
CHANGE
Montaigne
I first came across Montaigne on holiday in Perth, December 2018, when her single For Your Love graced my earbuds as I left the botanic gardens. My jaw was agape at her ability to completely and utterly bare her soul through her voice in a way I’ve never heard before. Her pitch and timbral control are to die for. So I can’t deny that I was excited to find her album Complex had been released in 2019. This has to be the strongest album I’ve heard in a very long time and the title track CHANGE is exceptional. It is the call to action we all need right now. The lyrics are poignant and her vocals are as powerful as ever. But what makes this track stand out even more is the production by Tony Buchen, who has to be one of Australia’s top music producing exports, based in LA. Using live strings, woodwind and brass sections plus percussion including a darabukka, this orchestral sound is a testament to Tony’s work ethic “where genre takes a back seat to the intention and attitude of an artist’s recorded work” and his passion for acoustic/electronic instruments of all persuasions. The result is as fun as it is dotty, rousing and truly inspirational.
Background
For a large period of my life, during my clarinet training, I virtually stopped listening to mainstream music. At university level I had to choose a musical genre to train in when I didn’t particularly want to and as a result, I thought that was required of me as a musician - to pigeonhole myself. So I’ve made a huge effort over the last 6 years to catch up with the contemporary music industry as I have always been, deep down, a firm believer that when you strip music back to its core components you can find enjoyment in anything you listen to. It is all the same, regardless of where it comes from. In the words of Duke Ellington, “it’s all music.”
I’ve never done my own countdown before, so it was an illuminating experience ranking my top songs for the year. I’ve seen many people post their top songs over the years and I always wondered how they did it and how it would work for me. As I’m usually not happy unless I make things super complicated and consider every detail from every angle *skull emoji*… this turned into a pretty major project which I didn’t really expect - I thought I would simply listen to the music and organise the tracks, so hoped to publish this before the new year! *facepalm emoji*. So considering my efforts, I’ve included with this list my parameters, approach and method which you can read if you’re feeling geeky.
Source
Firstly, I could go into detail about how I wrangled the Spotify algorithms to gradually encourage my “curated” playlists to perform better, but I’ll save that for another post if anyone is interested. In terms of musical genres, I’m a bit of an omnivore - I refuse to discount any genre based on my established preferences; if it’s good music it doesn’t matter what genre it is. So for ease and the sake of comparison I have only included songs released in the mainstream in 2019 with vocals. Instrumental music (techno, “classical”/art music...) I will embark on for 2020. As with anything artistic, music is subjective and my taste is my own so these are songs by artists that have released something in 2019 which I think is quite outstanding. By complete coincidence my top 20 songs were by exactly 10 artists newly discovered in 2019 and 10 already known to me.
Bias
I can’t deny that where I am in my life right now has gravitated me towards certain themes in lyrics such as breakups, personal independence, self love, inspiration, motivation... so these tones are quite apparent. I am also aware that people factor in other things when listening to music such as the artist’s personality, politics, branding, marketing, music videos, fashion... which enhance the way someone listens to music. Alongside these factors I also felt there could be some conscious and unconscious bias towards some artists depending on how many years I’d followed them or how much I personally resonated with them. To reconcile all these contributors, I took the approach of considering the artistry in the creation and performance of a song as paramount, so through this lens I tried to be as unbiased as I could before any other aspect (with the exception of extremist ideology - problematic artists can get in the sea). However I’ve allowed myself one bias, or agenda, throughout this process and that is my penchant for “live” studio instruments and the use of session musicians or bands when recording. However this doesn’t mean I’m against electronic instruments, especially if they are used in an intelligent way - there is as much artistry in production as a musical instrument itself.
Rank
There came a point when selecting songs for my Top 20 shortlist where it was clear what the specific qualities I like in music are. So to be entirely fair in narrowing down my top 20 to a top 10, I realised I needed a spreadsheet *nerd glasses emoji*. Which takes me to my ranking process.
I worked out that there is a key set of 8 elements that I (and I’m sure most people) appreciate when listening, that make up every song: vocals, lyrics, composition, production etc… I gave marks out of 10 for each criteria so there could be a maximum of 80 points for each song. I also clarified a breakdown of the components/characteristics of each criteria to help me compare songs while ranking.
Reflection
I’m quite happy with how this turned out, I had no expectations except for some good guesses as to which songs would appear in the top 10, but I was completely surprised with the order. It was super difficult differentiating the songs because they are all exceptional in their own ways. In case you’re interested, here are the rest of the 20 songs, also ranked using the same system:
11 My Own Dance - Kesha
12 Ice Machine - Röyksopp / Susan Sundfør
13 Borderline - Baby Rose
14 I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend - Ezra Furman
15 Better off on My Own - Charlotte OC
16 Oh no, the Drums - Shamik / Vivek Sharya
17 Pink Lemonade - YVA
18 The Way That You Love Me - Vera Blue
19 Dreams Of You - Icarus / Rae Morris