the Ratiofarm: In Girum Imus Nocte Et Consumimur Igni

1. "Endlessly" by Antonymes from The Licence To Interpret Dreams (2011). LTID is another introspective, "classical"/ambient album with electronics unobtrusively sprinkled in. And, it's another one that is jaw droppingly gorgeous. Then, there's "Endlessly", which pushes your boat from the shore into the unknown mists of death and softly weeps as you fade away.

2. "Fort Collins" by Julian Lynch from Terra (2011). Another solid record from bizarro Sufjan Stevens. Stevens wishes he was as creative as Lynch. Abstracted psychedelic pop, perfect for summer porches.

3. "Today, Same Day" by Matthewdavid from Outmind (2011).

Here's some near-danceable, glitch-hop mash-up nonsense that's sure to start your evening out sloopy. Güd tymez. Think Black Dice + Panda Bear. Maybe.

4. "Temporal Vessels" by Tropic of Cancer from The Sorrow Of Two Blooms EP (2011).

To call this goth or witch.haus or drag or any such name would be selling this band short. Elements of VU's more experimental side, vaporous aspects of grouper, even a little Low temper this depressive but immersive debut that is definitely worth owning.

5. "Secret Heart" by Belong from Common Era (2011).
God damn there have been some fantastic albums released this year. Belong's CE is one of my favorites by far. Slowed down shoegaze burners broadcasting towards you through the foggy aether, with some sweet 80s dance grooves bubbling up to keep it from getting too melancholy. This is the stand out pop-ish song on the disk.

6. "Alien Observer" by Grouper from the double records A I A:
Dream Loss and Alien Observer (2011).
Liz Harris melts my mind with her existential lyrics and goopy Wurlitzer organ. Another one of the best records 2011 has produced. This one is great for late nights when it's hard to see.

7. "Drugged" by Matt Christensen from A Cradle In The Bowery (2011).
A member of Zelienople steps away from his band to bring us a record focused on more traditional song structures, bathed in reverb and echo.

8. "Beliver" by John Maus from We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (2011).
If Maus belives in anything, it's the power of a fantastic pop song. This, his third record, is another fantastically bizarre, 80s mutant child. Heavy on tinny synths, it's pretty fun over all, good road trip music, and it ends on this high note.

9. "Revolution Wavers" by Psychedelic Horseshit from Laced (2011).
Here we find Psychedelic Horseshit setting the attitude aside (for the most part) and proving that they fucking know their shit. This is the best thing I've heard so far this year. Layers and layers of nearly every musical style. Brilliant.

10. "Squeezit The Moocher" from the film The Forbidden Zone (1982). This is a Josephine Baker song, actually titled "La Petite Tonkinoise". I was recently re-watching The Forbidden Zone, an amazing film by Richard Elfman (Danny Elfman's brother), and was struck by the use of this song in one of the musical numbers. If you haven't seen The Forbidden Zone, I highly recommend watching it.

11. "Stop Time" by Animal Style from Reso-rubbish (2006).
I've been trying to track down this guy's work since first hearing his Nintendo Symphony back in 2005. I recently discovered that most of his back catalog is available for free
on his website. Joey Mariano is the best chiptune composer I've heard. Wish I could find Nintendo Symphony 'cause that shit is flat out amazing.

12. "By This River" by Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto from Summvs (2011).
These two electronic composers make piano-based minimal
music that lies somewhere between glitch, ambient and lowercase. Very sweet background music, but also quite rewarding on headphones. This is their 6th collaboration.

13. "Centaur In Autumn" by OV from Noctilucent Valleys (2011).
OV is Loren Chasse and Christine Boepple of various San Francisco psyche outfits, both members in the masterful Jeweled Antler Collective. In OV they offer minimal, repeating patterns based in guitar. Very absorbing stuff.

14. "You Girls Smoke Cigarettes" by No Joy from Ghost Blonde (2010). Exciting noise pop with references to Sonic Youth, Eric's Trip and the Breeders.

15. "Spiraling" by Zomes from Earth Grid (2011).

Zomes' music is similar to OV in concept, but the execution is based more on keyboards and drums, less on reverbed guitar jams and much more structured. Earth Grid finds Asa Osborne stepping away, just a foot or so, from the rigid structures of his previous album, letting his compositions breathe and grow in very organic and subtle ways.

16. "Access Point" by Sundrips from Just A Glimpse (2011). Layers of repeating chords and arpaggieos stretch our from the first light of dawn to the last ray of the setting sun.

17. "Touchstone" by Amor de Dias from Street of the Love of Days (2011). Alasdair Maclean presents this Clientele side project with collaborator Lupe Nunez-Fernandez. They switch off vocals on most every track, but I find the songs sound best when they're duets. Lupe's solos are a little too precious and Maclean's pretty much sound just like his Clientele work. After a few listens, though, the album really congeals as the perfect soundtrack for a quiet summer evening on the back porch with your closest friend.

18. "The Sketch" by Tomasz Bednarczyk from Let's Make Better Mistakes Tomorrow (2011).
Alright, I give up, unless the E6 gang or Jeweled Antler get together produce a ton of amazing albums in the next 7 months, 12k wins "Record Label of the Year" from the Ratiofarm. Another, another, stunning album of minimal electronic ambient compositions is released by Taylor Dupree's label. Just listen. As always, with headphones.

19. "Crystal Harvest" by Higuma from Pacific Fog Dreams (2011).

Excellent psyche/drone/noise/ from barn owl Evan Caminiti and Lisa McGee. The cover there is actually a perfect visual description of the contents of the record. What you would expect from a member of Barn Owl, but wonderful nonetheless.