2010: Best Tracks Part 1 – Tonje.

December 15, 2010, 2 comments


Some songs speak for themselves, while others don’t. After a long day at a relaxed Berlin café with Henning, this is the result of my top 15 personal favorites that has been playing on repeat during the year that is about to end.

#15. The Dawns – Mirage
Music is all about the atmosphere. It took some extra time for me to realize how good this track by the mysterious, dark noise project The Dawns really is. It gives us a nearly 10 minute long peak through the surface of the earth, as we stumble around in complete darkness among rats and four-eyed insects. None of us are sure how it will end.

#14. Korallreven – Honey Mine (feat. Victoria Bergsman)
On a little brighter side, Korallrevens newest masterpiece featuring Victoria Bergsman from Taken By Trees once again manages to capture us into their lush and care-free, tropical island pop.

#13. The Morning Benders – Sleeping In
1:48.

#12. Gem Club – Spine
I am, and have always been, a big fan of the melancholic music. My personality would probably say the opposite, but after being fed up on sad, Norwegian indie pop most of my life, I guess tunes like these are one of my ‘weak spots’ within music. This utterly beautiful track by Gem Club is nothing but a soundscape masterpiece in its own.

#11. Coma Cinema – Blissed
Mat Cothran aka Coma Cinema probably makes the most honest and well-composed music I’ve heard in a long time. All though very bedroom recorded-sounding, one cannot question the fact that this guy is a pure pop genius.

#10. Jónsi – Tornado
I loved this song with all my heart the first time I heard it. Seeing Jónsi playing it live at Øya Festival this year simply just confirmed my love for this musical composition genius; building up an atmosphere so great, so perfect, that I found it hard to believe that Tornado hadn’t reached the top 10 of other ‘best of’ lists this year.

#9. How To Dress Well – Ready For The World

#8. Caribou – Sun
When the city lights are fading, close your eyes and wait for the sun.

#7. Crystal Castles – Vietnam

#6. Four Tet – Sing

#5. James Blake – CMYK
This year we’ve basically witnessed a ‘rebirth’ within electronic music, with rising producers such as Star Slinger, Baths, Gold Panda and of course James Blake, making glitchy, chopped-up electronic pop, often leaning over at instrumental hip-hop (in Star Slinger’s case), which music simply wants me to make me put on my prettiest and tallest heels and go out dancing till the sun rises. CMYK has nearly been featured on every “best of” list already, but I still can’t deny it: this is electronic perfectionism.

#4. Blue Hawaii – Belize
It’s impossible not to love the tunes of the tropical/dream pop duo Blue Hawaii, creating soundscapes that can easily make you forget about your current surroundings and instead feel the pricking of solar heated sand beneath your feet.

#3. Susanne Sundfør – The Brothel
Susanne Sundfør has been one of the most hyped names in Norway this year, and that for a reason. With live shows which can make the earth shake, Sundfør’s voice aims to pierce the heavens.

#2. Beach House – Norway
It’s nearly an impossible task to choose a favorite song from Beach House’s Teen Dream, but being the “patriotic Norwegian” as I am (note the “), there was no doubt that Norway was the right pick. As a few of you might know already, this hit was born on a jamming session while on tour with their 2008 record Devotion — driving through miles and miles of mountains, lakes and Norwegian woods.

#1. Moddi – Floriography
Moddi is a hard nut to crack. His music needs to be given the right amount of time before being able to fall in love with it, but I can definitely assure you that it’s worth it — with tunes that picks up the echoes of northern Norway in Moddi’s beautiful noice, as well as sounding very Icelandic and Björk-like at the same time. For some reason this astounding track was only released on vinyl and not on CD, but to make up for that, it was recently also featured on Moddi’s Rubbles EP this fall, a long with three other breathtaking pieces.

Runner-ups: Deerhunter – “Helicopter”,  Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Round and Round”, Star Slinger – “Slow N’ Wet”, Jai Paul – “BTSTU”, Ghost Society – “Under The Sun”.

Photograph by Florian Reischauer.
Pieces Of Berlin
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By Tonje