Favourite Records of the Year. Selected by: Watter

von Heavypop am 12. Dezember 2014 in Adventskalender 2014

‚This World‚ works as interface between the acoustic landscapes of Grails and Slint, the two closely related bands that qualify Watter as – excuse the marketing-speak – supergroup. First and foremost though, Zak Riles, Tyler Trotter and Britt Walford made their debut a beautiful and mystically surreal voyage through the bluring borderlands of post- and krautrock. To ease the waiting time for their Euro tour at the start of 2015 (with dates in Linz on Feb 12th and Vienna on Feb 14th), Mr. Riles tell us about his favourite records of the year for the Heavy Pop advent calendar.

Pink Floyd – ‚[amazon_link id=“B00NPZI1ZS“ target=“_blank“ ]The Endless River[/amazon_link]‘
It’s nice to hear this record knowing that it was pieced together with older, previously recorded material from Rick Wright. What they end up with is a nice blend of all the Gilmour era Pink Floyd records. It’s good to hear new songs from the three of them… One last time.

Todd Terje – ‚[amazon_link id=“B00ICZ0QR2″ target=“_blank“ ]It’s Album Time[/amazon_link]‘
Several of the songs on this record remind me of Jaga Jazzist, but maybe that’s just a Norwegian thing. I love all of the synth work. The sequences and arpeggios sound incredible. Todd Terje is clearly one of the better electronic producers of our time. „Inspector Norse“ May very well be the best House Music song that I have ever heard.

Slint – ‚[amazon_link id=“B00K2OBUEO“ target=“_blank“ ]Spiderland (Remastered)[/amazon_link]‘
I first heard ‚Spiderland‚ at summer camp when I was twelve years old. To say it was a life changing experience would be an understatement. At that time all I listened to was classic rock and hardcore music. The instrumental phrases on this record were something I could relate to like nothing else I had heard at that time in my life. ‚Spiderland‚ was the album that inspired me to pick up an instrument and start playing my own music. This release was what every Slint super fan (such as myself) has craved.

Steve Reich – ‚[amazon_link id=“B00MQVRVMQ“ target=“_blank“ ]Radio Rewrite[/amazon_link]‘
I’ve pretty much worn out Pat Metheny’s version of ‚Electric Counterpoint‚. Jonny Greenwood’s version on this record is a breaths new life into the piece. It is definitely his own sound and style. It’s almost like hearing the piece again for the first time. ‚Piano Counterpoint‚ and ‚Radio Rewrite‚ tie it all together and make this record an absolute favorite of mine for 2014.

Brian Eno & Karl Hyde – [amazon_link id=“B00KLSSKA8″ target=“_blank“ ]High Life[/amazon_link]‘
Many of the songs on this record are reminiscent of the ‚[amazon_link id=“B000EHS72C“ target=“_blank“ ]My Life in the Bush of Ghosts[/amazon_link]‘, West African pop sound. The vocal and guitar processing is what I want to hear when I listen to a new Eno record. The fact that this record was recorded in only five days is what really fascinates me.