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Artists Of The Year CMU Playlists
Playlist: CMU Artists Of The Year 2012
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 21 December 2012
Each December, the team at CMU sit down to decide who their ten favourite artists of the year have been – taking into account not just album releases, but everything those acts have done in the previous twelve months. In fact, this year one of our chosen acts has never released an album at all.
CMU Editor Andy Malt says of this year’s ten: “I really like focussing on what artists do as a whole for our end-of-year round up, because it always throws up surprises. There are artists whose albums I have played to death this year who I thought would be on this list, but who were just beaten at the final stage by someone who we felt had really gone that extra yard in other areas in 2012”.
He continues: “As ever, it was really tough to get down to the final ten, and the list changed several times before we finally agreed on it. But I think what we’ve come up with really reflects what we’ve been most excited about here at CMU this year, as well as celebrating a broad cross-section of music and the music industry in 2012”.
CMU ARTISTS OF THE YEAR TEN
Click here to listen to the playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about our choices.
01 Ty Segall – I Bought My Eyes
“What has Ty Segall done this year? And who is he?”, you may ask. Well, to start with the basics: SoCal lo-fi thrasher Segall has released a mercurial triple-set of LPs this year, promoted each via non-stop touring, incited an apparent “garage renaissance”, and set a new, very loud standard for live guests on Chicago’s ‘WGN Morning News’. That’s all.
Read our full feature on Ty Segall here
02 Junkie XL – Off The Dancefloor (Trippple Nippples Remix)
Our introduction to Tokyo-based trio Trippple Nippples came in the form of ambient pop track ‘Goldenroad’, which ensured maximum impact at the moment we discovered just how unrepresentative of their sound it was. More typical tracks, such as ‘LSD’, show off a kind of frantic, tribal pop – a description that matches their unforgettable live shows.
Read our full feature on Trippple Nippples here
03 Frank Ocean – Thinkin Bout You
Frank Ocean first appeared above the hip hop parapet as a member of rap posse (and one of CMU’s Artists Of 2011) Odd Future. With a muted persona in contrast to the crew’s other brasher characters, Ocean played (slightly) elder sibling and R&B foil to the likes of Tyler, The Creator et al, while also stashing solo singles.
Read our full feature on Frank Ocean here
04 Julia Holter – Goddess Eyes II
Julia Holter’s early work, much of it recorded while studying at the California Institute Of The Arts, is almost a trip through the thought processes leading up to this year’s ‘Ekstasis’ album. Elements of each of the earlier releases can be heard in the new record, resulting in an album more accessible than all of them, but with all of their charm and depth remaining intact.
Read our full feature on Julia Holter here
05 Azealia Banks – 212
Ah, Azealia Banks. It’s been over a year since her first CMU mention, and what a year-plus. In varying ways. A teen alumnus of Manhattan’s LaGuardia arts school, Harlem-based Banks began acting the rap artiste in 2009. Her overnight infamy came via last year’s ‘212′, a heathen hymn to NYC club culture and Banks’ own (bi)sexuality.
Read our full feature on Azealia Banks here
06 Susanne Sundfør – White Foxes
This year, Susanne Sundfør released her third album proper, ‘The Silicone Veil’, her first to receive an official release in the UK. Its first single, ‘White Foxes’, picks up where previous album ‘The Brothel’ left off, and then pushes the possibilities within her sound, a blend of electronic and classical influences, yet further.
Read our full feature on Susanne Sundfør here
07 Lana Del Rey – National Anthem
The duality and uncertainty of Lana Del Rey makes the still-animated conversation about her such an object of fascination, and that lends an extra sweet-sour piquancy to tracks like ‘National Anthem’, an exemplary pop single by any standards. The Lana Del Rey myth well may be just that, but even if it isn’t true, it’s a beautiful lie nevertheless.
Read our full feature on Lana Del Rey here
08 Plan B – Ill Manors
When Plan B was named Artist of The Year at this year’s Artist & Manager Awards he thanked his label, Warner/Atlantic for “believing in” him. Fairly standard, but he pointed out that he was one of the few artists kept on after its purchase of 679 Records, when, as far as he was concerned, he was “just some rapper with an album that didn’t sell very well”.
Read our full feature on Plan B here
09 Grimes – Oblivion
Pop’s grey post-Guetta colour-scheme was given a neon do-over this year by one Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, whose third LP ‘Visions’ was one of the annum’s most notable releases. A manic mechanism of preset beats, starlight synths and Boucher’s doll-like vox, it’s a peerless pop record that plays straight to the pleasure centre.
Read our full feature on Grimes here
10 The Smiths – How Soon Is Now?
Right, now you might be thinking that making The Smiths one of our Artists Of The Year makes a mockery of the whole system. But it doesn’t, so be quiet. The Smiths hold their position here precisely because they have done absolutely nothing. Well, except one thing: deny rumours that they are reuniting.
Read our full feature on The Smiths here
