NPR Music's 10 Best Electronic Albums of 2014

originally published by workshop records in 2014

On his first album in 13 years, Richard D. James, the godfather of cerebral electronic music, is in top form. This isn\'t a comeback, nor a departure of any kind: *Syro* sounds like highly concentrated, classic Aphex Twin, a singular aesthetic that dates all the way back to 1982: beat patterns wiggle into the foreground, then disappear; analog synths snap, crackle and pop; moods vacillate between aggressively percussive and smoothly melodic. These tracks – they work together like one long set -- demand to be listened to with excellent headphones, the better to discern their highly intricate sequencing, arguably some of James\' most ambitious. Each tune is teeming with juicy noise, all of it gleefully arranged. What comes through most is joy: it sounds like James is having so much fun. 

The second LP by Gazelle Twin. WAV download. Also available on Vinyl + CD at gazelletwin.tmstor.es

2014 double EP “Music For The Uninvited” was widely praised and featured heavily on many of 2014’s ‘Best Of Year’ polls including DJ Mag (#3), Mixmag (#6) and XLR8R (#3). Resident Advisor called the album “one of the most eclectic and rewarding house records you’ll hear all year”.

Steffi | Power Of Anonymity | ostgutcd32/lp18 Berlin-based DJ and producer Steffi returns with her second album Power Of Anonymity on Ostgut Ton. “I wanted to start working on my new album without any personal or external expectations and I was seeking an emancipated, unshackled approach in the album’s construction. I intended to include Electro and IDM elements as these are my roots: it's the music that I first started djing. After almost 20 years I got the feeling that I've come full circle, so I wanted to make an album that I, as a DJ, would like to carry in my record bag. My first LP – Yours & Mine (Ostgut Ton, 2011) – is very conceptual, it has a certain vibe that not only fits the club but also works on a stereo or in the car. Power Of Anonymity is much more about how I see the dance floor these days, and my aim was to take that vision into the studio. I asked myself what would happen if I could produce day after day without DJ gigs and travel interrupting my flow. These long stints in the studio allowed me to divide my time into three single blocks: initially I would only do jams and make sketches, followed by a phase for arranging and editing all recordings, and then a mixdown period for the album. Concentrating on creating Power Of Anonymity has inspired me to carry on tapping deeper into my creative vein. I'm looking forward to the next time when I can step into the studio. Being focused is the key.” – Steffi, Berlin, August 2014 – The new approach to her songwriting and production sees the 40-year-old Steffi being as on point as ever. Power Of Anonymity features laid-back, melodic cuts like “Pip”, “Fine Friend” and the break-heavy title track next to more straightforward, hypnotic dance floor pieces such as “Selfhood”, “Bag Of Crystals”, “JBW25” and “Bang For Your Buck”. Besides her solo instrumental productions, Steffi's collaboration with longtime friends Dexter and Virginia on the uplifting, percussion-driven vocal track “Treasure Seeking” is the icing on the cake. Just like “Power Of Anonymity” as a single piece of music, the album itself lives on an industrial-resonating structure of 808s, crisp synth stabs, pulsing staccati and dark, percussive drumbeats. With her second album Steffi recalls classic, landmark Detroit Electro, while creating her very own modern, retro-futuristic sound.

The English-born artist Janine Rostron conceived her Planningtorock persona in Berlin in the \'90s. Her shows incorporate visuals (masks, video, costumes) into a bewitching brew of electronica, classical music, hip-hop, and whatever else seems to float her way in a creative moment. Her voice naturally evokes artists from Jimmy Somerville (of the great Bronski Beat), Annie Lennox, and her friends and sometimes collaborators The Knife (mostly when she uses electronics to pitch and shift her voice, especially into deep, dark places.) Planningtorock’s music is inarguably unique. Though disco-driven songs like “Living It Out” and the sexually aggressive “I’m Yr Man” allude to dancefloor culture, Rostron manages to avoid dance-music clichés. She dishes out a wide range of beats with some authority and eschews the “electronic music” label by being so much more—cabaret, experimental, and pop elements all color *All Love’s Legal*. From the opening track, “Doorway”—which could fit neatly in a work by TV on the Radio—it’s clear that the third album by this remarkable artist will be an adventure in listening.