Bibio's albums of the decade
One of my favourite album covers, a delightful Japanese painting of birds which suits the peacefulness of the music well. This album is quite a journey, still brings back strong memories of living on the edge of London, shouldered by the leafiness of Hertfordshire.
Back in the days when minidiscs were a promising format, friends and I would exchange 'mix tapes' on minidisc. A friend of mine did me a post-rock mix including 'Our Way to Fall' off this album. Lyrically and musically, it paints a vivid picture, or maybe more like a film. Delightful music.
I remember anticipating this release, the excitement of waiting for release day and then trying to feel justified in that going record shopping was a valid part of my university education. What a great album this is too. Makes me crave a drum kit.
This album was a surprise, nobody had ever heard of this dude and it was the kind of uber-eccentric sonic fare which flipped me out and inspired me to get lost in my own musical adventures.
This double LP, particular side A, got played heavily in my second year at university. I'd be working away late in the Sonic Arts' basement, learning to programme super collider and max/msp, and then come home to wind down to the melodic and rhythmic web that is Double Figure.
Looks like 2001 was a memorable year. I remember hearing a leaked promo of this album, but cleverly they had edited the tracks down to a more minimal style. When the album dropped, this disc got heavy rotation. The bonus with this album is that other people in my student abode were into it too.
What can I say? I got sucked in, spun around, my mind was bent, twisted and led into obsessive hunts for clues, hidden meaning and mystery. Probably the most anticipated album for me of all time, and in no way was I disappointed. It surprised me and shocked me.
OK, not your usual pick for top ten albums. This is another masterpiece of the legendary sound recordist Chris Watson. Meticulously captured from 3 main locations, the recordings are 'time compressed' into 3 x 18 minute tracks. Headphones with eyes closed takes you into vivid far out landscapes, but landscapes which are real, existing now, still unspoilt, no studio trickery involved.
Ok, so why does old Clarky get in my top ten twice? Well you might think it's because he's a mate, but the truth is, it's because he wrote this album. It should go down in history as one of the classics. Thoroughly meticulous, meandering and cinematic. Epic.
I'm so glad for the 'customers who bought this also bought this...' idea. I was curious as to what people liked who bought bibio albums. This was in there on Boomkat's site. This album was one of the best new discoveries for me. They have pretty much perfected the warm, analogue, valvey/tapey sound. Very atmospheric and melancholy music.
Other artist's top tens
All these lists were compiled into one Artist's top ten albums of the decade poll. But here are all the individual lists that went into it...
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