The Best Albums of 2010 – Our Friend’s Choices
17 December, 2010Sounds and Colours has just published our favourite albums of 2010 which you can find in two parts (ONE and TWO), however we wanted to published a few lists from some of our favourite sites, hopefully picking up on some of the albums we may have missed out on, but also giving some context to the year. What have people really been listening to? How have South American artists fared in a Latin world, and so on? We’re going to start with an exclusive list from Mateus Potumati at Soma.
Soma’s 10 Best Albums of 2010
Mateus Potumati is the editor of Soma, a site that purports to be a bastion of independent culture. Certainly, if you are looking for a few activities, of the slightly avant-garde vibe, around Brazil you can do a lot worse. Soma is a particularly useful tool for shedding light on some of Brazil’s hidden talents. In Mateus’s list he mixes international with Brazilian artists, hopefully giving an idea of how these Brazilian acts fit into the great scheme of things.
1. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2. Emicida – Emicídio
3. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
4. Gonjasufi – A Sufi and a Killer
5. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
6. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
7. M Takara 3 – Sobre Todas e Qualquer Coisa
8. Tulipa Ruiz – Efêmera
9. Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
10. Espião – Cada Um, Cada Um
Rock ‘n’ Beats 10 Best Brazilian Albums of 2010
Rock ‘n’ Beats is a Brazilian blog-style magazine, highlighting the best indie music from all around the world, as well as plenty of Brazilian acts. Here is their selection of the 10 Best Brazilian Albums of 2010.
1. Marcelo Jeneci – Feito Pra Acabar
2. Tulipa Ruiz – Efêmera
3. Holger – Sunga
4. Apanhador Só – Apanhador Só
5. Cérebro Eletrônico – Deus e o Diabo no Liquidificador
6. Garotas Suecas – Escaldante Banda
7. Do Amor – Do Amor
8. Sabonetes – Sabonetes
9. Mombojó – Amigo do Tempo
10. Venus Volts – Venus Volts Is Dead
This Top 10, with reviews of the albums, can be found HERE.
Panamérika’s Albums of 2010
Extending from the Red Bull Music Academy PanamériKa is a blog and radio show spreading the word about hispanic culture. Hence, it’s no surprise to find a mix of Spanish, South American and Central American albums in their Top 15 of the year.
1. El Guincho – Pop Negro
2. Gepe – Audiovisión
3. Rita Indiana y los Misterios – El Juidero
4. Triángulo de Amor Bizarro – Año Santo
5. Astro – Le disc de Astrou
6. Cibelle – Las Venus Resort Palace Hotel
7. Single – Monólogo Interior
8. Alex Anwandter – Odisea
9. Los Punsetes – LP2
10. Velandia y La Tigra – Oh, Porno!
11. Adanowsky – Amador
12. Axel Krygier – Pesebre
13. Chico Mann – Analog Drift
14. Aias – A la piscina
15. Las Robertas – Cry Out Loud
PanamériKa’s Top 15, with reviews, can be found HERE.
NPR’s Top 10 Latin American Alternative Albums of 2010
National Public Radio (NPR) have been a huge supporter of Latin music this year, with regular features on Seu Jorge & Almaz, Bomba Estereo and Javiera Mena, so it is no surprise to find that their Top 10 Latin American Alternative Albums of 2010 are actually quite good.
1. Seu Jorge and Almaz – Seu Jorge and Almaz
2. Carla Morrison – Mientras Tú Dormías
3. Rita Indiana – El Juidero
4. Calle 13 – Entre Los Que Quieran
5. Alex Cuba – Alex Cuba
6. Chancha via Circuito – Rio Arriba
7. Javiera Mena – Mena
8. Maneja Beto – Escante Calling
9. Mala Rodriguez – Dirty Bailarina
10. Alex Anwandter – Odisea
You can read NPR’s article on the Best Latin American Alternative Albums HERE
Me Hace Ruido’s Best Albums of 2010
From Me Hace Ruido we have a selection of Spanish-language entries, meaning nothing from Brazilian but thankfully a healthy selection from Chile.
1. Gepe – Audiovisión
2. Triángulo de Amor Biazarro – Año Santo
3. Javiera Mena – Mena
4. Chikita Violenta – Tr3s
5. Ceci Bastida – Veo la Marea
6. El Guincho – Pop Negro
7. Rita Indiana y Los Misterios – El Juidero
8. Carla Morrison – Mientras tu dormías
9. Delorean – Subiza
10. DaPuntoBeat – Off The Record
11. Suave As Hell – Suave as Hell
12. Camiches – Alive With Integrity
13. Dënver – Música, Gramática y Gimnasia
14. Rey Pila – Rey Pila
15. Sol Pereyra – Bla Bla Bla
16. Joe Volume & The Shot O’Clock – The Shameless
17. Enjambre – Daltónico
18. Hello Seahorse! – Lejos. No tan Lejos
You can see their list in full HERE.
Club Fonograma’s Best Songs of 2010
We’ve suddenly lost our way a little as these are Club Fonograma’s Top 10 Songs of 2010 and not albums, but hey, we like this site and this list too much not to include them. This is just the Top 10 of 100 songs Club Fonograma have chosen as being the best of 2010. With a definite focus on great indie-pop it’s quite a selection.
1. Javiera Mena – Luz de Piedra de Luna
2. Rita Indiana y Los Misterios – Da Pa Lo Do
3. Los Espíritus – Pacifico-Atlántico
4. Dënver – Lo Que Quieras
5. El Guincho – Bombay
6. Triangulo de Amor Bizarro – De la monarquía a la criptocracia
7. El Guincho feat. Julieta Venegas – Mientes
8. Los Rakas feat. Fabiola. – Abrázame (Uproot Andy Remix)
9. Gepe – Por La Ventana
10. Odisea – Cabros
You can find this Top 10 on Club Fonograma’s website, along with the rest of their Top 100 Songs HERE.
And that’s it for now. I think one thing we have learnt is how hard it is to categorise music from South America. If it falls into the ‘hispanic’ category then we lose the Brazilian influence, which the same can also be said of the ‘Latin’ or ‘Latin American’ tag also. In all of these categories too there is a huge proliferation of artists from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Dominican Republic, often taking over. Hopefully you will find by reading Sounds and Colours Top 10 a good focus on South American artists, some of which are cruelly neglected in some of these lists of ‘Latin American’ artists.
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