My Favourite Albums of 2023

Here's a list of fifteen of my favourite albums from the year that has almost been.

Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes it takes completely different forms.

MY FAVOURITE ALBUMS OF 2023

I know 2023 hasn’t finished yet, but I have to be honest with you guys: I need a holiday, and I’m gonna tap out for a bit soon, so I just want to get a few more bits + pieces out of the way first.

In terms of my work/work balance, I spent most of this year writing up long-form historical texts on undersung Aotearoa (New Zealand) music figures and completing a maddening, ever-sprawling podcast documentary series project that should finally arrive in the world early next year.

In many ways, much like in 2022, be it through the aforementioned projects or digging music from the eighties and nineties for DJ mixes, I spent a lot of time thinking about the past. Thankfully though, I still had some opportunities to engage with the sounds and scenes of now, mostly thanks to my work with Dazed, Mixmag, Resident Advisor and Rolling Stone. Even if it isn’t what I’d necessarily call a healthy balance, it’s always nice to have some form of balance.

At the end of 2022, I put together an alphabetically ordered list of ten contemporary albums that stuck with me throughout the year. This year, I'm opting for fifteen. You can check them out below.

A Journey of Giraffes, Empress Nouveau

The Everything Is Noise blog described Empress Nouveau as “a gentle ambient journey through neoclassical, electronic, jazz, and New Age influences.” I liked the album so much that I made a short documentary podcast about it and its creator, A Journey of Giraffes.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Ayesha, Rhythm Is Memory 

Here’s what I said about Rhythm Is Memory for Test Pressing: Over the course of ten tracks, she combines hard-hitting techno meets bass music sensibilities with a psychedelic inner space journey, all rendered with jaw-droppingly sound design and percussive patterns that just keep on giving.

Read the recap my review came from here.

Derek Bailey & Paul Motian, Duo in Concert

Joshua Minsoo Kim wrote about this one for Pitchfork and did a better job of covering it than I could have. In his words, “Duo in Concert is consequently phenomenal not just because the music itself is great, but because every second constitutes a moment of instinctive, instantaneous decision-making—a lifetime of improvisation distilled into every measure.”

Read Joshua’s review here.

Eddie Chacon, Sundown

Here’s what I wrote about Sundown for Test Pressing: After the remarkable Pleasure, Joy and Happiness (2020), Eddie Chacon and John Carroll Kirby reconnect for Sundown, an equally impressive eight-song collection of beachside synthesiser lounge music, slow-motion boogie and alternative jazz soul.

Revisit the recap I reviewed it in here.

Gayance, Mascarade 

Here’s what I said about Mascarade for Mixmag: Rendered in sensual melodies and laidback rhythms that effortlessly tie together her love of broken beat, garage, jazzy house, neo-soul, R&B and Latin American music, ‘Mascarade’ is a homage to her younger self during her twenties, or as she puts it, “this kid everybody knew, but not deeply.”

Read my profile of Gayance for Mixmag here.

Isola, LP1

Here’s what I wrote about LP1 for my newsletter: Across nine high-gloss dub house tracks, West Virginia artist and synthesist Ivana Carrescia, aka Isola and Los Angeles-based producer Sylvester (formerly of Godmode) revel in the power and potential of field recordings, modular synthesis and classic dance music aesthetics as a tool for unlocking a superior 2k23 pop sound.

Revisit the newsletter I wrote about it in here.

Kate NV, WOW

Here’s what I said about WOW for Resident Advisor: Much like exploring new levels on your favorite puzzle video game, wandering through a quirky amusement park, or simply slipping into a daydream, listening to WOW delivers genuine warmth, happiness and light.

Read my review of WOW here.

Kyoko Takenaka + Tomoki Sanders, Planet Q

Here’s what I said about Planet Q for Dazed: Short but perfectly formed, Planet Q unfolds with the logic of a dream… In the process, they summoned up a singular soundworld where airy soundscapes, jazz improvisation, meditative mantras, and heavily percussive drum workouts drift in and out of each other.

Read the recap my review came from here.

Laurel Halo, Atlas

Here’s what I wrote about Atlas for my newsletter: At the core, part of what is going on here is an exploration of what happens when you blend the synthetic with the acoustic, electronic ambient and live jazz instrumentation, shuffling and folding into an eternal fog of the mind.

Revisit the edition I wrote about it in here.

Mary Lattimore, Goodbye, Hotel Arkada

Here’s what I said about Goodbye, Hotel Arkada for Resident Advisor: Across Goodbye, Hotel Arkada, she continues to craft poignant work that tints the atmosphere, transporting the listener to the remembrances and moments of imagination that float freely within the mind's eye.

Read my review here.

Mogwaa, Translucent 

Here’s what I wrote about Translucent for Test Pressing: Effortless and free, the tracks contained here blur in and out of each other as touches of bossa nova, samba, soft-focus psychedelia, dream-pop, and gently chugging dubby post-punk flow through the rhythm castles and misty melodies born from Mogwaa's mind's eye.

Read the full review here.

Nourished By Time, Erotic Probiotic 2

Here’s what I wrote about Erotic Probiotic 2 for Dazed: Across Erotic Probiotic 2, the Baltimore-born, New York-based vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer shape-shifts between genres, styles, and eras, talk-rapping against a hip-house groove on 'Daddy' and singing like a fervent caroller over the foggy machine funk of 'The Fields'.

Read the recap my review came from here.

Pedro Ricardo & Damián Botigué, Un Nuevo Amanecer

Here’s what I wrote about Un Nuevo Amanecer for Dazed: Bathed in golden midsummer sunlight, it's the sound of Portugal, Argentina, and Galicia meeting in Barcelona as these two talents bring traditional and contemporary musical forms into alignment.

Read the recap my review came from here.

Teddy Bryant, Dinner For Two

Here’s what I said about Dinner For Two for Dazed: Throughout Dinner For Two, Bryant’s second solo album in two years, the longstanding singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer continues to explore his love of soul-oriented US and UK sounds, while also turning his hand to house and garage.

Read the recap my review came from here.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, V

Here’s what I wrote about V for BeeHype: The album’s fourteen songs conjure up expansive blue skies, endless beachside cocktail bars and shimmering hotel swimming pools, all without ever turning a blind eye to the darkness that lurks below perfect, pristine surfaces.

FIN.