Got your Oasis tickets? In the words of Gwyneth Paltrow, we wish you well. The idea of watching the Gallagher brothers from the back of a playing field, while Kangol-clad accountants shout their conversations over the music, screams of disappointment.
Never mind that the tickets cost a bleeding fortune at face value – Live Nation and Ticketmaster deployed their anti-consumer “dynamic pricing” systems to gouge punters to the maximum. Having been mugged by the entertainment monopoly, the shouty men in bucket hats and zipped-up parkas, rolling their shoulders with cocaine-fuelled intensity, will want their money’s worth of barging and spilling their beer. After long hours of throwing bottles of piss over the crowd, they will drive their Range Rovers, Volvos, and Teslas through the night with after-market LEDs lighting their ways with the intensity of a thousand suns.
Such is the state of the mainstream music industry at the end of 2024.
If there is hope, it comes from the independents. In our end-of-year list, many of the artists – even some of the bigger names – are self-releasing. Others are on smaller labels that curate rather than commercialise. Streaming services have eaten into the minimal returns that long-standing artists used to see. The Live Nation monopoly has sucked the oxygen out of performing, and even smaller venues are trying to claim a cut of merch sales. The economics of music are as bad as they have ever been. Our thanks, therefore, to the artists who continue to share their work despite the investment and the challenges of getting heard.
We are also grateful for the contributions of the artists we lost during 2024. The world of photography is much poorer without Brian Griffin. The drums of Keith Leblanc have gone silent, but his mark has been left all over modern music. Andreas Catjar-Danielsson was known for his work with Abu Nein and Covenant, but his solo pieces were wrought with sensitivity. Steve Albini, Françoise Hardy, and Quincy Jones are other figures who changed the face of music before shuffling off this mortal coil.
There is a message here for those of us who remain: Remember to show appreciation to artists while they are still alive. Even Our Kid, if you must.
24. 20Hz – Sprawl
We really enjoyed this album from Sweden’s 20Hz. With a contribution from the country’s secret weapon, Karin My, it was a creative accomplishment.
23. Sofi Bonde – Fight for Your Life
Sweden’s Sofi Bonde became a wellness podcaster on Youtube in 2024 but she also found time to record and release an album of solid pop-rock. The music is the message.
22. Cosmic Overdose – En av dom (81-24)
Originally released in 1981, this track was re-recorded in 2024. The Swedish group turned into Twice a Man, at the prompting of New Order’s promoter. This year, they rewound the clock to show off their dadaist credentials.
21. Simon Fisher Turner – Instability of the Signal
SFT turned 70 this year. The release of Instability of the Signal serves as a reminder of his deft touch.
20. Delerium – In the Deep (Clan of Xymox Remix)
Clan of Xymox have provided this remix of a track from Delerium with Kanga on vocals. It’s a nice combination of inputs.
19. Sunroof – Conspiracies
The duo of Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones have returned with more excellent material derived from their modular kits and improvised interactions. Each of their Electronic Music Improvisations albums contains powerful extracts from the flow of electricity and ideas between the best of friends. This is lifted from volume 3.
18. Kite – VII
Kite on Ice is coming up quickly, for those who like to combine electro-ballads and synchronised figure skating. In the meantime, the Stockholm-based duo have collected their recent singles as a reminder of the power and diversity of their output.
17. Psyche – Future Memories
Psyche left Canada because the country was crammed full of horrorist electro-industrial acts. Moving to Europe gave them space to expand outside of Skinny Puppy’s shadow. This live album shows why this should never have been a concern. Psyche’s sound and soul are conpletely unique.
16. Ooo Eee Ooo – Dream Mixes
Dave Baker (Komputer, I Start Counting, Fortran 5) is the mover behind Ooo Eee Ooo. This album of remixes breathed new life into the material, which was already essential for collectors.
15. Lejonhjärta – Save Me
The Swedish post-punk act, Lejonhjärta, returned this year with a sound that leaned more heavily towards electronics. They also invested in this fabulous video.
14. Die Sexual – Electric
The American duo have revived the harder dark wave sound for fetishists and the underground dancefloor. This EP is really rather good, as the English might say.
13. Lewis Spybey – Lewis Spybey
This collaboration between Graham Lewis (Wire, He Said) and Mark Spybey (Zoviet France) is an experimental interchange of note.
12. Llynks – Without Cause
The outsiders are the keepers of the electronic flame. Llynks continue to nurture its light with this outstanding track.
11. Nina Belief – Siren of Silence
The US seemed to miss out on the first wave of alternative electronics, apart from Devo, Our Daughter’s Wedding, and a few, scattered acts. Nice to have them back in the game. As Nina Belief’s recent material shows, it’s not all Beyoncé and Maroon 5 on that side of the water.
10. Silent Em – Institution
The genius of Silent EM is sadly under-appreciated. This release reveals that the quality of his material has not been diminished by the chaos of his home country or the passing of time.
9. M:ONITOR – M:OVEMENT
M:onitor is a kind of Swedish supergroup of industrial musicians. Their sole recording is of a performance in a Skånian record shop. It is lovely stuff, and we look forward to an ironic tour t-shirt. We wear XXL.
8. Throbbing Gristle – Scabs & Saws
Taken from the TG archives to help promote a box set, this track confirmed the power of the original Industrial artists.
7. Laibach – Geburt einer Nation (Rico Conning’s Inner Ear RMX 2024)
The Slovenian art collective had a busy year, but the track we liked best was this rework by their sometime producer, Rico Conning.
6. Minuit Machine – Hold Me
Just as the year ran out, France’s Minuit Machine returned with a brilliant single that struck just the right balance between poptronica and dark electronics.
5. Bill Leeb – Model Kollapse
The first solo album from Front Line Assembly vocalist, Bill Leeb, shows off both his roots in hard electronics and pop leanings. He has always had a foot in each camp; but, with Model Kollapse, Leeb brings them (and some friends) together in a stand-out way.
4. William Orbit – WFO
If you love something, set it free. Billy couldn’t wait for a big label to sort out his new solo album, so he released it to world on Bandcamp. It pumps and glides, in just the right places.
3. Propaganda – Propaganda ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The return of Propaganda was a long time in the making, but its sound didn’t stand still. Distilled to the musical duo of Mertens and Dörper, with vocal help from Thunder Bae, the act showed its capabilities have not been diminished by time.
2. Julian & Marina – & EP OF THE YEAR
We were impressed by this magnificent collection of songs from Julian Brandt and Marina Schiptjenko. Elegant, dreamy, and romantic, they kept the spirit of the Riviera alive.
1. Page – Frusen SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Sweden’s poptronica pioneers, Page, offered up “Frusen” as an exemplary single. With a contribution from Rrussell Bell (Gary Numan, Dramatis), you could feel the genuine spirit of 1979: indie as anything, but pointing to the future.