2011 End-of-Year Celebrations: Artists' Best Of 2011

There's been so much great music this year that there was no way that AMR was going to get to all of it, so what better way to represent the broader spectrum of the year's sounds than by asking the great artists who make it? Reaching out to a bunch of cool people/acts/shakers and makers, the Rant simply asked what their picks for 2011 were. Here are their respsones -  in vaguely alphabetical order

Melbourne's Alpine are as fresh as the snow that caps those same mountain ranges, their axeman Christian (second from left) chooses his top 5 tracks of 2011. 

Grouplove - Colours

"I heard this track in the van on our way to a show and it was the most perfect song for how brightly the sun was shining that day. They played after us at Splendour In The Grass, and they were incredible. They’re like a combination of Pixies and Modest Mouse, but with better diets."

Radiohead - Lotus Flower

"I actually saw the parody of this video before I saw the real one. I loved this track so much. Thom Yorke has the best falsetto ever, and it’s so cool to have an entire song that sits in that range again."

Lana Del Rey - Video Games

"This song is incredibly cool, its over the top orchestration, the pouting and how it just plods along and repeats that amazing chorus over and over. Love. Real love."

Kimbra - Cameo Lover

"I had to work out how to play this song for a student recently and it is an incredibly intricate, well-written bunch of chords. We love Kimbra. She’s going to take over the world."

Jay-Z & Kanye West - Lift Off (feat. Beyoncé)

"This song is so cool and it's in 6/4! I can't think of a hit in 6/4 since Sheryl Crow's Strong Enough. Great Song."

Do you believe in Magic?

Spender – Magic Man film clip launch @ The Grace Darling, July 7^th

Mildlife opened the night, their sound centred around the classic Juno 60 synthesizer, complemented by a rhythm section of jutting bass and disco styled drumming. Some beat looping and sparse guitars made up the rest of the audio decor, the latter supplied by a gyrating lad in a pair of  impossibly tight jeans, who along with a projection of B-movie staple Barbarella formed the (lacking) visual element. Nevertheless they conjured up an entrancing groove of dance-rock, especially on Be More Pacific and their recently launched single Milk & Wool.

The audio-visual act that followed was Time Shield aka Faux Pas aka solo artist Tim Shiel (confused?) who can only best be described as a remix artist. Trippy cut-up visuals and obscure pop culture footage (Leonard Nimoy promoting Magnavox anyone?) played against a large screen as Shiel, set up in the audience, created a soundtrack of abstract chill-out beats and cut-up samples. Problem was, they didn’t supply tabs of acid at the door. More engaging was seeing him construct the soundtrack before your eyes, deftly manipulating the visuals (via an Xbox controller!) and sonics with a sequencer, a small midi keyboard, some live guitar and his laptop. At one point video-jamming Gilmore Girls into a breakdown of fragment Flying Lotus-isms, before revealing the sample as Carole King’s Where You Lead (I Will Follow), to call it a unique live experience was an understatement.

Before the headline act, there was one last treat, namely the debut clip from Spender and his triple j unearthed circulated cut, Magic Man. Despite the image of a man in a tux with a gothic looking, carnivalé mask on – the mood was distinctly playful. Taking a leisurely stroll through the woods before setting up a mini-projection screen that revealed a quirky dance-off; perfectly matching the pop vibe of the track, informed as it is by sixties references more than contemporary ones. With great melodies, distinctive vocals and a fun arrangement, it’s easy to like and not too much of a stretch to love.