Chilled
Astro Nautico - Quiet Nights EP
Tripped out bossa nova, skippy chill vibes. Atmospheric and dreamy.
Diego Bernal - For Corners
A souped-up lowriding take on classic Latin jazz, horns and strings. Lyrical without using words.
Clams Casino - Instrumental Mixtape
Expansive beat-driven instrumentals. Without the lyrics, their ebb and flow is like soft waves on a sonic shore.
Various Artists - The Texas Compilation
Brought together by the genius of Ernest Gonzales, this is the work of
some of the most transgressive producers in Texas.
Friends of Friends - Pop Massacre 2
Overexposed songs (Sisquo's Thong Song, Rihanna's Rude Boy...) cut up by big name DJs.
Hip-Hop
Jean Grae - Cookies and Comas
One of the decade's finest lyricists goes to work on an appetising array of beats.
Moufy - City Dreamin'
A hit-and-miss mixtape, but the hits will leave you gasping for air - some of this is stunning.
J.Period - The Cornerstone Mixtape
The apotheosis of hip-hop remixes: some fresh talent and some quirky takes on the classics.
Tabi Bonney - Postcard From Abroad
An underground hip-hop album that's so contagious it could be commercial. Beautiful songs.
Broke - The Murder Cassette
Clever reworkings of classic hip-hop, by the relentlessly creative Broke.
Wick-It The Instigator - The Brothers Of Chico Dusty
An unauthorised mashup of Big Boi's new album - it's so good that Big Boi ended up asking Wick-It to tour with him.
Tayyib Ali - Keystone State of Mind
Lovely summery West-Coast beats, with easy rhymes witty enough to keep you smiling. And he's only 19.
Maluca - China Food
Electro-latin rhythms, bilingual raps - like nothing you've heard in a while. This is interesting.
DJ (Thee) Mike B - Mad Decent Party Set
This is my new go-to party mix - there's a bit of everything, sublimely mixed.
R'n'B
Frank Ocean - Nostalgia/Ultra (alt. download here)
Indubitably the mixtape of the year, Frank Ocean single-handedly reinvented RnB. If you download one thing this year, make this it.
Frank Ocean - The Lonny Breaux Collection
The follow-up to Nostalgia/Ultra is a whopping 64 tracks long, and it's gorgeous - he's an incredible lyricist
The Weeknd - House of Balloons
Synthed-out RnB with razor-sharp lyrics. It's got the dreamiest sound, and the darkest subject matter.
DJ Eufonik - Things You Do To Me
Slow, sultry, overly sexy, and with some wicked old-school basslines - think the sixties.
