Sharing my top ten albums of the year 2024 - it's a long-awaited, yearly tradition of mine. No one asked but hey, you you’ll get most precious music I’ve been loving this year. I think some stuff is quite overlooked and really special.

1. Sam Morton - Daffodils & Dirt

An absolute gem of an album with the lead single “Cry Without End” standing out as a personal number one. The track’s soulful and melancholic character is elevated by a contemporary dancehall, footwork-inspired remix by Equinox, which I featured on my Noods radio show regularly throughout the year. It’s an ecstatic and romantic piece that transports me somewhere every single time I listen. What I appreciate most about this album is that is both low-key, DIY ethos and style—rooted in spoken word, minimal sound pallet but also has a featuring lots of melody and strong references to dub, dancehall and reggae. Not an obvious choice for me but the storytelling and catchy melodies are mesmerising to my ear, while the often brutal, haunting lyrics linger long after listening, even after several times. Though the album itself feels more beautiful than haunting I think and the title does suggest the two things.

2. Simon Fisher Turner - Instability of the signal

Seriously though, this might have been the most emotionally resonant and sonically profound listening experience I had this year. The work that is equally soothing and surprising with meticulously crafted and arranged album, spoken word and shifting atmospheres throughout the songs makes it really something out of the ordinary. SFT creates and weaves an intricate worlds together - one of eerily spoken word, textural shifts, and atmospheric nuances that feels both arresting and transcendent. Its witchy and has some hidden beauty that unfolds slowly with a hypnotic unpredictability, pulling me into the realm that defies categorisation I can use to describe it. It's worth trying to immerse yoursel in it. I feel like it is a work that challenges and rewards in equal measure. 

TBC...