Last weekend, FACT published its staff and regular contributors’ individual lists of their top 10 tracks of 2012 so far.
The next few days were spent soaking up the bile and opprobrium in the comments section – who would’ve thought there would be so many people out there positively livid that we don’t have precisely the same tastes as them?! Anyway, we decided to turn the tables and invite you, our good readers, to submit your own top 10s via email. Sifting through the 124 that we received, something became obvious: they were virtually all bloody identical.
This made choosing our favourite 10 charts pretty easy: we just went for the ones that actually featured some songs we hadn’t heard before. First, though, we carried out a spot of amateurish statistical analysis on all 124 entries, and came up with the following findings:
Readers’ most popular track
1. Joy Orbison – Ellipsis
2. Actress – Shadow From Tartarus
3. Burial – Ash Tray Wasp
4. Jai Paul – Jasmine
5. Actress – R.I.P.
Readers’ most popular artist
1. Actress
2. Joy Orbison
3. Burial
4. Shackleton
5. Lone
Readers’ most popular label
1. Hyperdub
2. Tri Angle
3. Honest Jon’s
4. XL
5. R&S
Thanks to all of you who sent in your charts, and especially to Joseph Heyburn, who narrowly missed out on the top 10, but whose scan of his shortlisting we felt was an essential inclusion (see above).
MATTHEW KENT
Ekman – Antennas Overture (Panzerkreuz)
Aaron Dilloway – Body Chaos (Hanson)
Vatican Shadow – Cairo Is A Haunted City (Bed of Nails)
Shawn O’Sullivan – At The Reservoir (WT Records)
Abdulla Rashim – Weldiya 3 (Prologue)
Kangding Ray – Oise (Stroboscopic Artifacts)
Ukkonen – Three From the 4223 (Uncharted Audio)
Unknown Artist – Echo Drugs (L.I.E.S)
Trackman Lafonte & BonQuiQui – The Feeling The Force (Creme Organisation)
Nick Anthony Simoncino – Distant Planets (Larry Heard Remix) (Thug)
Matthew wins the prize of assorted promos and tat lying around in the FACT office.
BENJIMAN
1. Amber Asylum – Your Executioner (Live) (Cathedral Music)
2. Carter Tutti Void – V3 (Mute)
3. Worm Ouroboros – Withered (Profound Lore)
4. Sir Richard Bishop – Dance of the Cedars (Ideologic Organ)
5. Lumerians – Track 1 (Hands In The Dark)
6. PiL – Deeper Water (PiL Official)
7. Comus – The Sacrifice (Rise Above)
8. Leonard Cohen – Going Home (Columbia)
9. Operating Theatre – Eighties Rampwalk (Finders Keepers)
10. Swans – The Apostate (Young God)
JONATHAN CARBERRY
1. Heatsick – Stars Down to Earth (PAN)
2. Laurel Halo – Thaw (Hyperdub)
3. Dirty Paraffin – Papap! Papap! (Self-released)
4. Outer Limitz – I Kontact (Hippos in Tanks)
5. John Talabot feat Pional – So Let it Be Now (Permanent Vacation)
6. Organs of Love – Facefuck (Optimo Music)
7. Dean Blunt ft. Inga Copeland – The Narcissist (Self-released)
8. Bodyguard – Raiden (Hippos in Tanks)
9. Symmetry – Behind the Wheel (Italians do it Better)
10. Protect-U – Ultra Basic (Vibrations)
WILLEM LAMONT
1. Creature With The Atom Brain – Southern Wind (Waste My Records)
2. Flea – 333 (private press)
3. Symmetry – Memories Are For Ever (Italians Do It Better)
4. Brawter – Don’t Go (My Love Is Underground)
5. Jaki Whitren & John Cartwright – International Times (Emotional Rescue)
6. Maylee Todd – Hieroglyphics (Kon & The Gang Remix) (Do Right Music)
7. Cousin Culo – Enemies Get No Water (Sol Selectas)
8. Cos/Mes – Naruto (Ronny & Renzo Takotsubo Take Ten Remix) (King Kong Fu)
9. Todd Terje – Swing Star Pts 1 & 2 (Smalltown Supersound)
10. Maguaré – Jungle Fever (Zephyrus Records)
KYLE HINTON
1. Napolian – “Rejoice” (Software)
2. Actress – “Shadow from Tartarus” (Honest Jon’s)
3. Future Shuttle – “Astro Curio” (New Images)
4. Konx-om-Pax – “Twin Portal Redux” (Planet Mu)
5. Laurel Halo – “Thaw” (Hyperdub)
6. Howse – “Fete” (Tri Angle)
7. Lil Ugly Mane – “WISHMASTER” (Ormolycka)
8. Hoax – “Down” (Youth Attack)
9. Mykki Blanco – “Join My Militia” (UNO)
10. Huerco S. – “No Jack” (Wicked Bass)
ROSA DUOSONIC
1. Lower Dens – Brains (Ribbon Music)
2. Allo Darlin’ – Capricornia (Fortuna Pop!)
3. TEEN – Electric (Carpark Records)
4. The Corin Tucker Band – Groundhog Day (Kill Rock Stars)
5. Beach House – Myth (Bella Union)
6. Nite Jewel – One Second Of Love (Secretly Canadian)
7. Planningtorock – Patriarchy Over & Out (DFA)
8. Crystal Castles – Plague
9. Cat Power – Ruin (Matador)
10. Cate Le Bon – What Is Worst (The Control Group)
JONATHAN RIGALL
1. Quakers – Fitta Happier (Stones Throw)
2. Jai Paul – Jasmine (Demo) (XL)
3. Actress – R.I.P. (Honest Jon’s)
4. Lotus Plaza – Jet Out The Tundra (Kranky)
5. Lone – The Animal Pattern (R&S)
6. Jimmy Edgar – Let Yrself Be (Hotflush)
7. Killer Mike – Reagan (Williams Street)
8. Matthewdavid – Tape 7 (Leaving)
9. Om Unit – Ulysses (Reso’s Different Drum Remix) (Civil Music)
10. TNGHT – Higher Ground (Warp x LuckyMe)
MATTHEW THOMPSON
1. Physical Therapy – Drone On feat. Jamie Krasner (Hippos In Tanks)
2. Why? – Sod In The Seed (Anticon)
3. Korallreven – Sa Sa Samoa (Elite Gymnastics Remix) (Self-released)
4. Tin Man – The Muses (Absurd Recordings)
5. Friendzone – !!-Major (Self-released)
6. Alunageorge – Put Up Yor Hands (Tri Angle)
7. jj – High Summer (Sincerely Yours)
8. Necessary – Se Olvidan Que (Weltschmerz Industries)
9. Sun Glitters – It Takes Me (MMOTHS Remix) (music/is/for/losers)
10. Ruff Draft – Lone Ranger (Ruff Draft)
CLEMENS BEIER
1. dBridge – Cornered (Metalheadz)
2. Romare – Down The Line (Black Acre)
3. Lunice – The Good Kids (Self-released)
4. TNGHT – Bugg’n (Warp x LuckyMe)
5. Helix – Drum Track (Night Slugs)
6. Pearson Sound – Untitled (Pearson Sound)
7. Kanye West – Mercy feat. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz (Roc-A-Fella)
8. Nas – The Don (Def Jam)
9. IG Culture – Talkin’ Bout Mine (Kindred Spirits)
10. Barker – Like An Animal (Leisure System)
GABRIEL SZATAN
1. Omar S & Ob Ignitt – Wayne Hill County Cop’S (Omar S mix) [FXHE]
2. Todd Terje – Inspector Norse [Olsen / Smalltown Supersound]
3. Actress – N.E.W. [Honest Jon’s]
4. Hot Chip – Flutes [Domino]
5. Huxley – Let It Go [Hypercolour]
6. Le1f – Wut [self-released]
7. Champion – Crystal Meth [Butterz]
8. Usher – Climax [RCA]
9. Gingy & Bordello – Panopticon (Locked Groove Remix) [Turbo]
10. Friendzone – Chuch [self-released]
Special bonus chart
BENEATH
1. Beneath – Send (No Symbols)
2. Beneath – Straight (No Symbols)
3. Beneath – Bubble (No Symbols)
4. Beneath – Rough (No Symbols)
5. Beneath – Still Hurts (No Symbols)
6. Beneath – Seduction (No Symbols)
7. Beneath – Trouble (No Symbols)
8. Beneath – Trackies (No Symbols)
I’ve only released 8 tracks this year so I haven’t got a 9 or 10 yet I’m afraid.
