Tag: Best of

BeatCaffeine 'Favorite Albums of 2020'

BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Albums of 2020

2020 … I mean where do we want to even try to begin. In a year that we will never forget (regardless if we want to), in which we experienced a devastating global pandemic, social unrest due to continued systematic racism, and a toxic political landscape, all resulting in a rollercoaster of emotions and unanswered questions. That being said, even through all the tragedy, heartbreak, and uncertainty, I cannot remember another year where so many groundbreaking and timely recordings where released.

BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Jazz Albums of the 2010s

Over the past decade, there many incredible jazz releases from a number of new rising exploratory artists looking to explore new ground and continue to push the music forward. With jazz having an overall strong resurgence in places like London, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne and numerous of other cities and regions globally, it’s great to look back at some of the most essential albums from the past ten years.

BeatCaffeine's Best EPs of 2019

BeatCaffeine’s Favorite EPs of 2019

Before we look ahead to the New Year, it’s important that we look back at some of the best EP releases of 2019, often featuring debut recordings from some of the most rising artists and groups, which this year included KOKOROKO, Neue Grafik, Ebi Soda, Still Moving, Nejrup, Rōnin Arkestra, IG Culture’s Likwid Continual Space Motion project, and many others.

BeatCaffeine's 2019 Artist of the Year — Mark de Clive-Lowe

BeatCaffeine’s 2019 Artist of the Year: Mark de Clive-Lowe

With six incredible releases across multiple projects, and numerous collaborations with some of the most-forward thinking artists in the world, as well as ongoing performances that touched just about every corner of the globe, BeatCaffeine’s 2019 Artist of the Year is Los Angeles-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Mark de Clive-Lowe.

BeatCaffeine's Best Albums of 2019

BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Albums of 2019

This was an incredible year for new album releases that spanned a wide range of genres. I even felt at times it was hard to keep track of all the great new music that was being released on weekly basis. Selecting my favorite albums was extremely challenging, yet still very enjoyable. I’m sure in weeks or even days from now, I will realize that I forgotten to include a worthy release, or discover an album that might of slipped by me.

BeatCaffeine's Best Tracks of 2019

BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Tracks of 2019

As with just about every year, 2019 featured numerous great tracks from all corners of the globe. More and more it feels that artists are bluring the lines between these things we call “genres”, and I think that’s a good thing. In which was an almost impossible task, I have compiled my favorite 125 tracks from the past twelve months and have dived deeper into the top 25.

BeatCaffeine's Best Compilations of 2019

BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Compilations of 2019

It’s that time of the year again where we spend some time and look back at many of our favorite releases over the past twelve months. To kick things off, we take a look at our top 10 favorite compilations of 2019, those records that often introduce many of us to new/old artists, obscure rarities, and/or explorations into lesser known sounds from all corners of the world.

BeatCaffeine's Favorite Compilations of 2018

BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Compilations of 2018

I know, I know … it’s 2019, and it’s time to start looking ahead to the new year. Before I do that, I need to get one final “Best of 2018” list out there. With so many great compilations this year, it would basically be criminal to not include this releases in any year-end recap.