The Future of Music Online 2012

(Note that this post will be updated regularly throughout 2012)

My Top 10 Albums of 2011

1. House of Balloons - The Weeknd
2. Thursday - The Weeknd
3. Nostalgia, Ultra - Frank Ocean
4. Glass Swords - Rustie
5. Electronic Dream - Araabmuzik
6. Oh Land - Oh Land
7. Vanbot - Vanbot
8. On A Mission - Katy B
9. 21 - Adele
10. SBTRKT - SBTRKT

(Note - SBTRKT was missing from previous end of year listing)

 

11 Musical Trends for 2012

• Some artists will move away entirely from Album releases; Rihanna is currently the most successful singles artist (47.5 million downloads since 2005), and I believe several artists will move to just releasing singles and then compilations of singles rather than proper albums
• YouTube will continue to grow in relevance as a music discovery resource - it is after all the new MTV
• Artists will embrace more technology in their music delivery - in a similar vein to Björk’s Biophilia - expect to see more interactive albums and artist / album apps
• 2012 sees a make or break renaissance for MySpace - but is it too late to take on YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify and Facebook - which have each taken over a part of MySpace’s key areas of expertise / influence?
• We will see more apps - in both internet and tablet-based form - to allow even easier music production / collaboration and remixing, along with simpler, fully-integrated music publishing and distribution platforms
• 2012 will also see more entrants into the group sharing / interaction category of music - along the same lines as Turntable.fm
• A leading electronic musician will employ Kinect-type technology into their core music-making and performance activities
• There will arise at least one new significant music-sharing platform, with a very innovative means of revenue generation / sharing which holds enormous appeal for both musicians and fans
• Spotify will strengthen its position as the leading music streaming platform - with yet further apps and integrations
• Music unit prices - i.e. median album and single prices will be streamlined further in 2012
• We will see even more free-to-download mix-tape type albums - DatPiff could become a household name!

 

11 New Artists for 2012

(Note that I consider Frank Ocean, Skrillex and The Weeknd to be significantly active in previous years and thus not properly eligible as ’New’ in 2012, the same could be said of Lana Del Rey too really and Ronika, but I’m granting both an exception!)

Adrian Lux - Catchy, Melodic, Kaskade-ish Vocal House

Amanda Mair - Swedish Pop Chanteuse - kind of in the Lykke Li mould

Azealia Banks - 2012 Style Hip House - Missy Elliott’s heir-in-waiting

Charli XCX - somewhere between Marina Diamandis and Ladytron - 80’s inspired electropop

Clement Marfo & The Frontline - latest greatest hope from the UK Grime scene - could give Tinie Tempah a run for his money

Delilah - Modern Urban Pop Soul - sits somewhere between Amy Winehouse and Emeli Sandé - not as strong a voice though

Emeli Sandé - Modern Urban Soulstress with hints of vintage Massive Attack

 

Jessie Ware - This year’s goto club track vocalist has beautiful tone and delivery, not unlike that of Sia

Lana Del Rey - the ’Gangsta Nancy Sinatra’ finally releases ’official debut album’ - alas missing personal fave killer promo singles - ’Kinda Outta Luck’ and ’Lolita’

Niki & The Dove - like a slightly poppier ’The Knife’ as if fronted by Kate Bush

Ronika - 80’s influenced / early Madonna sounding chanteuse - who’s due an album any time now - following a fairly expansive spate of some truly great singles

 

 

5 Key Sounds for 2012

• Euro Dance - I don’t see this abating any time soon - particularly with the big success of Rihanna’s last but one - ’We Found Love’
• Retro - Michael Kiwanuka topped BBC’s Sound of 2012, and after Adele’s bumper 2011, I see more artists continuing to mine the warm analogue sounds of the past
• Folk - The alt folk movement continues apace - every year sees another incarnation of Mumford & Sons MK4 etc. seemingly from every continent now
• 80’s Electropop - shades of early Depeche Mode, Human League and the like will sprinkle a number of tracks in 2012
• Dubstep - As predicted - Dubstep topped the charts in 2011 - in the guise of Nero, and it will feature still more strongly in 2012

 

 

2012 Album Release Schedule (Personal likes only!)

 

® = Review | #★ = Number of stars - out of 5

January

Armin Van Buuren - State of Trance Year Mix 2011 ® 5★

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Out of Frequency

Chairlift - Something ® 5★

Jazzanova - Upside Down

John Talabot - fIN

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die ® 5★

Leila - U&I

Moguai - Mpire

Skrillex - Bangarang EP

Symmetry - Themes for an Imaginary Film

February

Air - Le Voyage Dans La Lune ® 4★

Amanda Mair - Amanda Mair ® 5★

Azuli - Miami 12 - mixed by David Jones

Blondes - Blondes

Daroc - Destination EP
Die Antwoord - Tension ® 4★

Emeli Sandé - Our Version of Events
Estelle - All of Me
Goldfrapp - The Singles

Lindstrøm - Six Cups of Rebel

Monolake - Ghosts

Nina Kraviz - Nina Kraviz
School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

Ting Tings - Sounds from Nowheresville

Ulrich Schnauss & Mark Peters - Underrated Silence

March

Ava Luna - Ice Levels

Chromatics - Kill For Love

Danny Brown - XXX

Grimes - Visions

Julia Holter - Ekstasis
Madonna - MDNA

Micatone - Wish I Was Here
Miike Snow - Happy To You

Nite Jewel - One Second of Love

Photek - DJ Kicks

The Lights - Siberia

April

 

Adrian Lux - Adrian Lux

Datsik - Vitamin D

De La Soul - First Serve

Étienne de Crécy - My Contribution to the Global Warming (70 track retrospective)

Flemming Dalum / Intergalactic Gary - The Outer Edge of 80’s Synth

Jack White - Blunderbuss

Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart
Matthew Dear - Beams

Michael Canitrot - Playboy Sessions: Paris

Poliça - Give You The Ghost

Santigold - Master of My Make Believe

Sébastien Tellier - My God is Blue

May

Alt-J - An Awesome Wave

Barcelona - Not Quite Yours

Eric Prydz - Presents Pryda

El-P - Cancer 4 Cure

Garbage - Not Your Kind of People

Gossip - A Joyful Noise

i:cube - "M" Megamix

Killer Mike - R.a.P. Music

Melody Gardot - The Absence

Niki & The Dove - Instinct

Regina Spektor - What We Saw from the Cheap Seats

Saint Etienne - Words and Music by Saint Etienne

Sigur Rós - Valtari

The Temper Trap - The Temper Trap

Thomas Gold - Axtone Presents Thomas Gold

Tilbury - Exorcise

 

June

 

Iamamiwhoami - Kin

Ladyhawke - Anxiety

Metric - Synthetica

The Hundred in the Hands - Red Night

Thomas Gold - Axtone presents Thomas Gold

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Trouble

 

July

 

Cooly G - Playin’ Me

Delilah - From The Roots Up

Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

Jaymo & Andy George - Moda Black (Mix Comp)

Nas - Life is Good

Passion Pit - Gossamer

Purity Ring - Shrines

Twin Shadow - Confess

 

August

 

Bloc Party - Four

Eivør - Room

Holy Other - Held

Jessie Ware - Devotion

Ministry of Sound - The Sound of Dubstep Darker 2

MNDR - Feed Me Diamonds

Mungolian Jetset - Mungodelics

Yagya - The Inescapable Decay of My Heart

Yeasayer - Fragrant World

September

 

Animal Collective - Centipede Hz

Deadmau5 - Album Title Goes Here

Deerhoof - Breakup Song

Efterklang - Piramida

Kanye West - Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer

Lindsey Stirling - Lindsey Stirling

Muse - The 2nd Law

Nelly Furtado - The Spirit Indestructible

The XX - Coexist

 

October

 

Bat For Lashes - The Haunted Man

DJ Fresh - Nextlevelism

Ellie Goulding - Halcyon

Kendrick Lamar - good kid. m.A.A.d city

Ministry of Sound - Euphoria: Electronic Dance Music

Swedish House Mafia - Unitl Now

 

November

 

Andy Stott - Luxury Problems

Crystal Castles - III

Fake Blood - Cells

Girls Aloud - Ten

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die Paradise Edition

The Weeknd - Trilogy

 

TBC

Annie - TBC
Araabmuzik - Electronic Reality

Azealia Banks - Broke with Expensive Taste
The Avalanches - TBA
Bloodgroup - TBA
Bullion - TBA
Burial - TBA
Culture Club - TBA

Daft Punk - TBA
Daroc - TBA

Desire - TBA
Glass Candy - Body Work

Janelle Monáe - TBA

Kat Graham - TBA
The Knife - TBA
Kraftwerk - TBA
Little Boots - TBA
MC Xander - TBA
MGMT - TBA
Mylo - TBA
Portishead - TBA
Roisin Murphy - TBA
Rusko - TBA
Skrillex - TBA
Sunday Girl - TBA
U2 - Songs of Ascent
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - TBA