For the rest of the year, we'll be spotlighting our KEXP DJs Top Albums of 2014, leading up to our 2014 90.3 Top Album Countdown! Voting ends on Tuesday, December 16th at 6:00 PM PT, so let us know your favorites now, and tune in on Friday, December 19th to hear if your picks made the list!
How To Dress Well // photo by Eric Gonzalez Alfaro (view set)
Hey hey, DJ Alex here! It's always a blast to look back upon a year's worth of playlists and reviews to recall what sounds stood out the most, what struck the hardest, what seemed the most influential, iconic, and important. As has been a tradition over the last couple years (here + here), I tend to get giddy come December about sorting through all the sounds that passed through my ears in order to share my favorites. Here's an extensive breakdown of what got me most excited over the last 12 month in hopes that you discover some artists, albums, or singles that catch your ear, too! :)
DJ Alex's 2014 Top Ten Albums
| rank | artist | album | label |
| 10 | Submotion Orchestra | Alium | Counter |
| 9 | Lewis | L'amour | Light In The Attic |
| 8 | Popcaan | Where We Come From | Mixpak |
| 7 | Alexander Turnquist | Flying Fantasy | Western Vinyl |
| 6 | The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart | Days Of Abandon | Yebo Music |
| 5 | Dej Loaf | Sell Sole | self-released |
| 4 | Posse | Soft Opening | Beating A Dead Horse |
| 3 | Caribou | Our Love | Merge |
| 2 | How To Dress Well | "What Is This Heart?" | Weird World/Domino |
| 1 | FKA twigs | LP1 | Young Turks |
Honorable Mentions:Bam Spacey - 1998 (Ceremony)Blackbird Blackbird - Tangerine Sky (Om)Bruce Leroy - 10' (self-released)Chimurenga Renaissance - riZe vadZimu riZe (Brick Lane)CYNE - All My Angles Are Right (Home Tapes)Emma Ruth Rundle - Some Heavy Ocean (Sargent House)Fatima - Yellow Memories (Eglo)Fatima Al Qadiri - Asiatisch (Hyperdub)Flying Lotus - You're Dead! (Warp)Foxes In Fiction - Ontario Gothic (Orchid Tapes)Francis Bebey - Psychedelic Sanza 1982-1984 (Born Bad)Glass Animals - ZABA (Harvest)Groundislava - Frozen Throne (Friends of Friends)Hightek Lowlives - Humanoid Void (Cabin Games)Hundred Waters - The Moon Rang Like A Bell (OWSLA)Jim-E Stack - Tell Me I Belong (Innovative Leisure)Leon Vynehall - Music For The Uninvited (3024)Les Sins - Michael (Company)Linda Perhacs - The Soul Of All Natural Things (Asthmatic Kitty)Lockah - Yahoo Or The Highway (Donky Pitch)Lone - Reality Testing (R&S)Lydia Ainsworth - Right From Real (Arbutus)Nicholas Krgovich - On Sunset (self-released)Nick Monaco - Mating Call (Soul Clap)Paul White - Shaker Notes (R&S)Peaking Lights - Cosmic Logic (Domino)Porter Robinson - worlds (Astralwerks)Redinho - Redinho (Numbers)Ricky Eat Acid - Three Love Songs (Orchid Tapes)Sabzi - The wøøds (self-released)Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty (Sub Pop)Talquin - Tomorrow's Calm (self-released)Taylor McFerrin - Early Riser (Brainfeeder)Todd Terje - It's Album Time (Olsen)Vemont - Vermont (Kompakt)The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream (Secretly Canadian)Young Fathers - Dead (Anticon)
EPs:01. Doss - EP (Acephale)02. Yumi Zouma - EP (Cascine)03. Spazzkid - Promise EP (Magical Properties)04. Movement - EP (Modular)05. SALES - EP (self-released)06. Roses - Dreamlover EP (Group Tightener)07. Sunless 97 - Pure4Sure EP (RinseFM)08. Gallant - Zebra EP (self-released)09. StéLouse - The City EP (Die High)10. USF - SIMISM EP (Ceremony)
Honorable Mentions:A Weekend At The Feelies - Chasing Silk EP (self-released)Bakradze - The Letter EP (The Crescent)Baths - Ocean Death EP (Anticon)Ben Khan - 1992 EP (Dirty Hit)Body Language - Infinite Sunshine EP (self-released)BSN Posse - Soul Rhythm EP (Freshmoon)CYPHR - Eklepsis (Her)Desert Sound Colony - The Way I Began EP (Scissor & Thread)Different Sleep- Conflict EP (Friends of Friends)Faws - Free Samples (self-released)Goodbye Heart - Restless Nights EP (self-released)Jacques Greene - Phantom Vibrate EP (LuckyMe)Joseph Marinetti - PDA EP (LuckyMe)LIZ - Just Like You EP (Mad Decent)Lucas - Clearing EP (Live For The Funk)NAAVI - // EP (self-released)Nao - So Good EP (Little Tokyo Recordings)Only Real - Cadillac Girl EP (Harvest)Philip Grass - Find EP (Dropping Gems)Ptaki - Kalina EP (Young Adults)Ryn Weaver - Promises EP (Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope)School '94 - Like You EP (Cascine)Spooky Black - Leaving EP (self-released)Sun Angels - S3TEP (CSCN)Synkro - Transient EP (Apollo)Vespertown - Kaleidoscope EP (Donky Pitch)
Singles:01. FKA twigs - "Two Weeks"02. Caribou - "Can't Do Without You"03. Saint Pepsi - "Fiona Coyne"04. How To Dress Well - "Repeat Pleasure" 05. QT - "Hey QT"06. Jamie xx - "Girl"07. Popcaan - "Everything Nice"08. Cam'ron & A-Trak - "Dipshits"09. Basement Jaxx - "Never Say Never"10. Todd Terje - "Delorean Dynamite"
11. Porter Robinson - "Sad Machine"12. Flying Lotus - "Never Catch Me (feat. Kendrick Lamar)"13. Leon Vynehall - "Butterflies"14. Perfume Genius - "Queen"15. Lil B - "No Black Person Is Ugly"
16. Years & Years - "Real"17. Les Sins - "Why (feat. Nate Salman)"18. Drake - "0 to 100"19. Lockah - "If Loving U Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Wrong"20. Ricky Eat Acid - "In my dreams we're almost touching"21. Andy Stott - "Violence"22. Essay - "Ocarina"23. Spooky Black - "Pull"24. Kendrick Lamar - "i"25. Real Lies - "North Circular"
More:The 2 Bears - "Angel (Touch Me)"A. G. Cook - "Beautiful" Adanowsky - "Dancing To The Radio"All We Are - "I Wear You"Arca - "Thievery"Azealia Banks - "Miss Camaraderie"Banks - "Brain" Baths - "Ocean Death"Becky G - "Shower"Becky Hill - "Losing"The Black Madonna - "Stay"Bob Moses - "I Ain't Gonna First To Cry"Bok Bok - "Melba's Call (feat. Kelela)"Charli XCX - "Boom Clap"Chet Faker - "1998"Chromeo - "Come Alive (feat. Toro Y Moi)"Cities Aviv - "Never Look Back"Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Coming Down"Clean Bandit - "Rather Be"De Lux - "Better At Making Time "Dean Blunt - "100"Dej Loaf - "Try Me"DJ Dodger Stadium - "Love Songs"Doss - "The Way I Feel"Duck Sauce - "Everyone (feat. Teddy Toothpick)"Duke Dumont - "I Got U (feat. Jax Jones)"El_Txef_A - "We Walked Home Together"Fishing - "Chi Glow (feat. Marcus Whale"Flight Facilities - "Sunshine (feat. Reggie Watts)"Francis Lung - "A Selfish Man"Future Islands - "Seasons (Waiting On You)"Glass Animals - "Gooey"Hannah Diamond - "Every Night"inc. - "Our Time (Demo)"J Mascis - "Wide Awake (feat. Cat Power)"Jess Glynne - "Right Here"Jessie Ware - "Tough Love"Katie Kate - "Sadie Hawkins"Kevin Drew - "Good Sex"Kevin Gates - "Movie"Kiesza - "Hideaway"Kindness - "I'll Be Back"Kölsch - "Cassiopeia"KOOL A.D. - "The Front"Lapalux - "Movement I, II & III"Life Sim - "Caladhort"Lil Silva - "Mabel"Lone - "2 Is 8"LoneLady - "Groove It Out"Love Dollhouse - "Can I"Made In Heights - "Pop It In"Mapei - "Don't Wait"Martyn - "Glassbeadgames (feat. Four Tet)"Matom - "Piano 2 Variation 4"MCFERRDOG - "I Wanna See"Misun - "Travel With Me"Mo Kolours - "Mike Black"Movement - "Like Lust"Mr Twin Sister - "In The House of Yes"Nao - "So Good (feat. A.K. Paul)"Nick Jonas - "Jealous"Niia - "Body"Novelist - "Take TIme (feat. Mumdance)"Pa's Lam System - "I'm Coming"The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Simple and Sure"Pale Blue Dot - "Voyage"Peaking Lights - "Breakdown"Photay - "No Sass"PHSNWSKY - "Wrist"Posse - "Shut Up"The Preatures - "Somebody's Talking"Rae Morris - "Closer"Real Estate - "Primitive"Rich Gang - "Lifestyle"Rita Ora - "I Will Never Let You Down"Riton - "Inside My Head (feat. Meleka)"Royksopp & Robyn - "Do It Again"Run The Jewels - "Early (feat. BOOTS)"Rustie - "Raptor"Ryan Hemsworth - "Surrounded (feat. Kotomi & DOSS)"Ryn Weaver - "OctaHate"Sango - "Me de Amor"Say Lou Lou x Lindstrom - "Games For Girls"ScHoolboy Q - "Man of the Year"Shamir - "On The Regular"Slugabed - "Another Chance 2K14"SOAK - "B a noBody"Sunless 97 - "Pure4Sure"Supreme Cuts - "Down (feat. The GTW, Khallee and David Ashley)"Swindle - "Walter's Call"Sylvan Esso - "Coffee"Taraval - "Gonna Rain"Teengirl Fantasy - "Lung (feat. Lafawndah)"Tensnake - "Love Sublime (feat. Nile Rodgers & Fiora)"Tennyson - "You're Cute"Tinashe - "2 On (feat. ScHoolboy Q)"Tirzah - "No Romance"Tobias Jesso Jr. - "True Love"Todd Osborn - "House 117"Total Control - "Flesh War"Touch Sensitive - "Slowments"Turtlez - "Dream of Heaven"Twin Peaks - "I Found A New Way"Vic Mensa - "Down On My Luck"The War On Drugs - "Red Eyes"Wave Racer - "Streamers"Winter Flags - "Message From Home"YG - "Who Do You Love? (feat. Drake)"Yohuna - "Badges"Yumi Zouma - "Alena"
DJ Alex is on the air every Saturday morning from 1AM-6AM.
For the rest of the year, we'll be spotlighting our KEXP DJs Top Albums of 2014, leading up to our 2014 90.3 Top Album Countdown! Voting ends on Tuesday, December 16th at 6:00 PM PT, so let us know your favorites now, and tune in on Friday, December 19th to hear if your picks made the list!
