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If you are in the Chicago area, make sure to stop by the Schneider Gallery for blog favorite Reuben Wu’s latest exhibition titled Distant Suns. Opening reception night is this Friday, January 10th, and will run through March 1st 2014, alongside Lynn Saville.

Some words from the gallery on Reuben’s work:

Somewhere between 1970s concept album art, expeditionary imagery, and Surrealist painting is where Reuben Wu’s photographs steadfastly sit. His are pictures made in the real world, however, through collapsing time and merging processes, the real is transformed into the surreal, evoking a response simultaneously familiar and foreign. The photographs amplify the strangeness of place and speak to Wu’s individual experience within it.

Schneider Gallery
230 West Superior St.
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 988-4033

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We’ve finally reached it, the Top 10 songs of the year. Make sure to check out the rest of the playlists easily by using the Featured Post Section on the right side, I hope you’ve found something new or just a playlist to sit back with.

**Side note: I didn’t include Moodgadget or Ghostly International releases because that would just not be fair.

#10 Jessy Lanza – 5785021

Just how everything expands after the 3 minute mark does it for me, Junior Boys perfection.

#9 DJ Rashad – Pass That Shit (feat. Spinn & Taso)

I need the extremes of both ends of the music spectrum to make me feel normal, being from Detroit you couldn’t get enough Ghetto-Tech, this song just makes me happy.

#8 Diana – Born Again

“The Pop Song of the Year” for me, all ages and genres, nothing matters but the music here.

#7 Ptaki – Krystyna

The Polish in me and my love for slow disco bumped this song into the Top 10. Really though you can’t deny that bassline and the sample, just heavy lush disco, its like the West Coast Rap of Disco.

#6 Toro Y Moi – Say That

If anyone deserves Top 40 support its Chaz, keep him happy and in the studio.

#5 Boards of Canada – Nothing Is Real

They came back in such a perfect way this year.

#4 The Field – A Guided Tour

My favorite listening album of the year, beautifully prepared, a formula that doesn’t need adjusting.

#3 Majical Cloudz – Childhood’s End

The only emotionally vocal song that hit me this year, he does simplicity soo well.

#2 Dirty Beaches – Casino Lisboa

This song is the definition of passion and drive.

#1 Bibio – A Tout a l’heure

Uplifting done right, changes my mood instantly, music is priceless when it can do that to you.

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Aaaannnd we’re down to the Top 20 *dodges tomatoes*

#20 The Beat Broker – Departure

#19 CFCF – Beyond Light

#18 Juana Molina – Eras

#17 Machinedrum – Gunshotta

#16 Four Tet – Parallel Jalebi

#15 Toro Y Moi – Rose Quartz

#14 Oneohtrix Point Never – Along

#13 Lawrence – Lucifer

#12 Sally Shapiro – Lives Together (The Field remix)

#11 Standish/Carlyon – Nono/Yoyo (HTRK remix)

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Some many underdogs here, remember there’s the dance world, indie rock world, electronic, beats, and soo many more genres being covered on this blog. Once all 50 are revealed this will be a beautifully diverse review of the year, enjoy.

#30 Blondes – Andrew

#29 Keep Shelly In Athens – Recollection

#28 CFCF – Camera

#27 Ken Camden – Eta Carinae

#26 Function – Inter

#25 Marcel Dettmann – Lightworks

#24 Tornado Wallace – Bit 1

#23 Legowelt – Sark Island Acid

#22 Hot Chip – How Do You Do? (Todd Terje remix)

#21 Four Tet – For These Times

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It only gets better and better the further we get into this…

#40 Samps – Plans

#39 Lapalux – Swallowing Smoke

#38 Benoit Pioulard – Margins

#37 Om Unit – Corridor 2013

#36 Jon Hopkins – Open Eye Signal

#35 Zomby – 777

#34 Soviet Soviet – No Lesson

#33 Jensen Sportag – Bellz

#32 Jacques Greene – Quicksand

#31 Darkstar – Timeaway

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This doesn’t need much of an introduction, its a best of list that we’ve been doing for years, the great thing about them is that i’ve made them into a nice 10 track playlist for you. I hope you enjoy, remember you don’t have to agree with me, I hope I turn you onto some new music by the end of it.

#50 Holden – Some Respite

#49 Airbird & Napolian – In The Zone

#48 Orphan – Most Is Missing

#47 Miles – Loran Dreams

#46 Gonno – Are You Asleep

#45 Atoms For Peace – Default

#44 Bonobo – Cirrus

#43 Monte – True

#42 Queens – Cables

#41 Almunia – The Magician

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Todd Terje is back with a pair of heavy hitters, loving the artwork as always.

Do you want proper trance and you’ve worn out your Kaito albums? Petar Dundov is the next best thing, his album “Sailing Off The Grid” is flying too low under the radar.

Steve Moore is becoming my favorite find of 2013, he’s really thoughtful on his sound selection, every track is a piece of artwork.

First off, just realized Lopazz is part of Ame? that…makes a lot of sense actually. Second, i’m soo happy some reworked this track, I play the original out a lot and it needs a break.

I’ve been working with local SF brand Mission Workshop on some upcoming projects and they sent photographer Marc Lemoine along with us for the recent Tycho tour. He got some great shots from the trip, above are a few early edits. Excited to share what we have coming up!

I haven’t felt this privileged since releasing Casino Versus Japan on Moodgadget. Here’s a perfected EP from Pop Ambient legend Markus Guentner. We’ve been sitting with this album for a few months just trying to find the right time to release and work up the right artwork. Would love some feedback to share with Markus, trying to get him to come out to the US for a tour. Also, download the single “Shadows of the City” for free in the Soundcloud player.

The EP is only $3.99 for the first 2 weeks

It wasn’t until the advent of time-lapse photography that humans were able to perceive slow and subtle processes on a comprehensible scale. New wisdom can be found in being able to perceive clouds flowing like a river, or the way heavy traffic on a city street begins to resemble the circulation of blood vessels through an artery. In many ways, “Shadows of the City,” Markus Guentner’s latest release captures this fleeting sensation of experiencing time and space on a novel but disarmingly-familiar scale, enthralling listeners with deftly-constructed soundscapes that tell a story widely-open to individual interpretation.

Opening with the track “Chromatic Fields,” Guentner envelopes the user in a warm, resonant sphere of energy, gliding over the shimmering surface of a moonlit pond. Continuing with “Ashes,” a stark but uplifting and meditative movement, the listener is prepared for the first of two longer pieces as the sense of anticipation grows. The title track emerges from the shadowy silence before a Voigt-like four-to-the-floor beat takes hold of the listener and carries them through canyon-like resonance separating monolithic structures of percussion, snaps of air and cracks of sunlight flashing through to illuminate the dust. With the following track, “The Run,” Guentner releases the built-up energy, returning the listener to the center, preparing them for what comes next. “The Coral Crowd” is ushered in much like it’s long-playing counterpart (or counterpoint, to some), graceful yet grounded, organic, but orderly. Ending symmetrically with “Eternal,” listeners are gently returned to consciousness, new insights revealed and ready for the next play-through. A wholly satisfying low-levels listening experience from beginning to end, “Shadows of the City” may represent some of Markus Guentner’s finest and most mature work to-date.

Do you have a friend that doesn’t buy physical music? does it make you want to pull out your hair? well send him or her this. Its literally physical music porn weekly in your inbox. I just get the email and instantly become jealous and fall in love with vinyl. Cheers to the guys at Boomkat for making these photos always unique.

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