Liverpool’s music industry gurus provide their round up of 2015
Liverpool music’s movers and shakers offer their thoughts on 2015, giving their top albums, tracks, gigs and tips for the new year.
Let’s not beat about the bush. 2015 has been a great year for music. There have been so many genuinely fantastic albums released this year – including, it has to be said, many a worthy release from our own Wondrous Place – that arriving at a list, a top 5, has proved much more challenging than in previous years.
Such has been the sheer quality and diversity on offer that there are few albums featuring on more than one list. This is something worth celebrating and in many ways reflects the breadth of live music we’re able to enjoy in this city. That our promoters, venue-runners and general music champions have such a range of tastes, are clearly all listening and being inspired by a whole host of different sounds can only bode well for all of us. You like it? There’s a fair chance you’ll get to hear it here.
Check out all our end of year features here
That said, 2015 will be forever remembered with a tinge of sadness. Music venues come and go for sure, but few will be mourned as our dear Kazimier. More than just a venue, it embodied a scene and a way of life. A spiritual home, a focal point, a meeting place. A true community.
Even the briefest scan of the selected gigs of the year will show just how important this place was (I still haven’t quite come to terms with using the past tense), a space that could transform the ordinary into the extraordinary capable of generating its own unique atmosphere. It created a bond between audience and performer like few other venues, inspiring special performances and pushing artists to new heights.
Having had a look at the 2016 gigs already in the calendar, we’re in no doubt that Liverpool music will survive – heck we’re a UNESCO City of Music after all – yet much of its ability to do so is down to the hard work and dedication of the people listed below who work tirelessly to bring a seemingly endless supply of live music that suits all tastes.
Take a look at the below, relive some memories of a special year, and perhaps discover something new at the same time. – Paul Higham
EVOL
Steve ‘Revo’ Miller: Evol
Top 5 Records of the Year:
Outfit: Slowness
Stealing Sheep: Not Real
All We Are: All We Are
Thee Oh Sees: Mutilator Defeated At Last
Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
Top 3 Tracks of the Year:
MiNNETONKA: Bird of Prey (Getintothis review)
Bill Ryder-Jones: Wild Roses
The Vyrll Society: Beautiful Faces
Top 5 Gigs of the Year:
KRS-One at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
Sleaford Mods at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
Drenge at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
Young Fathers at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
Peace at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
Event of 2015:
FestEvol (Getintothis review here and here)
Tips for 2016:
Blossoms and The Vryll Society.
The Magnificent Grand Central Hall for Richard Hawley
Mike Deane: Liverpool Music Week
Top Albums of 2015:
(Not including Kendrick, Sufjan and Bjork!)
Oneohtrix Point Never: Garden of Delete
JME: Intergrity
Holly Herndon: Platform
Julia Holter: Have You in My Wilderness
Jam City: Dream a Garden
Stephen Steinbrink: Arranged Waves
Top Tracks of 2015:
Kero Kero Bonito: Flamingo
Mbongwana Star ft. Konono No1: Malukayi
Gaika: Heco
Grimes: REALiTi
Kendrick Lamar: King Kuntah
Top Gigs of the Year:
Evian Christ at Pitch Festival, Amsterdam
Richard Hawley at Grand Central Hall, Liverpool Music Week, Liverpool
Skepta & JME at The Great Escape, Brighton
Kero Kero Bonito at DOUR Festival, Belgium
Koreless & Emmanuel Biard present The Well at Sonar Festival, Barcelona
Our final Liverpool Music Week show at The Kazimier, Liverpool
Event of 2015:
Mike says “I have to say how very proud we were again of what we pulled together for the 11th edition of Liverpool Music Week; our small team of Andrew Ellis, Chris Tyler and Tom Lynch once again have delivered some of the shows of the year, with ticket sales and sold-out shows at an all-time high.
“We were particularly proud of some of the unique spaces of Liverpool we highlighted this year – including the fabulous Dome at Grand Central for our Opening Show with Richard Hawley – our final Kazimier shows, and the great new DIY shows that were a huge success!
“For me, Liverpool Psych Fest proved again that it continues to develop as one of our city’s greatest assets of recent times. It’s incredible how many people are travelling internationally for an event our mates are putting on, on our doorstep. The vibe around the event feels so unique, and the accents and languages of people around you ranging from Scouse, French, Dutch, American, Mexican, Japanese: LPF creates and attracts an awesome mixture of people who are all excited to be here for the weekend.
“As an industry professional working across Europe, the number of professionals who ‘notice’ this festival is significant. It gets a lot of people excited in a very different way to other events these industry heads will attend during the rest of the year. To have risen to the number two Psych Fest in the world only behind Austin is an outstanding achievement and we should all be proud that it is happening and flourishing in Liverpool.
“A trip down memory lane for part one for the final ever Cream shows at Nation on October 17 was something we won’t forget for a long time. Everyone who was there will know what I mean, and will probably have bought their tickets for the final ever Cream at Nation on Boxing Night!
“But for me – the Event of Year hasn’t yet happened -and that is the party on Dec 31 2015 at some place called The Kazimier. Those lucky enough to have a ticket will be witness to, and be a part of, a very significant moment in our city’s famous musical history.”
Music Tip for 2016:
“Evian Christ and his long-awaited debut album year.”
Josh T Pearson at Liverpool Music Week
Chris Torpey: Editor, Bido Lito
Top Albums of 2015:
Chris says “I was looking back over all the music, gigs and happenings this year and I didn’t realise just how much really good stuff had been created this year. It soon dawned on me that there was far too much going on to be neatly summarised by a list. So I haven’t done a list: but if you wanna catch up on some stuff you might have missed then here are a few suggestions.
“Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly was one of those ‘sit up and listen’ moments amid a lot of passive background listening this year. The breadth and ambition of it is still impressive now ten months after its release, and the heft of its message has resonated even more throughout the year as certain events have unfolded in the USA.
“I loved Four Tet’s latest effort too, Morning/Evening: just mesmerising. And, thanks to the crate-diggers at Luaka Bop, I discovered the funk of Doug Hream Blunt this year. Said to be an inspiration to Ariel Pink and Dâm Funk – as well as Dean Blunt, who borrowed his stage name – DHB didn’t make much impact when he released his original efforts in the 70s, but, thanks to the people who revived the work of William Onyeabor, this funky disco groove wasn’t lost in the mists of time.
“Mbongwana Star’s From Kinshasa has also been solidly on my stereo this year, as have Father John Misty’s I Love You Honeybear and Songhoy Blues’ Music In Exile; check them all out.
“I can’t separate the albums released by Stealing Sheep, Outfit and Bill Ryder-Jones this year, so I’ll include them all here equally. If you chuck in All We Are and Hooton Tennis Club’s boss debut LPs too (and Xam Volo and The Vryll Society’s EPs) then it paints the picture of a very strong year for Merseyside-based musicians – nothing new there then.”
Top Tracks of the Year:
BC Camplight: You Should Have Gone To School “I loved the whole album, How To Die In The North, and two tracks stood out from it: this one and Just Because I Love You. I’m not really sure why I picked You Should Have Gone To School now, it was a sentence ago and I’ve changed my mind since. Tell you what, listen to them both. Fuck it, listen to the whole record, it’s boss.”
LA Priest: Oino “The record this is taken from, Inji, should probably have been in the paragraph above about boss albums I’ve listened to this year. But I wanted to separate it out a bit. This is defo the best track from a surprising record that I just can’t get enough of, but after seeing him play at the LMW Closing Party at Camp and Furnace this year it took on even more significance.
“Cos LA Priest was easily the most memorable performer of that night (yeah, more so than Deerhunter and Gang Of Four. And before you start moaning, I’m a big Deerhunter fan too). So listen to it, please.”
Bill Ryder-Jones: You Can’t Hide A Light With The Dark “The most un-Bill song off his amazing new album (West Kirby County Primary), and though it might not be the best technically (and there are some belters on the album), it’s the one that’s stuck with me most. Simple, built around an ear worm of a melody, and shows Bill at his poetic best. I’ve listened to this particular song 32 times already this year.“
Top Gigs of the Year:
Marty O’Reilly and The Old Soul Orchestra at The Caledonia, Liverpool “Loved this night. It was rammed in The Cali for one of the opening nights of their Americana Festival, and then it spilled outside on to the pavement for an extra bit of good time showboating underneath the Stars And Stripes. Boss, what gigs should be about.”
Josh T Pearson at Scandinavian Church, Liverpool “There aren’t many seated shows where you feel like you’ve been nailed to your seat by the performer, but this was definitely one of them. It felt like a spiritual healing session with a cowboy preacher dressed all in white (and his alter ego dressed all in black alongside him). I think my mouth was wide open in awe for the whole night. Class.”
The War On Drugs at O2 Academy, Liverpool “This gig was so long ago (February) that I almost forgot it was this year. And yeah, TWOD were a 2014 thing and it was originally scheduled to happen in 2014, but it was head and shoulders above most performances I saw this year so it has to go in. The introduction of that meaty, massive sax into Adam Granduciel’s insanely tight guitar fireworks was a master stroke. It felt like the gracious sound of a massive, chrome-fronted cross-country trucker flying along the Interstate in Philly, regularly blaring its horn and firing out plumes of silvery/fiery guitar fog. And the groove… what a groove… I think it affected me for months this gig.”
Echo & the Bunnymen at Sefton Park, Liverpool (LIMF) “This just felt like a very fitting end to LIMF this year, capped off perfectly with a firework show over the main stage. It was like a greatest hits set really, but what a set of hits. Would have liked to have more involvement from the Philharmonic Orchestra’s string section if I’m honest – just to add some more danger to those soaring notes in Ocean Rain – but it feels like nit-picking right now. We’re so lucky to have Oyé and LIMF taking place for free each year in the majesty of Sefton Park; The Bunnymen were a fitting way to do justice to that.”
Event of the Year:
“Kazimier NYE – let’s be honest, it’s going to make every other gig look like a village fete. So sad to see it go, but made up we get to have one final hurrah on their own terms.”
Music Tip for 2016:
Pure Joy
Bad Meds
Russ George: Bold Street Coffee
Top 5 Records of the Year:
Fuzz: II (Russ says: “Loud, proud, melodic; perfect Saturday afternoon espresso head rush”)
Bad Meds: Bad Meds (“They played loads and its good to see new active band playing heavier music in town”)
Sheer Mag: II EP (“Tina Turner meets Thin Lizzy: sold”)
Fucked Up: Year of the Hare (“They came in the shop, Damian gave us a shout out at Sound City then got attacked by lads on a ‘stag do’. Boo”)
Mind Mountain/Carlton Melton: split 7″ (“Our new employee of the month”)
Top 3 Tracks of the Year:
Bully: Trying (“The chorus is so annoyingly catchy”)
Sleaford Mods: Tarantula Deadly Army (“Hands down the punkest publicly accessible band on the circuit this year”)
Against Me!: True Trans Soul Rebel (“Our man in the kitchen played it to death all summer, the band are back on form then Miley cyrus did an awful cover.”)
Top 5 Gigs of the Year:
Gentlemans Pistol at Blade Factory, Liverpool (“Blew the January blues out the water”)
Long Knife at Maguires, Liverpool (“Best pit of the year”)
Serious Sam Barrett at Peter Kavanaghs, Liverpool (“The wood work and dust came to life!!”)
Nervosa at The Lomax, Liverpool (“Surprise South American sisters of Slayer“)
Denim and Leather at The Pilgrim, Liverpool (“Small venue, fist-pumpin’ actions, mixed bill.”)
Event of 2015:
“Our 5th Birthday, 4 new Skateparks in the city and PZYK Fest“
Music Tip for 2016:
Sheer Attack
Paddy Steer
Chris Carney: Threshold Festival
Top 5 Albums of the Year:
Sufjan Stevens: Carrie & Lowell Chris says “My unrivalled highlight of the year. My Dad passed away in March (a week before Threshold) and by my birthday in April I felt like my world was being held together by a thin thread. My mate gave me this on vinyl and sent me a link to a Pitchfork interview with the man. The whole album is about losing his estranged mother, it’s a devastating piece of work and an absolute master piece. Got me through some very dark times. I feel bad that I’ve only given my mate Cliff albums for his last 5 birthdays.”
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly “If this hadn’t have been dropped into the ‘Postmusic so Post Music’ Facebook Group, I probably would never have even considered it, such is my ignorance of new hip hop. He’s knocked it out of the park with this one and I’ll be very surprised if it isn’t on other people’s lists here.”
Slaves: Are You Satisfied? “After seeing them in August, I just latched onto their sound, like I had to get the album to release the ear worms. Great bit of honest indie punk rock. THE SOCKETS THE SOCKETS.”
Chemical Brothers: Born In The Echoes “With Leftfield and Prodigy sweeping back in, I didn’t know whether I was coming or going. I half expected Roni Size to make a comeback and complete my late teens revival….oh shit he did didn’t he? Leftfield have put a superb album out, I want The Prodigy to just stop now please and seeing Roni Size at Sound City in May was a sure fire moment of “yeah, just play the hits mate.” sorry Mr. Size. The Chems album however, even though tinged with more than a few hark back sound effects to throw me back 20 years to snapping my bike jumping stair sets at the Crown Courts, it still sounds fresh to me. I think they’ve managed to encapsulate their style without ending up, well ending up sounding like The Prodigy do now.”
Leftfield: Alternative Light Source “The masters of it, continuing an absolutely flawless run of production. They don’t do them often, but shit they do them well.”
Top 3 Tracks of the Year:
Sufjan Stevens: I Should Have Known Better “See above, this was the outstanding track for me on the outstanding album of the year.”
Leftfield feat. Tunde Adebimpe: Bad Radio “Huge fan of Tv On The Radio and this collaboration makes me think more of the work of LFO than the traditional Leftfield sound. It is an absolute BANGER and I don’t use that word often when not describing ground meat products. Reminds me of more mischievous times.”
EL VY: I’m The Man To Be “Classic Matt Berninger lyrics over a style which is a fresh departure from The National’s sound. He might be the greatest songwriter of the last ten years. I might have to fight some people on here for saying that.”
Top 5 Gigs of the Year:
DJ Yoda Old School Hip Hop set at Standon Calling Festival “Mixnots in the crowd having to politely deal with me rapping along to every single lyric and throw shapes like I was possessed with the spirit of Slick Rick. I don’t lose my shit often and the Mixnots are grateful.”
Todd Terje & The Olsens at Glastonbury “One of the few things I managed to make it to at Glastonbury this year. This show was an absolute hoot form start to finish. I’ve seen Terje countless times and in many set ups from Disco Vinyl sets to sharing a stage with Linstrøm and this was like a pinnacle, with stunning visuals and the amazing Olsens (No I’d never heard of them before this) providing succinct perfect live accompaniment to his display of It’s Album Time in it’s entirety. By the time the 50 (it seemed like 50) dancing girls came on for Inspector Norse the West Holts stage crowd were jumping like fools, grinning like the village idiot and hugging randoms like the local pervert.”
Johnny Sands at Liverpool Sound City “Dave McTague said, in his opinion, Johnny is making some of the best music in the city right now and I unequivocally agree. This set was a real stand out moment for me this year and I’ve not shut up to Johnny or his band about it since. I cannot wait to see and hear more from him.”
EL VY at Gorilla, Manchester “Ok, so it hasn’t strictly happened yet at the time I’m writing this. But come on, it sold out in 30 minutes and it’s going to be fucking amazing.”
Paddy Steer at Threshold Festival “Playing on his 50th birthday, the nicest odd ball there is, played a storming solo set at 24 Kitchen Street. We’ve seen him in 2 other set ups over the past 2 years so it was good to get him back to just that off kilter, awkwardly brilliant one man clunk machine.”(Getintothis review here and here)
Event of 2015:
Speakeasy Fourth Birthday at The Kazimier (“Playing with Mixnots in the Rat Alley on my birthday, feeling like a super star DJ, grinning like a fool and beginning to make my piece with the closing of the greatest venue Liverpool has ever seen.”)
Music Tip for 2016:
“Katy Alex, she’s an absolute gem and a delight to work with. I think her performance with band at the LIMF Bandstand this summer was a turning point for me, she was in her absolute element. I’d like to see more band stuff from her. I pegged Blue Saint last year, so I guess I have a tendency to agree with Merseyrail Soundstation.
“All in all 2015 has been a year of ups and downs for me, but ain’t it always? I’ve got some really exciting things ahead in 2016 including working with new outfit Ovvls on their single launch at the Nordic Church, Jan 29, a new collaboration with Rory from Rebel Soul and The Walrus Said… called KANAVAL and of course my one true love Threshold Festival in April. Looking ahead with my best angry face.”
LA Priest
Andrew Ellis: Samizdat
Top 5 Albums of the Year:
Liturgy: The Ark Work
Enablers: The Rightful Pivot
Kowloon Walled City: Grievances
Kasami Washington: The Epic
D’Angelo and The Vanguard: Black Messiah
Top 3 Tracks of the Year:
Bill Ryder-Jones: Two to Birkenhead
Grimes: REALiTi
LA Priest: Learning to Love
Top 5 Gigs of the Year:
Richard Dawson at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
ESG at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
Earth at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
LA Priest at Liverpool Music Week Closing Party (Getintothis review)
Immix Ensemble & Stealing Sheep at The Bluecoat
Outfit (album launch) at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
Event of the year:
Andrew says: “I don’t think I can pin-point something specific, well, more that i’d rather just highlight a ‘feeling’ that’s been overwhelming this year. There’ve been multiple set-backs with venues in Liverpool recently but whilst these could have ended up sending the music scene to nosedive into the Mersey, it’s seemed not to have really slowed down the pace of the output of the city.
“Not letting adversity get in the way of moving forward is something I really love about Liverpool, so i’m really looking forward to seeing what emerges in the new year from existing heads and hopefully some new faces too.”
Music Tip for 2016:
“On a personal note there’ll be some exciting things from Immix Ensemble next year, but you’ll have to wait to see what they are. Actually there’s a lot of exciting things coming in 2016, just keep moving forward.”
Holly Herndon
Samuel Garlick: everisland
Top 5 Albums of 2015:
1. Romare: Projections
2. Grimes: Art Angels
3. Sufjan Stevens: Carrie & Lowell
4. Jamie Woon: Making Time
5. Bring Me The Horizon: That’s The Spirit
Top 3 Tracks of the Year:
1. Thundercat: Them Changes
2. Av Av Av: Leia’s Theme
3. Empress Of: How Do You Do It
Top 5 Gigs of the Year:
1. Sufjan Stevens at O2 Apollo, Manchester (Getintothis review)
2. Kate Tempest at The Kazimier, Liverpool (Getintothis review)
3. Nils Frahm at The Albert Hall, Manchester
4. Holly Herndon / Darkstar at The Kazimier, Liverpool (Getintothis review)
5. Deaf School at The Kazimier, Liverpool (Getintothis review)
Event of 2015:
No Homer’s Club Samuel says: “Liverpool feels a little saturated at times with promoters often competing for similar audiences, which is tough considering how condensed the gig going public is compared with other cities – so it was very refreshing to see something so innovative and original come along, and in doing so completely carving it’s own niche.”
Music Tip for 2016:
“Nothing specific, but it’ll be very interesting to see which venues take on the Kazimier-shaped void left in Liverpool, and also what the guys over at The Invisible Wind Factory do!”
General Comments:
“It’s been a pretty huge and emotional year what with that shisha stall in concert square burning down, the streaker at Eat Your Greens & me selling all my childhood Warhammer models.
“In all seriousness – there’s a lot that has already been said about the departure of The Kazimier, but it is hard to put into words how much it’ll be missed. Without it I doubt I’d still be in this profession, so I owe them a lot!
“But I also see it this way; it’s not the empty venue that creates a legacy, it’s everyone behind it, everyone that hosts gigs, everyone that helps build it, and everyone that attends the events. Gentrification is an inescapable demon, and with it there will likely be many more venues being closed down over the years, however it’s up to all of us to keep the scene alive.
“After all, they can’t build student halls on our eagerness to create, collaborate and party. I’ll miss you Space Marines!”
Akala at the Cellar Bar
James Hammond: Liverpool Guild of Students
Top 5 Albums of the Year:
Bjork: Vulnicura
Viet Cong: Viet Cong
Joanna Newsom: Divers
Ryan Adams: 1989
Julia Holter: Have You in My Wilderness
Top 3 Tracks of the Year:
Destroyer: Dream Lover (James says “That saxophone is killer, shame the rest of the album disappointed”)
Carly Rae Jepsen: I Really Like You (“Acceptable face of pop in 2015, the whole E.MO.TION album is great”)
Courtney Barnett: Depreston
Top 5 Gigs of the Year:
Akala at The Cellar, Liverpool (“First show in our new 400 capacity space that we are really excited about here at the Guild, hopefully lots more shows here in 2016”) (Getintothis review)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Camp & Furnace, Liverpool (“One of my favourite bands playing a first show in my favourite city was always going to be a winner”) (Getintothis review)
Richard Hawley at Grand Central Dome, Liverpool (“Great to see a show in such a beautiful but underused venue”) (Getintothis review)
Ryan Adams at Liverpool Guild of Students (Getintothis review)
Event of 2015:
“Jürgen Klopp‘s first press conference”
Tip for 2016:
“Girl Band getting bigger and bigger, already looking forward to them playing Buyers Club in February”
Xam Volo
Dave McTague: Mellowtone
Top 5 Gigs of the Year:
Sea Legs, Little Rivers at Leaf, Liverpool Dave says: “One of our own shows, a collaboration with Liverpool Irish Festival. A mesmerising performance from Ciaran Lavery & Ryan Vail, performing their ‘Sea Legs’ project in its entirety.” (Getintothis review)
Fink, She Drew the Gun at Manchester Academy, Manchester. “Despite being based here, this was a rare treat to see Fink play in the UK, and with She Drew the Gun in fine support it all added up to a grand little day trip.”
Ron Sexsmith, Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou at Epstein Theatre, Liverpool “An evening of good old fashioned songcraft, executed to perfection by support and headliner alike.” (Getintothis review)
Johnny Sands, Baltic Launch at Golden Square Coffee, Liverpool “Celebrating his signing to Baltic Records, and sounding fantastic with the band.”
Greg Wilson, Les Spaine, Mark Rae, No Fakin at Palm House, Sefton Park, Liverpool “A truly magical atmosphere at the Palm House for the “Next Stop New York” launch party.”
Top 3 Tracks of the Year:
“I don’t really have a top three tracks of the year, sorry. But the track I seemed to play again and again on YouTube was Bill Ryder-Jones‘ Two to Birkenhead.”
Event of 2015:
“For me it was the Next Stop New York commission as part of LIMF. Admittedly I was involved, but what a fascinating, enjoyable and humbling project to work on. The party with Greg Wilson, Les Spaine, Mark Rae, NoFakin DJs at the Palm House was something else, the exhibition documented scenes from the past 60 odd years, and the panel discussions were illuminating look under the skin of the city’s musical development.”
Music Tip for 2016:
“Xam Volo seems to be going from strength to strength … watch this space.”
KRS ONE
Chris Tyler: Bam!Bam!Bam! and The Kazimier
Top 5 Albums of the Year (in no particular order):
Floating Points: Elaenia
Kamasi Washington: The Epic
Vince Staples: Summertime ‘06
Carly Rae Jepsen: Emotion
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly
Chris says: “Can I put in D’Angelo’s Black Messiah? It’s technically 2014 but came out so late in the year and after last year’s list was compiled. I’m putting that in. It’s my top 6 albums.
“Arca, Grimes, Courtney B and Thundercat should be in here too along with about 13 others. Actually with those that makes it a nice clean ten albums. There’s still about 16 others that should be in there.
“Fuck, I didn’t realised I’d been into so many albums this year.”
Top 3 Tracks of the Year:
Jack U w/Justin Bieber: Where are U Now (“What Do You Mean is a banger too”)
Thundercat: Them Changes
The Weeknd: The Hills
Top 5 Gigs of the Year:
KRS One at The Kazimier (Getintothis review)
Earthless or Sunn O))) at Primavera Sound
Richard Hawley at Grand Central Dome for Liverpool Music Week (Getintothis review)
Quantic at The Kazimier
Gaslamp Killer Experience at Glastonbury
Event of the Year:
“Liverpool Music Week & Liverpool Psych Fest”
Music Tip for 2016:
Urban Cookie Collective
Dan Croll
Andrew Hill: Abandon Silence
Read our interview with Abandon Silence’s Andrew Hill
Top 5 Albums of the Year:
Soichi Terada: Sounds from the Far East
Floating Points: Elaenia
Hunee: Hunch Music
Levon Vincent: Levon Vincent
Fatima Yamaha: Imaginary Lines
Top 5 Tracks of the Year: (Andrew says “not necessarily the best, but these summed up 2015 for me“)
Bicep: Just
Drake: Hotline Bling
Jamie XX: Obvz
Eric Prydz: Opus (Four Tet remix)
Gabor Szabo: Keep Smiling (“actually from 1979, but it was the last ever song played at an abandon silence at the Kazimier so will always have a special place”)
Top 5 Gigs of the Year:
Jamie XX / Jon Talabot / Young Marco / Tasker at Bombed Out Church (“perfect weather, music and atmosphere”)
Dan Croll at Buyers Club (“the cumulation of 9 month’s work building up to the first gig at Buyers, it was amazing”) (Getintothis review)
Rugged Man at The Kazimier (“from very low expectations to having the most fun I’ve possibly ever had at a hip hop gig”)
Chibuku 15th Birthday at Camp and Furnace (“best large-scale line up I can remember in Liverpool”) (Getintothis review)
Abandon Silence Farewell to The Kazimier part 3 with Hunee b2b and Jeremy Underground (“best party I’ve ever put on – if someone’s going to mention it, I might as well”)
Event of the Year:
“The endless closing parties of The Kaz that showcased the very best of Liverpool’s music scene at the best venue in the world”
Music Tip 2016:
SG Lewis
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