Soot Records’ main squeeze, dj/ Rupture the best and worst of global beats and bass.

Who was the best artist of 2008?

Paavoharju. Layers of warm self-conscious mysticism, short-circuited and relaxing. It sounds like folk but the logic holding it together is 21st century digital, melting ice on server farms across foreign steppes.

Who was the worst artist of 2008?

I try not to listen to bad music.

What was your favorite 12″ single of 2008?

Busta Rhymes “Arab Money.” This unites my love of Autotune in Maghrebi music with my love of Autotune in black music, plus I’m into Busta Rhymes’ heightened sense of irreality (fake Arabic on the hook is just one example here). This is my single of the month… by the way, who are we kidding? Singles aren’t built to last for a whole year!

What was the best music trend of 2008?

La cumbia! From Mexican sonidera (best bass, least press attention) to Argentine mutations to gringos writing about it with Yanquistani fervor.

What was the worst music trend of 2008?

“Global” sounds leveraged by a few Westerners with money. One example of this is friends from North Africa and South America routinely getting denied visas to enter the US for concerts. Another example is Sublime Frequencies’ aging punk aesthetics pushing context-hostile, consumer-friendly exoticism.

What was your favorite label of 2008?

Big Ship. Teen from a nice Kingston family slices open time, finds the sublime and malice and dark thrill in what comes out. Stephen McGregor was reggae innovation in 2008.. What did you do before turning 19?

Who was your favorite visual artist of 2008?

Kalup Linz. Awesome video pieces which are very funny and also brilliant, plus the yoke/slip/joke is on Kalup’s admirers who don’t realize that identity politics is over.

Best of 2008
Drop the Lime
Abe Vigoda
Bradford Cox
Andrew Jeffrey Wright
eLZhi
Cut Copy
Fucked Up
Evidence
Vivian Girls
Matt Furie
dj/ Rupture
Telepathe
The Death Set
Holy Ghost
Mochipet
CTRL
Plump DJs
Jose James
Worship Worthy
Peter Beste
Hercules and Love Affair
Magda
The Alchemist
DC Recordings