It would be downright ludicrous to think you could make a definitive list of the “best” podcasts to have launched from the internet in 2010 (or any recent year, for that matter). We’re fully aware of the more or less incalculable amount of DJ mixes, mixtapes, interviews, etc. that were broadcast from the infinite portals of the web, and our inability to hear even a fraction of them all. So, what we present to you as our year-end lists continue is a small grouping of the podcasts we here at XLR8R HQ have listened to and loved throughout the year, in our not-so-active feature from bygone times, OPP. Check them out, listed in no particular order, below.

FACT Mix 182: Four Tet

Nguzunguzu’s Moments in Love Mixtape

RA.231: Space Dimension Controller

IDS 001: Micky

XOYO Mix 04: Lone

LWE Podcast 62: DJ Qu

FACT Mix 131: Doc Daneeka

Braiden’s Mix for Sonar Festival 2010

LWE Podcast 41: Juju & Jordash

RA.200: Carl Craig

Steven Julien’s East London studio is like an analog gear menagerie: vintage Korg, Yamaha, Akai, and Roland synths and drum machines are systematically arranged on desks and racks everywhere. Perched in a swivel chair for our chat, the 31-year-old producer looks sharp in his Keith Haring x Supreme t-shirt, an item issued as a tribute to the late music entrepreneur Malcolm McLaren. Julien has an eye for iconic art and design, as evidenced by his studio equipment, the Vivienne Westwood-copy skull ring on his finger, and the electronic fusion music he makes as FunkinEven.

Julien’s 2009 EP, Kleer, on Eglo Records, introduced the world to a techy new talent with an old soul. He had been making his own beats for 15 years before meeting Eglo honchos Alexander Nut and Floating Points’ Sam Shepherd, but the shy, West London-born Julien had never deemed his music worthy of release, and instead hoarded harddrives full of eclectic beats. His three all-embracing solo singles draw as much inspiration from 1980s funk acts One Way, Cameo, and, yes, Kleer, as they do from London broken-beat artists or LA beatmakers. But as much as Julien appreciates the media’s comparisons of his work to Dam-Funk, an artist he respects, he’s adamant about exploring his own ideas. “All I can do is release my music and kind of shock them a bit,” says Julien about the pigeonholing. “[The press] try and put me in a box, but then I release something with acid in it and they’re confused.”

“Mad Swing”

A closer listen reveals Julien’s pleasantly unpredictable offerings. “Heartpound” is fueled by thumping acid-house beats while “Mad Swing” is comprised of drunken drum machines and wobbly synths. The son of Grenadian parents, who bounced between South Acton housing estates and Ealing as a youth, likes surprising people with his “electronic fusion,” as he calls his music. He’s an avid record collector and former full-time barber who gave up haircuts to make fresh tracks, including music with his rising-star accomplice Fatima.

The two collaborated on Fatima’s single “Soul Glo,” a sassy Sa-Ra-styled funk track that earned admiration when it was aired at incubator nightclub Plastic People in London and received strong play from DJs like BBC 1Xtra’s Benji B. Eglo’s backing has only further cemented his rep. “I’m pretty lucky that I have people them backing my work and believing in my music,” he says. “[Eglo] works really well because we’re all growing as artists and making an adventure together.”

That adventure also includes recent studio collaborations with Detroit house stalwart Kyle Hall, a forthcoming EP, and remixes for Sandra St. Victor, Mark de Clive-Lowe, and Ikonika. He’s busy for sure, but clearly doing what he loves, which doesn’t include time for Britain’s national pastime: “I’m not passionate about football,” he says. “I’m just passionate about music. Music is my sport.”

“Heart Pound” b/w “Another Space” is out now on Eglo.

We’ll be the first to say it: 2010 was not the best year for music videos. It seemed the overarching theme throughout the clips bubbling up this year was the re-appropriation of old footage, edited as the director/artist saw fit. And that’s all well and good, but it certainly doesn’t make us go ‘Wow!’ The videos on our 2010 favorites list were made of authentic, inspiring, funny, touching, grotesque, strange, and beautiful pictures, and were apparently born of truly original ideas. We may not be nearly as into the music accompanying the pieces (personally, we thought “Drunk Girls” was one of the worst songs this year), but that’s not what this is all about, now is it?

10. Gatekeeper “Chains”

9. Rainbow Arabia “Holiday in Congo”

8. Flying Lotus “Kill Your Co-Workers”

7. HEALTH “We Are Water”

6. Caribou “Sun”

5. Chromeo “Hot Mess”

4. James Blake “Limit to Your Love”

3. LCD Soundsystem “Drunk Girls”

2. Hot Chip “I Feel Better”

1. El Guincho “Bombay”