Happy new year! Here’s my album top 20 list for 2024. I usually don’t number them, but this year there was a clear number one. I wrote about it yesterday here. All the others are basically runner-ups.

Besides my dear new friend Loren Kramar, they are all familiar faces in my musical house. Some (Primal Scream and Saint Etienne), I even co-produced concerts with. Most, I have all seen live (ECM artists Arild and John again next year).

Andrew Wasylyk has been on my year list for several years (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) and he is still producing some of the most fascinating music out there. This year in a collaboration with Tommy Perman. Oh, and here’s the 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 year lists. Update! I just found my list from 2014.

Incidentally, here are some of the women performing on the albums:

1. Loren Kramar – Glovemaker

2. Primal Scream – Come Ahead

3. Paul Weller – 66

4. Andrew Wasylyk – Ash Grey And the Gull Glides On

5. Saint Etienne – The Night

6. Ian McNabb – New Brighton Rock / Fleetwood McNabb

7. Bill Ryder-Jones – Iechyd Da

8. A Certain Ratio – It All Comes Down To This

9. Sean Ono Lennon – Asterisms

10. The Voidz – Like All Before You

11. John Cale – POPtical Illusion

12. Gruff Rhys – Sadness Sets Me Free

13. Arild Andersen – Landloper

14. John Surman – Words Unspoken

15. Fred Frith – Guitar Solos / Fifty

16. Nils Frahm – Day / Paris

17. Alva Noto – HYbr:ID III /  Xerrox Vol. 5

18. Pat Metheny – MoonDial

19. Elias Rønnenfelt – Heavy Glory

20. The Libertines – All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade

🌹 Ryuichi Sakamoto – Opus (Ending)

Dedicated to K.L.