Cosmic Tiger's Best of 2019 chart
Well, here we are! Another year comes to an end, allowing us an opportunity to reflect on what’s passed, and what’s to come. It’s been a good year for Cosmic Tiger - having been born but eight short months ago - we continue to grow strong and participate in ever-expanding creative exchange.
Musically there has been much to savour this year, too. Here we present our favourite releases from the past 12 months. We should add that there were a whole bunch of fantastic re-issues - many of which we’ve covered on the site - but here we’ve included only originally produced material.
Thanks for all the love and support this year. Much, much more to come… see you in 2020!
Afrodesia ‘Afrodesia Episode One’ (Best Record Italy)
Napoli’s Periodica Records crew joined forces with Best Record to serve up four slices of immaculately-produced Neo-Italo funk. Vintage in feel, but with a subtly contemporary twist, we hope to hear much, much more from producers Mystic Jungle and Whodamanny in 2020.
Mildlife ‘How Long Does It Take?’ (Heavenly Records)
Mildlife are so good. Following on from their excellent ‘Phase’ LP, here the Melbourne based fusionists deliver a slab of what we can only describe as psychedelic-jazz-rock-disco. Driving and intoxicating, we’ll be getting lost in this for years to come.
My Girlfriend ‘Modal’ (Apron Records)
Electro-funk badness from Brazil. Raw beats charge over a giant bass, rich synth stabs and strings provide the harmonic textures. Raw, energetic, and groovy as hell.
Jex Opolis ‘What Ya Need’ (Good Timin’)
Another top release from the Brooklyn-based producer. Delicately layered synths glide over the swung rhythm track as the simple vocal hooks us into the groove. An instant floor-filler.
Kyle Hall ‘Forget The Clock EP' (Forget The Clock Records)
We’re always thrilled to hear music from one of the key-players from Detroit’s new-wave. Achingly soulful, raw and hypnotic, this is motor-city house at it’s finest.
Masalo ‘New Dance’ (Rush Hour)
One of the year's club anthems without a doubt. The Amsterdam resident combines retro, analogue influences to create a futurist excursion. Heavy bass rolls over the stripped drums as freaky synth stabs ebb and flow. More to come from him early next year.
Andromeda Orchestra ‘Kano Line Dance’ (FAR)
This future-classic from the Faze Action stables gets a well-deserved wax release. Rolling bass provides the hook as guitar stabs, keys and synth motifs weave in and out. The groove is just undeniable, we’ve been playing is everywhere and it always works.
Moodyman ‘Sinner EP’ (KDJ)
KDJ shows us all what time it is on this varied package. With an ever-evolving sound, everything the Detroit legend composes is worthy of attention. From sleazy RnB to dusty house and way beyond, this record shows Moodymann in full force.
Islandman ‘Kaybola’ (Music For Dreams)
So much to enjoy from this mighty double pack. Exquisite instrumentation, mystical waves and introspective Balearic journeys. From the horizontal vibes of ‘Marakesh’ to the high tempo dance flavours of ‘Lumiere’, all of the music is stunning. Islandman's performance was also a highlight of Wonderfruit festival this year.
Laroye ‘The Trickster’ (Tiff’s Joints)
We’re suckers for big lead-synth parts, and they don’t get much bigger (or more convincing) than this. A loose, Latin rhythm provides the bed for the contagious top-line here. This is a party-starter if ever there was one.
Private Agenda ‘Aura’ Max Essa Extended Vocal Mix (Lo Recordings)
Without a doubt our pick for beachside track of the year. Max Essa’s slick production makes the most of this beautiful piece by blissed-out Balearic duo Private Agenda. This provided our soundtrack as the sun dipped below the horizon on many happy occasions in 2019.
Ryota OPP ‘Esoterica’ (Tastee T)
One of our top picks for home listening. Organic textures for meditative quests on this expansive collection from our dear friend Ryota. Music made with love, feeling and sincerity.
Daniel Wang / SDAP ‘Don’t Go Lose This’ (Degustibus)
Timely cover of Hugh Masekela’s proto-house classic ‘Don’t Go Lose It Baby’. Daniel Wang’s space-disco version takes the track on an eight-minute joyride. Heavy percussion, piano stabs and synth layers combine to devastating effect, breathing new life into the wonderful vocal.
Rekab ‘Music Makes It Better EP’ (Where We Met)
2019 was a great year for music in Italy, and this 12” was one of our highlights. Detroit inspired house and electro is the theme here, stripped back machine soul, all four tracks deserve attention.
You can check the full selection and buy those still in stock via Juno, below.
