Ulysses, member of the NY duo Neurotic Drum Band, picks his 2016 favorite records before they play for Wurst's 10-year anniversary party on Saturday, January 28th.
BEST ALBUMS
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma's In Summer
(Geographic North)
"I don’t know how it’s done, but he manages to make tape distortion sing. Pop songs that seem to bubble up from underwater."Fatou Seidi & Alamnou Akrouni's Les Filles De Illighadad
(Sahel Sounds)
"It’s only the first half of this album I like, but its really amazing. Hypnotic percussive guitar playing and lilting melodies sound like folk/blues from another planet (which I guess it is, really). The second half is a traditional dance chant that’s not as interesting."The Velvet Undergound's The Velvet Underground
(MGM)
"I’ve gotten totally hooked on this classic album of simple, but effective chord progressions and songs about heroin and transgender issues."Acronym's June
(Northern Electronics)
"A beautiful album that moves glacially from ambient drones to deep techno. It shows a restraint that I aspire to, but never reach."BEST SONGS
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma's "Love’s Refrain"
"This is a pop song from another century, unearthed by NASA and put onto cassette."Fatou Seidi & Alamnou Akrouni's "Achibaba"
"It’s hard to believe this is mostly one person singing and playing guitar."The Velvet Underground's "Candy Says"
"What would you see/If I could get away from me?"Skee Mask's "HAL Conv (Illian Tape)"
"The Acronym album is my favorite, but it works best as a whole. The Skee Mask album from the year before hits the same notes of ambient noise, calm, and techno, but all in each song. They also add a helping of un-clichéd breakbeats, as well."
On Saturday, January 28th, Le Bain presents 10 Years of Wurst
Featuring Brennan Green, Neurotic Drum Band, Nick Chacona, Roy Dank, and Son of Sound
The Standard, High Line | 10pm
Header photo courtesy of Neurotic Drum Band
aka Ulysses (left) and John Selway (right)
