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Previously only released on the medium of Cassette, the ‘Santa Barbara’ double LP from Albinos saw a limited release on wax this year. Prepare yourself for a luscious, washed-out journey of bedroom tape jams. Soothing, beautifully crafted and atmospheric. This album transports you to a cosmic holiday you've never been on!

Bicep, who are comprised of Andrew Ferguson and Mathew Mcbrain are certainly at the top of the game when it comes to delivering those ‘big moments’ within the club scene. The Belfast duo have come a long way since their initial release ‘Strawberry’, which first premiered on Citizen Kane’s Ghost Town in 2009. Fast forward into 2017 Bicep have delivered their magnum opus, a self-titled 12 track LP which from a musical standpoint sees experimentation with breakbeat, garage and tranc¬¬e styles of production - yet keeping within the on-trend thematic arc of ‘tech-house’. Following the official release in November, clips of the album had surfaced on the web with requests for identification reaching near folklore status within internet-based musical communities. Tracks such as ‘Glue’, ‘Aura’ and ‘Rain’ are responsible for making this one of our fastest selling LPs to date!

‘The Night Land’ as the title implies is a twisted “attempt to reach our subconscious and to document our dreams” as Talabot and Bowman explain. Released on R&S records, the album is a refreshing artistic exploration into the talents and influences of two producers who are independently extremely revered in their own right. Tracks such as ‘Midnattssol’ and ‘Ghost Hood’ are winding atmospheric number’s that constantly mutate to reveal the abstract and organic nature of their production style. A true shop favourite.

Fashioned in his studio in South West Germany, Stefan Wurst AKA SW created an ethereal atmosphere by exploring rich texture, dreamy melodies and minimal grooves within an un-confrontational 4/4 arrangement. ‘The Album’ is free from conceptual regimentation or genre labels and was released on R&S sister label Apollo, following an initial outing on SUED.

Sampha Sisay has been quietly establishing himself as one of the UK’s most prominent singer-songwriters for quite some time. 'Process' is a distinctly woozy, vulnerable and hugely outstanding debut release. It goes without saying that we were all delighted at his appointment as the winner of the 2017 Mercury Music Award.

Ambient Black Magic is by far the most ambitious release from Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement, the brainchild of Dominick Fernow. The opening ‘Jungle is a Shapeshifter’ is a mesmerising 35-minute track which heads deep into a dusty and tropical ambience. With extended production from Silent Servant, this is a huge recommendation for those who are into Vainquer, Huerco S, Talk Talk and Rhythm & Sound.

‘New Energy’ was the latest pursuit from Kieran Hebden, one of music’s most serene characters. New Energy carries similar exceptional arrangements of soft breaks and plucky strings from his earlier works, resulting in an irresistible melancholic euphoria. Seminal track ‘Two Thousand and Seventeen’ is perhaps analogous to the somewhat untidy political year it has been.

Released on Lobster Fury, ‘Time Spent Away from U’ is the long-anticipated debut album from one of the rising stars within the ‘lo-fi’ coterie. Undisputedly documenting a personal emotion through the crunchy, acid-tinged and raw tracks - this LP will be heard seeping onto dancefloors throughout the early hours.

This album has is roots within a few dusty original masters that were first taken from an acetate cut that never saw public interaction until now. ‘From the Heart, it’s a Start, A work of Art’ is a forbearing yet highly remarkable release which functions as a tour-de-force into some of the artists earliest work.

Call Super’s second LP 'Arpo' served up an absorbing and wandering piece of formless techno released on the Fabric affiliated label, Houndstooth. Arpo beautifully brakes the conceptual norms of its genre and takes the listener on a winding and mesmerising journey of introspection.

After receiving renewed attention with the reissue of a selection of his early works on Dutch label 'Into The Light Records', Vangelis Katsoulis gave us the stunning “If Not Now When” for Alex Bradley’s Utopia Records imprint. From the subtle ambience of title track “If Not Now When", to the intense and confronting sound on “All The Blue Skies", Katsoulis and his accompanying musicians deliver a diverse and contemporary work with a level of sophistication that will challenge the current electronic musical landscape. The purity of sound in stand out track ‘Tore’ is juxtaposed by the dark and gritty “Grand Delusions”, a remarkably modern composition which sounds like it has been composed for a Berlin Techno club, from a man we suspect has never been to one. 'Slipping Beauties', the most revered of Katsoulis' back catalogue is given an organic and intelligent reinterpretation for 2016. The haunting and provocative vocal performance by Anna Linardou on ‘Zarrin' leads the record down an even more emotive and provocative paths....

The accumulation of about four years of work, with tracks written in Berlin and Melbourne, ‘Lonely Planet’ is nothing like you may have expected from the Australian. New Age sounds meet new wave melodies, Grace Jones runs into the Dire Straits at Compass Point, while a Korg Mini Pops and a Roland CR78 make amends for Sly & Robbie’s absence, Michael Mann pictures Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’, Robert Rauschenberg tries his luck at naturalism and an imagined Wally Badarou echoes through all of it. Sandwiched between the title track and the yearning beauty of the album’s final point ‘Healing Feeling’, you get all of that as well as collaborations with and contributions of NO ZU, David Hischfelder and the voice of Sui Zhen on ‘Today’, who would easily make Anna Domino take her proverbial hat off. Tornado Wallace created an album that supersedes the requirements and expectations of a debut.

Chilean producer Valeria Hernandez a.k.a Ninos Indigo cites “the rhythm of what surrounds me; the lake, the forest near where I live, the calm that surrounds it, the love of my friends and daughter” as key influences in the production of this extraordinary debut LP. Full of complex and worldy textures, Vuduwave was truly one of our favourite albums of the year.

The Aarhus-based DJ Sports (he of Regelbau and Help Recordings fame) offers up a debut LP of vast and varied sonic states. Solid rave aesthetics aplenty - the double pack’s journey trudges over a musical milieu of broke-beaten, ambient driven house and techno, melancholy junglist and dubwise downtempo. Another excellent release from Firecracker complete with a stunning screen printed sleeve!

Originally published as a cassette on Gast’s 5 Gate Temple in 2016, Inna Babylon was given a renewed life as a double LP on Haunter Records this year. A uniquely raw and dubby album, Inna Babylon does not conform to fashionable production trends with each track as diverse and powerful as the next.

Villalobos is BACK! Empirical House is a lengthy four track LP released on the celebrated Romanian Arpiar label. A very unperturbed yet well-balanced arrangement of rhythm and progressions make up the LP.

Satoshi & Makoto pay homage to the Casio CZ-5000 Synth on this celestial composition which has been in the pipeline since 1986. The ‘Safe Trip’ label was able to project the sounds of the Kawasaki twins to the wider world within this rare cosmic oddity.

Joli Mai features extended versions of the unreleased Daphni tracks that premiered on his very special FABRICLIVE mix. The LP includes the popular ‘Face to Face’ and ‘Tin’.

Async is Ryuichi Sakamoto’s first solo album in eight years. Rich in otherworldly textures and concepts - Sakamoto stated that he had the objective of creating a “soundtrack for an Andrei Tarkovsky film that does not exist”.

LCD Soundsystem’s unique blend of electronic and rock music struck again this year with their American Dream LP, despite disbanding years ago. Their live performances this year cemented their reputation as one of the biggest bands out there.

From the creator of Deep Reggaeton and the hit record ​"​¡Estéreo Bomba! Vol. 1​"​, DJ Python, returns with the first masterful full length album "Dulce Compañia". Comprised of eight ethe-real, banging hits of the most unique and thought provoking calibre - mixing Deep House, Shoegaze, Trance, and of course, Reggaeton - these songs-not-tracks slide over the Dembow in the unique way only Python can dream up.

Ways Inner Pass’ released the Plastic LP early this year which marked the debut full-length from Pascaal. Soft pads and undulating melodies throughout the album make it a heartening listen.

Originally an output for Matt Edward’s remix work, Radio Slave’s independent productions have been issued on R&S, Ostgut Ton, Nonplus and Work Them Records. A diverse album that leans towards many different genres and influences including breakbeat, minimal, jungle and of course house and techno. Title Track ‘Feel the Same’ is our tip for the dancefloors!

Errorsmith treated us to his first album in 13 years! ‘Superlative Fatigue’ was arguably his most optimistic and experimental record to date and it's all killer no filler.

The 13 track album marks a return to action for the esteemed producer. A cinematic album of icy techno, weighty bass and poignant melody. From plaintive keys and slow motion drums awash with melody to corrugated industrial drums that don't let up, this is a diverse album in both mood and texture. Moments of ambient celestial beauty exist next to breezy and summery grooves while skewed and sludgy acid sits next to serene underwater dub. Stewart's mission to step outside his usual self has resulted in another landmark electronic album.