Reviews / / 05 · 05 · 2021
ââ¦But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,â Benjamin Franklin stated in 1789. Itâs a timeless quote but itâs in desperate need of an update to recognise another modern-day phenomenon; India Jordan only makes bangers. In a time of great uncertainty, when the world is increasingly unpredictable, itâs reassuring to cling to one constant, and it comes in the form of Indiaâs talent for creating dance music that provides both dizzying euphoria and instant comfort.
After the sublime
overwhelming critical acclaim, dancers spent much of 2020 mourning shuttered clubs and cancelled festivals, lamenting the fact tracks like âFor Youâ and âRave Cityâ couldnât be heard over booming soundsystems which now gathered dust. It was obvious that summer should have belonged to India Jordan. Little did we know, they had plenty more up their sleeve
Few can build worlds with their music quite like
Leon Vynehall. Many possess the ability to transport a listener or dictate a mood, but only a small number can trigger true immersion like him. ‘Rare, Forever’ adds to his intoxicating discography, unlimited in scope and undoubtedly Vynehall’s most ambitious yet, resulting in one of the year’s most fascinating records.
It’s an album which couldn’t exist without what’s come before. After sending dancers into a frenzy with early releases, his debut album
‘Nothing Is Still’ reined in his dancefloor sensibilities and found Vynehall tracing his family lineage and crafting an unexpectedly tender body of work. Most recently, he stepped up for an entry in the DJ-Kicks series, which took his storytelling to new heights. Best of all, ‘Rare, Forever’ is a triumphant reclaiming of these many strands, stretched across snatches of ambient beauty and dancefloor chaos.
25 Tracks That Defined 2020 It s been a journey.
If 2020 produced nothing else of positivity in our lives, it provided ample time to soak up new music.
With gigs, club nights, and festivals largely shuttered, our evenings were instead spent seeking out new artists, and re-visiting releases that might otherwise have passed us by.
When the Clash team began collating our Albums Of The Year list, it quickly became apparent just how fertile 2020 had really been - virtually every genre is represented, from underground jazz to nu metal via the burgeoning offshoots of UK rap.
Focussing on our favourite tracks, we decided to forego the ranking system, and simply present 25 favourite moments from this tumultuous year.