Avant Music News Best of 2021: Part II – Albums of the Year

To the extent that these lists mean much of anything, here are our favorite recordings of 2021. Many of these albums have been reviewed here at AMN, and such reviews have been linked in the list below.

As usual, our list is so lengthy that we broke it into two separate postings. The “best of” is today, and the honorable mentions were yesterday. Let me add the usual disclaimer that this list is incomplete, I have not heard all 2021 releases, and have probably missed a few really good ones. Enjoy.

Like this list? Feel free to peruse previous years’ lists.

Albums of the Year

Magma – Eskähl 2020 Bordeaux – Toulouse – Perpignan
Becuzzi, Gianluca – Mana 
Braxton, Anthony – 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 
Nagano, Sana – Smashing Humans 
Strictly Missionary – Heisse Scheisse 
Webber, Anna – Idiom
Zucker, Gabriel – Leftover Beats from the Edges of Time

Best of 2021

(Ahmed) – Nights on Saturn (Communication)
Abdul-Rauf, Leila – Phantasiai
Accordo Dei Contrari – UR-
Ager Sonus – Niflheim
Ajna & Onasander – Canidia
Allemano, Lina / Four – Vegetables
Allemano, Lina / Nick Fraser – Trumpet & Drums REMIX Festival
Alphaxone – Ghost Machine
Altschul, Barry / 3Dom Factor – Long Tall Sunshine

Alves, Pedro Melo / Omniae Large Ensemble – Lumina
Amado, Rodrigo / Motion Trio / von Schlippenbach – The Field
Anderson, Vijay / Stephen Gauci – Pandemic Duets
Ashtoreth – Rites III & IV
Barbier, Mattie – Three Spaces
Beckahesten – Tydor
Bisbâyé – Le Sens de la Fin
Bjärgö, Peter – The Translucency of Mind’s Decay
BlackWeald – 90377 Sedna
Body Meπa – The Work is Slow
Brice / Golding / Kaiser / Moore / Prevost – The Secret Handshake with Danger, Vol. One
BRUIT – The Machine Is Burning and Now Everyone Knows It Could Happen Again
Cambien, Jonas / Trio – Nature Hath Painted the Body
Carlstedt, Jeremy – Sound Escapes
Combat Astronomy – Shamanic Insurgency

Courvoisier, Sylvie / Mary Halvorson – Searching for the Disappeared Hour
Cymerman, Jeremiah – Citadels & Sanctuaries
Dahlia’s Tear – Adrift on the Edge of Infinity
Dinamitri Open Combo – Mappe per l’Eden
Dronny Darko & Phaedrus – Quasi
Dronny Darko / Ajna – Radioactive Immersion
Dunmall, Paul / Mark Sanders – Unity
Edredon Sensible – Vloute Panthère
Eisenberg, Wendy / Stephen Gauci – Pandemic Duets
Ensemble Interactivo de La Habana – Studio Session
Escudero, Juan J. G. – Shapes of Inner Timespaces
Fang, Forrest – Forever Cascades

Flow Trio with Joe McPhee – Winter Garden
Fluke-Mogul / Liberatore / Mattrey / Mendoza – Death in the Gilded Age
Frye, Rob – Exoplanet
Fujii, Satoko – Piano Music
Fujii, Satoko / This is It – Mosaic
Gasparotti / Ciullini / Stancati – Portraits
German Ocean, The – The German Ocean
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!
Goldberger / Jermyn / Maneri / Cleaver – Live at Scholes
Grey Frequency – Essentia
Gustafsson, Mats / Joachim Nordwall – Shadows of Tomorrow b/w The Brain Produces Electrical Waves
Hilyard – Division Cycle
Horvitz, Wayne – Live Forever Vol 1: The President: New York in the 80s
Irreversible Entanglements – Open the Gates

Jamaica!! Meets Sly & the Family Drone – Celebrating the End Together in the Good Time Swamp
Jarguna / Lam Sadashiva – Puja in the Temple of Sound
Jarl – Spectrum Confusion
Jiménez, Ricardo & Antonio Ramírez – Génesis Negro
Karris Vasseur Duo – A Step in the Dark Stirs the Fire
Karris, Reid – Obscure Sorrows
Kloob – Parallel States
Kurek, Wojtek – Buoyancy
Locks, Damon / Black Monument Ensemble – NOW
Lopez, Cecilia – RED (DB)
Lustmord / Karin Park – ALTER

Malaby, Tony – Turnpike Diaries Volume 1
Mansur – Minotaurus
Marekvist – Solrenning
Maselli, Domiziano – Lazzaro
Mazzarella, Nick / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten / A. Ra – What You Seek Is Seeking You
Mendoza, Ava – New Spells
Mitchell, Matt / Kate Gentile – Snark Horse
Moop – Ostara

Morris, Joe / Damon Smith – Gusts Against Particles
Natura Est – Real Seasons
Ndosi, Mankwe and Body MemOri – felt/not said
Nebbia, Camila – Corre el río de la memoria…
Nieuwsma, Greg – In C: Flea Market
Nyctalllz – Syfynetiks
O Saala Sakraal – Heven
Oberland, Frédéric D. – Meme Soleil
Odd Circus – Arch Nova
Odd Circus – Mantha
Orca, Attack! – C.M.S.O. (Learning by Listening Vol. 1)
Otto, Christopher – Rag’sma
Parish, Shane / Jason Stein / Danny Piechocki – External Link

Park, Han Earl – Of Life, Recombinant
Parker, William – Mayan Space Station
Parker, William – Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World
Parkins, Zeena / Mette Rasmussen / Ryan Sawyer – Glass Triangle
Pavone, Jessica – Lull
Petrograd – Drone Gathering Puerhwave
Phicus – Liquid
Powers, Jen / Matthew Rolin Duo – Strange Fortune
Puech, Mattias – A Geography of Absence
Raison d’Etre – Daemonum
Ranaldo, Lee / JIm Jarmusch / M.Urselli / B.Pándi – Churning of the Ocean
Real Loud – Real Loud
RhaD – Metamusic
RNGMNN – False Dawn

Roberts, Mariel – Armament
Rousay, Claire – Live
Rumback, Charles – Seven Bridges
Ruth, Kelly – Simulacra
Sarno, Devin – Evocation
Schwalm, J. Peter / Markus Reuter – Aufbruch
Seims – FOUR
Shiroishi, Patrick – Hidemi
Shrine Maiden – The Call in the Dawn
Skrika – Fifth Nature
Slow Burning Rage – Slow Burning Rage
Sonologyst – Dust of Human Race

Strong, Gabie – Wilding Sun
Subterranean Source – Ellipsis
Sunn0))) – Metta, Benevolence BBC 6Music: Live on the Invitation of Mary Anne Hobbs
Supervøid – The Giant Nothing
Thumbscrew (Halvorson / Formanek / Fujiwara) – Never Is Enough
Tucker / Thomas / Moore / Sanders – Educated Guess Vol. 1
Various Artists – Anthology of Experimental Music from China
Various Artists – Tymbal
Various Artists – Anthology of Electronic Music from Scandinavia
Various Artists – Cryo Chamber Collaboration – Dagon
Various Artists – Drone Islands – Stellar
Various Artists – New State of Flux
Various Artists – The Black Stone – Music for Lovecraftian Summonings
Various Artists – Unexplained Sounds Group – 7th Annual Report (Mid Year Edition)

Væv – Drømmenes Spejl
Williams, Mars – Presents: An Ayler Xmas Vol. 5
Wóma – Three Drones
Xerxes the Dark – Soundtrack to the Blind Owl
Zeitkratzer – Metal Machine Music
Zorn, John – Heaven and Earth Magick