Blog Believe @ Musique Non Stop

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Staff Picks: Top Albums of 2013 #15 Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:30 AM PST Artist: Hjaltalín Release: Enter 4 Label: Hjaltalín Release Date: September 2013 Picked by: Nick Parry – New Media Assistant Iceland's Hjaltalín crept onto UK taste-makers' radars this year with their highly anticipated third album, following previous chart-topping success in their homeland. The 8-piece's third record ‘Enter 4′ was finally made available outside of the band's Icelandic home, and it's one that has translated incredibly well upon UK ears and beyond. Full of warmth and beauty, intimate in places and darker in others, ‘Enter 4′ is a silky smooth, wonderfully constructed record, and shows that when it comes to creating compelling pop music, Iceland has it down to a tee. Lead single 'Crack in a Stone' and album opener 'Lucifer / He Felt Like a Woman' are the standouts for me; both delicate, sombre, and incredibly absorbing. – Nick Parry

Best of 2013 Lists – Believe Releases Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:02 PM PST Through our array of great independent labels, we’ve distributed and worked on a fine selection of top quality albums this year. Although we’re picking our favourite’s through our Staff Picks - Top Albums of 2013 countdown, we also thought we’d roundup those that have been selected in the many end of year lists by the stores, taste-makers, and blogs. See which albums featured in which lists below (some of these we’ve shared distribution rights, in this case the other labels have been credited in brackets). Amazon UK – The Best Albums of 2013 16. Owiny Sigoma Band – Power Punch (Brownswood Recordings) 52. Jagwar Ma – Howlin (Future Classic) [Mom + Pop Records/Marathon Artists for UK] 72. Flume - Flume (Future Classic) [Transgressive Records for UK] eMusic UK's Best Albums of 2013 12. Waxahatchee – 'Cerulean Salt' (Don Giovanni Records) [Wichita Recordings / PIAS Digital for UK] 15. Public Service Broadcasting – 'Inform – Educate – Entertain' (Test Card Recordings/ Believe Recordings) 20. Various Artists – 'Kenya Special (Selected East African Recordings From The 1970s & '80s)' (Soundway Records) 22. Goldfrapp – 'Tales Of Us' (Mute) 53. Laura Stevenson – 'Wheel' (Don Giovanni Records) 81. Jagwar Ma – 'Howlin' (Future Classic) [Marathan Artists for UK] Bleep: The Top 100 Tracks of 2013 Diamond Version – 'Get Yours' (Mute) High Water – 'Railroad Song' (Other People) Napster's Best Albums of 2013 30. PSB – Inform Educate Entertain (Test Card Recordings/Believe Recordings) Bloom.fm – Our Favourite 20 Albums of 2013 6. June Gloom - Big Deal (Mute) [PIAS for UK] Rough Trade Albums of The Year 2013 11. Jagwar Ma – Howlin (Future Classic) 22. PSB – Inform Educate Entertain (Test Card Recordings/Believe Recordings) 29. Maps – Vicissitude (Mute) 31. Goldfrapp – Tales Of Us (Mute) 38. Alela Diane – About Farewell (Believe Recordings) 52. Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt (Don Giovanni Records) Banquet Records Albums of the Year 2013 9. The Computers – Love Triangles Hate Squares (One Little Indian Records) 11. Public Service Broadcasting – Inform, Educate, Entertain (Test Card Recordings/Believe Recordings) 16. Front Bottoms – Talon Of The Hawk (Bar/None Records) 60. Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt (Don Giovanni Records) BBC Radio 6 Music: Albums of the Year 2013 9. Public Service Broadcasting – Inform, Educate, Entertain (Test Card Recordings/Believe Recordings) Pitchfork's Top 100 Tracks of 2013 57. Classixx – 'All You’re Waiting For [ft. Nancy Whang]' (Future Classic) [Innovative Leisure] 39. Waxahatchee – 'Swan Dive' (Don Giovanni Records) Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2013 22. Waxahatchee – 'Cerulean Salt' (Don Giovanni Records) fRoots Mag Critics Poll 2013: Albums of The Year 1. Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita - Clychau Dibon (Astar Artes Recordings) The Line Of Best Fit: Best Fit Fifty Albums of 2013 16. Samaris – Samaris (One Little Indian Records) 18. Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt (Don Giovanni Records) 40. Flume – Flume (Future Classic) The 405: The Best Tracks, Remixes and Mixes of 2013 Best Tracks: 3. Samaris – ‘Góða Tungl’ (One Little Indian Records) Best Mixes: 1. Samaris - 1993 (One Little Indian Records) The Mouth Magazine: Tracks Of 2013: The Mouthcast Public Service Broadcasting – 'Everest' (Test Card Recordings/Believe Recordings) Samaris – ‘Góða Tungl’ (One Little Indian Records) Ásgeir – 'Summer Guest' (One Little Indian Records) Wordplay Magazine: UK Hip Hop album of the year 2013 Shortlist: Ramson Badbonez – 'A Year in the Life of Oscar the Slouch' (High Focus Records) Brothers of the Stone – 'Brothers of the Stone' (High Focus Records) Metabeats – ‘Caviar Crackle’ (AssociatedMinds) Dirty Dike – 'Return of the Twat' (High Focus Records) Verb T – 'I Remain' (High Focus Records) Punktastic Reader Awards 2013 Best Record Label 2013: Alcopop! Records DJ Mag: Best of British Awards 2013 Best Label: Black Butter Records Drum&BassArena Awards 2013 Hospital Records Best Producer: Camo & Krooked Best Newcomer DJ: Etherwood Best Newcomer Producer: Etherwood Best Album: 'Zeitgeist' – Camo & Krooked Best Club Night: Hospitality Best Live Act: Netsky