AS 11

New Year, New You, as they say. This year, what with its nice, even, round numbers and readily-applied symbolism may prove to be such for your dear Snobs, as here we are with our latest and greatest playlist release, AS 11, the first product of our brand-spanking-new curation system (of which we're all super-duper proud).

Henceforth, Audio Snobbery releases will be 30 tracks a piece (A and B), equating to two approximately two-and-a-half hour playlists, full of new music for you. This will be delivered every month, curated by humans (including the running order – no shuffling this shit!), and spanning everything from new releases to obscure treasures from the past. AS 11 is the first of this new format, and we're pretty damn happy with it.

Kicking things off in celebration of Jay-Z's return to Spotify is Lost One, if ever you needed a reminder of this East Coast rapper's tremendous capacity to entertain. This is followed swiftly by latest Gorillaz track, Momentary Bliss (of course we had to include anything new from Albarn) and Cuzomano's favourite new Destroyer cut, It Just Doesn't Happen.

Pumarosa’s Priestess from 2017’s The Witch is one of our favourite new finds, providing a supremely danceable entry into a string of upbeat, dance tracks, including Romare’s Gone and KAYTRANADA’s 10% (featuring Kali Uchis).

Tim Maia’s supreme Mal De Amor provides a necessary dose of Brazilian love to calm things down as we move through Helado Negro’s beautiful remix of Devendra Banhart’s Love Song and Radiohead band member Ed O’Brian’s Brasil (under new EOB moniker), bringing things full circle.

Prince’s long-bootlegged but hitherto unreleased Purple Music, from the 1999 Deluxe reissue, provides an utterly enthralling demonstration of his phenomenal talent, while early Tame Impala track H.g.f.w (Canyons drunken rage) reminds us of Kevin Parker’s better days.

One artist who does not disappoint is FKA Twigs with late 2019’s home with you, a beautifully haunting track in which Nicolas Jaar’s stellar production shines through.

Newcomers Cloth also impressed with the titillating Felt, but it’s the final trio of songs that really provide an absolutely phenomenal set of aural treats to close out AS 11.

Mega Bog’s 2019 album Dolphine is a real treat, and Diary of a Rose proves a beautiful demonstration of her songwriting sensibilities. W. H. Lung were another great find in 2019, and album opener Simpatico People proves why you should listen to the whole thing in 10 absorbing minutes.

And yet the real release missing from your collection in 2020 is by none other than Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, whose soundtrack to TV show Watchmen is the best work by Reznor since 2013’s Hesitation Marks. Over three impeccable LPs, Reznor and Ross provide us with some of the best electronic music in existence and if you haven’t sunk deep into them yet, you are truly lost in this world.

The Snobs' Top Tracks

Mega Bog – Diary of a Rose
Ariel Pink – Round and Round
Jay-Z – Lost One
Prince – Purple Music
The Knocks – Brazilian Soul (ft. Sofi Tukker)