2003 Rewind

Robert Wyatt - Cuckooland (Hannibal)
David Sylvian - Blemish (Samadhi Sound)
John Fahey - + (Revenant)
Nurse With Wound - Salt Marie Celeste (United Dairies)
Chris Watson - Weather Report (Touch)
Rhythm & Sound - With The Artists (Burial Mix/Indigo)
Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner (XL)
Four Tet- Rounds (Domino)
Keith Rowe & John Tilbury - Duos For Doris (Erstwhile)
The Bug - Pressure (Rephlex)
Cat Power - You Are Free (Matador)
So - So (Thrill Jockey)
Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow (Load)
Angels Of Light - Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home (Young God)
Pandit Pran Nath - Midnight (Just Dreams)
Limescale - Limescale (Incus)
Diamanda Galas - Defixiones, Will And Testament (Mute)
Kraftwerk - Tour De France Soundtracks (EMI)
Broadcast - Haha Sound (Warp)
Matmos - The Civil War (Matador)
Outkast - Speakerboxx/Love Below (Arista)
Laibach - WAT (Mute)
Colleen - Everyone Alive Wants Answers (Leaf)
Kaffe Matthews - cd ebb + flo (Annetteworks)
Henry Flynt - New American Ethnic Music Vol 3: Hillbilly Tape Music (Recorded)
Jaga Jazzist - The Stix (Ninja Tune)
Fennesz - Live In Japan (Headz)
Leafcutter John - The Housebound Spirit (Planet Mu)
Sunburned Hand Of The Man - The Trickle-Down Theory Of Lord Knows What (Eclipse)
Basil Kirchin - Quantum: A Journey Through Sound In Two Parts (Trunk)
John Wall - Hylic (Utterpsalm)
Diamanda Galas - La Serpenta Canta (Mute)
Sightings - Absolutes (Load)
Peaches - Fatherfucker (XL)
Robert Wyatt - Solar Flares Burn For You (Cuneiform)
Shirley Collins - Within Sound (Fledg'ling)
Aki Onda - Bon Voyage! (Cassette Memories Vol 2) (Improvised Music From Japan)
Miles Davis - The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (Columbia Legacy)
Monade - Socialisme Ou Barbarie: The Bedroom Recordings (Duophonic Super 45s)
Pluramon - Dreams Top Rock (Karaoke Kalk)
Alasdair Roberts - Farewell Sorrow (Rough Trade)
Sketch Show - Tronika (Daisyworld)
Jimmy Lyons - The Box Set (Ayler)
The Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra & The Tra-La-La Band With Choir - This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather And Sing (Constellation)
Michael Schumacher - Room Pieces (XI)
Phill Niblock - Touch Food (Touch)
Sunn0))) - White 1 (Southern Lord)
Yasunao Tone - Yasunao Tone (Asphodel)
Bonnie ÔPrince' Billy - Master And Everyone (Domino)
Noxagt - Turning It Down Since 2001 (Load)

Avant Rock
Wire - Send (Pink Flag)
Sunburned Hand Of The Man - The Trickle-Down Theory Of Lord Knows What (Eclipse)
Cul De Sac - The Strangler's Wife (Strange Attractors Audio House)
Sightings Absolutes (Load)
Damon & Naomi - With Kurihara Song To The Siren (Sub Pop)
Black Dice - Beaches And Canyons (Fat Cat)
The Magic Band - Back To The Front (All Tomorrow's Parties)
Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow (Load)
Sam Shalabi - Osama (Alien8)
Sightings - Michigan Haters (Psych-O-Path)
Erase Errata - At Crystal Palace (Blast First)
Califone - Quicksand/Cradlesnakes (Thrill Jockey)
Maher Shalal Hash Baz - Blues Du Jour (Geographic)
No-Neck Blues Band - Intonomancy (Sound@tone)
Doo-Dooettes/Keiji Haino/Rick Potts - Free Rock (PSF)

Dub & Roots
Rhythm & Sound - With The Artists (Burial Mix/Indigo)
The Bug - Pressure (Rephlex)
Dennis Bovell - Decibel (Pressure Sounds)
Augustus Pablo - In Fine Style 1973-79 (Pressure Sounds)
Cedric Im Brooks & The Light Of Saba - Cedric Im Brooks & The Light Of Saba (Honest Jon's)
King Tubby - The Roots Of Dub/Dub From The Roots (Moll-Selekta)
Keith Hudson - Playing It Cool & Playing It Right (Basic Replay)
Tappa Zukie - Dub Em Zukie: Rare Dubs 1976-79 (Jamaican Recordings)
Prince Far-I - Heavy Manners: The Anthology 1977-83 (Trojan)
Rankin' Joe - Zion High (Blood And Fire)

Electronica
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Vrioon (Raster-Noton)
Kraftwerk - Tour De France Soundtracks (EMI)
So - So (Thrill Jockey)
Fennesz - Live In Japan (Headz)
Autechre - Draft 7.30 (Warp)
Leafcutter John - The Housebound Spirit (Planet Mu)
Rechenzentrum - The Director's Cut (Mille Plateaux)
Tim Hecker - Radio Amor (Mille Plateaux)
Donna Summer - This Needs To Be Your Style (Irritant)
Matmos - The Civil War (Matador)
Guido Mšbius - Klisten (Klangkrieg)
Wasteland - Amen Fire (Transparent)
Luomo - The Present Lover (Force Inc)
Coil - Live Four-One (Threshold House)
Ricardo Villalobos - Alcachofa (Playhouse)

Global
Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban - Mambo Sinuendo (Nonesuch)
Pandit Pran Nath - Midnight (Just Dreams)
Traditional Musicians - Waza: Music Of The Berta From The Blue Nile, Sudan (Wergo)
Raz Mesinai - Resurrections For Goatskin (Tzadik)
Traditional Musicians - Ethiopia: Ari Polyphonies (Ocora)
Various - The Rough Guide To The Music Of China (World Music Network)
Traditional Musicians - The King's Musicians: Royalist Music Of Buganda-Uganda (Topic)
Kazuki Tomokawa Box (PSF)
Traditional Musicians Radio Java (Sublime Frequencies)
Idjah Hadidjah - Sundanese Jaipong And Other Popular Music (Nonesuch Explorer)
Kadri Gopalnath - Scintillating Sax (Felmay/Dunya)

Hip Hop
Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below (Arista)
Jay-Z - The Black Album (XL)
Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher (Warp)
King Geedorah - Take Me To Yr Leader (Big Dada)
Edan - Sprain Your Tapedeck (Lewis Recordings)
Buck 65 - Talkin' Honky Blues (WEA)
Nephlim Modulation Systems - Woe To Thee O Land Whose King Is A Child (Big Dada)
Themselves - The No Music Of Aiffs (Anticon)
Kid Koala - Some Of My Best Friends Are DJs (Ninja Tune)
Alias - Muted (Anticon)

Improv
Limescale - Limescale (Incus)
Spring Heel Jack - Live (Thirsty Ear)
Tetuzi Akiyama/Toshimaru Nakamura/ Taku Sugimoto/Mark Wastell - Foldings (Confront)
Andy Moor/Thomas Lehn/John Butcher - Thermal (Unsound) Exias-J Electric - Conception "Avant-garde" (PSF)
Globe Unity Orchestra - 2002 (Intakt)
John Butcher - Invisible Ear (Fringes)
Rhodri Davies - Trem (Confront)
Sealed Knot - Surface Plane (Meniscus)
Keith Rowe & John Tilbury - Duos For Doris (Erstwhile)
Barry Guy & Evan Parker - Birds And Blades (Intakt)
Tim Barnes/Toshio Kajiwara/Marina Rosenfeld - A Water's Wake (Quakebasket)
Matt Davis/Phil Durrant/Mark Wastell - Open (Erstwhile)
Kaffe Matthews/Andrea Neumann/Sachiko M - In Case Of Fire Take The Stairs (Improvised Music From Japan)
Keith Rowe/Thomas Lehn/Marcus Schmickler - Rabbit Run (Erstwhile)

Jazz
Peter Brštzmann/William Parker/Hamid Drake - Never Too Late But Always Too Early (Eremite)
Miles Davis - The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (Columbia)
Jimmy Lyons - The Box Set (Ayler)
Albert Ayler - The Copenhagen Tapes (Ayler)
Anthony Braxton & Wadada Leo Smith - Organic Resonance (Pi)
William Parker Violin Trio - Scrapbook (Thirsty Ear)
The Art Ensemble Of Chicago - The Message (Pi Recordings)
Cecil Taylor: The Ensemble - The Light Of Corona (FMP)
Dave Douglas - Freak In (Bluebird)
Steve Lacy - Work (Sketch)

Modern Composition
Michael Schumacher - Room Pieces (XI)
Michael Finnissy - This Church (Metier)
Morton Feldman - String Quartet No 2 (Mode)
Chas Smith - An Hour Out Of Desert Center (Cold Blue)
James Tenney - Selected Works 1961-69 (Lovely Music)
Erik Friedlander - Maldoror (Brassland)
Eliane Radigue - Geelriandre/Arthesis (Fringe Archive)
Rhys Chatham - An Angel Moves Too Fast To See (Table Of The Elements)
Robert Ashley - The Wolfman (Alga Marghen)
John Wall - Hylic (Utterpsalm)
Maja Ratkje - Voice (Rune Grammofon)
Phill Niblock - Touch Food (Touch)
Gloria Coates - String Quartets Vol 1 (Naxos)
Giacinto Scelsi - Giacinto Scelsi (Edition RZ)
Charlemagne Palestine - In Mid-Air (Alga Marghen)

Outer Limits
Alan Licht - A New York Minute (XI)
Nurse With Wound - Salt Marie Celeste (United Dairies)
Chris Watson - Weather Report (Touch)
Aki Onda - Bon Voyage! (Cassette Memories Vol 2) (Improvised Music From Japan)
Henry Flynt - Back Porch Hillbilly Blues Vols 1 & 2 (Locust)
Steve Roden - Speak No More About The Leaves (Sirr)
Yasunao Tone - Yasunao Tone (Asphodel)
Kaffe Matthews - cd ebb + flo (Annetteworks)
Keiji Haino - Mazu Wa Iro O Nakuso Ka (PSF)
Angus MacLise - The Cloud Doctrine (Sub Rosa)
Throbbing Gristle - TG24: 24 Hours Of Throbbing Gristle (Grey Area Of Mute)
Keiji Haino - "C'est Parfait" Endoctrine Tu Tombres La Tete La Premi�re (Turtle's Dream)
Angus MacLise - Astral Collapse (Quakebasket)
Dredd Foole & The Din - The Whys Of Fire (Ecstatic Peace)
Eyvind Kang - Live Low To The Earth, In The Iron Age (Abduction)

Compilations A-Z
An Anthology Of Noise And Electronic Music: Second A-Chronology (Sub Rosa)
Amaterasu (Fractal)
American Song-Poem Anthology: Do You Know The Difference Between Big Wood And Brush (Bar/None)
China: The Sonic Avant Garde (Post-Concrete)
Das Dreidimensionale Mobiusband (Flying Swimming)
Goodbye, Babylon (Dust-To-Digital)
Down In The Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove Of Vintage 78s 1926-37 (Old Hat)
Flowers In The Wildwood: Women In Early Country Music 1923-39 (Trikont)
Lib. Fabric Compilation (Cubic)
Music From the ONCE Festival 1961-69 (New World)
New York Noise: Dance Music From The New York Underground (Soul Jazz)
Nice Up The Dance: Two Worlds Clash (Soul Jazz)
The Night Gallery (Alchemy)
Room 207 (Cirque CD)
Rough Trade Shops: Post-Punk 01 (Mute)
Space Is No Place: Noise From The NYC Underground (Psych-O-Path)
Studio One DJs (Soul Jazz)
Visionfest Visionlive (Thirsty Ear)
Wanna Buy A Craprak? (Carpark)
Wooden Guitar (Locust)
You Can Never Go Fast Enough (Plain)

Re-Issues A-Z
Kevin Ayers - Joy Of A Toy (EMI)
Shirley Collins - Within Sound (Fledg'ling)
Shirley & Dolly Collins - Love, Death & The Lady (BGO)
EinstŸrzende Neubauten - Kollaps (Potomac)
Fred Frith - Speechless (ReR)
Eddie Henderson - Realization/Inside Out: Anthology Volume 2 The Capricorn Years (Soul Brother)
Jackie-O Motherfucker - The Magick Fire Music/Wow! (All Tomorrow's Parties)
Rev Charlie Jackson - God's Got It: The Legendary Booker And Jackson Singles (CaseQuarter)
Kosokuya - Kosokuya (PSF)
Joan La Barbara - Voice Is The Original Instrument (Lovely Music)
Mars - The Complete Studio Recordings NYC 1977-1978 (G3G/Spooky Sound)
Evan Parker - The Snake Decides (Psi)
Ron 'Pate's Debonairs Featuring Fred Lane - Raudelina's 'Pataphysical Revue (Alcohol)
Soft Machine - BBC Radio 1967-71 (Hux)
Sonic Youth - Dirty: Deluxe Edition (Geffen)
Joseph Spence - Happy All The Time (Water)
Television - Marquee Moon Remastered (Rhino)
Larry Young - Mothership (Blue Note)
Neil Young - On The Beach (Warners)
23 Skidoo - The Culling Is Coming (Ronin/LTM)

This year's chars were compiled from the votes of the following contributors (each contributor¹s individual record of the year shown in brackcets):


Steve Barker (Rev Charlie Jackson - God's Got It!),
Mike Barnes (Robert Wyatt - Cuckooland),
Clive Bell (Monade - Socialisme ou Barbarie: The Bedroom Recordings),
Chris Blackford (Alfred Harth - eShip sum),
Marcus Boon (Angels Of Light - Everything Is Good here/Please Come),
Ben Borthwick (Outkast - Speakerboxx/Love Below),
Philip Clark (Michael Finnissy - This Church),
Mia Clarke (Cheer Accident - Gumballhead The Cat)
Julian Cowley ('Blue' Gene Tyranny - Take Your Time)
Christoph Cox (David Sylvian - Blemish)
Alan Cummings (Kazuki Tomokawa - Box),
Lina Dzuverovic - Russell (Diamanda Galas - La Serpenta Canta),
Phil England (The Magic Band - Back To The Front),
Louise Gray (Cat Power - You Are Free),
Jim Haynes (Nurse With Wound - Salt Marie Celeste),
Richard Henderson (Gaby Kerpel - Carnabailito),
Tony Herrington (Pandit Pran Nath - Midnight),
Ken Hollings (Mu - Afro Finger And Gel),
Hua Hsu (Hollertronix - Never Scared),
David Keenan (Double Leopards - Halve Maen),
Rhama Khazam (Thomas Koner - Zyklop),
Biba Kopf (Keiji Haino- Mazu Wa Iro O Nakuso Ka),
Alan Licht (Aki Onda - Bon Voyage!),
Dave Mandl (Xper.Xr... ... . .... ..),
Brian Marley (Steve Roden - Light Forms),
Marc Masters (Sightings - Absolutes),
Jerome Manusell (So - So),
Keith Moline (Larval - Obedience),
Will Montgomery (John Wall - Hylic),
Brian Morton (Mick Turner - Moth),
John Mulvey (Califone - Quicksand/Candlesnakes),
Anne Hilde Neset (David Sylvian - Blemish),
Tom Perchard (Dm & Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life),
Edwin Pouncey (Angus MacLise - The Cloud Doctrine),
Mosi Reeves (Cosmo Vittelli - Clean),
Simon Reynolds (Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner),
Tom Ridge (Four Tet - Rounds),
Stephen Robinson (Throbbing Gristle - TG24: 24 Hours Of Throbbing Gristle),
Peter Shapiro (Various - Goodbye, Babylon),
Chris Sharp (Sunburned Hand Of The Man - The Trickle Down Theory Of Lord Knows What),
Philip Sherburne (Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner),
Nick Southgate (Vibracathedral Orchestra - The Queen Of Guess),
David Stubbs (Basemant Jazz - Kish Kash),
David Toop (David Sylvian - Blemish),
Dan Warburton (Basil Kirchin - Quantum),
Ben Watson (Limescale - Limescale),
Rob Young (Pluramon - Dreams Top Rock)
___

This chart first appeared in issue 239, January 2004.
© The Wire.