albums of the decade - 86. Fennesz - Endless Summer

86. Fennesz - Endless Summer (2001)

Press play on this one and someone not au fait with glitchy music might think the CD is skipping or that it’s a shitty MP3. If that’s the case then ask them to look deeper, or to listen on headphones to some Fennesz and they may cinematically change their mind. ‘Endless Summer’ may seem like an ironic choice to name music that can leave the listener feeling frosty, but there are layers of warmth to be found, especially after repeated spins. I caught him live on the same bill as Animal Collective, Caribou, Four Tet, Explosions In The Sky and Matthew Dear (what a line-up!) in an amazing London all-nighter. The thing that struck me about Fennesz was how the drones reverberated around the whole Coronet Theatre and the sounds washed over everyone, it was so cleansing. This album is a great introduction to melodic noise, as the guy from Austria, Christian Fennesz, set the standard for abstract sound at the top of the decade.