[Dial]

Like the Missoni their roster modeled in a recent photoshoot for German magazine De:bug, the Dial label is a family affair, with a long history and an instantly recognizable aesthetic. Despite both “brands” diversification into (among other things) hotels and indie lounge-pop respectively, they are still most widely recognized by their original product: knitwear and a very particular brand of romantic, wistful Teutonic house. But I have to end the rather tenuous association and comparison brought about by Dial co-founder David Lieske’s interest in high-end fashion, not least because a Missoni cardigan will set you back around 500 euros while a Dial twelve inch costs closer to nine euros. Still, it remains true that the Italian company fits the Dial pin-ups well: Both exude a dandified, European sophistication and continue to experiment, secure in their place in the market, all the while still serving their loyal customer base with pieces cut to the template of their original classics.

2010 is very much a mix of these two concerns. On the one hand, we have a couple of new players, in the form of Isolée and Kassian Troyer. And Dial’s somewhat eccentric forays into indie-pop are also present and correct, with Tocotronic main man Dirk von Lowtzow’s side-project Phantom/Ghost’s louche “My Secret Europe,” and the previously released “He Said” by Dominique. But Dial’s core aesthetic of chic but understated deep house remains present, with contributions from label founders Lawrence, Pantha du Prince and Efdemin that stay true, occasionally too much so, to the label’s sound when it was first birthed in Hamburg 10 years ago.

Dial is a far more international affair these days, with only Lawrence (aka Peter Kersten) of the founding quartet still residing in Hamburg. Pantha du Prince (Henrik Weber) spends the majority of his time in Paris, Philip Sollman (Efdemin) in Berlin, and Lieske (also known as Carsten Jost) having spent the last few years in Tel Aviv. They’ve also brought in more international talent, in the form of the prodigious American John Roberts. Roberts is an example of Dial’s diversification; his drums for example owe more to Dance Mania than the subtle plod of Lawrence’s, but his work still retains the melancholy of his mentors. “Lines,” his contribution to 2010 is outstanding, matching that trademark thump to a smacked-out concert pianist. Another relative newcomer, Christian Naujoks, puts aside the effete stylings of his self-titled debut and instead pulls out a bumping, bass-driven Detroit house cut. Efdemin’s occasional production partner Rndm’s effort is a chunky slice of newer deep house, and their collaboration as Pigon splits the difference between the two producer’s work as an abstract techno gem that wouldn’t look out of place on Ifach, or more recently, Livejam.

Of the aforementioned close friends who formed the label, Carsten Jost’s “Days Gone By” makes by far the finest contribution. A hymn of wistfulness to (perhaps) those early days hanging out at the Golden Pudel club, its perfect simpleness and directness contrasts with the other’s more complex, and duller, efforts. Lawrence has yet to regain the form of his mid-2000s heyday, but “Treacle Mine” is nevertheless a vast improvement on last year’s lackluster Until Then, Goodbye. You can almost hear Kersten straining to try something different from the sound of those years; and while it is a brave effort for an artist who seems to be caught between not wishing to be pigeon-holed and retaining, in Theo Parrish’s phrase, a sound signature, it can occasionally sound a little forced. Efdemin’s “Time” bodes well for his forthcoming full-length Chicago, a confusing but beguiling melange of chopped and screwed voices and burbling percussion, while Pantha du Prince’s “Fountain Drive” sounds like an off-cut from his Rough Trade album Black Noise, with all that that might imply.

2010 is a fine addition to the Dial collection, and as Spring/Summer pieces go, it’s certainly cheaper to pick up than Missoni’s. It explores some interesting tangents without a wholesale reinvention, and like the venerable Milanese knitwear offers warmth and familiarity while retaining a distinctive look. Dial will stay fashionable for a few more seasons at least.

As the Internet allows for the fragmentation of tastes and musical scenes to increase with each passing year, critical attempts to address an overarching annual narrative seem as if they’re becoming a thing of the past. Instead we get something closer to an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” with several intricate sub-plots coexisting and influencing each other to enjoyable, unpredictable ends. 2009 found house developing still deeper on one hand and running at surface level on the other, some of its adherents picked away by a Latin strain which grew rather unwieldy. UK bass music of all sorts reached further afield for its influences, adding boogie, house and freestyle into its repertoire while dubstep proper refined its sound as the wobble variety began to grate. Techno grew harder, weirder, and more fiercely independent than most had seen in years, and many of its talents continued their courtship with stepping musics. And by the end of the year, there were more than enough excellent tracks to declare 2009′s yield both fruitful and memorable. After looking back, we’ve chosen these 25 tracks as the best this year had to offer.

25. Isolée, “A Nightingale” [Diynamic Music] (buy)
After a silent 2007 and 2008 (save a handful of remixes), Rajko Müller was relatively prolific in 2009, releasing two EPs on two new-to-him labels. It was still only a grand total of four new tracks, but let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Thankfully, “A Nightingale” reminds of all the reasons we fell in love with Müller in the first place, along with some beautiful new wrinkles: a dark, snapping collection of tight melodic bursts and ramdomized rhythms, overwhelmed at key moments by oceanic swells of mayhem. Keep making them, Rajko; we’ll be here waiting. (Todd Hutlock)

24. Omar-S, “Blown Valvetrane”
[Sound Signature] (buy)
Even though he probably doesn’t care what anyone thinks, which many feel is part of his charm, there is no doubt that 2009 was a banner year for Detroit producer Alex “Omar” Smith. In between conducting hilarious interviews and releasing a mix for Fabric, Smith also dropped “Blown Valvetrane” for Theo Parrish’s Sound Signature. Despite the misappropriation of the term “minimal house” in recent years, this is exactly what “Valvetrane” was: stripped back drum tracks, lo-fi sounding and almost facile, but delivered with enough energy and dynamism to be lethal DJ tools. The title track, with its panning riffs and repetitive drums, provided an unpleasant surprise for many when it ends prematurely before starting again only to run at half speed, but thankfully the jacking percussion, hypnotic, scarping drums and searing analogue riffs of “Busaru Beats” offered no such ambush, just jacking till the end. Finally, “Deep Valve Cover” was the release’s hidden gem, a tweaky techno jam with a focus on some of the most intense snares and hats since Dan Bell’s DBX work. That Smith managed to take inspiration from producers like Bell yet make “Cover” sound 100% his own speaks volumes about just how far Omar-S has come. (Richard Brophy)

23. Wax, “Dub Shed” (STP Remix)
[Subsolo Records] (buy)
Now this is something I’d like to see more of: producers shelving their stack of remix requests to revisit and refresh bits from their own catalog. For centuries artists have insisted their work is never completely finished, and René Pawlowitz is one such musician who keeps the door permanently ajar. In remixing his Wax guise under the stepping STP banner, Pawlowitz dissolves genre boundaries between the two while embracing and nourishing the elegant melodies that made “No. 20002-B” such a delight. He works synth strains into a frothy batter that hangs in the air with blithe satisfaction, bountiful bass notes shrugging below to keep low end devotees smiling as well. “Dub Shed” (STP Remix) is one of those rare tunes whose forward-thinking thrust manages to feels familiar, as if we already know it as a classic. (Anton Kipfel)

22. Moritz Von Oswald Trio, “Pattern 1″
[Honest Jon's Records] (buy)
While many artists spent 2009 in veritable coal mines of deepness in search of techno soul, the Moritz Von Oswald Trio found it in the power of their own musicianship. The heavily experimental Vertical Ascent, a masterpiece from a couple of guys who’ve had their hands in a lot of them over the years, didn’t immediately reveal itself as a possessor of club destroyers, but album opener “Pattern 1″ quickly became an adventurous jock’s best friend this year. Much has been made of Vladislav Delay’s show-stealing custom percussion antics, and the album offers no better display of his talents (or the sonic possibilities of his custom-built kit). But 14 minutes of eighth-notes, albeit one of the more personality-imbued simple riddims you’re ever likely to hear on a techno record, might never lift off the ground without Max Loderbauer’s and Moritz Von Oswald’s golden web of analog synth haze, murky mixing, and halftime bass stomp. More than any individual contribution, though, it’s the genuine chemistry of these three techno veterans that takes “Pattern 1″ from abstract dub chin-scratcher to ultra-deep, floor-ready freakout. A soul revival from three actual souls — who saw that one coming? (Jordan Rothlein)

21. Kassem Mosse, “Workshop008B1″
[Workshop] (buy)
You’re unlikely to find a tune moving slower than the B1 of Kassem Mosse’s mighty Workshop 08 on these year end charts, especially when considering that most DJs have to hit the 45 button to fit it into their sets at all. Its deliberate 95 beats per minute, however, are one of its defining, and best, features. The woozy, unstable atmosphere set up by the time-stretched darkness of Dettmann and wobbly analog jabs is heightened by the heady, narcotic thud the Workshop collective have made their own. Slowly gaining momentum over the past couple of years, 2009 was the year Kassem Mosse truly made his mark, exhibiting how the simple sounds coaxed from his analog machines could permanently attach themselves to audiences’ brains. Those looking for “hands in the air” moments steer clear; this one’s for the heads. (Chris Miller)

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[Vakant R]

It’s somewhat beyond me why we’re just now hearing the second remix package for Onur Özer’s Kasmir album two years after its release. Though it might seem a bit redundant, we’ve not heard much from the young Turk since Kasmir, so consider it a long overdue stopgap. Tardiness gripes aside, Özer will have bought himself a good chunk of time by enrolling Isolée and Baby Ford to remix “Innervoice” and “Aida” respectively as their interpretations will keep fans buzzing for some time.

Isolée drives “Innervoice” away from the suspense-filled, incidental Turkish orchestral hits that proliferated the original towards a grooving minimal funk epic. Sounding like he’s utilizing each part of the source material, Isolée clips most of the sounds into fragments of what they used to be, repackaging them around an acoustic double bass sound that drives the remix with an astonishingly effective, yet simple groove. Some of those Turkish horns turn up without the ethnic identity of the original take, here instead drawing attention to the electronic and organic contrasts of this outstanding remix.

On first contact Baby Ford’s remix of “Aida” comes across as an unyielding, impenetrable beige fortress, but studied inspection of those hessian-hued walls brings them crumbling down to reveal an inventive, finely nuanced piece of minimalism. Ford infects his hi-hats and other higher frequency percussion with such a strong sense of swing it feels like its breathing rhythmically throughout the track. Where the original played out with more melodic structure, it is this kinetic feeling that helps to carry the otherwise fairly barren remix as it highlights the slight use of other sounds, giving them even more onus. Whilst Baby Ford’s remix doesn’t have the same instant appeal as the original, its subtle turns and overall feel provide an excellent alternative.

Based on some of the stuff you read these days, you might think it was settled and agreed that we chalk up “October Nightingale” as a misstep in Rajko Müller’s respected career. Myself, I think it’s among the year’s highlights. Surely, plunging into the depths of “A Nightingale” was one of my spring’s richest pleasures. All this is rather beside the point, though, as 2009′s second Isolée record is something else entirely. “Albacares” uses a dipping, mildly kitsch bass guitar groove as the repetitious axis around which Isolée’s vast network of effects, artifacts, and doodads orbit and collaborate. Another of his fusions of disco, post-punk; and can we still use the term micro-house? The magic is in the details, which include jingling bells, sci-fi hums, and a little lover’s rock guitar. It’s a powerhouse of gleaming sound design, the track’s disparate elements drifting about your ear space, creating a big-room feel even on modest headphones. Not quite like anything in Isolée’s catalog, it’s nevertheless clearly the work of the mind behind “Rest,” “I Can’t Sleep All Night,” and “Schrapnell” — something I probably wouldn’t have said about his last record.

“Les Andalouses” is less of a departure, almost a hypothetical We Are Monster bonus track (y’know, for the $60 Japanese pressing). With a little less swing and a little more filter, this is the sort of percolating bits-and-bobbins house that ingratiated Isolée’s work to most of us in the first place. Where his other tracks from ’09 have stood out for all the ways they’re different, this one should assuage those who understandably wish Isolée never change. It’s a slight track, playing more as buzzing transition than hook-laden banger. Still, it’s definitely a pleasure to reminisce on the back-in-the-day with this old friend.