Here are Mantis Radio’s fifty favourite releases of last year, 2020.

Our list contains artists you’re familiar with, Weatherall, Krust, Moodymann, clipping, and Regis to ones you’ll be less familiar with but will have stood out on the show. From the lush drone of South Africa’s KMRU and London’s The Inventors of Aircraft right through to Kenyan grindcore and Duma.

Industrial doom duo Khost delivered another amazing album, who would feature via a remix by Warcrimes on Darkfloor’s annual Winter Solstice compilation, raising money for awareness and support for those with autism.

US abstract hip-hop label Deathbomb Arc had another strong year, with Lauren Bousfield’s experimental electronics leaving so much in her wake. As does clipping’s phenomenal LP. John Monkman shone brightly with his beautiful downtempo ambient. The minimal EBM of Phase Fatale sounds fantastic. As does the slamming Russian electro of Locked Club. Luke Lund’s mutant dub manifestations resonate hard as did the dub of Ao Inoue early in the year and Dadub’s phenomenal album for Ohm Resistance –  another label with a strong year of releases, including a stunning slab of sound design from Death Qualia. Dodssang Tempel were a new discovery – with their  choral noise having a big impact, they also featured on our solstice comp. As did the label that release came via – Deathbed Tapes – who put out several of the releases on our list, including Primitive Knot and God Is War.

High tempo material is also represented with searing techstep from Tech Itch’s Brakken, Justin K Broadrick’s revised Tech Level 2 project, Diasiva’s high grade drum & bass, the return of Bristol bass messiah Krust, and abstract jungle bass from FFT. And of course techno and electro, the backbone of the show is here too – Jasmine Infiniti, Subsist’s Julixo, Peder Mannerfelt, Regis, Isabella, Shawn Rudiman and Ilian Tape’s Andrea.

For those releases available on Bandcamp there is a buy music club list, or click through individually from the list.

fifty favourites

Alex Banks – Tephra [Mesh]
Andrea – Ritorno [Ilian Tape]
Andrew Weatherall – Unknown Plunderer [ByrdOut]
Ao Inoue – Richa Negri [Mole Audio]
Autumns – You Are Now Listening To Autumns [Opal Tapes]
Ballpeen – Pacinko [Cruel Nature Records]
bleed Air – bleed Air [Superpolar Taïps]
Brakken – TX – LP [Tech Itch Recordings]
clipping – Visions of Bodies Being Burned [Sub Pop]
Dadub – Hypersynchron [Ohm Resistance]
Death Qualia – Fanged Contradition [Ohm Resistance]
Diasiva – Asunder [Acroplane Recordings]
Dodssang Tempel – Dodssang Tempel [deathbed tapes]
Duma – Duma [Nyege Nyege Tapes]
Eternal Rot – Putridarium [Godz Ov War]
FFT – Month / Sacrifice (The Truth Mix) [Bruk Records]
Filmmaker – Eternal Return [Tartarus Records]
God Is War – Plucking The Sun Out Of The Sky [deathbed tapes]
Isabella – Melody Depleted [iDEAL Recordings]
Jasmine Infiniti – Bxtch Släp [Jasmine Infiniti]
Jaye Jayle – Prisyn [Sargent House]
JOHN 3:16 – Tempus Edax Rerum [Alrealon Musique]
John Monkman – Asriel [Beesemyer Music]
Julixo – From Dub to Electro, VHS Sounds [Subsist]
Khost – Buried Steel [Cold Spring Records]
KMRU – Peel [Editions Mego]
Krust – The Edge of Everything [Crosstown Rebels]
La Breiche – Le Rite [Cold Spring Records]
Lauren Bousfield – Palimpsest [Deathbomb Arc]
Lip Critic – Lip Critic II [Cruel Nature Records]
Locked Club – Russian Banya [PRIVATE PERSONS]
Luke Lund – Hopium [Ohm Resistance]
Mike Nylons – Eneme I [Farbwechsel]
Moodymann – Taken Away [KDJ]
nthng – Hypnotherapy [Lobster Theremin]
patten – GLOW [555-5555]
Peder Mannerfelt – Like We Never Existed [Voam]
Phase Fatale – Scanning Backwards [Ostgut Ton]
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals [Rocket Recordings]
Ploy – Unlit Signals [L.I.E.S. Records]
Primitive Knot – Lost Wisdom [deathbed tapes]
Regis – Hidden In The Light That You Miss [Downwards]
Sam Lee – Old Wow [Cooking Vinyl]
Shawn Rudiman – Conduit [Pittsburgh Tracks]
Tech Level 2 – Revolve [Avalanche Recordings]
thatboytim and Sonika – Interdimensional Drift [Takeover Recordings]
The Inventors of Aircraft – Twenty-third of the Third [whitelabelrecs]
Thomas Köner – Motus [Mille Plateaux]
XQST – EA [Isla]
Zavoloka – Ornament [Prostir]