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AVENOIR
MUSIC VIDEO SELECTION words by Brandon Chiseko
SOLANGE KNOWLES D o n ’ t To u c h M y H a i r
A N D E R S O N PA A K Malibu
CLIENT LIAISON Diplomatic Immunity
The sole non-Australian artist on this list is also, in my fair and humble opinion, the master behind 2016’s best music album. Paak’s frighteningly groovy California neo-soul is one for the ages. Alternately smooth and furious, boppin’ and heartfelt, euphoric and devastating, his intensely infectious dance beats, lyrical wealth and diverse instrumental range emphatically created a hiphop/R&B masterpiece that rivals Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” as the decade’s best of the genre.
Melbourne duo Monte Morgan and Harvey Miller teased their genius to us with a slight but brilliant EP released back in 2014, but I don’t think anyone could have expected the visionary 80s-themed indie-electronic hybrid their first full-length album ended up being. Effervescently upbeat, delightfully camp and groovy as all hell, Liaison’s debut was the purest dance-floor filler released this entire year.
TOP TRACKS: Am I Wrong, Come Down, The Bird
TOP TRACKS: Wild Life, Home, World of Our Love
The videography on “Don’t Touch My Hair” perfectly glued together the strong themes of empowered identity that drove the album. By using tastefully selected locations, blissful scenes of men and women dancing in earth tone robes and using only black performers to empower women of colour, encouraged respect for their natural qualities.
FRANK OCEAN NIKE’S
KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD
DD DUMBO
Nonagon Infinity
Utopia Defeated
Easily the most prolific band in Australia, newly coronated kings of psychedelia Gizzard have knocked it out of the park yet again with their eighth full-length album in half as many years. Wildly energetic performances bolstered by hilariously quirky lyrics and a keen eye for experimentation, “Infinity” and its promotional tours exhibited some of the purest, most explosive musical experiences of the entire year.
Utterly self-created, produced and sustained, oneman show Oliver Hugh Perry’s undeniably unique musical vision is nothing short of hypnotic. Beautiful melodies and soulful vocals fuse together with surreal sounds and highly textured arrangements to create an incredibly inventive sound that has deservedly earned him plaudits and fans galore. A contemporary Australian treasure, and quite possibly a legend in the making.
TOP TRACKS: Robot Stop, Gamma Knife, Evil Death Roll
TOP TRACKS: Walrus, Satan, Oyster by Pa trick McCart hy
Following his mysterious disappearance after the release of Grammy Award winning project Channel Orange, his enigmatic behaviour turned him into a cultural icon through the power of social media driving ‘Nikes’ video to major success. The video projects powerful messages about the music industry to Ocean’s life in the years after Channel Orange. He makes clever references to the social and cultural shifts during his brief hiatus - a montage of imagery displaying diversity coercing with sexuality.