10 Best Dance & Electronic Albums of 2022 – Selected by Sunil Sharpe

Music
23 Dec 22

Sunil Sharpe selects his top dance and electronic albums of 2022...

1. Of One
Feedback Loops 2 (Front End Synthetics)

Alan O’Boyle is a producer’s producer. Originally known as one-half of ‘90s Dublin trailblazers Decal – a moniker he later took on solo – there has arguably been no-one more influential in Irish electronic music. Pre-2000, Ireland’s small pool of producers didn’t really compete with our international counterparts. Decal was an exception, whose impact has now been carried on through decades, inspiring many of today’s most active beat-makers (DeFeKT being a notable example).

Sound-wise there’s something refreshingly rationed about this 10-track release. It again sees Alan fly solo under his ‘Of One’ alias, which in ways is Legion Of Two (his project with David Lacey) without the drums. A potent blend of guitar feedback and synths (including a Roland TB-303) form wild and foreboding sequences, with every track a lesson in developing tension through minimal elements and expert use of effects.

Personally, I’ve found this year to be fairly lean for inventive new dancefloor styles, and I’m not surprised it’s a release devoid of beats that has resonated with me most. Released on champion Dublin imprint Front End Synthetics, Feedback Loops 2 contains some of the most epically unhinged boulders of sound you’ll hear any time soon.

– Sunil Sharpe