2024 was a good year, both in releases and also in discovering new music, so I needed to break my favourites list of 2024 into several parts, so it’s easier for you to check them and add them to your playlists. Youtube links offered for convenience, but you can copy the titles and paste them into SoulSeek your favourite streaming service.
MONDO GROSSO / ラビリンス // Labyrinth
City pop like no other, gotta love this one.
MONDO GROSSO / IN THIS WORLD feat. 坂本龍一［Vocal：満島ひかり］
Another banger from Mondo Grosso, this time featuring the late Ryuichi Sakamoto next to the wonderful vocals of Hikari Mitsushima. Definitely a masterpiece.
LiSA『ブラックボックス』// LiSA - Black Box
The theme song of the first half of NieR:Automata v1.1a anime, this is definitely an earworm.
Aimer – escalate
The opening song of the second half of the abovementioned anime is just as good and hits like a truck.
amazarashi 『アンチノミー』// amazarashi — Antinomy
Yes, I’ve watched a lot of NieR:Automata this year and “Antinomy” is one of the best of its soundtrack.
Keiichi Okabe – Weight of the World/壊レタ世界ノ歌
Probably one of the best songs an anime has to offer, it’s just a masterpiece.
Buongiorno Italia!
Italians also have great music and I picked a few that I discovered this year.
Giolì & Assia - GOD DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE (2024)
While technically the duo is singing in English, these two ladies are Italian, as demonstrated by their good talent and awesome looks. The song is really good and it’s definitely a banger.
Annalisa - Sinceramente (2024)
Not gonna say too much about this. I still believe it was the strongest song of Sanremo 2024 and was a strong contender for Eurovision.
Giusy Ferreri - Federico Fellini
One of the best voices in Italian music (and not only) brings us a soft and heartfelt masterpiece.
Songs in Russian
Following the continuous exploration of Russian culture through music and movies, I discovered some great songs by artists from the bear country or singing in Russian.
Би-2 — Я двигаюсь дальше (2023)
Да пусть мир тормозит
И пусть небо горит
Но я двигаюсь дальше
Let the world slow down
And let the sky burn But I’m moving on
Bi-2 once again releases a great song which keeps them on the list of the best Russian bands ever, even if their work is banned there.
Би-2 – Не зли моих ангелов (2024)
2024 brought a strong new song from Bi-2, another great song from Leva and Shura
Molchat Doma - Zvezdy // Молчат Дома - Звёзды
Great video for a great song from Molchat Doma, the Belarussian post-punk band.
Molchat Doma - Kletka // Молчат Дома - Клетка
Judging by their songs and their videos, you wouldn’t know that they now reside in Los Angeles and tour around the world. Awesome mood band.
Бутусов - Девушка по городу
Девушка по городу шагает босиком
A girl walks barefoot through the city
Not all Russian music is moody and gloomy, some songs are uplifting and fun.
Sirotkin – Планы на это лето
Планы на это лето
Музыка на кассетах
Путаться на вокзалах
Кутаться в одеяло
Plans for this Summer
Music on cassettes
Getting tangled up at train stations
Wrapping ourselves in a blanket
Melancholy is always one of the main traits of the songs of Sergei Sirotkin and this punches like a train. Awesome song.
Сироткин, FEDUK – Никто не любит быть один
Just like the title says, “No one likes to be alone”, another melancholic and uplifting song.
This list is not the end, some more articles will follow soon.
