DOLCE’s Tracks of 2021

It’s been another year full of ups and downs, but 2021 has also seen the return of clubs and music festivals, plus a pantheon of amazing records released. As we all prepare to take a break over the festive period, we looked back on a bumper year for music to collate some of our favourite tracks from the past twelve months.

The year’s best albums include debuts from Ninja Tune-signed post-rock outfit Black Country, New Road and Australian singer-songwriter Maple Glider, while British-Nigerian rapper Little Simz’s fourth album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ expertly combined elements of soul, R&B and jazz alongside collaborations with artists like Sault’s Cleo Sol.

The final album from Tony Allen, once of Fela Kuti’s Africa ’70, reminded us of the Afrobeat pioneer’s untouchable drumming talents, while Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser made an emphatic appearance on the latest release by Oneohtrix Point Never. The legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, meanwhile, underwent a musical metamorphosis on the Mercury Prize-nominated ‘Movements’, a mercurial ambient jazz record made with Floating Points.

Elsewhere, experimental rap from John Glacier and a dancefloor banger from Manchester producer and NTS DJ Anz were mainstays on the office radio, as were cuts from new artists like Warp’s Nala Sinephro and Music From Memory’s The Zenmenn. Check out all of these, plus much more, on our Tracks of 2021 mix below!