Rhythm Circus’ BEST OF 2011

My album of the year has got to be Lisa Hannigan’s Passenger. A beautiful album with each track carefully craftedcombining the unqiue instrumentation and haunting vocals. Personal favourites are the heartbreaking Little Bird and the bluesy Knots (the ultimate track to get me buzzed for a night out.) It’s not often that I can put on an album and listenthrough without skipping a few tracks, but in Passenger, every single song is an absolute delight and I could listen to it on repeat for a long time. > Rebecca O’Doherty

A blast from the past, I caught Snoop Doggy Dogs’ live at the o2. He dropped all the hits from the Doggy Style album which took me back to the smoke-filled rooms of my teenage years. (when we weren’t smoking, we were waiting) O2 was packed to capacity for the Dog Father who opened his set with a moving shout out to Nate Dog who we sadly lost early in the year to a stroke. Drop 2011 like its hot and role on 2012. > Adam Basil

Game of the year for this Batman super-fan without doubt is Arkham City. Allowing you to don the cape and cowl of the Dark Knight himself to face off against the deadliest members of the rogues gallery in a night from hell. No other game has come close to making you feel like Batman with not only the obvious combat skills being excellently represented but also the sense of preying on your foes and also a host of gadgets and gizmos helping you feel just like the worlds greatest detective.

Arkham City really game to life in the audio department with an epic soundtrack and a truly talented list of voice actors mostly from the fondly remembered 1990’s Batman the animated series including Kevin Conroy as Batman and of course the legendary Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker himself) giving life to the Joker as only he can in what could be his last performance, what a way to go out. > Jason Potter

We stumbled upon The King Blues at Bestival by chance because my girlfriend didn’t want to see Groove Armada. I was so blown away by their set that Punk and Poetry was the first album I looked up when I got home. The album itself is beautifully crafted, every song flows perfectly into the next and in terms of style moves from hard punk, through to ska with even some reflective poetry thrown in without losing any of the bands core character. > Mike Lovell

A refreshing take on a remix album We’re New Here is a thrilling combination of old and new talent. The album is more than just a rehashing of Gil Scott-Heron’s original material – Jamie XX’s understated, innovative production, which was a sensation in its own right this year, gets to the heart of Scott-Heron’s music while stamping it with his own style, achieving a perfect balance between the two. > Katie Shevlin

Album of the year for me is Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is A Fucking Liar, by Spank Rock. The Philadelphian Hip Hop King out-did himself over and over, track by track. A true work of musical art – despite snobby Rap critics’ harsh reviews. > Jan Hendrik

To paraphrase Highlander ‘There can be only one’ (winner) and that has to go to Skyrim for Game Of The Year. One of the most immersive games I have ever played, the graphics are on a par with the best, which considering the size of the game is no mean feat. The gameplay is great, well balanced and adapts to you style, finally the storyline is fantastic fun. This is a game to avoid if you value your social life. > Mike Lovell.

In October I found myself backstage at the UEA LCR photographing Orange and Suburban Legends, the two support groups for Bowling for Soup. The gig was so full of life and inspirational characters that no one in the room could help but smile. With all three acts performing including Bowling for Soup there was never a dull moment. Photographing this show allowed a chance for people to relive themoments and remember the good times, and it felt good knowing that I could contribute to this in my own way. > Ellie Mitchell

2011 was a bit of a damp squib for musical releases. Indeed, when compiling an end of year list of albums (see below) I inevitably found myself clutching at straws (see Yuck, see The Vaccines) in a vulgar attempt to pad it out to the elusive round number. Album of the year though goes to Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks’ Mirror Traffic, simply because it is the album I found myself listening to most during the latter half of the year, and the one from which I will take the most songs into my future with me.

After 2010’s illustrious Pavement reformation which saw the kings of indie slack tour the world and take up some pretty high profile festival slots, it was interesting to see how Malkmus would return to his new day-job. True, this album was mostly written and recorded before all that, but it retained a punky-pop sheen not seen since Steve’s self-titled 2001 album.

Gone were the proggy-slow jams of Real Emotional Trash, the scratchy lo-fi beatronica of Face The Truth, and the pysch-jazz refrains of Pig Lib, replaced instead with tuneful three-minute ditties such as the immediate ‘Tigers’, or the crunchy ‘Forever 28’. This was Malkmus back to his ditzy, faux-romanto best.
Looking ahead, albums to watch out for next year include: The Cribs, Pulled Apart By Horses, Blood Red Shoes, and Lee Renaldo – among others. > Alex Nelson

Part five of the long running and increasingly rich Elder Scrolls saga, Skyrim sees you take the mantle of the Dragonborn, the prophetic saviour of the eponymous homeland of the Nords; a rugged land torn apart by civil war and shaken by the return of the fabled dragons. It’s hard to believe that a game could be made that is simultaneously so vast and yet so full of intricate detail. Skyrim features over 100 hand crafted dungeons and countless colourful quests given by 1000s of fully voiced NPCs, but often it’s trekking across the immense, varied terrain that is most rewarding; windswept tundras and snow-clad pine forests each with their own diverse eco-systems, huge Dwarven ruins perched on craggy cliffs, fast flowing rivers that turn into 100 foot high waterfalls, and the constant threat that a terrifying and majestic dragon could appear at any moment. Every direction rewards you with a new discovery.

With Skyrim Bethesda have not only made an RPG of stunning depth that that seems to have galvanised the gaming community – succeeding in that impossible balancing act of providing a challenge to hardcore genre aficionados and yet an accessible and enjoyable experience to gamers unfamiliar with the genre – but set a new standard for the genre for the next decade. > Dean Bowman

Whilst it is not necessarily my favourite of the year, the film I most enjoy revisiting and discussing is Joe Wright’s Hanna. The story of a sixteen year old girl, reared by her father to be the perfect assassin, who is released into the world on her first mission: to find and kill the woman who murdered her mother. The film is fascinating for a number of reasons. Saoirse Ronan’s performance as the eponymous heroine is beautifully handled, the most interesting aspects of which being the nuances the young actress brings to a girl experiencing the sensory world for the first time. With a perfectly crafted soundtrack by The Chemical Brothers, music seems to bleed out of her surroundings.

Furthermore, thanks to its stylish camerawork and perfectly timed editing, Hanna is as visually exciting as its sound design deserves. With its folk-tale influences and a simple narrative, the film offers little in the way of surprise, presenting instead an archetypical story that is easily palatable. Wright infuses the archetypes with style and builds a sturdy bridge between pulp and art-house in this gorgeously violent coming-of-age action/thriller. See it. > Andy Wilson

Being a die-hard Indie/alternative fan all my life, I never thought I’d even listen to rap music, let alone watch & attend UK rap battles. Thanks to Dont Flop Entertainment, 2011 has been full of hilarious, serious, nasty, entertaining battles up and down good ol’ Blighty. > Francois