Sounds & Sights of Silva - Favorites of 2024
Zach's Top Albums, Songs, and Experiences of Last Year
Finally, after another year of adventures, I’ve settled back home for the winter and have had time to process everything I just experienced. It took a month into the new year to get a hang of my thoughts and put words to paper – I could say it’s due to the sheer breadth of things I witnessed, but in all honesty it was a bit of holiday hangover. The January Blues were real.
I continued to travel the world in the name of music and making meaningful connections with people and places, taking me to Seoul, Sydney, Kyoto, and Yunnan Province for my first time, and return trips to Beijing, Guangzhou, Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo. I even made my way out to Shaolin temple and watched some intense kung fu performances way up in the mountains of central China.
And I’m pretty sure I couldn’t keep myself from buying a CD or record or tape or magazine in every single one of these places. It’s unfathomable to think about how in every single one of these places, near and distant, a unique culture and scene around it exists only unto itself, not worrying about what outsiders think. Bright and inspiring, whether it’s their professional calling or simply part of their everyday lives, they are the fuel and future of so many of these communities.
My journey is on a brief hiatus, but in the meantime, I’ll be publishing more podcast episodes with intriguing themes and music new to your ears and snapshots new to your eyes.
Check out some of my favorite music from last year, both in nerdy spreadsheet and playlist form, as well as a few handpicked experiences I’d like to highlight.
Full Spreadsheet of Favorite Albums & Concerts From 2024
Listen to the full playlist of Zach’s 2024 favorites.
Manning Fireworks - MJ Lenderman
Undisputably, the album that I played most frequently in 2024 was Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman, formerly guitarist in the very very loud indie rock group Wednesday but taking a more folk rock-y turn with his debut solo record. I think from the first single “She’s Leaving You”, I was pretty much immediately obsessed. It’s a very singable record with really clever turns of phrase and scenarios, and really simply a fun, unique rock record which is rare these days.
Hotel La Rut – Joanna Wang
I actually discovered my favorite release from Taiwan late in the year, a fortunate stumble upon a carnival ride of musicasl vignettes on the album Hotel La Rut by Joanna Wang. The songs veer between Magnetic Fields ditties, They Might Be Giants jaunts, and Regina Spektor tunes, but all have their own personality as Joanna Wang constructs a story and persona over the course of 23 songs. It’s joyous.
Clockenflap Festival
I’m pretty sure I mentioned this festival in my 2023 recap, but Clockenflap in Hong Kong has quickly become one of my favorite events every year. The setting on the waterfront, the incredibly diverse and attention-capturing curation by the festival buyers, and the representation of Hong Kong culture that the festival prides itself on makes for a fun time. This year especially, they invited two of my long-time favorite artists, Jack White and St. Vincent, to perform. It had been a while since I saw either, and to see them perform abroad in a new environment and still kick a lot of butt as usual (and play songs they don’t usually play at home) just confirms why I’ve been a fan for as long as they’ve been releasing music. And many others local to the region also stunned with their sets: The Black Skirts from South Korea, Lucid Express from Hong Kong, FAZI from Xi’an, China, and so many more that I otherwise probably would have not had the opportunity to see live in concert.
On Tour in Japan with mui zyu
I had the great fortune of traveling with the artist mui zyu for their tour dates in Asia – starting in Hong Kong, welcoming them to my adopted home of Taipei, and finally hitting the road for shows in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kyoto in Japan. It was my first experience on tour, the day to day fatigue of driving and sound-checking and performing and drinking and not enough sleep finally palpable to me, someone who is usually organizing these details at a desk in front of a computer screen. The venues were stunning in their own unique ways, whether under a subway overpass or in a loft by the river in Kyoto, and as seen in the above photo, under a full moon. mui zyu are brilliant artists, in a way where fans were going up to them saying “I didn’t expect where your songs ended up going”, which should be taken as a compliment. Definitely will keep this touring experience close to me for a while.
Follow the full playlist of Sounds of Silva featured tracks.
Listen to Zach’s radio show archive for Friend From A Big City on Deadbeat Radio.