Zach's Favorite Music of 2023
Annual List of Albums, Songs, & Concerts
I’ve probably listened to more music this year than any other year I’ve been alive.
The nature of traveling has introduced me to a more diverse array of artists and genres than I’m used to. The most important thing this has taught me is that the music industry shouldn’t revolve around the West. There are exciting music scenes and supportive music communities around the world, everywhere.
I attended concerts in SEVEN different countries, from small coffeeshop gigs in Taiwan, to rollicking indie at Esplanade’s rock club in Singapore, to a summer Central Park showcase, and finally a full-on beachfront music festival in Quanzhou, China.
I spoke with record shop attendants, label owners, Front-of-House engineers, artist managers and the musicians themselves, fans from all walks – the whole music industry ecosystem.
To my Indonesian music journalist friend who explained why Bandung is infatuated with The Rolling Stones; to the cassette shop owners in Bangkok who sat me down and played me music from their favorite Thai artists; to the Taiwanese music legend who opened his doors to me at the same time as his influential coffeeshop was closing; to everyone who stood next to me at a concert this year, or waited for me to finish browsing at a record shop – thank you, and let’s do it all again in 2024.
While I’ve kept a tradition of ranking my favorite albums of the year, the list this year was too diverse and difficult to pare down to just a few.
All the albums that made an impact on me in any way:
Spreadsheet of my 2023 concert calendar:
Full Viewable Spreadsheet of Albums and Concerts here.
Highlights from Zach’s Year in Music 2023:
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - V
One of my top records of the year is from a trusted favorite, Unknown Mortal Orchestra from New Zealand. Ruban Nielsen is consistent yet ever-evolving as a songwriter and newest album V is another psych-rock classic.
i’mdifficult Live at Yucheng Recording Studio
I was fortunate to attend the release concert for the Taiwanese group i’mdifficult, an intimate cinema-turned-recording-studio where their newest album was tracked. And the space complemented the intimate, emotional songs on their sophomore self-titled release. Ernest and Hsuan have such clear voices, I’m convinced of every heart-breaking word they sing. My favorite is the album closer “Bottom of the Hill”:
“Something inside me just wants to pull the fire alarm/ Let chaos decide which house to tear apart/ I could be rotting here or rotting somewhere else/ I’ve seen worse but this is at the bottom of the hill.”
Enji - Ulaan
A discovery late in the year, Enji is a Mongolian singer with a sweet voice. Between Enji, Ichiko Aoba, Paige Su, and other similar artists, I’ve found that traditional folk or Jazz music, while traditionally emphasizing lyrics and storytelling, doesn’t necessarily need translation to get across the powerful emotions they aim to evoke.
boygenius - “Not Strong Enough”
My favorite song of the year, without question. boygenius (Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus) had themselves a career year headlined by this highly acclaimed group full-length debut and a huge tour. This is quite simply three artists at the top of their games coming together to record a gem.
Clockenflap Music Festival, Hong Kong, December 2023
My last music experience of the year was in Hong Kong at the renowned Clockenflap Music Festival. An incredible mix of legendary artists (Pulp, De La Soul), indie favorites (Caroline Polachek, IDLES, Leah Dou), and acclaimed up-and-comers (YOASOBI, No Party for Cao Dong, NYPD, Tilly Birds) – I got a glimpse of the present-day state of the music industry in Asia and I can tell you: the future is bright.
Full Spreadsheet of Albums and Concerts here.
Check out a playlist of Zach’s full list of favorite music from the year here.
What were your favorites? What did I miss? Let me know.