Best of 2014 Lorde, SBTRKT and curation in 2014

Curation shows up in many exciting forms, none more so than in 2014, where split releases seemed more prominent than ever, the same for unique events, mini-festivals and big releases.

Whether it’s a slight leg up or an outright endorsement, new artists have been given backing by celebrated names through several curious means, this year.

The most obvious form comes in inviting a slew of special guests to bring a record to life. Aaron Jerome aka SBTRKT is arguably the most prominent figure in doing exactly this. He says it’s out of necessity, the fact that unlike a peer such as Hudson Mohawke, he needs a collaborator to take certain songs to another level. Second album ‘Wonder Where We Land’ is proof of that. He invites teen Raury into the spotlight (even bringing the Atlantan on the record’s first tour), providing Denai Moore with her biggest moment to date with the melancholy of ‘The Light’. Most notably, he sticks with Sampha, whose voice practically defines the SBTRKT sound by this point. In between a self-titled debut in 2011 and today, his vocals become more iconic, lending itself to Drake’s ‘Too Much’, the Londoner’s first full-length still in waiting.