SOS is joined by British music producer and sound artist Helm, who talks about how he found out about our show (he was an early patron of ours), being a free thinking musician in a deeply ideologically rigid culture, his career in music, and his refusal to let his music be politicized and his demand that his art be perceived as an aesthetic experience, not an ideological one. Beyond that, we poke at The Wire's Best of 2020 issue, and each of us talks about some of our favorite albums of the year (which can be selected below).

Helm's Favorite Records of 2020:

Wetware 'Flail' (https://wetware-nyc.bandcamp.com/album/flail)

Private World 'Aleph' (https://privateworld.bandcamp.com/album/aleph)

Oneohtrix Point Never 'Magic Oneohtrix Point Never' (https://oneohtrixpointnever.bandcamp.com/album/magic-oneohtrix-point-never)

Rasberry Bulbs 'Before the Age of Mirrors' (https://raspberrybulbs.bandcamp.com/album/before-the-age-of-mirrors)

Nazar 'Guerilla' (https://nazar.bandcamp.com/album/guerrilla)

Ben's Favorite Records of 2020:

Tigran Hamasyan  'The Call Within' (https://tigranhamasyan.bandcamp.com/album/the-call-within)

William Basinski 'Lamentations' (https://williambasinski.bandcamp.com/album/lamentations)

Nils Frahm 'Empty' (https://nilsfrahm.bandcamp.com/album/empty)

Amulets 'Severed Teas' (https://amulets.bandcamp.com/album/severed-seas)

Adam's Favorite Records of 2020:

Duma 'Duma' (https://nyegenyegetapes.bandcamp.com/album/duma)

Mosquitoes 'Minus Objects' (https://evernever-records.bandcamp.com/album/minus-objects)

Komare 'The Sense of Hearing' (https://penultimatepress.bandcamp.com/album/the-sense-of-hearing-lp)

KA 'Descendants of Cain' (https://brownsvilleka.com/collections/digital-downloads/products/descendants-of-cain)

BONUS: Adam's full list of 2020 music recommendations can be found here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dSmAeJDnuR_dNfzi3Dnq2KTRv8g2TnOilk1RrnPYLg8/edit

Links:

Fact Mag interview with Helm: https://www.factmag.com/2015/06/20/helm-interview-olympic-mess-pan/

The Quietus reviews Helm's 'Chemical Flowers': https://thequietus.com/articles/26511-helm-chemical-flowers-review

VICE interview with Helm: https://www.vice.com/en/article/wnn5qq/a-night-in-cairo-with-helms-luke-younger

Helm's Radio Show: https://www.nts.live/shows/helm