Staff Lists: The Crack Magazine team pick their 2022 highlights
The music, moments, items and artists that got us through this seemingly never-ending year.
Louise Brailey
Editor
Top 10 albums:
1. Romeó Poirier – Living Room
2. Dale Cornish – Traditional Music of South London
3. Lucrecia Dalt – ¡Ay!
4. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
5. Ethel Cain – Preacher’s Daughter
6. Persher – Man With the Magic Soap
7. Binker & Moses – Feeding the Machine
8. Rainy Miller – Desquamation (Fire, Burn. Nobody)
9. Maral – Ground Groove
10. Whatever the Weather – Whatever the Weather
A musical moment from this year?
It’s Magic Hour at Glastonbury. At the Other Stage, Olivia Rodrigo brings out Lily Allen to a rapturous reception. She sings Fuck You – a less-than-coded response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade. The whole thing probably looks utterly strange out of context, but it made absolutely perfect sense in the moment.
An artist discovery?
Romeó Poirier.
What held you down in 2022?
Various nootropic supplements, deadlifting, smart trousers.
Rachel Grace Almeida
Deputy Editor
Top 10 tracks:
1. Nick León – Xtasis ft. DJ Babatr
2. bar italia – Miracle Crush
3. Villager – Rave Bender
4. Lucrecia Dalt – Atemporal
5. Bad Bunny – Tití Me Preguntó
6. Fontaines D.C. – Jackie Down the Line
7. Eartheater – Mitosis
8. Ruby Goon – Cold Wind
9. Rosalía – Diablo
10. Pariah – Caterpillar
A musical moment(s) from this year?
Charli dropping Vroom Vroom in Berlin and dancing with my six months pregnant best friend. Hopping out of a conversation mid-sentence with Gabe Szatan’s dad upon hearing Gabe drop A-Trak’s Heads Will Roll remix during an impromptu set at his own wedding. Feeling extremely 30+ and having to do back exercises after coming out of stage dive retirement at Turnstile (worth it, obv).
An artist discovery?
Daniela Lalita.
What held you down in 2022?
Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream.
IG post of the year?
View this post on Instagram
2022 in a track – and why?
Miracle Crush by bar italia – because all crushes are tiny miracles. Because some love songs are moody and unfinished and doomed, and longing is an inevitability of life, romantic or otherwise! That very much speaks to my 2022 mood – lots of feelings about every little thing. And lots of guitars in B minor.
Jasmine Kent-Smith
Audio Manager
Top 10 tracks:
1. Shygirl – Firefly
2. Overmono – Gunk
3. Ethel Cain – Everytime
4. Beyoncé – Alien Superstar
5. Organ Tapes – Heaven Can Wait
6. Orion Sun – intro
7. Charli XCX – Move Me
8. FKA twigs – Darjeeling ft. Jorja Smith & Unknown T
9. Slikback, Hot in Da Club – IN DA BACK
10. Emeka Ogboh – Ayilara
A musical moment from this year?
Watching on from backstage as SHERELLE – one of the best in the biz and a stupidly talented former colleague of mine – did her thing at We Out Here festival. Pure joy, all the vibes and plenty of screw-facing.
Tweet of the year?
S/o Hessle Audio. 15yrs jus peacefully doin the werk and not inna no nonsense w no 1.
Jus drinkin cups of tea in berghain and sharing 1 cn of beer btwn 3 on stage.
Gd boys
— Scratchclart (@ScratchaDVA) October 6, 2022
2022 in a track – any why?
I tried to think of something funny, or particularly timely, for this one. I failed. Instead, let’s go for Crying for No Reason by Katy B. Why? It’s been emosh.
What held you down in 2022?
I have multiple: my weighted blanket, a two-litre water bottle, and – much like last year – the Calm app. God, I sound boring…
Kez Cochrane
News Writer
Top 10 albums/EPs:
1. Alex G – God Save the Animals
2. Ariel Zetina – Cyclorama
3. They Hate Change – Finally, New
4. Liturgy – As the Blood of God Bursts the Veins of Time
5. Iceboy Violet – The Vanity Project
6. Sarahsson – The Horgenaith
7. Daniela Lalita – Trececerotres
8. Shovel Dance Collective – The Water is the Shovel of the Shore
9. Moin – Paste
10. Show Me the Body – Trouble the Water
A musical moment from this year?
Chelsea Manning DJing at Trans Pride South West.
An artist discovery?
Piglet.
What held you down in 2022?
Chilli Daddy – if you know, you know.
IG post of the year?
Minions are aesthetic terrorism , this did not need to exist pic.twitter.com/7clBw9SlG7
— 𝔊𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 (@Grimezsz) August 4, 2022
Annie Parker
Social Media Coordinator
Top 10 tracks:
1. Safety Trance – El Alma Que Te Trajo ft. Arca
2. XHOSA – Push It (X-Coast VIP)
3. Hudson Mohawke – Bicstan
4. Jockstrap – Jennifer B
5. Pariah – Frogspawn
6. Moin – Yep Yep
7. Rush Davis & Kingdom – Pretty Boy Venom
8. Duval Timothy – Mutate
9. Swimful – Translation to Heaven
10. HANAH – Solo
TikTok of the year?
@itsbigod Dog knows whos the alpha #dog #alpha #sigma #fy #fyp #bark #speedbark ♬ Originalton – BigoD
What held you down in 2022?
Has to be my dog.
An artist discovery?
I simply cannot choose one! Alabaster DePlume, James Ferraro, Westerman, Mary Lattimore, BNNY, Rei Harakami… what a great year.
2022 in a track – and why?
Arthur Russell – Just a Blip. Why? The year has been a big old blip. Hoping 2023 will be a bit less of a blip.
Tope Olufemi
Digital Content Coordinator
Top 10 tracks:
1. Jockstrap – Jennifer B
2. Big Thief – 12,000 Lines
3. Infinite Bisous – Anchor
4. Rosalía – BIZCOCHITO
5. Arctic Monkeys – Jet Skis On The Moat
6. Black Country, New Road – The Place Where He Inserted the Blade
7. Denzel Himself – Am Alive
8. Jockstrap – Glasgow
9. Maurice II – izzitwurkinfoya
10. Xavier Out! – Artifi001
A musical moment from this year?
Seeing Jockstrap live in London this September and belting Glasgow with Babymorocco.
An artist discovery?
Cakedog.
What held you down in 2022?
Chicken and mushroom Pot Noodles while I battled my dissertation, and my green beanie.
TikTok of the year?
@blackxnoise
2022 in a track – and why?
Modern Soul by James Blake, because I too want it to be over.
Manu Rodriguez
Associate Graphic Designer
Top 10 tracks:
1. Alizzz – Que pasa nen
2. Newdad – Say It
3. Cariño – si quieres
4. Pale Waves – Reasons to Live
5. Fontaines D.C. – Roman Holiday
6. Boy Harsher & BOAN – Machina ft. Mariana Saldaña
7. Rigoberta Bandini & Amaia – Así Bailaba
8. MUNA – What I Want
9. Paramore – This Is Why
10. Wet Leg – Chaise Long
A musical moment from this year?
Seeing the powerful presence of Fontaines D.C. at Flow 2022 and the feelings they provoke in the audience.
An artist discovery?
Boy Harsher and Nuovo Testamento – a bit late, I know!
What held you down in 2022:
My massage gun and 111Skin moisturiser.
TikTok of the year?
@albacarrascocaro #OOTD ♬ sonido original – Alba Carrasco Caro
2022 in a track:
Wet Leg’s Chaise Longue.
Duncan Harrison
Projects Director
Top 10 albums:
1. SAULT – 11, Untitled (God), Earth, Aiir and Today & Tomorrow
2. Issy Wood – My Body, Your Choice
3. Lil Silva – Yesterday is Heavy
4. Beyoncé – Renaissance
5. Alex G – God Save the Animals
6. Rachika Nayar – Heaven Come Crashing
7. Ethel Cain – Preacher’s Daughter
8. Oliver Sim – Hideous Bastard
9. Wu-Lu – Loggerhead
10. Harry Styles – Harry’s House
A musical moment from this year?
Around eight of my friends bought t-shirts at a bar italia gig and now they have text each other before hanging out to check they don’t clash.
What held you down in 2022?
The chapter of Matthew Perry’s autobiography where he talks about going out with Julia Roberts and the chapter where he talks about ’Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’.
Tweet of the year?
Legs are coming soon! Are you excited? 🎉 pic.twitter.com/SB6qSepKm4
— Meta Horizon (@MetaHorizon) October 11, 2022
Benjamin Brook
Head of Video Production
Top 10 albums:
1. Rainy Miller – Desquamation (Fire, Burn. Nobody)
2. Lil Silva – Yesterday is Heavy
3. Jockstrap – I Love You Jennifer B
4. Shygirl – Nymph
5. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
6. Mount Kimbie – MK 3.5: Die Cuts | City Planning
7. Nilüfer Yanya – PAINLESS
8. Jeshi – Universal Credit
9. Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
10. Jean Dawson – CHAOS NOW*
A musical moment from this year?
Sugababes at Glastonbury.
An artist discovery?
Lil Silva.
2022 in a track – and why?
DJ Daddy Trance’s Day ‘n’ Nite thanks to I. JORDAN dropping this in their Glastonbury set.
TikTok of the year?
@mcfc.erin Yah alright🧌 #haaland #erling #erlinghaaland #football #mancity #grealish #jackgrealish #manchester #manchestercity #city #citeh #yorkshire #impression #accent #fyp #foryoupage #funny ♬ original sound – logan
Tom Rutterford
Advertising Manager
Top 10 tracks:
1. Fontaines D.C – Jackie Down the Line
2. Pusha T – Let The Smokers Shine The Coupes
3. Shygirl – Firefly
4. Mount Kimbie – f1 racer ft. KUČKA
5. Jeshi – Generation
6. Ploy – Ninety One
7. George Riley – Delusion
8. rRoxymore – Midnight Shift
9. Joy Orbison – pinky ring
10. Kae Tempest – Nothing to Prove
A musical moment from this year?
Got to be the 15 years of Hessle Audio set at Dekmantel this summer – unreal as always.
Luke Sutton
Commercial Director
Top 10 tracks:
1. Cristobal Tapia De Veer – White Lotus Theme (Season 2)
2. MUNA – Kind of Girl
3. Arctic Monkeys – Body Paint
4. Eliza Rose, Interplanetary Criminal – B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)
5. Ethel Cain – Hard Times
6. Tove Lo – No One Dies From Love
7. Blondshell – Kiss City
8. Charli XCX – Move Me
9. FKA twigs – oh my love
10. Drake – Massive
An artist discovery?
bar italia.
What held you down in 2022?
Caroline Polachek PANG cap.
TikTok of the year?
@rodgercleye #vroomvroom #charliexcx #cleye ♬ Vroom Vroom – Charli XCX
Oscar Henson
Head of Advertising and Partnerships
Top 10 albums/EPs
1. Romeo Poirier – Living Room
2. Salamanda – ashbalkum
3. Rosalia – MOTOMAMI
4. Oren Ambarchi – Ghosted
5. Organ Tapes – 唱着那无人问津的歌谣（Chang Zhe Na Wu Ren Wen Jin De Ge Yao)
6. Moin – Paste
7. Florist – Florist
8. Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
9. The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
10. Sam Prekop & John McEntire – Sons Of
A musical moment from this year?
Back at Glastonbury for the first time in nearly a decade and crying my eyes out to Phoebe Bridgers, Big Thief, Kacey Musgraves and just about everybody else I saw.
An artist discovery?
I have two: abentis and Hussko.
What held you down in 2022?
The snack bowl in Crack’s London office.
2022 in a track – and why?
About You by The 1975, because I have simply listened to it 100,000 times.
Leah Foster
Junior Graphic Designer
Top 10 tracks:
1. Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile ft. Tiana Major9
2. Kendrick Lamar – Father Time ft. Sampha
3. Nicki Minaj – Super Freaky Girl
4. Beyoncé – CUFF IT
5. Steve Lacy – Mercury
6. Omar Apollo – Evergreen
7. Pusha T – Just So You Remember
8. Eliza Rose, Interplanetary Criminal – B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)
9. Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion – Sweetest Pie
10. Billy Nomates – Spite
TikTok of the year?
@clairekgroves On this episode of selling sunset: #tcu #kesha #sellingsunset #viral #trending #sellingsunset #sellingsunsetnetflix #college #concerts #keshatiktok #fall #viralvideo ♬ Cannibal – Ke$ha
What held you down in 2022?
Greggs vegan sausage rolls.
2022 in a track?
Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal – B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All).
Charlotte Jackson
Product Manager
Top 10 albums/EPs:
1. Charlotte Adigéry, Bolis Pupul – Topical Dancer
2. Beyoncé – RENAISSANCE
3. Ezra Collective – Where I’m Meant To Be
4. FKA twigs – CAPRISONGS
5. Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen
6. Kai Whiston – Quiet As Kept, F.O.G.
7. DJ Lag – Meeting With the King
8. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
9. Hagan – Textures
10. Shygirl – Nymph
A musical moment from this year?
Watching Jamz Supernova award Little Simz the 2022 Mercury Prize. Iconic.
IG post of the year?
The gorgeous twigs / Eartheater holiday photo dumps.
An artist discovery?
Robert Glasper
Hannah White
Product Assistant
Top 10 albums/EPs:
1. Alex G – God Save The Animals
2. Rosalía – MOTOMAMI
3. Rico Nasty – Las Ruinas
4. Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry
4. FKA twigs – CAPRISONGS
6. Kai Whiston – Quiet As Kept, F.O.G.
7. Jockstrap – I Love You Jennifer B
8. Two Shell – Icons
9. Daphni – Cherry
10. Warpaint – Radiate Like This
A musical moment from this year?
Losing all of my friends just before Megan Thee Stallion’s show at Glastonbury – I randomly ended up stood next to Nick Grimshaw for the entire set and we screamed the words to Thot Shit together.
An artist discovery?
Earthnut – a South West duo producing a concoction of genre-defying bangers. Glitchy, experimental sounds expertly crafted for the dancefloor.
What held you down in 2022:
Interchangeably: miso soup, Olaplex, the moon, that Uniqlo bag, and Married At First Sight UK.
TikTok of the year?
@starvemykids sharp cheddar at the function