2019 Top Ten Spotlight: DJ Alex

Over the past few weeks, we've been spotlighting our KEXP DJs Top Albums of 2019. Check out the Top 90.3 Albums of 2019, as voted on by our listeners, and check out more top albums from KEXP DJs here.

DJ Alex's 2019 Top Ten Albums

Pacific Notions

Midnight in a Perfect World

Expansions

DJ Alex hosts Pacific Notions, on the air Sunday morning, 6 -9 AM PT. He also curates our Midnight in a Perfect World series, airing Friday nights at midnight, and is one of the hosts of Expansions, on the air Sunday nights, 9 PM-midnight. See more of Alex's 2019 favorites below.

LPs // #11-#25 (VARIETY)
(Sandy) Alex G - House Of Sugar (Domino)
Anderson .Paak - Ventura (Aftermath Entertainment)
Angelo De Augustine - Tomb (Asthmatic Kitty)
Caroline Polachek - Pang (Columbia)
Clairo - Immunity (FADER)
Denzel Curry - ZUU (Loma Vista Recordings)
Emmett Kai - Baby Hits! (UNISEX)
FKA twigs - MAGDALENE (Young Turks)
Jenny Hval - The Practice Of Love (Sacred Bones)|
KAYTRANADA - BUBBA (RCA)
Little Simz - Grey Area (Age 101/AWAL)
Sampa The Great - The Return (Ninja Tune)
Steve Lacy - Apollo XXI (3qtr/AWAL)
Tyler, The Creator - IGOR (Columbia)
Young Thug - Fun (300 Entertainment/Atlantic)

'PACIFIC NOTIONS' LPs / HONORABLE MENTIONS
Andy Dragazis - Afterimages (Lightwell Recordings)
AVA - Waves (One Little Indian)
Bibio - Ribbons (Warp)
Cicada - Hiking In The Mist (flau)
David Norland - Glam Tear Stain (Denovali)
Ecovillage - Hold My Hand (eilean)
Ed Carlsen - Morning Hour (Moderna)
G.S. Schray - First Appearance (Last Resort)
Gareth Quinn Redmond - Céim•eanna (Luaineach)
Glåsbird - Svalbarð (Whitelabrecs)
Hammock - Silencia (Hammock Music)
Hampshire & Foat - Saint Lawrence (Athens Of The North)
Haythem Mahbouli - Catching Moments In Time (Schole)
Henning Schmiedt - Klavierraum, später (flau)
Hollie Kenniff - The Gathering Dawn (n5MD)
Hoshiko Yamane & Mikael Lind - Spaces In Between (Time Released Sound)
Hugar - Varða (Sony Music Masterworks)
Inoyama Land - Commissions: 1977-2000 (Music for Slime Molds, Sensory Museum and Egyptology) (Empire Of Signs)
Ironomi - Kotonoha (Kitchen.)
Jane Antonia Cornish - Seascapes (self-released)
Jon Meyer - Paper Trail (self-released)
Julia Gjertsen - Fragile (Moderna)
Kali Malone - The Sacrificial Code (iDEAL)
Lárus Sigurðsson - Jarðhörpusálmar II / Earth Harp Psalms II (self-released)
Last Days - Fragments (self-released)
Lena Raine - Oneknowing (Local Action)
Ludvig Cimbrelius - Intimacy (Past Inside The Present)
M. Grig - Mount Carmel (12k)
Mikael Lind - Contingencies (Archives)
Offthesky - Illuminate (eilean)
Olga Wojciechowska - Infinite Distances (A Strangely Isolated Place)
Philip Daniel & Shawn Williams - Between Us Ch. 1 & Ch. 2 (self-released)
Private Agenda - Île de Rêve (Lo Recordings)
r beny - echo's verse (Dauw)
Raphaelle Thibaut - Genesis (1631 Recordings)
Richard Luke - Glass Island (Moderna)
Richard Norris - Abstractions Volume Two (Group Mind)
Saariselka - The Ground Our Sky (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
Samuel Orson - Blue (self-released)
Shida Shahabi - Shifts (FatCat/130701)
SUSS - High Line (Northern Spy)
Sven Laux - ODD (Whitelabrecs)
Synkro - Images (Apollo)
Tess Said So - Piaf's Boyfriend (Preserved Sound)
Thomas William Hill - Grains Of Space (Village Green)
Tristan Welch - 40 Hours (Verses)
Vanessa Wagner - Inland (InFiné)
Vargkvint - Hav (Piano and Coffee)
William Ryan Fritch - Deceptive Cadence: Music For Film Volume I & II (Lost Tribe Sound)
Yoshio Ojima - Une Collection Des Chaînons I & II (WRWTFWW)

10 UNDER-THE-RADAR GEMS (VARIETY)
A . Billi Free - I Luma (Tokyo Dawn)
Circa 2000 - Faith Healer (Lapsus)
Isaac Birituro & The Rail Abandon - Kalba (Wah Wah 45s)
J.Lamotta - Suzume (Jakarta)
Oso Leone - Gallery Love (Apollo Recordings)
Pelada - Movimiento Para Cambio (PAN)
True Blossom - Heater (Citrus City)
Vanishing Twin - The Age Of Immunology (Fire)
Vitamin D - Mama's Basement (self-released)
WaqWaq Kingdom - Essaka Hoisa (Phantom Limb)

COMPILATIONS
(Various Artists) - Disco With A Feeling (Athens Of The North)
(Various Artists) - Gangster Doodles, Vol. 1 (All City)
(Various Artists - Jungle: Back To Mine (Back To Mine)
(Various Artists) - Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age 1980-1990 (Light In The Attic)
(Various Artists) - Memoir Collections I + II (Memoir Music)
(Various Artists) - Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1976-1986 (Light In The Attic) 
(Various Artists) - Scale (bigo & twigetti)
(Various Artists) - Sunny Side Up (Brownswood Recordings)
(Various Artists) - The Sound of Love International #002: Beautiful Swimmers (Love International)
(Various Artists) - The Time For Peace Is Now: Gospel Music About Us (Luaka Bop)

EPs
01. Koffee - Rapture (Promised Land Recordings Limited)
02. No Rome - Crying In The Prettiest Places (Dirty Hit)
03. girl in red - chapter 2 (self-released)
04. Lil Nas X - 7 (Columbia)
05. Malibu - One Life (UNO NYC)
06. Lucinda Chua - Antidotes 1 (self-released)
07. Doug Shorts - Casual Encounter (Daptone)
08. Klein Zage - Womanhood (Orphan.)
09. Nardeydey - Nardeydey (Lucky Number Music Limited)
10. Romain FX - Tasty Edits (Fantastic Voyage)
11. Four Tet - Anna Painting (Text)
12. Channel Tres - Black Moses (GODMODE)
13. DJ Seinfeld - Lilium / Parallax (Young Ethics) 
14. Flamingo Pier - Flamingo Pier (Soundway)
15. Semma - Ribbons & Bows (Fade To Mind)
16. MorMor - Some Place Else (Don't Guess Inc)
17. Ensemble Entendu - Music For The Densely Populated, Vol. 2 (Astro Nautico)
18. Finn - Do What You Want Forever (Local Action)
19. Pascale Project - Be Urself (Orange Milk)
20. Slow Shudder - Off The Rails (self-released)

SINGLES / TOP FAVES
01. Charli XCX - "Gone (feat. Christine & The Queens)" / "February 2017 (feat. Clairo & Yaeji)" / "Silver Cross" / "Next Level Charli"
02. Helado Negro - "Running"



03. Clairo - "Bags"
04. Long Beard - "Sweetheart"
05.- FKA twigs - "Cellophane" / "Sad Day"
06. DaBaby - "INTRO"
07. Georgia - "About To Work The Dancefloor"



08. Lana Del Rey - "Venice Bitch" / "The Greatest" / "Fuck it I Love you" / "Cinnamon Girl"
09. Mark Ronson - "Late Night Feelings (feat. Lykke Li)"
10. Caribou - "Home" / "You and I" 
11. Tyler, The Creator - "I THINK"  / "EARFQUAKE"
12. Oso Oso - "dig"
13. Lil Nas X - "C7osure (You Like)" / "Panini" / "Old Town Road"
14. Sequoyah Murray - "Penalties Of Love" / "Sublime"



15. Caroline Polachek - "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings" / "Pang"
16. Polo G - "Deep Wounds"
17. BTS - "Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey)"
18. Denzel Curry - "WISH (feat. Kiddo Marv)" / "RICKY"
19. Lykke Li x Skrillex x Ty Dolla $ign - "two nights part ii"
20. Sufjan Stevens - "Love Yourself"
21. Young Thug - "The London (feat. J. Cole & Travis Scott)" / "Just How It Is" / "Hot (feat. Gunna)"
22. Whitney - "Giving Up"  
23. Stormzy - "Vossi Bop"
24. Majid Jordan - "Superstar"
25. The 1975 - "Frail State Of Mind"
26. Sudan Archives - "Confessions"



27. SAULT - "Don't Waste My Time" / "Let Me Go"
28. The Galleria - "Stop and Go"
29. MorMor - "Outside"
30. Orville Peck - "Dead Of Night"
31. Sampa The Great - "Final Form" / "OMG"
32. Pusha T - "Coming Home (feat. Lauryn Hill)"
33. (Sandy) Alex G - "Southern Sky" / "Taking" / "Gretel" / "Hope"



34. Megan Thee Stallion - "Hot Girl Summer (feat. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign)"
35. Kevin Abstract - "Peach"
36. Four Tet - "Dreamer" / "Teenage Birdsong"



37. Cassius - "Dreams (feat. Owle, Luke Jenner & Joe Rogers)"
38. Seb Wildblood - "Amelia (feat. mauv)"
39. Koffee - "Toast" / "Rapture" / "W (feat. Gunna)"
40. Dave - "Location (feat. Burna Boy)"



41. girl in red. - "watch you sleep." / "bad idea!" / "i'll die anyway"
42. Shura - "religion (u can lay your hands on me)"
43. Aves - "Gem Of The Ocean (feat. JFDR)"
44. CZ Wang & Neo Image - "Just Off Wave (feat. Separated At Birth)"
45. Vagabon - "Water Me Down"



46. Robert Glasper - "All I Do (feat. SiR, Bridget Kelly & Song Bird)"
47. Devendra Banhart - "Taking A Page"
48. Billie Eilish - "Everything I Wanted"
49. Chiiiild - "Back To Life (feat. Shunguzo)" / "Count Me Out"
50. Bon  Iver - "Hey Ma" / "U (Man Like)"

SINGLES / HONORABLE MENTIONS
Anderson .Paak - "Come Home (feat. Andre3000)"
Andrea Valle - "No More"
Angelo de Augustine - "I Could Be Wrong" / "Time"
Ariel Pink - "Stray Here With You"
BADBADNOTGOOD - "Key To Love (Is Understanding) (feat. Jonah Yano)"
Bakar - "Hell N Back"
BANKS - "Gimme"
Barrie - "Drag" / "Darjeeling"
Bat For Lashes - "Mountains" / "Kids In The Dark" / "Feel For You"
Bibio - "Curls"
Branko x Sango - "Hear From You (feat. Cosima)"
breathe. - "Haze"
BROCKHAMPTON - "NO HALO"
Burial - "Old Tape"
Carly Rae Jepsen - "Happy Not Knowing"
Cate Le Bon - "Home To You" / "Daylight Matters"
Chromatics - "You're No Good"
Classixx - "Love Me No More"
Chromatics - "Time Rider" / "You're No Good"
Daisies - "True Absolute Fiction"
Daphni - "Sizzling"
Deb Never - "In The Night"
Devin Morrison - "No" / "L.O.V.E."
Diane Coffee - "Not Ready To Go"
Diplo - "New Shapes (feat. Octavian)"
Doja Cat - "Bottom Bitch"
Ebhoni - "TGM"
Emily King - "Can't Hold Me"
Emmett Kai - "Original Girl"
Faye Webster - "Right Side Of My Neck"
Friendly Fires - "Silhouettes"
fuvk - "Dec17"
Gemma Dunleavy - "Better 4 U"
Girl Unit - "Stuck (feat. Taliwhoah)"
GoldLink - "Zulu Screams (feat. Maleek Berry & Bibi Bourelly)"
Hatchie - "Obsessed"
Hoops - "They Say"
James Blake - "Barefoot In The Park (feat. Rosalía)"
Jamila Woods - "BASQUIAT (feat. Saba)"
Jay Som - "Tenderness"
Jenny Hval - "High Alice"
Jitwam - "I'm A Rock" / "Universes" / "Temptations"
Kacy Hill - "Much Higher"
Kali Uchis - "Solita"
Karen O & Danger Mouse - "Turn The Light"
KAYTRANADA - "10% (feat. Kali Uchis)"
Kito - "Wild Girl (feat. Empress Of)"
Kllo - "Back To You"
KUČKA - "Drowning"
Lafawndah - "Daddy"
Lil Tecca - "Ransom"
Little Simz - "Selfish (feat. Cleo Sol)"
Madeon - "Dream Dream Dream"
Model Man - "Beta"
Nardeydey - "FreeFalling"
No Rome - "Cashmoney" / "Trust3000 (feat. dijon)"
Octavian - "Feel It (feat. Theophilus London)"
Rosalía & Ozuna - "Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi"
Sam Sparro - "Everything"
Schacke - "Kisloty People"
SG Lewis - "Throwaway (feat. Clairo)"
Sinead Harnett - "Pulling Away (feat. Gallant)"
Slow Shudder - "Replay"
Tame Impala - "Patience"
Tawiah - "Recreate"
Tei Shi - "Even If It Hurts (feat. Blood Orange)"
Vegyn - "It's Nice To Be Alive"
Willie Scott & The Birmingham Spirituals - "Keep Your Faith To The Sky"
Wolfram - "What Is It Like (feat. Pamela Anderson)"
Zacari - "Don't Trip"