(non)verbal
this had to be my hands-down favorite release last year. everything about it screams perfection, from the incredible sleeve art to the fact that it encompasses both remixes and collaborations, to the big names involved in the project. and of course, the mind-blowing production doesn't hurt either:

Amon Tobin - Verbal (Kid 606 Dancehall Devastation Mix)
Steinski & Amon Tobin - Ten Piece Metric Wrench Set
the 12" set is a split deal - you buy one 12" with the gatefold, and then get the other 12" in a picture sleeve separately. the CD comes as an all-in one, but you don't get the benefit of the beautiful packaging [buy it anyway], but you get all the tracks. the reason for the split is one 12" is all remixes of Amon Tobin's Verbal, a great Prefuse-style trip-hop track that gets a complete workover from the likes of Kid606, Lexoleum trip-hop champions Boom Bip, and Scott Herren himself (if any of you caught the Prefuse 73/Manitoba/Four Tet tour, Scott played the Prefuse remix of Verbal as his encore). the other disc is all various collaborations from big names such as once lab employee turned Ninja P-Love, Steinski, and Kid Koala. all the tracks on both discs are phenomenal, and the overall effort in producing this EP is outstanding. it's worth owning if you enjoy either of the above tracks - one from each disc. The Kid606 is a screaming nightmare of a remix, powerful, freaky, and catchy as all hell. The Steinski track is unusually dark for his material, but it shines nonetheless.