A dozen picks from my weekend music haul, half-and-half new releases and newly discovered.
I've been dipping into the PRAH label archives, including their annual 'Scratching The Surface...' samplers, mostly name your price and bursting with curiosities from their catalogue. Choice picks here are from Gentle Stranger and Raven Bush, plus a remix of Stroud-based 4-piece The Umlauts by label mate Hiro Ama. All good stuff and well worth a visit.
Autumns are new to me and I've been listening to the Through The Re-Construction Of Grace EP on repeat. The remix of Trolley Coin featured here has a real Mark Stewart vibe, which I love. A perfect counterpoint is DJ Lui's edit of a Fad Gadget classic, Lady Shave.
Wrapping things up is a remix of Not On The Radar, the title track of Mark Fry's 2025 album. As a teenager in 1971, Mark released Dreaming With Alice, which went on to become a psychedelic cult album. Three and a half decades later, the difficult second album appeared and Mark's been on a roll since, Not On The Radar being album #5.
And who to remix? None other than Richard Norris, delivering another slice of sonic sunshine.
It was such a fruitful shopping trip that a second 12-song selection will be popping up here sometime this week. In the meantime, try then go off and buy!
1) Boiler Suits & Combat Boots (Hiro Ama Remix): The Umlauts (2022)
2) Cycle: Pye Corner Audio ft. Andy Bell (2026)
3) Once In A While: Gentle Stranger (2021)
4) Løveskatt (Prins Thomas Diskomiks): Ora The Molecule (2025)
5) Winner: 10:40 (2026)
6) Perfect We Are Not: Soulwax (2026)
7) To Ziggy With Love (Cover of 'Ziggy Stardust' by David Bowie): 100 Poems (2026)
8) Floss: Raven Bush (2019)
9) Trolley Coin (Dyslexia Mix): Autumns (2026)
10) Lady Shave (DJ Lui Danceteria Edit): Fad Gadget (2015)
11) Don't Touch (Luke Vibert Remix): The Veees (2016)
12) Not On The Radar (Richard Norris Remix): Mark Fry (2025)
2015: Lady Shave EP: 10
2016: The Veees: 11
2019: Jeté EP: 8
2021: Phantom Thoroughfare: 3
2022: Boiler Suits & Combat Boots EP: 1
2025: Løveskatt EP: 4
2025: Not On The Radar: 12
2026: More Songs About The Sun: 2
2026: Partick Sailing Club Presents PSC#001: The Beautiful Flowers Wait For Peace: 7
It's nearly that time again, so here's half a dozen 2026 releases that will be scanned at the checkout on Bandcamp Friday and undoubtedly troubling a Dubhed selection or two in the near future.
First up is Broken Chanter with two songs from fourth album This Could Be Us, You, Or Anybody Else. JC from The Vinyl Villain reviewed the album a couple of weeks ago, reflecting that he "long ago run out of superlatives to describe just how much joy and happiness comes [his] way with every new Broken Chanter album."
It was JC and The Vinyl Villain that switched me on to Broken Chanter back in 2020 and, late though I was, I'm up to speed with JC's take on things. I haven't heard the album in full yet but, on the strength of these two, it's an early contender for the 2026 'best of' list.
The brilliantly named Sister Ray Davies, aka Adam Morrow and Jamie Sego, recently released Holy Island Baby, a remix EP companion to last November's debut album Holy Island.
Five reworked songs, including two by the mighty Pye Corner Audio, which are worth the purchase price alone.
Speaking of Pye Corner Audio aka Martin Jenkins, Bandcamp Friday often sees a one-off single drop. This may or may not happen, but either way you can pre-order new album More Songs About The Sun, which is due in June.
A sequel of sorts to 2022 album Let's Emerge!, More Songs About The Sun features Andy Bell (Ride/GLOK) across several tracks, a spoken word contribution from writer Ian Rankin and even vocals from Martin himself. Great stuff.
What can I tell you about Autumns? Not a lot, to be honest. Autumns is Christian Donaghey and his Bandcamp page has 80+ releases going back to 2014. It was February's 2-track EP, Through The Re-Construction Of Grace, that grabbed my attention.
Opening with a blistering remix of Trolley Coin from last year's Through The Construction Of Grace EP, things ramp up on the flipside with the wonderfully-titled (but with "don't try this, kids" advisory) Spit On A DJ For Therapy.
If you like your pop of the jangly variety, then husband and wife Carl Mann and Kat Mann have got it and then some, performing as Shapes Like People. Their single Lately was recommended to me by Kathryn on BlueSky and it's a shimmering, summery stunner. Sounds even better now that the sun's shining.
Ending on a high, spiritually, metaphorically and literally, is long-time favourite of this blog, Jesse Fahnestock and a fresh release as 10:40.
Winner is constructed around a familiar twangy guitar sample (there's a clue in the title) and it continues the journey that Jesse has been on, via 10:40, Electric Blue Vision, Jezebell, Powder Wax and RetroFit, in pursuit of that perfect synthesis of old and new, borrowed and blue. Personally, I think Jesse nails it every time and his latest release is (excuse the pun) a winner.
* Before Swiss Adam's solicitor takes further action, I state for the record that this post relates to Bandcamp Friday, not their client's illustrious blog.
Yes, it's that time again when I wade through the mass of emails, all telling me about music that I should be spending my pennies on in the next 24 hours.
Sometimes they're expected. I often receive similar communications in the weeks, sometimes months, leading up to release. Sometimes, they're unexpected, literally dropped in whilst I've been asleep. And knowing how little I sleep, that's no mean feat.
Lots to choose from, here are five that will be ringing through the checkout this Friday:
First up is Bristol's Diz Undone, formerly known as Dizraeli, who I've come to late but feel very glad that I made it. By his own admission, Diz Undone has made a career of (artistically speaking) "distributing explosions that journalists find hard to describe."
He's right, but I like what I hear and Normal, featuring Grove andTom Caruana hits the spot, with a cracking video to boot.
I'm biased, as I'll buy anything that has Bedford Falls Players aka Mark Cooper's name attached to it, but North Star is another satisfying bass-heavy seven minutes "Inspired by The North Star of Andrew Weatherall".
From Maidenhead, Berkshire to Gydnia in Poland and reggae/dub specialists Muflon Dub Soundsystem, with Empty Church. There's a vocal and dub version, both featuring Karolina; the latter edges it slightly for me.
Another "no need to try, go ahead and buy" is anything on the Paisley Dark Records label, and Engage by Krabberz is the latest addition to the list. I'm not familiar with Krabberz but the line-up of artists on this remix EP are firm favourites: Airsine, Högt I Tak, Jay-Son and 10:40. All for three quid. A steal!
Lastly, a new single from Transglobal Underground that's so fresh that it's not yet available at the time of posting. Head over to their Bandcamp page after 10.00am GMT to discover double A-side Doin' The Moonshine / Darjeeling Train.
It's been a crappy week, no work/life balance to speak of, and the prospect of more rain, more work and a stinking headache that refuses to budge.
I don't know about you, but music is both a distraction and a salve, so I've created a 63-minute selection to start my Sunday in the best possible way.
Everything is so laggy today (me included) that I'm going to dispense with the usual chit chat and just say that it's Bandcamp Friday and this half dozen at least are going through my checkout.
Why don't you, um, check 'em out yourself?
Hopefully, normal service will resume on Saturday.
Immersed as we are in end of year round ups and best ofs, I'm swimming with the current and today's 64-minute selection rounds up some choice choons from the year to date.
A couple of these tracks have appeared on previous selections, but are too good not to bring back in.
Like Fire by Airsine came out on the ever-excellent Paisley Dark Records label in March and I've been obsessed with it ever since. Today's selection meaning that I've now posted all four versions from the EP, every one a winner, as they say.
Speaking of fire, Leo Zero has been on fire (musically speaking, not literally) with a truckload of releases that haven't skimped on quality. June saw Nebulon Systems Vol. 1, a 20-track monster of an album, with Orangutan placed smack dab in the middle, at track ten. Not only a great album, but a ridiculous bargain at £4.00 for the lot.
Another mind-boggling bargain was the Powder Wax Vol. 2 EP by Jesse Fahnestock, revisiting his 10:40 alias, whilst also delivering a dizzying array of music in 2025 with Darren Bell as Jezebell.
Powder Wax Vol. 2 arrived in February as a 'name your price' purchase, comprising two songs, Beneath The Waves and Miracle Me. Both appeared on 2025 highlights selections in March and May, and Beneath The Waves makes a welcome return here.
Pye Corner Audio have frequently dropped a new track in time for Bandcamp Friday, always an automatic 'add to cart' come the day. The Deep Cut appeared in March, one of five new standalone tracks in 2025, all of this calibre.
Orange Sunshine was originally on a flexi 7" with limited vinyl quantities of Hifi Sean and David McAlmont's album Twillight. In April, Orange Sunshine appeared as a standalone single, featuring rapper Sawlty (and David's nephew). Feel it!
In 2024, sLEdger provided Fluke with a superb remix of Fluke's single Real Magnificent. June saw the favour returned, with Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier's remix of Tweeba, sLEdger given a refreshing Fluke rinse. Wonderful stuff.
I've continued with The Future Sound Of London's 'calendar' compilations of outtakes and unreleased music for a few years now, and still get a buzz when each monthly link arrives, building up a 12-track collection by year end. PSUN K arrived in November, the penultimate piece from another cracking collection.
August saw the return of Puerto Montt City Orchestra with And We'd Be So Happy, a lovely slice of Balearic sunshine with a spoken word vocal by Kitty Salter, the daughter of band member Tim. The initial single was backed with The Cruel Mistress Mix, included here, with two further remixes from Balearic Ultras and downtownLOOP arriving a fortnight later. Sounds just as good in winter as it did in summer.
Fluke's spectacular comeback continued with May's release of I Wanna Be, a bouncing, life-affirming single in it's original form, and given a fantastic dub rinse by Justin Robertson's Five Green Moons. I am over the moon (all five of 'em) to have new Fluke music in my life.
Wrapping up this final round up of 2025's beautiful beats is Tambores En Benirras, who I splurged my cash on during Bandcamp Friday earlier this month, snapping up the entire catalogue in one go. It was worth every penny, not least for the trio of remix EPs accompanying the album Ondas Horizontales.
It was almost impossible to pick just one, but I've settled with Steve Cobby's nine-and-a-half minute revision of Extensor Entregado from the inaugural EP. Highly recommended!
1) Like Fire (Mindbender Remix By Mårten Attling): Airsine
2) Orangutan: Leo Zero
3) Beneath The Waves: 10:40
4) The Deep Cut: Pye Corner Audio
5) Orange Sunshine (Single Version): Hifi Sean & David McAlmont ft. Sawlty
6) Tweeba (Fluke Remix By Jon Fugler & Mike Tournier): sLEdger
7) PSUN K: The Future Sound Of London
8) And We'd Be So Happy (The Cruel Mistress Mix): Puerto Montt City Orchestra ft. Kitty Salter
9) I Wanna Be (Justin Robertson - Five Green Moons Remix): Fluke
10) Extensor Entregado (Steve Cobby Remix): Tambores En Benirras
Another round up of 2025 highlights so far, this time focusing on the electronic end of the musical spectrum.
I posted my first review in March and only one of the ten artists featured then reappears in today's selection. No surprise to find that it's 10:40 aka Jesse Fahnestock, with the flip side of his excellent Powder Wax Vol. 2 EP.
A few surprises: it was a delight to discover that Montjuïc are James Hackett and Ian Carmichael, old buddies from The Orchids, the latter also delivering era-defining music with One Dove.
Not only that, but the remix is by Cold War Cowboys, who happen to be Martin Watkins, long-time Marc Almond collaborator, and Phil Bloomberg, bass player with The Polecats.
But I've saved the best 'til last, with a beautiful dub-infused remix by Matias Aguayo of Lucrecia Dalt's Cosa Rara, with a spoken word vocal from none other than David Sylvian, who also co-wrote, played guitar and produced the song. A real "how did she do that?!" moment.
1) Dagger (Radio Edit By Charlotte Caluwaerts & Reinhard Vanbergen): Charlotte & Reinhard (Dagger EP)
2) Falling (What Time Is Love?) (Tronik Youth Remix By Neil Parnell): Blavatsky & Tolley ft. Gene Serene (Falling (What Time Is Love?) EP)
3) Field Of Dreams (Hardway Bros Cosmic Interpolation Mix By Sean Johnston): Hugo Nicolson(Field Of Dreams EP)
4) The Third Wave: Matt Gunn(Nowhere EP)
5) We're All Gonna Hurt (Extended Vocal): Le Carousel ft. Jolene O’Hara & Jess Brien (We're All Gonna Hurt EP)
6) Let's Change (Cold War Cowboys Remix By Martin Watkins & Phil Bloomberg): Montjuïc (Let's Change EP)
7) Miracle Me: 10:40 (Powder Wax Vol. 2 EP)
8) Popolina 90: Follytechnic Music Library vs. Pop Will Eat Itself (FML25 Baggy Ravers 3)
9) Like Fire (A Space Age Freak Out Remix By John Paynter & Ben Lewis): Airsine (Like Fire EP)
10) Cosa Rara (Matias Aguayo's Dopamine Dub): Lucrecia Dalt ft. David Sylvian (Cosa Rara EP)
A whistle stop post, with four songs that have grabbed my attention this month.
Marina (Diamandis, that is) releases 6th album Princess Of Power on 6th June. The third pre-release single is Cuntissimo, with a lavish video, a lyrical focus on female empowerment and hooks aplenty, even if mainstream daytime radio play is a non-starter. I've been a fan since her beginnings as Marina & The Diamonds, and this is great stuff.
SAULT dropped their latest album at the weekend, with little fanfare, although it apparently snuck out briefly on Spotify and was pulled, before officially reappearing on Saturday. In that short time, all of the song titles have also been reduced to acronyms. So, this is a smooth, Cleo Sol-fronted track called K.T.Y.W.S., previously named Know That You Will Survive.
Easter Sunday saw another very welcome new release, with Jesse Fahnestock confounding expectations with 10:40 Presents Retro Fit. The 3-track single, An Alternative History, was inspired by Swiss Adam over at Bagging Area, who wrote a brilliant and fascinating post last year, imagining a divergent timeline for The Stone Roses. Jesse took that concept and has created a song that could have been, fashioning two further versions that stretch the concept whilst remaining tantalisingly within the realms of plausibility. Read about it here. Adam and Jesse, I salute you!
Last stop is Senegal-based artist Cheikh Ibra Fam's new single Xam Xam, which is "Infused with the hypnotic pulse of Caribbean zouk and Angolan kizomba, the ethereal strings of the kora, and the soul of West Africa". Fair to say that this would also sit very comfortably on an Ibiza playlist and brought a little promise of summer to a weekend at Casa K that veered wildly from sunshine to continual rain.
Xam Xam is described as "a call to embrace knowledge as the most valuable treasure of all" and, true to his word, Cheikh Ibra Fam is seen on several occasions in the video in a library and reading a book. "Libraries gave us power!" as James Dean Bradfield once sang, and he wasn't wrong.
In my final post of 2024, I have taken another look at the Dubhed Top 20 most popular posts. As with 2023's list, these are in descending order to manufacture some countdown tension, again with a few video inserts at various points. Or you can scroll down the page to see what's at #1...
The spread is more uneven is more uneven this year - January and October are the most popular months, April not far behind. March, June to August and, perhaps less surprisingly, December don't even get a look in at the Top 20. My Dubhed
selections feature in just over half of the Top 20, which is good to see.
January's birthday nod to Susanna Hoffs hit the mark and was well inside the Top 10 for most of the year, only dipping out when posts from the last few months starting climbing up. Jesse Fahnestock also scores a triple whammy, with Jezebell and 10:40 respectively.
Sadly, too many obituaries this year, the tributes to J. Saul Kane, Chris Cross of Ultravox and Keith LeBlanc being particularly well received, even though the news of their passing wasn’t.
And two comebacks also attracted a lot of attention, one very welcome (The Cure, crashing into the Top 10 in October) and one very much the opposite (#15 in November).
I'm delighted that this year's #1 featured what for me is the best album of the year, in any category or genre.
In
case you missed them first time around, click on the titles for the
original post. Dubhed selection links have also been restored, where
appropriate. When you get to #1, go and read my review of the album, posted shortly after I played it for the first time, then you'll understand why there was never any doubt in my mind. Happily, as the most visited post in 2024, it seems that you all agree.
Thanks so much for your support this year. I love writing this blog, but your comments, suggestions and gentle editing corrections give me the motivation to keep writing, keep wanting to do better and, in simple terms, give a shout out for all those talented people whose passion to create music inspires me every day.
Have a great New Year's Eve and best wishes for a brilliant 2025. I'll be here as usual tomorrow.
1) A Gift (Sounds From The Flightpath Estate) (6th April)
When I posted the Dubhed 2023 Top 20 on 2nd January, John Medd was quick to respond with a suggestion:
"I know it would be like knitting fog
but have you thought of condensing
the year down
not just into 20 posts, but 20 tracks
- segued into a
60/70/80 minute megagmix?
Push the boat out,
make two sides of 40/45
mins
and whack it out as a C90!"
I replied, filed it away and then pulled it back out of the drawer when I started this post. 21/22 tracks segued into an 85-minute mix. You can split it in half and fit onto a C90, if you don't mind some spooling at the end of Side 2.
This selection is dedicated to John Medd (thanks for the suggestion, hope you're doing well) and Swiss Adam (not least for his contribution to this year's #1).
And to everyone else, whether you're a fellow blogger (active or lapsed), commenter or silent visitor - not forgetting those lovely bots in China and South Korea - thank you again!
1) Three Rings: 10:40 ft. Emilia Harmony (2024)
2) 1000 Fahrenheit (Welsh Version): The Wedding Present (2014)
2) Same for J. Saul Kane's brilliant Bomb The Bass megamix from 1988.
3) I still haven't actually bought or listened to The Cure's new album from start to finish, but I have dipped into the concert for BBC Radio 2. Isn't it wonderful?
4) You'll quickly twig that A.N.T.S. by Adam & The Ants is set to the tune of Y.M.C.A. by The Village People. And why not?
5) Jesse Fahnestock is not paying me to get maximum exposure in the annual Dubhed Top 20, honest.
6) Jesse's contribution as 10:40 to Sounds From The Flightpath Estate was released as a standalone single in the summer, which is why it's included here. The album in general was only available as a limited edition double vinyl, which sold out in (excuse the pun) record time.
7) In March 2020, during the COVID lockdown, Andy Bell was taking song requests to perform and post on YouTube. Andrew Weatherall had passed mere weeks before, and @supawide45 suggested Andy have a go at Smokebelch II in tribute to The Guv'nor. Which he did, commenting, "Makes me want to actually record an acoustic arrangement of it!"
In March 2024, after a close-to-the-wire completion and submission, Andy's recorded version of Smokebelch II was released as the closing song on Songs From The Flightpath Estate. As it was perhaps always meant to be.
I've not included Andy's 2024 version, as it's place is on the album that Swiss Adam and his Flightpath Estate colleagues poured their hearts and souls into creating.
Instead, I've taken Andy's lockdown sketch, itself barely half a minute, looped and re-edited it a bit, then spliced with a section of Andrew, Jagz and Gary's Beatless Mix of Smokebelch II from 1993. It's an amateurish edit, but I think it (just about) works.
Jezebell aka Jesse Fahnestock and Darren Bell have a new release, Cream Tease, out on 2nd October which they, er, teased on Wednesday with The Big Time.
The Big Time starts off like the frenetic, amped up relation of 2022's Visage-sampling Dumbell, building layers of sound so that as you approach the halfway mark, you think you know where this is going. Only it just gets even bigger, the titular sample dropping in a minute or so later. it's not just big, it's huge.
I've been lucky enough to receive a sneak preview of four tracks and they all deliver chug and chuckle in equal measure, with some muscular rhythms and grin-inducing samples. I mean, you need more cheek than a Carry On film to name tracks Donkey and Hung, but they are bloody great.
Donkey misdirects with a few seconds of martial drumming before switching to the more familiar stepping beats and synth flourishes, soon accompanied by an array of Spanish-flavoured samples.
Hung comes in with some heavy beats, a guitar loop and dislocated vocals, like all of the music on offer, seeming like it could go on for at least twice it's seven-minute duration. An infectious track, to use a cliche.
Then there's Darren's Theme which, if were fronting a TV show, would be on at 2.00am on a subscriber-only channel with advisories about adult content. A pounding, sped-up beat straight out of 1992, we're barely 30 seconds in before the groans and sighs begin and a sampled vocal (Karen Finlay?) is making aggressive advances, with a looped response sizing up their male member.
You'll either splutter tea all over the letters page of the Daily Mail, before taking up at the keyboard to type your own letter of digust. Or, like me, you'll love it.
Putting the sleaze in Cream Tease, Jezebell delight in having established an instantly recognisable style but never getting complacent.
Or sleeping, it seems. It's hardly been a quiet 2024 for Jesse and Darren, with the Weekend Machines EP, remixes aplenty for other artists and a standalone (and standout) contribution to the Shelter Me - In Crisis compilation for Paisley Dark Records in April. And that's not forgetting Jesse's extracurricular activity as 10:40 and Electric Blue Vision.
So, as an added treat, I've created an (almost) hour-long mix of 2024 highlights so far.
I've only included The Big Time from Cream Tease as that should be sufficient motivation to pre-order the full release. Likewise, I've left out Perfect Din from the Shelter Me - In Crisis as I (kind of) featured it in a previous post in May.
One final omission is Jezebell's remix of Bibbles by Andres y Xavi. I'd like to say it's because I featured it in a Dubhed selection back in March, but Jesse and Darren provided three great remixes.
I'd also like to say that including it would have pushed today's selection over the one hour mark and I was being strict with timings.
In truth, I got confused and I thought the remixes had been released in 2023, the same as Andres y Xavi's original versions. Sorry!
I think the 9 tracks here more than make up for it, though. The Big Time is a strong opener and from there you get two of Jesse's 10:40 remixes, the latter of himself with Emilia Harmony on vocals. All of the Weekend Machines EP, bar a remix of the title track, get an airing as do Jezebell's 808 remixes of two of their songs, released on 808 Day, 8th August 2024.
Hey You by Puerto Montt City Orchestra is a cover/reimagining of a 1988 song called Hay Fever by 14 Iced Bears. Puerto Montt City Orchestra aka Angus Murray and Tim Salter persuaded frontperson Robert Sekula to re-record his vocals and, put through the 10:40 rinse, the song becomes a euphoric, uptempo excursion to a beachfront club.
Pandit Pam Pam is Brazilian artist Eduardo Ramos. His track Pass A Wish gets two Paul Simon-inspired (in title only, perhaps) remixes from Jezebell. The 50 Ways remix is equally excellent, but the Leave Your Lover slotted in seamlessly with the mix, in sonic terms equal parts chug and hug.
I always enjoy having a crack at a Jezebell selection, but this one was an especial pleasure. Not just because everything seemed to click and naturally fall into place - this is about the closest this cack-handed amateur DJ will ever get to almost competent beat matching and cross-fades, I promise you - but because the music is just so very, very good.
I'll be listening to this - and the original tracks by Jesse, Darren and co. - a lot over the coming weeks. It may be thunder, lightning and torrential rain outside but whilst I'm listening to this, it's a glorious, endless summer.
1) The Big Time: Jezebell (2024)
2) Hey You (10:40 Remix): Puerto Montt City Orchestra ft. Robert Sekula (2024)
3) Trance Stance (10:40s Haight Steppin Remix): Electric Blue Vision (2024)
