DeathMetalDiscoClubMeetsTheGuv'nor

After a few days of my amateur efforts, time for Andrew Weatherall's 65-minute master class in the art of the mix. A true professional.

Andrew recorded this mix for Amsterdam-based blog deathmetaldiscoclub in 2013 and it's a heady mix of beats and bass, as you might expect. Then new and unreleased music is threaded through, from his still-thrilling remixes of Emilíana Torrini and Craig Bratley, to choice cuts by Joe's Bakery (the heavyweight opener), Avanti and Duncan Gray.

The Femi Kuti remix dates from 2009, but got a fresh release in 2013 on 10" vinyl, courtesy of the Magic Feet label. Ewan Pearson also turns in a gorgeous dub remix of Out Cold aka Simon Aldred aka Cherry Ghost. 

Things wrap up suitably with an exclusive remix of The Asphodells aka Andrew and Timothy J. Fairplay. Skwatch originally appeared on their debut album Ruled By Passion, Destroyed By Lust in 2012. Black Merlin's rework was a preview of the The Asphodells Remixed album which was released a couple of months after Andrew's mix for deathmetaldiscoclub.

This is one of many, many DJ mixes that I missed first time around, but I came to after Andrew Weatherall's untimely passing in 2020, thanks to The Flightpath Estate and their incredible WeatherDrive archive.

Keeping the dream alive, news came out this week that the follow up to last year's Sounds From The Flightpath Estate will arrive at the end of August. 

Volume Two includes an exclusive remix of The Sabres of Paradise, plus contributions from Dicky Continental, Unit 14, Richard Fearless, David Harrow, Red Snapper, A Certain Ratio vs. Number, Bedford Falls Players and Sleaford Mods covering Two Lone Swordsmen. You can listen to a 25-minute promo mix by Rude Audio over at The Flightpath Estate Mixcloud site. Bloody hell! 

I was completely floored by Volume One and I know that Volume Two will have a similar effect. There may be tears. 

Limited to 1,500 copies on double vinyl, in a gatefold sleeve, Sounds From The Flightpath Estate Volume Two is available for pre-order. now. I got in quick; I'd strongly recommend you do the same. 

1) Mamba Gasgoine: Joe's Bakery (2013)

2) One Two (Garth Trinidad's Fiyah Dubb): Femi Kuti vs. KCRW Soundclash! (2009)

3) Speed Of Dark (Andrew Weatherall Remix): Emilíana Torrini (2013)

4) Waiting Game (Craig Bratley Remix): Kalidasa (2013)

5) Obsession (Asphodells Remix By Andrew Weatherall & Timothy J. Fairplay): Craig Bratley (2013)

6) All I Want (Ewan Pearson Dub Remix): Out Cold (2013)

7) Cabezaurio: Avanti (2013)

8) Peach: Duncan Gray (2013)

9) Keep It Up (The Cosmologist 2013 Soul Reconstruction By Laurie Keith): The Cosmologist (2013)

10) Skwatch (Black Merlin's Reel To Reel Remix By George Thompson): The Asphodells (2013) 

Deathmetaldiscoclub #020 (1:05:31) (GD) (Mega)

This Is Something Old, Something New, Something Balearic, Something Blue

This Is Something was the debut - and to date, only - single by The Summerisle Six in June 2022.

This Is Something of a supergroup, founded by Sean Johnston (Hardway Bros, A Love From Outer Space) and featuring Jo Bartlett (It's Jo & Danny, Kodiak Island, Blue Train), Andy Bell (Ride, Oasis, GLOK), Duncan Gray (Sons Of Slough, Tici Taci), Kevin Sharkey (The Undertones, That Petrol Emotion) and blistering sax from Mick Somerset Ward (Alison Moyet, Róisín Murphy).

This Is Something was re-posted on YouTube last week, with a brand new, bespoke video created for the original extended mix by Jo Bartlett. It starts off with a beautiful bllue, cloudy sky and has fun playing with the effects box for the nexy eight minutes or so.

This Is Something is available as a 4-track digital EP on Bandcamp for a mere £7.00, containing the extended mix, a radio edit and a dub as well as a stunning 10 minute remix from Rico Conning.

This Is Something was originally released as a 3-track 12" single (minus the radio edit) on Is It Balearic? and hit the #1 spot in the Juno vinyl chart back in 2022. Happily, vinyl copies are still available for a bargain #7.50, plus shipping. 

This Is Something of a sales pitch rather than a review, I realise in retrospect, but the music is too good to ignore. Buy now!

Just Trying To Do The Best That We Can Do

Fluke have returned.

 

Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier have reunited to release a new single, Insanely Beautiful, which I presume is a direct lift of the feedback that they received from the first person they played the song to. 

 

As a huge fan of Fluke throughout the 1990s, weathering the departure of Mike Tournier and the final releases as a duo of Jon Fugler and Mike Bryant in 2003, the prospect of new music from Fluke in the 2020s was an impossible dream.

 

And yet, here we are. Jon's voice may carry the weight of the passing years and the trademark bubbling beats may be replaced with strident steps. Otherwise, it's like they've never been away. Insanely Beautiful sounds very much in the present day but unmistakably Fluke.

The single's available on Bandcamp as four individual tracks. The original seven-minute monster, cinematic synth sweeps and stadium-sized rhythms, is presented in both vocal and instrumental versions. Leah's Mix by Fluke features Leah Cleaver on sole vocal duties. Finally, Sean Johnston and Duncan Gray deliver a Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown mix that's every bit as good as you might expect from them, slowing down the pace, turning up the bass and creating a nine-minute beat-driven behemoth.

 

Comeback of the year.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Random Bag

As the title suggests, a dip into my bag of Bandcamp Friday purchases and a selection that's not quite as eclectic as a glance at the line-up might indicate. 

 

1) Obsolescence Programmée: schroothoop (2020)

2) Space Drohne (Duncan Gray Remix): Matt Gunn (2023)

3) Old Hands: The Scientist (2015)

4) Maria De Barro: Disco For The People (2019)

5) You're All In Disguise (Marshall Neeko Remix): Jimmy Riley (2024)

6) End Of Times (Ono-Sendai Sound Version): David Harrow + Little Annie (2024)

7) Eye Co (Cover of 'Jock-A-Mo' by James 'Sugar Boy' Crawford & His Cane Cutters): Marshall Watson (2024)

8) Inspiration (Instrumental) 2: Kerri 'Kaoz' Chandler Presents Arnold Jarvis (2021)

9) Like A Bird: Dan Wainwright (2024)

 

2015: Old Hands EP: 3 

2019: Chapter One Edits EP: 4

2020: Global Riddims Volume 2: 1

2023: Mostly Fiction: 2 

2024: Dad Giveaway: 8

2024: Dan Wainwright: 9

2024: End Of Times EP: 6

2024: Eye Co EP: 7

2024: Solidarity Riddim: 5

 

Random Bag (44:28) (KF) (Mega)

Bone Idol

Peter Bonavota aka Pete Bones has been shakin' it for the past three decades but it's only in the last three years that I've really become aware of his music and remixes as Pete Bones or The Shaker. Another one of those 'better late than never' discoveries.

Expelled from school at age 15, Pete's subsequent CV has mapped out an interesting and varied vocation: DJ, label boss, KISS100fm resident and with hundreds of releases and remixes under his belt (which Discogs only scratches the surface with).

Pete's music has been been a regular on my monthly shopping list of late and this month was no exception. Splintered Bones Vol 1, a collection of Pete's "own edits of some of [his] fav classic tracks" that he's been playing out over the summer, was released on 1st December and it's a cracker.

 

 

Delve a little deeper and you'll find that many of Pete's previous releases feature remixes or re-edits of Talking Heads tunes and if that isn't incentive enough, then his own music across several albums is top notch too. But don't take my word for it, check it out yourself.

 

To set the weekend up nicely, here's a 10-track Dubhed selection that spans the last few years and gives a broad sense of where Pete's at right now. My clubbing days may be some way behind me and I have to agree that "Silent Disco Sucks" but this is a whole new definition of "House Music"...

 

1) Disko Drohne (Pete Bones Remix): Matt Gunn (2022)

2) Wild Moose Chase (Bedford Falls Players Remix): Pete Bones (2021)

3) Silent Disco Sucks (Al Mackenzie Remix): Pete Bones & The Stones Of Convention (2022)

4) Happy House (Pete Bones Rework): The Juan Maclean (2023)

5) Shoestring Budget (Super FU Remix): Pete Bones (2021)

6) The Mayor Of Malt Rave St (Tici Taci Remix By Duncan Gray): Pete Bones (2021)

7) Undertow (Pete Bones Remix): Warpaint (2019)

8) Gravitational Arch Of 10 (Pete Bones Rework): Vapour Space (2023)

9) Lady On A Grey Day (Justin Robertson Remix): Pete Bones & The Stones Of Convention (2022)

10) Skin Tight (Pete Bones Remix): D:Ream (2023)

 

2019: Crow's Nest: 7 

2021: Wild Moose Chase Remixed: 2, 5, 6

2022: Disko Drohne Remix: 1 

2022: Hyena Hopscotch Remixes: 3, 9

2023: Broken Hearts & Messed Up Minds: The Remix Album: 10

2023: Splintered Bones Vol 1: 4, 8

Bone Idol (1:09:16) (KF) (Mega)

D:Ream Time

D:Ream aka Peter Cunnah and Al Mackenzie released a mammoth collection, Broken Hearts & Messed Up Minds: The Remix Album, on 1st September. A companion to D:Ream's fourth album Open Hearts Open Minds, it's continuing their purple patch of quality tunes and top notch remixers.

There are 21 songs on the current compilation, the majority of which are new and exclusive to this release so I could easily have focused today's selection on that alone. However, I've gone down the same path as the previous Dubhed mix, with versions spanning 1993 to date. The previous selection was just over an hour; my challenge this time was to compile a C90 cassette-friendly side coming in at the three quarters of an hour mark. 

Half a dozen songs later, I think I cracked it. What do you think?

Happy Friday, everyone!

 

1) Gods In The Making (Brassneck Dub) (Remix By Al Mackenzie) (2011)

2) I Like it (Ramp New Game Dub) (Remix By Shem McCauley & Simon Rogers) (1993) 

3) Pedestal (Al Mackenzie's Pop Tart Remix) (2022)

4) I Used To Believe In Love (Pete Herbert Remix) (2023)

5) U R The Best Thing (Mo Bass Part II) (Remix By David Morales ft. D'Borah Asher) (1993)

6) Look At The Stars Now, Mama (Hardway Brothers Meet Monkton Uptown Deep Dive) (Remix By Sean Johnston & Duncan Gray) (2023) 

 

D:Ream Time (45:19) (KF) (Mega)

You can find my D:Ream Dubhed Selection from December 2022 here *

 

* I noticed that the KrakenFiles link isn't working and despite attempts to re-upload this morning, I'm still getting an "unknown error" response. Please bear with me and the link will be available at some point!

** KrakenFiles is having none of it as far as the 2022 D:Ream upload is concerned so I hope you'll be happy to make do with Mega for this one. Sorry!

*** KrakenFiles issue now resolved and the 2022 D:Ream selection is available again.

Fly Away

I probably say this every year but this year has been a really good year for top notch electronic music. To prove my point, here's an (almost) hour-long selection of absolute corkers that I have purchased since 2023 emerged blinking into the daylight through to the arse end of what's proved to be, in the UK at least, a washed-out summer.

Stick this on and fly away from it all for a while.

 

1) Facciamo L'Amore (Pete Blaker Remix): Rheinzand

2) The Girl With A Hole In Her Heart (Album Version): A Man Called Adam 

3) Brasiliana: Bárbara Boeing

4) Trinity (Original Version): Pim Secle & Orchid

5) Quiet Spillage (The Long Champs Remix By Lloyd Jones): StinkyJim

6) Synthetic Glory (MAN2.0 Remix By Mark Bailey): James Rod

7) Golden Dirt (Hereldeduke Remix By Linton Brown): Hello Cosmos

8) Look At The Stars Now, Mama (Hardway Brothers Meet Monkton Uptown Deep Dive) (Remix By Sean Johnston & Duncan Gray): D:Ream

9) Lack Of Sleep (Album Version): Maps

 

Bandcamp links below. Purchase of the full EP/album is strongly recommended for all.

 

Facciamo L'Amore EP: 1

The Girl With A Hole In Her Heart: 2

Brasiliana EP: 3

'90's Kids EP: 4

Social Awareness: The Remixes: 5

Synthetic Glory EP: 6

Hard Dirt: Hello Cosmos Remixed: 7

Broken Hearts & Messed Up Minds: The Remix Album: 8

Counter Melodies: 9

 

Fly Away (57:38) (KF) (Mega)

God Save The Ing

...that is, if your thing is dancing, jigging, shaking or some other ing that involves moving, because the next hour and an a half is all about the beats. 

2023 has been a great year so far, musically speaking and as I hope this 14-track selection ably demonstrates. Several long-time favourites have returned with a vengeance: Cerrone, DJ Nature, A Man Called Adam and Four Tet; all delivering music as good as anything in their rich and varied catalogue. 

 

Others have done so in collaboration: Justin Robertson meets David Holmes' Unloved in the Temple Of Wonders; Telefís aka Cathal Coughlan (RIP) and Jacknife Lee holiday in Madrid with Howie B; Hifi Sean and David McAlmont take a dub excursion to another Happy Ending.

 

Some relatively recent discoveries continue to delight: Jezebell, Max Essa and Duncan Gray have all somehow managed to raise the bar with each successive release; how high can they go?

 

The rest are all artists that I've heard for the first time this year: Minus Yogis, Bárbara Boeing, Cee ElAssaad, DjClick and Masha Natanson; all very different, all worth further investigation.

Apart from Four Tet, I'm not sure if any of these artists will be troubling a stage at Glastonbury next week (though to be honest, my eyesight starting blurring after the tenth or eleventh scroll through the seemingly endless line-up page on their website). If they did though, I think they'd smash it.

 

1) A Part Of You (Club Mix): Cerrone

2) Follow Your Dreams: DJ Nature

3) Fruity Blues (Balearic Mix By Minus Yogis): Minus Yogis

4) It's Science Baby (Funkified): A Man Called Adam

5) Trading Places (6PM): Jezebell

6) Thrill Me (Justin Robertson's Temple Of Wonders Remix): Unloved

7) Short Haul: Duncan Gray

8) Beautiful (Hifi's Dub Excursion): Hifi Sean & David McAlmont

9) Baile Do Silêncio (Donald Dust Remix): Bárbara Boeing

10) Njalo (Full Length Version): Cee ElAssaad

11) Come Come The Rain (Club Mix): Max Essa ft. DC Mathias

12) Strawboy Supernova (Madrid Metal By Howie B): Telefís

13) Three Drums: Four Tet

14) 24022022 (Fluo Sobre RMX): DjClick & Masha Natanson

God Save The Ing (1:28:44) (Box) (Mega)

If I Stand Up, The World Will Spin Away

Andrew Weatherall has frequently featured on this blog, most recently in June with a selection of remixes. However, I think this is the first time I've presented a selection exclusively focusing on the music he's released under his own name.

Without further ado, here's a 10 song selection in a little over 70 minutes, bringing together (mostly vocal) songs and remixes from Andrew Weatherall's solo albums and various EPs and 12" singles.

Today's selection title is a lyric from We Count The Stars (track 9) which complements the photo of the giant wooden gorilla, snapped in the gardens of Bristol Zoo when Clan K visited on Monday. Every 30 minutes or so, the gorilla's left hand would raise to it's mouth, which would then 'spit' water all over the children (and some adults) below, to their screaming delight.

 

1) The Moton 5.2 (2020)

2) Built Back Higher (Radical Majik Re-Mix By Steve Boardman) (2009)

3) Disappear (Duncan Gray Remix) (2016)

4) Making Friends With The Invader (2018)

5) You Can't Do Disco Without A Strat (Single Version By Andrew Weatherall) (2006)

6) Confidence Man (Album Version By Andrew Weatherall & Nina Walsh) (2016) 

7) Miss Rule (2009)

8) Vorfreude 2 (2017)

9) We Count The Stars (Unloved Remix By David Holmes, Keefus Ciancia & Tristin Norwell) (2016)

10) The Last Walk (Album Version By Andrew Weatherall & Nina Walsh) (2016)

 

2006: The Bullet Catcher's Apprentice EP: 5 

2009: A Pox On The Pioneers: 7

2009: Andrew Weatherall vs The Boardroom Volume 2: 2

2016: Convenanza: 6, 10

2016: Consolamentum: 3, 9

2017: Qualia: 8

2018: Blue Bullet EP: 4

2020: Pamela #1 EP: 1

 

If I Stand Up, The World Will Spin Away (1:11:35) (KF) (Mega)