The Sun Has Come Again To Hold You

Today's selection shines a spotlight on guest vocalists. All of the nine tracks have electronic leanings, veering from club to dub along the course of under an hour.

There will be some familiar names - Boy George, Texas, Elizabeth Fraser, Guy Garvey - and some less so, but they all add something unique to the song, even when put through the remix rinse.

 

Most of the artists will also be well known, with a couple of surprises tucked away. Cabana was a one-off collaboration between superstar DJ Sasha aka Alexander Coe and long-term producer Tom Frederikse. The former went on to global domination whilst the latter swapped music for law in 1999, specialising in Digital Media.

 

Battle Box was also a one-off project, this time for 3D aka Robert Del Naja, who pops up again with Massive Attack later in the selection.

 

The most unexpected pairing is perhaps Paul Weller and Boy George on One Tear in 2017. I haven't fact checked this at all, but was this their first time in the studio together since Band Aid in 1984? Whatever, it was worth the wait...!

 

1) Red Alert (Jaxx Radio Mix): Basement Jaxx ft. Blue James (1999)

2) Music Matters (Axwell Extended): Faithless ft. Cassandra Fox (2007)

3) Bailando Con Lobos (Goodmen Fresh Dub): Cabana ft. Sheila Schwok (1994)

4) Battle Box (Remix): Battle Box ft. Guy Garvey (2012)

5) The Hush (67% Mix): Rae & Christian ft. Texas (1998)

6) One Tear (Club Cut Alternative Version): Paul Weller ft. Boy George (2017)

7) Empire Ants (Miami Horror Remix): Gorillaz ft. Little Dragon (2010)

8) Group Four (Security Forces Dub) (Remix By Mad Professor): Massive Attack ft. Elizabeth Fraser (1998)

9) Strange Addiction (Bud Addiction) (Remix By Charlie May & Duncan Forbes): Spooky ft. Celestine Walcott-Gordon (2005)

The Sun Has Come Again To Hold You (58:22) (Box) (Mega)

Note: After yesterday's fiasco of accidentally leaving off Touch Me by The Doors from the Whatever Happened To Reg? selection, (running) order has been restored and you can now listen to/download the full playlist as intended. If you didn't notice the omission yesterday, please ignore this note and I may just get away with it...

I'm So Deep In A Cloud I'm Drifting Out

Storm Eunice was fairly gentle with us: a couple of smashed windows and a strip of roofing ripped off of the shed and that was pretty much it. The Saturday morning sky promises a calmer day, and although the wind and rain will be back in force later, hopefully nothing like yesterday.

To capture this moment of serenity, today's selection gathers up some healing and uplifting tunes from the past couple of years. I raved about Jezebell's new one on Monday and Little Dragon's latest EP in January. I subscribed to The Future Sound Of London's digital calendar again this year and include their first offering for 2022. 

 

On the last day of 2021, Dave Allen's new project Uptick released the marvelous Universe, with a typically fantastic remix from 10:40 aka Jesse Fahnestock, bringing Bolton & Stockholm together in a stupendous soundclash. Available as a free download on Soundcloud.

 

Thanks also to blogging legends The Vinyl Villain and Bagging Area for the nods to Mogwai, GCOM (aka Tom Middleton) and Hypernatural (including Cut Copy's Dan Whitford). The selection closes with Mildlife, hailing (like Hypernatural) from Melbourne and bringing some welcome Antipodean sunshine to dispel the stormclouds.

 

1) Drifting Out (Version): Little Dragon ft. Jakob Koranyi & Yo-Yo Ma (2021) 

2) Beyond The Milky Way (Edit): GCOM (2021)

3) Jezebelle Et Moi (Original Widescreen Version) (Cover of Max Berlin's): Jezebell (2022)

4) Opk Machines Trx M2: The Future Sound Of London (2022)

5) Ritchie Sacramento (Other Two Remix By Gillian Gilbert & Stephen Morris): Mogwai (2021)

6) Universe (10:40's Dark Matter Mix By Jesse Fahnestock): Uptick (2021)

7) Stormfront (Album Version): Hypernatural (2022)

8) Automatic (Jono Ma Ascend Mix By Jonathan Marr): Mildlife (2020)

I'm So Deep In A Cloud I'm Drifting Out (51:44)
 

I'm Feeling Much Stranger 'Bout You

Little Dragon were on the longlist for the Paris-themed selection posted on Monday, but didn't make the final playlist. Another of their tracks surfaced on a random shuffle on the commute to work. I can take the hint, so here's a selection for your listening pleasure. 

Little Dragon hail from Gothenburg in Sweden and were high-school friends who got together as a band and released their first single in 2006. Little Dragon is Yukimi Nagano on vocals & percussion, Fredrik Källgren Wallin on bass, Håkan Wirenstrand on keyboards and Erik Bodin on drums.

My collection is limited to 2007 to 2014, but Little Dragon are still very active, releasing their 6th album, New Me, Same Us, in March 2020. I've just bought their last single, Drifting Out, which snuck out last month and contains three excellent versions, including a remix by Dubhed favourite Kelsey Lu.

 

1) Looking Glass (2009)

2) Brush The Heat (2011) 

3) No Love (2007)

4) Little Man (Album Version) (2011)

5) Twice (Album Version) (2007)

6) Blinking Pigs (2009)

7) Paris (Album Version) (2014)

8) Nightlight (Unknown Mortal Orchestra Remix) (2011)

9) Fortune (2007)

10) A New (Is Tropical Remix) (2010)

11) Shuffle A Dream (Album Version) (2011)

 

2007: Little Dragon: 3, 5, 9 (Japanese bonus track)

2009: Machine Dreams: 1, 6, 9

2010: A New EP: 10

2011: Ritual Union: 2, 4, 11

2011: Ritual Union EP: 8

2014: Nabuma Rubberband: 7

I'm Feeling Much Stranger 'Bout You (42:08)

 

Buy the Drifting Out EP on Bandcamp

Drifting Out (Kelsey Lu Remix): Little Dragon (2021)