If You Don't Control Your Mind, Someone Else Will

Six songs today, plucked from the plethera of recommendations that come my way every day. All worth your time and your money.

1) Disaster!: Neil Brogan (Near Broken Band)

Tags: alternative / DIY / indiepop / jangle pop / lofi / powerpop / Belfast

Neil: "I like making songs"

Me: "I like listening to your songs"

2) Walking Barefoot - Marche Pied Nu: Anne Gallien (single)

Credits: seagulls, Lucie the bass, thumb piano, egg shakers. scarlett 2i2, laptop, garageband. 

Anne: "stand up / you can do it / you got this!"

Me: "1980s Siouxsie & The Banshees/Pink Industry downtempo vibes, with a bassline to die for and gloriously sensual French vocals."

3) T H A M E S: The Woodentops (single)

Credits: Time stretching, digital toning Acoustic guitar and voice

Rolo: “Hi, a new release here, a long ambient piece with a touch of folk in the tradition of naval and sailor song, a continuous roll, like the river itself, with audio like light reflecting and depth of water. Its not rock or club or pop or beats of any kind. Its more a throb, or a pulsation, Hope you like the mood.! ®¬ <-Rolo”

Me: "Solo Rolo, with a near 16-minute companion piece of sorts to Bathyscaphe from 2024's Fruits Of The Deep. Superb, as you might expect.”

4) The Morning Of The Trip: Andy Bell & Masal (Common Primitives)

Tags: alternative / electronic / jazz / turkish folk / ambient / harp / indie / kosmische krautrock / psychedelia / shoegaze / London

Andy: "Playing [my] guitar “as if it was a waterfall""

Me: "The follow up to 2023 debut Tidal Love Numbers promises to be an even more satisfying trip"

5) No Compass Required (Puerto Montt City Orchestra No Direction Remix): Warriors Of The Dystotheque / Balaphonic (No Compass Required EP)

Credits: Jonny Mac, Sean Graham, Mike Rufolo, Nick Rufolo (WotD), Danny Ward (Balaphonic), Angus Murray, Tim Salter (Puerto Montt City Orchestra)

Them: "sailing round the Mediterranean in search of the Balearic Beat."

Me: "The original version, plus remixes by Chris Coco and Puerto Montt City Orchestra. will inevitably turn up on a Dubhed selection. Sheer bliss."

6) Blue Bird: Coyote (Blue Bird EP)

Story: Bluebird And The Coyote (Native American Lore)

Coyote: "Accept criticism, but never accept disrespect"

Me: "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) for 2026? Even better."

Fifteen Strings And Infinite Beats

Ninety-one minutes of Andy Bell to breeze through the Easter weekend and blow those blues away.

The original thought had been to revisit Andy's music as GLOK but as I was putting together a shortlist of songs, I found myself pulling in a Ride song here, a solo song there, and I ended up with a list of about thirty tracks, all equally deserving of inclusion.

What I've ended up with is half that, fifteen career-spanning crackers, spanning thirty five years and taking in Ride (then and now), Hurricane #1 remixed by My Bloody Valentine/Kevin Shields, Beady Eye (but no Oasis), remixes of Aviator, Do No Harm, Fe Salomon and Flyying Colours, collaborations with Masal, Pye Corner Audio, Timothy Clerkin and Du Blonde, and quite a lot of GLOK.

I think it turned out alright but then when you're dealing with an artist who is not only incredibly gifted but also phenomenally prolific, it's on me not to screw it up!

1) Aubrey Drylands Gladwell: Andy Bell (2020)
2) Portland Rocks: Ride (2024)

3) Rising Sign (My Bloody Valentine Mix): Hurricane #1 (1999)

4) White Smoke (Remix By Andy Bell): Beady Eye (2013)

5) Pinball Wanderer: Andy Bell (2025)

6) Damascene (GLOK Remix): Do No Harm (2022)

7) Vapour Trail (Album Version): Ride (1990)

8) Indica (Pye Corner Audio Remix – GLOK Re-Edit): Andy Bell (2021)

9) Taxicabs (GLOK Remix): Fe Salomon (2023)

10) The Gift (GLOK Remix): Aviator (2018)

11) Wavygravy (GLOK Remix): Flyying Colours (2022)

12) Perfume (Acoustic Version) (Cover of Paris Angels): Andy Bell (2020)

13) Tidal Love Conversation In That Familiar Golden Orchard (Edit): Andy Bell & Masal (2023)

14) Pulsing (GLOK Remix - Citadel Version): GLOK (2020)

15) Nothing Ever (12" Version): GLOK / Timothy Clerkin ft. Du Blonde aka Beth Jeans Houghton) (2024)

1990: Nowhere: 7

1999: The Greatest High EP: 3

2013: 42.42 (Beady Eye Remixes) EP: 4

2018: Omni: 10

2020: The Citadel EP: 14

2020: The View From Halfway Down: 1

2021: All On You EP: 12

2021: Another View: Andy Bell Meets Pye Corner Audio Uptown: 8

2022: Damascene EP: 6

2022: Low Maintenance EP: 11

2023: Taxicabs EP: 9

2023: Tidal Love Conversation In That Familiar Golden Orchard EP: 13

2024: Alliance: 15

2024: Interplay: 2

2025: Pinball Wanderer: 5

Fifteen Strings And Infinite Beats (1:31:00) (GD) (M)

Like this? Here are some more selections from the Dubhed archives:

Imagine The Sky Filled With A Thousand Suns: Andy Bell (July 2022)

Dirty Starlight: GLOK (September 2022)

Ticket To Ride: Ride (September 2024)

And, as we're four months into 2026, of course there's already new music featuring Andy Bell in the cosmos: