Stand Up...You Can Do It...You Got This!

More top tunes from this year so far, including a few from last week's Bandcamp Friday haul.

I like to imagine that there's someone out there who rips my selections onto a CD or cassette, which is why most of my compilations hover around the 45 to 60 minute mark.

Today fits the bill, with 10 songs at a smidge under 47 minutes, spanning multiple moods and genres.

I always look forward to new music from Duncan Gray and he's spoiling us in 2026 by releasing a track every month. Duncan's also got a bit of a funky groove going on, as evidenced on July's offering Netbacks. A tease at 5:24, this could run on a loop for hours and never get tired.

I enthused about Bounce & Salute by Cornershop and Bubbley Kaur a month ago, and my feelings haven't changed. I described it as "a joy to these ears" : swirly keyboard, dub effects and the melodic voice of Bubbley all combine perfectly. This should be the smash hit of the summer, in my opinion. 

In my round up of new releases, my one-liner for Blue Bird by Coyote was "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) for 2026? Even better."  Well, of course it is, it's Coyote.

I've been obsessed with Blue Bird and it's words of advice for the age of madness we're currently inhabiting. My favourite right now is

"What other people think of you is none of your business"

I should start applying these mantras to my own life.

Too Good To Stay first appeared on The Woodentops' fabulous 2024 album Fruits Of The Deep, a song which my review at the time labelled "indie pop par excellence bathed in the Balearic sunshine."  A 'Nightclub Mix' appeared at the tail end of last year, stretching the song and the vibe out over seven minutes.

In last Friday's BF shopping trip, I added the newly released Moongoose remix of the song, I know next to nothing about Moongoose aka David 'Yorkie' Palmer, but this is a cracker. A slow fade in (and out), building up an electronic throb, layered synths and guitars and the inimitable voice of Rolo McGinty. It's fantastic.

dee eye why's Bungalow Legs EP came to me via my subscription to Roberta Fidora's Neighbourhood on Bandcamp; she also gifts vocals to the opening song. dee eye why aka Mel Houghton operates in the same wheelhouse, straddling indie and electronica. Like A Winner leans to the former, pleasingly so.

Mindbender and 100 Poems is an unexpected but very welcome team up. Mårten Attling and Mike Wilson. Like Coyote's contribution, the songs is structured around a spoken word piece, this time from Irish poet Emmet O'Brien. That's where the similarity ends, especially on Mike's 100 Poems remix.

Dirty Dublin is "a postcard from the back streets [a] love letter to a city that refuses to become tidy." The remix provides an acid rain dance rinse that will leave you feeling energised, if a little grubby and segues perfectly into...

....Don't Stop by Bristol rapper Diz Undone, produced by Tom Caruana. The radio version files down some of the sharper language but the power and potency of the narrative is untouched. I'm looking forward to the album Love & Rage later this year.

A moment of chill, thanks to Richard Norris and Lol Hammond's collaborative project Moon Dust. Scarlet Traces is the closing track on Memories, Dreams, Reflections, an album that finds new shapes and forms from deceptively simple structures. One to lose yourself in.

My Electric Dreams has already appeared in a 2026 'round up' selection, back in March. My get out is that last time it was superb remix by Airsine; this time it's the original single version by Pete Bones. The Tubeway Army sample is used sparingly but effectively in this compact 4:39 banger.

And the selection comes back down again one final time for the closing song by Bristol-based, French-born voice-over artist, actor and musician Anne Gallien. Walking Barefoot / Marche Pied Nu is a one-off single, an irresistible mix of throbbing bass, sensual vocals and - the clincher for me - thumb piano and egg shakers. 

1) Netbacks: Duncan Gray

2) Bounce & Salute: Cornershop ft. Bubbley Kaur

3) Blue Bird (Single Version): Coyote

4) Too Good To Stay (Moongoose Remix): The Woodentops

5) Like A Winner: dee eye why

6) Dirty Dublin (100 Poems Acid Rain Mix): Mindbender & 100 Poems

7) Don't Stop (Radio Version): Diz Undone X Tom Caruana

8) Scarlet Traces (Album Version): Moon Dust

9) My Electric Dreams (Single Version): Pete Bones

10) Walking Barefoot / Marche Pied Nu: Anne Gallien

Stand Up...You Can Do It...You Got This! (46:57) (GD) (M)

Live It Well

Not a lot of chat today as I've been plagued by power cuts whilst composing this post and it's accompanying selection. Only brief ones, but they've knocked out the PC every time and it's taken increasingly longer to get everything up and running again. And it's raining again.

"Arse!" as Father Jack was inclined to say, well, shout.

In that spirit, here's some joie de vivre courtesy of a dozen songs that have already brightened up my 2026; some only just so as they were released for Bandcamp Friday.

Again, I've found myself with an embarrassment of riches and have compiled 12 of them for your listening pleasure today, and this weekend.

Spare Snare's cover of Say My Name by Destiny's Child has been knocking around since 2001, but it's just reappeared on brand new compilation, Love Your Later Stuff, so it gets in on a technicality. That, and it segues beautifully into the dub of Jezebell's Turn It Yes by Justin Robertson's Five Green Moons.

It was a chance check in with the official Gavin Friday website that led me to the David Holmes remix of The Church Of Love, which snuck out earlier this year. 

And if you enjoy the song by Al MacKenzie (D:Ream) which gives today's post it's title (well, half of it at least) I will be coming back to the Evil Acid Barons album, which is an early contender for compilation of the year... and only a handful of tracks have been released so far.

1) Protector: SAULT (Chapter 1)

2) Life Is Short, Live It Well (Vocal Mix): Al MacKenzie (Evil Acid Barons)

3) Program 70: Pye Corner Audio (Program 70 EP)

4) Love To Watch U: A_M_B_O_S_S (Machine X Human EP)

5) Nothing Ever (Tom Sharkett Remix): GLOK / Timothy Clerkin (Alliance Remixed)

6) Surrounded By Spies (Richard Norris Dub): Placebo (Surrounded By Spies EP)

7) Song Of Siraba (Cosmikuro Remix): A Space Age Freak Out (Song Of Siraba EP)

8) My Electric Dreams (Airsine Remix): Pete Bones (My Electric Dreams EP)

9) The Church Of Love (David Holmes Remix): Gavin Friday (The Church Of Love And Dancing EP)

10) Say My Name (Cover of Destiny's Child): Spare Snare (2001) (Love Your Later Stuff)

11) Turn It Yes (Justin Robertson's Five Green Moons Dub): Jezebell (Turn It Yes Remixes Vol. 1 EP)

12) Môgôya (BOM Nation Remix): Namian Sidibé (Remix EP)

Live It Well (1:07:07) (GD) (M)

A Shot Of Equanimity

Another dip into the shopping bag for an hour-long selection of purchases from last Friday.

 

Topped and tailed by David Holmes, all but one from this decade, a mix of legendary and new(ish) names, all committed to delivering some top tunes, bending the original music into new shapes.

 

Enjoy! 

 

1) Yeah x 3 (Rich Lane Remix): David Holmes ft. Raven Violet (2024)

2) PoPoPoPom (Keith Forrester Remix): Stylic (2024)

3) If.... (Ditz Remix): bdrmm (2020)

4) You Ain't Seen Me (Black Octopus Remix): The Shaker (2024)

5) Leave House (Motor City Drum Ensemble Remix): Caribou (2010)

6) Game (Mezey Remix By Benjamin Boeldt): Martina Topley-Bird (2022)

7) Camouflage (Pattern 2) (Remix by UXB aka Peter Morgan): Campbell / Mallinder / Benge (2022)

8) Sugar High (Saint Etienne Remix): Iraina Mancini (2023)

9) Sylvia (David Holmes Remix): Lisa Moorish (2024)

 

2010: Swim Remixes: 5

2020: If.... EP: 3 

2022: Clinker (Expanded Edition): 7

2022: Game EP: 6

2024: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve / Saint Etienne Versions EP: 8

2024: Blind On A Galloping Horse (Remixes Vol. 1): 1

2024: Shelter Me: In Crisis: 2 

2024: Sylvia EP: 9

2024: You Ain't Seen Me EP: 4

 

A Shot Of Equanimity (1:00:23) (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)

Help Me To Find My Way

A multi-disciplinarian who seemingly doesn't require sleep, Jesse Fahnestock is back with a new single, Other Skies, a collaboration with Emilia Harmony as Electric Blue Vision. 

 

It would be understating things slightly to say that Jesse's creative fires have been burning brightly and strongly in 2023. February saw the third full-length 10:40 album Transition Theory. In April it was Jezebell's turn, Jesse and Darren Black unleashing the brace of Trading Places EPs, swiftly followed in July by the widescreen epic Jezeblue and then August's 20-track magnum opus Jezebellearic Beats Volume 1. Remixes for Högt I Tak & Jamie Tolley, Perry Granville, Pim Secle & Orchid and Warriors Of The Dystotheque have plugged the gaps and a just over a month ago, Jesse launched a new project, Powder Wax, collaborating with S.A.A.R.A on the single Little Black Dress.

 

Other Skies is the second single from Jesse and Emilia, following 2021's inaugural release Electric Blue Visions. This time, the original is accompanied by a trio of remixes from Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown (Sean Johnston and Duncan Gray), Tambores En Benirras (Graham Newby aka DJ Gripper) and Balearic Ultras (Mike Bradbury and Duncan Paterson).

 

The original version of Other Skies contains all of the elements that made Electric Blue Visions and At The Turning Of The Tide (from Transition Theory) so enjoyable, not least Emilia's breathy vocals which border on sprechsang and carry you over the gently undulating synth washes. Dr. Rob, of the excellent Ban Ban Ton Ton music site, provides a spot-on promo copy for the release and conflating two of his reference points, Other Skies is like the lovechild of Century by Instastella (especially the Adamski remix) and One Dove's White Love. It's that good.

 

Needless to say, the remixes are all superb. Balearic Ultras really play up the aspects of the above comparison, whilst Messrs. Johnston and Gray draw in elements of Augustus Pablo and inevitable reminisces of Star by Primal Scream. The EP was previewed with the Tambores En Benirras remix and it's a monster, built around the vocal refrain "Up down, spin around, bring it back together" and chugging along irresistibly for an all-too-short five minutes. All very different from the source version but, as a package, Other Skies is an absolute bargain at £4.00 for the lot. You can buy it now from Higher Love Recordings via Bandcamp.

 

It's been 18 months since I posted my first selection of Jesse's music and given the sheer volume of music that's been released since then, a return visit is well overdue.

 

I previously struggled to whittle the selection down, ending up with 16 tracks over an hour and half. I was determined to be more ruthless this time and provide a shorter yet still representative sample of music spanning Jesse's solo and collaborative work. The selection below is 17 tracks and just shy of an hour and three quarters, which pretty much tells you how well that went for me.

 

I've topped and tailed the mix with the two Electric Blue Vision releases and the segued and sequenced tracks in between feature Jesse and friends from the early releases in 2020, my slightly belated jumping on point in 2021, the birth of Jezebell and a handful of tracks from this year. As before, you can hear and feel the forward momentum and evolution of the music but also the connections. I think the opening four songs sit well together and illustrate as well as any how consistent - how consistently good - the music has been from the start without ever settling for repetition, tropes and safe options.

 

If this is your introduction to Jesse Fahnestock, Emilia Harmony, Darren Bell and friends then fasten your seatbelt, you've one hell of a flight ahead.

1) Other Skies (Original Version: Electric Blue Vision (2023)

2) The Knack (Jezebell's Feeling Moody Mix): 10:40 (2022)

3) Bone Cutter (Album Version): 10:40 (2021)

4) See Me Through (Sirens And Soldiers Dub): 10:40 (2020)

5) At The Turning Of The Tide: 10:40 ft. Emilia Harmony & Matt Gunn (2023)

6) Too Shy (Jezebell's 'Hush Hush' Edit): Kajagoogoo (2023)

7) Drugskill (Album Version): 10:40 (2020)

8) The First Step: 10:40 (2022)

9) Trading Places (5AM): Jezebell (2023)

10) Figure It Out (10:40's QED Edit): Royal Blood (2022)

11) Deliverance (10:40's Walk Off Dub): S.A.A.R.A (2022)

12) Picking Flowers: 10:40 (2023)

13) Loft Music (Jezebell's DC Metro Mix): Ian Vale (2022)

14) Dumbell (Original Version): Jezebell (2022)

15) Submissive Background (Jezebell Remix): Pete Bones & The Stones Of Convention (2022)

16) Coat Check: 10:40 (2022)

17) Electric Blue Visions (Original Version): Electric Blue Vision (2021)

2020: Found Time: 7

2021: All Of Us: 3

2021: Electric Blue Visions EP: 17

2022: 10:40's Advent Calendar: 4, 10

2022: Deliverance EP: 11

2022: Diavol Edits Vol. 7 EP / Jezebellearica Volume 2 EP: 6

2022: Higher Love Vol. 2: 8

2022: Hyena Hopscotch Remixes: 15

2022: Jezebellectro EP: 14

2022: Kissed Again EP: 16

2022: The Knack EP: 2

2022: Loft Music EP: 13

2023: Other Skies EP: 1

2023: Trading Places EP: 9

2023: Transition Theory: 5, 12

Help Me To Find My Way (1:42:15) (KF) (Mega)

You can find my previous selection from May 2022 featuring Jesse and friends right here.

The Music Of Light, That's Our Song

It's been a bit of a rum month, so I’ve been digging into my digital crate for some uptempo tunes for the last Friday in February. Being me, there's a melancholy edge to quite a few of them and the pacing is all over the place, but hopefully you'll be too busy moving your hips and waving your hands to care. Just make sure you put down that hot drink before you press play. 

We get down to business with Max Essa and a wonderful remix by Mark Seven of Uptown Vibration that - in my mind at least - has an intro that continually makes me think it's going to launch into A Certain Ratio's cover of Shack Up. More of them later.

audiobooks are Evangeline Ling and David Wrench. Wrench has a mightily impressive CV but I first heard of him via his link to Julian Cope. audiobooks are remixed here by Bruise, a duo featuring Darren House, better known to me as Diesel of Rocky & Diesel, Ballistic Brothers and X-Press 2 fame.

There was a lot of love for Blancmange over at The Vinyl Villain this week, so it would be remiss of me not to include Pete Herbert's remix of one of their finest moments from the 1980s. Living On The Ceiling is possibly their finest song, but it’s a tough call.

Coming in at the tail end of the 1970s, A Certain Ratio were smashing it in the 1980s and, like Blancmange, have been enjoying a purple patch this decade. 2021's Loco Remezclada saw a bunch of artists remix their album Loco, with deeply satisfying results. Featured here is Manchester-based DJ and producer Kirby Halliday aka Muddy Feet, delivering a cracking version of Always In Love. 

 

Speaking of cracking tunes, Hifi Sean and David McAlmont have released a whole album of them with Happy Ending. All In The World was remixed by Hifi Sean himself, a pulsing, energetic tune that retains just enough of David McAlmont's vocals to hit that sweet spot (though the vocal-free dub is excellent, too).

 

afterlife is a one-man act, Steve Miller, described in the Resident Advisor bio as "the sunset phenomenon, purveyor of romantic and melancholic mood music". Who better to guide a tune through the night and blinking into the sunrise than Sean Johnston in his Hardway Bros guise? This is kind of how I imagined a Slam remix of Ultramarine might sound, very 1990s yet perfect for a 2020s winter weekend too.

Jezebell should need no introduction if you're a regular visitor to this blog as I've featured them many times. Like A Certain Ratio, Pete Bones turned over his album Hyena Hopscotch to a clutch of creatives and the results were impressive. Jezebell have only been releasing music for a couple of years but have hit the mark each and every time. My regular stream of Bandcamp mailing list updates included the good news that there are more Jezebell remixes coming out next month, which will undoubtedly feature in future posts.

 

Abstract Incognito is also known as DJ Pants and to friends and family as Aditya Mehta. His music is inspired by "his love for bright sunny weather and warm coastal breezes" and I first heard of him last year, following Max Essa's trail to his Jansen Jardin label and the rather fine Collection Number One compilation. Another track with a strong 1980s vibe, this time a little swingbeat soul.

 

Speaking of the 1980s…cripes, I hadn't twigged the underlying theme when I was stitching this selection together! Mark Rae - taking a break from Rae & Christian - released The Tracks Of My Psychedelic Soul in 2021, containing a very familiar sample from one of my favourite bands underpinning a very satisfying mash-up.

 

I know very little about Unu' Marika aka DJ Marika aka Florin Marica, other than they are based in Romania and run the Selectro Records label, this track appearing on the 22-track compilation Free Download in 2021. Much of it made up of hit-and-mix remixes of artists as varied as Echo & The Bunnymen, Cardi B, Dead Or Alive and Massive Attack. This remix and accompanying dub by Romanian producers Sakdat & Balaur aka Paul Andrei & Loko Trashman are the highlights.

 

I've been following Nicolas Laugier aka The Reflex for many years, from his early outings with unofficial/bootleg reworks to the present day with official 're√isions' for the likes of Róisín Murphy, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and UNKLE. Here, he returns to a stone cold classic from the Bar-Kays, teasing out 1978's Holy Ghost to a satisfying eight and a half minutes.

 

Resident Advisor states that Deo'Jorge is a "well-known figure in New York's infamous underground off-location party scene". Sadly for me, being located in rural Gloucestershire in England, there's a distinct lack of an underground off-location party scene, but I can still appreciate Deo'Jorge. I originally bought his Robotic Souls EP in 2021 on the strength of featured remixes by Hardway Bros and Prins Thomas but the other tunes were pretty darn good too, as evidenced here by Do Androids Dream.

 

I like Jane's Addiction but haven't particularly bought their albums and have even less sense of Perry Farrell's other work with Porno For Pyros and as a solo artist. Therefore, I can only describe his 2021 compilation The Glitz; The Glamour: Remixes as an impulse purchase. It was a good one, though. Oh The Sunn! is a collaboration with The Avalanches and provides today's post and mix titles. Oh, and I've included the lyrics below if you want to sing along.

 

Hola Estrella are another act that I know very little about, apart from the fact that they are an Italian duo who appear to share my love of "obscure and psychedelic disco sounds and cosmic emotional tracks" - I mean, what's not to love? I believe Velax is Russian born but residing these days in Mexico City. As for AGD, you've gotta be kidding me, I haven't a clue! However, I will say that I'm very glad that they all come together for the closing track on this selection, Les Etoiles.

 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

1) Uptown Vibration (Mark Seven Downtown Mix): Max Essa (2022)

2) The Doll (Bruise Remix By Christian Campbell & Darren House): audiobooks (2021)

3) Living On The Ceiling (Pete Herbert Version Darkness): Blancmange (2021)

4) Always In Love (Muddy Feet Remix By Kirby Halliday): A Certain Ratio (2021)

5) All In The World (Hifi's Electro Flux): Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (2022)

6) Resistance (Hardway Bros Remix By Sean Johnston): afterlife (2021)

7) Submissive Background (Jezebell Remix By Jesse Fahnestock & Darren Bell): Pete Bones & The Stones Of Convention (2022)

8) Me Gusta Dancing: Abstract Incognito (2022)

9) The Tracks Of My Psychedelic Soul (Redux): Mark Rae (2021)

10) Stelele (Sakdat & Balaur Remix): Unu' Marika (2021)

11) Holy Ghost (Reborn) (The Reflex Re√ision By Nicolas Laugier): The Bar-Kays (2021)

12) Do Androids Dream: Deo'Jorge (2021)

13) Oh The Sunn!: The Avalanches ft. Perry Farrell (2021)

14) Les Etoiles (Velax Cosmic Dust Reix): Hola Estrella ft. AGD (2021)

The Music Of Light (1:29:10) (Box) (Mega)

 

 

Oh The Sunn! by The Avalanches ft. Perry Farrell 

The entertaining lights
When the sky and stars at night
Fashioned by divine light

 

Divine
Divine designer
Under lights, suicide

 

No, we don't understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don't understand it at all
But we'll do our best
To stand the test
And we'll never turn back no more (the big, big, beautiful lights)

 

No, we don't understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don't understand it at all
But we'll do our best
To stand the test
And we'll never turn back no more (under lights, suicide)

 

The music of light
The music of light
That's our song
Love is our song
It's what we've known all along
Love is our song
Big, big, beautiful life
Love is so powerful
Love is so strong
Love is our right
But we've known all along

 

No, we don't understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don't understand it at all
But we're doing our best
To pass the test
And we never turn back no more
Love is our right

 

No, we don't understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don't understand it at all
But we do it our best
To pass the test
And we never turn back no more

 

In Space We Trust

The final selection of 2022 highlights was becoming a bit of a monster. This nearly ended up as a 22-track, two-and-a-half hour megalomaniamix, such was my difficulty in paring down the many, many songs that I've loved this year but which hadn't made it onto the previous selections this week. 

 

Nobody needs a monster mix on New Year's Eve though, me included, so here's a rather more reasonable 10 track selection at just over an hour. I could quite decide if I was creating a club or a chill out area but hopefully enough to get a party started...in our case, Clan K, the cat, some food and party games and skipping Jools Holland's Hootenanny.

 

More of the usual suspects but a couple of new (to me) artists, BT COP and Residentes Balearicos, that were respectively introduced via the superb Shelter Me and Higher Love Vol. 2 compilations earlier this year.

 

And, just under the wire for consideration in 2022, I got home from work to find that my first package from my Last Night From Glasgow subscription had arrived. Four beautifully packaged coloured vinyl albums from Popup, Billy Reeves and The Soup Dragons and - most eagerly anticipated of all - on double yellow vinyl, Happy Ending by Hifi Sean and David McAlmont. Needless to say, the latter made my night/week/year.

 

Following yesterday's single of the year award, guess what? They've only gone and done it again.

 

2022 has seen some outstanding albums that I've lived with and listened to repeatedly. However, in face of incredibly strong competition, Happy Ending is just perfect from start to finish. I will be coming back to it again (and again) in future posts but in the meantime, no better way to close this compilation and my 365th post in 2022.

 

Happy Ending is my album of the year. 

 

Thanks for your support and comments and for continuing to inspire and motivate me on a daily basis. I never thought that I'd still be going, two years after starting this blog, but the constant delight of new music, unearthing personal favourites and being introduced to artists and music that I'd missed altogether is stronger than ever.

 

I hope, however you're marking this evening and whoever you're spending it with, that you have a wonderful New Year's Eve and a fantastic start to 2023.

 

1) First Rays Of A New Life: Dan Wainwright & Elle Redding (Mother Oak)

2) Proof Of Stake: BT COP (Shelter Me: various artists)

3) Silent Disco Sucks (Duncan Gray Remix): Pete Bones & The Stones Of Convention (Hyena Hopscotch Remixes)

4) Balearic For President: Residentes Balearicos (Higher Love Vol. 2: various artists)

5) Summer Lovin' (Full Length Version): Cerrone & Purple Disco Machine (Summer Lovin' single)

6) Dexter In Dub (Bedford Falls Players Remix): Perry Granville (Dexter In Dub single)

7) Space Is Us (Basement Jaxx Remix): Telefís ft. Sean O'Hagan (Space Is Us EP)

8) Jezebellearic: Jezebell (Jezebellearica Volume 1 EP)

9) Sail On: Al Mackenzie (Sail On single)

10) Beautiful: Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (Happy Ending)

 

In Space We Trust (1:02:00) (Box) (Mega)

Every Day It Feels So, Feels So, Feels So Real

A slight change of plan today, as my intended post has now been shifted to Sunday - all will become clear. Instead, I'm having another dip into my 2022 music purchases to bring you a selection of ten tunes, spanning the globe and all with a nod and a wink towards the dancefloor. The BPMs are relatively low on many, but they're damned persistent and infectiously groovy.

Starting off with the wonderfully titled Chuggernaut from Nottingham producers and DJs Disco Rogues aka Nick Kipsy and Dave Holland, followed by Pan In The Flash from Leeds-based Cosmikuro aka Jamie Minto, a highlight from the excellent Paisley Dark Records compilation Shelter Me. All for a good cause, as is the Support Ukraine Compilation on the Toy Tonics label, which I featured recently and represented here by I Think I See by South London duo Athlete Whippet aka Aviram Barath and Robin Braum.

 

Confidence Man's album Tilt continues to be the gift that keeps on giving since it came out in April, whilst John Tejada puts a new spin on an old rave classic to great effect. Humanoid was a solo vehicle for Brian Dougans, one half of The Future Sound Of London, Amorphous Androgynous and a million other aliases.

 

Another legend, Hubert Blanc-Francard of Cassius and La Funk Mob and more recently film composer fame, appears here as Boom Bass with a wonderful remix of Glatson by Nathalie Duchene. 

 

Things close out in a dub-inflected style with one of Raf Rundell's four reworkings of songs from Mattiel's Georgia Gothic album, imbuing the music and vocals with a spaciousness and depth that provides a perfect way to wrap up the hour.

 

Happy weekend, everyone. More - but very different - fun tomorrow!

 

1) Chuggernaut: Disco Rogues

2) Pan In The Flash: Cosmikuro

3) 'The Mayor Of Malt Rave St' (Pete's Give Them Shelter Remix): Pete Bones

4) Luvin U Is Easy: Confidence Man

5) Didgital (Original): Omri Smadar

6) sT8818r (John Tejada Remix): Humanoid

7) I Think I See: Athlete Whippet

8) Glatson (Boom Bass Remix By Hubert Blanc-Francard): Nathalie Duchene

9) Island Avenue: Zillas On Acid

10) Cultural Criminal (Raf Rundell's Salty Man Dub): Mattiel

 

Every Day It Feels So, Feels So, Feels So Real (59:36)