kill j - 'bullet'

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This song from Copenhagen band Kill J has attitude. Think PlanningToRock, Fever Ray, Goldfrapp - great music with a strong, positive message. The tune itself is ballsy, heavy, deep but leaves enough room to ensure the listener isn't drowning in a musical sea of angst. The next time you read the latest Miley Cyrus PR guff about her having a political message just remember how much bollocks that all is. Kill J are the real deal.

nicolas alisferi - 'lost soul (federico fleres remix)'

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I don't usually get a chance to listen to a lot of nu-disco but I was browsing the Beatport website and this new release grabbed my attention. It's quite deep and extremely meaty for a track of this genre but maybe that's what caught my attention. It's certainly a slow burner too taking a full 2 minutes or so to really get going. 

låpsley - 'painter (valentine)'

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This absolutely blew me away when I first heard it...and then the second...and the third. I could wax lyrical for ages about just how ethereal, how sublime, just how good it is. I'll pass and just post the music.

akasha - 'interzone (gently tapping a guitar with beef on a lovely summer day in menlo park)'

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The title is a bit naff, there's no disguising that, but this tune from 'Cinematique - The Remixes' is an absolute beast of a tune. 

edit - 'ants (niam remix)'

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Sod it, I know I've blogged this tune before but it's one of my all-time favourite Glitch Hop tracks and it moves me in so many ways. Every time I listen to it, I hear something new and I've spent the best part of an hour listening to a fair few remixes of the original. This is pretty darn good staying close to the original but bringing a new dimension with the intense bassline.

woman's hour - 'darkest place'

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Staying with downtempo pop, here's a band I've been meaning to blog about for ages. They've been bubbling under for sometime now and I hope 2014 is the breakthrough year for them. They remind me of Dubstar in a lot of ways - quintessentially English electronic pop, drop-dead killer lyrics and an understated approach to their sound. And that, dear reader, is right up my street!

fka twigs x inc. - untitled

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London soul crew FKA Twigs have collaborated with Inc. to produce this as yet untitled slice of minimalist R&B. It's reminiscent of the XX at times but with a bit more weight behind the tune. It's definitely one for the late night groove.

haim - 'if i could change your mind'

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Band of the moment, Haim, have just released their latest video and if their musical talents weren't enough to get you interested then how about some killer dance moves too? This video rocks (and rolls).

fact mix 247 - wild beasts

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Wild Beasts have curated the latest FactMag mix and they've delivered a mix that is so eclectic that I wouldn't know where to begin to describe it. Shoegaze to Post Rock, Folk to Norwegian black metal, Kate Bush covering 'Sexual Healing' to a Wild Beasts specially recorded cover of the Leonard Cohen Classic: "Hey, That's No Way..." Not bad, eh?

hurray for the riff raff - 'the body electric (live at wfuv)'

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It's swings and roundabouts. The day got worse when I read that Miley Cyrus had covered the Flaming Lips 'Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots' - that is so depressing, honestly and then this evening Brighton get knocked out of the FA Cup after a dismal display against Hull but I got home to find my Hurray For The Riff Raff t-shirt had arrived and it's a beauty. 

And that gives me an excuse to post a song. Wonderful!

mother - 'easy'

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Oh my, I think you're going to like this. I came across this on the ever brilliant Line of Best Fit website. This sounds like white boy funk and a killer bit of drum machine programming and slapped on at the end a wicked little guitar solo straight from the 80s.

forest swords - 'the weight of gold'

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Every so often a conceptual music video comes along that blows you away with its inventiveness. Have a look at this one directed by Benjamin Millapied.

postiljonen - 'atlantis'

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I stole this track from my little brother's blog. Like me, he's a big fan of Scandinavian Dream Pop (must be something in the genes) and he got me onto a band called Postiljonen. He described them, very accurately, as sounding like the much missed Air France. By the way, if you fancy checking his blog out you can find it here: http://summerinturku.blogspot.co.uk

beth orton - 'something more beautiful'

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The incomparable Ms Orton with a track from her recent 'Sugaring Season' album.

sisyphus - 'rhythm of devotion'

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The track sounds, to me anyway, like one of those UK soul tracks from the 80s. The similarity ends there though especially when I tell you that Sisyphus is a collaboration between Son Lux, Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti (enough with the alliterations, I hear you say!)

It's quite an ambitious tune ranging from retro electro-pop to anthemic rock and I've got to say that it does work and work very well.

starwalker - 'losers can win'

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Take one half of French chilled-electro musicians, Air (Jean-Benoit Dunckel) and add a member of icelandic electro-pop  band, Bang Gang (Bardi Johannsson) and the result is this exquisite slice of pop. Their EP is out on 17th March too so more great news.

neneh cherry - 'everything (villalobos & loderbauer: vilod high blood pressure mix)'

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How about this for a discovery? A Ricardo Villalobos/Max Loderbauer remix of a brand new Neneh Cherry track and it's an absolute monster of a tune. So minimal, so beautiful, just so brilliant and at 10 minutes long it has enough time to take you round the world twice. Music like this is the reason why I'm so passionate about this blog.

hundred waters - 'visitor'

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This is a live recording for pitchfork.tv and pretty good it is too. They're a folk band from Florida with a very ethereal sound. I like this a lot right now and will endeavour to find out some more about them for you.

beastie boys - 'suco de tangerina'

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Mellow. Nice.

ian brown - 'in the year 2525'

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If there's a better cover of the Zager and Evans classic I've not heard it. This was one of the many highlights on the last solo album before the massive Stone Roses sell-out. 

the embassy - 'roundkick'

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They're from Gothenburg so come with quality guaranteed but if I tell you this sounds like a great New Order song too, would that be a step too far? I stand by the comparison.

vernon - 'don't be lonely (an2 remix)'

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The plans to go to Brighton seafront and survey the damage have been aborted because it's just too damned windy. Still, it's not been all bad news - a superb breakfast in Brighton's best cafe and then after a pleasant walk about town it's back home and listening to the Fabric 33 album by Ralph Lawson. 

This is the very first track on the collection and mighty fine it is too.

kitten - 'money'

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She sounds like a chilled out Peaches but still with the attitude and the video stars Ariel Pink, there's a hotel room, debauchery and all round rock and roll excess. Nice.

hudson mohawke's slow jams chapter vii

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It's now firmly a Valentine's tradition and this one's an absolute belter. Trust me. There's something for everyone in this cheeky and seductive mix.

david byrne and st.vincent - 'who'

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Thanks goes to my friend, Tanza, for the heads up for this tune. A great wet weather on a Friday tune (if such a genre exists).

little dragon - 'klapp klapp'

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2 videos for the price of one! Here's the latest track from one of Sweden's best bands and features zombies and all sorts.

angel olsen - 'burn your fire for no witness'

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Already being tipped as a potential album of the year, you can hear the entire album at NPR, here. It's soulful, mellow, clever, funny, reflective and extremely catchy. 

Here's one of the tracks from it - 'Hi-Five'.

phosphoresent - 'i don't care if there's cursing'

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Taken from their 2010 album, if you've not heard of them yet then you really should give them a listen.

jeff the brotherhood - 'endless fire'

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It sounds almost like a demo tape with some very lo-fi acoustics and raw singing but don't let this put you off, it's a cracking tune, one of those that you think you've heard before because the tune is so catchy.

robb murphy - 'never letting go'

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I'm working late on my accounts and so some chilled out music is definitely in order. It's Sunday evening so it seems fitting that I choose something folky and acoustic. This track from Robb Murphy, a Belfast-based musician, is just what the doctor ordered. 

salomen - 'i might be wrong'

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Morning!

prince fatty meets the mutant hi-fi - 'where the black hat (if the black hat fits)'

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This is from a wonderful concept - a dub reggae soundtrack to an imaginary Western - and a criminally under-rated resulting album, in my humble opinion.

georgie fame and the blue flames - 'yeh! yeh!'

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That's what I say, I say "Yeh!".

salif keita - 'madan (martin solveig remix)'

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Let's try to lift the bad weather blues.

monday morning in the mix

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Is this going to be a good day or not? Difficult to tell so far. It was definitely made better by Early Grey tea and hot cross buns for breakfast though. And of course some killer tunes on my iPod on the commute to work.

Trash Kit - 'Fame'

Underworld - 'Winjer'

Melanie Pain - 'Peut-être Pas'

the verve - 'sonnet'

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A great tune from a great album and just how cool is this photograph?

gil scott-heron - 'new york is killing me (modern artefacts space blues rework)'

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His finest song on his very last album. This re-working is quite brilliant, lasts forever and is still far too short. I think the great man would have approved.

beth orton -'mystery (nico muhly remix)'

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Beth Orton's ethereal 'Mystery' from the Sugaring Season album has been remixed and exclusively previewed on Stereogum and it's incredibly beautiful. Start the weekend with this and you know that it's good to be alive. You can listen here.