who's for some northern soul?

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Go on, you know it makes sense. This is one of my favourite Northern Soul songs and my goodness, how hot does Evie Sands look in this video. Stunning.

one saturday

Tweet This song just oozes class, it's so seductive and beautiful.

schema - 'annunaki'

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Sitting somewhere between Glitch Hop and Dubstep, this bass heavy banger of a track was released this month and will probably eat up anything in its path. It's a motherf*cking monster of a tune.

just another snake cult - 'have you seen this girl anywhere?'

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Of all the weeks to find a band (from Iceland, of course!) that has a Brian Wilson sound to it, it had to be this one. I'm off to see the Beach Boys live in concert on Friday and I can't tell you how excited I am about it. In the meantime, I'm going to play this a lot. Just Another Snake Cult is Þórir “Thor” Bogason, an Icelandic who grew up in California but has since moved back and is making music to dream to.

oliver schories - 'lausanne (daniel steinberg remix)'

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He's done it again. Steinberg is a genius, full stop.

faux flux - 'bone fever'

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The songs been out a little while now but this video is hot off the press, directed by Dominic Knight. The album is well worth checking out too. It's quite edgy and cerebral in my opinion.

pascal & mister day - 'golden days (king britt remix)'

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This is one of those delicate pieces of dance music that just demands further listening, it has so many different layers going through it .

daughter - 'smother'

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I heard this on Ben Watt's radio show recently and was hooked by the melancholy simplicity. I've been racking my brains to think who this sounds like. I've drawn a bit of a blank so far. It will come to me though. This comes out next week on 4AD records. Be sure to keep an eye out for it.

the wands - 'hello i know the blow you grow is magic'

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I'm a sucker for jangly 60's psychedelic guitar with big fat riffs. This tune has that and, dare I say it, a Madchester bagginess. It's a big tune and this is a big band. They are Danish (of course!) and have an EP out in November. I find it hard to believe it's their debut LP as they have a very mature sound. There's no bum notes or edginess to this although they have got a really great rawness. I'm going to bookmark them for future reference and no mistake.

joyce the librarian - 'follow me, i’m right behind you'

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A certain innocence to this song, very much in that fey indie 80s way.

quantic - 'time is the enemy'

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Downtempo is the key and this is behind the locked door.

inspiral carpets - 'this is how it feels'

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A great anthem from a great band from a great musical era.

Björk - 'mutual core (secuem remix)'

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I was just settling down and listening to this and thought I would share the love. I really am going to bed now!

beck - 'broken drum (boards of canada remix)'

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Last one from me tonight and I'm dropping the tempo by several notches.

liphemra - 'young'

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I thought at first that this was School of Seven Bells but it's someone altogether different. She's a singer from LA with a lot of attitude and by the sounds of it, part of a scene developing there. I think there's a loose connection with Chelsea Wolfe, maybe not in the music but the rawness of the music and the experimental way in which it is being explored. I like this a lot.

tom williams & the boat - 'little bit in me'

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I have friends who rave so much about this relatively local band and I can see why. This is their new single from their album and is a great showcase for their talents both as musicians and lyricists. It's a classic angst-y guitar song and I think we need more of them especially in these interesting times that we live in. 

the royal concept - 'stand twice '(adventureof remix)'

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Inspired by the seminal 'Stand By Me' classic this remix breathes new life into both the tune and vocoder with an interesting and infectious pop tune. It's what these Swedes do so well and why I love them so much.

richard villalobos - 'dependant and happy'

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One of the most important and influential names in techno, Villalobos has maintained his well-deserved reputation by attention to detail and maintaining his very high standards. This includes the format of his music. If you want to play his music properly at home or in clubs then it needs to be in physical format. Fortunately, he doesn't mind you streaming lower quality on your PC so here's his latest album and it's free. It's also top notch.

totally enormous extinct dinosaurs - 'your love'

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I'm not sure what to make of TEED. They have a very zeitgeist sound but it's not exactly pushing boundaries and there are lots of other electro-synth bands making similar music. I'm not saying they are bland nor are they bad but they don't exactly rock my world. Have a listen and see what you think. This tune smacks of La Roux as if re-imagined as an Ibiza remix in my opinion.

bat for lashes - 'all your gold'

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The second single from her new album has been likened to Gotye but I think it sounds a bit like Caribou. Natasha Khan has an ear for a great tune.

ane brun - 'these days'

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This is the new video to accompany the single and it's breath-taking in its simplicity.

chinese man - '7th street'

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Very nice.

howling wolf - 'howlin' for my baby (k+lab's jammin in the window live mix)'

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This is a rather fresh remix - created on the fly. I wish I was this talented.

edit - 'ants'

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And with some of the most incredible dancing you will ever see.

muddy waters - 'i am the blues'

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The great man is 86 today.

the kiwi animal - 'blue morning'

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Here's a rarity that I stumbled across this evening, it's an alternative 80s act from New Zealand. Now I don't know too much about this band and I'm going to have to do some exploring before I can come back to you with any hard facts but in the meantime I'll leave you with what I think is a great pop song. It sounds like a cross between 'Horse With No Name' and something that the Belle Stars would have done as an acoustic number.

alt-j - 'fitzpleasure'

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How about this for a video from their debut album? It's directed by Guillaume Cagniard and considering it's a fairly low budget video the production is top notch.

fikt feat. erla guðmunds - 'the eagle'

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If you are after a beautiful and dreamy homage to the Doors then look no further. This is quite simply breathtaking, featuring the vocals of Erla Guðmundsdóttir, an Icelandic singer whose name is new to me but one I shall definitely be looking out for in future.

rufus - 'selena'

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All the way from Sydney comes Rufus with a track from their second EP (it's 8 tracks long! Why not just make it an album, guys?) and this is 'Selena'. They're due to tour in the States soon but I'm hoping they hit the UK after that. Fingers crossed that they make it.

king tubby - 'declaration of dub'

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I'm listening to a John Peel radio show from 1982 and this gem has just been played. It's amazing to hear it being played and placed as a contemporary song on that show. Incredible.

beastie boys - 'open letter to nyc (rub n' tug remix)'

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This is a cracking remix.

john peel show archives

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Anyone who was a teenager between 1970 and 2000 would have listened at some point to the John Peel Show on Radio 1 of an evening. He was more than a DJ, he was a musical institution and someone who I trusted even though I never met the man. His shows were always welcoming, the music democratic with no genre ever getting overlooked and it was a joy to listen to him. You can now relive those moments with a massive archive of his shows online spanning nearly 40 years. I'm going to relive my early teens by taking my laptop to bed, pretending it's a transistor radio and listening to a show under my bed covers. I may be some time! Click the link here.

sugarcubes - 'blue eyed pop'

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I have no idea why but this song was stuck on loop in my head all morning today. Taken from their debut album. An album that changed my life.

joan sutherland - 'il dolce suono'

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Taken from the Opera 'Lucia de Lammermoor' here is possibly the greatest native English speaking female opera singer of the 20th century. I deliberately avoid classical music on this blog because of my ignorance about it but once in a while something comes along that just needs sharing.

daryl hall & chromeo - 'i can't go for that'

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I was absolutely blown away by this performance when a friend posted the link to this video. I think I've watched this a dozen times so far and it still grows on me.

dan le sac - 'play along feat. sarah williams white'

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Wow! I wasn't expecting Scroobius Pip's partner in crime to come out with a deep and dirty electro album. Just listening to it now and it's definitely an early contender for album of the year. It's so mature as an album that it's hard to believe this is a first solo album. It's moody in it's magnificence and I'm welling up with superlatives. Best stop here.

joão gilberto - 'ho ba la la'

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This goes with the weather this afternoon.

monkey maffia - 'sources from the past'

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I shan't spoil the surprise but the vocals reveal a surprising choice of accompaniment to this bass heavy tune.

a tribe called quest - 'i left my wallet in el segundo'

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Guess where I left my wallet..

sophia hutchings - 'shadowed'

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Goodnight!

holy other - 'held'

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This album is something of a slow burner. I bought it, played it once and then thought 'no'. But since then I've given it a few more listens and it has definitely grown on me. It has a Witch House feel to it that can put you off if you were expecting something a little lighter but it's certainly listenable. I think it sounds almost like a soundtrack and it led me to think what kind of film it would be the backdrop to. Probably an art house production with lots of wistful glances into the distance.

the reverend peyton's big damn band - 'devils look like angels'

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This is the first single from their new album. As you can tell, it's bursting with attitude and old electric slide blues.

new wave a-go-go

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Bow Wow Wow - 'C30 C60 C90'

Altered Images - 'Dead Pop Stars'

Bauhaus - 'Of Lilies and Remains'

oddience - 'lit lava lamp'

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This is definitely from leftfield. It's the kind of hip-hop that Gonjasufi specialises in; wonderfully trippy, artistic and intelligent. The bitches and bling crowd will hate it but then again that's no bad thing. 

andi kristens - 'magic'

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Does what it says on the tin.

iamx - 'bernadette'

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They are very underrated. I'm not sure why they're not bigger because they have the image, the tunes and the voice for mega-stardom. What's not to like?

terranova's pogosession 22

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I'm breaking from a rule that I set myself early on, namely that I wouldn't post one mix straight after another. The reason being that I feel an overwhelming urge to share this funky minimalist set from Terranova. I'm about 80% of the way through it and it's been tune after tune. I found it snuck away in the corner of my Soundcloud dashboard this evening, noticed that it was uploaded by my favourite record label, Kompakt and I am so glad I did. 

dj boulaone - 'afrique 3d mixtape'

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Collated by Sandra N'Kake and mixed by DJ Boulaone this is a whistle-stop tour of some of the continent's best new music. The quality and sheer number of songs that has been packed into this hour long mix is staggering. It has blown away a lot of preconceived ideas of African music and is definitely one to bookmark for future additions to this series. 

donnie and joe emerson - 'baby'

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This is an old band but brand new to me but thanks to the powers of Resident Records in Brighton and Ariel Pink's cover it's now well and truly on my radar. There's a John Martyn kind of feel to this beautiful song. Ignore your prejudices for the awful album cover and have a listen and be amazed.

woodpecker wooliams - 'sparrow'

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Here's a tune to shake the sleepy dust from your head. It sounds like an upbeat Fever Ray with an intense feel to it that makes me want to rewind and pick out the bits that I missed the first time round of listening. It's not comfortable but it is compelling.

schatrax - 'the almighty'

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Hypnotic, deep, sexy. No, not me - this track ticks all 3 boxes and then some. 

grizzly bear - 'yet again'

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Taken from their new album 'Shields' here is Brooklyn's finest with a slice of what they do best. If it ain't broke then don't fix it.

kinee - 'no regret'

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Staying Scandinavian for a minute here's another little piece of 3 minute pop (well 4 minutes and 55 seconds but you know what I mean...) but it's a lot more downtempo. 

It too sounds a bit 90s. I remember with Napster and all those MP3 sites in the late 90s where (apart from the obvious illegal stuff) bands from all round the world would upload their tunes and try to gain exposure through this new medium. Nowadays we take it all for granted but it blew me away at the time that I could listen to a death metal band from Ukraine and then a trip-hop band from Argentina. This definitely has that kind of feel to it. The video to it is extremely clever. Less is definitely more. Happy days. 

honeytraps - 'breeze'

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This has a wonderful end of summer feel to it and the video captures the mood perfectly. There's been a few bands with this name but I think this Oslo incarnation could possibly be the most enduring. They have a knack for writing great pop songs and are certainly one to watch. I think they describe themselves perfectly as early 90s British guitar indie, the kind of music that got left on the shelf when the behemoth Britpop took hold of the nation and I for one am really glad that jangly indie guitar is making a renaissance.

dj shadow - 'six days'

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I haven't heard this in a while. It's a great tune and awesome video.

julia holter - 'goddess eyes i'

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Best described as a 'slow-burner' I think. Ms Holter has a beautiful voice and the tune skips gently underneath it as she takes us somewhere altogether more hospitable than this harsh world.

kognotif - 'my space world'

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I love trip-hop. You love trip-hop. Everyone loves trip-hop and this is album is one of the reasons why. It has that timeless quality, the melancholic tone that reassures and although it's superficially a chill-out kind of vibe there is something quite edgy bubbling underneath. And it is so frigging cool. 

Although it's mainly an instrumental album there are one or two tunes there that are proper vocal affairs, for instance 'Silk Street' which could be a Wax Tailor or Tricky number. Tha'ts not praise I throw around blindly, this bloke has seriously earned the right with what is, quite frankly a beautifully crafter album. I just hope he has it in CD format.

run dmc - live in concert for the first time in 13 years

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I guess this was their first ever performance since the tragic death of Jam Master Jay. They sound like they never went away and the DJing was provided by Jay's sons which is a lovely way to keep it in the family. It's put a big smile on my face watching this video. Welcome back gents. I urge you to dig out the other videos of their performance. 

kollektiv turmstrasse - 'heimat (robag's turmkolle rekksmow)'

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I picked up a copy of 'Olga Mikks', the Robag Wruhme collected remixes album last week and am finally getting around to giving it a proper listen. It's as seductive as it is melodic and heartily recommend it for all the family. This is track 5 from the album.

retro heaven

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I think I'm in retro mood today. This is perfect, I just love the scream Ms Ross gives before kicking into the second part of this medley.

labi siffre - 'it must be love'

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Happy Saturday.

anil chawla - 'three'

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This is a Richie Hawtin recommendation.

portishead - 'all mine'

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And it's goodnight from me with this gem.

macklemore (feat wanz) - 'thrift shop'

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Forget all that bitches and bling bollocks, if you want fresh as you like American hip-hop then Macklemore is your one-stop shop. I love this track. 

mungo's hifi - 'soundboy police feat soom t'

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Now this hits the sweet spot. From their 'Forward Ever' album from late last year here is the very excellent Mungo's Hi'Fi. I dare you, I double dare you, not to get funky to this track.

citizen - 'room service'

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I think you're going to like this track. 

bon iver - 'perth (young wonder remix)'

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There's a competition running at the moment to remix some Bon Iver tracks. I've been following this, on and off, since the beginning and there's some lovely entries that have been submitted. This is a beautiful example from Young Wonder.

Incidentally, more details of the competition can be found here.

yeasayer - 'longevity'

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This new track proves that the band are maturing into a very accomplished unit with some excellent tunes and lyrics that leave you pondering them long after the end of the song. I think that's as good a definition of a decent record as any. If you then add to the mix a rather clever video that's a play on the song title then I think this can be described as 'job done'.

indigo feat. didda - 'sometimes (demo)'

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Reykjavik never sleeps. The music factories work 24/7 to produce unique, idiosyncratic, hauntingly beautiful music. Just check this demo for instance from Synthadelia Records. I think at times that Iceland must be my spiritual home, the way that the music speaks to me.

saint saviour - 'death of samantha'

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One of my favourite female singer/songwriters returns with a very deep trip-hop cover of the Yoko Ono track. 

breakfast in fur - 'die pfalz ep'

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I've not listened to any proper shoegazer/dream pop in a little while so it's a lovely surprise to stumble across this gem of a band. It doesn't, however,  come as any surprise to learn they are from New York State as they have a certain style that I can't really define but I kind of sense. The guitars hark back to New Order in places and then bang up to date with a sound that would please any fans of Asobi Seksu. It's a little infuriating that the vocals are a little too indistinct to appreciate the lyrics but I guess it adds to the charm and let's face it, the same accusation could be levelled at most shoegazer bands. 

I think I'm making a mess of this blog entry so I'll just end it here with my inconsequential seal of approval and let's cut to the music. 

the man with the iron fists

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Continuing the hip-hop theme I am very excited to read that Wu Tang's RZA is shortly to release his directing debut with an ultra-violent kung-fu film with production from Quentin Tarantino, no less. The soundtrack was released last week and the film follows at the end of October. Track 7 has this powerful tune, 'Built For This', from Method Man. 

jazzy jeff mixtape - 'life colors'

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I can't go to bed without sharing this gem with you. I'm sure you are all aware of how good Jazzy Jeff is. I think it is fair to describe him as the DJ's DJ. I've certainly heard his name being lauded by many DJs that I respect. Hot off the press too, this is less than a week old and is a very intelligent mix of old and new, black and white. 

a-trak - 'ghosts n' stuff'

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I do try to be eclectic here at De Minimis Towers and this next video is about as far removed from 50s Jazz as you can get. This time it's a mind-blowing example of Trizzy at his best and absolutely shredding the Deadmau5 track to pieces. Note just how easy he makes it. I can assure you, it's taken years to get that good and some people could practice a lifetime and never get near such nonchalant mixing.

the dave brubeck quartet - 'stompin' for mili'

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My self-education into the world of jazz continues. I've bought a 3 album Brubeck set and am currently being entertained by 'Brubeck Time'; an early album recorded back in 1954. This particular song from the album is an improvisation on the jazz standard "Oh, Lady Be Good'. It's origin and title were an 'expression of rage and frustration' at photographer Gjon Mili who had been enlisted to film the quartet recording. I love how, when you spend any time listening to Brubeck's band you realise how incredibly deep these 'simple' tunes are. 

antony and the johnsons - 'cut the world'

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This is the very recent live album that Antony Hegarty recorded in Denmark with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra. Hearing him sing his studio classics live for the first time throws up some interesting results. I was expecting a full-blown orchestral masterclass to rival Jim Steinman. Instead, it is hardly operatic at all and sounds almost stripped back with Hegarty's vocals cruising in 4th gear. Don't get me wrong; his voice purrs along beautifully and is perfect for this more intimate arrangement and ever so occasionally he blasts into his 5th gear later on in the album. I applaud his restraint and I think it makes for a more seductive experience. 

Of course it's his singing voice that really grabs the attention but he also has a very melodic speaking voice (well, he's a Sussex lad so that's a given!) when he delivers a few monologues on his views on the world, religion and his sexuality. This sounds pretentious but I think they are useful signposts for his music. This album is a must-have for all fans of Antony and the Johnsons.

Here is "You Are My Sister'.

robag wruhme - 'dopamin'

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This was a suggestion from my eldest son, just turned 13, and it's got a very cheeky deep bassline reminiscent of Mr Oizo or the Timo Maas remix of 'Doom's Night'

new order - 'dubvulture'

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Taken from the Substance album of 1987. The album must rank as one of the greatest 'Best Of' albums ever created with some mind-blowing remixes. This is a real stand out track for me.

jarvis cocker - 'my baby's coming back to me'

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Delivered with a Scott Walker-esque flourish, here's Jarvis doing this classic some true justice.

neil armstrong, astronaut, he had balls as big as king kong

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First big suit on the moon and he's off to play golf. Hole in one.

dj hype - 'ready or not'

Tweet When I raise my trigger finger....

calexico - 'along again or'

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I'm having a bit of a dance around the living room this morning. This one has me pulling lots of shapes.

the xx - 'chained'

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They've done it again, the new XX single is quite superb with understatement and the ideals of romance at the forefront. This is perfect music for my current mood. The new album, 'Coexist', is out next month and I think from what I've heard that it will make many top 100 lists this year.

nicole moudaber and victor calderone - 'the journey begins'

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This is an epic track that even the likes of Villalobos would be proud of. It grows exponentially into a monstrously good tune. It's 13 minutes long but never does it seem repetitive for repetition's sake and when, finally the song really gets going, all the separate parts come together beautifully. 

nick cave - 'burnin' hell'

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Taken from the soundtrack to the film 'Lawless' here are Cave, Ellis et al under the moniker 'The Bootleggers'. It's classic Cave/Ellis and sounds like it was lifted from Abbatoir Blues or the first Grinderman album. 

taken by trees - 'dreams (dub remix)'

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It's been a while since I last updated this blog. I'm afraid that work and personal circumstances have meant that I wasn't able to devote time to this. I'm now back and raring to get this project back up and running. Here's Swedish band Taken By Trees with a delightful song. If you recognise the voice it's because it belongs to ex-Concretes singer Victoria Bergsman. It really is quite dreamy.