Spotify Jun 2015

Lanterns is the new album from Glaswegian Ross Birchard, aka Hudson Mohawke, and Scud Books is without doubt the standout moment. We've got elements of Krautrock mixed with subtle eighties melody from Pye Corner Audio on their contribution to Ghost Box's 'Other Voices' series. Michael Mayer returns with a strong track that builds and builds; it's part of a double A-side with Reinhard Voigt (also included at track 9). On Think Twice, Recondite proffers a melancholic vibe aimed at the peak-time dance floor. Out on Italian imprint Life and Death.

Panda Bear's version of Eric Copeland's Cheap Treat is currently Tune of the Moment for good reason; he's taken an instrumental and added his vocals to great effect... a proper remix! We're onto the fourth and final round of EPs from Matias Aguayo, and Trabzon 120 BPM, from El Rudo del House, is a catchy ditty with a throbbing bass and nice vocal sample. And when the drums come back in at 4:47, it simple perfection! Then, from new album Boys Noize Presents Strictly Raw Vol 1 we've got Cerebral, a collaboration with Pilo, more throbbing bass and catchy vocal samples but thankfully quite different to the Matias Aguayo track.

The pummelling Black Rose from Source Direct is mutated drum 'n' bass that hits hard. Amazing stuff. The flip side to The Stickler (the Michael Mayer's track) sees the only man who can compete with Danny Wolfers when it comes to producing such vast quantities of quality music, it's Reinhard Voigt with The Buddy. I've been pleasantly surprised with the new Leftfield album Alternative Light Source, combining sweet melody with some cutting edge sounds. The wonderful Channy Leaneagh lends her excellent vocals to Bilocation, one of many standout tracks on the long player.

Jessy Lanza can do no wrong in my book, and this collaboration with DJ Spinn and Taso is simple beauty. I love it. The lead track People Who Listen to Music in Cars from Tete De Tigre's recent EP Beamont Club mixes Detroit synths with a rugged bass line and is garnished with some tasty eighties plinky-plonky notes. Another recent Tune of the Moment is Keuswask by DMX Krew; taken from a very strong reissued album, Standing Stones. Slackk are new to me, but on the strength of their Backwards Light EP, I'll be taking more notice. Saigon has a strangely alluring Easten-sounding riff, rather nice it is too.

Another new artist to me is Haf Haf, and their new EP This Sick Beat is worth investigation. The Gatekeeper Remix of Blue Dragon though is the highlight, part Art of Noise part deranged acid. Polish duo Grzegorz Demianczuk and Wojciech Taranczuk, aka Catz 'n Dogz, appear to be aiming for mass appeal with their new EP Killing With Kindness, and lead track is certainly very catchy. Good luck to them! Final track is from another Glaswegian, Toby Ridler, aka Becoming Real. Pure Apparition is a gentle, blissed out track, taken from a mixed bag of an album (of the same name).

1. Scud Books – Hudson Mohawke
2. Machines are Obsolete – Pye Corner Audio
3. The Stickler – Michael Mayer
4. Think Twice – Recondite
5. Cheap Treat - Panda Bear Version – Eric Copeland
6. Trabzon 120 BPM – Matias Aguayo
7. Cerebral – Boys Noize, Pilo
8. Black Rose – Source Direct
9. The Buddy – Reinhard Voigt
10. Bilocation – Leftfield & Channy Leaneagh
11. You Never Show Your Love – Jessy Lanza, DJ Spinn, Taso
12. People Who Listen to Music in Cars – Tete De Tigre
13. Keuswask – DMX Krew
14. Saigon – Slackk
15. Blue Dragon - Gatekeeper Remix – Haf Haf
16. Killing With Kindness – Catz 'n Dogz, Phat Kat
17. Pure Apparition – Becoming Real