Track Of The Day: Longhair - Sistema Solar (MM Discos)

I came across this a mere five minutes ago, courtesy of Napoli-based MM Discos. ‘Sistema Solar’ is a lovely piece of space disco courtesy of Longhair, who have spread their collective mane over the likes of Permanent Vacation, Bordello a Parigi and Love On The Rocks. There’s so much to admire here, one of the prime reasons is the effortless genre-straddling. This track could find its home in so many diverse sets; its cunning blend of disco, trance underpinned by a low bpm house pace have got the lies of ALFOS written all over it. That is, in itself, a stereotype. A very positive one though.

PDA MIX 22 ♥ Optimo (Espacio)

 

PDA · PDA MIX 22 ♥ Optimo (Espacio)

Track Of The Day: JJ Cale - Cocaine (Philips)

I know as much about JJ Cale as I do of The Grateful Dead, which is to say nothing. So, imagine my surprise when I felt compelled to put ‘Cocaine’ as TOTD. Is a drug that amplifies the arsehole in one really a good subject for a song? Well, I guess it is. Having said that, after hearing this sub three minute ditty, built around a simple guitar  riff and a languid vocal, it’s difficult to believe that JJ Cale choosier to release this as a pain to said drug. Anyway, number one in New Zealand for a week.

Jane Fitz - The Gardens - Boom Festival 2025

Boom Festival · Jane Fitz - The Gardens - Boom Festival 2025

Coyote- Bodega Jan '26

 

isitbalearic..? · Coyote- Bodega Jan '26

Track Of The Day: Gudj - Vortex (Metronome)

This is the type of track that Barac pays ad infinitum, and why not? He’s made his name on the back of it and, even though some others may seek to imitate, no one else has the Romanian master’s way with a groove. It’s not unusual to listen to some of his mixes and get the impression that he plays the same stuff all the time. And, while that might be true to a certain extent, it’s not really thence. He’s a master of sonic shifting; his sets having a preternatural ability to stretch themselves according to the time and then place he plays certain tunes. Their adaptability and versatility allowing them to be in more than one place at a time. This, from Gudj on Bulgarian label Metronome is, as already said, more than typical of the stuff he plays. Minimal, trance, dub, house all rolled into one. And in the right hands, a dream machine.

Track Of Yesterday: Floppy Sounds - Ultrasong (François K Studio A Mix) (Wave)

I can remember buying this from a young Ivan Smagghe at Rough Trade Paris like it was last week. (Actually, I can remember lots of similar transactions taking place, so this one isn’t unique, but I can’t use this phrase too often, so let’s get it over and done with.) This double pack is all about François K’’s Studio A & Studio B mixes. Each go off in a slightly different direction tempo wise, and each is every bit as good as the other. It’s just a question of choosing the version that best suits the occasion. This particular mix differs from the other in view of the fact that it has a great kick and a better low end. There’s also the intermittent flange and that pervasive electric guitar strum also, around the middle, there’s a bit where the syncopation goes to uncharted regions of the diaphragm. The other mix is a bit more out there, while this one is much more linear and a better tool. Horses for courses innit. (This is the second time I've featured this rack as 'TOTD', and it's all because of a story that young Peter Hurst told me. I shall say no more.)

Track Of Yesterday: Sound Of The Suburbs - Absolute Power

Well this is a radical move. However, it’s one that’s been brewing for a while. I buy most of my music on Bandcamp nowadays.Both vinyl and digital, but mostly the latter. The former having become prohibitively expensive at times, and also taking up too much space. I’ve got enough of it to last me a lifetime anyway, and I’m in the process of shedding, so some Discogs action coming up over the next few weeks. Bandcamp is also the best place to find great producers like my good friend Pete, aka Hursty aka Sloth aka Sound Of The Suburbs. Someone who has been moving within the shadows of most of the important South London/Croydon underground house scenes for a while. And, even though he now lives in Oslo he wields his funky influence from there like a drunken viking with a sword that’s too heavy. ‘Absolute Power’ is a banger, as dem yoot wood say. A ridden typical of the genre offset with a well-researched vocal sample cut and spliced as only a beat sensei like Pete knows how. Definitely one to keep the blood flowing over the winter months and the shapes being thrown. The whole EP is linked to here I think. So dive in on the advice of this not-at-all nepotistic post.

LUKAS WIGFLEX & IVAN SMAGGHE - CAN YOU FELT IT AGAIN?

 

ivan smagghe · LUKAS WIGFLEX & IVAN SMAGGHE - CAN YOU FELT IT AGAIN?

Track Of The Day: Patrice Scott - Motions (Sunrise Dub) (Sistrum)

Another one from the genius that is Patrice Scott, this time on his own label, Sistrum. It’s a dub, which means the euphoria and transcendentalism is ramped up even more. ‘Motions (Sunrise Dub)’ definitely does what it says on the tin. It’s an incredibly impressionistic track, the light and shadow playing across  the groove in a constant embrace, until things rapidly crystallise and everything flies. Amazingly euphoric.

James Shinra - Shinra Electro Company Vol 2 (Shinra Electro Company)

 

Title: Shinra Electro Company Vol. 2

Artist: James Shinra

Label: Shinra Electro Company

Cat Number: SEC002

Genre: Electro

A1: Acid Every Day

A2: Back

B1: Blip

B2: 1310Clap

While I can’t claim to have listened to everything James Shinra has produced, ‘Acid Every Day’ does seem to be a little bit tougher than what we’re used to from him. It’s more the ‘Acperience’ side of things than ‘Eiffel’, if you get my drift. The 303 is ramped up and underpinned by a bottom heavy foundation  The floaty ‘Back’ changes the mood completely., and straddles the thin line between electro and braindance (whatever THAT is. I read about it  somewhere.) Because like house, braindance is a feeling. ‘Blip’ contrasts with what has gone before due to its stripped back, almost industrial beats. There’s an undulating feel to it, mainly due to the various sonic embellishments which dive in and out of the background and become what you chase over time. And then there’s ‘1310Clap’, the doom-laden piece of break beat science overlaid with robotic fervour. In spite of my best efforts to confuse, this is a great  release that showcases James Shinra’s talents. He makes it all sound so easy. And carving out your own niche in any place, as he has, isn’t. 

Trommel.227 - Desyn

trommel · Trommel.227 - Desyn

Domenic Cappello - Radio Buena Vida 16.01.26

 

Radio Buena Vida · Domenic Cappello - Radio Buena Vida 16.01.26

Track Of The Day: Patrice Scott - Rain Dance (Visions Inc)

‘Rain Dance’ is pure Patrice Scott and in saying that a sort of jazzy tribalism embellished by keys that sound both futuristic and classic at the same time. I went through a big Patrice Scott phase a while back while searching for meaning at the deeper end of the soul spectrum. He’s very much overlooked, slept on, under a lot of peoples’ radar. I can’t quite understand why. Everything he’s turned his hand to is class. And he’s also not the first name on the list when discussing Detroit artists. I guess everyone knows each other there as far as the scene is concerned, yet he seems to keep himself to himself. I’m probably wrong; but who cares anyway. He’s one of the best.