Track Of The Day: James Blood Ulmer - Jazz Is The Teacher, Funk Is The Preacher (Rough Trade)

 

I can’t remember where I was a when I first heard James Blood Ulmer, either Vinny or Dave’s bedroom. Once heard never forgotten though. And I wanted to post ‘Are You Glad To Be In America’, as that seems strangely appropriate at the moment, with the World Cup approaching, and the Somalian referee being refused admission, as well as the Senegalese team being searched publicly on arrival. The Iranian fans being denied visas, the Iranian team having to hole up in Mexico, etc. The list goes on. Anyway, ‘Jazz Is The Teacher, Funk Is The Preacher’ is four or so minutes of unrestrained raw mayhem. I think being on Rough Trade was probably the main conduit for JBU’;s entrance in to my, and my mates lives and, although I wouldn’t by any stretch of the imagination call myself an obsessive, the two tracks named here, particularly this one, 2have been regular eagworms for the last 40 years.

Track Of The Day: Two Smoking Barrels - Basses Loaded (Late Night Dub) (Yoshi Toshi)

 

This is one I haven’t played for a long time. A collaboration between Terry Francis and Tony Hewitt, ‘Basses Loaded (Late Night Dub)’ is a deep, pulsating piece of after hours house. The bass takes centre stage, allowing the vocal sample, skittering percussion and synth stabs, which aren’t a million miles away from the wild pitch aesthetic, free rein. Terry Francis’ productions still more than hold their own. A lot of what he made in the second half of the nineties and the beginning of the noughts was very minimal, pitched up huge with a n implicit wonkiness. This is, by comparison, straight forward and more derivative. Still does damage though.

Track Of The Day: T Dave - Bilatarale (We're Going Deep)

 

There really is some lovely electro being released right now so, following on from yesterday, here’s another which has just hit the shelves. T Dave is an Italian producer who is responsible for the latest release on We’re Going Deep, a label that operates out of Bristol under the stewardship of Paul Wise, aka Placid. The back catalogue is growing and becoming ever more impressive, with release from James Shinra, E.R.P. and Carl Finlow amongst others. Anyway, the featherlight beats cascade before finally exploding  on this track. And as you listen you can’t come to any more rational conclusion than you’re listening to some sort of regenerative sonic entropy. At least that;’s what I think, and I know what I’m talking about. 

Track Of The Day: Sound Synthesis - Emozzjoni (Aanalogical Force)

 

This has just come out on the ever essential Analogical Force from Madrid. Sound Synthesis comes from Malta where, no doubt, the cross-cultural ambience, as well as a unique geographical location, both positively contribute to productivity and imagination. Proof, if any were needed, that you don’t necessarily have to be in the midst of activity in order to invoke creativity and ideas. It can help immensely of course. The whole EP flits between drum and bass, electro and acid and so is a great example of what the label puts out. I think that this producer is best represented by his dreamy take on electro, which in many ways is similar to that of Plant43. Somewher on the spectrum between ghettotech and ambient.

Colin Dale - Abstrakt Dance Show - 04 06 2026

 

Lukas Wigflex B2B Ivan Smagghe @ Corsica Studios closing party 2026

 

Mixmag · Lukas Wigflex B2B Ivan Smagghe @ Corsica Studios closing party 2026

Track Of The Day: Chris Mitchell - Nibiru (Annunaki Cartel)

 

This absolute beast of a track drifted into my consciousness during the wee small hours a few hours ago and I have to try and find it amongst the sonic Din Gir Dialect that lies on my many shelves. The label was set up by Amir Alexander, and this is the nest release on it. Grandiose, transcendental and deep, it’s got everything. Especially that well-planted vocal sample and the growling bass. This is spaced out house music of the highest order and it is absolutely criminal that it was slept on. Every time I listen to music like this I try to imagine what could have been going through the mind of its creator. What is it that pushes someone to make music like this and, equally, what is in Ed Sheeran’s mind when he put together ‘Shape Of You’? It’s a tough nut to crack, but I’m working on it.

Track Of Yesterday: Prime Minister Of Doom - Deep In Your Heart (Planet Uterus)

I came across this album after having track searched an old Eli Vervain mix and finding something from it on it. The whole album is a series of dreamy, deep trance/tribal workouts and, for my money at least, hits that sweet spot better than almost any other album I own. That’s not to say it’s the best album I Owen, rather that every track on it does exactly what I want it to do when I want it to do that thing. ‘Deep In Your Heart’ straddles that hazy house middle distance where depth and minimalism give way to soul and emotion and, as such, it’s unsurpassable.

Track Of The Day: Boards Of Canada - You Retreat In Time And Space (Warp)

 

Track Of The Day: DKMA - Soul (Forensic)

 

Dana Kelley had three releases as DKMA on Forensic, an unlikely destination geographically for his deep aquatic grooves, but one which showcases some of his best tracks. ‘Soul’ is as good, for example, as anything he pout out as Callisto on Guidance, and is similarly characterised by a g=hard drum sound draped with all manner of diaphanous sonic embellishment. Vocals mumble abstractly in the foreground while others emerge siren-like from the background. And the percussion. Jazzed up rimshots a foil to the Basic Channel like metronome. House doesn’t get deeper than this.

Emily Jeanne ‪@TheLotRadio‬ 05-22-2026

 

Lamache ‪@TheLotRadio‬ 05-30-2026

 

Umwelt/DJ Mell G x Unklevon - For The Floor Vol. 5 (Cultivated Electronics Ltd)

 

Title: For The Floor Vl. 5

Artist: Umwelt/DJ Mell G x Unklevon

Label: Cultivated Electronics Ltd

Cat Number: CELT016

Genre: Electro

A1: Umwelt- Memoryscape

A2: Umwelt - Morphing Sequences

B1: DJ Mell G x Unklevon - Get Down

B2: DJ Mell G x Unklevon - Get Down (Sync 24 x Controlled Weirness Remix)

Umwelt’s ‘Memoryscape’ really is that, although it must be said that the memories must be strange ones. It’s a driving piece full of the type of swirling noises only available at a Harry Potter picnic. The proverbial dementor wormhole as seen from the backseat of an Uber in the docklands. ‘Morphing Sequences’ is heavier and more menacing, making good use of squelches, its a disciplined battery in amongst the chaos of Goldorack’s universe. The Mell G x Unklevon track comes in two versions. The original, relying very much on some neat, bullet point percussion is crisp and full of unhinged depth. The remix doesn’t depart much from the original, there is an amplification of peripheral ambience though which makes a very positive difference and gives the imprsssion its been flung down a wind tunnel of uncertainty.

DJ Haus - EnerGIZer (UTTU)

 

Title: EnerGIZer

Artist: DJ Haus

Label: Unknown To The Unknown

Cat Number: UTTU200

Genre: New Rave Interpretations

1: EnerGIZer (O.G. KLUBB MIX)

2: EnerGIZer (Shed Remix)

3: EnerGIZer (Zoriok Compressor Remix)

4: EnerGIZer (Yassokiiba Remix)

This is the 200th release on UTTU. So, what to expect? Well, it was the inclusion of Shed that brought me here. Then, on closer scrutiny, I find out that Zoriok is Legowelt, with Yassokiiba being a new name to me. I’ll start with Shed’s remix, as that’s what’s playing right now. Pounding, ambience dampened steam hammers with high frequency electronic squiggles. Then it takes off, meandering over the rave hills until coalescing with its beat. That’s what I expect from Shed so I’m not disappointed. The Yassokiiba Remix

seems to be a dub laid on top of the vestiges of DJ Haus’s ‘O.G. KLUBB Mix’. Everything is slowed down to a very manageable speed, which is nice as its 33 degrees outside right now. I’ve just taken the dog for a walk and we’re both knackered. The Zoriok Compressor Remix is an ingenious symphony of high frequency sonar dynamics underpinned by break beats, that is until it goes off on a tangent, marking for all its worth. The O.G. KLUBB MIX sounds almost conservative by comparison. Which it is, in spite of its heaviness and power. Moreover, not for the first time recently, I’m feeling the Neil Landstrumm influence here. Sort of Relief meets ghetto-tech with a more contemporary veneer.