Dusky – Cold Heart (2017)

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Dusky’s Nick Harriman and Alfie Granger-Howell do something that Londoners have been good at for some time. They make house music. Off an EP with the same name, ‘Cold Heart’ is unadulterated trance that borrows from the cavernous dance floors of the 1990s. The Hardrive-sounding sample is in fact Naked Music NYC’s ‘I’ll Take You to Love’ from 1996. The synthesised hi-hats, the simple bassline and the euphoria all sound eye-wateringly familiar.

Four Tet – Planet (2017)

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Kieran Hebden is a bit of a national treasure nowadays. His electronic sounds with Four Tet inspire dinner parties and chill out rooms alike. ‘Planet’ is the B-side to his latest single release ‘SW9 9SL’ – otherwise known as the Brixton Academy. Feel the synths.

9 of the best – sounds of noughties

It would seem that 2004 was peak noughties (to these ears…):

The Avalanches – Since I Left You (2000)

 The Strokes – Modern Age (2001)

The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize? (2002)

Broken Social Scene – Stars And Sons (2003)

The Walkmen – The Rat (2004)

Sébastien Tellier – La Ritournelle (2004)

Sigur Rós – Hoppípolla (2005)

 Midlake – Bandits (2006)

Beirut – Nantes (2007)

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Honourable mentions also go to: Lambchop for ‘Up With The People’ (2000); Outkast for ‘Ms. Jackson’ (2000); Ian Brown for ‘F. E. A. R.’ (2001); The Shins for ‘New Slang‘ (2002); Kings Of Leon for ‘Red Morning Light‘ (2003); Radiohead for ‘A Wolf At The Door’ (2003); Mew for ‘Comforting Sounds’ (2003); Kasabian for ‘Club Foot’ (2004); Danger Mouse for his remix of ‘Public Service Announcement’ (2004); The Good, the Bad and the Queen for ‘Herculean’ (2006); The Hold Steady for ‘The Chillout Tent‘ (2006); The Strokes for ‘You Only Live Once’ (2006); and Jay Electronica for ‘Exhibit C’ (2009).

Sound Waves – I Wanna Feel The Music (1991)

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After some success with After Hours‘ ‘Waterfalls/Feel It’,  Andrew Richardson teamed up with Sound Waves’ Gijo Rosario and created another deep house classic. Like the best of deep house from that time, the track’s simplicity (organ, vocal loop, hi hats) is what makes it still sound so timeless. The Strictly Rhythm label was on fire.

Tom Misch – Sunshine (2015)

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Singer-songwriter, producer and DJ, Tom Misch is on an upward trajectory. The London native has an ear for a chilled-out beat. Released in 2015, ‘Sunshine’ features the type of filtered horns and dancefloor-loops that would make a Frenchman smile. Dr Electronic.

Shades Of Rhythm – Sound Of Eden (1991)

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Summer hit this week and it’s never too much of a heat-dream for me to think of open air nights in the Med. So step aside for an early 1990s piano house banger. Peterborough dance legends Shades Of Rhythm released ‘Sound Of Eden’ in 1991. They were on a roll; their previous single was the classic ‘Sweet Sensation’. Tuuuuuuunnnnes. “Here’s another chance for you to dance with me.” Have a great weekend.

Daft Punk – Veridis Quo (2001)

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The gorgeous ‘Veridis Quo’ is a electronic ode of sorts to what sounds like a Handel organ concerto. The hypnotic sound features on their 2001 album Discovery. Have a great weekend.

Roy Davis Jr. feat. Peven Everett ‎- Gabrielle (1996)

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Despite the 2-Step influences on this track, Roy Davis Jr. shows his class with the soulful downtempo vibe that he wraps around Peven Everett’s vocals. And don’t get me started on that horn. Not sure which mix this YouTube version is, but it’s the one I like. He pressed ‘Gabrielle’ on Chicago’s Large Records while still part of house-music innovators Phuture.

9 of the best – sounds of 2000

A compilation for the weekend. My favourite songs of 2000 in no particular order:

Radiohead – Idioteque

Blonde Redhead ‎- For The Damaged

Lambchop – Up With The People

The Avalanches – Since I Left You

Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – Intro

Outkast – Ms. Jackson

Marah – Round Eye Blues

Richard Ashcroft – A Song For The Lovers

Phoenix – Too Young

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Honourable mentions also go to: Grandaddy for ‘He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The Pilot‘; Erykah Badu for ‘Didn’t Cha Know‘; Daft Punk for ‘One More Time‘; Augie March for ‘The Hole In Your Roof‘; Missy Elliott for ‘Get Ur Freak On‘; D’Angelo for ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel)‘; and Edu K for his remix of Otto’s ‘Bob‘.

9 of the best – sounds of 2001

A compilation for the weekend. My favourite songs of 2001 and in no particular order:

The Strokes – Hard To Explain

Ian Brown – F. E. A. R.

The Shins – New Slang

Daft Punk – Digital Love

Radiohead – Pyramid Song

Spiritualized – I Didn’t Mean To Hurt You

Lift To Experience – Falling From Cloud 9

Röyksopp ‎- Remind Me

The Strokes – Modern Age

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Honourable mentions also go to: Weezer for ‘Island In The Sun‘; Zero 7 for ‘In The Waiting Line‘; Jay-Z for ‘Izzo (H.O.V.A.)‘; Golden Boy feat. Miss Kittin for ‘Rippin Kittin‘; The Other People Place for ‘Let Me Be Me‘; Muse for ‘Bliss‘; Cannibal Ox for ‘Iron Galaxy’; Roger Sanchez for ‘Another Chance’; Radiohead for ‘Knives Out’; and Yann Tiersen for ‘La Valse d’Amélie‘.

The Other People Place – Let Me Be Me (2001)

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Sticking with 2001 and a year before he died of heart complications, Drexciy’s James Stinson created this fidgety techno classic. The anthem ‘Let Me Be Me’ featured on his album Lifestyles Of The Laptop Café released on Warp Records under the name of The Other People Place. Detroit via Sheffield. Have a great weekend.

Jacques Greene – To Say (2017)

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Today, Montreal-based DJ Jacques Greene releases his debut long player Feel Infinite. The third track on the album, ‘To Say’, is a celebratory cut of garage house music. It’s a little old school. It’s great. Have a relaxing weekend my music-loving friends.

Crystal Waters – Gypsy Woman (1991)

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The producers The Basement Boys stumbled across a demo of Chrystal Waters’ ‘Gypsy Woman’, overlooked their go-to muse Ultra Naté and turned the songwriter into an overnight sensation. 1-2-3, “but she’s homeless, she’s homeless/And she stands their singing for money, La da dee la doo dow, la da dee la do dow”. Have a great weekend.

9 of the best – sounds of 2016

My favourite sounds of 2016 in no particular order…

The Avalanches – Because I’m Me

Whitney – No Woman

Glass Animals – Life Itself

Car Seat Headrest – Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales

Bon Iver – 33 “GOD”

The Strokes – Threat of Joy

Okkervil River – Okkervil River R.I.P.

The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming

Traumprinz – 2Bad

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Honourable mentions also go to: De La Soul for ‘Trainwreck‘; The Last Shadow Puppets for ‘Everything You’ve Come To Expect‘; Let’s Eat Grandma for ‘Deep Six Textbook‘; Anderson .Paak for ‘Come Down‘; Solange for ‘Cranes In The Sky‘; DJ Snake for ‘Let Me Love You’; Honne for ‘Someone That Loves You‘; and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds for ‘Rings Of Saturn‘.

Traumprinz – 2Bad (‘What If Madness Is The Only Relief’ Rework) (2016)

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First released in 2015 as part of a mix (This Is Not) of Traumprinz’s own productions on the Weimar-based label Giegling, ‘2Bad’ made its way to selective dancefloors this year after it featured on the DJ’s EP 2 The Sky. Aka DJ Metatron and Prince of Denmark, the dream prince is certainly mysterious royalty, as any quick search on Google will reveal. This piece of music is suitably enigmatic and exceptional.