Bad Kingdom (DJ Koze Remix) – Moderat

A short story: the year is 2014 and I am dancing to an unnamed DJ in a clearing in the woods at Secret Garden Party. This track comes on, and my little mind is completely blown by the bassline. So much so that I for a brief moment I consider a career as a DJ. Anyway, here we are 7 years on and that loop that comes in at 2:18 still packs just as much heat.

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This could have been me…

Walk Away – Degrees of Freedom

Walk Away was released in 2019, but feels a lot more 1999. Degrees of Freedom are a Bristol-based duo, comprised of Kyo on the vocals and production by Break. They bring a deliciously old-skool flavour to their releases which span dub and reggae, and are definitely worth checking out. Walk Away is a bit of an outlier stylistically, but a real nice track.

Bonus track: I came across Degrees of Freedom on Leon Vynehall’s DJ-Kicks compilation. The man is a master crate-digger – August is an Angel was the fruit of that particular labour

Jungle Drum (Jai Paul Remix) – Emiliana Torrini

Whipping you back to 2010 for Jai Paul’s edit of Emiliana Torrini’s Jungle Drum. He takes the original and blesses it with his warm electronic goodness.

I have written about Jai Paul before, so let’s focus on Emiliana. She is a Icelandic singer-songwriter who specialises on wistful folk. If you are a fan of Bjork or Laura Marling then she is definitely worth checking out. You can pick up the same melancholic fisherman’s wife thread running through their work. Me & Armini is my pick, and is the third of her six albums.

Something Good ’08 – Utah Saints

Sometimes a bit of club trash can do us all good. Utah Saints’ ’08 cut of Something Good is just that. The video even comes replete with a busty slow motion dancer. It’s no Destination Calabria, Call On Me or Infinity 2008 but it’s not far off.

If mid-noughties club hits are your thing then I have just the playlist for you

And finally, Utah Saints were known for taking samples out of tracks that had no business being on the dancefloor. Something Good is no different. Skip to 1:03 to for the original.

U Already Know – DJ Seinfeld

DJ Seinfeld has announced his second full length album Mirrors will be released on Ninja Tune in September. The first single, U Already Know is out now and hints at a bit of a shift in style.

Whistful female vocals are still in, but his signature dusty style is out, in favour of punchier electro elements. If this is any indication of what the rest of the album will sound like, I’m very much there for it!

My thoughts on his debut album Time Spent Away From U here.