Let Everything Flow

Just let it all wash over you, with this 50-minute mix of mellow sounds.

Pye Corner Audio get things flowing with the opening and title track of Lake Deep Memory, an album inspired by Martin Jenkins' trip to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala in 2024. Ostensibly there to play a festival, it clearly left a lasting impression, as evidenced in this immersive piece of music..

Still Water 2 was released in July 2025, the seventh in Richard Norris' Music For Healing: Oceans series, which he accurately describes as "a balm for the soul". The slow, gentle piano plinks are gorgeous.

If you think you know The Woodentops, think again. Rolo McGinty can pretty much turn his hand to anything, musically speaking, including this tribute to the river Thames, released last month. The full-length version clocks in at nearly 16 minutes; I've included just over half here, to encourage you to get yourself over to Bandcamp and buy it.

Zi Lan Liao is married to Jah Wobble and when her harp met his bass, magic happened. I discovered an extract of 34-minute suite The River from 1998 on the superlative Jah Wobble compilation I Could Have Been A Contender in 2004. Even in truncated form, the epic scale of the music is not diminished.

Who else to follow this than Kate Bush? Lake Tahoe is from her (to date) last album of original material, and one of her longest songs, nudging over the 11-minute mark. Piano, an angelic duet and a lead voice steeped in a lifetime of stories, both lived and discovered, all in perfect harmony as Kate recounts the tale of a Victorian woman who fell into Lake Tahoe, only to rise as a spirit.

Have a beautiful Sunday.

1) Lake Deep Memory: Pye Corner Audio (2025)

2) Still Water 2: Richard Norris (2025)

3) T H A M E S: The Woodentops (2026)

4) The River: Jah Wobble presents Zi Lan Liao (1998)

5) Lake Tahoe: Kate Bush ft. Stefan Roberts & Michael Wood (2011)

2004: I Could Have Been A Contender: Anthology: 4

2011: 50 Words For Snow: 5

2025: Lake Deep Memory: 1

2025: Music For Healing: Oceans 7: 2

2026: T H A M E S EP: 3

Let Everything Flow (50:49) (GD) (M)

...No Sweeter Genius

The second half of tunes that have tickled my fancy in the first 26 weeks of '26

 

The final thirteen feature a couple of returning artists in The Rotations and Fluke, more than justified in both cases. The rest are new to this selection, even if the names are familiar.

deary has confidently picked up the shoegaze baton and are running away. Thankfully, being shoegaze, it's at a fairly languid pace so you'll have no trouble catching up. And it is worth catching up with their debut album, as today's pick No Sweeter Feeling will attest.

 

With A Sense Of You, The Rotations offer up another song that sounds like it's been transmitted from a parallel universe, very much like our own, just a little...off. The vocals sound like Tom Waits belatedly finding out that Neighbours has been cancelled (again), which only adds to the charm.

 

If you only remember Chad Jackson for Hear The Drummer (Get Wicked) way, way back in the mists of time, then you are in for a pleasant surprise. Genius Of Skank Pt. 1 is not an overreaching title and sums up the track perfectly. This track appears on the excellent Evil Acid Barons double album and is well worth your pennies. Now, when we get Pt. 2, Chad?

 

I enthused about Fluke's gorgeous new double album The Second Bite yesterday, albeit as a side reference to an accompanying Daniel Avery remix of their classic Atom Bomb. This time, I've picked from the album itself. Several of the tracks are subtle tweaks, polishes and updates of the original, others take the song on a bit more of an excursion. Case in point: 1995 single Tosh goes cruising around mid-70s New York, gets funked up and wakes up the following morning, wanting to do it all again. Great stuff.

 

In the 1980s, both The Bluebells and The Kane Gang flirted with the UK record-buying masses. The former have come back in the 21st Century, arguably even stronger than before and latest album This Is... proves more than a match for anything they've done.

 

Whilst The Kane Gang are no more, two thirds of the band have reconvened as Autoleisureland. In many respects, the New Road Movie album sounds like barely a day has passed since Closest Thing To Heaven and Motortown. Your personal history with 80s pop whether you enjoy Autoleisureland's album or not. I like it.

 

In the 2000s, a band called The Strange Death Of Liberal England existed. No, me neither. However, thanks to being a fan of Roberta Fidora, I've been hooked up with TSDOLE's former organ player and their latest project, dee eye why. Debut song Autonomous features Roberta on vocals and is most enjoyable.

 

Spanish DJ/producer Roglar aka Victor Balaguer Alonso nest, getting the remix treatment courtesy of London boy Ian Vale and, as ever, neither disappoint. Fly With Dumbo is pumped up without going over the top...

 

...by contrast with the dappled sounds of Rays Of Sunshine, just one example of why Pye Corner Audio's current album More Songs About The Sun is a gift to the ears. Writer Ian Rankin features on another song and Andy Bell (Ride/GLOK) lends his guitar talent to several others.

 

Speaking of which, Alliance, the GLOK / Timothy Clerkin album from 2025 has been reworked and remixed by a host of contemporary artists. I've gone back to the old school for a remarkable job by Richard Sen. Well, I say remarkable, but I'm struggling to think of a time when Richard has been anything less. The competition is stiff, but this reimagining of The Witching Hour is a standout on the record.

 

The Moonrocks are new to me but their song Cardiac Arrest definitely leans more heavily on the classic rock stylings that the cosmiche that their name suggests. You don't always have to innovate to be fun.

 

That said, Broken Chanter is a perfect example of great pop rock songs that manage to sound familiar and catchy whilst having something fresh to play and say. I've fallen deeply in love with Broken Chanter since being introduced them a few years ago and the latest album is brilliant. 

 

Almost as a response to Scarlet Fantastic's opening call on Volume 1, a year without a summer is almost too much to contemplate.

 

And, as if on cue, rays of sunshine through the window and a nudge for me to get up and get out. 

 

 

1) No Sweeter Feeling: deary (Birding)

2) A Sense Of You: The Rotations (Gung-Ho)

3) Love Is Gonna Keep Us Cryin': Autoleisureland (New Road Movie)

4) Nave (Malaphors Mix): Sister Ray Davies (Holy Island Baby EP)

5) Autonomous: dee eye why ft. Roberta Fidora (Bungalow Legs EP)

6) Tosh (The Second Bite): Fluke (The Second Bite)

7) Cardiac Arrest: The Moonrocks (A Room With A View)

8) Fly With Dumbo (Ian Vale Remix): Roglar (I Know EP)

9) Rays Of Sunshine: Pye Corner Audio (More Songs About The Sun)

10) Indian Summer: The Bluebells (This Is...The Bluebells)

11) Genius Of Skank Pt. 1: Chad Jackson (Evil Acid Barons)

12) The Witching Hour (Richard Sen Remix): GLOK / Timothy Clerkin (Alliance Remixed)

13) A Year Without A Summer: Broken Chanter (This Could be Us, You, Or Anybody Else)

  

Summer Feeling, No Sweeter Genius (1:00:47) (GD) (M) 

Which Way Did You Come In?

More Songs About The Sun by Pye Corner Audio is out in a few short weeks and The Breath Of Now has been offered up as the second single/trailer for the album.

The Breath Of Now features author Ian Rankin on spoken word vocals, over a lush,  cinematic soundtrack, rumbling bass, rolling chords, synth strings all combining to create a compelling five minutes.

I ordered More Songs About The Sun on the strength of lead Cycle featuring Andy Bell and, based on these two songs alone, it's shaping up to be one of the albums of the year.

Broken lives, empty streets

The dust of ages, the breath of now

Low rise, high rent

Blood sucked from every stone 

A villain’s stealth and silence

No heroes come out at night

No heroes come here at night

Stealing your way through the empty streets

Echoes of footsteps, and misspent hours

The creep, creep, creep of shadow filled shoes

No one is near

No one can hear,

The creep and the breathing

The breathing that creeps

No heroes come out at night

No heroes come here at night

Everywhere looks like a tunnel

The dark won’t take your hand and lead you home

So you drive,

And you drive

And you drive

And everything looks like a tunnel

Your life, your kids, your job, your friends

A tunnel 

Which way did you come in?

No lights, no signal, no exit, no turns

The dark won’t lead you home

No lights, no signal, no exit, no turns

The dark won’t lead you home

No heroes come here at night

No heroes come here at night

A Cycle Without End

A dozen picks from my weekend music haul, half-and-half new releases and newly discovered.

I've been dipping into the PRAH label archives, including their annual 'Scratching The Surface...' samplers, mostly name your price and bursting with curiosities from their catalogue. Choice picks here are from Gentle Stranger and Raven Bush, plus a remix of Stroud-based 4-piece The Umlauts by label mate Hiro Ama. All good stuff and well worth a visit.

There's quite an electronic lean to this selection, spanning Prins Thomas, Luke Vibert and Soulwax, from 10:40 to Pye Corner Audio via 100 Poems, with a bold Bowie cover.

Autumns are new to me and I've been listening to the Through The Re-Construction Of Grace EP on repeat. The remix of Trolley Coin featured here has a real Mark Stewart vibe, which I love. A perfect counterpoint is DJ Lui's edit of a Fad Gadget classic, Lady Shave.

Wrapping things up is a remix of Not On The Radar, the title track of Mark Fry's 2025 album. As a teenager in 1971, Mark released Dreaming With Alice, which went on to become a psychedelic cult album. Three and a half decades later, the difficult second album appeared and Mark's been on a roll since, Not On The Radar being album #5.

And who to remix? None other than Richard Norris, delivering another slice of sonic sunshine.

It was such a fruitful shopping trip that a second 12-song selection will be popping up here sometime this week. In the meantime, try then go off and buy!

1) Boiler Suits & Combat Boots (Hiro Ama Remix): The Umlauts (2022)

2) Cycle: Pye Corner Audio ft. Andy Bell (2026)

3) Once In A While: Gentle Stranger (2021)

4) Løveskatt (Prins Thomas Diskomiks): Ora The Molecule (2025)

5) Winner: 10:40 (2026)

6) Perfect We Are Not: Soulwax (2026)

7) To Ziggy With Love (Cover of 'Ziggy Stardust' by David Bowie): 100 Poems (2026)

8) Floss: Raven Bush (2019)

9) Trolley Coin (Dyslexia Mix): Autumns (2026)

10) Lady Shave (DJ Lui Danceteria Edit): Fad Gadget (2015)

11) Don't Touch (Luke Vibert Remix): The Veees (2016)

12) Not On The Radar (Richard Norris Remix): Mark Fry (2025)

2015: Lady Shave EP: 10

2016: The Veees: 11

2019: Jeté EP: 8

2021: Phantom Thoroughfare: 3

2022: Boiler Suits & Combat Boots EP: 1

2025: Løveskatt EP: 4

2025: Not On The Radar: 12

2026: More Songs About The Sun: 2

2026: Partick Sailing Club Presents PSC#001: The Beautiful Flowers Wait For Peace: 7

2026: Perfect We Are Not EP: 6

2026: Through The Re-Construction Of Grace EP: 9

2026: Winner EP: 5

A Cycle Without End (1:02:04) (GD) (M)

Supermarket Sweep

It's nearly that time again, so here's half a dozen 2026 releases that will be scanned at the checkout on Bandcamp Friday and undoubtedly troubling a Dubhed selection or two in the near future.

First up is Broken Chanter with two songs from fourth album This Could Be Us, You, Or Anybody Else. JC from The Vinyl Villain reviewed the album a couple of weeks ago, reflecting that he "long ago run out of superlatives to describe just how much joy and happiness comes [his] way with every new Broken Chanter album."

It was JC and The Vinyl Villain that switched me on to Broken Chanter back in 2020 and, late though I was, I'm up to speed with JC's take on things. I haven't heard the album in full yet but, on the strength of these two, it's an early contender for the 2026 'best of' list.

The brilliantly named Sister Ray Davies, aka Adam Morrow and Jamie Sego, recently released Holy Island Baby, a remix EP companion to last November's debut album Holy Island.

Five reworked songs, including two by the mighty Pye Corner Audio, which are worth the purchase price alone.

Speaking of Pye Corner Audio aka Martin Jenkins, Bandcamp Friday often sees a one-off single drop. This may or may not happen, but either way you can pre-order new album More Songs About The Sun, which is due in June. 

A sequel of sorts to 2022 album Let's Emerge!, More Songs About The Sun features Andy Bell (Ride/GLOK) across several tracks, a spoken word contribution from writer Ian Rankin and even vocals from Martin himself. Great stuff.

What can I tell you about Autumns? Not a lot, to be honest. Autumns is Christian Donaghey and his Bandcamp page has 80+ releases going back to 2014. It was February's 2-track EP, Through The Re-Construction Of Grace, that grabbed my attention.

Opening with a blistering remix of Trolley Coin from last year's Through The Construction Of Grace EP, things ramp up on the flipside with the wonderfully-titled (but with "don't try this, kids" advisory) Spit On A DJ For Therapy.

If you like your pop of the jangly variety, then husband and wife Carl Mann and Kat Mann have got it and then some, performing as Shapes Like People. Their single Lately was recommended to me by Kathryn on BlueSky and it's a shimmering, summery stunner. Sounds even better now that the sun's shining.

Ending on a high, spiritually, metaphorically and literally, is long-time favourite of this blog, Jesse Fahnestock and a fresh release as 10:40.

Winner is constructed around a familiar twangy guitar sample (there's a clue in the title) and it continues the journey that Jesse has been on, via 10:40, Electric Blue Vision, Jezebell, Powder Wax and RetroFit, in pursuit of that perfect synthesis of old and new, borrowed and blue. Personally, I think Jesse nails it every time and his latest release is (excuse the pun) a winner.

Fifteen Strings And Infinite Beats

Ninety-one minutes of Andy Bell to breeze through the Easter weekend and blow those blues away.

The original thought had been to revisit Andy's music as GLOK but as I was putting together a shortlist of songs, I found myself pulling in a Ride song here, a solo song there, and I ended up with a list of about thirty tracks, all equally deserving of inclusion.

What I've ended up with is half that, fifteen career-spanning crackers, spanning thirty five years and taking in Ride (then and now), Hurricane #1 remixed by My Bloody Valentine/Kevin Shields, Beady Eye (but no Oasis), remixes of Aviator, Do No Harm, Fe Salomon and Flyying Colours, collaborations with Masal, Pye Corner Audio, Timothy Clerkin and Du Blonde, and quite a lot of GLOK.

I think it turned out alright but then when you're dealing with an artist who is not only incredibly gifted but also phenomenally prolific, it's on me not to screw it up!

1) Aubrey Drylands Gladwell: Andy Bell (2020)
2) Portland Rocks: Ride (2024)

3) Rising Sign (My Bloody Valentine Mix): Hurricane #1 (1999)

4) White Smoke (Remix By Andy Bell): Beady Eye (2013)

5) Pinball Wanderer: Andy Bell (2025)

6) Damascene (GLOK Remix): Do No Harm (2022)

7) Vapour Trail (Album Version): Ride (1990)

8) Indica (Pye Corner Audio Remix – GLOK Re-Edit): Andy Bell (2021)

9) Taxicabs (GLOK Remix): Fe Salomon (2023)

10) The Gift (GLOK Remix): Aviator (2018)

11) Wavygravy (GLOK Remix): Flyying Colours (2022)

12) Perfume (Acoustic Version) (Cover of Paris Angels): Andy Bell (2020)

13) Tidal Love Conversation In That Familiar Golden Orchard (Edit): Andy Bell & Masal (2023)

14) Pulsing (GLOK Remix - Citadel Version): GLOK (2020)

15) Nothing Ever (12" Version): GLOK / Timothy Clerkin ft. Du Blonde aka Beth Jeans Houghton) (2024)

1990: Nowhere: 7

1999: The Greatest High EP: 3

2013: 42.42 (Beady Eye Remixes) EP: 4

2018: Omni: 10

2020: The Citadel EP: 14

2020: The View From Halfway Down: 1

2021: All On You EP: 12

2021: Another View: Andy Bell Meets Pye Corner Audio Uptown: 8

2022: Damascene EP: 6

2022: Low Maintenance EP: 11

2023: Taxicabs EP: 9

2023: Tidal Love Conversation In That Familiar Golden Orchard EP: 13

2024: Alliance: 15

2024: Interplay: 2

2025: Pinball Wanderer: 5

Fifteen Strings And Infinite Beats (1:31:00) (GD) (M)

Like this? Here are some more selections from the Dubhed archives:

Imagine The Sky Filled With A Thousand Suns: Andy Bell (July 2022)

Dirty Starlight: GLOK (September 2022)

Ticket To Ride: Ride (September 2024)

And, as we're four months into 2026, of course there's already new music featuring Andy Bell in the cosmos:

Live It Well

Not a lot of chat today as I've been plagued by power cuts whilst composing this post and it's accompanying selection. Only brief ones, but they've knocked out the PC every time and it's taken increasingly longer to get everything up and running again. And it's raining again.

"Arse!" as Father Jack was inclined to say, well, shout.

In that spirit, here's some joie de vivre courtesy of a dozen songs that have already brightened up my 2026; some only just so as they were released for Bandcamp Friday.

Again, I've found myself with an embarrassment of riches and have compiled 12 of them for your listening pleasure today, and this weekend.

Spare Snare's cover of Say My Name by Destiny's Child has been knocking around since 2001, but it's just reappeared on brand new compilation, Love Your Later Stuff, so it gets in on a technicality. That, and it segues beautifully into the dub of Jezebell's Turn It Yes by Justin Robertson's Five Green Moons.

It was a chance check in with the official Gavin Friday website that led me to the David Holmes remix of The Church Of Love, which snuck out earlier this year. 

And if you enjoy the song by Al MacKenzie (D:Ream) which gives today's post it's title (well, half of it at least) I will be coming back to the Evil Acid Barons album, which is an early contender for compilation of the year... and only a handful of tracks have been released so far.

1) Protector: SAULT (Chapter 1)

2) Life Is Short, Live It Well (Vocal Mix): Al MacKenzie (Evil Acid Barons)

3) Program 70: Pye Corner Audio (Program 70 EP)

4) Love To Watch U: A_M_B_O_S_S (Machine X Human EP)

5) Nothing Ever (Tom Sharkett Remix): GLOK / Timothy Clerkin (Alliance Remixed)

6) Surrounded By Spies (Richard Norris Dub): Placebo (Surrounded By Spies EP)

7) Song Of Siraba (Cosmikuro Remix): A Space Age Freak Out (Song Of Siraba EP)

8) My Electric Dreams (Airsine Remix): Pete Bones (My Electric Dreams EP)

9) The Church Of Love (David Holmes Remix): Gavin Friday (The Church Of Love And Dancing EP)

10) Say My Name (Cover of Destiny's Child): Spare Snare (2001) (Love Your Later Stuff)

11) Turn It Yes (Justin Robertson's Five Green Moons Dub): Jezebell (Turn It Yes Remixes Vol. 1 EP)

12) Môgôya (BOM Nation Remix): Namian Sidibé (Remix EP)

Live It Well (1:07:07) (GD) (M)

Double Entrendre

or, How To Get Away With Two "25 From 25" Albums Lists Whilst Pretending That Wasn't Your Intention All Along.

Looking back on 2025 so far, I think I bought more albums than ever, a mix of physical and digital. The latter was ably supported by a further year's subscription to the excellent Last Night From Glasgow label, which accounts for about a quarter of today’s and tomorrow’s featured artists.

A few were purchased at merch stalls following a headline or support slot gig, others on the recommendation of others, including you lovely people out there in the blogging community.

So, I've got two lists, loosely separated into artists that I'm familiar with and already owned albums by, the second compiling artists who, regardless of whether they'd been around for ages or just started out, were new to me. So, it's a hodge podge of debut albums and artists that I really only delved into properly with their latest long player. I'm posting the first list today, the second on New Year's Eve.

There are a shed load that I just haven't got around to buying yet and I haven't yet succumbed to streaming so I can't sneak them in on the technicality of having heard them. Apologies therefore include Pulp, Syd Minsky Sargeant, Death In Vegas, Mogwai and Water From Your Eyes, all of whom have released albums that I want to get (and said as much in previous posts), but who remain on my shopping list.

An honourable mention also to those that I did buy but who didn't make onto either list because, well, I had to stop at 25, right? A tip of the hat then to Manic Street Preachers, The Supernaturals, Julian Cope, Gareth Sager and Scanner.

I've listed them alphabetically, rather than in order of greatness, but I may reveal my favourite at the end...if I can decide on one by the end of this post!

25 From 25 - Old Favourites

(click on the links to buy these albums...and more!)

1) Let The Horse Run Free / Rodeo Disco: 100 Poems

2) The Collapse Of Everything: Adrian Sherwood

3) Pinball Wanderer: Andy Bell

4) Dead Souls: Armory Show

5) Metalhorse / Mary And The Hyenas OST: Billy Nomates

6) Mumbo In The Jumbo: Davey Woodward

7) Wise Music In Dub: Dennis Bovell

8) Subconsciousology: Dot Allison

9) Lay Low: Eddie Chacon

10) Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation: Edwyn Collins

11) Rats In Paradise: Emily Breeze

12) Begging The Night To Take Hold: Emma Pollock

13) Twilight: Hifi Sean & David McAlmont

14) Songs For Nina And Johanna: James Yorkston & Friends

15) Junk System EP 1&2: Junk System

16) Lotus: Little Simz

17) New Town Ghosts: Mark Rae

18) Lake Deep Memory: Pye Corner Audio

19) Barb And Feather: Red Snapper

20) Strawberries: Robert Forster

21) International: Saint Etienne

22) MAD!: Sparks

23) Faultline: The Cowboy Mouth

24) moisturiser: Wet Leg

25) Home: Xan Tyler & Dusty Stray

I have loved each and every one of these albums but my #1 of 2025 has to be Billy Nomates.

Not just because Metalhorse is a fantastic album, taking her music to another level, but also because she somehow found the time to write, record and release another album. The soundtrack to Mary And The Hyenas may have been relatively overlooked compared to Metalhorse, but it's every bit an equal. Astonishing to think that Tor Maries was also releasing one-off songs in between both of these. 

Finally getting to see Billy Nomates live in concert for the first time in September, with an excellent band and songs that took on a life of their own on stage, was an unforgettable experience and the push over the line to secure my #1 in a year of varied but brilliant albums.

Release The Beats

Immersed as we are in end of year round ups and best ofs, I'm swimming with the current and today's 64-minute selection rounds up some choice choons from the year to date. 

A couple of these tracks have appeared on previous selections, but are too good not to bring back in. 

Like Fire by Airsine came out on the ever-excellent Paisley Dark Records label in March and I've been obsessed with it ever since. Today's selection meaning that I've now posted all four versions from the EP, every one a winner, as they say.

Speaking of fire, Leo Zero has been on fire (musically speaking, not literally) with a truckload of releases that haven't skimped on quality. June saw Nebulon Systems Vol. 1, a 20-track monster of an album, with Orangutan placed smack dab in the middle, at track ten. Not only a great album, but a ridiculous bargain at £4.00 for the lot.

Another mind-boggling bargain was the Powder Wax Vol. 2 EP by Jesse Fahnestock, revisiting his 10:40 alias, whilst also delivering a dizzying array of music in 2025 with Darren Bell as Jezebell. 

Powder Wax Vol. 2 arrived in February as a 'name your price' purchase, comprising two songs, Beneath The Waves and Miracle Me. Both appeared on 2025 highlights selections in March and May, and Beneath The Waves makes a welcome return here.  

Pye Corner Audio have frequently dropped a new track in time for Bandcamp Friday, always an automatic 'add to cart' come the day. The Deep Cut appeared in March, one of five new standalone tracks in 2025, all of this calibre.

Orange Sunshine was originally on a flexi 7" with limited vinyl quantities of Hifi Sean and David McAlmont's album Twillight. In April, Orange Sunshine appeared as a standalone single, featuring rapper Sawlty (and David's nephew). Feel it!

In 2024, sLEdger provided Fluke with a superb remix of Fluke's single Real Magnificent. June saw the favour returned, with Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier's remix of Tweeba, sLEdger given a refreshing Fluke rinse. Wonderful stuff.

I've continued with The Future Sound Of London's 'calendar' compilations of outtakes and unreleased music for a few years now, and still get a buzz when each monthly link arrives, building up a 12-track collection by year end. PSUN K arrived in November, the penultimate piece from another cracking collection.

August saw the return of Puerto Montt City Orchestra with And We'd Be So Happy, a lovely slice of Balearic sunshine with a spoken word vocal by Kitty Salter, the daughter of band member Tim. The initial single was backed with The Cruel Mistress Mix, included here, with two further remixes from Balearic Ultras and downtownLOOP arriving a fortnight later. Sounds just as good in winter as it did in summer.

Fluke's spectacular comeback continued with May's release of I Wanna Be, a bouncing, life-affirming single in it's original form, and given a fantastic dub rinse by Justin Robertson's Five Green Moons. I am over the moon (all five of 'em) to have new Fluke music in my life.

Wrapping up this final round up of 2025's beautiful beats is Tambores En Benirras, who I splurged my cash on during Bandcamp Friday earlier this month, snapping up the entire catalogue in one go. It was worth every penny, not least for the trio of remix EPs accompanying the album Ondas Horizontales. 

It was almost impossible to pick just one, but I've settled with Steve Cobby's nine-and-a-half minute revision of Extensor Entregado from the inaugural EP. Highly recommended!

1) Like Fire (Mindbender Remix By Mårten Attling): Airsine

2) Orangutan: Leo Zero

3) Beneath The Waves: 10:40

4) The Deep Cut: Pye Corner Audio

5) Orange Sunshine (Single Version): Hifi Sean & David McAlmont ft. Sawlty

6) Tweeba (Fluke Remix By Jon Fugler & Mike Tournier): sLEdger

7) PSUN K: The Future Sound Of London

8) And We'd Be So Happy (The Cruel Mistress Mix): Puerto Montt City Orchestra ft. Kitty Salter

9) I Wanna Be (Justin Robertson - Five Green Moons Remix): Fluke

10) Extensor Entregado (Steve Cobby Remix): Tambores En Benirras

Release The Beats (1:04:11) (GD) (M)

More 2025 beats on prescription via these previous Dubhed selections: 

28th March: It's A Glamorous World 

11th May: Doused In Dopamine

4th July: Staring Into Air

9th August: Is It Obvious? Or Is It Delirium?

Bad Santa VII

It's the last Sunday before Christmas, so time again to burden you with another slipshod Santa mix to annoy your friends, families and pets alike.

In a slight deviation from the usual festive nonsense, this one's chock full of 21st Century Christmas choons, bursting with beats, baggy, shaggy and occasionally daggy. A couple of old classics get ducked in the punch bowl courtesy of Skeewiff, Kaskade, Pocketknife, Maps and James Yuill, whilst the new/old UK Christmas #1 by Wham! gets the cover and remix treatment, because you can never have too much of a good thing.

I think the Anni Rossi holiday miniatures have popped up in other Bad Santa selections, but they all make me smile, so they're in regardless!

 

1) This Is Christmas (Intro): Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler (2011)

2) Last Christmas (Dirty Disco Youth Remix) (Cover of Wham!): The xx (2012)

3) Holiday I.D. (Spanish): Apollonia (1988)

4) Christmas Dub (Part II): Wareika (2013)

5) Son Of Turboman: Jonwayne (2018)

6) Let's Get It Together This Christmas (Skeewiff Rewiff): The Harvey Averne Band (2024)

7) Holiday Tylenol: Anni Rossi (2017)

8) White Christmas (Kaskade Mix): Bing Crosby ft. The Darby Singers (2005)

9) Christmas Is Coming (Pocketknife's Stackin' Ha'Pennies Remix) (cover of traditional song): John Denver & The Muppets (2007)

10) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Genii Remix) (cover of traditional song): Pentatonix (2020)

11) Satan's Little Helper: Pye Corner Audio (2018)

12) A Recorded Message: Daniel Johnston (1988)

13) We Met Bernard Sumner At A Christmas Party Last Night: Marsheaux (2015)

14) Lullaby (Album Version): The Free Design (1970)

15) Anorak Christmas (Club Mix): Sally Shapiro (2006)

16) Holiday Tiramasu: Anni Rossi (2017)

17) In The Bleak Midwinter (Cover of traditional song): Maps ft. Polly Scattergood (2014)

18) Santa's Comin' Down The Chimney (Gabe Gurnsey Remix): Confidence Man (2018)

19) Jingle Bells (Jingle Pints Remix) (cover of traditional song): James Yuill (2010)

20) Holiday Takeout: Anni Rossi (2017)

21) Last Christmas (Remix By Martipants): Wham! (2017)

Bad Santa VII (55:00) (GD) (M)

And, if you are hungry for more, here are the previous Bad Santa selections from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2017 and 2016.

We Can’t Deal With Culture We Don’t Understand

The news that there had been rioting, violence and looting following the tragedy in Southport was sadly not surprising. 

 

And when media outlets reported incidents "across the UK", in fact it appeared to be concentrated in England, with Belfast making the news but no mention of similar disturbances in Scotland and Wales, as far as I could see.

I was also sad to see Bristol named as one of the cities but then, given it's prominent anti-racist activity, it's often been a magnet for the far right. And goodness knows we have enough of the morons who were born and "bred" in the city. I grew up with, lived in the same street as and worked with a fair few of them. 

The Sky News screen grab above features a few of these fine examples of homo moronus in Bristol on Saturday, facing off against the police. Maybe you recognise some of them. If you happen to serve them at a cafe or takeaway any time soon, hawk a big flob into their food or drink with pleasure.

 

The mobs are described in the news reports as "protesters". That's far too kind a word for them. As a group gathered at a city centre hotel, I assume in the hope of forcing any immigrants within to go back where they came from, a larger group blocked them, chanting, "We are many, you are few. We are Bristol, who are you?"

 

There seems to have been some needless social media ripostes about how many of the counter group were in fact from Bristol, which I think is missing the point, or at the very least missing the scene from this classic film. On Saturday, those who turned up to challenge hate and violence were all Bristolian. 

 

I hadn't planned to write this when I started today's selection, it was supposed to be an fairly innocuous round up of some 2024 musical highlights that I haven't covered in previous posts. The post title is a line from one of the featured songs, Too Muchroom by David Holmes and Raven Violet. That, and a sense of horror at the TV news reports, seem to have guided my fingers at the keyboards as I started to type.

 

You may read some deeper meaning into some of the music choices today but I promise that any themes or connections are purely coincidental. What does link them however is that they represent what continues to be a great year, aurally speaking.

 

Fluke have been one of the comeback success stories of the year. Jack was released in May with another new song possibly titled Real Magnificent 'coming soon'. 

Jesse Fahnestock has never been away and here he is again, with two cracking collaborations, firstly with Emilia Harmony as Electric Blue Vision (and remixed by himself as 10:40). Then, Jesse returns to close the selection with his partner in crime Darren Bell as Jezebell, delivering the fruity tune Citric, freshly squeezed from their Weekend Machines EP.

Sean Johnston also makes a couple of appearances as Hardway Bros. Alessandro Sarsano aka DJALE remixes Functions For Machines from the excellent My Friends EP. Sean later reunites with Duncan Gray for another Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown excursion, this time the aforementioned David Holmes and Raven Violet track.

Richard Norris released an exclusive 4-track EP (album?) in June, only available to subscribers, presenting music he'd created for a show at Paris Fashion Week. Each of the 4 mixes runs to nearly 14 minutes, so I've created a crude 8-minute edit of Mix 3 to include in this selection. 

I've been subscribing for a couple of years now. It's superb value for money and also raises funds for mental health charity MIND. I cannot recommend it enough.

Paris In The Summertime aside, Richard has a vast catalogue available on Bandcamp and in fact all of the music featured in today's selection is available to purchase there. If you like what you hear, go track them down, you will not be disappointed.

The penultimate song by Third Attempt samples from Louis Malle's 1981 film My Dinner With Andre

"You see, I keep thinking that what we need is a new language, 

a language of the heart."

 

The quoted lines are spoken by Andre Gregory, who appears opposite Wallace Shawn (if you don't know the latter's name, you will instantly recognise the face). The film is essentially two friends sharing anecdotes over a restaurant meal for the best part of two hours. They don't make 'em like that anymore. 

If you made it to the end of this post, many thanks for indulging me and I hope the music is sufficient compensation!

 

1) Jack: Fluke ft. Leah Cleaver (SW18 Sessions)

2) Trance Stance (1040s Haight Steppin Remix By Jesse Fahnestock): Electric Blue Vision (Trance Stance EP)

3) Hell Below: Acid Klaus ft. Lias Saoudi (P.T.S.D By Proxy EP)

4) Song Of Siraba (Mindbender Remix By Mårten Attling): A Space Age Freak Out (Shelter Me: In Crisis)

5) Paris In The Summertime (Mix 3 - Khayem's Olympic Edit): Richard Norris (Paris In The Summertime)

6) There’s Dust On It: Pye Corner Audio (There’s Dust On It EP)

7) Gold Rush (Dub): Break Mode ft. Nuri Orman (Boomarm Nation Family Album 2024)

8) Functions For Machines (DJALE Last Song Remix By Alessandro Sarsano): Hardway Bros (My Friends Remixes EP)

9) Waif Mentality: Orbury Common (Waif Mentality EP)

10) Too Muchroom (Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown Remix By Sean Johnston & Duncan Gray): David Holmes ft. Raven Violet (Blind On A Galloping Horse (Remixes Vol. 2))

11) Language Of The Heart: Third Attempt (Offshore Sunsets EP)

12) Citric: Jezebell (Weekend Machines EP)

We Can’t Deal With Culture We Don’t Understand (1:09:56) (KF) (Mega)