Underworld - Two Month's Off (Album Version) - (Junior Boy's Own, 2002)

Euphoric, epic, stream of consciousness, classic Underworld.

Real life got in the way and the blog took a back seat for a couple of months, so what better way to come back from two months off than with this humongous Underworld classic.

A nine minute 'journey' building from dark and long-ness to dancefloor joy to weightless breakdown to cloudsurfing and back again. Chiming bells, repetitive chanting and a cowbell outro. Immense.

Download Underworld 'Two Month's Off (Album Version)' (epic, progressive, house, mp3)

Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (Drop Out Orchestra Rework) (2012)

Another tasty Drop Out Orchestra remix.

Talking Heads' 'Psycho Killer' given a gentle, rolling chilled House makeover.

The Chemical Brothers - Life Is Sweet (Daft Punk Mix) (Freestyle Dust, 1995)

Tasty slammer, made more slamming.

Daft Punk give Tim Burgess' vocal the heave and turn the twisty synthetic funk of the original into a straightforward juggernaut.

Download The Chemical Brothers 'Life Is Sweet (Daft Punk Mix)' (House, Big Beat, mp3) (Mediafire)

The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (Drop Out Orchestra Remix) (2011)

Slow and sinister dubbed-up remix of The Supremes classic.

A great Motown original which was covered to great effect by Afghan Whigs (must dig that one out and post it).

This version is slow house jam with a gentle 4/4 beat, a simple, spartan Fender Rhodes line and deep bass creating a sensitive new home for Diana Ross' vocal.

Very, very nice indeed.

One Dove - Breakdown (Cellophane Boat Mix) (Junior Boys Own, 1993)

A Dub House symphony. Epic. Beautiful.

'Morning Dove White' - also touched by the hand of Andrew Weatherall - is up there with 'Screamadelica' for me in distilling the emotions and dynamics of Dub and House into a sumptuous cocoon of sound. You could call it Post Club Soul. Maybe it doesn't need a label.

'Breakdown' is a teasing, irresistable web of shuffling beats, reverb-happy piano, meandering bass and dubbed-out effects, bouncing subtly around the soundfield. It settles into a laidback groove and Dot Allison unleashes an angelic soliloquy to lost love.

A perfect companion piece to the Dub Symphony version of 'Higher Than The Sun' and the Lemonentry Mix of Saint Etienne's 'Pale Movie'. A seriously under-rated album.

Download One Dove - Breakdown (Cellophane Boat Mix) (Junior Boys Own, One Dove mp3) (Box.net)

Sub Sub ft Melanie Williams - Ain't No Love, Ain't No Use (Robs Records, 1993)

The band Doves could've been...

Only kidding I think Doves are good too and they made good use of their love of the dancefloor in their Northern-tinged indie yearning.

However, Sub Sub's 'Ain't No Love, Ain't No Use' is a delightful slice of sleek, euphoria. Perfect for this or any other Friday.

Download Sub Sub ft Melanie Williams - Ain't No Love, Ain't No Use (Robs Records, 1993)

Ruffneck ft Yavahn - Everybody Be Somebody (Peppermint Jam Extended) (MAW, 1995)

Wonderfully brash thumping House track.

As is the case with most great music, it's hard to fathom how the such simple elements have been combined to create magic.

There's not much to this track but it creates a unique feel, winding itself up into a frenzy. Simple, effective, almost punky House.

Download Ruffneck ft Yavahn 'Everybody Be Somebody' (House mp3) (Rapidshare)

#Bestof2011 - Baubles 2011: The TRNWRD Annual Round-up

My round-up of the best of 2011. Hope you enjoy. 

It's always a good year for music, you just have to look harder some years than others IMHO. The overall mood is quite subdued/thoughtful but some banging tunes supplied by SBTRKT, Jamie xx and Friendly Fires to balance the more introspective mood of Bon Iver, Neverest Songs and James Blake.

Amazed that Bombay Bicycle Club managed to make my favourite single of the year. Despite the xx seemingly having a year off to recuperate, two of their number still managed to be involved in great records.

SBTRKT became the first artist to have more than one track on my year-end compilation thanks to the stupendous live drumming of 'Heatwave' and the frantic 'Living Like I Do'. A great album too.

A couple of tunes weren't released in 2011 - Hatchback's Krautrocktronics and, I believe, Karl Hector and the Malcouns' haunting Sun-Ra-channelling breakbeat jazz.

Anyway, hope you find something enjoy in the mix. Comment if you do! (Comment if you don't if you like - that would seem a bit mean though...)

Tracklist: 
01. Bon Iver 'Perth' (4AD/Jagjaguwar)
02. Jamie xx 'Far Nearer' (Nmbrs)
03. Creep 'Days (ft. Romy xx)' (Young Turks)
04. Big Deal 'Homework (Original 7" Version)' (Records Records Records Records)
05. Neverest Songs 'Paper Trumpets' (Tea At Yours)
06. Trophy Wife 'Microlite' (Moshi Moshi)
07. Karl Hector and the Malcouns 'Girma's Lament' (Now-Again)
08. SBTRKT ft Sampha 'Heatwave (Live at Abbey Road' (Young Turks)
09. Bombay Bicycle Club 'Shuffle' (Island)
10. Class Actress 'Keep You' (Carpark)
11. Wild Beasts 'Lion's Share' (Domino)
12. SBTRKT ft Sampha 'Living Like I Do' (Young Turks)
13. Friendly Fires 'Live Those Days Tonight' (XL)
14. When Saints Go Machine 'Fail Forever (Nicolas Jaar Remix)' (K7)
15. The Leisure Society 'The Hungry Years' (Full Time Hobby)
16. Joe Goddard ft Valentina 'Gabriel' (Greco Roman)
17. I Break Horses 'Winter Beats' (Bella Union)
18. British Sea Power 'Who's In Control?' (Rough Trade)
19. James Blake 'The Wilhelm Scream' (Atlas)
20. Hatchback 'Everything Is Neu' (Lo Recordings)
21. Patrick Wolf 'The City' (Hideout)

Baubles 2011 - An Eclectic Best of 2011 by Occasional Rain on Mixcloud

Roy Davis Jr 'Gabriel (Live Garage Version)' (XL Recordings, 1997)

Perfectly understated piece of low-slung Garage action.

Such a perfect tune, drifting along an ascending bassline and puttering percussion, the soulful vocal lilting over rafts of gentle Rhodes.

'Gabrielle' is a very gentle, uplifting, presumbly spiritual song. Roy Davis Jr had a habit of naming tracks after archangels - 'Michael' was another doozy. It sounds perfect for some late summer sun, spun into the mix with Isolee's 'Beau Mot Plage'.

My copy of this sits on an excellent, but largely totally bangin' collection of UK Garage tunes that don't have the subtly of this tune. Funnily, we're kind of getting a revival as the likes of SBTRKT display a mix of future beats and soul that recalls the first wave of post-drum'n'bass, UK Garage - MJ Cole's 'Sincere', 'Dreams' by Smokin' Beats, 'Anytime' by Nu Birth.

Takes yer back dunnit.

Download Roy Davis Jr featuring Peven Everett 'Gabriel (Live Garage Version)' (Deep House, Garage mp3 download) (Mediafire)

LFO 'LFO' (Warp, 1990)

'Shock of the new' moment of discontinuity from Leeds' LFO and Warp Records.

Hearing 'LFO' for the first time was one of those moments where the track doesn't make sense the first time you hear it. It sounds wrong because it breaks with what you think music is supposed to sound like. Moonshake's 'Beautiful Pigeon' and New Order's 'Blue Monday' were similarly discontinuities in my musical eduction.

I can't remember where I heard it first but I think it would have been Radio Leeds' indie/alternative radio show on a Monday night. The bleeps rang through the medium wave okay but the bass just sounded like gaps in the track, meaning that when I then heard it properly it blew my mind all over again.

LFO went on to deliver some more sublime records - 'Freak' and 'Tied Up' for starters - but nothing matches this for its sheer 'shock of the new' magic.

Enjoy.

Download LFO 'LFO' (mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Isolee 'Beau Mot Plage' (Playhouse/Classic, 1999) (download)

Wonderfully crisp and sparse piece of Balearic-tinged minimal house.

The original 'Beau Mot Plage' meanders and burbles along, creating a fascinating soundscape of minimal melodic chirrups, vibrant bass and crunchy, twitchy beats.

Tweaked to perfection in this ten-minute Freeform Reform version, some more verdant, soulful bursts are added to the variety with more breakdowns, rhythm guitar texture and some free-blowing flute.

Perfect summer bliss that would sound nice sandwiched between Ultramarine's 'Saratoga', Farley and Heller's remix of Espiritu and Flowered Up's 'Weekender'.

Download Isolee 'Beau Mot Plage' (mp3, 320k) (Mediafire)

Paperclip People 'The Climax' (Planet E, 1995)

'The Climax' is perhaps the most perfect combination of elegant techno poise and dancefloor thump I've ever heard.

Carl Craig (aka Paperclip People aka 69 aka Innerzone Orchestra aka Psyche etc etc) is well-renowned as a ground-breaking genius and for good reason. 'The Climax' takes in a host of movements, all gliding unrelentingly towards... well, actually, a twinkly fade-out.

Covered recently by LCD Soundsystem, 'The Climax' open with moody stabs, joined by burbling synth lines and then a harsh, driving beat. A twinkly synth section see the motion get more lateral and funky before it builds again and finally breaks down to repose with the twinkly synths alone.

Download Paperclip People 'The Climax' (mp3) (Mediafire)