Andres - Salvador de Bahia part 1

This KDJ executive produced bomb came out in 2003 and to my ears is as balearic as it gets really. My theory on what is and isn't balearic is a simple one, if it sounds as good in the sun as it does in the dead of night and makes you want to get some sand between your toes then it is balearic. Now that probably includes every record ever made but who gives a shit really, it is all subjective when dealing with the white isle. This is one of those records that is all about the rolling bassline that permeates through the whole track accentuating every element. It is as perfect as it is simple and is an often overlooked Detroit classic. Oh and if you ever get the chance to go and see Andres DJ then do so, the man is a demon on the ones and twos.

Andres - Salvador de Bahia part 1

The Aloof - Never Get Out The Boat - The Gosh Mix

Here is a beauty that came out at the turn of the 90s and was a record that I played well into the turn of the century at which point it was put on the bottom shelf and we all know what happens then. I might even resurrect this one as it has to my ears stood the test of time and deserves a further play or two. The vocal sample comes from one of my favourite movies the epic Apocalypse Now as uttered by Captain Benjamin L. Willard played incredibly well by Martin Sheen. I had forgotten all about this record and it is something that I would've loved to have played on the radio in England just to see what the reaction would've been. For us in Cape Town this was as underground a record as it gets but I get the feeling that all and sundry in England would've known about this one, which kind of proves my point that every man and his dog older than 30 in blighty has large chunks of the 90s missing from their memories and to that I doff my cap.

The Aloof - Never Get Out The Boat - The Gosh Mix

Soul II Soul - Back To Life - Burnin' Bass Club Mix

I moved this week, which was/is a time consuming wretched affair but the one perk of moving beyond living in a bigger place is that I get to shuffle the record collection around a bit and this was one of the tracks that was on the bottom shelf of my Expedit where, lets face it, good records go to die. I remember playing this one to death and judging by the state of the record sleeve it has more than earned its keep. Written by erstwhile Madonna producer Nelly Hooper and the legendary Jazzie B this cut like a knife through Cape Town clubland and I'm sure that any of you that were getting right on it during the early 90s will remember this track raising the roof at places like Bar-Do-Me and the Power Station where a lot of us too young to get in would dance outside in the street, halcyon days indeed. I remember that the fairer sex used to love this and when they were happy we were happy. One of the first rules of being a DJ is that if the girls are on the floor the boys will follow, even the most hardcore of heterosexual trainspotters can't resist a bit of shake-shake. Listening to this track again after all these years nearly brought a tear to the eye...nearly.

Soul II Soul - Back To Life - Burnin' Bass Club Mix

The Souljazz Orchestra - Mista President

It is fairly common knowledge that I am obsessed with all things Afrobeat and The Souljazz Orchestra are a welcome addition to the cannon. Hailing from the night lights of Canada they've been reinterpreting the legacy left by the West Africans with a sound that is equal parts Fela, equal parts Mulatu and just enough James Brown to get the bodies sweating with their own and unique groove that has enamored listeners and dancers from Ottawa to Osaka. It comes as no surprise that they are a multi-cultural collective who have brought their various upbringings and influences and stirred it in the melting pot that is quality afro music for the 21st century. This track was chosen as one of Gilles Peterson's top 10 tracks for 2006 and if you don't own the album Freedom Don't Go Die then purchase it immediately, each and every track is dripping with all the intensity and groove that your record collection demands. They're just about to release a new album called Manifesto and this may be a bit tired to say but if it is half as good as their previous effort then our ears and feet are in for a treat. Soul-stirring stuff.

The Souljazz Orchestra - Mista President

Here they are performing People, People...

David Holmes - I Heard Wonders - Andrew Weatherall Vocal Mix

Belfast-native David Holmes has been rattling dancefloors since the age of 15 and was responsible for promoting seminal nights such as Shake Yer Brain and Sugar Sweet after which Orbital wrote one of the greatest records of all-time Belfast after playing there. David has since gone on to release records such as The Film's Crap Let's Slash The Seats and Let's Get Killed, which featured the superb My Mate Paul. For a number of years now he's been out here in La-La Land doing film score work for the likes of Steven Soderbergh but he hasn't forgotten his roots and his latest album The Holy Pictures is a return to form for our hero and this track I Heard Wonders is culled from it but it isn't the original that I am providing but rather the incredible Andrew Weatherall vocal mix that sounds in places like Pulp on even more Amyl Nitrate in the best possible way. I can see everyone from the skinny jeans set to the beer belly beardy types falling for its lucid charms.

David Holmes - I Heard Wonders - Andrew Weatherall Vocal Mix

As a side-note, Andrew Weatherall is in superb form at the moment check his brilliant remix of VV Blood's Crying Blood for further proof.

Enzo Avitabile - Black Out - Club Mix

Big favourite with DJ Alfredo in Ibiza back in the halcyon days of peace, love and respect out on the white isle before it all went south. I normally only post records that I own but I'm going to make an exception for this one as it is too good not to include on here although I have just bought a copy off some guy in Greece. God bless the internet.

Jamie Woon - Wayfaring Stranger - Burial remix

Burial has managed to remain incognito since he came charging onto the scene with his South London Boroughs EP that came out on Hyperdub back in 2005 but he's recently been outed in a national UK publication recently in light of his Mercury Prize Nomination as William Bevan and not Aphex Twin and certainly not Norman fucking Cook as was alleged a couple of months ago. His reasons for keeping under wraps are refreshingly that he just wants to make music and not be too bothered by the trappings that come with fame, which he most certainly has since publications like NME have declared him their favourite new band, the bandwagon jumpers. This remix of Jamie Woon may err a bit too close to the MJ Cole two-step side of things but the atmospherics and mood of the piece elevate it far beyond anything that the two-step/garage scene ever managed to release during their heyday. Just like everything else that Burial has released this is absolutely brilliant and one that is not to be missed. If you like this sort of thing check label-mate Kode9's work and especially his incredible remix of James Yorkston's Woozy With Cider.

Jamie Woon - Wayfaring Stranger - Burial remix