Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses - Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve re-animation

Krautrock-obsessed psychdelia masters Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve have somehow managed to make the house record of the year with their superb take on the new Franz Ferdinand single that is as good as it is surprising. This is very much a hark back to the times when Gourmet Records were at their zenith and every record that came out had a groove with just enough melody to keep the smiles on the faces as you danced the night away well beyond the witching hour. Superb stuff and a record that I can certainly see the more discerning selectors out there igniting discos with. You better be quick with this one as it is very limited.

Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses - Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve re-animation

Idjut Boys - Roll Over and Snore - Long Stayer Mix

Dan Tyler and Conrad McDonnell are the Idjut Boys, two of the finest proponents of deep disco, well that is not entirely accurate as they were deep house when they first emerged and then cosmic disco came along and they were slotted into that camp, so I'm sticking with the lazy deep disco, and over the years they have released and recorded music as Pastrami Man, The Idjuts, Phantom Slasher and many, many more but I've always felt that they'd left their best dubbed out discoid moments for The Idjut Boys moniker and this wonderful piece of rolling dance music that came out on the sadly missed Nuphonic is easily my favourite. It is all about the piano-line, which is one that is just the right side of smooth and works an absolute treat for just about any crowd. A lovely record to have a boogie to.

Idjut Boys - Roll Over and Snore - Long Stayer Mix

Coming Soon

Made in Japan.

Raise It Up For Ma Dukes

Tomorrow is James Yancey aka J Dilla's birthday and unfortunately we lost this incredible talent to a rare blood disease and sadly his mother is now afflicted with the same condition, so with that Stones Throw have enlisted the help of Dutch artist Parra to design an exclusive t-shirt where some of the proceeds will go to paying for her medical bills. An incredibly generous thing for the label to do and I have just done my part by purchasing the t-shirt. You can buy it yourself here or at the usual local stockists in your area.

Carlos Niño and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson will also be performing a Suite For Ma Dukes, a celebration of J Dills with a 36-piece orchestra on February 22nd in Los Angeles, the previous installment included the wonderful Ethio-Jazz legend, Mulatu Astatke, and with future shows by Brasilian master Arthur Verocai and the legendary David Axelrod this is something that if you're in the area you truly should try and get down to. Tickets and more information here.

Here is a taster from the series.

DJ Hell - The Angst

Munich's DJ Hell may be to some associated with the blink-and-you-missed-it Electroclash scene but I first heard his records when he released the incredible My Definition of House Music, which still sounds fresh today, and his work when he launched International Deejay Gigolos and his spellbinding work with the immensely talented Anthony Rother all of which are body music and not limited to haircuts. This track is a bit of a case of two steps forward and one step back with Hell making a record that is almost balearic but with those electronic touches that we've come to know and love from the man. Next to MDOH this is to my ears his best track! Seriously good stuff from a man who can.

DJ Hell - The Angst

Raphael Saadiq - Big Easy

Former Tony! Toni! Toné!, Lucy Pearl and D'Angelo writer/producer/performer Raphael Saadiq has just released an absolute gem of an album, The Way I See It which features performances by Joss Stone, The Rebirth Brass Band, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z and Rocio Mendoza all of whom contribute to what is a scintillating piece of modern soul that really deserves to be a lot bigger than it waswhen it was released, but fear not its charms have been revealed to the record buying community by the likes of Gilles Peterson and dancefloors are throwing some serious shapes to records like this one, Big Easy which to my ears is the very epitome of Saturday night gymnastics on a 7". I absolutely love this. Play it loud and I defy you to not clap your hands while you listen to it. Sunshine.

Raphael Saadiq - Big Easy

Crowhead - The Bends

This is really ace. Salfordian man about town and all round good egg, Woody is about to release an album on ATIC Recordings in the summer and this track entitled The Bends is the first sneak peak to have emerged and what a teaser it is. He's the resident DJ at Friends & Family all over the world but as with all the lads involved in the night he is a music man and his album promises to be a true representation of all of them. Can't wait for this to come out on vinyl. Big!

Erick Sermon feat. Marvin Gaye - Music

Here is a real Monday morning jam, something that gets the week off to a perfect start. Erick is of course one half of legendary hip hop band EPMD who recorded this jam for the soundtrack of a film that I never saw and in truth can't be bothered to look up and obviously years of sampling the likes of Eric Clapton, Zapp and the like hasn't been lost on our man who expertly blends legendary soul man Marvin Gaye's dulcet tones into what is an exceptional piece of hip hop. Just imagine if sampling laws weren't as stringent as they are now, we'd be swimming in genius and not having to fight through piles of violence that seem to fill most records that spew forth from the Tri-State area these days. Big up an original, and yes that was one sentence!

Erick Sermon feat. Marvin Gaye - Music