Sushi

Sushi is by far and away my favourite food and Tokyo is by far and away my favourite city, so this brilliantly simple idea really caught my imagination this afternoon.

A LEGO interpretation of the Obama Innauguration

Simply ace.

Hot Rocks - Chopper - Extended Edit

When Sebestian Tellier's incredible La Ritournelle was released a few years ago there was a rush of people seeking out alternatives to its undeniable charms and this cheeky edit that surfaced was hailed by one of Manchester's premier tastemakers, Jeff Plant, as being even better and over the years that I've been pulling this out I have to say that I couldn't agree more because as far as end of the night records go (and that is my favourite part of any night) this is exceptional, proper soaring, and dare I say it, emotional piece of work. Beautiful.

Hot Rocks - Chopper - Extended Edit

Matmos - Steam & Sequins for Larry Levan

This is a bit of a mystery to me, I know who Matmos is but I'm not sure where this record is from but I'm assuming it is coming out on a new album at some point in the very near future. Matmos are of course American cut and paste producers whose work is as clever as it it bonkers, the majority of which would part a dancefloor like Moses but play their records at an afterparty and everyone and their dog wants to know what has just tickled their ears. I actually prefer Drew Daniels' The Soft Pink Truth stuff but this is a perfect example of what made Matthew Herbert to sign them to his Accidental label a few years ago. To be honest, I haven't quite made my mind up about this one - what do you think?

Matmos - Steam & Sequins for Larry Levan

Tony Allen Live!

Now as many of you know I am a tad obsessed with former Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen, and recently he played a gig in London at Karen P's Broadcasting night that included an incredible array of guest artists including the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, who are made up of eight of erstwhile Sun Ra Arkestra member Phil Cohran's sons, Ty, Natty and Senegal's legendary Baba Maal all of which was captured recently for RBMA radio and you can listen to it here. Truly inspirational stuff, and a great interview with the man himself through the broadcast.

Fake Male Voice - OMG!!!FMV!!!

This is a venture into solo work from TV on The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe and is from the superbly packaged 7" that comes accompanied by a DVD and is released on a Japanese label with a Brooklyn mailing address, hmmmmm. This does sound like a TV on The Radio record but without the heavy guitar and horn work that characterized their last must have album, and it has most certainly grown on me in recent days. Definitely something I would've played on the, erm, radio.

Fake Male Voice - OMG!!!FMV!!!

The Selby

Todd Selby is a New York-based photographer who has been shooting movie directors, fashion models, designers, painters, writers and indie magazine editors in their homes in New York, London, Paris, Mexico City and Los Angeles and he posts the results on his brilliant website theselby.com which I have become fairly obsessed with in recent weeks since I was introduced to it via Tyler Askew's excellent blog. The one thing that I have learned is that if a house has a KAWS companion then generally I end up liking the person after a few hours of Google gymnastics. This is one of those little gems that makes the Interweb so great.

James Yancey RIP

Born James Yancey, Detroit-bred J Dilla excelled as a hip-hop producer with a penchant for collaborating with the most versatile and underground of hip-hop performers. In the mid- to late '90s he conceived beats for hip-hop's most eclectic visionaries: De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Tha Pharcyde, the Roots. His producing style was never flashy, often exerting the right low-range mix of street funk and boho jazziness perfect for many of the aforementioned artists. The 32-year-old Dilla passed away from lupus complications on Fri., Feb. 10 2006. He will always be seen as a godsend to both hip-hop artists and listeners.

Gone but not forgotten.

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

Yaw - Where Would You Be

This was easily my single of the year for 2008 and even though I have listened to it hundreds of times it still kills me each and every time. Emotive backing, solid lyrics and an arrangement to die for, this is modern soul music at its finest. Nothing much more to say than turn it up loud and drown in the beauty.

Yaw - Where Would You Be

Janelle Monáe - SIncerely, Jane

Janelle Monáe is destined to be absolutely huge, and I was introduced to her by Geoff over at Pass The Feeling On and what is abundantly clear is that this is pop music made perfectly with great arrangements that are as interesting as they are catchy, none of that watered down Britney (bar Toxic, which is a tune!) shit but rather a tune with a massive Northern groove and a singer who sings the cut to perfection. She has been nominated for a Grammy this year and anybody who lists her influences as Judy Garland, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Jackie Wilson, Grace Brown, Karen O, Lauryn Hill, Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Outkast, Nona Hendryx, Bach, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Fiona Apple, Björk, Anita Baker, and The Hives is ok in my book. Check her performing in the video below for some serious delivery and dance moves - I can't wait to see what she has in store for us in the near future. (Oh, and judging by her band and the clips somebody has thrown some serious cash behind her!)

Janelle Monáe - SIncerely, Jane

Bill Withers - Harlem - Eamon Harkin edit

This is quite simply the best edit that I have heard in years. All of those of you who take scissors to tracks let this be a lesson to you, he's kept the quality and feeling of the original in tact but at the same time he has given it loads of bite and this is screaming to be played to the heaving masses. Now just who is Eamon Harkin? Well, he's an Irish-born New York-based DJ who plays pretty much across the board because like he says, "In this day in age, with few exceptions, it’s really quite boring to hear the same genre played seamlessly all night." Never a truer word uttered. He's played alongside everyone from Afrika Bambaataa to Crystal Castles to The Glimmers to A-Trak everywhere from Paris to London all without selling his soul to the commercial devil and playing music true to his tastes, and with his edits appearing on Wurst and other projects on the horizon I think it is time that we took note of the man as he's on the verge of being very big indeed. This edit is banging!

Bill Withers - Harlem - Eamon Harkin edit

The Superimposers - The Northern Song - Ashley Beedle's Southern Psychedelic Mix

The Superimposers are a band that should be a lot bigger than they are, what with them sounding like the bastard love child of The Beach Boys and The Mizzell Brothers and on this single The Northern Song they have been aided by studio wizard Ashley Beedle and the result is just the sort of thing that will sound absolutely incredible in the sun surrounded by all of your mates. Check their wonderful website and radio show, which recently featured he of impeccable taste Sir Moonboots, for more of the magnificence. Here is an excellent interview with the duo that you really should read. All around sublime stuff.

The Superimposers - The Northern Song - Ashley Beedle's Southern Psychedelic Mix