mark ronson feat alex greenwald - just (radiohead cover) (mp3)

well here's something you don't see everyday, a hip-hop cover of a radiohead track that doesn't make you want to poke your eardrums with a screwdriver. this fantastic piece of music is the first thing to trickle out from the long-rumoured "radiohead versus" project, with hip hop artists covering their favourite tracks from thom & co.

i was initially worried that my blinkered pro-radiohead bias was clouding my judgement on this track, but after playing it out now i know it's not just me who loves it. whatever possessed mark ronson to cover the track in a u.s. high school big band style is something i'm struggling to understand, but you can't say it doesn't work!

i can't really point you anywhere to buy this, it was available on monday on a super-limited 12" at piccadilly, but i think that online auction house is going to be the only place to get one now ...

syclops - the fly (mp3)

maurice fulton is bonkers. i know this not from just having listened to so much of his music, but i've also met his wife and i'm sure that home is a very bizarre place to be, where people wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people. maurice's second release for the super-hip tirk records continues in the same vein as the first, namely wigged-out acid-squelching fucked-up-ness in the largest possible sense. it's pretty much the sort of music that only a true genius of the medium can produce, and what i think matthew herbert could be making if he took his head out of his arse for five minutes, had a few drugs and maybe a big mac.

the fly is out now, pick it up at the usual suspects. for more maurice check out the previous syclops release "mom, the video broke", "down in the dungeon", or my personal fave "let's get sick" by mu (maurice's missus), which sounds like an 808 machine getting into a ruck and falling down three flights of steel stairs.

sun palace - rude movements (mp3)

following on from kev in the excuses department, i too am finding it difficult to keep the posts frequent. apart from my extensive university timetable, my part time job and trying to keep my girlfriend happy, it’s my chronic ebay addiction that is proving the biggest obstacle when trying to get these posts up……… i just wish i would have paid more attention to zammo in grange hill and the ‘just say no’ campaign………..

anyway, that’s enough of those excuses………the real reason i am here today is to tell you about one of the biggest things to ever come out of my home town, the lovely oldham.....your probably sat there thinking, ‘well it must be n-trance’ or ‘its got to be clint boon’ or even, ‘is it the fact that oldham was responsible for the worlds first ever test tube baby’ (and no, that wasn’t me)……..all of those would be great answers, but they would unfortunately be wrong………..

it is in fact a band called sun palace, who released a 12” in the early 80’s called winning/rude movements…….it was also released a few years later with an ace ‘lots of sexy noises’ remix by nigel wright, called the x-mix…….the original of rude movements went on to be a massive underground tune in new york city, and was a particular favourite of david mancuso and the loft……….it has more recently been seen on the nuphonic album, 'david mancuso presents the loft', which was released in 1999, and is probably a right bugger to get hold of now………………

anyhow…hope you enjoy the record… if your feeling flush and want to purchase, get yourself down to vinyl exchange in manchester….where, word on the street is, they have a copy………right that’s me done, im off for a job interview now with the oldham town tourist board, im sure ill get it…..

kerri chandler - bar a thym (mp3)

inbetween holding down a fulltime job, trying to run and promote a night, searching for a first home, feeding a serious pro evolution addiction and playing steven spielberg for my parents (don't ask), it's proving a little more difficult than i'd like to get new posts up here as often as possible, but i'm working on ways to rectify that, so keep an eye on future developments ...

keeping up my "favourite house records of the year" promise, today i'm dropping the bomb that is kerri chandler's already-classic bar a thym. i shit you not when i say this has taken the entire globe by storm this year, and has been heard in clubs anywhere from ibiza to ibiza to iraq (err - maybe). kerri chandler has been releasing triple a titles for nigh on 15 years his passion for the dancefloor shows no sign of abating. and for those of the trivial disposition, the value in his "kaos 6.23" moniker represents the 23rd july, the date when his house burnt down and he lost all his records and belongings!

anyways, onto the track, this is minimal brilliance in a style only kerri knows how. when you listen to the track, there's simply nothing to it - if you wanted to, you could create the track bit for bit yourself, just like the old chicago acid classics from yesteryear. but like those tracks, it's perfection lies in the ability to make the simple percussion and melodies into much more than the sum of these parts. this really is stunning house music.

a quick note for those in manchester, you might wanna pop down to high voltage at the music box this friday, where i'll be playing in the big room with danny webb and steve perry (friends of music), we're going to be teaching the indie kids how to dance!

kids in the street - keep on turning (motorcitysoul original dub) (mp3)

having spent a while looking for somewhere to get onto the property ladder, i can safely say it's been a bad few months for looking for houses. but it has been a rather exciting time for house music (see what i did there?). in order to celebrate this, i've decided this week to post my two favourite out-and-out house records of the year so far, starting with this fab 12" featuring chicago's chez damier. sounding like the greatest prescription record never made, "keep on turning" is one of those tracks that make it impossible to keep your feet from moving, with a deep sub-bass coupling with the killer vocal chant.

and thanks are owed to mr hector-jones for filling last saturday's guest slot, and playing some of the most bizzare records heard at any best foot forward so far, with nurse with wound / stereolab's "simple headphone mind" being a personal favourite. guests really do rule ... roll on december 2nd!