Category: TBC Playlist

TBC Playlist February 2014

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New/Current

Dj Kicks – Brandt Brauer Frick (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – Kolsch (2014)*

BBC Essential Mix – Friend Within (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – DJ Snake (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – MK (2014)

FabricLive Vol.73 – Pangaea (2014)

Various Artists – Bleep pres. Top 100 tracks of 2013 (2013)

Various Artists (Kompakt records) – Pop Ambient 2014

Groove Podcast 26 – Helena Hauff (2014)

Defected pres. In the House – MK (2013)

Defected près. House Masters – Henrik Schwarz (2014)

Different Sides of the Sun – Hot Natured (2013)

Little Red – Katy B (2014)

Watergate vol.15 – Kerri Chandler (2014)

Naturally – Dana Ruh (2014)

Various Artists (50 Weapons) – #50 Weapons RMX 01-09 (2014)

Live @ Robot Heart Halloween Party, NY City – Tom Middleton pres. Retro Futro (2014)

Live @ Output, Brooklyn NYE 2013 – DJ Tennis (2014)

Classic

Fabric vol.8 – Radioactive Man (2002)

Various Artists – Giorgio Moroder on the Groove Train Vol.1 – 1975-1993 (2012)

Mixmag Presents Duck Sauce – Armand Van Helden & A-Trak (2009)

Innovator – Derrick May (1998)

It is finally time for our first playlist in 2014. I hear some of you saying “what’s taken you so long…it’s almost the end of February!” but as ever it’s quality over quantity plus it has taken some time to recover from the TBC Loved Up party on the 15th of February and all the preparation that took over at TBC HQ in January and the start of this month.

2014 has been slow to get going on the music front, we almost felt spoiled towards the end of 2013 and the annual review showcased what a year it was for new music. Nonetheless here at TBC we have been busy listening to as many new releases as possible, sourcing the new albums and more leftfield offerings that techno and dance music has to give and enjoying the many podcasts and radio shows on offer. I must say that it has been the radio shows and  live sets that have been dominating the airwaves at TBC HQ and this has been helped by DJs excelling in their NYE sets (and of course saving and posting on the internet – see the links above) and superb January of Future Hero Essential Mixes from BBC Radio One curated by Pete Tong and selected by Annie Mac and Skream & Benga. February has seen more on the album and compilation release front with two of the best coming from our favourites DJ Kicks and one of the best Berlin clubs Watergate. Lets hope that things pick up into March and onwards into 2014 so Spring/Summer has some gems to be enjoyed and included in our upcoming playlists.

Enough of the waffling and rambling and on to the playlist reviews:

Dj Kicks – Brandt Brauer Frick (2014)

2013 was an amazing year for Dj Kicks culminating in some esteemed reviews in the dance music annual ‘Best ofs’ and TBC selecting the John Talabot mix as our favourite for 2013. Having delivered such a high standard in 2013 they have set the bar high for the 2014 roster. First up are Brandt Brauer Frick who originate from Berlin and provide a group performance live show factor to the newest in the long running series of mixes. The mix is an intriguing mix of experimental, disco, house, minimal, electro, techno, urban and leftfield electronic music and progresses at varying speeds and intervals to create an eclectic compilation of tracks. The mix harks back to the older DJ Kicks where you were treated to a diverse selection of tunes emanating from both the DJs personal collection and preferred styles of music and the dancefloor/live performance venue. While not feeling as ‘polished’ as the offerings from 2013 this is highly enjoyable and there are some great treats;

-Rollercoaster by Dollkraut is a haunted western sounding, groovy number

-Transition by Galaxy 2 Galaxy & Atlantis features an amazing ‘Transition’ vocal that has been sampled many times and is accompanied by a funky baseline

-To Catchy by Dj Do Bass provides a fast, disco/funk track

-Wooden Knuckles by James Braun is a straight up TBC electro anthem

-Now U Know The Deal 4 Real by Machinedrum is a slick vocal & urban number

All in all this is another high quality release by DJ Kicks and a great introduction to Brandy Brauer Frick who we expect a great deal more from and hope to catch one of their live performances in 2014.

BBC Essential Mix – Kolsch (2014) & BBC Essential Mix – MK (2014)

The Future Heroes series curated by Pete Tong in January for the BBC Essential Mix is always a good way to start the New Year. Current BBC DJs including Pete Tong himself present their future stars of 2014 and normally result in a new DJ being aired for the first time over a 2 hour mix. This time round the first mix came from one of TBC’s ‘Ones to Watch’ in 2014; Kolsch. In keeping with his album 1977 the two hour mix provides more of the same and builds on this with a great collection of progressive techno and house for our enjoyment. ‘Euphoric’ is one word to describe this mix, Kolsch manages to encapsulate euphoria with epic sounding tracks, ghostly vocals, moody build ups and breakdowns. A great mix of Kolsch tracks and edits along side some of the best artists in electronic music; Matthew Jonson, Moderat, Ame, Cajmere, Omar S, Technasia, Deetron and Robert Hood. The track list looks like a playlist from TBC HQ with some of our favourite artists featuring. We cannot wait to see Kolsch this summer at Melt.

Following the Future Heroes January was a cracking house mix from MK who many of you may not have heard of, including us at TBC. Marc Kinchen was a big player in early 90’s house but disappeared in the Mid 90’s not resurfacing in the world of house music until 2011 when he released the first of several Defected CD’s (one of which is included in the playlist above). We are pleased he is back as he has been remixing and producing his way through the house music scene leaving party destruction in his wake, which is evident in his essential mix. Some of the tunes and mixes do verge on the ‘cheesier’ side of house but who doesn’t  like a bit of quality cheese now and then?!

FabricLive Vol.73 – Pangaea (2014)

Fabric continue their mammoth CD series, which is now up to #74, with the Friday night instalment of  ‘Live’ which is brought to you by one of the most popular & upcoming underground DJ’s Pangaea. One half of Hessle Audio’s founders (with Ben UFO) and championing the harder sounds of urban, dub, techno and dark/ghetto sounding genres (there are too many to keep track of nowadays, i’m getting old!) this FabricLive doesn’t take long to start banging and it doesn’t cease until track 27 is complete and the CD finishes! This mix is relentless, is best enjoyed loud and well terrorise your neighbours, flat mates, girlfriend/wife/partner. Pangaea provides a mix which puts most of the Fabric series to shame (apart from Ben Sims in Fabric 63 which is amazing) and seriously stamps his authority on the mix CD genre. Shifted, Speedy J, Drumcell, Alex Falk and Oscar Mulero feature for the avid techno fans and there are lots of additional artists to enjoy including Pearson Sound. Having previously been disappointed with Pangaea when seeing him live in Sheffield this mix more than makes up for that and will sit proud in the CD collection for the upcoming months and in the Fabric CD family.

Watergate vol.15 – Kerri Chandler (2014)

Volume 15 of the Watergate series is literally hot off the press and is the newest of the featured mixes this month. Having read a review of this CD on one of the larger music websites and seeing the poor score it was given we were a little apprehensive at TBC HQ when this was first played. Our apprehension was very misplaced, we should have respected the house & techno legend that is Kerri Chandler to deliver a quality mix. The latest in the Watergate series is superb. Quality house and techno tracks that you would expect to hear at Watergate and dance your ass off by the Spree in Berlin under the amazing ceiling light feature grace this mix from start to finish. Huxley, Kerri Chandler (himself), Italoboyz, D’Julz and Subb-an contribute to this excellent addition to the Watergate collection.

Live @ Output, Brooklyn NYE 2013 – DJ Tennis (2014)

At TBC HQ DJ Tennis has become a legend with his amazing live sets (previously featured was the amazing Panorama Bar mix) are a surefire way to start, boost or end a party. The tune selection is always top draw with moody progressive, vocally beautiful, banging electro and groovy techno tunes being incorporated via some of the best producers and remixers of the moment. The diversity of the mix and ability to move from genre to genre and back again, flawlessly, is testament to this great DJ. The one things that gets to TBC is the elusiveness of Mr. Tennis, where can we get involved and when will we finally see him live?! We hope it is soon but as long as the mixes keep coming we will continue to promote, plug and adore. We highly recommend following the link to the mix from Soundcloud both liking the mix and following this DJ.

I would love to have featured and reviewed more mixes from the playlist however hours seem to have passed and readers may have switched off by this point (hopefully not though) and it is also time to wrap the latest playlist up and select the TBC favourite, our first in 2014.

Summing up each playlist and deciding on our favourite always ends up with some heated debate, reconsideration and sometimes a ‘U’ turn or two. In this case the final favourite was not even considered when we first started writing however having spent the whole day re-listening to each of the featured mixes our opinions changed considerably. One thing to mention is the serious quality of each of the featured mixes, we would recommend that each is sought out and enjoyed. Our final decision was to place the Kolsch Essential Mix on top this month. A single paragraph review is not enough to do this mix justice, we think it may be a big year for Kolsch and if he can deliver in his live shows this year he will be on the top of everyones ‘must see’ list as Dixon was in 2013. We have included a link to the tracklist below just to show how good this is, we would recommend this mix is your first point of call. Follow the link and enjoy!

Well done Kolsch, congratulations of being the first favourite at TBC HQ in 2014.

https://soundcloud.com/everybodywantstobethedj/the-essential-mix-future-stars

Thanks for reading, we hope that you enjoy the playlist as much as we have and look forward to the next instalment which is of course To Be Confirmed.

TBC

2013 Playlist Review & Best Album

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Our first calendar year at TBC has come to an end and we are settling in to 2014 with a quiet January after a busy Christmas holiday period and the TBC adventure in Thailand over the New Year. Wow what a year 2013 was, our TBC blog was launched in April, we had our launch party in August and have been updating the blog and planning for 2014 (including our first proper club night) for the remainder of the time. We are so grateful for everyone’s input, feedback, help, appreciation, messages and the reception our blog and the TBC concept has experienced.

As is tradition with all those involved in the music industry the annual ‘best of’ lists have been published and there has been a plethora of playlists, album charts and articles to trawl through. We all have our favourites and many of the official articles via Resident Advisor, Bleep, FACT et al. are read by thousands of people and offer an opportunity to see if your favourite albums have been included and a great chance to pick up on some of the dark horse entries or albums you may have missed. Here at TBC we have been posting our playlists to share what we have been listening to and what our favourite albums at that moment were and felt it appropriate to offer our own annual review  and select our favourite release from 2013.

The shortlist of our ‘best of’ selections:

22nd – 28th July – Resident Advisor Podcast #373 – Helena Hauff (2013) *

29th July – 4th August – Tsugi Sampler 59 – Brodinski pres. Bromance Los Angeles (2013)*

2nd – 15th July -Disconnect/Reconnect – Japanese Popstars (2013)*

28th October – 22nd November – John Talabot – Dj Kicks (2013)*

December 2013 – Kolsch – 1977 (2013) *

On review of the official articles there are some gems that may not have featured in our playlists so we thought it best to include a shortlist to include in our annual review:

FACT magazine/ Resident Advisor – The Inheritors – James Holden

FACT Magazine – Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself – Omar S

Crack Magazine – Immunity – Jon Hopkins

Of these gems above there were two which had slipped through our net at TBC; the new James Holden album was listened to on its release but not fully appreciated on a first and only listen, the Omar S album had been entirely missed (understandable with the high volume of music that graces our speakers every month), both on review are excellent albums. James Holden once again tests your resolve and patience as the album is a grower and an ‘intelligent’ listen as there is a lot to take in and appreciate. Omar S has compiled an LP of instant classic house and techno numbers that would sit well in any playlist or live set. The latter release from Jon Hopkins was from early 2013 and hadn’t made it into our playlists as it was not new at the time but it has been a repeat listen at TBC HQ and it is without a doubt one of the best releases of 2013 and had we started our playlists earlier a dead cert for one of our ‘*’ recommendations.

There are also a number of albums/mixes that made our TBC playlists each month and did not feature on our shortlist but have continued to entertain us and therefore require a special mention:

DJ T. presents 25 Years of DJing 1988-2012 Part 1 – Get Physical (2013)

Renaissance the Mix Collection by Tiefschwarz (2013)

Axel Boman – Family Vacation (2013)

Bloody Mary – Wilde Podcast #013 (2011)

Four Tet – Beautiful Rewind (2013)

We have also been lucky to have a number of alternative electronica releases in 2013 that have really hit the mark and either stamped a new artist on the map or reaffirmed what we all expected from some of the industry stalwarts and legends. The alternative shortlist:

Rudimental – Home (2013)

Dexter – The Trip (2013)

The Bullitts – They Die by Dawn (2013)*

Atoms for Peace – AMOK (2013)

Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (2013)

Of the alternative releases our most anticipated and enjoyed has been the debut release from the Bullitts (Jeymes Samuel) titles They Die by Dawn. Ever since the viral internet success of Supercool and its hilarious video of the dancing tramp (Jeymes Samuel himself) in London with Rosario Dawson this release was eagerly awaited and it did not let us at TBC down. The album was also utilised on a short film with the same name of which we are still awaiting to see but i’m sure this is equally as brilliant. The Bullitts remain a big one to watch in 2014 and the sheer diversity and quality in production is something to admire.

Having rambled on for far too long now it is time to select from the releases above and award our TBC release of 2014 which will not only have the standard ‘*’ applied but will be illustrated in…wait for it….CAPITAL LETTERS (to emphasise its superstar quality) and receive a few extra stars. It has been difficult to critically review each playlist entry and therefore having to select just one release for the whole year and to sum up the 5 playlists posted in 2013 has been complicated and lead to some heated debates here at TBC HQ, especially when Betty gets involved! The late addition of Immunity from Jon Hopkins did not make the decision any easier as it is a top album and will remain on the TBC speakers into 2014. It was a very big year for Jon Hopkins as he not only released his LP but also wow’ed everyone with his FACT podcast and even had time to release a movie soundtrack for How I Live Now. However it came down to two; Helena Hauff’s Resident Advisor Podcast and the DJ Kicks release from John Talabot. Both were enjoyed multiple times over the Xmas period and while away in Thailand on our travels and neither fail to amaze or falter on repeat listens which is testament to their quality and longevity. After extended deliberations our favourite release from 2013 is:

DJ KICKS – JOHN TALABOT ******

Put quite simply this compilation from the Talaboman is superb and deserves the title of release of 2013. It shone among three amazing DJ Kicks releases in 2013, it manages to incorporate a beautiful transition of blissed out electronic music to house and techno that impulsively has you bopping or dancing about and can be enjoyed at any time of the day when relaxing, pre-partying, partying or after-partying (which we do our fair bit of at TBC).

Thanks for reading we look forward to bringing you the best music in 2014.

Happy New Year to all our TBC followers.

TBC

Playlist December 2013

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P1000864Breach – DJ Kicks (2013)

Oliver Huntemann Pres. Funf – Five Years Ideal Audio inc. mix by Andre Winter (2013)

Joseph Capriati – Self Portrait (2013)

Various Artists – Weapons of Choice #30-39 – 50 Weapons (2013)

Pete Tong b2b Eats Everything & Sasha – Warehouse Project 20th Anniversary BBC Essential Mix (2013)

Harvard Bass – Stay True (feat. Green Velvet) (2013)

Various Artists – Selected Label Works 4, Permanent Vacation (2013)

Various Artists – Selected Label Works 2 & 3, Permanent Vacation (2010 & 2011)

Trentemoller – Lost (2013)

Nina Kraviz – Mr. Jones (2013)

ZZT – Partys Over Earth (2011)

Fenech Soler – Rituals (2013)

Various Artists – Pete Tong Collection (2013 – Triple CD)

Dexter – The Trip (2013) 

Claude Von Stroke – BBC Essential Mix (2013)

Midnight Magic – Midnight Creepers (2013)

Rudimental – Warehouse Project 20th Anniversary BBC Essential Mix (2013)

Paul Woolford b2b James Zabiela – Warehouse Project 20th Anniversary BBC Essential Mix (2013)

Rudimental – Home (2013)

Drexciya – Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller VI (2013)

 John Digweed – Live in Argentina (2013)

Various Artists – 10 Years Crosstown Rebels (2013)

DJ T. presents 25 Years of DJing 1988-2012 Part 1 – Get Physical (2013)

Kolsch – 1977 (2013) *

Bloody Mary – Wilde Podcast #013 (2011)

Bloody Mary – Fabric Promo Mix (2013)

The Classics

Sneaker Pimps – Becoming Remixed (1998)

Soulwax – Most of the Remixes (2007)

Armand Van Helden – Ghettoblaster (2007) – first album at casa de Roffey in 2007

Tom Middleton – Sound of the Cosmos (2002)

Aeroplane – BBC Essential Mix – 500th Anniversary Mix @ Circus Liverpool (2010)

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas to all you TBCers who have been so kind to join in and run through our December playlist. There have been some excellent releases during the holiday season, we have cracked out some older gems and had a good old root around on the internet for the best podcasts and radio shows. The list features over 30 albums, live sets or mixes that we would recommend for a festive party, chilling out with family over Christmas or to be cranked up and blared out in true TBC style over the New Years celebrations. Hope you enjoy and have a great Xmas break.

In this months list we have got some great diversity for you with the traditional end of year collections from Permanent Vacation (Disco/House) and an old school collection from Pete Tong (house, rave, techno, trance), Anniversary radio shows from BBC Essential Mix celebrating 20 years at the Warehouse Project in Manchester (3 weeks of WHP Essential mixes were aired at the end of 2013) along with the new releases and ‘the classics’. We have even thrown in some Hip Hop from Dexter (German artist), Urban from Rudimental, Electro-Indie from ZZT (Tiga’s band named after their favourite band ZZ Top) & Fenech Soler and some experimental electronica from Trentemoller. All in all we have been very very busy at TBC getting through all this music to ensure that we could bring you a bumper Christmas playlist that our loyal TBC fans deserve.

The shortlist this month:

Armand Van Helden – Ghettoblaster (2007) – Starting with a classic, and boy is this a classic and a half, from the legend of New York Garage and House music Armand Van Helden. Having been looking through some old CD’s and skimming through some recent mixes (including his Duck Sauce Essential Mix with A Trak in 2013 and some old Tiga shows) we found Ghettoblaster which has so many good memories for us at TBC HQ as it was the first album played when me moved into our current apartment in 2007. What a party that was and what an album this is. Great party disco/electro tracks that you will be singing, dancing and generally going crazy to once this album is played, trust me we have succumbed to this many a time! A highly recommended listen especially with NYE just around the corner and for anyone wanting to recreate a NYC loft party vibe from either the 90’s or naughties.

Breach – DJ Kicks (2013) – 2013 has been a big year for DJ Kicks and Breach (A.K.A Ben Westbeech) which in some way makes this combination on the recent Dj Kicks compilation a match made in heaven. Dj Kicks started the year of with a mix from Maceo Plex (A.K.A Maetrik) which was a solid release but failed to really hit home, however the later 2013 release of John Talabot was where Dj Kicks really showed off with one of the best releases this year and, not to rest on the laurels, they then squeezed out one final release in the year from Breach. The latter release is superb and has been enjoyed on multiple occasions this month both in TBC HQ and out and about on our travels . This mix starts with the blissed out house we are used to from Ben Westbeech, progresses onto spacey, disco vibes, then into some more gritty urban feeling tracks before culminating in the samba-esque, steel drum extravaganza of Sabre Nightdrive to Bolland. If you miss this Dj Kicks you will be missing out and if you own all three from 2013 you can give yourself a pat on the back for some amazing music procurement this year and some great aural senses.

Various Artists – Selected Label Works 4, Permanent Vacation (2013) – The annual collection releases from record labels can sometimes  be seen as a ‘cash-in’ opportunity by many of the avid collectors of each EP, LP or single release and to many as including some of the not so revered tracks from the past year which you have to delete or skip as to avoid when listening. If you know of Permanent Vacation (PERMVAC) you will know that this is not the case with their Selected Label Works series of releases, the German Disco record label knows how to show off their wares. The recent volume 4 was highly anticipated at TBC following the enjoyment the previous volumes of this series have brought to us not only in the sheer quality of each release, that leave you bopping and swaying about until the collection is finished, but the education it provides in new artists and the nu-wave of disco that continues to be released via PERMVAC. The artist list on their releases is nothing short of impressive, including; Roisin Murphy (formally in Moloko), Tensnake, John  Talabot, Mano Le Tough and Arto Mwambe. This is well worth the investment while sitting round your family’s this Christmas as it will have everyone (including your Gran) dancing away or for a quality selection to kick off your NYE celebrations.

Kolsch – 1977 (2013) – This guy is going to have a great 2014 in our opinion at TBC. Not only is 1977 an amazing debut release but he is being tipped by Peter Tong for big things in 2014 including the first BBC Essential Mix in 2014 which is a great accolade for Kolsch who has played the dark horse in 2013. 1977 was released in the middle of 2013 and was quickly found by TBC who have enjoyed in multiple occasions since. The production is sublime and the music ranges from house to a trancey/progressive sound which suits an early warm up or a post clubbing chill out session. There is some great variation on this album and you will have your favourites; Der Alta reminds us of Pocket Piano from Dj Mehdi (RIP),  Siberpfeil hints of a Bpitch/Apparat-esque haunting, epic sounds, Loreley and Zig remind us of Booka Shade and there are urban, electro numbers along with serious quality house tracks. The ability to produce tracks from such a range of styles while creating an album that flows well and always keep you hooked until the end on your first album really sets Kolsch off on the right foot. Here’s hoping that in 2014 he continues to progress and transfers his sound to radio shows and live shows for all of our enjoyment. One to Watch!

John Digweed – Live in Argentina (2013) – The legend John Digweed continues to release mix compilations, record label collections, live mixes and a radio show at a scary, unrelenting rate. Historically I have enjoyed Renaissance, Northern Exposure, Global Underground, Bedrock releases and BBC Essential Mixes of which I still treasure many. Having seen ‘Diggers’ live on many occasions and witnessed some of the best mixes I have ever heard I always look forward to a new ‘Live Mix’ CD or radioshow. Unfortunately having seen and heard a lot of ‘Diggers’ over the years I am also aware of the more mundane, less enjoyable side that can sometimes end up in your CD player or PC playlist. This results in a great deal of apprehension when another of the ‘Live at…’ mix cd is released especially as the previous entries have varied from amazing to the more middle of the road release that just doesn’t seem to go anywhere. To my delight the new collection recorded in two locations in Argentina; Metropolitano in Rosario and Mandarine Park in Buenos Aires, over 4 CDs is superb. It doesn’t take long for the bass to start thumping, we are treated to a great journey through progressive (some Trancey numbers), house and but mainly not straying too far from Techno which we at TBC particularly enjoyed. If you can find yourself a few hours, large speakers and get through the full box set you will find yourself well and truly pulverised by this mix, a great addition to Mr.Digweed’s Live series.

Dexter – The Trip (2013) – The left field selection in December comes from Dexter a German Hip Hop artist, this  is the third album released by Dexter in his career. We stumbled upon this album while perusing a selection of releases and from the first listen have been captivated by the Hip Hop style that Dexter presents. Harking back to a DJ Shadow-esque trip hop/hip hop style that reminds us of early Mo Wax releases in the 1990s this album brings a modern and current spin to this style as enjoyed via the Gorillaz in the early 2000’s . Chilling at home is where this album is best enjoyed, the bass and melodies in the tracks will have you hooked from start to finish. If you are looking for an alternative album for an Xmas present, have a hankering for some quality new Hip Hop or just fancy a change this is a great place to start. Looking forward to more from Dexter.

It has been very difficult to make a choice for the best of Decembers playlist and this has divided opinions at TBC HQ. This is down to the sheer quality of music this month and this makes picking a favourite very difficult however after some extended deliberation we have gone with our selection due to its quality and varied production exhibited throughout the album:

Kolsch – 1977 (2013)

Merry Christmas everyone, have a great holiday and New Year. TBC are off on their travels for a few weeks to Thailand so will see you in the New Year for tales of our travels & exploits along with our selection of the best from 2013 along with our favourite release of the year.

TBC

TBC Playlist 28.10 to 22.11

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Green Velvet – Unshakeable (2013)

Axel Boman – Family Vacation (2013)

Dj Alfredo – Ibiza Spotlight Pres. The Heritage Project (2012)

Motor City Drum Ensemble – DJ Kicks (2011)

John Talabot – Dj Kicks (2013)*

L.B.Corp & P.A.S (Luke Slater) – Resident Advisor Podcast #389 (2013)

Dj Tennis – Live @ Panorama Bar (17.02.13)

Machinedrum – BBC Essential Mix (16.11.2013)

Boys Noize – Fabric Live #72 (2013)

Various Artists – In The Dark: Detroit is Back (2013)

Bonobo – Later Night Tales (2013)

Lee Burridge – Live @ Robot Heart – Burning Man Festival 2013

Special Request (Paul Woolford) – Soul Music (2013)

Gesaffelstein – I Love Techno 2013 (2013)

Gesaffelstein – Aleph (2013)

Tiga – FACT Podcast #411 (2013)

Dj Bobafatt – Death Waltz’s Halloween Mix FACT Podcast #407 (2013)

Benjamin Damage – Heliosphere (2013)

Letherette – Letherette (2013)

Sven Vath – In the Mix : The Sound of the 14th Season (2013)

Azari & III – Body Language Vol.13 (2013)

Marcel Dettmann -Conducted (2011)

Gary Beck – Bring a Friend (2013)

Factory Floor – Factory Floor (2013)

Four Tet – Beautiful Rewind (2013)

Mark Houle – Undercover (2013)

Tube & Berger – Raveline Mix Session (2013)

Scuba – Update (2013)

Various Artists – 30 Years of R&S Records (2013)

The Classics:

Nick Warren – BBC Essential Mix (20.08.1995)

Johannes Heil – Freaks R Us (2006)

Gregor Tresher – Neon (2006)

Mauro Picotto – Meganite Vol.3 (2006)

Kevin Saunderson – Faces & Phases (1996)

Roisin Murphy – Overpowered (2007)

Phew!… its been a while but its good to be back and writing up the TBC music highlights of the last month. There are no fewer than 35 mixes, CD’s and podcasts that we have managed to  bundle into this months playlist and what a bumper playlist it is. This volume of music represents some quality listening time at TBC HQ during an unnaturally quiet month and the wealth of music that has been released recently, some of which is spectacular. There are also some ‘Golden Oldies’ that have been dug out from the collection and dusted down for a reminisce. Some of which we are sure will feature on your all time greatest album/mixes lists.

This is now the fourth appearance of the TBC playlist so you should all know the format by now but if you don’t, our favourite mixes are highlighted above in bold and the best will have a ‘*’ next to it, our mark of appreciation for a supreme effort by that DJ, Producer or Artist. We hope you enjoy the review below and having a root around to source the music and appreciate it as much as we have.

The Shortlist:

To start with the Classics:

Nick Warren – BBC Essential Mix (20.08.1995) – If any of you are lucky enough to have an arsenal of BBC Essential Mixes that includes gems going back as far as 1995 or have a selection of mixes from some of the greatest electronic artists in the last 3 decades you will undoubtably have this little number. 2 hours of Classic Nick Warren taking us on a journey from psy, trance, house , progressive and techno. This mix had been hidden away for a long time but a recommendation from a friend encouraged me to go searching for it and boy was I pleased I persevered and found it. I would highly recommend you do the same and get searching, you won’t be disappointed.

Mauro Picotto – Meganite Vol.3 (2006) – Mauro Picotto has been a favourite of mine going back to the ‘reach for the lasers’ era of trance in the 90’s/00’s with Lizard, Iguana, Awesome & Bangkok where I was fortunate to experience some amazing Picotto sets at  Gatecrasher (6-8 hour sets!) and a number of other nights/festivals. What became apparent in these sets was that Picotto had a seriously dark side and his love of crazy techno and electro was infectious, resulting in my growing love of techno. His Meganite Ibiza residency has been famous and notorious with many tales of dark, sweaty, packed, loud, monstrous, techno-laden nights. This is the third volume of the mix Cd compilation that accompanied the night and it is brilliant. Gregor Tresher, Joris Voorn, Stephan Bodzin, Oliver Huntemann, Adam Beyer, Maetrik (early appearance for Maceo Plex who was to become massive a few years later) and the legend himself Picotto all provide tracks for a superbly mixed and compiled selection of electro and techno stompers. A must own!

Now for the recent releases:

Gesaffelstein – I Love Techno 2013 (2013) – Having been a long running fan of the I love Techno series going back to the legendary Marco Bailey I Love Techno 2001 – Issue 02 I am always a little apprehensive when a new volume is released. This is only too easy to understand since I Love Techno has pursued a more popular music scene at its festivals in recent years with their respective CD’s by Steve Aoki (2010) and Erol Alkan (2012) not being my cup of tea. This apprehension was misplaced when one of my recent past French favourites Gesaffelstein was drafted in to mix the most recent 2013 edition. This mix is superb, right up our street at TBC; ranging from electro to storming techno this mix has been enjoyed on more than one occasion in the last month and has been a great treat when driving, especially on the long drives where I may have been seen bopping around in my car! The CD peaks with The Hacker’s, Pure Energy and ends with a gem from Gesaffelstein’s new album (Aleph – listed above) called Pursuit.

Lee Burridge – Live @ Robot Heart – Burning Man Festival 2013 & Dj Tennis – Live @ Panorama Bar (17.02.13) – It’s a rare treat to find two epic mixes from either club nights or festivals but this month we have one from Lee Burridge and a second from (the comically named) DJ Tennis clocking in at 4 hours 1 minute and 2 hours 43 minutes respectively. Both mixes are superb and well worth the time investment as they rarely falter, delivering a huge range of house, electro and techno that could provide the music for the entire duration of a house party! The legendary Burning Man Festival has provided great mixes before from Thugfucker and Damian Lazarus right from the heart of Black Rock Desert in Nevada and Panorama Bar continues to spoil us with yet another legendary set (there are literally too many to name).

Here are links to both, I hope you can download and enjoy:

And Finally….almost running out of energy at this point but spurned on by the best in the selection this time round…

John Talabot – Dj Kicks (2013)* – Being resident in our favourite city outside of the UK, Barcelona, John Talabot is somewhat of a dark horse on the European electronic music scene. Slowly building his image, status and style from one of the best debut albums I have ever heard, Fin (2012), John Talabot remains an elusive DJ and producer appearing on few line ups and treating us with only the odd remix and podcast. We should not be deterred by the infrequent releases and appearances but motivated to find a night where we can experience John Talabots genius. This new entry into an already well established Dj Kicks roster (one which TBC are VERY familiar with) really goes to town with a an amazing journey of blissed out electronica to beautiful house music and on to more techier sounds later in the CD. This CD can literally be enjoyed at any time of the day; early morning wake up call, midday relax or evening party and allows John Talabot to entertain us with 27 tracks in a superbly crafted mix. Particular highlights are Axel Boman’s Klinsmann, Motor City Drum Ensemble’s Escape to Nowhere and Talaboman (Talabot and Axel Boman!) Sideral. This will be one of the CD’s of 2013 and will be on our playlist for some time at TBC HQ. A must buy for everyone.

Many thanks to everyone who has managed to make it this far through this recent TBC playlist, hope you enjoy and see you all soon!

Thanks for reading.

TBC

TBC Playlist 02.09 to 15.09

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Greco-Roman – We Make Colourful Music Because We Dance in the Dark (2013)

Gotham EP – Ten Walls (2013)

You’ve Never Been to Konotop – Vakula (2013)

BNR Trax 01-10 – Various (2012)

Ghost System Rave – Clouds (2013)

Disconnect/Reconnect – Japanese Popstars (2013) *

BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Andy Baxter (2013)

The K2 Chapter – Gui Boratto (2013)

Acid Rain Definitive Original Acid & Deep House 1985 to 1991 – Terry Farley Presents (2013)

Timeout Pres. The Other Side London – Damian Lazarus (2005)

Fabric Vol.71 – Cassy (2013)

Futurism – Danny Tenaglia (2008)

Go Plastic – Squarepusher (2001)

Cocoon Compilation M – Various (2013)

Dettmann II – Marcel Dettmann (2013)

BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Japanese Popstars (2011)

Live @ Sands, Ibiza – Drumcode Showcase Party (29th August)- Ida Engberg, Adam Beyer, Nicole Moudaber (2013)

Urban Animal – Claude Von Stroke (2013)

BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Dixon (2013)

Matthew Williamson’s 15th Anniversary Party – Scarlett Etienne (2012) – link: https://soundcloud.com/scarlettmusic/scarlett-etienne-matthew-williamson-15yr

Y Este Finde Que exclusive mixtape – Thug Ladies (2013) – link: https://soundcloud.com/yestefindeque/y-este-finde-que-exclusive-mixtape-thug-ladies

26 Mixes for Cash – Aphex Twin (2003)

It is finally time for the third in hopefully a long line of playlist posts on the TBC blog. Apologies to those who have been waiting for the next installment but its been a busy few weeks following the launch party for the website on August bank holiday weekend. We have finally dusted ourselves down, cleaned up our HQ and now we carry on where we left off.

Due to the delay we have compiled an extra length playlist of the music that we have been listening to over the last few weeks and there is a big mixture of classics, recent releases, live mixes, radio shows and upcoming releases for you to indulge in. We have, in fact, only been able to include the highlights as we have listened to so much that we would have overwhelmed both ourselves and our readers with a music information overload. Fortunately this filtered selection, we hope, will promote some of our current favourite DJ’s/mixes and the reviews to follow will give you an insight into our picks from the most recent playlist selection.

-Disconnect/Reconnect – Japanese Popstars (2013) – First up and top of the pops this week is the new album from the Japenese Popstars. Since first hearing about this act back in 2011 when we came across their immense Essential Mix in 2011 (see review below) we have not heard much for the guys from Derry in Ireland. The two years of silence and apparent elusiveness do not seem to have been misspent as they have been honing their sound and developing an evil side to their production work. From the first track and album title track Disconnect/Reconnect the Japanese Popstars announce their return with a bang. The slightly harder techno focus from their past two albums; We Just Are (2008) and Controlling Your Allegiance (2011) left the TBC HQ speakers humming once the album was finished. Their sound is a mixture of the haunty electro sound first introduced by the likes of Bodzin, Huntemann and Rother earlier in the new millennium and the roaring techno basslines of the recent era pioneered by the likes of Beyer, Bailey and (one of our favourites) Spektre. This new album is highly recommended.

-BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Japanese Popstars (2011) –  Fresh off the back of listening to their new album we at TBC HQ wanted more from the Japanese Popstars so dusted down a classic from the archives in their 2011 Radio 1 debut on the Essential Mix courtesy of Pete Tong’s eagle eye on new and upcoming talent in the industry. This mix is one of the closest, in track & artist selection, to the sound that we most enjoy at TBC . highlights on this mix include Phil Kieran’s ‘I can’t stop’, Maxime Dangles’ ‘Astroneff’, a monster remix of Cassius’s ‘Les Enfants’ by Gesaffelstein, Kaiserdisco & Flavio Diaz ‘Jaune’, Vitalic’s ‘Second Lives’ (featured on one of the earlier TBC CD’s) and the mix is interspersed with some of the best Japenese Popstars releases at that time. If you the patience to go searching for this mix and succeed in locating it you will not be disappointed.

-The K2 Chapter – Gui Boratto (2013) – Mr. Boratto is one of our favourite DJ’s at TBC and we have all of his past releases; Chromophobia, You Take My Breath Away, III, his Renaissance Mix Collection and the classic but rarer Addicted Vol.2 mix from Platipus records. This new release does not fail to impress and has taken on a tougher, edgier approach to a signature tech/electro sound that is synonymous with this artist. It is only the last song on the album that harps back to the previous albums for euphoric, uplifting sounds which is a pleasant reminder of the diversity that you can expect from a DJ with a consistent track record with production releases. We hope that we can see Gui Boratto live sometime soon as he has managed to evade TBC to date but the new release and immense back catalogue will keep us satisfied for the near future. It is hard to pick a favourite from the album so we would insist that you enjoy this from start to finish.

-Cocoon Compilation M – Various (2013) – The latest release in what has become a high quality and consistent series compilation from Cocoon has brought to attention some of the newer releases and artists on the Cocoon label. This is not to say that Cocoon ever fail to release a high quality compilation or LP from their plethora of artists and their ever increasing diverse record label. The latest installment in the alphabetical series is ‘M’ which ranges from minimal, progressive, electro to bonkers techno. The two stand out tracks for TBC on this release are; Douglas Greed “Dynamite” which has is a great electro track with nice vocals and the heavy hitter by wAFF called “BeatmakerZ”.

-Dettmann II – Marcel Dettmann (2013) – One of Berlin’s finest and another of TBC’s favourite DJ’s releases his second production album cunningly titled Dettmann II. We were hoping that this would not be too experimental and distant from the signature booming Techno that we would expect at Berghain or have experienced at Drumroll in Sheffield, Modern Amusement in Leeds or the WHP in Manchester. We were not disappointed. Crank the volume up when listening to this CD and expect some complaints from the neighbours. If the new release was played on the system at Berghain it would be an experience and a half. As with the recent release by Marcel Fengler on Ostgut Ton this CD epitomises the Berghain residents sound; big, booming, dubby techno. When “Throb” kicks in, the second track on the album, you will be immediately hooked on this CD  as this track does exactly as it says on the tin; throbbing techno bass. From this point on Dettmann continues to impress and shows off his high caliber of production and by the time we get to “Radar” on the album you may well be exhausted from the relentless Berghain techno. This album has been worth the wait and can not be recommended highly enough. Thanks Marcel.

-BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Dixon (2013) – The latest Essential Mix is brought to us by Steffen Berkhahn, AKA Dixon, who is one of a long line of amazing German house & techno exports. Having first experienced Dixon on his Body Language Vol.4 CD some time ago now and finally managing to see him at Sonar in 2010 before he properly exploded on the international DJ circuit this essential mix has been hotly anticipated. Dixon in the last two years has become a global superstar in the house and techno scene with his Innervisions record label, an infrequent but quality selection of mix CD’s and a number of DJ sets at the biggest dance music events around the world. In the next month he will be gracing the UK at three events, all of which will be attended by the TBC crew; Mint Festival in Leeds, Collect in Sheffield and Mono Cult in Leeds. His essential mix is a progressive collection of the finest, sleek house & techno around and the moment. You will be captivated by his tune selection, progressive development of the mix and the atmosphere he creates. This will be on the Iplayer on BBC for the next week so go and check this out!

-Y Este Finde Que exclusive mixtape – Thug Ladies (2013)  – One of the more eclectic and party orientated selections in this playlist selection. The Thug Ladies from Barcelona have a great collection of live mixes on their Soundcloud page (follow the link above). Their style is similar to 2 Many DJ’s and other cut up party DJ’s mixing a diverse selection from disco to techno, cutting and editing to keep you dancing and smiling from the start to end of the mix. This particular mix made our Saturday afternoon a joy with a fair bit of boogying and bopping around. We look forward to hearing more from these ladies in the future.

That’s it for this playlist selection from TBC HQ, we hope that you enjoy perusing our selection this week and there are 22 plus albums, mixes and radio shows to enjoy that will keep you busy until our next playlist post.

Thanks for reading.

TBC

TBC Playlist 29.07 to 04.08

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Kern Vol.2 mixed by Dj Hell (2013)

That Total Age – Nitzer Ebb (1987)

Renaissance the Mix Collection by Tiefschwarz (2013)

Full Body Workout Vol.11 – Get Physical (2013)

Body Music – AlunaGeorge (2013)

Nu Groove – 25 West 38th (1991)

Synaesthetics Electro Mix – Helena Hauff (Soundcloud 2013)

Picnik Electronik June 24th 2013 Liveset by Tiga (2013)

Tsugi Sampler 59 – Brodinski pres. Bromance Los Angeles (2013)*

Ciao! – Tiga (2009)

Sexor – Tiga (2006)

The A&R EP – Annie (2013)

Still Vor Talent 100 – Oliver Koletzki (2013)

An Anthology Weight and Measured – Todd Terje (2010)

City to City Vol.3 – Dj Deep (2010)

Comfort – Maya Jane Coles (2013)

FACT Magazine Podcast #365 – Brodinski (2013)

Enthusiast -Siriusmo (2013)

Fokus – Marcel Fengler (2013)

Chiilin’ at the Playboy Mansion – Chris Coco (2003)

BBC Radio One Essential Mix 2nd August 2013 – Steve Lawler and Darius Syrossian Live at Sankeys (2013)

BBC Radio One Essential Mix 3rd August 2013 – Jamie Jones and tINI live at DC10 (2013)

BBC Radio 6 Mix 2nd August 2013 – Miss Kittin (2013)

It has been a quiet week socially for the TBC crew however it has not been quiet at TBC HQ. As you can see from the extensive playlist above we have been busy listening to new release albums, EP’s, radio shows, podcasts as well as digging out some old gems and classics. We may well have terrorised the neighbours over the last 7 days with some hefty techno, electro, house and, somewhat bizarrely, some 80’s post-punk.

We were excited to receive some new CD’s in the post including DJ Hell’s new compilation Kern Vol.2 on Tresor, enjoyed digging out some recent releases via Tiefschwarz (a TBC favourite act) on the new Renaissance Mix Collection and tuning into the BBC for a raft of impressive radio shows from Radio One and Six.

The picks this week:

-Kern Vol.2 mixed by Dj Hell (2013) – We were impressed to see one of the legends of Electronic music DJ Hell has released a new compilation via Tresor. Having seen Helmut during our exploits at Sonar in Barcelona in June we hoped that the CD would relive some of the entertainment we experience while dancing our asses off at Almogavers 86. Oh boy does it, it is a great compilation that showcases some classics such as Quad 1 by Code 6 (which is featured on another of our playlist Nu Groove 25 West 38th from 1991) as well as some storming techno that we would expect to hear in the vault at Tresor in Berlin. This is a true classic and one we would advise you all to look into.

-Picnik Electronik June 24th 2013 Liveset by Tiga (2013) – Tiga never fails to entertain, whether its quirky electro pop, crazy techno, leftfield rave or alternative electronic classics. This mix from the Canadian festival Picnik Electronik from June is superb. 2 hours of non-stop party music that left us dancing about TBC HQ like lunatics. It is available via Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/tiga/tiga-piknic-electronik-june) and it would be wise to follow the link and enjoy. It will remain on our favourites list for a while.

-Still Vor Talent 100 – Oliver Koletzki (2013) – Mr Koletzki continues to release a high calibre of music via his Stil Vor talent label. This new compilation is an easy access, progressive and even trancey at times, collection of the best his label has to offer in a recent 100th release anniversary special. We are still getting into the 22 tracks that we have for our enjoyment and these can be enjoyed while chilling out or partying it up in the sunshine.

-Enthusiast -Siriusmo (2013) – Siriusmo has been a busy bee over the last few years with what seems like a never ending discography of tracks, remixes, EP’s and LP’s. The diversity of his production is impressive, from quirky electro pop, to shuddering ghetto techno and on to bassy techno nonsense. This new LP has been assisted by the Modeselektor team and 50 Weapons to create a great release that has received critical acclaim to date. It is hard to explain the Siriusmo sound so the best advice we could give at TBC is to track down Enthusiast and his previous releases (Pearls and Embarrassments is also recommended) as you will not be disappointed.

-BBC Radio 6 Mix 2nd August 2013 – Miss Kittin (2013) – Our Sunday was graced with this superb BBC 6 Mix from Miss Kittin (it was difficult to choose one of the BBC radioshows this week as each was gratefully received) which is in the format of a 1 hour radioshow where Miss Kittin presents her influences from Joy Division, Autechre and Dopplereffekt as well as her selection of alternative electronica from her native France for our enjoyment. This is broken up by an additional 1 hour club mix which is up to the normal high standard that we expect from Miss Kittin. Great techno, house and electro. Failure to listen to this one while its on the BBC Iplayer is a crime  – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0072pz7

-Tsugi Sampler 59 – Brodinski pres. Bromance Los Angeles (2013)* – The star of the show this week at TBC HQ was Brodinski’s showcase of his Bromance sound released via Podcast on the brilliant Tsugi website. This sampler shows off the eclectic taste of Brodinski and his ability to fuse and combine a variety of music genres to create a mix that leaves you bopping away and yearning for another listen. Each track is superb however our highlights were the “techno’ chanting on Maelstroms Seele, the storming techno of DJ Hyperactive’s Music Box and the groovy Bicep track Stripper. This mix simply stole the show for us and we hope that you can locate a copy to enjoy as much as we did.

We hope that you have enjoyed another snapshot into our music collection this week and you can enjoy some of this collection for yourself.

Buenos noches.

TBC.

TBC Playlist 22.07 to 28.07

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P1000864-Apparat; Tttrial & Eror (2002) & Duplex (2003)

-Ministry of Sound – Chilled House Sessions Vol.4 (2013)

-BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix – Todd Terje (2013)

-Brontosaurus – A Retrospective Collection (2013)

-Ben Sims – Smoke & Mirrors (2011)

-Will Saul press. Close – Getting Closer (2013)

-FACT Magazine Podcast #388 – Jon Hopkins (2013)

-Gorillaz – Gorillaz (2001)

-Renaissance Mix Collection – Francois K (2013)

-Get Lost VI – Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs(2013)

-Balance Pres. Guy J (2013)

-Resident Advisor Podcast #373 – Helena Hauff (2013) *

-Masterpiece created by Carl Craig (2013)

-Defected pres. Loco Dice in the House (2013)

-The Bullitts – They Die by Dawn (2013)

-Infine by Jean Michele Jarre (2013)

-Atoms for Peace – AMOK (2013)

-Letherette – Letherette (2013)

To start the music blog posts from the TBC crew we have a playlist of what we have been listening to this week. Those highlighted in bold are our particular highlights and the one with a * next to it is our pick of the week.

After a particularly heavy two months of jet setting, partying, clubbing and general debauchery we have a varied selection for the playlist this week. We are expecting a few to ask “Where’s all the techno?!” and this is a valid question. This is a somewhat eclectic collection of music that has been aired in our humble abode this week and while we have been out and about. Music appreciation is the key ; Disco, Electronica, Pop, House have all been enjoyed during a rare period of R&R.

Such a great playlist that includes some brilliant recent releases like Brontosaurus’s (Permanent Vacation) collection of previous releases with some great Arto Mwambe tracks, the new Get Lost mix compilation (Crosstown Rebels) from TEED with a particularly tasty 2nd disc of electro, techno and rave tracks and the new Defected release via Loco Dice which is a groovy little number indeed. There are some classic gems like AMOK from Atoms for Peace (Thom Yorke et al) which grows on you every time you listen to it, it’s epic, and the original Gorillaz album from Damon Albarn’s crew which was selected due to a recent showing at Glastonbury with the legend bobby Womack.

It was very hard to choose our favourites and our pick of the week as you might imagine, however the highlights this week:

–-BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix – Todd Terje (2013) – This new edition to the essential mix arsenal and what a great bit of recruitment by Pete Tong as Todd Terje is a Norwegian Disco legend! From start to finish this mix never ceases to make you smile, bop away and want to steal Todd Terje’s record box.

-FACT Magazine Podcast #388 – Jon Hopkins (2013) – The FACT podcast series was a treasure trove of mine for some time however in recent months I had abandoned the series due to some substandard editions. My lack of faith was misplaced because at a recent friends party when questioned what mix they had put on, as I was jealous that I did not have this mix in my repertoire, I was informed it was the Jon Hopkins FACT podcast. Having recently enjoyed his Immunity album this mix picks up where his album left off. It is a moody, proggy journey of aural pleasure and is a must to download (http://www.factmag.com/2013/06/24/fact-mix-388-jon-hopkins), get it while you can!

-Balance Pres. Guy J (2013) – Ever since Guy J came on the scene a few years back, championed by Jon Digweed on his Bedrock record label, TBC have enjoyed partying to Guy J’s tracks and mixes. This new release on the critically acclaimed Balance series is another gem. Progressing from the blissed out to the (surprisingly) heavier tech-edged tracks this mix is one for all collections.

-Resident Advisor Podcast #373 – Helena Hauff (2013) * – This mix is head and shoulders above all of the other mixes listened to this week. Helena Hauff is a new name to TBC but one which we hope to hear a lot more from. Helena is yet another amazing techno DJ to hail from Germany (Hamburg) and is similar in sound to Anthony Rother, old skool Gigolo records (courtesy of DJ hell) and Le Chic (Susana Munoz & REKA) and provides 74 minutes of electro-techno destroyers. This mix has enjoyed the highest play count, the loudest volume and most appreciation. Yet another podcast not to be missed – http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=373

We will bring you weekly playlists and regular reviews so please come back for more!