Iggy Pop- Mass Production
David was suffering from writers block so he helped Iggy produce the Idiot. I could give you 10 Bowie tracks but I’m happy to stick with just this one.
James Last- Voodoo Lady’s Love
Fred Deakin from Lemon Jelly always drops James Last! His style taught me to really scour the bargain bins… I’m not even sorry.
Cluster- Hollywood
I was really ignorant to the stuff coming from Germany in the 70s. Was in Vinyl Exchange in Greenwich back in 2010 and the guys were playing Zuckerzeit. Sold.
Flaming Lips- The Spark that Bled
The Flaming Lips are brilliant, seeing them live seriously shook me to my foundations. Apparently the ‘softest bullet’ was a reference to his dad’s chemotherapy.
Beak- Welcome to the Machine
Geoff Barrow’s other band doing a brilliant cover of one of Pink Floyd’s best tracks.
Chris & Cosey- Walking Through Heaven
Absolutely beautiful, not the first thing that comes to mind when listening to members of Throbbing gristle, but this drags me off in so many directions emotionally.
Two Lone Swordsman- Sex Beat
I used to work in the stockroom in HMV before they went bankrupt, I lived for Saturdays when the new releases came in. I distinctly remember everyone telling me to turn this off. Idiots.
Paul McCartney- Frozen Jap
I grew up with a lot of Paul McCartney in my home… I’m really not sure he’d get away with that track title today though, founding member of Wings or not.
Black Light Smoke- Take Me Out
Veering into dance music territory but this is chilled enough to fit a back to mine. Jordan is a bit of a kindred spirit and let’s face it, this track is lush!
Curses- Surrender
Yet more proof that dance music can be soulful and spine-tingling.
Man2.0 – Hooked On U E.P. (inc. Mufti, Re.You, Secret Factory Remixes) (Secret Fusion)
Hungary’s leading dark disco and leftfield dance outlet, Secret Fusion enlists Man2.0 for two brilliant new tracks that get remixed by Mufti, Re.You and label bosses Secret Factory. Man2.0 is Mark Bailey, a prolific producer from London with releases on Nein, Wonder Stories and Controlla. His obsession with forgotten 80s gems, EBM and sampling sounds out of toy instruments gives him a distinct sound that has won him plaudits from the Hacker, the Juan Maclean and his hero Andrew Weatherall, who
played his most recent track on his NTS radio show. He kicks off this new EP with ‘Hooked On U’, which spits, hisses and fizzes with punky attitude and frazzled sound designs. The slapping drums and hits jerk you into action and the brooding bassline adds real menace. The excellent ‘The Night We Went to the Sea’ is more cosmically minded, with trippy synth sounds and sci-fi arps lighting up the space-disco grooves in real style. First to remix is Re.You, the German artist and Avotre associate with a fresh take on house. His version is typically tribal-tinged, with hypnotic drums and sustained pads all sinking you into a chunky groove. Mufti is the next remixer, a project from Bernardo Barrera of Guadalajara, this moniker comes after him being a part of Los Fugazzi and finds him focus more on rock variants and 80’s music. His remix is a macho one with whirring machine sounds, dark vocoders and a building sense of tension that is futuristic and shadowy. The by now well-respected label bosses Secret Factory then add their own spin to close out the EP. It is an icy one, with scintillating chords layered up into an entrancing tech workout as curious effects litter the grooves. This is another essential package of new and pioneering electronic styles.
