Back once again like a renegade master...

After a shocking two-year absence I've decided to resurrect this wee blog of mine and share my own personal journey through the technicolour world of music with anyone who is bored at work / lacks a social life / wafts around like a lord or lady of leisure (much like myself).

And what better way to resurrect such things than with a catch up on some of the particularly hot records I've come across recently!

I stopped in at Rooted Records in Bristol today to drop off a dubplate for Tom Peverelist and of course tripped, fell and landed in a pile of records. Thoroughly embarassed by the whole situation I bought a few of them to make it seem deliberate.

Martyn - 'Natural Selection / Vancouver' - (3024) - this guys is moistening my britches more than anyone else at the moment. Pushing the delicious techno / dubstep crossover that's so hot right now, both sides of this record are essential tunes. Cool-as-Vanilla-Ice jazz chords and tricksy steppy beats with a solid 4/4 drive underneath make this a seriosuly addictive brew. Keep 'em peeled for the immense 2562 remix of 'Vancouver' dropping in September.

Shut Up and Dance - 'Epileptic' - (SUAD) - the A-side is exactly what you'd expect from the breakbeat rave survivors, but I'm more interested in the B-side, featuring a remix from my new best friend Martyn. The wonderfully titled 'No Strobe Mix' is essentially a Martyn tune in it's own right, featuring the kind of keys that will undoubtedly make people's ears prick up in the club and go 'No way! What is this tune?!' - it's a hottie for sure.

Pole - '90/90' - (Mute) - this single was lifted off the immense Pole ft. Fat Jon album. If you don't know, it's a masterclass in minimal dub flavours, not dancefloor by any stretch of the imagination, but rather a haunting cocktail of smoky soundscapes with some smoothly delivered and lyrically inventive MCing over the top. This single features 'Slow Motion' in various original/instrumental/acapella forms, but also has an awesome additional track called 'I Can't Hear (Ska Version)' featuring August Engkilde on upright bass and Thomas Haas on sax. It's actually quite upbeat for Pole.

LFO - 'We Are Back' - (Warp) - taking it way back, this is the sort of record that made kids scream and mothers weep back in good old 1991. Possibly one of the most evil of LFO tracks, with an insane vocoder and clattering industrial beats that make you scared not to dance. This was in immensely good nick considering it's 17 years old, and it'll always take me back to seeing Squarepusher do an old-skool house / hardcore / jungle set at Wang in Hackney a few years back.

I also stopped off at Fopp on a birthday present mission which of course turned into a bargain record binge as well :)

Murcof - 'Martes' - (Leaf) - A truly monumental album, surely a benchmark in the micro-sampling world? Fusing achingly beautiful orchestral samples and the tiniest of clicks and pops, the whole vibe of this album is one of those magical transportation devices. Like a tardis, but it sounds a lot nicer. You should get all the music this man has ever produced (and also check the Sutekh remix of Memoria!)

Autechre - 'Quaristice' - (Warp) - it took me a while to get round to buying it, and one day, somewhere down the line, I may share my thoughts on it. I've listened to it once and of course my mind melted - it's Autechre after all. I'll keep you posted.

Two Lone Swordsmen - 'Tiny Reminders' - (Warp) - It was about bloody time I paid tribute to this incredible album by actually buying it. Words cannot describe how confused I am at the direction 2LS took after this - I really don't dig the garage rock thang at all. This however is a masterclass in minimal electro grooves before a load of tossers started trying to make it. Wobbly basslines, freaky samples and more grooves than an old man's face.

Various Artists - 'Aritifical Intelligence' - (Warp) - a classic back in the day comp. from Warp when Aphex called himself The Dice Man (his effort is in fact the 'Polygon Window' tune that kicks off 'Surfing On Sine Waves'), has some lovely early B12 efforts under their Musicology moniker, an Autechre track so primitive as to make you smile when you hear what they're up to these days, Richie Hawtin under the name of UP!, Speedy J and others. Early future techno at it's finest.

Various Artists - 'Warp 10+1 Influences' - (Warp) - yes it was something of a Warp binge. This is my final piece in the puzzle of the lovely triple-headed release Warp did to celebrate ten years of mind-bending sonics, and it's got some greats on there. Model 500's 'Off To Battle', Mr Fingers 'Can You Feel It', Phuture's 'Acid Tracks', 'Voodoo Ray', basically a whole lot of aciiiiiid and the most ridiculous (but also kind of great) tune I've heard in a long time, 'Bang Bang You're Mine [Rock Me Gently Original Radio Mix]' by Bang The Party. The vocal has to be heard to be believed.

And there's more records in the post to me - huzzah!!