Stuck an old USB into my laptop the other week and found a folder called 'Mixes pOur Werk' on there. Amongst all the Justice, Jam City, and Julio Bashmore was the mix Rustie did for Fact Magazine in September 2009, which I completely forgot about.
It still bangs, not as much as his 2012 Essential Mix, but that's the greatest mix of all time (IMO), so a tough ask.
Only thing that bugs me is that it was released on cassette last year and is now sold out.
![Gold cassette of RUSTIE x BALLERS SOCIAL CLUB - FACT79 [NSRTAPE008]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-qFsOXfRXtzRXBKAt1SnVfC20K4nk7RS6YHP96Vu4sGLTfGoT31a_zksEWjlyYCKOT_mmUqwtP7IbB7JsYlq9GdmJWEjcdKiGAjH-TeDOxBK0oM8VrzhCpr7dJjVpiVZgTTLn05HDjvk1vO9getQR1vnoh1vrH_2yZiAhxcET-ZhA6TwD_0TlJAwVGzA/s1200/0036911159_10.jpg)
If only I found that USB sooner.
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Been on the Hefe and Splanky at Caerphilly Food Festival, so strap in and lock on.
Spaced-out, tuned-in, stripped-back house (when does it become electro, I don't know). It all starts here.
Set the title and lyrics aside for a second and bathe in this other-worldly electronic noodle. Kanye West sampled it in 2019, so put that aside, too, and just go with it, it slaps, trust me.
"Lockdown took its toll on Clive. Not the isolation or sense of impending doom - that was normal - but specifically the worldwide marmite shortage in April. On the verge of a 'Driving to Dundee barefoot' style meltdown, Clive found solace in his 20 year obsession with Alan 'foot on a spike' Partridge.
Taking Musique Concrete to its textbook conclusion, Clive has made music only using sounds from TV series 'I'm Alan Partridge'. Over 100, mainly foley samples were repurposed into the two title tracks of the Alan EP."
I mean, that might be true. What is true is that Alan B is a tidy little broken-beat shuffler. With Alan's face on the label. And that's enough for me.
Right, I've had this list rumbling for a while due to my difficulties with YouTube, and I've forgotten where I came across this. I think it might've been on One Glove but I'm not 100%. Another spacey house number (at least this is from 2025). The vibe will switch in this list soon, I promise beb.
Who wants to hang around 2025, straight back to the 80s please drive! No idea how to describe this, is it synth-pop? That term doesn't quite cut it. "Inspired by the film E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial" according to Discogs.
Yerr fella that did that glitchy downtempo cover of The Smiths - There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, also did this glitchy downtempo gem. So there we are.
An Italo take on LCD Soundsystem's You Wanted A Hit? All day, mate, all day. Here for it.
And there's the change of vibe. Big mum banger.
Vibe shift complete. Big early-00s banger to finish. Kthxbye.
If you get a wheel* on both Sarahtonin and Flo Dill then you're doing something very right in my book. Add in a little mystery (I misheard the name of the remixer) and then make it a free download on Bandcamp when you eventually find it and you're in very special territory. Like one of the tracks of the year territory.
So, what I thought was LCD Soundsystem - Home (Tom Skarkitt remix) is actually Tom Sharkett - Just Do It Right, a light spacey edit of the LCD banger. And as it is well unofficial, you might want to get your skates on and download it now before it's pulled down...
(The other track on Futuro Edits 001 is a twist on a Paul McCartney/Wings track if that's more your bag.)
*I can't remember if it was actually wheeled but I stopped what I was doing and the chatrooms were abuzz appaz.
It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted and when I logged on I thought this was going to be a 'sorry, not sure when I'll be back' post.
You see, the Adblock crackdown finally came for me, and YouTube refused to work. Even after removing the Adblockers, I still couldn't get anything to play. And I mainly use YouTube and playlists for posts on this here blog.
Logging on today though and we've got some functionality. With ads, but stuff plays. Not sure what I'm gonna do when I need to play a playlist at the school. Pay for YouTube Premium you say? Over my cold dead body. Google has enough money.
Away from my YouTube fight, I've been to Porto, did a linocut class, and been rewatching Twin Peaks (on Blu-ray, no streaming issues or adverts there).
And here's that killer psych-rock dirge from Fire Walk With Me called The Pink Room...
Saw The Futureheads in Bristol last night and it was a blast.
Most fun I've had at a gig in a long time. Great songs, Gower chat, a couple of quiz questions. The venue was alright too, first time in SWX, not baking, decent sightline from the raised bit on the side, £7+ for a pint though.
But The Futureheads were great, even the one acapella track was a bit spesh and they finished on Man Ray which was an absolute delight, windmilling away I was.
So yeah, it's a hard recommend for me if you can catch them on the rest of their tour. If you do go, swing by the merch stand as there's a rare-ish 7" for sale for £5 - Broke Up The Time (Field Music Remix), which according to Discogs was a "Giveaway 7 inch white label at King's College Gig 29th November 2007".
And the band may also show up there, I handed my fiver to Jaff the bassist for my copy.
I'm not in a good place. No, not Llantwit Major, though it is less charming in winter when there's a v little to do. Mentally, I'm not in a good place. V low, v tired, v done with the world right now.
Life ain't great, though I'm not in trouble, which makes me feel worse. There are many, many people out there having it worse, what have I really got to complain about?
When in doubt, have a bath and listen to something. Today it was episode 69 (nice) of Sideways, Memento Mori.
Blurb: "The passing of time brings inevitable change - corrosion, disintegration and, eventually, disappearance. While the certainty of this process may seem like cause for despair, Matthew Syed explores the beauty that can be found in the process of decay."
Now there's something to lift the spirits.
It features stuff on abandoned buildings in Detroit but mostly it's on William Basinski and The Disintegration Loops. The Disintegration Loops is one of those albums I've always meant to get around to but never do.
Until today.
Now is the time, things have aligned.
Wish me luck.
Related post: Bathtime With Yamaneko
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Wrapped in plastic.
Came across this on the Rough Trade Shops Counter Culture 2022 comp, which I bought for £3 in the Bristol branch of that shop. One of the few CDs in there like. I can't be dropping £40 on a record, mate. Anyway, I don't know much about Girl Ray but Give Me Your Love has a nice Hot Chip feel to it.
Jeff Parker got a mention in the new newsletter from NTS DJ Macca, whose One Glove show on Saturday mornings is always a good listen like. His newsletter is pretty good too. As is this sparse instrumental cover of the Frank Ocean banger. Think I read somewhere that Jeff Parker is in Tortoise.
Scratchy driving thriving post-punk from 1981. My bread and butter.
Future-facing hip-hop from 2002. I used to have Arrhythmia, the album this is off, but I've not a clue what happened to it. Great story, Sam.
Yeah, I know it's not on to post Crystal Castles in 2025. But it does bang. 36m views on YouTube too. So I'm not the only one.
I used to have this as my wake-up alarm when it came out in 2014. I can only now listen to it again.
Liquid D'n'B at its most pop-focused, but what a roller.
Bit like The Streets and I'm up for a UKG revival this summer. Not to be confused with Fred Again or Colin from Accounts.
Incredible, and I mean incredible cosmic disco from 1979 with this mad distorted guitar. Straight on my best things I heard this year list.
Original image: NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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We continue...
A slightly novel(ty) cover is my kryptonite. Here's a wonky take on Skream's classic Midnight Request Line. It's also a free download off Bandcamp as well, lovely stuff.
The last track and this track featured on a recent show from Ruf Dug, apparently one of his last ones on NTS Radio, which is a real shame. Anyway, this is another wonky slice of something, mixing spoken word, humour, politics, and bubbly electronics. Into it. Might stick it on my 2025 list already, never too early to start.
Colder than cold coldwave that's actually from Italy in 2020 rather than Czechoslovakia in 1981. Still into it.
Now this is definitely from 1981 and would in no way come out in the 2020s. Still kinda fun though.
Slick retro/Balearic disco from 2024. Australian appaz.
Kinda surprised that this is the first appearance of The B52's on this blog.
Not a massive fan of GNX but Squabble Up is decent.
Don't even know where to begin trying to slot this into a genre. Featured in one of those Autechre shows on 6 Music before Xmas.
Original image: Malis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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I got that Disco Pogo tribute to Aphex Twin book from Christmas and there's already a new chapter required in it. Music from the Merch Desk (2016-2023) was a surprise release on 17 December 2024, which as the title suggests, collates all those limited edition 12"s at various shows into a 38-track digital album.
John Doran, editor of The Quietus, has a good recap/first take on The Guardian, but I'm still working my way through it. However, I don't think I'm gonna pay £20 for the mp3s right now.
Still, nice to have the option of streaming it and T13 Quadraverbia N+3 [London 03.06.17] is my top pick ATM.
