Bandcloud 213

Insert 'Regulate' joke here. Radio on Sunday was fun; all over the place as usual. Opened with MC Lyte, took it from there. Check it out for yourself.

IMOGENHEAP X MERZBOW - Bod [包家巷] (transatlantic edit)
Last week I mentioned something that happened in 2005. You know what else happened that year? Marissa shot Trey. Imogen Heap's 'Hide and Seek' sounded immaculate but was unfairly (albeit hilariously) lampooned in this SNL digital short. BAOJIAXIANG aka Bod took it and made it completely noisy and distorted, in fact removing the "mmm whatcha say" line for extra poignancy. The original song is worth a revisit in my view. It's amazing!

Ugglesedd - Ugglesedd (Remixed)
I'd never heard of Ugglesedd before someone shared this remix album and it ended up in my Twitter feed. It's a really rich collection of noise sounds, varying approaches ranging from drone and techno to more brash regions. The final track, "Spatialized and Populated by Arash", lasts half an hour yet its pulses and crackles drifted by so simply and elegantly that I didn't notice any time passing.

vaerna - MRI Techno
You might think that techno inspired by a trip into an MRI machine would be all blips and whirs, but this track goes beyond such simple ideas. It's thick and vibrant, chuggy, proggy. You can imagine this one fitting on aNorthern Exposure or something. I've listened a bunch of times trying to get a handle on it. It's one way to navigate your way through the experience of having to get an MRI scan in the first place.

A Home For Ghosts - In This Absence
I was meant to play a track from this on my show but it didn't work out. I never really plan much and sometimes I end up missing stuff. The label, Rusted Tone Recordings featured early this year, and their releases since have been masterful. This one is a superb blend of stretched, languid sounds and ever-changing electronic bits and pieces, guitar drone and pluck. I regularly write "dive in" but this one is gorgeously deep and the words feel appropriate given the artwork.

Molly - Quiet Spirit
This is a nice house ripper from RDV label boss Molly, taken from an upcoming digi comp called Récit De Voyage Volume 1. This one starts off steadily, just kicking it, with simple patterns starting each bar while syncopated buzzes hover below. At about the halfway point, near the five-minute mark, some gorgeous chords swoop in underneath as some exciting drum patterns kick about a wasp caught under a glass.

N.Beckett - Dream Sequence
Here we have a mix of tracks from Leisure System co-founder N.Beckett. He's been in the game a long time but only recently started making music himself. Here he shares 12 tracks stitched together across 34 minutes, covering an expanse of electronica with the angelic wings of the cover art. The tracks here are hypnotic, punchy, beautiful, sinister, all at once. All proceeds are going to Women's Aid UK.

X-Mix 4 Dave Angel - Beyond the Heavens 1995
I came across this mix while digging for some prog classics on SoundCloud (standard Bandcloud behaviour for a Wednesday evening). It's a banger of a mix from Dave Angel. Somewhere in the nexus between techno and trance, before one got too dark and heavy and the other got too bright and cheesy. Plenty of electro flavours too. There are big riffs, fast tempos, acid wobbles and soaring strings, all those elements you know and love from frenetic 90s club music. Showing how I really didn't come up in that era, I'm baffled by Discogs comments calling this an after-hours/come-down mix!!!

Seven Davis Jr - Sev Was Here: Part Two
I don't think I've paid much attention to Seven Davis Jr before, but this popped up somewhere in one of my many feeds this week so gave it a whirl. It's a joyous set of punchy loop-based house tunes. 'Rollercoaster' has a simple melody that sounds like it's straight out of a carnival ride. Most tracks feature Sev's own vocals, but 'Cupid' features a soulful backdrop as well as silly vocals like "even my feelings have feelings for you". All round, top record that's full of energy and heart.