Robin Smith works at Norman Records, writes for Coke Machine Glow and this year established a label called Don't Drone Alone. The label's first release, from Hardworking Families aka Tom Bench, featured in Bandcloud in July and was a wonderful mélange of sounds artfully strung together — I mean that literally; I called him a clank wizard. This mix from Robin, with input from label co-conspirator Laurie Johnson, pulls together influences and inspirations new and old (some 2015 highlights, many of which I sent to your inbox this year; great minds etc) in this beautiful hour-long drift, which opens with startling blasts of sound, moves towards decayed ambience and closes with some stirring post-rock that reminds me of Friday Night Lights; I'm imagining Netflix subtitling it as "heartfelt instrumental music". I've just listened to it all twice in a row, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

And once again; don't drone alone! Do it with friends.

Kara-Lis Coverdale - A 480 (Constellation Tatsu)
Lumisokea - Hearsay (Alter)
Raica - Skrt (Further)
Strië - Aeroplane Flying (Serein)
Dirty Beaches - Pacific Ocean (Zoo Music)
Leila Abdul-Rauf - Clock Glows (Malignant Antibody)
The Boats - I Ignore All My Friends (Moteer)
Stuart Chalmers - 056 (Ono)
Gigi Masin - The Word Love (Music From Memory)
Laurie Spiegel - Appalachian Grove (Unseen Worlds)
Áine O'Dwyer - Return To Fugue (MIE Music)
Ian William Craig - Shipbreaking (Recital)
Michio Kurihara - The Old Man And The Evening Star (20|20|20)