I’ve never really followed techno auteur Mathew Jonson’s career particularly closely. I enjoyed ‘Marionette’ and that original Cobblestone Jazz 12″ like every other dance anorak, and occasionally delved into his Wagon Repair label’s catalogue, but his releases on Perlon and Minus have generally passed me by.

‘In The Stars’ is the incredible B side to ‘Automaton’ on Damian Lazarus’s Crosstown Rebels. It is (no question) my favourite production from the canny Berlin-based Canadian. It incorporates the plink plonk electronic fission of his techno MJ releases with the jazz freeness of his live Cobblestone Jazz project. It’s so gorgeous… When I first received it I listened to it maybe six times straight and found myself getting more rhapsodical with every play, to the point where I found the need to pick up the blower and start raving to likeminded geeks about it. At 2am on a Tuesday.

Buy the vinyl- it’s that kind of record.

Could it be? Is this a hallucination? Am I drunk? Nope, this is, unequivocally, the start of Spring. Bared flesh, people dressing inappropriately for ANY time of year… It’s all there. And subsequently that can only mean one thing: it’s time for the Heads Down Sessions to conjure the sunshine once again at Caravan Exmouth.

Some of you will be well acquainted with the Caravan Session by now, either by listening to the mixes or by getting wonky at the night itself. If you’re new to it the deal is this: six hours of Balearica and discoid goodness played by your’s truly (with the occasional killer guest) over a really lovely system accompanied by amazing food and cocktails in a comfy little environment with all the doors and windows thrown open onto a balmy Saturday evening… It’s special, very special.

I kick off the fortnightly 2013 season on Saturday, May 4th at 6pm, so you can come down and sit outside in the sun with a cold mojito. In the meantime, here’s a brand new Caravan mix to inject a little vitamin D into your week…

See you at London’s Caravan Exmouth in a fortnight pilgrims!

Goldie – Interview // AllSaints Basement Session from AllSaints on Vimeo.

Not a man who particularly requires an introduction… I got to sit down with the legendary artist, producer, actor and all-round national treasure for much of a morning, and the resulting interview is a cracker. I think he really enjoyed nerding out about production techniques, the strange symbiosis producers share with engineers and telling a few stories about The Wild Bunch, Soul II Soul and Acid House along the way. I was a bit nervous about interviewing him (we’ve all heard tales of his fiery temperament) but I shouldn’t have been; what we have here is a working creative, with his demons on a leash but not neutered by overt contentedness. Enjoy!

This track off Mr Dunbar’s new RVNG long player is the kind of sample rinse out, low slung banger that reminds me of classic nineties Prefuse and other MPC-tastic output of the era. It drips sex in a way that Moodymann records used to and has that eighties R&B flavoured boogie edge, perfectly offset by some don’t-get-too-comfortable pitch shifts and clever-clogs drum programming.

When summer rolls in and my Caravan mixes roll out, rest assured that this Vitamin D booster of a record will hold poll position.

Richie Culver Interview // Allsaints Basement Sessions from AllSaints on Vimeo.

Please excuse the long absence from the blog, my wife and I have just had a beautiful, bouncing, disco-loving baby (seriously). If I neglected my child like I neglect my blog I would’ve been carted off by the authorities weeks ago.

Anyhoo, here’s my recent interview with the meteorically rising young British artist Richie Culver, who talked to me about the YBAs, Charlie Parker and various other angles and layers to and of his existence. He was a very warm, humble and well-informed dude, whom I liked immensely. Believe me, that’s not a given in interview journalism!

Enjoy…

First heatrock of the year alert campers! This killer is part of an upcoming The Horrors remix box set, and it’s worth the price of admission alone. You can here Connan Mockasin’s Kiwi heritage in the scank; this is a record that’s going to be in the box for years to come.

I noticed to my profound surprise today that there are still copies of this destroyer of a comp in a couple of shops, which is baffling to say the least. The Originals series of compilations are an Aladdin’s cave of rare music, curated by some of the world’s premiere and tasteful (in a good way) underground selectors. For me, they are THE best music compilations in the world today; I own every one of them (there are only a 1000 copies of each- hand numbered) and I eagerly anticipate each one like I used to look forward to the Rebirth Of Cool comps in the early 90′s.

Lexx is a man after my own heart: he to some extent began in hip-hop and found his way to the deeper, more esoteric records from there, a lot like me. I actually suggested one of the tunes to him on this comp over a few drinks (and a Heads Down interview) at my place (the Blackjoy mix of Monnette Sudler) so I was super stoked to see that he’d included it here. It’s a great record, but by no means the highlight of a stunning compilation. I mean, who else is going to drop some Mad Professor up in this piece? Seriously, do yourself a favour and pick it up.

Now considering my last post was LN-CC based (in fact it referred to the release party for this very record) I know it might appear as though I’m some kind of Dalston shill, hungry for fashion love and a free Yohji jacket or something (actually, I wouldn’t mind that) but nothing could be further from the truth, in this particular case. This record has sneaked out of left-field to swing into my top ten for the year. It made me feel the same way I felt when I heard Detroit Experiment’s ‘Think Twice’ for the first time: that epic groove underpinned by gorgeous keys with some solo wig-out action to make you feel woozily disorientated on t’floor. This however is a far more psychedelic beast altogether; Manzanera’s guitar work is let loose with face-chewing, over-biting gusto, and I love it. Incidently,I also featured VS&HOG’s ‘Camel Toe’ on the blog which you should definitely check if you haven’t had that particularly deep pleasure. Unequivocally another top ten shoe-in.

I’m not sure if this remix is going to be available anywhere else (and I think it’s vinyl only) so get involved, or you’ll regret it. I can’t wait to hear this badboy LOUD.

It was inevitable I guess; LN-CC were always going to take this step officially. Think about who works there: Jonny Nash from Land Of Light, Dan Mitchell from Bad Passion… In fact they’re all total record nerds. So, subsequently you also know that when they do this they’re going to do it with some conviction.

On December 12 (tomorrow night), LN-CC Recordings will officially launch with four separate releases celebrating the work of legendary Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera. LN-CC Recordings was given exclusive access to the master-tapes of his solo back catalogue and worked directly with Manzanera to create a series of remixes in collaboration with some of the best and most diverse production talents globally, including Theo Parrish, Daniele Baldelli and Kenji Takimi.

To celebrate the launch of LN-CC Recordings and the release of four Phil Manzanera remix vinyls, the peeps are hosting an invitation-only event in the LN-CC store.

The evening will feature a live interview with Manzanera, focusing on his varied career and records that have influenced him musically, followed by a Q&A session. After the Q&A Phil will be signing copies of the records, which are available to get your grubby mitts on tomorrow night. This will be followed by music in the LN-CC club provided by Velvet Season and the Hearts of Gold (Joel Martin and Gerry Rooney).

It’s RSVP only, so get involved here pilgrims. Check out the clips below…

Daniel Berman, aka Hot Coins (aka Red Rack’em) is an infuriatingly talented Scotsman living in Berlin. This blinder is from his upcoming album ‘The Damage Is Done’ (more about that later) which is out at the end of January on Sonar Kollektiv. I absolutely love it. Check out my Basement Sessions interview with Herr Berman here.