“Can I phone a friend to tell them how good this is, Chris?” Huge fan of this Liverpudlian leftfield pop quartet that take their off-kilter melodic sensibilities and cut-and-paste… Continue reading
Nothing short of glorious. For the second episode of Backstage with Dan Digs, the rogue offshoot of my regular Dublab radio show where we go behind the scenes at… Continue reading
Kyoto protocol. I’m beyond hyped for Haelos‘ forthcoming new album, the most recently released track from which is “Kyoto,” a dark yet uptempo slice of raw electronic soul complete… Continue reading
Finally. One of my very favorite musical outfits, the Cinematic Orchestra make a welcome return in 2019 with “A Caged Bird/Imitations of Life,” taken from their first album in 12… Continue reading
November in December. West London’s Nancy Andersen and Jamie Travis write music as Babeheaven. Their latest song, “November,” is a stark and blue-hued indie-soul offering, enriched by steady strings,… Continue reading
Khruangbin meets a Money Mark instrumental meets early downtempo Bonobo. Like many of my favorite musical moments, “After Midnight” by London’s Skinshape takes its cues from when the late… Continue reading
Jadu Heart have the cure. From the moment I heard those mandolin-ish (or quite definitely maybe an acoustic guitar in a London flat) plucks paired with those heavy handclaps,… Continue reading
In the mood for some very excellent soupy psychedelic jazz that glimmers with experimental wonder? You are, then, very much in the right place. “Hold On,” from… Continue reading
Exquisite jazz happens when Ezra meets Jorja. From the very first bars of Femi Koleoso’s rimshot break to Jorja Smith‘s intro hums to Joe Armon-Jones’ keyboard tapestries to TJ… Continue reading
That uptempo, future, UK experimental soul. No stranger to collaborating with some of the world’s finest musicians (Gorillaz, SBTRKT, Machinedrum, Brasstracks, to name just a few, and, if you… Continue reading
Bright is right. UK musician James Alexander Bright was formerly known as Hairy Hands. His album Magic, released via the esteemed New Los Angeles label, was number 18 in… Continue reading
Nothing but bass-driven heat on this new UKG roller from LA producer Kastle and London producer Mind of A Dragon. “Either Way” showcases MJ Cole-ish acoustic guitar pickings that… Continue reading
Summer 2018 is officially in session! Fresh from collaborating with Eric Lau for their excellent remix of Moonchild’s “Run Away,” Belfast maestro Kaidi Tatham returns with “It’s a World… Continue reading
Had to get down with the bruk funk and remix one of my favorite tracks of 2018. Hear the original version of Jungle‘s “House in LA” here. … Continue reading
Anushka got soul. Max Wheeler and Victoria Port are Anushka, the Brighton, UK duo who make future-facing, digital soul with a sound that leans towards discerning dancefloors while still… Continue reading
It’s jazzy. Tenderlonious, otherwise known as Ed Cawthorne, is a flautist, saxophonist, producer, and DJ, in addition to being the label boss of the forward-thinking 22a Records. He’s released… Continue reading
On “Hands,” France-via-London’s Octavian blends the restless experimentation of Kanye West, the emotional Auto-Tuned hymnary of Bon Iver, and the fearless production of James Blake, resulting in instantly becoming one of my… Continue reading
Feeling this incredible soulful garage half-stepper from Kojey Radical and MJ Cole, especially that granite-cold delivery from Kojey, those ascending vocal swirls, those menthol synth chords, and that wintry jazz piano line straight… Continue reading
“This will be my remedy…” “90 Degrees,” from Nottingham, UK singer Yazmin Lacey is a relaxed yet intricate crepuscular jazz meditation. I’m all about that ascending double… Continue reading
Doncaster-via-Johannesburg songsmith Skinny Pelembe has signed to Gilles Peterson‘s Brownswood Recordings, the perfect home for his new single. “I’ll Be on Your Mind” is a despondent doo-wop-hop complete with ominous Massive Attack-ish atmospherics,… Continue reading
Bonobo meets Rhye. Bristol, UK-based producer Henry Green starts 2018 strong with “Another Light,” an emotive and gentle, garage-folk [Is that a thing? Let’s make it a thing!] Jon… Continue reading
Inspired by the jazz-soul audio designs of Bonobo and Calibre, UK beat architect Marenn Sukie, otherwise known as Chris Roth, has drawn up “Cascades,” a full-time-half-time mellow beat meditation with calmly chaotic… Continue reading
UK producer ELWD (pronounced “Ellwood”) turns in “inbloom,” an all low-caps, lo-fi mellow groove that is as instantly relaxing as it is poignant. My only complaint is that it’s not… Continue reading
South London songstress Tawiah returns with “Queens,” four minutes of tumbling percussion, sunset acoustic guitar plucking, piano key splashes, and vocals gleaming with UK soul. Track of the day. … Continue reading
Mightily diggin’ this synth-surgin’ remix from London producer Maths Time Joy of Leicester, UK chanteuse Mahalia‘s “Back Up Plan.” Track of the day. Mahalia – “Back Up Plan”… Continue reading
Slinky, indie, post-disco greatness from Bamily. Need to hear this on a yacht at sunset ASAP. Track of the day. Bamily – “Hello Stranger” … Continue reading
A bleepy and angular rework from the Channel Islands, UK producer Alex Crossan, better known as Mura Masa, of “Night Swimmers” by the English band Foals. Track of the day.… Continue reading
Leeds, UK cosmic funk-hop team Paper Tiger return to beam their latest weightless track, “Weight in Space,” featuring Sa-Ra’s Shafiq Husayn, into your headphones. Track of the day.… Continue reading
Lazy handclaps, heatwave horns, sunburned bass pops; Bastien Keb‘s remix of “In Gold” was made for summer. Track of the day. Submotion Orchestra – “In Gold” (Bastien Keb Remix) … Continue reading
That Saturday feel-good soul. Diggin’ them simmering horns, that classic drum break, and that big room vocal courtesy of Malika. Track of the day. Snakehips ft Malika… Continue reading
The lyric “…with graceful shadow” may just be the most apt way to describe the glorious entirety of James Blake’s music. Timeless in every sense of the word. … Continue reading
A perfectly charming house groover from the Wolverhampton, UK producer duo of Richard Roberts and Andrew Harber, collectively known as Letherette. Track of the day. Letherette – “Rayon” … Continue reading
We kick off 2016 in style with show number 63! As always, the latest and greatest in leftfield beats and electronic soul, plus interviews with my favorite artists for your listening pleasure… Continue reading
Having previously released songs via innovative music titans Majestic Casual and Flow Fi, Minneapolis producer Su Na teams up with London singer Alo Lee on “Blood,” three minutes of trickling beats and cascading synths, all etched… Continue reading
I was down with this track from the first few bars, but as soon as I heard the peppy staccato of that jazz flute (love me some jazz flute), brand new cut “Is Ya… Continue reading
Emily Lynn, Adam Martin, and Mark Slater are Nightports, a trio from Leeds and Hull in the UK that write extremely nocturnal and tantalizingly glitchy songs. They list their influences as Burial,… Continue reading
I can’t help but love the psychedelic zippery-zappery of a reversed guitar tone. Mightily diggin’ this new one from West Midlands, UK musician and producer Stephen Wilkinson aka Bibio.… Continue reading
Love this surging, glitchy cut of indie electronic beat tapestry from London’s Peter Lyons. Strings are a nice touch, too. Track of the day. Peter Lyons – “Envy”… Continue reading
This boogie funk strut! Brighton-via-Bristol dub, hip-hop, and d ‘n’ b head Joe F Newman used to tour internationally as Alice Russell’s guitarist. Now under his J-Felix moniker, he’s hit… Continue reading
“Nomenclature” by Birmingham, England’s Ruane Maurice sounds as if Massive Attack had decided to make house instead of hip-hop. Digging that textured percussion in the background, those big, chunky synth… Continue reading
In love with EVERY part of this song, from the swampy bass burbles at the start to that dirty cymbal to those weird found sound samples of birdsong to THAT MASSIVE JUNGLE… Continue reading
Velvit is the new pseudonym of Darren White, better known as drum ‘n’ bass producer dBridge and label boss of Exit Records. His brand new track “No Excuses” features the… Continue reading
Apple Pips, Hemlock Recordings, Hessle Audio, Hotflush Recordings, SSSSS (phew!) producer Joe expertly flips a Bobby McFerrin gem into a laid-back house strut. Track of the day. Joe – “Thinkin’… Continue reading
That bit-crushed bass! Massively diggin’ this brand new one from the UK garage legend that is MJ Cole! Pleased to see that his sound continues to evolve. The low-end… Continue reading
Akase is a new collaboration between house producer Harry Agius aka Midland and songwriter Robbie Redway. Love the measured synths and slow burn of this mellow r’n’breakbeat jam. … Continue reading
How am I only just now finding out about the brilliance of Harry Edwards? Harry Edwards – “Almost Everybody” Listen to every track on… Continue reading
Hip-pop at its finest. Annie Ashcroft, Frankee Connolly, and Nadine Samuels of British girl group M.O teleport us back to the 90s with this gospel-flecked, destiny-chilled, clicks ‘n’ bubbles… Continue reading
I first heard about Nottingham, England’s Ady Suleiman when I came across “Longing for Your Love,” which I loved instantly and proceeded to hammer at every day party that I could because… Continue reading
UK hip-hop founding father Mr Rooty Tooty Manuva is back with his trademark flow on brand new cut “Facety 2:11.” The track’s stumbling, propelling beat is produced by Four Tet, who, after… Continue reading
Not a lot is known about Jodie Abacus (yet!) but this soaring, Beatles-ish, positivity-powered, indie-pop jam written by the London singer-songwriter (penned after battling pneumonia) cannot fail to put some July in your… Continue reading
