Break & Survival - 'Dawn'

Taken from the DNAudio LP 'Hard Times'. Most of the other tracks are straight-up bangers, but this one stands out: it's a little bit cheeky. Brings to mind the 'sleazy basslines' that the likes of Matrix, Fierce, and Cause 4 Concern used to cook up during the early years of the decade.

A.R. Rahman - 'Mumbai Theme'

It starts a little slow, give it time. When the strings come in it's more than worth waiting for.

Nasir Jones (Nas) - 'New York State Of Mind pt 2'

I've always wondered if this line is a reference to Hubert Selby Jr's 'Requiem For A Dream', which happens to be set in New York city:

"Momma shoulda cuffed me to the radiator;
and why not? Mighta saved me later from my block.."

Blasted this one on repeat on the old iPod when we were in NYC early last year.

Hiphop. Street poetry. Love it. Speaks to me when writing gritty imaginary citylife too. Forget what your parents told you: there's no such thing as bad influences.

Phace - 'Cold Champagne'

Be aware that this won't be for everyone. Drum&Bass is often referred to as being 'Marmite music' - you either love it or you hate it. I am, of course, of the former persuasion.

This kind of DnB is often called 'Neurofunk', a much derided term but one I find fitting.

State-of-the-art tech'd-out future funk - my personal soundtrack to the Cyberpunk age yet to come. Or maybe we're already living in it, depending upon your perspective.

Big-up Phace each and every time.

Astrud Gilberto - 'The Gentle Rain' (RJD2 Remix)

If you see me on the tube with my headphones in and my eyes closed, this is probably what I'll be listening to while I miss my stop.

Neutral Milk Hotel - 'Holland 1945'

It's been around a decade (give or take) since I discovered 'In An Aeroplane Over The Sea' through a friend of mine. I kind of missed the boat though; the band were pretty much defunct after 1998.

I must have listened to this track, along with the others on the album, about a million times, yet it still gives me a buzz. I've been looking for other music like it for a long time and have never found anything that really comes close.

"The only girl I ever loved
was born with roses in her eyes.
But then they buried her alive,
one evening, nineteen forty-five,
with just her sister at her side,
and only weeks before the guns
all came and rained on everyone..."

There's a lot of pretty strange, surreal, wonderful imagery in the lyrics of that record. That particular song takes its inspiration from the horrors visited upon Europe during WWII. It's powerful, haunting stuff but also quite lively and upbeat. An odd mix. Songwriters like Jeff Magnum are few and far between.

I found this recently on Amazon, a "surrealist text" by Kim Cooper inspired by the album. It's on my "To Read' list - but then that's perpetually backlogged in any case.

Bike For Three! - 'All There Is To Know About Love'

I've just heard via the Bike For Three! Facebook page that the album should finally be dropping soon. I can't wait.

"Dragonflies and the agonizing blast from a gun
Under a magnifying glass in the sun
You ran fast and you won, it takes time to heal a wing
A hundred-year-old photograph doesn't feel a thing
Track courses, the parable lacked sources
Unbearable first memories of terrible black horses
Question the funeral procession and the pageant
The home we chose versus the one that we imagined..."

Magic.

Bike For Three! is a collaboration between Ricardo Terfry (Buck 65) and Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê (Greetings From Tuskan).

I've been a fan of Buck's music for a while now, and the Bike For Three! material is some of the best. Looking forward to the next gig in old London town.