The album “Black Sands” by Bonobo was one of our highlights of 2010. A beautifully constructed work fusing sharp electronica, smooth vocals and a fair share of orchestral arrangement. It’s certainly an album that can sooth the mind when the needs takes hold.

Fast forward to 2012 and Ninja Tune are starting to roll out some fresh remixes from the upcoming “Black Sands Remixed” release which just happens to include some Labs favourites.

First up is Machinedrum, who must be the hardest working man in music. Nearly every week another bit of Travis Stewart work comes through the pipes without a drop in quality. His remix of “Eyes Down” is no different and you can grab a free download by signing up at the Bonobo website.

The second in the series comes from the master of the new acid sound Funkineven. This time the man shows us his versatility with a boogie infused downtempo rocker still jam packed with quality.

There are also excellent reworks from Cosmin TRG, Arp 101, Floating Points and much more on the way. Grab the EP on the 30th January and the album in mid February from the Ninja Tune store.

It’s already looking like 2012 will belong to Miss Azealia Banks. With “212″ bringing her to the world’s ears last year and taking 3rd place in the BBC’s Sound of 2012 poll she’s certain to be a household name by the time we’re donning santa hats again.

Get yourself acquainted and grab this rather nice wee number entitled “NEEDSOMELUV” where the lady in question delivers some rather classy vocals on top of Machinedrum’s “SXLND” (set for release on LuckyMe tomorrow).

Travis Stewart AKA Machinedrum has had a busy couple of years. Albums on Planet Mu, Hotflush (as half of Sepalcure) and releases for the likes of Innovative Leisure and LuckyMe added to an already impressive back catalogue of albums for Merck and more.

His opening salvo for 2012 is set for release on LuckyMe and across the 5 tracks he unleashes some of his finest work to date. There’s a house feel to the EP but with his own unique lean on proceedings forever evident.

Final track “DDD” (4.10 into the sampler audio below) is the stand out for me, subtle yet hugely effective house shenanigans.

Released on January 17th and available now to pre-order at the LuckyMe store.

With individual output that puts them at the top of their game already, Machinedrum (Travis Stewart) and Braille (Praveen Sharma) have taken things to another level with collaborative project Sepalcure.

An EP of goodies from the duo entitled “Fleur” (video below) whet everyone’s appetites nicely in January and they’ve just unleashed a full length from the project on one of the best labels of recent years, Hotflush.

The album spreads itself over ten tracks that take in all the best elements of electronic music with fragments of house, garage, dubstep and everything else inbetween and a smattering of juke and footwork sprinkled lightly throughout.

Each track is lovingly constructed with each component part building upon the previous elements and crafting a mixture of headphone friendly beats alongside more dancefloor friendly outings.

Here’s a taster in “Pencil Pimp”:

With a new live A/V set in the works it’s certain that the Sepalcure name is here to stay.

You can check out a preview of the rest of the album below before wandering over to the the Hotflush shop to snap up a copy.

I’ve been down in Manchester this week and as this was where I first discovered the glorious Krispy Kreme doughnut, I always make sure to bring some back with me whenever I venture that way.

So if you’re lucky enough to live in a city where you can buy these – get some down your neck along with these free tunes…and why oh why is there no Krispy Kreme in Glasgow!?

Kicking things off this week we’ve got a fantastic Machinedrum remix of Scuba’s “M.A.R.S.” courtesy of XLR8R. The original can only be found on Scuba’s Dj Kicks album and this rework is a lovely slab of moody beats.

Scuba – M.A.R.S. (Machinedrum rmx)

Next up we’ve got a deep dnb roller from Mako & Mute courtesy of Mixmag.

Mute and Mako – Dubbed Out by Mixmag

With a new album about to drop and a tour underway Apparat is a busy boy. What a nice gesture then to give this tune away for free. Grab it now!

Apparat / Goodbye (Instrumental) by apparat

Aussie producer Dro Carey is on the rise. To celebrate his forthcoming release for Ramp Recordings we have for you the free track “Promothug”. He also has a new mix for FACT worth some ear time.

Dro Carey – Promothug ~ free download by RAMP Recordings / PTN

We first encountered Ifan Dafydd a few months ago and played a tune of his on our radio show. Lovely synth tones and snappy percussion and complimented with warped vocal that bring comparisons to early James Blake. Respect to NME and XLR8R.

Ifan Dafydd – Miranda

Last one today comes from Salva and we change into our boogie clothes for this one. His new EP “Yellobone” is due in 2 weeks and this freebie wets the appetite nicely.

Salva – Obsession (feat. B. Bravo)

Hot Flush are at it again, this time getting the remix vibe on the go with some quality change ups of tracks from Sepalcure’s brilliant “Love Pressure EP” from last Summer.

Its a stellar cast of remixers with the likes of Falty DL bringing the funky beats and Jimmy Edgar delivering a dirty downbeat house masterclass. We also have reworks from Lando Kal and Daedelus.

Available from August 15th and available to pre-order now at the Hotflush shop.

One of our favourite producers Jacques Greene is back on one of our favourite labels, LuckyMe. After the massive success of his releases last year the boy from Montreal is hot property and this EP confirms why. Slick arrangement, high end production and a love of analogue sounds make “Another Girl” everything we would expect.

Throw in two brilliant remixes by Braiden and none other than UR legend Mark Flash and this may well be the EP of the year so far. Check tha sampler below and prepare for this to hit the shops on the 14th March. As if that wasn’t enough, the digital release two weeks later also has reworks by Machinedrum and Koreless.

LM008 – JACQUES GREENE – ANOTHER GIRL by LuckyMe Music.Art.Parties

Jacques is out on tour your very soon. See the details below and if you can, don’t miss him if he is close by.

March 9 – Glasgow – GSA
March 11 – Graz – Disko404
March 12 – London – Plastic People
March 13 – Minehead – Bloc
March 14 – Edinburgh – HITTB
March 17 – Paris – Social
March 18 – Berlin – Berghain
March 19 – Liege – Forma T
March 20 – Hamburg – Golden Pudel
March 25 – Bristol – Dojo Lounge
March 26 – London – Queen of Hearts
March 29 – Sheffield – Tuesday Club
March 30 – Leeds – Wire
March 31 – Manchester – Roadhouse
April 1 – Amsterdam – Trouw
April 2 – Nottingham – Stealth

Following on from the amazing “Many Faces” EP, Machinedrum is back bringing the funk and electro vibes with a strong hip hop backbone for his new “Let It” 12″. Throughout the record the tunes have tripping percussion with sharp vocals which have an almost auto tune vibrato edge.

As well as the original mix we have a futuristic slice of beats from Lazer Sword as well as a bass smasher from Siriusmo. To top that off we have a freebie remix by Machinedrum himself. Pick this up now at all good stores peoples.

If that’s not enough check out the cracking mix tape Machinedrum laid down for LuckyMe earlier this year.

Machinedrum – Let It (Siruismo Remix)

Machinedrum – Let It (Machinedrum Remix)

Machinedrum – The World Famous Show Mixtape

We are so glad that Machinedrum and the LuckyMe collective have teamed up to bring us the Many Faces EP. Jam packed with early electronic production values this EP fronts up with quaking bass and acid tinges while squeezing in Hip Hop and dubby beats. There is still room however to fit in more melodic vocal samples and pleasing synth chords. Classic genre bending stuff. On top of that there is a remix of “Carry The Weight” by Bok Bok that will be wrecking dance floors for months to come.

Have a listen to the EP samples below and then head over to Boomkat to pick up a copy. You can also check out magazine site URB to pick up a free copy of “Lemme f_ck it”. Bonus!

LM005 The Many Faces of Machine Drum by LuckyMe Music.Art.Parties

I was sent an email about this mix from a friend of mine a few weeks back- to be honest I’d totally forgotten about it until a follow up email appeared asking me what i thought…..

So i downloaded it. And listened to it. And thought it was great.

A laid back mix of broken beat electronica IDM meets hip hop meets 80′s cheese meets Alexander O’Neal.
Featuring plenty of tracks from Letherette themselves, other notable artists include Thomas Bangalter (one half of Daft Punk), Hudson Mohawke, and Lone.

BTS Radio, who commissioned the mix, had this to say about it on their site:

Who to watch in 2010?
Letherette.

The duo out of Wolverhampton may only have two official remixes to their name, the excellent reshaping of Bibio‘s “Lovers’ Carvings” and Machinedrum‘s “Late Night Operation”, but they’ve managed to make a scene shaking impression.

Further listens on their MySpace page and you hear what could very well be the UK’s best kept secret.

We’re proud to present this guest mix created by Letherette, showcasing a collection of beats and some personal favorites.

(For the tune spotters out there i’ve just realised the sample used on the “Lovers’ Carvings” track is the one used on DJ Cam‘s awesome 1994 track “Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens“……but i digress…..)

To give you an idea of the mix i’ve chopped out some tracks to give you a little taste….

Letherette – In July (CDR)

Letherette – Langsette (CDR)

Machinedrum – Late Night Operation (Letherette Remix) (Normrex)

If you’re liking the sound of that then grab the mix……..

Right click and “save target as” to download:

Letherette- Beat showcase mix

Original Air Date: January 19, 2010
Running Time: 58 minutes

Tracklist-
Letherette – Eye To Eye (CDR)
Pete Rock – We Roll (Nature Sounds)
Letherette – Master Chin (CDR)
Letherette – In July (CDR)
Madlib – The Mystery (Dilla’s Still Here) (Stones Throw)
Letherette – Check My Head (CDR)
Kashif – I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On) (Arista)
Pheonix – If I Ever Feel Better (Source Records)
Cherelle w/ Alexander O’Neal – Saturday Love (Tabu)
Letherette – Langsette (CDR)
Letherette – In And Out (CDR)
Machinedrum – Late Night Operation (Letherette Remix) (Normrex)
Letherette – Good For Me (CDR)
Lone – Fire Fly Rainbow (Dealmaker)
Letherette – Feel Real (CDR)
Letherette – Shoe Be Doo (CDR)
Letherette – Blad (CDR)
Letherette – Yea Yeah Love (CDR)
Letherette – Giro Milo (CDR)
Hudson Mohawke – Track #003 (CDR)
Letherette – Donnie Ball Ball (CDR)
Letherette – Optimise In Prime (CDR)
Thomas Bangalter – Club Soda (Roule)
Letherette – This Time (CDR)
Bibio – Jealous Of Roses (Warp)
Bibio – Lovers’ Carvings (Letherette Remix) (Warp)