The track I’ll be opening my next DJ set with
Sub Focus ft Stylo G: Lingua
This one is my latest – I’ve been doing loads of D&B tracks with dancehall drum patterns recently. When I first heard D&B in the 90s it was through ragga-jungle tracks like General Levy & M-Beat’s Incredible. I can remember my friend playing it to me on cassette on a break in school and I was instantly hooked. That combination of sounds is starting to sound really fresh again.
The track that’s been unfairly slept on this year
Sampha: (No One Knows Me) Like The Piano
Sampha’s debut album just landed and it’s pretty stunning. I’ve been a big fan of his voice since his early records with SBTRKT and Jessie Ware.
The track I’d play to show off my eclectic tastes
Jon Hopkins: Light Through The Veins
I got turned on to this when I saw Jon Hopkins play at the Royal Festival Hall a couple of years back and he finished with this track. The production is so clever as each element seems to exist on a different bar structure, shifting in and out of phase with each other and making it constantly evolve and build.
The track I wish I’d never played
Gaiser: Some Slip
Inexplicably played this minimal techno classic at my friend’s wedding. It didn’t get the best response.
The track that should have been a crossover hit
Mura Masa: Lovesick
It’s harder to equate what constitutes a hit these days as chart positions are way less relevant now. Mura Masa’s stylistic tropes – his use of unnaturally pitched vocals, for example – have influenced a ton of modern pop music in the last few years.
The track I’d play at my auntie’s wedding
Fleetwood Mac: Everywhere
I’ve played at a couple of friends’ weddings lately and learned some powerful DJ lessons: techno doesn’t work too well in that setting and Everywhere is a wedding banger.
Lingua by Sub Focus ft Stylo G is out now; he plays Eddie Rocks, Haverfordwest, Saturday 25 February
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