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Bicep – Bicep
Who has the time (or inclination) to parse all the micro-slicing of UK dance genres anyway. Just wait for someone to get (almost) all the best bits together into one super enjoyable place.Deeply unfashionable when compared with the Jlin record that took so much of my time this year, perhaps, but another fine contrast.

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Four Tet – New Energy
I tend to play this soon after the disorienting Jlin record. It’s not particularly tense, it doesn’t have much of a sense of direction. But it’s varied and warm. Just the right thing for unfocused moments. Sure, this means that the dangers of “new age” rear their heads, but Hebden won’t let them stick around for long enough to be really annoying.

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Slowdive – Slowdive
Well, that was a surprise.

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Saint Etienne – Home Counties
An especially unhurried tour of the suburbs/areas ringing London. Mostly inhabited by comfortable, middle-class people and their obsessions (your correspondent lived there for a while). It’s almost a Kinks-like song cycle. Glistening pop flourishes and titles like “Train Drivers and Eyeliner” and “Church Pew Furniture Restorer” may feel a bit arch on this side of the pond, but for me there will always be an England.

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Trio Da Kali & Kronos Quartet – Ladilikan
The Quartet has previous for collaborating with a Malian artist (Rokia Traoré), and this one works even better than the last. The Trio is a griot super group of sorts, voice, balafon and ngoni. The Quartet makes room for Hawa Diabaté’s powerful voice. The instruments interweave when needed, stay separate when needed. It would be so easy to get the balance wrong, the Quartet asserting the strings too much, or perhaps the ngoni over-pressuring. That doesn’t happen and the result is remarkable.

Also in top rotation:
St. Vincent – MASSEDUCTION
Lorde – Melodrama
Stormzy – Gang Signs & Prayer
The xx – I See You
Sampha – Process
Omar Souleyman – To Syria, With Love
Peverelist – Tessellations

In slightly lesser rotation
LCD Soundsystem – american dream
Sleaford Mods – English Tapas
Tshegue – Survivor
FABRICLIVE 91: Special Request – Special Request
Fever Ray – Plunge
Kelela – Take Me Apart
Dele Sosimi – You No Fit Touch Am in Dub
Run The Jewels – Run the Jewels 3
Mount Kimbie – Love What Survives
J Hus – Common Sense
Björk – Utopia
Bonobo – Migration
Amp Fiddler – Amp Dog Knights
Octo Octa – Where Are We Going?
Marcel Khalife & Mahmoud Darwish – Andalusia of Love
Omar Souleyman – To Syria, With Love
Peverelist – Tessellations
Lee Gamble – Mnestic Pressure

Mixes
Uniqu3 Mix on Diplo and Friends BBC Radio 1Extra http://bit.ly/uniqu3-diplo NJ up and comer bangs the Jersey House sound of the moment and throws in some B’more too.

Carl Cox: Global 722: The Final Episode http://bit.ly/carlcox722 Wherein the legendary DJ plays some of his “guilty favourites”. Acid, House, Techno, you know the drill.

The Black Madonna at Lente Kabinet Festival 2017 http://bit.ly/BM-Lente Excellent variety of acid and disco. Not subtle in any way. And sometimes that’s exactly what I need. Banging.

Atlas Electronic Podcast 008: Habibi Funk http://bit.ly/atlas-008 More of a selector set than a mix. Crate digging gone mad. From the hipsters re-issue label of the moment.

Force Field: Detroit Techno 1985-95 http://bit.ly/woebot-detroit Remarkable 4 hour mix by Woebot. Broadly chronological. Listen to it once just so you know what Detroit techno is.

Avalon Emerson Live at Printworks London http://bit.ly/avalon-print Dark, varied, nice tempo shifts. Plus crowd sounds.

Helena Hauff – Essential Mix 2017 http://bit.ly/HH-Essential Warning: Techno getting up to 150 BPM. Also, traditional Radio 1 Essential Mix voice-over interruptions.

TV
Patriot (Amazon) || Mr. Robot (USA) || Better Things (FX) || Top of the Lake: China Girl (Sundance) || Insecure (HBO) || Fargo (FX) ||| Planet Earth II (PBS) ||| The Expanse (SyFy) || Humans (AMC) || The Americans (FX) || Veep (HBO) || Better Call Saul (AMC) || The Vietnam War (PBS) || Happy! (FX) || Big Little Lies (HBO)