Mixtape, Sir? (One banana, two banana, three banana, four)

Okay, so here it is, the last part of my four-part mixtape. It's another good 'un with a bit of reggae, a bit of techno and, of course, a big ol' chunk of disco.


YER MAM!'S 10p MIX-UP VOLUME TWO (Disc 2)

1. Horace Andy - Where Do The Children Play? (I don't put enough reggae on my mixtapes, so I thought I'd stick this on at the beginning. There are few more beautiful noises in music than Horace Andy's sweet, high voice, in my opinion, and this cut from his debut LP, Skylarking from 1969 is justification of that statement. Coupled with 'Coxsone' Dodd's spectral, echoey production, it makes 'Where Do The Children Play?' an otherworldly, spine-tingling treat.)
2. Sam Cooke - Teenage Sonata (Studio? Edit) (This is from last year's Caribbean Cooke Vol. 2 12", on which Studio? take Cooke's vocals and mash them onto reggae and ska backings. Here, 'Teenage Sonata' is tacked onto John Holt's lover's rock of 'Love I Can Feel' to brilliant effect. You'd almost think that this was a studio recording, rather than a mash-up.)
3. The Rakes - Binary Love (The Loving Hand Remix) (Tim Goldsworthy is starting to carve out a bit of a niche for turning indie tunes into unlikely dancefloor winners. This is an uptempo/downbeat disco-not-disco belter with some of the best dubbed-out keys I've heard in ages. Next up are The Magic Numbers and, hey, it's nowhere near as shit as you might think.)
4. Tape Deck Project - Hoerspielmusik 2 (Kid Alex Remix) (This one starts off a little electro-house, only with live drums but then takes a nice swerve into uplifting discoid territory. Hey, there's even a cowbell! What's not to love?)
5. Ost & Kjex - Kjexy Snick Snack (The prolific Norwegians come up with something a little more glitchy than usual, but European moodiness suits them just as well as Detroit-y jacking. 'Kjexy Snick Snack' gets under your skin on about the third listen and takes up residence there. Give us some more stuff like this, please guys.)
6. Hansepferd - BismarckE (Although I didn't quite know how to take this when I first heard it, it's clear know that it's tongue-in-cheek in the extreme. A freaky-deaky tale of secret bunkers and Nazi rave, you'll be goose-stepping across the floor when this comes on. Actually, don't do that. It'll be really embarrassing.)
7. Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve - I Swim Around (BTWS are, as you will all probably know by now, Erol Alkan and Richard Norris and this is their re-edited take on Neu!'s 'Hallogallo'. I didn't like this at first, because I hold the original in such high regard, but then I realised that this is pretty much that epic's best bits condensed into an energetic, driving four minutes-plus of Krautrock bliss. Not reductive, just economical.)
8. The Walker Brothers - Nite Flights (The title track from The Walker Brothers' flawed disco record. Well, I say flawed, but the Scott songs (of which this is one) are pretty much perfect. This is dramatic, emotive, psychedelic disco soul with that spooky baritone pushed to the fore.)
9. Tracey Thorn - It's All True (Escort Extended Remix) (Those crazy Escort kids take Tracey down to Studio 54 for some glitzy disco action. The original's pretty bloody good too (produced by Ewan Pearson), but I just had to put this remix on here. Gorgeous, joyous stuff.)
10. L.S.B. - Fog (Pete Herbert follows up the grin-inducing balaeric disco of 'Original Highway Delight' with, well, the grin-inducing balaeric disco of 'Fog'. A fabulous, Chic-y bassline underpins some nifty guitar stabs and bouncy "ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh" nonesense vox. Yet another pearler from Eskimo Recordings.)
11. Brennan Green - Pluto's Retreat (Optimus Remix) (Bending the rules a bit following L.S.B. up with this Optimus remix, another pseudonym for Pete Herbert, this time with Mat Anthony in tow. This is a furious, spry little builder that keeps getting more and more ecstatic just when you think it can't possibly keep up the momentum. Phenomenal stuff.)
12. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends (Just an absolutely scintillating piece of music from Murphy and co. Full stop.)
13. Breakout - Planet Rock Parts 1 & 2 (A irrepressibly fun lowdown funk cover of the Afrika Bambaata classic, with various horns and choppy guitar standing in for the original's synths. Check out how hard that bass drum kicks too.)

Yer Mam!'s 10p Mix-Up Volume Two (Disc 2) Ripped, Zipped and Sent Into Space