DC Recordings follow up the 2006 evil squirrel-themed compilation of all sounds tectonic and spectral-cosmic with Death Before Distemper 2: Revenge of the Iron Ferret. Said compilation features standard DC Recs bands – The Emperor Machine recording porn music for alien species, Padded Cell soundtracking cloaked skeletons running slow motion after terrified maidens, Kelpe creating underwater jamborees from the remnants of pirate ships and The Oscillation invoking spirits from BBC library synth music – but then they throw a few more aliens into the tracklist. One such off-worlder is Astral Manhole Project.

Astral Manhole Project – Perfected Love

AMP begin with a rolling bassline that Jean Michel Jarre’s ‘Oxygene IV’ would lay perfectly with, all the while unaware of the army of Space Invaders slowly approaching with lasers on full blast, ready to decimate pixelated tanks to the beat and layers of fuzz and spacial feedback blast screaming alien faces in silhouette across the room of the arcade, while vast spaceships collide overhead.

Rapster Records, following on from the Prince covers album, are gathering luminaries from across the musical globe to form a Bowie covers album, ‘Life Beyond Mars – Bowie Covered’. Joakim & The Disco stretch out ‘New Career in a New Town’ into a darkly echoing horrorhouse dub track that at times sounds like ‘The Frog Chorus’ bootlegged with ‘Nightmare’ by Brain Bug. Susumu Yokota delivers Quaalude visions in a spinning karaoke vacuum on ‘Golden Years’, Matthew Dear turns ‘Sound & Vision’ into a cosmic glacial second coming and Leo Minor transforms ‘Ashes to Ashes’ into a j-pop Strokes.

The Emperor Machine – Repetition

The Emperor Machine whisks Bowie off to their Martian jungle where the creatures of the Trigan Empire have created a slinky disco (not disco) percussion ensemble that would prick up the ears of James Murphy with its shifting hi-hats and harpsichord wobbles…

…and Kelley Polar goes for maybe the most ridiculous of Bowie’s bulging back catalogue, ‘Magic Dance’ from Labyrinth. Remember Labyrinth, kids? It was one of those terrible but great films that formed a layer in the totem pole of your childhood, worshipped alongside such throwaway crap as Visionaries, Ewoks Adventures and the 3rd series of Transformers (the one where it all went downhill). We al have the DVD, so you should be able to sing along:

Kelley Polar – Magic Dance

Kelley balls up the original, spins it off of the corner of a looping synthesiser through a searing blue holographic ring of flame and out into an alternate universe where the kidnapping goblins are actually Wall-E-styled comedy robots, flinging the stolen baby round a zero-G spacepod with Bowie strutting around awkwardly doing the robot in a silver moon suit and Kim Wilde fright-wig.

The stunning psychedelic power of Ozo’s Anambra envelops you like shadows projected by a solid canopy of majestic trees raising in the deepest recesses of the heart of darkness. It resonates with the enigmatic echo of a secret hidden behind a door you can only open with the key of the drone, it’s expansive and epic like Ennio Morricone’s glorious Western opus, and suffused with the formidable spiritual energy of early Vangelis, this music sounds of the Earth, and is all the more captivating for that.

Ozo- Anambra (extended version)

This 1976 gem, which soundtracked David Mancuso’s parties at The Loft in the early days of primeval disco legend has been recently re-issued by Flexx. I already got a copy, and you should too.

I think Hugo should like this one.

Editions Disco new 12” is total killer. On one of its sides 20JFG fave Lee Douglas gets cracking with an excellently hyperkinetic edit of Belle Epoque’s Bamalama, it’s included in 20jazzfunkgreats’s ‘Schuss’ mixtape which shall soon be featured in Allez Allez, that London club/sound collection run by the best blokes in the block, we’ll let you know when it’s up. The other side delights with the joyous warmth of Prince Language’s edit of Yo Son, which sounds like Tom Tom Club on a Bollywood bender and makes me smile thrilled by its easygoing streetwise strut whenever I play it, a ‘class in a glass’ package, like we say in Hove.

Unknown Artist- Yo Son (Prince Language Edit)

Some wise person at one of those dimly sites which the 20jazzfunkgreats roam by night aptly described OORUTAICHI’s Misen Gymnastics as the Boredoms produced by Larry Levan, and this isn’t far off the mark at all. It’s amazing that some Japanese kid has come up with a perfect slice of sweet infectious percussive disco leaping with a golden pop heart which wouldn’t have been out of place on Crazy Rhythms’ genius mix of obscure NYC 1970s dance gems, but at the same time glows with the enthusiastic and innocent energy of EYE’s tribal meltdowns. If you flip a dimension you’ll find these three sparkling dots glimmering adjacent to each other, but then, as we said, rhythm speaks one tongue, and OORUTAICHI is totally fluent in it.

That he sings in what seems to be a made-up language only adds strength to our contention, and a couple of feathers to his fancy cap. Go and check out his website, one of the nicest I’ve seen for a while.

OORUTAICHI- Misen Gymnastics (Original Extended Version)

Find Misen Gymnastics in the eponymous Bearfunk 12.

This language we are talking about isn’t even necessarily that of drums, although that is the most common one.

But a proof: Try not to nod dazzled by the gorgeous tapestry of lush strings covering the throbbing neon robo-funk body of ‘The Feeling of All-Things’, which opens Kelley Polar’s fantastic new album ‘I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling’ out in Environ. Polar is a master of his craft as his work with Metro Area shows, and of many other arts, the variegated silken, lovely yet often sinister music which populates the strange country of ‘I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling’ constitute the best demonstration, colourful beasts and ghosts lumbering across the misty green fields of a Studio Ghibli film, but sexier . Most seductive pop I have listened to this year so far, up there with Sebastian Tellier.

Kelley Polar- The Feeling of All-Things

***Bonus***

El Guincho has been making waves all over the place with his wonderful tropical psychedelia, not least Pitchfork where he got one of those coveted ‘Best Music’ spots which are usually a step in the right direction towards global stardom. Well, we don’t care much for what Pitchfork says, but they are very right in this case here, you know he deserves to be massive because what he makes is undoubtedly special.

He is also coming to the UK at the end of March (24th-31st) and has some spare dates available for gigs. Promoters- This might be your last chance to get him to play in your club in the context of a more ‘informal’ tour before things get serious, so if you are interested in having him, which you should, do e-mail Felix from Discoteca Oceano here, or drop him a line through the useful myspace.

Felix, who is one of the best guys in the world and a bona fide 20JFG associate has been kind enough to write us a little review of Los Zafiros to go with this announcement. Awesome stuff:

The first time I listened to Los Zafiros was when Pablo ‘El Guincho’ Diaz-Reixa showed me ‘Palmitos Park’. From that day I went crazy for both things. Afterwards I have listened to it at home, walking from one place to the other, and in parties all over Barcelona. It is a perfect song. Percussions in the right place, spellbinding luminous choruses, improbable yet intelligent twists. They also show this in ‘Canción de Orfeo’, another great song of ‘Bossa Cubana‘, a timeless record bristling with imagination that hits you in the face whenever you listen to it.

‘Bossa Cubana’ is melodically peerless, look for the lyrics from ‘Y Sabes Bien’, memorise them and sing them to your gal, ‘Sabes bien que yo te quiero, sabes bien que yo te adoro, sabes bien, que ya no puedo, vivir sin ti ehhhh yeyeyeye yeeeee”. She will be thankful.

Los Zafiros- Y Sabes Bien

Have a nice weekend kids, and remember:

/////////////////////BRIGHTON: ITS 13 MONSTERS TIME THIS SATURDAY

You know the score: An indie dance party for peoples who care.

Barfly 11-3AM

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Tunes Tunes

Prince Van Halen Gold Chains Ol’ Dirty Bastard ESG Busta Rhymes Daft Punk Silver Apples Unicorns Black Eyes Dan Deacon Jay-Z 50 Cent Hercules and Love Affair Das Pop Kylie Minogue Liquid Liquid Fire Engines The Blow Marilyn Manson AC/DC Crystal Castles Liars Deerhunter Chromatics Fuckbuttons Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya Ya Les Savy Fav Make Up Holy Hail Glass Candy Shocking Pinks Jay Reatard Au Pairs These New Puritans Diplo Plastic Little Tracy & The Plastics We Are Wolves The Tough Alliance El Guincho M.I.A. Animal Collective Battles NWA Big Black Slayer Beastie Boys Nation of Ulysses and many many more.

Cosmic Wobble for Maximum Power