It’s no secret one of our mucho championed European producers in the last couple years has been the Amsterdam-based Soultronic force known as Full Crate: who a couple months ago graduated this year’s RMBA Madrid, committed a legendary Boiler Room set and expressed rapid stylistic development via acclaimed new EP Golden Glasses, out on Wonderful Ear Records.

With profile raised and a name beginning to buzz on the lips of the independent and alt scene worldwide, he’s decided to remind heads why vintage musicality and lush analogue warmth will always remain the nucleus of his increasingly digi-centric, club orientated output. Fusing Neo-Soul with a Footwork breakdown? F**kabout.

Shouts to our good friends Okayplayer for premiering the cut and making it available for free download.

Sonically influential ‘Post’ duo Mount Kimbie dropped one of the most noteworthy releases of 2010 with their LP Crooks & Vultures. Now soaring Mancunian producer Star Slinger who’s leaked refixes like bird stool in 2011, vigorously strikes again working one of his fave tracks in recent times off there.

You can hear a chivalrous link between the toy treasure chest sounds that both Kimbie and Slinger often utilise to such clean affect, whereas the latter favours more of a Stateside half-time style that sometimes feels like it’s been dipped in a psych bucket of Gold Panda; often works to breathtaking affect as illustrated by this lovingly reconstructed flip.

Grab the complimentary stocking filler direct from SoundCloud below.

Jesse Boykins III‘s octaves on beautiful form, for what was originally a record produced by renowned LDN decksmith Sinden; now forced by rising NY talent Brenmar into a more downtempo-R&B direction, with drama inciting reverb and climactic symphonies that really wrench the diaphragmatic power balladry out. Hell, it’s even got bleedin’ thunder storms in there, what more could you ask for?

The original and it’s remixes are available as a free four track download here.

London’s foggiest rabble rousers (all eight, nine or twelve of them… lost count), and purveyors of the finest piff-based marketing, are gearing up to drop their well anticipated Noel mixtape. Admittedly, we’d a general ban on all Xmas music – but for a small army of our homegrown (pun game hard) we’ll gladly make the allowance.

Also, fantastic to see gifted Ladbroke Grove based producer Budgie working extensively with this collective of cold ‘Cloud’ rappers. He’s bringing a nice wave of that soulful swisha to the Gang’s varied musical make-up.

Expect movements in strides from this lot next year. In the meantime Mary Piffmas lands – hopefully after the Queen’s speech if you don’t mind lads – December 25th.

SBTRKT. “Who?” Subtract. “Nah never heard of it!”

Some may have said that a year ago and understandably too. Known this time last year as ‘another’ tadpole swimming in and out of the world of Electronic music, SBTRKT was yet another DJ/Producer from London who every once in a while would throw a blog a bone by remixing a relevant piece of music. Those that were more on the ball however, realised that although enrolled in the class of ’10, Aaron Jerome could quite possibly reign valedictorian come 2011.

Fast forward to summer this year, off the back of a few EP’s and remixes, ‘Wildfire’ quite literally spread. First through the blogs, then the clubs/tastemaker radio DJ’s, then the mainstream. “Summer banger” would be an understatement, even our most beloved emosh rapper – Drake – took to the beat. And with Aubrey in tow, the Stateside crossover was set: the intricate wobbles, smart punches and thumping bass positioned in all the right places allowed ‘Wildfire’ (featuring Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano) to garner it’s place and became a staple in many a summer playlists. But most promising was that even with the success of it’s first single, SBTRKT’s self titled debut would throw a number of surprises our way, surpassing expectations and becoming a strong accelerator for Electronic in the mainstream.

Sophisticated, circuitous and timely in its entirety, SBTRKT welded together the essence of 90’s UK garage and 2-Step together with the punchy Dubstep influences of the noughties and melted it within American style Soul & R&B. These influences, all piled up on top of each other within an album made of original compositions gave way for this debut to stand on it’s own merit. With producers throwing the proverbial ‘wobble’ onto anything with a pulse these days, it was refreshing to hear SBTRKT deliver a cohesive collection of tracks as well as collaborating with an inspired array of artists. Opting for a more song-focused LP, as opposed to a show-and-tell style production project – SBTRKT kept his audience in mind and curated an album packed with enough energy for the raver, sufficient downtime for low-end head and an abundance of musicology for the ‘academics’.

The albums opener ‘Heatwave’ nods to and explores Junglist sounds; With a deconstructed Amen Break and Sampha’s atmospheric, building wails, as the low end flutters rather passionately. Then as the BPMs rise and the lyrics fade, the puissance is turned up a notch with tracks like ‘Sanctuary’ and ‘Ready Set Loop’ – both favouring a more beat oriented focus with minimal vocals.

A key factor which makes SBTRKT’s debut such a strong contender this year was his foresight, featuring some of the brightest and most exciting homegrown talent. Jessie Ware, Roses Gabor and his most frequent collaborator Sampha each help to bring his productions alive. It is his chemistry with Sampha though that really shines through – armed with one of the most distinct voices, his breathy tone and succinct delivery style adds a fantastic dimension to SBTRKT’s compositions.

The chilling, unguarded tale of ‘Hold On’ allows for Sampha’s higher register to flourish, suited beautifully to the smooth bass rumblings and twinkling percussion. ‘Something Goes Right’ shuffles between the stuttering nature of 2-Step against Sampha’s buttery lead vocals – striking the right balance between instrumentation and song, realism and dreams, producer and singer. ‘Never Never’ bravely explores the indecision of relationships as the vulnerability of the lead vocal explains “see I‘ve never never had so much to gain / and threw it all away / and if I ever ever had the chance again / I’d probably do the same”. SBTRKT sits humbly alongside his muse(s), mixing live drums with funky synths, whilst his vocalists take focus.

Delving in, out and around sounds, SBTRKT is a rich textured tapestry which significantly pushes boundaries. Masqueraded in very few words – SBTRKT allowed his debut to speak louder than any thing else. The music won.

SBTRKT – iTunes / Amazon / Spotify

Never afraid to bring you some trippy, deformed R&B peculiarity that may make any slightly bemused formalist beg for their Tank CDs and a fleece blanket – here’s some nextness.

Parisian-born, London-relocated producer and spook crooner O F F Love has somehow by the grace of all that is absurd, managed to bastardize T-Pain, turning the Antares extremist’s style pagan and re-housing it in an underwater grave.

All parodies aside, pretty interesting stuff. Full of spidery percussives, upset measure and a lick of filtered sub, definitely prefer this remix over the less impetuous original.

Original badman, Sir Paul, sweetly swags his sh*t out on this smooth title-track from the man’s first upcoming solo album in five years. My Valentine is due next Feburary and slated to also feature Diana Krall and Stevie Wonder.

Wholly active 69 year old McCartney sounding wonderful as ever on this morose but softly jazzy number, ideal for those who like a spot gin in their camomile and a side-order of medicinal piff. It’s just one of those voices that will always transport you back to childhood if you were played old Beatles records (not so much Wings records) in ya ole man’s Nissan growing up. Made all the more heady with celestial guitar prophet Clapton’s twinkly strums all over this. Real OGs never die, they just collaborate.

For some, it may be a controversial decision to induct a remix album into an ‘Album of the Year’ list. But, unlike most remix albums this one redefines the original, re-contextualizes it and most importantly reintroduces a quondam icon to an entirely new generation – making Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX’s We’re New Here one of the most culturally significant LP’s of 2011.

The legend of Scott-Heron runs subterraneous – his far-reaching, weighty career arguably spawned the birth of Hip Hop. Besides revolutions not being televised and people in the bottle, what more need be said? While our main protagonist Jamie Smith aka Jamie XX is a still a fresh face on the block, who in just a short span has established himself as one of the most influential producers of the past three years. It was Smith’s spatial injections on the Mercury Award winning album by his band The XX that catapulted this young adopted-Brixtonian into the niche consciousness. Combine this with his assault on the remixsphere (Adele, Radiohead, et al), a signature sound and general defiance against BPM guidelines in one of the hardest communities to appease (Electronic), and you have in the making perhaps one of British music’s best offerings to the world right now. Amalgamating these very two different visionaries could have easily resulted in travesty or conversely, utter genius – an ethos record label XL have long relied on… 2011 would suggest its a model that works for them.

Using acapella’s from 2010′s I’m Here New (originally produced by XL boss Richard Russel), along with select material from Scott-Heron’s back catalogue, XX reworked the project through his own ears. Ears that have been forged by a confection of sounds including (but not limited to) Hip Hop, House, 2-Step, Soul, Funk, Disco, Bass, Club and Jazz – all of which are prevalent throughout We’re New Here. It is this feat that makes Smith such a formidable force, his ability to produce “anything he wants” at such a high level is staggering. His productions are at times ‘tropical’, but suggest the steel pans of Notting Hill carnival if a black hole ruptured through the pavements of Portobello and sucked your loved ones into the aloof. Persistent in melancholia – even Drizzy needed a piece for Take Care – it’s a paradox that works impeccably with Scott-Heron’s noticeably fragile, but cogent voice. In parts this suffused method has heartbreaking results (see: the monstrous ‘NY is Killing Me’), aided now in part with the knowledge that just 3 months after it’s release the world would lose it’s most beloved wordsmith.

Songs like ‘Home’ channel the spirit of the Caribbean, using the instruments of a paradise lost to supremely chosen effect, extenuating Gil’s post-drug ravaged, songlike slurs. Whereas ‘My Cloud’ adopts a more glitchy, low-fi vapor, floating on a bed of anesthesia. Hip Hop can be auscultated on songs like the ‘Running’ and ‘The Crutch’ – Smith cited sampling aficionado RJD2′s Deadringer as a notable inspiration in his past and that’s finally been allowed to flourish on this album, allowing our musician to evolve. The opener rockets Gloria Gaynor’s ‘Casanova Brown’ into space (a theory Jamie knows best), transforming it into a demented double-kick, bass battling, falling star. Then there’s the piercing heart monitor bleeps of ‘NY is Killing Me’ as we cardiac, spiralling into the metropolis-abyss, only to find a redemptive heaven somewhere off the horizon with the uplifting 4×4 and classic House chord staccato of ‘I’ll Take Care of You’.

Reference after reference, the ample scope of Jamie XX’s production penchants is reason enough to celebrate the life of his muse. We’re New Here, is the perfect balance between Gil Scott-Heron’s heart and the Jamie XX’s head.

We’re New Here – iTunes / Amazon / Spotify

Watch as Timbaland and a cohort of friends (including Missy Elliott, Pharrell Williams etc.) discuss his life and journey; from his humble beginnings in Virginia, to the game-changing career he went on to have in the 90′s/early 00′s. Timbo really opens up, revealing some shocking details about his personal life – speaking for the first time about being shot, a fatal car crash he was involved in and most perplexing of all about being “in love” with a then 16-year old Aaliyah when they first met…

Lana Del Rey’s new track ‘Off To The Races’ dropped earlier this week, but is now accompanied by an off-kilter viral video, using obscure 70′s celluloid samples. Lana’s Americana steeze is helplessly compelling, even when it’s wrapped in such odd-ball antics.

Expect her debut album Born to Die to shift big numbers in the new year.

Lykke Li unloads a tasty stocking filler EP titled The Lost Sessions, Vol. 1; The three-track freeload compilation is made up of demo versions of songs taken from her Wounded Rhymes LP, released earlier this year. Tracks inducted include ‘I Follow Rivers’, ‘Jerome’ & ‘Youth Knows No Pain’.

Tuck in.

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Yesterday rumours swirled of an imminent trilogy-expiring drop from the single most exciting new act of 2011.

It’s here. House of Balloons. Thursday. And now finally, Echoes of Silence.

Merry f***ing Xmas.

Whilst I’d hoped 3 singles in, Aubrey would hit us with something a little more elaborate with a larger budget (I mean c’mon bro, Take Care just went platinum), expectations haven’t been tackled. Regardless, the joint is a real durrrrty Bay Area, rotund buttock spanking banger.

Since her first stunning release ‘How To Feel’, and with all eyes on the Canadian underground, this Toronto chanteuse managed to generate a little hype with a string of consistent releases and a recent mixtape. Continuing her and producer Busy’s obsession with Neptunian R&B throwbacks, here they go again…

R O J O II is scheduled to drop March 2012.

(via SB)

It’s been a solid year for TiRon & Ayomari – they’ve put out some impressive projects. June saw the release of their free En Kärlekshistoria EP and in September they dropped the A Sucker for Pumps LP. The duo have now released a new video for ‘All My Love’, taken off the aforementioned long player. No need to mention how nice Miss Bingham is looking nowadays, right? Nah.