THE FUGEES VS. NAS – SURVIVING THE TIMES (BOEHM REMIX)

Here's something courtesy of Boehm, a musicmaker from Bucharest, Romania. A good mash-up (do people still call them that) is always appreciated, and here Mr. Boehm (perhaps named after the German musician/inventor) has shown that you can be wildly creative even when there are TWO original tracks to consider.

There are no holds barred in this future leaning remix, totally juddering with an addictive tropical beat and accented with the glorious reverb of beachside guitars with the occasional ornament of bendy slide guitar like a seagull swooping as a sunset splashes its muted fire over the still-warm sand and gentle sea.

Xylophone tumblings give this a lovely forest-jam flavour, I say forest but I mean more like a little copse of palm trees, a coastal vibe that incorporates jaunty harmonica from I don't know where. It samples 'Fu-Gee-La- by The Fugees, the hook from the track reworked and interspersed between verses from Nas' track 'Surviving The Times'.

All of it sounds perfect to the bouncy rhythm here, the piano chords and the groovesome synth bass and the soft, triumphal chords; the backdrop to wild synth solos that seem to diffuse into the air like a solar flare in reverse, or like the synth-happy soundtrack to one of my favourite SNES games, Top Gear. It even ends well, the instruments bowing out to each other as we're left with the wooden roller-coaster of the xylophone melody to contend with, amongst other things.

Luscious sounds and a rhythm you can totally groove to; perfect for listening or moving. Probably goes well with a bowl of unadon or as the last song to play at work before you leave to go home, glorious glorious home.

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SPAZZKID WEIRD GIRL

I would say that this man needs no introduction, but in some ways I would like to introduce him anyway. Here is Spazzkid, a Filipino-LA-based producer who I have been writing about since May (he's really nice - here's a Q&A with him). If you don't already know him, I'd urge you to check out his music; it's characterised by almost euphoric electronic sounds combined with slow beats - but with his latest song he's diverged somewhat from that. In the email he sent, he mentioned that this could indeed be a taster of what is to come on his next album. And you know what? I am looking forward to it: fresh sounds are good, no matter if you sounded fresh before getting even fresher.

So what's different? Well, in this newest song 'Weird Girl', Mark Redito (the real name of Mr Spazzkid) has eschewed his usual slow and swaying chilled-out rhythm for something a lot more up-tempo. Coupled with this, he's laid down a biting saw-wave bassline that adds a lot more of a hard edge to his sound than I have heard before. The beat style, in fact, sounds a little UK garage if you ask me - there's something in the sketched-out, glitching beats that contains within it the insectoid wiggle of garage rhythms.

His utilisation of samples is a lot more pronounced than it has been before, too, chopping up songs and vocals and placing them with maximum dynamism throughout. The second half marks a change in the song, as synth chords punctuate the mix and everything gets nice and messy, but in a beautifully organised way: synth leads arpeggiate, clap-along claps raise the energy levels, the beat shakes and fizzes.

But he's still there. A sparkling female laugh appears, as it has done in earlier tracks, and there are marimba or xylophone melodies with an oriental spirit, the kind that have injected their gentle cheer before in some of his songs. Overall it's a new take on Spazzkid. Spazzkid+. Spazzkid 2.0. More sampling, more up-tempo - there's a lot to shout about here, and a lot to dance to. I am heartily looking forward to the next album.

This has been released on Bad Panda Records, a "next generation" DIY record label based in Rome, Italy.

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CLUBFEET ACAPULCO & LA [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Hello hi. Apple juice is not often purchased by me but when it is purchased it is rapidly consumed. Do you also find that? But this is neither here nor there. Sorry, it's music time isn't it. Here is something new. It's called 'Acapulco & LA' and it's by a band called Clubfeet.

They are from both Australia and South Africa at the same time - I'm not sure how that works out. As in, which members of the band are from which countries I don't know, so I apologise for that. Their first album, Gold on Gold, released in 2010, caused quite a stir and they've been kinda popular ever since. Perhaps not on such a global level but certainly in their respective mother countries, sure. Oh I just looked at the press release. Yeah, I was right. They're a "critical and commercial hit" in Australia. Too right as well. They have some nice tunes.

One such is this one, which they are offering to fans and non-fans alike on their SoundCloud page - 'Acapulco & LA'. As soon as I saw the title of this one I just thought of sub-tropical party fun and, listening to it, I wasn't wrong. It's a damn party song. It sounds already like an indie-dance classic. Yep, with that intro of ambient synth roaring like distant waves, jungle noises, and a gently calming, simplistic guitar melody set to a driving beat, you know what you're getting into.

Soon there are some truly delicious sounds - hollow synth melodies and the undeniable jolly cool that comes with a xylophone exposure. Xylophone chords, as well. Truly chilling yet heartwarming on the most basic level ever. Surely the xylophone is like one of the oldest instruments. Always is like someone playing bones or something.

It's a dancefloor number that should find its way into many indie-wired clubs in the future. It just oozes that beach party sound, with the added personable appeal of knowing that a five-piece band has created the track - somehow, it just is more personable. As with this kind of music, it's emotional, too, often going with the easy heartbreak that can occur in the darkness of a club environment - lover's tiffs and rifts in relationships haunt these places like the scent of alcohol-soaked carpets itself. As such, there's emotional lyrics, such as, "You broke my heart and now I'm lost forever" and the catchy pop-hook of "I lost another beat of my heart" with the support of ahh-ing backing vocals.

Nice. Keeping that indie-disco flame alive with a nearly 90s-dance twist, 'Acapulco & LA' can be downloaded for free and comes from Clubfeet's second album, Heirs & Graces, which is out now.

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