Unnatural Selection

Richard Ashcroft really summed it up when he sung that the drugs don't work they just make you worse and after a hefty overdose of aural antidepressants I now feel surrounded by a strange sensation of numbness. So, it's from this delirious state of comedown confusion that I bring you the Unnatural Selection - a truly random selection of tracks that have been rocking my boat for the past couple of months.

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01 Flying Lotus - Do The Astral Plane [buy]
02 Dert - On The Hunt [Free D/L]
03 The Piranha Sounds - La Turbie Pirhanienne [buy]
04 Bonobo - Eyesdown Featuring Andreya Triana [buy]
05 Foals - Spanish Sahara [buy]
06 Calibre - Step Toe [buy]
07 The xx - Crystalised (Dark Sky Remix) [buy]
08 Shabazz Palaces - 32 leaves dipped in blackness making clouds forming altered carbon [buy]
09 Jay-Z feat. The Dap Kings - 99 Problems (Prince of Ballard remix) [Free D/L]
10 Broken Bells - The High Road [buy]
11 Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon - Our Dreams (Feat. Inspectah Deck, Sun God) [buy]
12 MIA - XXXO [buy]
13 dbridge, Instramental and Skream - Acacia Avenue [buy]
14 Fantastic Mr Fox - If I [buy]
15 Emancipator - Shook (Mobb Deep & Sigur Ros Remix) [Free D/L]

Kicking off the mix is none other than Flying Lotus, the most exciting producer in the world today, who recently dropped his contender for album of the year, Cosmogramma. "Do the Astral Plane" sees FlyLo don his cosmic disco flares and serves up a slice of future funk that puts the 'ooooo' back into grooooove.

Dert keeps the head nodding with a cut from his truly inspired Bjork beat-tape while elsewhere Shabazz Palaces, a project of Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler of Digable Planets, spits mind-bending rhymes over off-kilter beats and eerie alien aesthetics.

Incredibly horn-y French outfit The Piranha' Sound mesmerise with bedroom eyes, take your hand and lead you back to the swinging sounds of a 1960's mod party. Meanwhile soul revivalist The Dap Kings never sounded so trouble free as when they have Jay-Z nestled on top, delivering the iconic "I got 99 problems... but the b*tch ain't one".

Foals' "Spanish Sahara" starts as a quiet murmur, building gradually and purposefully in a way that causes goosebumps to manifest themselves in anticipation for the inevitable. And it's in those immediate moments before the song's peak that you cannot resist the urge any longer to jump around and wave your arms in the air but somehow as the song topples over its climax you feel the need to hold still, in quiet reflection as a testament to the immense journey you've been through that's brought you to this moment. Definitely one of the best songs of 2010.

As for some dancefloor action I've been known to jump around at home recently, flicking the light switch and screaming "TUUUUUUUUUNE!!!!" to Dark Sky's remix of my 2009 faves The xx. A proper sound system banger that harks back to the glory days of the 2-step sound, Dark Sky proving they are a crew to keep an eye out for in the future. Also, the bass heads holy trinity of dbridge, Instramental and Skream don't disappoint with a half step gem that's worthy of the hype while the delightfully named Fantastic Mr Fox delivers with a unique take on the modern garage sound.