Christmas Rave of the Day: 'Merry Christmas Lil' Mama' by Jeremih and Chance the Rapper

As if Chance hasn't been good enough to us already this year, he's just dropped this 9 track mixtape with Jeremih to give y'all some festive cheer. There's some great tracks on here, from the vocoder-heavy 'Snowed In' to 'Stranger At The Table' lifting the melody from 'I Want You Back' to the piano and organ-led full-on Christmas ballad 'Joy'. Seriously, this guy can do no wrong at the moment, and this is a grat way to round off a huge year for him.

Recommended music: 'Product of Industry' by Mark E.

I came to this album a few months after its release date (via a tip-off from music maker Winter Son) and frankly I'm pretty cross with myself that I didn't notice it when it came out. The house music DJ and producer, who only turned to music full-time when he lost his job due to the current financial climate, has crafted a warmly organic electronic album on which he's swapped digital methods for an almost entirely analogue construction. 'Construction' is a good way to describe it as the album feels very carefully pieced together, layered up and looped up to create a sense of depth and perspective. It also fits with the album's title, which works both as a description of Mark E. himself (he grew up in the UK's industrial heartland in the West Midlands), and also how careers and lives have changed since the shift away from that manufacturing focus. There are parallels with the cities that made the music that influenced him too - Chicago and Detroit have also seen a dramatic and often disastrous decline in their manufacturing industries.

Overall I reckon the album is a bit reminiscent of Matthew Dear, although tracks like 'Being Hiding' definitely also have a hint of the classic house sound of Chicago about them. You can listen to the whole album below and see what you think, but I'm sure you'll love it.

Recommended music: 'Divine Ecstasy' by Supreme Cuts

Possibly the most brilliantly creative and inspired dance album you'll hear all year, and one that I predict will pick up more and more fans as the year goes on. The record moves effortlessly from dancefloor fillers to slow jamz and back again, all the while exuding class and style. The duo's Chicago roots show in some of the track but don't make the mistake of thinking that this is restricted to one specific genre of dance music - lots of bases are covered, and each one is done really well.

The choice of guest vocalists for the record is inspired. Channy Leaneagh from Poliça might be the most recognisable on the list, but Mahaut Mondino is a revelation, mixing the overt sexuality of Prince with a more subtle spirituality. His range is vast and his falsetto is immaculate.

Perhaps unusually for a dance album, especially one with a raft of guest vocalists,the record hangs together really well as a whole piece, and is perfectly book-ended by the Introduction and Epilogue, These two tracks, with their spoken vocals and heavily 80s vibes, put you in a perfect frame of mind to first enter the album and then leave it behind, like that moment when you emerge from a club blinking in the chill dawn air as the sun comes up. You can listen to a few of the album tracks below, but please make sure you buy the whole thing, I promise you won't be disappointed.