Remix of the Day: 'Four (Darkstar Remix) by Olafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm

The original version of this track can be found on the 'Loon' EP, which came out on Erased Tapes earlier this year. Darkstar's mix builds and builds, based around a guitar riff that Aiden started playing as they listened to the track. It's fair to say that Darkstar & Nils Frahm are currently two of my favourite artists so this is a real treat for me, and I hope it is for you too.

New music: 'A Song For Those Who Doubt' by Tülpa

The perfect antidote to the post-Christmas blues, this beautiful piano piece sounds like it might be Scandinavian but in fact comes from Ivan Zhyzhkevych, a Ukrainian now living in Pittsburgh. Curl yourself up in front of the fire with a hot drink and a good book and let yourself drift away...

Recommended music: 'Whelm' by Douglas Dare

The début album from London-based singer-songwriter has just been released on Erased Tapes, and it fits in well with the family of artists on this label. It's much more than just a man with a piano, and as its sweeping melodies drag you in you can see why Dare feels that the emotions in the songs are closely linked to the sea. There are gentle, calm moments like 'Caroline' and the instrumental title track , mixed in with harder edged, more electronic tracks like 'Unrest' and 'Swim'. Across these songs you can sense a host of influences, from label mates like Nils Frahm through to the likes of Radiohead and Four Tet. Despite the influences though, Dare's fantastic voice and vision combine to create something that's unlike anything else you've heard this year, and it's all the better for that

To release an album as well crafted and assured as this at the age of 23 is quite an achievement, one that signals the arrival of a talent that will surely be around for years to come

You can listen to the whole album below, and buy it direct from Erased Tapes here.

New music: 'Within Arms Reach' by Tastelike Cake

A nice slice of piano-led ambient instrumental music from the Icelandic musician William Georges. It's definitely got that Scandinavian vibe going on, all chilled moods and atmospheres. Listen or download the track for free below.

Recomended music: 'Seven Hours' EP by Douglas Dare

Out on Erased Tapes on September 30th, Dare's debut release is a brilliant set of four piano-led tracks. The title track is a bit like James Blake (without the stomach-wobbling bass), while second track 'Scars' would sound at home soundtracking a particularly poignant moment in a film or tv drama. It's purely piano and vocal, with a few looped up backing vocals towards the end, and it's deeply moving. 'Lungful' has some percussion and handclaps to accompany the piano, while closer 'Flames' is another Blake-esque track which builds to a crescendo before dropping away to a solo piano, hauntingly quite - you can hear the piano being played (that sounds a but odd but you know what I mean).

You can listen to the whole EP below, and click here to order it from Erased Tapes.

New music: 'Feeeeling' by Mathew Sawyer

Mathew Sawyer is a new name to me, although this is apparently a track from his forthcoming third album, which will be out this year on Fire Records. On the strength of this track it should definitely be worth checking out some more of his work to see if it shares the same elements, as this manages to be refreshingly naive and somehow quite sophisticated at the same time. The lyrics refer to a "drawn out feeling", hence the elongated spelling of the title. It's endearingly lo-fi without being low quality, and features possibly the first use of a recorder in popular music since The Divine Comedy's 'Perfect Lovesong'

Listen and download the song here: