New mixtape - DJ Cull presents The Lockdown Getdown

So we've all been stuck indoors now for far too long, but one of the upsides is some extra time to do stuff we might usually be too busy for. As well as reading tons of books and watching the whole of the Star Wars saga (including The Mandalorian, which I thought was great) I've got the mixing gear out again and made the mixtape above. It's mostly tracks from 2020 with a few new versions of older songs thrown into the mix - I just wanted to make something positive and upbeat to put a smile on your face and a beat for your feet. Here's the tracklisting:

1. Valentine - Violet Sky [Joe Goddard Remix]
2. Holy Fuck - Deleters (feat. Angus Andrew)[APRE Remix]
3. Basement Jaxx - Red Alert [The Cube Guys Remix]
4. Sonny Federa & King Henry - Before U (feat. AlunaGeorge)[Illyus & Barrientos Remix]
5. New Order - Fine Time [Nollan Remix]
6. Love Regenerator - Peace Love Happiness
7. Robbie Doherty & Keees - Pour The Milk [ExtendedMix]
8. Jacques Greene - Night Service (feat. Cadence Weapon)[Fort Romeau Remix]
9. Caribou - Never Come Back [Morgan Geist Remix]
10. Four Tet - Baby
11. Bicep - Atlas
12. Darkstar - Wolf [John Talabot's Euphoric Remix]

Track of the Day: 'Pure Luxury' by NZCA Lines

This rather full on slice of synth-pop heralds the return of NZCA Lines, with a song about luxury, status and pursuing material wealth in the face of environmental catastrophe. Could it be any more relevant?

Over the course of 4 minutes it manages to cram in about three decades of pop references, somehow sounding like Prince, The Beach Boys and LCD Soundsystem all at once.

The track is out now on Memphis Industries and the band have announced a headline show at Heaven in London on October 28th.

Recommended music: 'Thug Ambient' by Dale Cornish

It's a weird kind of situation to be releasing new records into. Some acts have pushed theirs back (including Jarvis Cocker, which surprised me) while other have soldiered on, giving us some welcome distractions from the world around us. This new one from Londoner Dale Cornish came out a couple of weeks ago and I picked it up on Friday from Bandcamp when they were having their special day to support artists.

Over the course of its 11 tracks this is a pretty intense and occasionally brutal record, with few moments of calm. But I've found that to be a relief to be honest, there's only so long you can try and think happy thoughts and be gentle before you want to listen to something that's going to put up a fight, which is what this record does for me.

So then, how best to describe this album? I asked Dale and he said that 'this album...isn't worried about fitting into certain categories / tribal affiliations', which is just as well as it would be pretty hard to pigeonhole. I mean, you could say it sounds like New Order on a messy night out with Venetian Snares, or you could say it sounds like the 8-bit soundtrack to the most violent game of Mario Kart ever invented. But why bother? The best thing to do with this album is to just stick your head inside it and play it really LOUD, let it pound through your bones and drive the virus out of your system. I'm particularly keen on the last 4 tracks on the album but you can pretty much dive in anwhere and see what you think of it.

Cornish might have been called a 'thug' when he went to a gig aged 16 wearing trackies, but if this is the sound of him embracing that label then I'm all for it.

You can listen to the full album below, and if you feel inclined then buy a copy too.

Track of the Day: 'Atlas' by Bicep

Back with their first single since 2018, Bicep have released this powerful, brooding track which positively throbs with dark vibes. Calling to mind Four Tet, Aphex Twin and Underworld, it's sure to set dancefloors and gigs alight once we're all allowed to go back outside. Until then you'll just have to turn it up LOUD at home and dance on your own, isolation style.

'Atlas' will be released physically on Ninja Tune on April 2nd.

Recommended music: 'Mother' by Cold Beat

The fifth album from this San Franciscan sees them deliver a perfect mix of 80s nostalgia and 20s ennui. Seemingly tailor made for soundtracks and/or personal reminiscing, you could hear some of these tracks on 'Deutschland 83' or 'Stranger Things' and believe that they were originals for the time. Take 'Prism' for example, a driving synth and guitar slice of power pop with just the right level of disdain in the vocals.


'Gloves' pulls off the Gremanic cool so such great effect that you can picture the video had it been made in the 80s, all shiny pvc, smoke and fast cars. 'Pearls' meanwhile has that effortless simplicity that Vince Clarke always employed to great effect in his songs for Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure.


Interestingly the songs here were written by singer Hannah Lew while she was pregnant, hence the title and the lyrics, which are designed to describe the Earth to a new visitor, be that a newborn child or an alien visitor.

You can listen to the whole album below, and if you like it then why not buy it? Musicians are struggling in the current crisis, not being able to tour and promote their records, so they need all the support you can give them.

Track of the Day: 'Martin' by Car Seat Headrest

The second track to appear from their forthcoming album 'Making A Door Less Open', this song sees Will Toledo's Car Seat Headrest in a relatively mellow mood. I'm assuming that the titular Martin is the narrator of the song, since he's singing about a guy called Justin. The introduction of a trumpet towards the end gives the song a different vibe to most Car Seat Headrest tracks, and makes me think the the new record will be even more diverse that I was expecting.

I'm not sure if the extreme protection and cleaning video was made before the coronavirus pandemic kicked in, or if it's a response to that, but it feels a bit too close to home for now - we need some escapism in these troubled times. But don't let that put you off listening to the song.

'Making A Door Less Open' is released on 1st May 2020.

Recommended music: 'Collector' by Disq

Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, new 5-piece guitar band Disq inhabit the same sort of spaces as Bodega, Fountains of Wayne and Weezer amongst others. There's some great melodies in here, along with some decently (or indecently) fuzzed guitars, some acoustic track, and even a bona fide pop song on 'Loneliness'.


Parts of some of these songs also remind me of the band XTC, in the way they're constructed and the rhythms they use, like for example on 'Fun Song 4', and there are also hints of Ben Folds on 'Gentle'.


 All of these influences combine in a record that sounds joyous and full of energy, as if it's designed to lift the spirits and propel you forward, while at the same time looking back through the nest bits of your record collection.

Like every other band Disq have had to cancel their forthcoming tours, so once you've listened to the full album below why not by a digital or physical copy from them? You know it;s the right thing to do.