Skiddle Stereo Selections - Friday 11th December

Image: Pinkshinyultrablast

We've offered up five tracks that we've had on repeat at Skiddle HQ this week purely for your enjoyment. There's three big rave tunes this week that we've gone mad for, so get stuck in and make the most of the penultimate weekend before Christmas. 

Sia 'Alive' (Maya Jane Coles remix)

MJC has always been good at getting that wistful pop vibe on the dancefloor, creating music which works just as well on lonely commutes as it does dancefloors. And she does that again here effortlessly.

Here she takes the aching beauty of Sia's songwriting and fashions a modicum of rave aesthetic around it, looping the "I'm so pretty" refrain and adding delicious licks and accentuating the piano and chords. Massive.

Jimmy Coultas

FEWS 'The Zoo'

FEWS prove simplicity is key here, with air tight rhythms and grungey bass to spawn a beat torn between DIIV and the distortion of DFA 1979. The vocals hark Antidotes era Foals which can never be a bad thing, and it all ends in a weirdly satisfying 3:33. 

Ben Smith

Pinkshinyultrablast 'The Cherry Pit'

St Petersburg shoegazers Pinkshinyultrablast have released the first track from their newly announced album Grandfeathered.

The Cherry Pit draws on lead Lyubov's vocal more prominently than on their debut album, with experimental patches of noodley guitar parts exploring new ground in between the distortion of visceral noise.

It's clear that the band are keen to play a new hand for this album, by adding rhythmic layers to their blissed out shoegaze sound. Keep your eyes out for February 2016. 

BS

Katy B x Four Tet x Floating Points 'Calm' 

Katy B's no stranger to collaborations with dance music's figureheads from across the board. She's only just hit the top of the charts with her KDA partnership, and now she's proving she's not all about the mainstream with two of electronic's innovators.

Her creamy vocals combined with lush instrumentation and shimmering, upbeat synths give this enough oomph for it to hit the dancefloors. It's the first piece of music taken from Katy B's new project 'Honey' which will see her team up with a number of producers and artists. 

Becca Frankland

Darius Syrossian 'FunkFlex'

Darius Syrossian is a top producer, there's no denying it. This upcoming 2016 release sounds a lot like Syrossian has sampled part of Mtume's Juicy Fruit when the tracks breaks down to just the instrumental reminiscent of the 1983 funk tune, but then it bursts back into his signature tech house territory with Gary Beck-esque chattering percussion.

BF