Sharif Laffrey is someone i’ve championed for a while. He makes the kind of club music I lap up, raw, punchy with loads of switches and sometimes flourishes of hip-house. Always great to see him popping up on remix duties too, most recently for Cowboy Rhythmbox and Ruf Dug and lets be honest, often stealing the show. A guy doing his own thing, sticking to his guns and eventually winning the whole town over.

Five sure shots from the Sharif below…

What a truly brutal year and yet we are only three months in. So many bright lights getting switched off month by month combined with the global pandemic we all currently face. This month we lost Gabi from DAF, who had that live band make dance music vibe that Aaron and I both love. Last year we had decided to dedicate a track to Gabi Delgado on our forthcoming Night Drives EP on Touch Sensitive. Gone but never forgotten, thank you for the music. As usual five favs below…

Certainly don’t make them like Genesis. A true one of a kind. I have to admit to dipping in and out of his/her extensive musical output, but there are songs I absolutely adore, some of which below.

If like us you are creating self isolation sanity soundtracks, five never fail recommendations below (to suit varying lock down moods) to add to home playlists. Hopefully we can all regain normal activity asap, until then look out for each other.

That Andy Rantzen 1/66 record from a few years back was flat out amazing. No?! Sounds as great in a club early on as it does on the headphones. Such a great record, as is everything else on Efficient Space.

Such a consistent, beautifully presented and curated label. Five below…

When playing music to people in dark rooms with great soundsystems (I’ve found myself here a fair bit over the years), I often get to that point in the evening where I want to take some sort of right or left turn, spark of energy, send something to the floor that they can feel. Sometimes in these moments I turn to hip house records as they create a raw energy people react too.

Here are five repeat offenders that never fail in these instances.

The thing that I always admired about Weatherall was his work ethic. He enjoyed the process of making and he never seemed to take a break. Always at something, refusing to be pigeonholed. Realising the need to keep moving and mutating in order to keep himself creative and interested.

5 perhaps less well known below from his extensive and formidable back catalogue.

I’ve loved Mark Broom since I discovered him sometime in the nineties, mainly via his amazing Pure Plastic label. I’ve caught him DJing a few times and had the chance to play alongside him and he is an extremely down to earth individual (proving not all DJs are self obsessed arseholes). I love the fact he’s still as relevant, interesting with an relentless amount of gigs, remixes and output as ever. These kind of consistent types are generally the people who remain true to their original mission.

Five Broom’s from across the boards below…

James Pants is a great producer that can easily switch many styles – taking inspiration and influence from his deep and weird record collection. He does it all with a bit of laid back charm, which I think is lacking in a lot of today’s music. For me he has slightly gone under the radar over the years, even though he is on Stones Throw. I keep expecting him to have a big hit one day, but you get the feeling he is happy just doing his own thing, making music that he wants to on his own terms. Definitely worth digging round his back catalogue.