More stuff about the music and stories on this week’s Melodica – this week it’s all about bears (sort of). In tune with the Melodica aesthetic, covering a broad range of exciting, inspiring, beautiful new music from electronica to house to experimental. Melodica chart on Juno Download: here. That Fuzzy Feeling – 2 Bears – Church (Darkstarr Elektrik Volk Remix) – Bitches Brew Good news is that the new single from 2 Bears (aka Raf and Joe from Hot Chip) has been remixed into a glorious indie / Balearic summer dancefloor filler by Darkstar (aka Ashley Beedle and Cosmo). Bad news is the accompanying video features the dreaded Care Bears. Atiba Song Atiba Song is a new, er, song from Panda Bear. It was made to soundtrack a video directed by Atiba Jefferson and Ty Evans. Poor Ty didn’t get a tune named after him, never mind. link to the video Double Standard Double Standard is a vinyl only label from Gadi Mizrahi, one half of the Wolf + Lamb club collective. The latest single is Greg Paulus – Crew Love (Remixes). There’s a fine selection of that modern, deep, house sound here with great mixes from Slow Hands and Soul Clap. Their parties look pretty good too. Double Standard website Photo Machine I can’t resist a picture of a camera, or a Throwing Snow remix. With Photo Machine’s new single you get both. Gatto Fritto In April Gatto Fritto will be the first artist to release a long player (gatefold vinyl and CD) on the wonderful Interntational Feel record label. Tracks are previewing on Melodica from this week. Gatto Fritto is a mysterious producer who makes good Balearic disco.

Chris Coco’s weekly radio broadcast. An eclectic selection of brilliant new music starting with house and moving on to electronica, downtempo, acoustic and all sorts of other styles loosely connected to dance and electronic music. Let tastemaker Chris Coco guide you through his selection of the week’s best new music. This episode it’s all gone a bit Balearic. There are new versions of old songs from Bryan Ferry and Gil Scott Heron, plus loads of new eclectic beauties from Hot Chip, James Blake, Ducktails and Synkro. It’s all here and it all makes sense. [setlist] Bryan Ferry – Alphaville (The Time & Space Machine Remix) – Digital File Gil Scott Heron – I’ll Take Care Of You – Beggars Banquet Paul Kalkbrenner – Platscher – B Pitch Control 2 Bears – Church (Darkstarr Elektrik Volk Remix) – Bitches Brew James Blake – Measurements – Atlas Ducktails – In The Swing – Woodsist Panda Bear – Atiba Song – Digital File Clock Opera – Once And For All (Clive Tanaka Remix) – Kitsune Photomachine – Technicolour (Throwing Snow Remix) – Super Synkro – Sketch – Critical Greg Paulus – What’s Mine Is Yours (Slow Hands Remix) – Double Standard Gatto Fritto – My Etheric Body – International Feel Volta Cab – My Future – Digital File

I love this city. I am an electric spark among nine million other electric sparks, zigzagging seemingly at random through her tunnels and canyons. I am a grain of sand on her grubby beach, washed in and out by the tide and time. Tonight I have been out east, over there where it feels like Berlin and the people seem to know about music, playing back to back with Nikhil. And a girl asked us about a tune and we sort of collectively decided that she didn’t want to keep the tune, she just wanted to keep the moment. Because at that moment she was a little drunk and enjoying the music and as she hadn’t been out for while and it was a bit of a treat she was what we casually call happy. Happy, that human state that we in this city sort of presume should be the default state for all electrons and grains of sand. The state that is actually so obviously always there but so hard for us to find. The state that is not the default, not the right we sometimes think it is, but something really rather special and unusual. Something to savour, something to treasure, something to remember. And now, sitting here, back in front of the screen, despite my watering eyes and tired limbs, I am happy too. I can still feel it, that moment when we played the tune and she asked about the tune and we all, collectively, felt good, and I know I can’t keep it but from now on that tune will always make me think of that time, over east, in the Star, when that little thing happened. On the way home I stop off at the 24 hour cafe at Liverpool Street for a sausage sandwich and a cup of tea. On the wall in there, I’m sure it will still be there when you go, it looks like it’s been there for years, there’s a picture of Harold Wilson and the Queen cutting a cake. I shot it with my phone so you can see it. A long time ago I used to go to an Italian restaurant in Victoria that Harold and his wife, Mary, ate in. We used to eat the same thing – piccata di vitello alla crema. Can you imagine Tony Blair or David Cameron, in their dotage, in a casual walk-up family restaurant in Victoria, sharing the space with real voters, eating with them, usually undisturbed but nonetheless happy to say hello? I don’t think so. Those were different times. Moments long lost. Not quite black and white like the photo on the wall but definitely in Hipstamatic, just like the app, colours faded, slightly blurry at the edges. Was I what we call happy then in the Italian restaurant with Harold Wilson? To be honest, I can’t remember. I know I enjoyed the simple pleasure of eating the piccata di vitello alla crema with my family, and I remember I always has the feeling of being somewhere special because an ex prime minister had chosen to eat there. So I guess I probably was. And so was Harold and his wife, I like to think. Then, as I walk the last steps home, through the playground, I hear birds singing, despite the grey night deep winter cold. And I think, the birds are twittering, and it makes me laugh, that even the birds can tweet. @blackbird: looking for mate. tweeting all night. second tree on right. It’s true, you can’t keep the moment, and you certainly can’t always be happy. But you can always enjoy and remember, little inconsequential moments mostly, but moments that are no less beautiful for that. And you can always play a tune that touches somebody and helps them dream a little. You can always whistle a tune and dream a dream.

Chris Coco’s weekly radio broadcast. An eclectic selection of brilliant new music starting with house and moving on to electronica, downtempo, acoustic and all sorts of other styles loosely connected to dance and electronic music. Let tastemaker Chris Coco guide you through his selection of the week’s best new music. This episode we have the first two significant albums of 2011. So, two tracks from the new James Blake and two from the new Ducktails, plus a little journey into music that uses very little to great effect, and some tunes from the Bleep.com top 100 of 2010. It all makes sense and it’s all here. [setlist] Paul Kalkbrenner – Pltcher – B Pitch Control Toro Y Moi – Still Sound – Car Park Bubble Club – The Goddess – International Feel James Blake – I Mind – Atlas James Blake – To Care (Like You) – Atlas Gil Scott Heron – I’ll Take Care Of You – Beggar’s Banquet Kenny Graham And His Satelllites – Sunday – Trunk Records Konono No1 – Nakobaka Lisusu Te – Crammed Discs Serafina Steer – Motion Pictures – Static Caravan King Tubby – Straight To The Capitalist Head – Trojan Ducktails – Killing The Vibe – Woodsist Ducktails – Don’t Make Plans – Woodsist Sepalcure – Your Love – Hot Flush The Planty Herbs – Incense – Wax On Francis Inferno Orchestra – Meet Me In Salt Lake City (Soul Clap Remix) – Under The Shade

More stuff about the music and stories on this week’s Melodica In tune with the Melodica aesthetic, covering a broad range of exciting, inspiring, beautiful new music from electronica to house to experimental. Melodica chart on Juno Download: here. That Fuzzy Feeling – James Blake – James Blake – Atlas This week’s tune of the week is a whole album, the first significant long player of 2011, James Blake’s eponymous debut. He’s talking softly but still managing to say everything that needs to be said; he’s using hiss as an instrument; he’s baring his soul; he’s singing naked. It’s beautiful, it’s heartfelt. Bleep.com top 100 of 2010 We feature some tunes from the Bleep.com Top 100 to illustrate the range of beautful minimal music that came out last year. The Top 100 of 2010 is available here. 30 quid for 100 MP3s. You can’t argue with that. Ducktails The second significant album release of the year comes from Ducktails. It’s called Ducktails III – Arcade Dynamics and it features plenty more of that lo fi woozy dream pop atmosphere that we have grown to love. There are songs on here too including top track, Killing The Vibe, featuring a collaboration with Panda Bear. Ducktails on Myspace. Underneath The Pine And the next one to wait for is Toro Y Moi’s forthcoming album Underneath The Pine. If the single, Still Sound, is anything to go by, this one is going to be lovely, groovy C21 pop of the best kind. Balearic tune of the week… …comes from Paul Kalkbrenner, who usually does tougher dancefloor electronic music. Pltcher is a happy summer tune that can be found on the new BPitch Control compilation Werkschau. Fleur Fleur is the new EP from US deep post-dubstep act Sepalcure. It’s a perfect example of the new sound of 2011, soul, Balearic, bass music, all filtered and reformed to make modern computer music for late night surfing. Sepalcure website.