Irish Hearts, English Blood

I've been meaning to pick the right moment to write about this song, and seen as Orbital have just finished up two dates in Dublin, and David Gray is due to play this December, now is as good a time as any.

Gray has enjoyed unrivalled success in Ireland, with White Ladder remaining the biggest-selling album on the isle. Orbital have been gigging over here for nearly two decades; Electric Picnic was one of their first stops on their comeback tour. Unfortunately I've never had the honour of witnessing the Hartnoll brothers perform live (my parents wouldn't let me go see them in The Point back when I was 15) but considering they crept in at 49 in the Top 50 Bands to See Before You Die list (Q Magazine, 2002), I would recommend anyone to go catch them before they split up again.

Gray collaborated with the Sevenoak's duo for 2001's 'The Altogether'. Illuminate is mellower than their usual acidic sound, but still reams of their trademark twinkles and signature basslines, with Gray's voice adding a radio-friendly dimension to it. Cool, but not too chilled.

Orbital ft David Gray - Illuminate [Click Link to Download]

Ellie Goulding

Anyone who caught Ellie's performance on Jools Holland a couple of weeks ago will have undoubtly posed the question 'Who's this one?'. Her slightly awkward and unorthodox stance on stage pounding a drum reminded me of when Jamie first showed me Little Boots singing and simultaneously playing the Yamaha Tenori-On, stylophone and piano on Later...

Coincidently, Ellie has spent the last month touring with Little Boots around the UK. She's currently working on her debut album with Mark Ronson, with this taster officially released this month. One to watch? Let's hope it's not as hurried as 'Hands'.

Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets [Follow link to download]*

* Some people are having a little trouble downloading MP3s, but if you click on the link above and wait for about 10 seconds or so, the download should appear. Ignore any pop-ups also!

New Alan Braxe Remix

Another remix post, this time Beyoncé gets the Alan Braxe treatment, who seems to have got his mojo back with his take on Broken-Hearted Girl. Forget what you know of the original, and if you haven't heard it, don't bother. Chopped up vocals, silky smooth synths and a pinch of bass slappin'. Back to what he does best. Back to Braxe.

Beyonce - Broken-Hearted Girl (Alan Braxe Remix) [Follow link to download]

Heads Will Roll Remix

A-Trak (see Duck Sauce post) continues to make his mark in the dance music world with this stomping cut up of Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'Heads Will Roll'. It seems that this is most people's favourite track off It's Blitz, and now Alain Macklovitch's take on it has really made it one for the dancefloor. One of my favourite remixes of the year. On another note, the guillotine was only abolished in France in 1981, and the last head rolled in 1971. Those crazy French.