I:Cube, “Transpiration” (Versatile)
Monstrous chord stabs and hard-scrabble disco breaks on thisback-to-the-old-school bomb. It even has a drop.
James Priestley & Marco Antonio Spaventi, “Baia 2012” (Secret Sundaze)
Euphoric, free-wheeling, Balearic vibes with just the right amount of freakiness; no dumbed-down Café del Mar bullshit here.
Jessie Ware, “Running (Disclosure Remix)” (PMR)
The elastic groove would make for a powerful instrumental on its own, but Jessie Ware’s vocals send this one over the top, in the best way.
John Talabot, “So Will Be Now feat. Pional” (Permanent Vacation)
Starry-eyed mope-house from Barcelona’s Talabot and Madrid’s Pional, this bodes extremely well for their continued collaboration.
Joy Orbison, “Ellipsis” (Hinge Finger)
A year and a half after it first hit YouTube, this skippy, nostalgic house anthem still smells of daisies.
Justin Martin, “Ghettos & Gardens” (Dirtybird)
Bay Area bass maven shows his sensitive side before beating heads against concrete.
KiNK, “Hand Made feat. Rachel Row” (Rush Hour)
A how-to course in creative sampling, and a low-tech, high-energy disco explosion.
Kölsch feat. Troels Abrahamsen, “All Things Matter” (Kompakt Digital)
Because even Kompakt fans deserve their own “Levels.”
Lana Del Rey, “Born to Die (Two Armadillos Club Mix)” (Two Armadillos)
By far the best of all the LDR remixes, though you’d barely know it was her. (Perhaps that’s not a coincidence.)
Last Magpie, “No More Stories” (Losing Suki)
Originally featured on Maya Jane Coles’ DJ Kicks mix, a deeply downcast tune that feels like jungle on 33.
Lorca, “Can’t See Higher” (Dummy)
A curtain of drums and bells opens around a smoldering vocal loop, sad but emphatic.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=6-PLPqtIK0M
