VANILLA, STRAWBERRY, KNICKERBOCKER GLORY

Fujiya & Miyagi - probably the best band in the world - have put some new tracks up on their Myspace, including the strangely good Knickerbocker.

There is also a host of new gig dates including Manchester on the 25th September at the Deaf Institute.

For the 100 or so at the last F&M gig at Night and Day last year, you will know that the thought of these Brighton krautrock masters mooging your head silly is a mouth watering prospect.

It's been too long since the wonderful Transparent Things LP, so this is welcome news indeed. Peruse the clip at the top to remind your ears how good this band are.

TWENTY-ONE RECORDS

MP3: Twenty-One Records [zSHARE]

DIAL M FOR MINIMAL

It's expected in the summer months that there won't be a glut of fresh new clubs to poke around in. So it's with eager fingers that NN can introduce something a little different in the shape of new 'minimal' shindig MeAndYou. Any techno oriented nights in Manchester should be lauded, and these kids have a line-up over the next 5 months that would look more at home in Berlin's Berghain or Watergate.

What's even more exciting is the venue, a basement of Oxford Road's grandiose Palace Hotel. With an entrance on the corner of Whitworth Street, one can only presume that the floors are reasonably sound proofed so not to disturb the cabaret upstairs.

Expect some beautifully crafted deep, Detroit flecked house from Augusts guests Pigon, signed to Hamburgs excellent Dial Records. If MeAndYou can be pre-judged on the quality of their programming, graphic design and choice of venue then it's safe to say this will be a pretty good addition to Mancunian club land.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Today was a very special day indeed: we realised what the internet was invented for.

While seeing what ideas we could nick from Hip Young Gunslinger, we came across the Review of the Year of what (so far) is our Record of the Year.


Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down (Duke Dumont Reconstruction)

Did we mention that this is basically the best piece of classical music released this century? We are calling it classical because a) we don’t know what classical music sounds like and b) if we had our way it would definitely sound like this. Imagine the Royal Albert Hall going mental over this one. Shits on Mozart.


Someone please shut down 'the web'. It's all downhill from here.

NOT LONG NOW

In just over a week, the latest details for the next batch of Warehouse Project parties will be announced. This time it will run from 26/09/08 to 01/01/09. If you go over to the site, you'll find a neat little countdown which should tell you exactly how long until all is revealed.

Also poised for September is something from the Homoelectric team that, so far, has been revealed as nothing but a wordsearch with the legend 'Disko Asbo is coming'. This new club night is actually pencilled in as a Saturday nighter with rumours suggesting it will be hosted in an intimate space that some of you may be familiar with. Full info to follow in due course.

AMAZING GRACE

Have you seen the new Grace Jones video?
Wow.

(Her first studio album in over a decade is coming via Wall of Sound, by the way.)

CONTORT YOURSELF WITH PNAU

Electro Aussies Pnau - who delivered an album on Darren Emerson's Underwater label some time ago - are back on the scene. A little research (i.e. putting "Pnau" into Google) reveals that they're a duo that have actually been around for more than ten years. Although their re-emergence might be seen as timely given the more recent success of upstarts like Cut Copy, The Presets, Van She and Midnight Juggernauts.

Anyway, check them out for yourself when they play at Contort Yourself 19/07/08.


MP3: Pnau feat. Ladyhawke - 'Embrace (Frad Falke & Miami Horror remix)' [Yousendit]

By the way, if - like Gary Ryan and I - you happened to be at the Ladyhawke/Clor date at the Roadhouse not that long ago, you may still be slightly amused by the heckler who put his hand up mid-set to see if it was okay if he asked a question. That question? "Why is everybody stood so far from the stage?"

FIFTEEN RECORDS

Don't touch that dial: it's the internet, silly.

Here is the latest from our secret radio station which is rumoured to broadcast direct from under a lake somewhere in south Manchester. It's said that if you listen very closely, you can hear a stolen motorbike being chucked in at around the eight minute mark.


Tracklist:

1. Kinky – ‘Una Linea De Luz (Toy Selectah remix)’
2. Kriss Kross – ‘Jump (Dancehall remix)’
3. DJ Shadow feat. Mistah FAB, Turf Talk and Keaf Da Sneak – ‘3 Freaks’
4. Zero 7 – ‘You’re My Flame (Blunt Laser remix)’
5. Little Boots – ‘Meddle (Toddla T remix)’
6. Ghislain Poirier feat. Face-T – ‘Blazin’ (Modeselektor remix)’
7. Benga & Coki – ‘Night (Buraka Som Sistema remix)’
8. Buraka Som Sistema – ‘Yah (Chuckie & Coleville remix)’
9. Skream & Warrior Queen – ‘Check It’
10. Cadence Weapon – ‘House Music’
11. Cuizinier feat Marina – ‘Girls’
12. Boy 8-Bit – ‘Pramface’
13. N*E*R*D – ‘Everyone Nose (Sammy Bananas remix)’
14. Radioclit – ‘Secousse (Crookers Spino remix)’
15. South Rakkas Crew – ‘Mad Again (Boy 8-Bit remix)’

45:55mins 192kbps 63mb

COMPETITION

We were gonna host that ace new krautrock-edged mix by Henry 'Riton' Smithson the other day but the wonderful Get Weird Turn Pro beat us to it.

Let that be a lesson to all of you.

Especially as it's competition time.

I know we haven't done one since somebody won Jesse Rose (or whatever that was) way back in 2007. However, this time you could win Belgium's quite brilliant duo, The Glimmers. Well, not them exactly. Instead you could win a copy of the pair's forthcoming GeeGee Fazzi CD in celebration of their upcoming set at Hidden Depths - the San Miguel sponsored shindig that takes place at Joshua Brooks next week [more on how you blag your way into that top event here].

For a chance of scooping one of these, just

send us the name of one famous Belgian

To our email address, if you don't mind [northernights at gmail dot com].
Closing date is 10/07/08.

SEVEN RECORDS

It's July.

And, by the looks of it, "Summer".

At long last.

MP3: Seven Records [Yousendit]


Tracklist:

1. Diplo - 'Brew Barrymore'
2. Mika - 'Lollipop (Radioclit instrumental remix)'
3. Bumblebeez - 'Zulu (Radioclit remix)'
4. Detboi - 'Drop The Bass'
5. Neon Neon vs Pitbull - 'Go Raquel (ABX bootleg)'
6. Pop Levi - 'Dita Dimoné (Mumdance High Rankin' remix)'
7. Little Boots - 'Stuck On Repeat (Fake Blood remix)'

CHROMEO GO GABBA

The above photo is evidence that Chromeo are set to appear on a kiddies' programme called Yo Gabba Gabba. It's also probably one of the top 5 greatest pictures of all time. Chromeo, by the way, is made up of the bloke in the middle and the other one at the end. (Not the one-eyed thing holding the guitar.)

But - you may ask - is there any real point to this particular post?













No. Actually.