Caravan Palace seem to have adopted the style of the time, which is to take a hiatus between releases. Case in point: their last album, < |°_°|> (or Robot Face if you’re trying to use words) was released all the way back in 2015. Ah, were we ever that young? But as they say, good things come to those who wait, which the ol’ Palace has proven rather cannily. This track seems to pull away from the swing part of the electro swing tag that they’re consistently saddled with and instead slip into the warm and stylish dressing gown that is downtempo. Whether it’s the trend they’ll follow for whatever their next album will be remains to be seen, but this is a damn fine track, make no mistake.

Awwwwwww, snap! It’s time for our favourite, honey-loving bear to drop some phat beats in his incarnation as DJ Honey Potz and the Robin! Now, we all know what a remix of a cherished, childhood cartoon means: Pogo’s back in town, and he certainly doesn’t disappoint. This is equal parts dreamy, chill and magical, plus it serves to remind us all of how gosh darned friggin’ adorable silly old Pooh is! The feels are strong with this one…

At some point, everyone needs music in their life that suggests that even though sexy times are not imminent per sé, the area where this music is playing is most certainly a good candidate for sexy times. You know, Barry White without the… uh… Barry White. Long story short, here is some of that music!

Cohenbeats is Israel-based DJ, Michael Cohen, who is clearly starting to make a name for himself with his deliciously smooth beat work. There’s plenty to like in this simple track, particularly in the fact that it’s slick and undeniably cool. Put it on at your next soirée (it must be a soirée; a simple party will not do) and let it turn you into the hep cat you always knew you were.

Remember Equador? I certainly don’t. Regardless of my shoddy memory, here is an earlier collaboration that Henry Binns (of Equador and Zero 7) did with Bo Bruce (of Equador and… Bo Bruce). It certainly has the feel of a Binns track, what with it being all dreamy and downtempo-y and stuff, but this one has a hint of mid-90s pop sensibility in those drums. It’s all brought together by Bruce’s incredibly lovely vocals, which just goes to prove that not all things connected to The Voice are terrible.

Oh my god, it just gets better! I am in aural bliss! Much drooling has occurred! SOMEONE SEND HELP!

Ahem. Allow me to regain my composure. Following on from yesterday’s wonderfulness, here is another track from Equador, which is even more aurally titillating. So please excuse me while I go listen to this until YouTube’s servers collapse into a pile of melted metal and plastic.

And here was me, like a fool, waiting for Zero 7 to drop some delectable downtempo delights when instead I could’ve been checking out Henry Binns’ (co-founder of Zero 7) side project, Equador. Granted, they’re pretty darn new, so I can forgive myself. For now!

For those of us that aren’t entirely enamoured with Zero 7’s apparent shift in tonal direction, Equador might be the group to fill out that hole. They seem to have taken the former’s sublime, chilled DNA and run with it – undoubtedly modern and with more of an electronic influence, but oh so damn easy on the ears. Equador’s debut album is coming out sometime this year apparently and OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD RELEASE IT ALREADY AND TAKE ALL MY MONEY.

Now here’s something that’s aurally delightful and wholly unexpected: Martina Topley-Bird & Mark Lanegan covering a song by The XX. WHAT. “That’s insane!”, you say? Nope! What’s actually insane is how goddamn amazing it sounds: Martina’s delicate pop vocals blend beautifully with Mark’s gruff tenor to create what feels like a mescaline-tinged wander through a desert at night. It is utterly captivating, stripping away most of the original’s instrumental complexity for something far purer. Absolutely wonderful!

It is a most auspicious day today: my birthday! Sort of! Well, thanks to those crazy ancient Romans, I don’t technically have a birthday this year, but that’s just a minor detail. Anyway, it’s party time and you know what that means: wild, raucous frivolity that stretches on for days! As such, I’m here today to bring you music that doesn’t suit that atmosphere at all. Instead, it’s some more dreamy indie pop from Melbourne-based group The Paper Kites. Regular readers may know that I have a love of tunes that hit just the right spot, and boy, does this song hit that spot. Perhaps I’m getting mature in my old age… cripes, I hope not!

Sometimes, the world gets you down. Not down in the “I’m down; let’s boogie!” kind of way, but the “gosh dangit to heck, everyone!” variety. Life! She is a cruel mistress. But that’s ok because music shall forever be the warm blanket you can wrap around yourself when it’s chilly.

So, what does my meandering rabble have to do with anything? As per usual, not much, but I do think this tune by Brisbane group Sleepy Tea is one of those aforementioned blankies. It has a Daughter air about it, which, based on what I’ve said about them before, is most certainly not a bad thing!

Funkalicious! It is most certainly the only word that will pop into your head as soon as the brass of this tune pop in. Yes, it is time for some funky, cool jazz, the kind that all you hepcats out there will no doubt dig.

As evidenced by my use of the word ‘hepcat’ there, it’s clear that I am not exactly clued in on the world of jazz. My research tells me that the Japanese-born Takuya Kuroda calls Brooklyn in the good ol’ US of A home, and has performed with many prominent jazz artists. Rising Son, off the album of the same name, is as smooth and slick as you’d want jazz to be, but also carries a hint of urban/street style swagger.