Where The Highs Won't Bring You Down

"Normally people clap and cheer at this point," Lykke Li sniped, as she returned to the stage for her encore in Tripod, Dublin, last week.

She may be prone to prima donna behaviour but, with one of this year's strongest albums under her belt and a live show that more than does it justice, I guess she's entitled to have a high opinion of itself.

Wounded Rhymes is an album I keep returning to and discovering new favourites and there are a few great remixes keeping things interesting.

The Gold Panda remix of Sadness Is My Blessing pitches Lykke's lovelorn vocal against a glitchy lo-fi backdrop.

Lykke Li, "Sadness Is A Blessing (Gold Panda Remix)" by The FADER

Meanwhile, the Its Overture mix of I Know Places incorporates elements of Talking Heads' This Must Be The Place to superb effect. Doesn't it sound a bit like Miike Snow's Animal?

I Know Places (Its Overture Remix) by Its Overture

The new video for Sadness Is A Blessing is great also:

Got Plenty Of Fight Left

Wicklow woman Roisin Murphy has teamed up with Dutch dance duo Mason for a new track, Boadicea, from their new album They Are Among Us.

Pulsating electro beats underpin Murphy's silky vocals on this mid-tempo number, which comes flanked by this pretty excellent video that exemplifies the merits of power naps.



Previous efforts by Roisin have largely failed to win over the record-buying public but the DJ set remain ever loyal and, accordingly, there are several decent remix of the track doing the rounds. Pick of the bunch for me is Polydor's slinky house remix.

Mason Feat. Roisin Murphy - Boadicea (Polydor Remix) by Polydor

Mason feat. Roisin Murphy - Boadicea (Human Life Dub Remix) by Human Life

Mason Ft. Roisin Murphy - 'Boadicea' (Evil Nine Remix) by Evil Nine

Stuck On Repeat: Disco Inferno Edition

Aeroplane - Without Lies (Black Van Remix)



Adele - Set Fire To The Rain (Plastic Plates Remix)



Monarchy - I Won't Let Go (Bag Raiders Remix)



Phoenix - Lisztomania (Classixx Remix)



Mr Oizo and Breakbot - Penelope Dickstop (Faisal Remix)



CREEP - Days (Azari & III Remix)



Jupiter - Saké

Fluorescent Adolescent

Neon Hitch's first single proper, 'Get Over You', didn't exactly set the world alight. It's a shame really because all of her bootlegs and guest-spots got my hopes up.

Thankfully, the original gypsy queen is not quite ready to abdicate her throne to make way for Cher Lloyd. She's teamed up with Benny Blanco and Santigold producer Switch for a new track, Silly Girl.

It's pretty heavy on autotune but the super-slick production more than makes up for this. It's exactly the kind track I hoped Beyoncé would come back with, and I suspect it's gonna help boost Ms Hitch's stock no end.

Neon Hitch - Silly Girl by NeonHitch

Local Heroes: Red Radar

Hello.

The lovely people from Red Radar let me go back in and shoot another video with them. This time I got to recommend some of my favourite Irish music at the moment, including James Vincent McMorrow, Laura Sheeran, Fight Like Apes and Bipolar Empire, all of whom I've managed to catch live the past few months and was suitably impressed by.

Joey Kavanagh from REDradar on Vimeo.

I also gave a shout out to The Casanova Wave, who I recently caught supporting Go Panda Go, but sadly that piece was a victim of the cutting room floor.

James Vincent McMorrow - We Don't Eat (Adventure Club Dubstep Remix) by Adventure Club Dubstep

Jenny Kelly - Fight Like Apes by anhuber1@gmail.com

Take Me Where She Sleeps by L A U R A S H E E R A N

Here's A Daisy For Good Luck... by The Casanova Wave

Feel That You Own It by Bipolar Empire

Merrill's Streak

Somewhere between 'swim with dolphins' and 'learn how to drive' (yeah, really) on my List Of Things To Do Before I Die is 'go to the SXSW festival'.

The annual music film, and interactive conference in Austin, Texas, has become one of the major platforms for emerging musical talent and reports from the festival can play a big part in making or breaking an up-and-coming.

The benefactor of some of the most superlative-laden reports this year was New England native Merrill Garbus, aka tUnE-yaRdS.

Armed with idiosyncratic layered vocals, clattering percussion and some gargantuan guitar riffs, has a similar energy to early Yeah Yeah Yeahs tracks.

The video for latest single Bizness is a blast and you can also stream her gramatically questionable new album 'w h o k i l l' over on the Guardian Music site.

Jump Hoops While I Set Them Alight

I got very excited about Durham gal Hannah Yadi a few months ago when I came across her excellent song, Guillotine.

YADi - GUiLLOTiNE by Pop Culture Monster

Yup. Still excellent.

I hadn't heard much from her since and presumed she was cowering in a dark room somewhere, paralysed by the knowledge that she'd never craft a song quite as good as Guillotine.

Apparently not. A quick listen to her Soundcloud suggests that she has been continuing to churn out pop nuggets in the vein of Marina and the Diamonds and Kate Bush.

The tracks are all really solid and suggest that Yadi is going to be a pop force to be reckoned with when she starts releasing music. Pick of the bunch for me is Willow but please do check out the full selection.

Yadi - Willow



[Image: Jack Davison]

Adventures In Sub-Bass

My first experience of dubstep was when Dublin Fringe Festival played host to Skream back in 2008. I had never encountered Skream or this wibbly-wobbly genre of music but, while selling tickets to people, I quickly realised that he was quite a big deal in certain circles.

Since then, the genre has spun up out of the underground and its influence can be heard on records by 'mainstream artists' like Katy B and Chase & Status. Heck, even Britney Spears has had a look in.

As a result, the tastemakers have focused their attentions on chillwave, moombahton and other suitably obscure genres. I was never especially in thrall to the genre, but occasionally there's still an artist that will grab my attention.

One of these is Adventure Club, whose Brand New remix I came across recently and was drawn to, despite not being familiar with the original.

Brand New - Daisy (Adventure Club Dubstep Remix) by Adventure Club Dubstep

Since then, the Candaian duo have transformed X Factor alum Diana Vickers and Irish folk troubadour James Vincent McMorrow into unlikely dubstep heroes with considerable success. An EP is on the way apparently.

Diana Vickers - Sunlight (Adventure Club Dubstep Remix) by Adventure Club Dubstep

James Vincent McMorrow - We Don't Eat (Adventure Club Dubstep Remix) by Adventure Club Dubstep

Ready Or Not, Here I Come

Meet Blinky™, the creation of NCAD graduate and Oscar nominee Ruairi Robinson.

A young boy (played by Max Records of Where The Wild Things Are), feeling unloved and lost in the world as a result of his parents' constant fighting, decides that investing a robotic friend might be the answer to his problems.

At first, Blinky's arrival seems to have the desired effect, but the boy soon begins to have his doubts and things take a turn for the sinister.

Blinky™ from Ruairi Robinson on Vimeo.

All The Single Ladies

A while back, I posted a Penguin Prison remix of Kimbra's Settle Down that I stumbled upon but, idiotically, I forgot to investigate the original.

Thankfully, Nialler9 posted the video for the track a few weeks ago and, since then, I've pretty much had it on loop and forced it upon everybody that's crossed my path.



Originally from New Zealand, Kimbra operates out of Australia these days. Her debut album, Vows, will be released pretty shortly but, in the mean time, there are a couple of cuts worth a spin. None are quite as devastatingly brilliant as Settle Down, but few songs are.

Settle Down by Kimbra

Cameo Lover by Kimbra

Kimbra - Settle Down (Penguin Prison Remix) by Lizmania