And You Stashed My Heart Somewhere In The Dark

Disclosure can do very little wrong these days. After being denied their all-but-guaranteed spot on the BBC's 'Sound of 2013' list due to the premature success of their single 'Latch', Surrey-based brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence went on to score an even bigger hit earlier this year with their AlunaGeorge collaboration 'White Noise'.

For latest single 'You & Me', they've recruited English popstar Eliza Doolittle, swathing her vocals with a pacey 'nu-garage' backdrop. The results are impressive, with Ms Doolittle coming off like an on-form Katy B and Disclosure consolidating their position as UK dance music's new wunkerdkinds ahead of the release of their debut album 'Settle' next month.



Also worth a listen is Auckland singer Ruby Frost's version of 'White Noise'. Recorded for what seems to be New Zealand's answer to 'Live Lounge', Ruby strips the track back to a keyboard ballad and it really works.

I'm Latching On To You

Sam Smith first came to my attention as the vocalist on Disclosure's excellent breakthrough single 'Latch'. His soulful timbre initially reminded of Sam Sparro (remember him?) but I wasn't able to find too much information about him.

A solo track 'Lay Me Down', co-produced by Disclosure, surfaced in January but, lovely as it might be, it's not really my cup of tea. More interesting though is his new collaboration with Naught Boy on 'La La La'.

Built around an infectious sample that I'm guessing was lifted from a Bollywood soundtrack, the track makes great use of Smith's extensive register and, given Naughty Boy's recent success with Emeli Sandé, it has the potential to do very well.

More of this, please.

Aaliyah Please, This Is Green Envy

Katy B's new 'Danger' EP, available to download for free over at her official site, is a great little reminder of why 'On A Mission' was one of 2011's finest pop records.

Collaborating with the likes of Iggy Azalea, Diplo, Wiley and Jacques Greene, Ms B has managed to rope in some big names to help her out. The standout though is 'Aaliyah', a duet with Jessie Ware, produced by Geeneus.

A fitting homage to the late great R'n'B singer, 'Aaliyah' does not appropriate any samples or descend into mawkish tributes. Instead, Jessie and Katy plead with an irresistible dancefloor maven by the name of Aaliyah to steer clear of their men. As one friend pointed out, it's a bit like 'Jolene' with nineties keyboards.



Jessie Ware's own record 'Devotion' is deservedly being bandied about in end-of-year album lists and she's also become the latest remix subject du jour. These efforts by Cyril Hahn and Disclosure are some of the best, and I also really love this cover of Brownstone's 'If You Love Me' she's recorded with Japanese teenagers Benzel.