Com Ocean (Sacred Animals remix) by Outlands

When I was in my early teens I used to play a game called Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo incessantly. This game meant a lot to me (producer/blogger Ryan Hemsworth recently released a Donkey Kong sampling bootleg, which you can listen to here – I was almost in tears).

What has this got to do with today’s MPFree, a reworking of a track from Virginia duo Outlands’ (pictured) new self-titled EP? Well, the main synth line triggered an almost hallucinatory flashback: for a minute I felt I was back in that ice cavern, collecting bananas with my monkey pal. Perhaps not the kind of memory Irish studio whizz Sacred Animals was hoping to trigger, but a happy memory nonetheless.

Pepita, Queen of the Animals (Derby Sunshine remix) by Vadoninmessico

Sometimes something pops into your inbox that makes you smile instantly and I’m not talking about doctored kitten photos here. London based producer Derby Sunshine, aka Luigi Buccarello, has had a pretty stonking stab at reworking this track from Vadoinmessico’s recently released debut Archaeology of the Future, with predictably ‘sunny’ results.

Boxing Day by Dark Horses

More bands should wear clothing emblazoned with group monikers and motifs, it purports to a gang mentality, and all bands should be gangs from the outset really shouldn’t they? Boxing Day sheds layer after layer of minimal, industrial gloom-pop over it’s six minutes, like a Russian doll fashioned into a caricature of Siouxsie Sioux and in doing so consistently maintains the element of surprise. Dark Horses’ Richard Fearless produced debut, the fittingly titled Black Music, is released October 29.

Ink goes on by INK

‘Write me boy, with the reason why you like me now’ … a charming if slightly needy sentiment from Miriam Massie, one half of freshly baked London duo INK (along with Colin Morley). The shiny happy two-some has yet to play live and there’s not much to go on thus far, but this track screams MASSIVE POP HIT, if such a thing exists anymore. Check out the video here.

Stay Where You Are by Looking Glass

Drummers traditionally get a bad rap, but think of all the great music that’s been made by former sticks people once freed from the shackles of rock timekeeping: Dennis Wilson’s Pacific Ocean Blue, anything by The Carpenters, Screamadelica. Hoping to be more Gillespie than Ringo is Jim Wallis, aka Looking Glass, drummer with Americana-tinged Londoners My Sad Captains. Fittingly, today’s MPFree conjures images of a weed ‘n’ whiskey fuelled hotel room jam session involving Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Jonathan Donahue (Mercury Rev) and you can catch Jim at the Old Queen’s Head September 20, where he’ll be thrilling punters with his one-man-band themed live show.

Melt by 6001 Hulls/Dad Rocks!

This sounds interesting: Denmark-based Icelander Snævar Albertsson, aka Dad Rocks! is releasing an EP of mash-ups, by young Sheffield producer 6001 Hulls. The EP, which features twisted versions of tracks from Albertsson’s 2011 debut Mount Modern, will be available October 10 via his own Father Figure imprint and is entitled Ac!d Dorks. 6001 Hulls, aka Jack Hetherington, first approached Albertsson via Facebook and the latter was so impressed with the Yorkshireman’s handiwork – describing some tracks as ‘truly inspiring and much better than my work’ – he commissioned an entire EP and promised to put it out on his label. Dad Rocks will be touring the UK throughout October with Tall Ships, including a date at XOYO on the 22nd.

Twenty & Two Zeros by Torches

London gloom-poppers Torches – who seem to be morphing, not unwelcomely, into some sort of 21st century, post-Olympics version of fun but shameless 90s Smiths revivalists Gene – have released a free download in advance of their headline show at Communion, Notting Hill Arts Club, September 2. Stream and download Twenty & Two Zeros below.

Again by How To Dress Well

Check out this sweet cover of a Janet Jackson tearjerker, from skinny R&B sensation Tom Krell, aka How to Dress Well. Krell plays XOYO November 5. New album Total Loss is released September 17 through Weird World.

Rà-àkõ-st by Lindstrøm

Norwegian producer Lindstrøm has announced plans for his second LP this year. Smalhans will be released November 6 through the brilliantly named Smalltown Supersound. It follows the release of Six Cups of Rebel back in February. Download album taster Rà-àkõ-st, mixed by Todd Terje, below.

White Chalk by Halls

There’s going to be a fair few column inches devoted to 21-year old South Londoner Sam Howard, aka Halls, over the coming weeks prior to the release of his debut album Ark (released October 15 on No Pain in Pop). In a nutshell, Howard makes cavernous, minimal, song-driven electronica, with deeply brooding, religious undertones (a signifier of his sonic ambitions rather than any firmly-held spiritual beliefs, by all accounts). It’s all rather stunning. Download album-taster White Chalk below.