Here is an excellent remix of Lana Del Rey's Brooklyn Baby

Semi-reclusive, underrated British musician Tom Vek occasionally pops up with excellent remixes of likeminded artists such as Metronomy, Bombay Bicycle Club and Alt-J.

Now, he's turned his attention to Brooklyn Baby - Lana Del Rey's viscious skewering of New York socialites - and given it new life.

Reframing the maudlin, string drenched ballad with a shuffling drum pattern, it doesn't quite reach the heady heights of Cedric Gervais' reworking of Summer Sadness, but it's definitely going onto my ever-expanding "Lana Del Remix" playlist.

Lana Del Ray - Brooklyn Baby (Tom Vek remix)

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Indiana: Only The Lonely

Nottingham songstress Indiana has been one of this year's slow-burning successes.

Her pulsating, bubbling single Solo Dancing plonked onto the chart at number 14 in April, but its profile has risen ever since. Describing it as "the year's most hypnotic pop record," Time Magazine recently named it one of their top 25 songs of 2014.

The follow-up, Heart On Fire, was a similarly despondent dose of downbeat disco, which admirably held its own amongst the more screechy elements of Radio 1's playlist.

Even US industry "bible" (magazine) Billboard has gotten all moist over the 27-year-old singer, calling her "your new favourite pop artist", praising her menacing, minimalist take on chart pop.

The public hasn't quite caught up with the critics yet - Heart On Fire failed to chart in the UK - but her debut album, No Romeo, is shaping up to be an excellent piece of work.

If you need convincing, check out her next single, Only The Lonely, whose sense of quiet despair is a perfect soundtrack to those long winter nights.

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Jackson Breit: Genius or heretic?

In the list of "things I would not touch", Bill Withers' back catalogue is up there with spider nests and Madonna's forearms. But Jackson Breit is a braver man than I am.

For his new single, Breit has literally sung over the top of Withers' 1972 soul classic, Use Me. It's not a cover, and it's not karaoke - he just weaves his vocals in and around the original, adding an Ed Sheeran-style sing-speak section and even a guitar solo (!) to Withers' track.

"Sacrilege!" you might cry "burn him at the stake!". But hold your horses because Breit, along with collaborator Carneyval, manages to pull it off, thanks to some perfectly-judged jazz phrasing and a certain amount of swagger.

Have a listen. I promise you won't be upset.



Like it? Then you're in luck - Breit's version of Use Me is a free download on his Soundcloud page.

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Eleven things Google tells us about Rae Morris

Frizzy of hair and breathy of vocal, Rae Morris is being tipped as one of pop music's NEXT BIG THINGS. So, before the Brits unveil their Critic's Choice shortlist (Thursday) and the BBC reveal their Sound of 2015 longlist (Monday), here are 11 exciting facts about the singer, which I have Googled for you.

You're welcome.

1) Rachel Anne Morris was born in Blackpool in 1992. [Wikipedia]

2) Rae is short for Raymond, which was her grandfather's name. [Leadmill]

3) Atlantic Records signed her in 2011, when she was just 18, then gave her space to "grow as an artist", whatever that means. [Line of Best Fit]

4) You may have heard her voice on Bombay Bicycle Club's rather lovely single Luna earlier this year.

5) Her piano teacher is called Darren [GoldFlakePaint]

6) She realised she could be a proper songwriter when she saw fellow Blackpool singer Karima Francis on Jools Holland. She later got to sing with Clean Bandit on the very same programme, which she described as "the scariest thing I've ever done". [DIY mag]

7) If she had a million pounds, she would probably buy some books. [For Folk's Sake]

8) She is quite the Kate Bush fan.[Twitter]

happy birthday kate bush. what would we do without you.

— Rae Morris (@raemorrismusic) July 30, 2014

9) Her debut album, Unguarded, has been recorded with Ariel Rechtschaid, of Haim and Charli XCX "fame". It's out next year. [When the Gramophone Rings]

10) The most famous person she's met is Barry Chuckle. [London In Stereo]

11) She is not trying to be cool. "I'm not trying to be cool," she says, "because, well, I'm not cool. I'm just really not cool." [Teen Vogue]

So now you can impress all of your Facebook friends with your insightful and encyclopaedic knowledge of current pop trends.

You can also tell them you've heard Rae's new single, Under The Shadows. Be sure to use words like "haunting", "dramatic" and "supple" so you can sound totally up your own arse.

Rae Morris - Under The Shadows

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Update: Here's Lorde on the AMAs

When I wrote my AMA super-post yesterday, there was no way to watch Lorde's super-creepy performance of Yellow Flicker Beat. Now there is, thanks to the star's official Vevo channel. If only every artist was so enlightened.

Watch below, and try not to have nightmares.

Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat (live at the AMAs)

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Arcade Fire's Will Butler goes solo

Will Butler - aka the insane one out of Arcade Fire - has broken ranks and recorded a solo record, called Policy.

The first single, Take My Side, is a stomping rock'n'roll tune in the vein of White Stripes or even The Stooges. Butler sounds like he's having a punch-up with his guitar, while screaming gleefully abrasive lyrics like: "If I could fly, you know I'd beat the shit out of some birds".

It's loud and scratchy and a world apart from the post-millenial angst of his usual band.



Take My Side will be the opening track on Butler's new album, Policy, which is out in March. According to a press release, the album was recorded in Jimi Hendrix's old living room at Electric Lady Studios in New York.

Butler has created an album trailer that's clearly inspired by dangerous quantities of "special wine". And it's all the better for it.

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