Wake Up.

Track: Ghost In My Head

If there was ever an artist to define the popularised term of chillwave then Niva is your man.

Stockholm’s maestro has swept into sight with his laid back and breezy electronica, and is set to release his aptly titled EP ‘Feverish Dreams’ on August 31st. Relaxing just thinking about it right…

Loose comparisons with Hot Chip are likely to be made in the near future, but Niva is certainly an artist with his own visions and style in mind. His soft and dreamy beats are teasing - short tracks appear to be his way - but my appetite has certainly been started up for what’s to come soon.

Drown yourself in his chill-waves…

Track: No Love (ft. Lil Wayne)

That man Marshall Mathers is back with his seventh studio album ‘Recovery’, which quite frankly is superb. Despite its leakage onto the world wide web yesterday Eminem is sticking to the initial June 22nd deadline for release.

When seeing this online yesterday it was difficult to resist. And I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Eminem’s return to the music world last year with ‘Relapse’ was successful and well accepted by the masses, following a deeply troubled spell in his life which sadly revolved heavily around drug addictions and other personal issues.

Much of the material on the album was littered with lyrics describing his experiences in the abyss, paving the way for a return to him at his brilliant best with Recovery. Fittingly titled you might agree.

The album features collaborations with Pink, Kobe, Lil Wayne and Rhianna, all offering interesting directions for Eminem to divert his musical capabilities. Our featured track ‘No Love’ with jailed rapper Lil Wayne was a particular highlight; raw and dark, yet ultimately brilliant.

A few more listens will really allow for a full diagnosis of his new work, but on initial hearing this is almost certain to draw plaudits from every corner of the music world.

Track: Endless Search

Introducing Netsky, the new darling of drum and bass. The young Belgian has enjoyed a phenomenal year of attention, eventually signing to genre giants Hospital Records.

Whilst many hardcore drum and bass fans have been quick to leap to criticise Netsky’s music, labelling it to be too much in the way of “disco pop”, a sizeable chunk have embraced his material to propell him into popularity’s dizzy heights.

Hospital Records remain one of the biggest names in drum and bass and are clearly trying hard to promote their new man (or cash cow depending on your cynicism), featuring him on their latest podcast. Label co-founder and presenter Tony Colman did little to encourage those hardcore doubters, attacking their forum Dogs on Acid during the show.

But while they will probably remain unconvinced for good there is no doubt that Netsky is an artist going places, especially under the wing of Hospital and their loyal army of followers.

Track: Grape Juice City

Ratatat are back with their fourth studio album, following on in imaginative style from ‘LP3’ with… yeah, you guessed it, ‘LP4’.

Away from the sarcasm, there is nothing which lacks imagination in their music. The electronica duo from New York have once again come back strong with another fine effort, this particular track just an example of their good work this time around. The unconventional combination of synthesisers and electric guitar make these boys a unique treat not to be missed.

Having recently offered their input to Kid Cudi’s superb ‘Man On The Moon: The End of Day’ the pair have turned their attentions to their own work where they continue to excel.

Track: Words Are Pegs Upon Which We Hang Ideas

Here’s one for you. Straight from the depths of obscurity come Tall Ships, a three-piece hailing from Falmouth. They’ve spent most of the year touring with Tubelord at various intimate venues, but the release of their recent EP has seen them finally pick up attention from elsewhere.

Whilst not a particularly inspiring live act, it would be harsh of me to criticise their recorded work. Especially this track, which I fell in love with from the very first time I heard it. Just listen to this if nothing else…

Track: Lost Valentinos - Thief (Shinichi Osawa Remix)

I think we can call this a perfect example of what persistent trawling through the internet brings. You get there eventually with remixes. Every once in a while one will pop up on your shuffle and then you wonder where it’s been all that time. This was one of those.

I’d love to be able to give you a non-Wikipedia’d description of the artist but that’s not possible I’m afraid. I’m not going to lie here - I’d never heard of Lost Valentinos or Shinichi Osawa before this, so I’ll put this down to a tidy random find.

Track: Take It Easy

Surfer Blood are ready and waiting to burst onto the English scene, beginning with performances at this summer’s Reading & Leeds festival.

If you haven’t heard of them yet then you probably will soon, with debut album Astro Coast creating ripples of admiration from certain corners of the music world.

From a personal point of view I saw them recently at Brighton’s Great Escape festival and was suitably impressed. Energetic, fun and incredbly catchy - these Florida boys have a future.