I was asked to do an end of year mixtape by Drowned In Sound...

And here it is, a supersticky special sneaky preview. If you can track down CDs or MP3s of this lot you'll get a pretty lovely compilation...

John & Jehn - 20L07
MP3

The Knife - Heartbeats (live)
YouTube

Oh No! Oh My! - I Love You All The Time
MySpace

Modernaire - Bloodshed In The Woodshed
MySpace

Trademark - Come To Love
MySpace

Jeffrey Lewis - Banned From The Roxy
MP3

Joanna Newsom - Colleen
MP3

Fireworks Night - Echo's Swing
MySpace

Windmill - Restaurant Tiles
MySpace

Team Brick - Hawk
MySpace

The Wave Pictures - Long Island
MP3

Devendra Banhart - Carmensita
MP3

Fuck Buttons - Sweet Love For Planet Earth
MySpace

David Thomas Broughton - Weight Of My Love
MP3
YouTube

This is an collection of amazing songs that have inspired me and lit my body up with adrenaline this year. Each of them oozes some kind of special power that goes beyond just being good music. This music resonates with me in a way I can barely explain. It sounds like... life. Experiences. Sadness, hope, wit and wisdom. Whether in the nails-down-a-blackboard yelp of Windmill's voice; Joanna Newsom's fingers dancing over her harp strings as she weaves her achingly gorgeous folk; the intense desolation of Fireworks Night's 'Echo Swing'; the fiery, tribal, twinkling beauty of Fuck Buttons; the light-headed rush of love in John & Jehn's 20L07...

This is what music was all about for me this year.

John & Jehn

Download: 20L07

John & Jehn aren't trying to seduce you but they probably will.
The simple opening beat of 20L07 is soon joined by the gorgeously rich sound of staccato organ, playfully introducing its infectious tune like the sugar coating of a sweet. Then come the vocals. John and Jehn sing, croon and whisper an ever-changing swirl of lines, like a dueting Bonnie and Clyde. Bubblegum electronic beats are met by enchanting harmonica as the song meanders, climaxing passionately as Jehn screams their names over warm blasts of noise.