TRACK OF THE WEEK: Kitty - 'Ay Shawty' (Feat. Lakutis)

This week Kitty (she's dropped the 'Pryde') premiered the second taste of her forthcoming EP D.A.I.S.Y. Rage, to be released on January 31. While the ridiculously-good 'Dead Island' was a mission statement that played on video game imagery, 'Ay Shawty' sees Kitty rhyming about being the Mary Jane to Lakutis' Peter Parker over an airy, noodly beat. With Kitty's witty and intuitive flow she's emerging as one of the most unique rappers working today, and I can't wait to hear what's next.

REMIX OF THE WEEK: DIANA - 'Born Again' (Doldrums Remix)

Last summer we heard the breezy debut single 'Born Again' from DIANA, the new pop project from Joseph Shabason of Destroyer. For the 12" release of the single today on Forest Family Records, the Toronto pop trio teamed up with Doldrums to offer a brilliant genre-splicing take on the track. While the original is full of breezy optimism, Doldrums (aka Airick Woodhead) lifts vocalist Carmen Elle’s lyric "Can we make it out alive?" and vocoders it into a fragile plea as the track morphs from loungey piano vibes into a proto-electronic whirr.

COVER OF THE WEEK: Solange - 'Make It Hot' (feat. Oliver Sim)

When Solange DJ'd at The Shacklewell Arms in London in 2011 she played a popping set of R&B from 90s-to-now, including Aaliyah, Beyoncé and my personal highlight, 'Make It Hot' by Nicole Wray. Last week at her London show she again showed her love for the 1998 classic, inviting Oliver Sim from The xx onstage with her on joint vocal duties. Amazing.

UNEXPECTED COLLAB OF THE WEEK: Blood Diamonds - 'Barcode' (feat. Dominic Lord)

With its toybox beat and a drop that sounds like you've fallen down an industrial mineshaft, 'Barcode' is quite a gear-shift for Vancouver procurer Mike Tucker (aka Blood Diamonds), who we last heard from on the Top 40 trance-inspired Grimes collaboration 'Phone Sex'. Tucker teams up with Harlem rapper Dominic Lord for this new track, with its aggro hook about AK47s and a distorted Ashanti-ish chorus. It's released on Februray 26 on Skrillex's label OWSLA (and it sounds like it too).

OLD FAVOURITES OF THE WEEK:

This week I made a trip to Paris where a sweet, too-brief meeting with a friend got me thinking about relationships, leaving cities, and how things can fall apart due to sheer geography. On the train home I listened to 'Give Out' by Sharon Van Etten on loop, the wildly-visual track from 2012's Tramp with its hook "You're the reason why I'll move to the city/ Or why I'll need to leave." Here's a Spotify playlist I made of some old favourites upon my return.