Late Night Tales At Juno Download

Review: Six years after the release of their first inspirational Late Night Tales mix, fey Scottish post-indie miserablists Belle & Sebastian unveil a second volume. Given the unusual and exciting nature of their first collection, hopes are naturally high for Volume 2. Thankfully, it's every bit as odd, enjoyable and enlightening as the first edition. Psychedelic folk-pop, Indian soul, Balkan beats, Spanish crooners, Chanson ballads, film soundtrack compositions, Gold Panda, The Lovin' Spoonful, dancehall, The Pop Group and Pete Shelley all feature, alongside a range of thrillingly strange records that defy easy categorization. As a collection of music, it's breathtakingly brilliant, while the accompanying DJ mix is wonderful.

Review: Given his encyclopedic knowledge of music, you'd expect any compilation put together by Bill Brewster to be full of unlikely gems and lesser-known anthems. That's certainly the case with After Dark, the first in a new DJ-focused series from the Late Night Tales camp. From start to finish, Brewster's selections are spot on, from the lowdown, slo-mo disco oddness of Sheffield chanteuse Marti Caine's "Love The Way You Love Me" and wide-eyed, acid-laden kosmiche of Coober Peder University Band's "Moon Plain", to the dirty electrofunk of Zed Bias's "Koolade" (featuring Toddla T, of all people) and mid'80s percussion fest of Martin Kershaw's "Keep On Pokin". If that wasn't enough, Brewster has also unearthed a decent Jamiroquai record. The wonders never cease.

Review: Macclesfield-born visual artist and poet David Shrigley has a long association with the Late Night Tales' camp, having recorded a number of spoken word pieces for the acclaimed compilation series. This debut album, originally released on CD back in 2005, is in many ways typical of his work. It mixes his flat, deadpan, spoken word observations with a variety of scuzzy, lo-fi musical backing tracks. At times, the resultant tracks sound like a folksy take on Arab Strap, at others like a dreamy noughties revision of 90s ambience. Throughout, Shrigley's finely crafted words take centre stage.

Review: Following hot on the heels of the Lindstrom reissue, the Late Night Tales digital remasters series continues with a typically eclectic and atmospheric selection from Four Tet man Kieran Hebden. Like many other Late Night Tales selectors before and since, Hebden used the opportunity to cram in many weird and wonderful choices as possible, digging deep into his impressively left-of-centre record collection. So, we get American classical minimalism from Terry Riley, a smattering of spooky jazz numbers, the psychedelic folk-rock of Manfred Mann and Fairpoint Convention, off-kilter experimental hip-hop from Gravediggaz and Madvillain, and some clicky electronica from Manitoba. Predictably, the included DJ mix joins the dots in fine style.

Review: One of the best things about the 70s & 80s was the bizarre disco-not-disco records that often quite mainstream acts would make for a laugh. Sting's 1978 collaboration with Eberhard Schoener being a prime example. Here St Albans' finest have delivered a faithful electro-disco version for their Late Night Tales comp. On remix duties, Jay Shepherd delivers a cheery house version but it's Hot Since 82's sultry dub version is the real gem here.

Review: Synth-bothering indie-popsters Friendly Fires are the latest contributors to the uniformly excellent Late Night Tales series, and they seem desperate to prove just how diverse their tastes are. Oh, and their underground credentials. So, we get fuzzy stoner disco (Renee), curious French electro-disco oddness (Space), shirts-off end of night goodness (the much-played but still ace "Like An Eagle" by Dennis Parker), krautrock-inspired indie pop (Stereolab, Cocteau Twins), classic US garage (Iron Galaxy), future anthems (SBTRKT), dream-pop (Junior Boys, Lauren Halo), folksy musings (Grouper), and even a dash of Olivia Newton-John (the decidedly Balearic "Love Song"). While a cynic may raise a surprised eyebrow at some of the selections, there's no denying their quality.

Review: 10 years on from its initial release, Groove Armada's contribution to the Anotherlatenight series gets a new lease of life. For those searching for deep, downtempo and vaguely Balearic fare, it's well worth a look. While Groove Armada's mix is enjoyable enough, it's the unmixed tracks that are most worthy of attention. Amongst the familiar classics (Kleer's boogie classic "Tonight", Mr Fingers' "Can You Feel It" and Metro Area's "Muira"), you'll find hot curiosities from the likes of Shuggie Otis (the decidedly acid-fried "Strawberry Letter 23"), Loose Ends ("Feel The Vibe"), Good Together (forgotten super-deep house jam "Work It Out") and Don Ray (the heady disco grooves of "Standing In The Rain").

Review: Second time around for Hans-Peter Lindstrom's decidedly Balearic, prog rock-tinged Late Night Tales selection, which first saw the light of day back in 2007. This time round, it's been given a gloss of new paint in the form of a sparkling digital remaster. While this is all well and good, the selling point remains the Norwegian producer's excellent, left-of-centre selections. There's another chance to check his own cover of Vangelis' "Let It Happen", classic Balearica from Fearn Kinney and Carly Simon, acapella action from Todd Lundgren, freestyle ambient jazz-funk from George Duke, a slew of forgotten prog rock faves and a brilliant dub track from Oslo mates Prins Thomas and Todd Terje ("Reinbagan").

Review: Joe Mount of lovable scuzz pop outfit Metronomy mans the latest volume in the long running Late Night Tales, a series who always seem to get the best results out of an unexpected cast of participants (Belle & Sebastien, MGMT, Trentemoeller and Midlake being recent inductees) It's hard not to get sucked in from the sugar sweet opening of Outkast's "Prototype", which is the first of several tracks that demonstrates Mount has a penchant for slow bumping R n B and outsider hiphop with Tweet, Sa Ra and a Dr Octagon classic also appearing. A typically far reaching approach to genres applies here with the cosmic jazz of Chic Corea happily mingling with Autechre and Two Lone Swordsmen and American synth oddities Geneva Jacuzzi and Appaloosa mingling for attention with The Alan Parsons Project and Herman Dune. The de-rigueur cover version arrives with a Metronomy rendition of Jean-Michel Jarre's"Hypnose" whilst Paul Morley ends the selection with a spoken word piece.

Review: Not content with offering several days worth of remixes with the original release, Late Night Tales have decided to turn Tom Findlay and Tim Hutton's cover of AOR classic "How Long" over to disco/house superstar Tensnake. His vocal version - decidedly Balearic and seemingly more E'd-up than your average rave casualty after a night out in Ibiza - delightfully straddles the fine line between baggy disco and touchy-feely house. The delay-laden Late Night Dub is arguably even better, flitting between sturdy percussive interludes and rush-inducing chord sequences. There's a similar but slightly different Daylight Dub, too, for those who require added layers of shimmering synths.

Review: A new alias of Groove Armada's Tom Findlay, Sugardaddy's latest contribution to the Late Night Tales mix series sees him mining the softer sides of '70s pop. In this spirit, his cover of Ace's classic "How Long" (made alongside Tim Hutton) locks in the original's swaying grooves but replaces the backbone with drum machines and synth strings. Findlay's own dub versions - including a "5am" and a "Paradise" dub - break the tune out of its box and make it a joy to hear on the floor.

Here at Juno HQ, we rather like the long running Late Night Tales series, where esteemed bands, musicians, producers and DJs give us a taste of what post-club listening is like round their gaff. To celebrate the series, we've put together a little low-price bundle featuring some of our favourite tracks from the unmixed versions of the compilations. There's plenty to enjoy, from the shuffling goodness of Kenny Dixon Jnr's slightly overlooked remix of Innerzone Orchestra, and the Balearic goodness of Steve Miller Band and Chris Rea, to the classic hip-hop styles of Mos Def and Souls of Mischief. As if that wasn't enough for less than a fiver, you also get 25 per cent off any downloads from the LNT catalogue. Bargain!

Review: Taken from the nocturnal stashes of Zero 7 main men Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker, the 17 tracks that go into this latest instalment of the Late Night Tales series provides a fascinating mix of hip-hop, soul, dub and acoustica. Fans of Zero 7's distinctive laidback hip-hop style will certainly appreciate beats from soulmates such as Yesterday's New Quintet or The Cinematic Orchestra (as on the classic "Channel 1 Suite"), while soul hunters will go nuts for the incredible '70s jazz-funk snap of Sylvia Striplin's "You Can't Take Me Away". With other names like Souls of Mischief, Don Blackman, Slum Village and The Stylistics included, this is a perfectly crafted late night journey.