Besti-mix 11: Greg's Greats (Shellac Collective)

With liquid shellac flowing through his veins, it's fair to say that perennial Camp Bestival and Bestival fave Greg's Greats knows a thing or two about pre-acid house dance music. This chap only has to rummage through his 100,000-strong collection of 78s to give any DJ whippersnapper a taste of the original good stuff - and you can expect plenty of that on his exclusive Besti-mix, taking in 'golden era' rockabilly, big band jazz, jump up ballroom biz and old-school rhythm & blues.

John Peel (RIP) was a big fan and supporter of Greg, so it's fitting that the late, great Radio 1 DJ makes a special guest appearance in amongst the tunes. If you like what you hear, and we have more than a sneaky suspicion you will, then make sure you check out Greg and his Shellac Collective, at Bestival and Camp Bestival in the Black Dahlia tent this summer!

Besti-Mix 11: Greg's Greats (The Shellac Collective) by Bestimix on Mixcloud

Download: Besti-mix 11: Greg's Greats (The Shellac Collective)

Tracklisting:
i/ JOHN PEEL – intro to Greg’s Greats 78s
1/ GOING UP THE COUNTRY MIX featuring: 
Kitty Daisy & Lewis - Going up the Country (intro only) 2009
Wingy Manone – Going up the Country 1930
Henry Thomas – Bull Doze Blues (The original) 1928
2/ THE CADETS - I Want You 1956
3/ CHARLES LIJINA – Tufurah Twist (in Swahili) 1962
4/ PEGGY LEE with BENNY GOODMAN - Why Don’t You Do Right 1942
5/ CHAMPION JACK DUPREE – Overhead 1955    
6/ EDDIE BOND – Rockin’ Daddy 1956
7/ LITTLE WILLIE JOHN - My Nerves 1956
8/ LIL ARMSTRONG – Lindy Hop 1937 
9/ THE DEEP RIVER BOYS – Rock Around the Clock 1956
10/ THE GROWLER – Old Lady You Mashing Me Toe 1941
11/ FLETCHER HENDERSON ORCHESTRA – Dicty Blues 1923
12/ RUTH BROWN – As Long As I’m Moving 1955
13/ ALFREDO GUTTIEREZ – Porque Tumbo La Parei 1962
14/ WASHBOARD SAM & HIS WASHBOARD BAND – She Was Just My Size 1939
15/ JOHN PEEL – bit of a treat 
16/ AL BOWLLY with LEW STONE – Yes Yes My Baby said Yes 1931
17/ BIG JOE TURNER – The Chicken and the Hawk 1956
18/ LONESOME PINE FIDDLERS – You’re No Good 1953
19/ DENHAM JUBILLE SINGERS – Get On Board (accapella gospel) 1931
20/ WYNONIE “MR BLUES” HARRIS - Bloodshot Eyes 1955
21/ TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD – Catfish Boogie 1953
22/ JOHN PEEL – Thanks to Greg
23/ WINGY MANONE – Going up the Country – outro… 1930
24/ ROB DA BANK – Thank you to Great Greg…

Listen to the new LCD single!

Get a taster for just how bloody amazing the show by Bestival Big Top headliners and all-round punk-funk-disco legends LCD Soundsystem is gonna be by listening to James Murphy and co's spanking new single, ‘Drunk Girls’, about, y'know, drunk girls...

The typically elastic punk-disco jam is reportedly the first single from LCD's new album, which is due for release on May 18. A one-sided 12″ featuring the track ‘Pow Pow’ - that references our friends at FACT magazine - will be released on April 20; you can listen to a clip of that one here.

Radio da Bank: Yeasayer in session

Yeasayer provide the Maida Vale session this week playing a selection of tracks from their new album Odd Blood. Plus 'Rob's Best and Improbably Greatest Record In The World Right Now... Possibly... Well At Least For This Morning... Maybe' comes courtesy of Toro Y Moi.

And of course, it just wouldn't be cricket without another quirky featurette to give your brain a mini-work out in the wonderous early hours of Saturday morning. This week, it comes in the form of 'da Bank's Fish Tank'. Yes, you got it, can you guess who's having a paddle around in Rob's Fish Tank today? Genius.

Check out the tracklisting below and get yourselves over to bbc.co.uk/radio1/robdabank  to listen again online at any time this week...

Doctor P - Sweet Shop - Circus
Naive New Beaters - Live Good (Bloody Beetroots Mix) - Kitchenware
UNKLE - Natural Selection - Surrender
Villa Nah - Autumn Gone - Sähkö Recordings
Netsky - Memory Lane - Hospital
Mademoiselle Cara & Franc Garcia - Soldiers - Buzzin' Fly

ROB'S BEST & IMPROBABLY GREATEST RECORD IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, POSSIBLY,
WELL AT LEAST FOR THIS MORNING… MAYBE
Toro Y Moi - Imprint After - Carpark

Four Tet - Sing (Floating Points Remix) - Domino
Marina & The Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot - Starsmith Solid Gold Remix
Health - In Heat (Javelin Remix) - White
Rusko - Hold On - White

YEASAYER IN SESSION AT MAIDA VALE
Yeasayer - Final Path

Lali Puna - Remember - Morr
Utah Jazz - Quincy (Pharcyde Vocal VIP) - Liquid

SATURDAY SKANK
Easy Star All-Stars - Money - Easy Star

The Brockout - Shakedown - Bullet Train
Mount Kimbie - At Least - Hot Flush

YEASAYER IN SESSION AT MAIDA VALE
Yeasayer - Grizelda
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp

Booka Shade - Bad Love - Get Physical
Flying Fish - Grandstand Theme - White

ROB'S DA BANK'S GUIDE TO BARELY BELIEVEABLE NEW GENRES OF NEW MUSIC
Hudson Mohawke featuring Olivier Daysoul - Joy Fantastic - Warp

Diana Ross - Upside Down (Punk Rolla Mix) - White
John Smith - Another Country - White
MGMT - Congratulations - Columbia
Hot Chip - I Feel Better (Ill Blue Remix) - Parlophone
Vampire Weekend - Giving Up The Gun - XL

Blast from the past part 4...KLF raving on!

Legendary art prankster and philosophical/cultural icon Bill Drummond will be bringing his new project The17 for an exclusive performance at Camp Bestival! So, what better time, we thought, to cast a canny eye backwards to the man's past as pop star and arch provacateur in rave gods and acid house pioneers, The KLF, with an extended vid/version of their ever-green hit '3am Eternal'.

NB: If you are reading this on Facebook please click here to watch the video

Besti-bod 7: The Happy Snapper

The seconds tick slowly into minutes, the minutes into hours, the hours into days. You’re clockwatching, desperate for your fix, but have no fear – it’s Thursday again, and here’s the man with your next dose of Besti-bod treats….

Today, Toby Collard meets fabulous-in-a-frock Bestival house photographer Julian Winslow. Full-time snapper Julian looks forward to Bestival and Camp Bestival as the events where work really does meet play, and his pictures – like the man himself – get everywhere: websites; programmes; CD inlays; the local and national press; occasionally even the Bestival Bugle. If it’s Bestival in front of the lens, chances are it’s Julian behind it.

All rise for Julian then!

Name: Julian Winslow

Bestivals attended?
"I think all of them apart from the first one, though that might be a lie. Bestival is sort of like jumping in one puddle then the next and the next, then trying to decide which one made you wet."

What’s your fancy dress for the ‘fantasy’ theme going to be?
"I'll be in a bad dress. It's expected."

Most memorable Besti moment?
"Being on the Main stage one Saturday night shooting 2manydjs after considerable refreshment, in an off-the-shoulder red gingham number.... got a slight waggy finger from Robby the next day, but he was smiling."

If Bestival is the answer, what's the question?
"Where can you find hope for the human race?"

Who would you most like to see performing at Bestival?
"Something with Jack White in."

Funniest Bestival memory?
"Tricky. That’s like asking ‘what's the funniest joke you've ever heard?’ It doesn't really work that way for me, it's always more of a whole experience than a punch line."

If Bestival was a type of food, what would it be and why?
"Hmmmmm.... Cake, but playing cricket with it..... Why? Because it's bloody stupid."

Message to any non-(Bestival)-believers out there?
"Want to meet thousands of new friends?"

Anything to add?
"Remember to leave your ego at the gate."

Besti-mix 10: Feeling Gloomy

Feeling Gloomy isn't normally something you'd associate with Bestival. Feeling deliriously happy, yes, feeling slightly silly dressed as a giant banana, most probably, feeling like I'm about to explode with excitement, most certainly, but 'gloomy', not likely, unless you've not got a ticket and are stuck at home getting manically enthusiastic text messages from your mates at 3am in the Bollywood Field.

Unless, that is, Feeling Gloomy refers to "the UK's only club night that brings you the saddest, most melancholy music known to man" (in a good way, of course), as it does in the case of this exclusive Besti-mix, compiled by Feeling Gloomy's resident DJs Leonard and Cliff, who'll be bringing their tear-jerking, hip-swinging 'poignant' platters to Bestival this year in an attempt to have the Isle of Wight break the world record for the number of people hugging one another on the dancefloor at the same time.

Something a little bit different, with suitably satirical chat from the Gloomy boys themselves - this mix of weepy pop classics and heart-tugging festival faves might just have you crying with delight...

Besti-Mix 10: Feeling Gloomy by Bestimix on Mixcloud

Download: Besti-mix 10: Feeling Gloomy

Tracklisting:
01 Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) - The Walker Brothers
02 The Night - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
03 Town Called Malice - The Jam
04 So Low - Matt Berry
05 End Of A Century - Blur
06 Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush
07 Requiem For A Jerk - Faultline, Brian Molko & Françoise Hardy
08 Hurt - Johnny Cash
09 Why do Fools Fall in Love - Frankie Lyman
10 Band of Gold - Freda Payne
11 Enola Gay - OMD
12 Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
13 A Message to You Rudi - The Specials
14 Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones
15 People Are Strange - Echo & The Bunnymen
16 A New England - Kirstie Maccoll
17 Two Little Boys - Rolf Harris
18 Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want - The Smiths

Camp Bestival, where fairy tales come true...

Drum roll please... ladies and gentlemen, pixies and fairies, elves and trolls, giant toadstools and maniacally grinning cats, gather round one and all... because, quiet at the back please, we can now announce that our fabled fancy dress theme for this year's Camp Bestival - as overwhelmingly voted for by members of our forum - is... Fairy Tales!

"People power is our number one message at the Bestivals this year, from the bands people keep asking for to the fancy dress theme for Camp Besti being voted for on our forum," says our very own Rob da Bank. "Fairy Tales is an ace idea and I can't wait to scare the kids as Rumpelstiltskin da Bank."

Adding even more enchanting excitement to Camp Bestival's spine-tingling melting pot, this year's fancy dress theme will allow you lot (and us!) to draw upon a wealth of legends and fables to draw upon the sky's the limit when it comes to all of the wondrous princes, princesses, mythical beats and magical beings that will transform Lulworth Castle into a rapturous kingdom of make believe. With a huge fancy dress parade planned for Sunday we just can't wait for what is destined to be a feast of folkloric frolicking!

If that isn't an excuse to jump up and down on the spot like a hyper-excitable spring chicken then perhaps the horde of wags and wisecrackers joining the resident Jestival crew will be...

Taking place in both The East Lulworth Literary Institute and the Big Top Arena the Jestival Sessions will showcase the best of the comedy scene including musical mirth maker Tim Minchin. Wildly unorthodox, brilliantly non-traditional and vividly unique, his acclaimed act not only offers quick-witted observations and rapid-fire delivery, but also the striking sound of an accomplished pianist… albeit a barefoot one.

Recently acclaimed for his show-stopping take on Cheryl Cole's 'Fight For This Love' that brought him dancing glory as the winner of Let's Dance for Sport Relief, Rufus Hound already known to millions as a captain on Argumental will also be on hand to demonstrate his sublimely subtle story telling and rabble-rousing repartee in all its glory.

Other rib-tickling comedy acts confirmed for the weekend include former Chortle best newcomer Carl Donnelly, notorious Canadian stand-up Craig Campbell, India's finest comic export Papa CJ, BBC Radio 4 regular Mitch Benn, the ever-exuberant Rob Rouse, Rudetube's Matt Kirshen, dark 'n' dangerous Pete Cain, fast-paced gag-master Tiernan Douieb, taboo-busting Tiffany Stevenson and self-confessed shenaniganist Tim Fitzhigham.

Camp Bestival, there really isn't anywhere else quite like it...

Radio da Bank: The Soft Pack in session & much more...

Rob's Saturday morning show at the weekend saw San Diego's The Soft Pack pop by Maida Vale to record some session versions of tracks taken from their Heavenly Recordings released debut album. Plus, Rob's Guide To Barely Believable Genres continues this week with Drumstep, his Best And Improbably Great Record In The World Right Now... Possibly... Well At Least For This Morning... Maybe comes from Swedish wunderkinds jj and the Saturday Skank tune is by King Tubby

Check out the tracklisting below and get yourselves over to bbc.co.uk/radio1/robdabank  to listen again online at any time this week...

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead (Cassette Club Remix) - Eye Industries
Pantha du Prince - The Splendour - Rough Trade
Erol Alkan & Boys Noize - Lemonade - Fantasy
Grovesnor - Taxi From The Airport - White
Kyte - Ihnfnsa - Kids

ROB'S BEST AND IMPROBABLY GREATEST RECORD IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW... POSSIBLY... WELL AT LEAST FOR THIS MORNING... MAYBE
jj - Let Go - Sincerely Yours

Floattt - Beats Game World - White
Nosaj Thing - OiOi - Alpha Pup Records
Autechre - Redfall - Warp
Makaveli Ja Kwez - Screamadvert - White

MAIDA VALE SESSION
The Soft Pack - More Or Less

Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish - EMI
Psychemagik - Persian Rub - History Clock

SATURDAY SKANK
King Tubby - King At The Controls - Trojan

A Skillz - Twang Banger - Piccadilly Records
Hot Chip - I Feel Better - Parlophone
Marina & The Diamonds - Hollywood (Mr Fogg's Dub Mix) - White
Woodpigeon - My Denial In Argyle - End Of The Road
The Middle East - Blood - White

MAIDA VALE SESSION
The Soft Pack - Pull Out
The Soft Pack - Mexico

Foamo - Jookie - White
Autotune The News - Martin Luther King Jr In Memphis - Amie Street
Steve Mason - Lost And Found - Domino

ROB DA BANK'S GUIDE TO BARELY BELIEVABLE GENRES OF MUSIC - DRUMSTEP
Twisted Individual - Heavy Metal (Crystal Clear Remix) - Grid

2 Bears - Be Strong - Southern Fried
Primary 1 - The Blues - Atlantic
Asher Roth - She Don't Wanna Man (Yes Giantess Mix) - Island

The Letter E in the Alphabetical Encyclopedia of All That Is Hot In New Music

Give us an E please Bob, Everything Starts With an E... the hilarious in jokes continue apace, but ultimately E is just a letter after D and before F. But it too has its fair share of amazing bands, acts and tracks that start with its three pronged eastward attack.

Erol Alkan and Boys Noize – Lemonade

Christ alive get on the end of this. Ridiculous. If this doesn’t have you pulling on your rave boilersuit and running down to a grotty warehouse to dance til your knees bleed then you’re dead.

Envy – Nadine

Loving this girls work. Folk from the Rainy City (that’s Manchester to us Southern wussies) are notoriously moody before breakfast and Envy’s hip hop patter over slo mo rave stabs is likely to creep up behind you in a dark alley, slip a hood over your head and smack you too. Nice.

Engine-Earz Experiment – Faction 2 (Revolution)

That good man Bobby Friction tipped me off about these sonic soundsmiths a few months back and they’re gradually taking over bassland with their rude bloops and sick sinewaves. Prepare to **** yourself.

Everything Everything – NASA is On Your Side

OK so these guys (pictured) aren’t exactly newborn but they are one of the best newish bands about and theyre playing at Bestival so that’s enough for me.

NB: if you are reading this on Facebook you'll need to click here to listen to the tracks 

;) Robby

Plastik Fantastic: a taste of what Richie Hawtin may be bringing to Bestival

Techno kingpin Richie Hawtin has always prided himself on being one step ahead of the chasing pack, so it comes as no surprise to hear that his darker alter-ego Plastikman will be showcasing what sounds like a brain-melting, synapse-warping new show later this month, which - with any luck- you'll be able to sample for yourself come September, when Plastikman arrives on the Isle o' Wight to reduce Bestival to a mass of wobbling jelly.

According to Richie, "viewers of the show will experience a unique integration of audio, visuals and interactive technology, which now includes a customized iPhone/iPod Touch application called Plastikman SYNK" that aims to blur the lines of perception and participation.

“It has always fascinated me how sound, lighting, visuals and human interactivity define and deepen a concert experience," says the legendary Canadian producer. "By focusing on my own unique Plastikman sound I hope to find new freedom and explore the extremes of where these elements converge, challenging our senses, stimulating our memories, and creating an experience of physical and mental intensity that can be only Plastikman.”

Bestival crew, are you ready?

Let's Get Logical

As Olivia Newton John once (almost) said, "Let's get logical, logical, i wanna get logical, let's get into logical..." and what she was really saying was that you should snap up a copy of the brilliant new dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip album The Logic of Chance as it's out this week. And she's clearly a very clever lady with fine musical tastes.

From the free-flowing rhyme'n'bass opener Sick Tonight through to the old school dancefloor hip-hop of The Beat and the euphoric Italo-disco of Get Better, le sac Vs Pip have delivered a second album of beat led polemics that's instantly danceable, yet increasingly vital.

With a microscope on violent crime stats (Great Britain), a declaration on the individuals role in a Democracy (Stake A Claim) and the perils of late night rail travel (Last Train Home), there is little slight of hand or ironic shape pulling here; Scroobius Pip delivers direct and true on the state of the nation, while dan le sac delivers his most advanced and eclectic soundtrack yet.

So you'd best do as Olivia says and grab yourselves a copy. Which you can do from all the usual places including the ever powerful iTunes (who will also throw in a bonus track and a digital booklet for your buck) or if you want something to hold in your grubby hands then the wonderful Rough Trade or our own Sunday Best webshop are fine places to buy the CD or vinyl LP (which handily comes with a CD too).

Olivia will love you forever, and so will we. x

Besti-bod 6: The Heavenly Healer

Fancy another peek into the Bestival family album? It is Thursday after all, so as Bestival Bugle bloke Toby Collard turns the pages let’s find out who’s waiting to meet us...

It’s Heavenly Healing event manager Janee Swan! Janee spends most of the year as a Thai massage practitioner, (not to mention being a mum), but come Bestival time she heads down to Robin Hill to run the Heavenly Healing area and oversee the fantastic assortment of yoga buffs, massage maestros, acupuncturists and assorted others therein. Even these kindly folk need organising, you know!

Her long days start early to cater for those keen, stretchy types, and so she also makes one of the more plausible claims to not over-indulging in the slightest at Bestival (well, not until Sunday night anyway, when the healing crew are reputed to celebrate into the "wee small hours”).

Janee, you’re a blessing!

Name: Janee Swan

Bestivals attended?
“Every one except last year, due to baby number two being born a week before.”

What’s your fancy dress for the ‘fantasy’ theme going to be?
“Snake-meets-angel. Wings are really annoying at festivals though, so it may be snake-mermaid-warrior-woman.”

Most memorable Besti moment?
“Being married in the inflatable church.”

If Bestival is the answer, what's the question?
“Which festival feels like you are home on the sofa with your mates while your parents are on holiday, having left you with a stash of cash?”

Who would you most like to see performing at Bestival?
“David Bowie.”

Funniest Bestival memory?
“The mud dancing in 2008.”

If Bestival was a type of food, what would it be and why?
“Nachos - dripping with cheesy flavour.”

Message to any non-(Bestival)-believers out there?
“Release the fantasy within and have a laugh.”

Anything to add?
“More and more love.”

Besti-mix 9: Thomas Gandey

Our latest Besti-mix showcases the talents of long-time Bestival favourite Thomas Gandey (Cagedbaby), whose impeccably layered, peak-heavy DJs sets explore techno, electro and dancefloor-shredding disco. The Bordeaux-based Brightonite’s  new single, Get It On / Mercy Hump, set for release this April on Southern Fried records, is arguably Gandey’s best yet, fusing his knack for peddling tough techno with a well-oiled penchant for having a veritably party writ-large on the dancefloor.

Gandey’s Besti-mix is a 2 hour disco special, fusing the new French wave of Fred Falke and Knightlife with his remixes of LCD Soundsystem, Don Diablo and The Editors, closing on a high with Circus, his much-loved co-production with Analog People In A Digital World.

A true connoisseurs delight, this one’s for mirror ball freaks and disco geeks alike...

Besti-Mix 09: Thomas Gandey (Cagedbaby) by Bestimix on Mixcloud

Download: Besti-mix 9: Thomas Gandey

Tracklisting:
01 Intro - Cagedbaby vs The Clangtwins
02 Butch - Joy - Bangbang
03 Pete Herbert - Muchumba - CDR
04 Matias Aguayo - Walter Neff - Kompakt
05 Gaiser - Oolooloo - Minus
06 The Editors - You Don’t Know Love - Cagedbaby Mix - Virgin
07 Chateaux - Yes You Knew It - Cagedbaby Edit - Chateaux Recs
08 Rory Philips - Solar Breakfast - Codek
09 Annie - My Love Is Better - Emperor Machine Inst Mix - Smalltown Supersound
10 Kerowack - A - Kid Cola Remix - Thunderfinger
11 Fred Falke - Chicago feat Teff Balmert - Work It Baby
12 Knightlife - Up All Knight - Knightlife Remix - Sweat It Out
13 Dye Box - Catch The Looks - Dilemn Remix
14 LCD Soundsystem - Time To Get Away - Cagedbaby Rub
15 Maral Salmassi - Lets Rock The Party - Fukkk Offf Mix - Television Rocks
16 Toecutter - Best Party Ever - Jordan Lightyear & Jimmy 2 Sox Mix
17 Don Diablo - I'm Not From France - Cagedbaby Mix - Sony
18 Evil Knieval – Don’t Do Drugs - Cagedbaby Rub
19 The Temper Trap - Sweet Dispostion - Cagedbaby Paradise 54 Mix - Infectious
20 Elvis Presley - Crawfish - Pilooski Edit
21 Who’s That Girl - Bouncer-  Paradise 54 Mix
22 Chateaux - Supernature - Chateaux Records
23 Vitalic - Poison Lips - PIAS
24 Nadastrom - Save Us - Dubsided
25 Knightlife - Crusader - Cutter Records
26 Popof - Faces 'Uch - Form
27 Hot Natured - Electric Jones - Wolf & Lamb Music
28 Alex Kenji & Mark Mendes - Take That Sax - Starter Records
29 Pirupa & Pigi - Rough N Raw - Alan Fitzpatrick Mix - Size Records
30 The Royal We - Party Guilt - Dinky Arp A Pella Mix - Crosstown Rebels
31 Minilogue - Jamaica - Dubfire Remix - Cocoon Recordings
32 Tone Depth - Rumblefish - Maher Dameil Mix - Bedrock Records
33 Sebastian Leger - Discotechno - Mistakes Music
34 Knetter - Estroe - Snejl
35 Max Cooper - Stochastisch Series - Traum
36 Analog People In A Digital World feat Cagedbaby - Circus - Cagedbaby Mix - Hysterical

Feeling a bit Rum?

Our new signing (well one of them anyway) have been hard at work on their album. Check out two thirds of Sound of Rum getting deep last week...

youtube.com/watch?v=vQNqywz0JQg

And then go out and catch them live on tour with dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip (all over the UK right now) and watch out for the album later this year!

Radio da Bank: The Unthanks in session + A-Z of Gorillaz

Robby's Saturday morning show at the weekend saw Geordie folksters and Mercury Prize nominees The Unthanks (formerly know as Rachel Unthank & The Winterset) perform a beautiful session from Maida Vale. Plus, if you lost in the mess of badly named, ill-definied genre salvation is here with Rob's Guide To Barely Believeable Genres. This week: UK Funky.

Also, Rob’s Best And Improbably Great Record In The World Right Now... Possibly... Well At Least For This Morning... Maybe comes from some Brooklyn-based mates of Yeasayer. They're called Javelin and they're rather good.

There's also dozens more wonderful tunes from the likes of The xx, Vitalic, Foals and brand new singles from MGMT and Doves.

Check out the tracklisting below and get yourselves over to bbc.co.uk/radio1/robdabank  to listen again online at any time this week...

Vitalic — Second Lives (Bloody Beetroots Remix) - Different Records
Hungry Ghost — Illuminations - International Feel
Shortstuff & Mickey Pearce — Tripped Up - Ramp Recordings
The Big Pink — Tonight - 4AD

ROB’S BEST AND IMPROBABLY GREATEST RECORD IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW… POSSIBLY… WELL AT LEAST FOR THIS MORNING… MAYBE
Javelin — Oh Centra - White Label

Foals — Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie Remix) - Transgressive
Pariah — Orpheus - White Label
Warrior One — Bad Like Jimmy Cliff VIP - King Pigeon Music
Gil Scott-Heron — New York Is Killing Me - XL

THE UNTHANKS MAIDA VALE SESSION (PART 1)
The Unthanks — Felton Lonnen

Visions of Trees — Cult of Cobras - Royal Rhino Flying
Crookers feat. Soulwax & Mixhell — We Love Animals - Tons Of Friends
Junior Murvin — Police & Thieves - Island
DC Breaks — Halo - Viper Recordings
Egyptian Hip Hop — Wild Human Child - Zarcorp
Frankie Goes to Hollywood — Welcome To The Pleasuredome (Timo Garcia and Leo Zero Mix) - ZZT Records
The Violet May — Bright or Better - White Label
Nedry Nedry — Swan Ocean - Monotreme

THE UNTHANKS MAIDA VALE SESSION (PART 2)
The Unthanks — Lucky Gilchrist
The Unthanks — Living By The Water

Schlachthofbronx — Red Bull and Guinness - Sunset Diskos
Harper Simon — Shooting Star - Tulsi

ROB DA BANK’S GUIDE TO BARELY BELIEVABLE NEW GENRES: UK FUNKY
Crazy Cousinz — Funky Anthem - Asylum

The xx — Crystallised - XL
Doves — Andalucía - Heavenly
MGMT — Flash Delirium - Columbia
Tinie Tempah — Pass Out

There's also still time to find out what happened when Rob da Bank went down into the Radio 1 dungeons with Gorillaz  bassist, Murdoc Niccals to discuss 26 of the band's favourite tracks, from A to Z.

Check it on the BBC iPlayer over at bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00r7mdw, and here's their tracklisting...

Dr. Alimantado — I Killed the Barber
Hector Berlioz — Dreams of a Witch's Sabbath from Symphonie fantastique
Chic — Le Freak
Death — Politicians in My Eyes
Édith Piaf — Padamm Padamm
Fela Kuti — Zombie
The Go! Team — Everyone’s a VIP
Honor Blackman — Kinky Boots
Ice Cube — It Was A Good Day
Jake Thackray — Lah di Dah
Kate Bush — Cloudbusting
The Last Shadow Puppets — Meeting Place
The Monks — I Cant Get Over You
Nature and Organisation — The Wicker Man
The Only Ones — Another Girl, Another Planet
Paul McCartney & Wings — Band on the Run
Queens of the Stone Age — No one Knows
The Rolling Stones — Dead Flowers
Ryuichi Sakamoto — Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence
Eagles — Journey of the Sorcerer
Urge Overkill — Dropout
Violent Femmes — Blister in The Sun
Bobby Womack — 110th Street
X-Ray Spex — Germ Free Adolescents
Yeah Yeah Yeahs — Zero
Zapp — More Bounce to The Ounce

Win a pair of tix to Bestival!

We've teamed up with our pen-wielding pals at FACT magazine to offer you lucky lot the chance to win a free pair of tickets to the charming weekend soiree we like to call Bestival.

Yep, that's right, you and a friend could be partying the weekend away at the greatest festival on earth (c. Bestival) to the sounds of Dizzee Rascal, Fever Ray, LCD Soundsystem, Roxy Music, The Prodigy, Richie Hawtin and a gazillion others on the Isle o' Wight this September for absolutely nowt.

Click here to be in with a chance of scooping the goods!

The new XX?

I can’t be arsed waiting til J to write about jj, new Swedish wunderkinds about to support The xx on tour in the States. Fall in love to this video. Rob x

Rave on kids: The Prodigy are playing Bestival!

The good news just keeps on rolling in at Bestival HQ for our Year of the Fantastic! With a line-up that already resembles the stuff of dreams we're deliriously excited to announce several astounding new line up additions, including our amazing Sunday night headliners The Prodigy, rave legends who will quite literally tear the roof off Robin Hill!

"Since raving as a young pup to 'Charly' and 'Out of Space' through to caning their new record on my radio show, The Prodigy have been a massive part of my record collection," reckons our host-with-the-most Mr Rob da Bank. "As far as polishing off the party on Sunday night I can't think of a more explosive finale ... and it's gonna be the last we'll see of them for quite a while on our shores, so get in the queue now!"

Other newcomers to Besti 2010 include Bob Marley's infamous reggae band The Wailers, plus the brilliant Wild Beasts (the Lake District's answer to Orange Juice),'80s pop icon Howard Jones, Barry Ashworth's speaker-shredding Dub Pistols and fast-rising pop-star-in-waiting I Blame Coco, daughter of that bloke from The Police.

Not forgetting new-to-the-bill live acts Gentleman's Dub Club, The Correspondents, Charli XCX, Lissie, Our Fold, Holly Kirby, Derwyddon Dr Gonzo and The Kurves, plus a stellar cast of freshly added DJs including La Roux & Dead Guy, Magda, Audio Bullys, Gilles Peterson, Don Letts, Arthur Baker, Serge Santiago and the one and only Barry Peters. Plus very special guest Zane Lowe.

Such a stellar cast will join the likes of Dizzee Rascal, The Flaming Lips, Roxy Music, Hot Chip, The xx, Gil Scott-Heron, LCD Soundsystem and Richie Hawtin presents Plastikman live at Robin Hill Country Park from September 9th to 12th.

Not got a ticket yet? My good god people, what are you waiting for?!?

Besti-bod 5: The cool stuff facilitator

Thursday? So am I. But before we get to the cocktails it’s time to get to know another of the behind-the-scenes movers and shakers who band together to make Bestival the party of the year, with the latest of our Besti-bod profiles.

Today, Bestival Bugle head honcho Toby Collard gives us the lowdown on Lucy Camp – or 'Campos' to her friends (which now includes everyone reading this).

Lucy busies herself with Get Involved as a brand partnership manager (or, to you and me, the person who gets all the cool companies and brands involved to help make Bestival possible). Away from this, she’s obviously got a bit of a thing for Justin Timberlake, and she also claims she would like to be a fallen star (although presumably not in the Ashley Cole mould).

Lucy, take a bow!

Name: Lucy Camp (aka 'Campos')

Bestivals attended?
”All but 2007... I was in the Green Mountains with Colonel Gaddafi’s son...!”

Most memorable Besti moment?
”It’s got to be Robby’s final set in Bollywood... any year. Emotional! Also, the Cuban Brothers opening a sunny 2009, Thursday night in the Big Top to ten thousand early-bird punters.”

If Bestival is the answer, what's the question?
”Who’s the daddy?”

Ideal fancy dress costume?
“Ooh, I think I’d like to be a fallen star.”

Who would you most like to see performing at Bestival?
”David Bowie or Justin Timberlake. Please can I do artist liaison for them?”

Funniest Bestival memory?
”2009 Space Theme... Barry Ashworth in a silver lycra cat suit. Also John Hughes’ after-show parties... say no more!”

If Bestival was a type of food, what would it be and why?
”A delicious big bowl of Honey Nut Loops, coz it’s full of nuts, totally loopy but so, so SWEEEEET.”

Message to any non-(Bestival)-believers out there?
”Get Involved!”

Anything to add?
”Team Bestival rock!”

Besti-mix 8: Cooly G

The UK underground has long-been a fertile breeding ground for innovation, spawning a multitude of hyper-kinetic home-grown sounds spanning drum ‘n’ bass to dubstep, but it’s often felt like something of a boys club. Thank God then, for Cooly G, arguably the most exciting new DJ/producer on the scene.

Spinning at Camp Bestival this summer, Cooly's inspiration comes from US house, dubstep and funky, but the Brixton-based one-time pro-footballer brings a noticeably feminine sensibility to her productions, her acclaimed releases on Hyperdub such as ‘Narst’, ‘Love Dub’ and ‘Weekend Fly’ twining the rough and smooth, matching sweet female vocals with swinging beats and low-slung bass.

So, it’s with genuine pant-whetting excitement that we bring you our latest Besti-mix, an exclusive session from Cooly that brings together her own productions with those of fellow pioneering new-school beat-makers Martyn, Kode9 and more...

Besti-Mix 08: Cooly G by Bestimix on Mixcloud

Download: Besti-mix 8: Cooly G

Rob da Bank's Green on Wight blog #2

Green on Wight, in association with Bestival and GreenTank, is a monthly feature in the Isle of Wight County Press newspaper all about what's happening on the environmental scene on the Isle of Wight and its ambitions to become an Eco-Island by 2020.

Its four pages are packed with ideas, news, features and opinions on green issues, including a Robby Recommends blog...

"Hello folks and welcome to my second missive on all things green and futuristic!

Blast from the past part 4...Chic's disco glory!

How amazing is this? Chic's Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards were to dance music what Jagger and Richards were to rock 'n' roll, two exceptional musicians and performers whose coming together elevated their music to a whole new level altogether, and brought us club classic after club classic, including this beauty from 1979, the hip-grinding, head-nodding, body-swaying stroke of genius that is 'I Want Your Love'.

How excited are we to be bringing Chic and all their disco glory to Bestival 2010? In a word, VERY...

Radio da Bank: A-Z of Gorillaz + New Young Pony Club in session

Tune into Radio 1 from 9pm tonight (Monday 8th March) to find out what happened when Rob da Bank went down into the Radio 1 dungeons with Gorillaz bassist, Murdoc Niccals.

While discussing 26 of the band's favourite tracks, from A to Z, Rob and Murdoc look back over the career of the band, and find out what's brought them to the present day and the release of their new album, Plastic Beach.

Covering everything from the inner workings of Murdoc's brain to what he's done with the rest of the band, this is a funny and fantastical journey into the world of Gorillaz. With some real musical treats along the way.

If you can't tune in live you can check it again all week online on the BBC iPlayer over at bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00r7mdw

Meanwhile, Rob's regular Saturday morning (5-7am) show saw Rob invite New Young Pony Club (pictured) into the studio to play some live tracks and he also plays a BBC Introducing session track from Django Django and adds a whole new bunch of features to his show, including 'Rob's Best and Improbably Great Record In The World Right Now… Possibly… Well At Least For This Morning… Maybe' and the 'Saturday Skank'...

Check the tracklisting below and listen again at bbc.co.uk/radio1/robdabank

Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn - Kitsune
Two Bears - Two Bears - Southern Fried
Skream Back - Minimal Horse - White
Envy - Nadine - StopStart
Opiuo - Freaky Bean - Opiuo Music

ROB'S BEST AND IMPROBABLY GREAT RECORD IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW… POSSIBLY… WELL AT LEAST FOR THIS MORNING… MAYBE
Primary 1 featuring Nina Persson - The Blues - Atlantic

Renaissance Man - Wahhagoogoo - Made To Play
Autechre - Os Veix 3 - Warp
Monarchy - Phoenix Alive - Kitsune
Silver Columns - Brow Beaten - Moshi Moshi

NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB IN SESSION
New Young Pony Club - Chaos.

Flying Lotus - Computer Face - Warp
Nathan Russell featuring Hannah Griffiths - Flume - White
Uffie - MC's Can Kiss (Mike D Mix) - Ed Banger
Goldfrapp - Rocket (Grum Remix) - Mute
Jónsi - Go Do - Parlophone
DOOM - Gazillion Ear (Thom Yorke Mix) - Lex
Starkey featuring Anneka - Stars - Planet Mu

BBC INTRODUCING MAIDA VALE SESSION TRACK
Django Django - Wor

Frightened Rabbit - Nothing Like You - Fat Cat
Subscape - Midnight - Dub Police
Cate Le Bon - Shoeing The Bones - Irony Bored

NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB IN SESSION
New Young Pony Club - We Want To
New Young Pony Club - Dolls

SATURDAY SKANK
Gentleman's Dub Club feat. Bongo Chili - Gentleman's Sleng - Ranking Records

Broken Bells - The High Road - Sony
Rox - I Don't Believe - Rough Trade
Gorillaz featuring Bobby Womack - Stylo - Parlophone
Florence and The Machine - Dog Days Are Over (Breakage Mix) - Island
Mumford & Sons - The Cave

Ganja? They've never touched the stuff guv!

The mighty Dub Pistols and Rodney P release their ace new (subtle as you like) single 'Ganja' and this amusing stoner video on our Sunday Best record label today (7th March), backed with some sterling remixes by Toby Toast, Skitz, Atomic Hooligan, Sunday Best and many more...

Ganja? They've never touched the stuff guv!

And we're sure their fans haven't either (guv), but what they have done is set up a Facebook campaign to 'break the stranglehold of contrived, manufactured pop and get some real, home-grown talent into the chart' and garnered support from Howard 'Mr Nice' Marks and The Specials for their cause.

So sign up, download and get involved ... or sit back down on the sofa and roll another fatty, you decide.

Download: Dub Pistols 'Ganja' feat. Rodney P (iTunes)

Bestival's Twin... Melt!

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has launched a new initiative, AIF Twin Festivals: A Cultural Exchange, which partners the UK’s leading independent festivals with their counterparts abroad. Based on the twin towns concept, festivals are paired with likeminded and similarly structured festivals from countries from around the world and Bestival is very pleased to announce that our twin is Melt!

2010 sees the 13th Melt! Festival which returns as a three day event, 16/17/18 July 2010.  It's held in a giant industrial museum, Ferropolis, in the city of Gräfenhainichen, south east of Dessau in Germany, and features electronica dance music from pop and indie though to ambient beats and hip-hop, spread across 6 floors with more than 80 live acts appearing over the weekend, including the likes of Massive Attack, The xx, Booka Shade, The Wombats, Foals and Blood Red Shoes.

Check out www.meltfestival.de/en for more ... see you there?!

Besti-bod 4: The Island Producer

Is it Thursday again already? In that case it must be time for Besti-bod, your weekly random dip into the strange and wonderful collection of folk you might have stumbled across at Bestival without even realising it (most likely because they were dressed even dafter than you!)

Today, errant wordy Toby Collard of the Bestival Bugle probes the mighty Kate Jackman, the veritable cupid who helped bring together Rob da Bank and Robin Hill when tasked to find a top I.W. site for the first event back in 2004. These days she busies herself as the Island Producer – keeping all things Vectis well represented, from local bands to the W.I. Tea Tent and a whole lot more besides.

Kate, hats off to you!

Name: Kate Jackman

Bestivals attended…
“Proudly from the first!”

So, it’s ‘fantasy’ fancy dress this year. Did you see that coming?
“As a fancy dress addict I never mind what it is. The more random the better I say!”

Most memorable Besti moment?
“Robby’s closing set in Josie’s gorgeous Bollywood Bar at the first Bestival, when all of us working on Bestival finally stood together with a well earned drink and went ‘WOW!’ (or words to that effect).”

If Bestival is the answer, what's the question?
“What’s the most fun you can have in a field?”

Who would you most like to see performing at Bestival?
“Quincy Jones, Beck, Dolly Parton, White Stripes, Stevie Wonder, George Michael, how long have you got?!”

Funniest Bestival memory?
“The fancy dress competitions on the catwalk every year, especially the teams of mates all dressed in unison, red arrows, ghostbusters and the like. They’re such brilliant performers just by being themselves – complete joy!”

If Bestival was an animal, what would it be and why?
“A Unicorn: rare, magical and much loved, and only there because everyone believes in it.”

Message to any non-(Bestival)-believers out there?
“Come on over – it’s warm in here.”

Anything to add?
“I love you, Duncan!”

Besti-mix 7: Jonny Trunk

The seventh in our weekly series of exclusive Besti-mixes is a treasure-chest of esoteric electronica, weird and wonderful film soundtracks, wigged-out jazz and rare easy listening goodness courtesy of record collector extraordinaire Jonny Trunk.

Having caught the vinyl buying bug aged 12, Jonny now draws from his collection of 8,000 "prized" records in his day job of running the venerable Trunk Records, home to brilliant British library music, unearthed rarities, retro wonders and some incredible soundtracks, the jewels in his crown being those for the eerily wyrd Wicker Man film and splendidly bucolic Life On Earth TV series, helmed by the one and only David Attenborough.

We're super-excited to be able to say that Jonny will be dusting off his very finest vinyl and giving it a spin at this year’s Camp Bestival. In the meantime though, get a taste of the man's wares by downloading his exclusive Besti-mix, and be transported to a magical netherworld of yesteryear...

Besti-Mix 07: Jonny Trunk by Bestimix on Mixcloud

Download: Besti-mix 7: Jonny Trunk

Scroobius Pip...A Thousand Words

Here at Bestival HQ we don't really need an excuse to break out the bubbly and celebrate, but it helps to have one the morning after when your head feels like it's rattling around the Channel Tunnel. Where am I going with this?

Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that you really don't need a reason to publish a sparkling piece of prose like the one below courtesy of sharp-shooting bearded Sunday Best-signed wit Scroobius Pip but it kind of helps justify doing so when said wordsmith and raconteur has just released the new single 'Get Better' and is on the cusp of releasing his finest album to date, the joyous, righteous, in places royal party-starting 'The Logic of Chance', recorded with long-time partner in rhyme dan le sac, who we tapped up a few weeks back for an exclusive Besti-mix.

A Besti-blog exclusive, ladies and gentlemen kick back and open your head sack to 'A Thousand Words'...

"They say a pictures worth a thousand words so with these thousand words. I’ll paint a picture in your mind that breaks the rule of thirds.

Radio da Bank: Adventures in Wonderland with Field Music in session + A-Z of Vampire Weekend

Now here's an image that may stay with you for a while. Rob in a tabbard, blond wig and dress which he felt strangely comfortable in. But it's all in the name of entertainment - this week's show was a Rob da Bank's Adventures in Wonderland special and it featured Field Music in session and Matt Lucas reading an excerpt from Alice In Wonderland, plus lots of Alice inspired music including a few the tracks from the forthcoming Tim Burton film soundtrack...

Check out the tracklisting below and get yourselves over to bbc.co.uk/radio1/robdabank to listen again online at any time this week...

Blur — Song 2 (Eclectic Method Mix)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs — Heads Will Roll (A Trak Remix)
Tunng — Hustle (Bloc Party Remix) - Full Time Hobby
The Beatles — I Am The Walrus - Parlophone
Joanna Newsome — Jack Rabbits - Drag City
Jefferson Airplane — White Rabbit (Fear of Theydon remix)
The Avalanches — Frontier Psychiatrist - Modular
Robert Smith — Very Good Advice - Buena Vista
Scratch-D vs. H-Bomb — The Red Pill - Freakin’ Music

Field Music in Session
Field Music — Them That Do Nothing

Mvsevm — French Jeans (Style Of Eye) - Disco Belle
UNKLE — Rabbit In Your Headlights - Mowax Recordings
Hot Chip — Take It In - EMI

MATT LUCAS READS EXCERPT FROM 'ALICE IN WONDERLAND'

Aphex Twin — Heliosphan - Apollo
Blondie - Heart Of Glass (Tribute re-edit)
Florence and The Machine — Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - Island
Lawrence Arabia — Apple Pie Bed

Field Music in Session
Field Music — Clear Water
Field Music — Share The Words

J-Treole — The Loot (Sully Remix) - Keysound
Alan Pownall — Chasing Time (Monarchy Remix) - Mercury
Marina and The Diamonds — I Am Not A Robot (Penguin Prison Remix) - Neon Gold
Chas 'n' Dave — Rabbit - Demon Music Group
Franz Ferdinand — The Lobster Quadrille - Buena Vista
The Prodigy — Charly - XL

Also, there is still time to find out what happened when Rob da Bank travelled down to the south coast to meet Vampire Weekend, and take an alphabetical wander through some of their favourite tracks.

Squashed into a dressing-room backstage, surrounded by checked shirts, on the first night of their UK tour, they discuss everything from fruit-based music selections to Ezra's guide to partying UK-style. And along the way we hear 26 tracks chosen by the band, and the stories behind the choices ...

Listen again online over the next week at bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qqzhr and check out the tracklisting below...

Aeroplane — Aeroplane
Buckcherry — Lit Up
The Cranberries — Dreams
Don Cherry — The Thing
Eagle-Eye Cherry — Save Tonight
Foreign Born — Early Warnings
Ghostface Killah — The Champ
The Hidden Cameras — Awoo
Ini Kamoze — World a Music
Jill Scott — Gimme
Kraftwerk — Pocket Calculator
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins — Run Devil Run
Maluca — El Tigaraso
Neneh Cherry — Buffalo Stance
Owen Pallett — The Butcher
Paul Simon — You can Call Me Al
Q and Not U — Wonderful People
The Runaways — Cherry Bomb
Spoon — You Got Your Cherry Bomb
Telex — Moskow Diskow
The Undertones — Teenage Kicks
The Veils — Wild Son
Wreckless Eric — Whole Wide World
The xx — Islands
Yazoo — Only You
The Zombies — Butcher's Tale