January seems a long time ago now (perhaps even another lifetime), but let it not be forgotten that Bristol's Tara Clerkin Trio started our year with a bang with what might be the debut album of the year. There's is a gentle-hearted experimentalism, shaped by shuffling almost-jazz drums, creaking keys, the odd melodica, and electronic abstractions structured around Clerkin's hypnotic vocal. It's woozy and disorientating in its oddness, with a wonky pop sensibility at its heart, a little like Julia Holter's Loud City Song or R. Elizabeth. But they're truly their own kind. This is distinctly modern, the kind of music you'd imagine young people to be making in 2020 if the future had turned out the way it was meant to be. Generous and welcoming, but explorative too. This mix was put together by all three members and radiates that same playful effervescence and generous spirit, while maintaining their distinctly cerebral focus.

Tara Clerkin Trio's s/t album is back in print and available here

Tracklist
1. Arthur Russell - Goodbye Old Paint
2. The Velvet Underground - Murder Mystery
3. Woo - Om Shanti
4. Eric Chenaux - Have I Lost My Eyes?
5. Kevin Ayers - Whatevershebringswesing
6. Robert Wyatt - Solar Flares
7. Liquid Liquid - Groupmegroup
8. Tanzania Yetu - Mateso
9. Giorgos Katsaros - Doctor
10. Yusef lateef - Love Theme from "Spartacus"
11. Sun Ra - Angels and Demons
12. Excerpt from A Tapestry of British Bird Song, Recorded by V C Lewis