A couple of weeks ago, my good friend and Welt Discos staple Stephen Howe sent me a mashup he’d made, asking if I had any feedback on the arrangement. I let it sit in my inbox for a few days. Then he sent me an updated version and I finally listened to it…BAM! I didn’t have any comments on the arrangement, in fact it sounded perfect. I’ve had it going round in my head ever since.

Somewhat sacrilegiously, I wasn’t much of a fan of Groove Armada’s ‘Superstylin’ when it came out in 2002. I was 16 and listening almost exclusively to Radiohead, so maybe I can be forgiven. But now Stephen’s given me a whole new appreciation for it by splicing it together with Yes’s unlikely pop smash ‘Owner Of A Lonely Heart’. He told me he heard the two songs played one after another at a bowling alley, and the rest, as they say, is history. (Believe it or not, the guitarist of Yes is also called Steve Howe!)

I played this twice last weekend, first at a queer sports bar in Minneapolis (more on that soon) and then at the crazy Sunday afternoon gay rave Spaghetti Strap in NYC. Both times it slayed. ‘Superstylin’ is a really interesting dance track, somewhere between tech house, speed garage and dub. Jon Anderson’s vocals float perfectly over the top of the instrumental, and Stephen has woven in guitar flourishes from both originals in a way that really makes you think they’re from the same tune. A mashup is always a fun idea, but a musically-made mashup is really another level.

As usual, despite my best efforts at artwork/video promo, I don’t think this has reached many people through IG. So here’s a direct appeal to readers of this newsletter: get the track on the Welt Discos bandcamp, tell a friend, and support the work of Gladt in Berlin. The label has raised over 2k for them over the years and I’d like to keep that going.

Welt DiscosOwner Of A Superstylin' Heart (SH Edit), by Yes Guitarist

I will be reporting back on my US tour shortly. In the meantime, anyone in Lisbon is welcome to join me for singles night at Vago on Saturday.