Late Night Tales: Compiled By Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys

The ‘Late Night Tales’ series, for those of you unfamiliar with the format, is like a mix tape, musicians are asked to select their favourite songs and put them all on one handy album, offering a personal insight into their musical preferences.

Following in the footsteps of the likes of Fatboy Slim, Nightmares on Wax, Four Tet and Groove Armada, Arctic Monkeys' drummer Matt Helders has compiled a diverse mix album of his favourite late night tunes. Many existing fans of the series may have been taken by surprise at Helders choice. Aside from his drumming duties he has recently been Dj-ing at Field Day and Ibiza rocks whilst also creating quality remixes for artists Roots Manuva, Duran Duran & We Are Scientists.

The album itself provides an eclectic selection of music which is devoid of the half-expected barrage of indie music. It instead consists of soulful US and UK hip hop, dirty rock 'n' roll, electro and soul. There are also some occasional obscure moments that encapsulates the purpose of the series, revealing new and unfamiliar music to the listener. The highlights for me have to be, Yamasuki’s (who I had never heard) ‘Yama Yama’, even though I don’t have a clue what language it’s in the melodies are unbelievably infectious, similarly with DJ Format’s inclusion which is a wonderfully contagious, soulful and rhythmic tune. Modeselektor’s dub and bass filled electro beauty ‘The Dark Side Of The Sun’ is a definite stand out track. Even the guitar led inclusions are very laid back and fit in nicely to the overall feel of the record.

The only drawback to this release is the overemphasis on Arctic Monkeys. I’m sure it’s just some marketers ‘clever’ ploy to gain more of the ‘market share’. Due to this I was initially sceptical to how this record would fair out, thinking it was just and attempt to cash in on Arctic Monkeys phenomenal popularity. Gladly my initial reservations were nothing more than that and doesn’t take away from the great music. They perhaps should have let the music speak for itself as it stands up with any such release in recent times.

Tracklisting:

1. Goblin - Connexion
2. Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
3. Yamasuki - Yama Yama
4. Zeph & Azeem - Play The Drum
5. DJ Format - Charity Shop Soundclash
6. Little Barrie - Free Salute
7. The Black Keys - Thickfreakness
8. Matt Helders featuring Nesreen Shah - Dreamer
9. The Stooges - Dirt
10. Johnny & The Hurricanes - Sheba
11. Modeselektor feat Puppetmastaz - The Dark Side Of The Sun
12. Mos Def - Ms
13. Luniz - I Got 5 On It (Original Clean Short Mix)
14. The Coral - Grey Harpoon
15. Minnie Riperton - Reasons
16. Roots Manuva - Dreamy Days