Producer and musician par excellence Michael Di Francesco has released a record as Touch Sensitive. Di Francesco is an incredibly accomplished Italian (check that moustache – yew!)… apart from his day job with Van She and producing with Nicky Night Time as Van She Tech (if you haven’t heard their remixes—put on a fresh set of underwear), he broke the internet and many b-rate sound systems last year with  ‘Real Talk’ (with Anna Lunoe).

Touch Sensitive’s music sounds as if Vangelis, Bernard Edwards (bassist from Chic) and Giorgio Moroder were put into the studio together with a Yamaha DX7, a bunch of scissors and reams of great vocal samples on 2″ tape.

Best mate Diamond Cut mixed the track…seriously one of our favourite releases this year.

We’ve written about The Preatures before and it is no secret that we are big fans. The 5 piece seem to only be able to churn out big songs, having set themselves up in a Californian dream as the children of Fleetwood Mac and siblings of Haim. Their newest single, ‘Is This How You Feel?‘ uses the same Female/Male combination that they employed on their wildly successful debut, ‘Take a Card’. The closely miked, throaty sounding drums blend with continuous guitar motion, an effect that urges the listener forward to each new emotional lyric. ‘I wanna know, I wanna know/Is this how you feel?’ lead singer Isabella Manfredi asks. She reassures herself – ‘But I won’t get stung, I won’t get stung…’ The lyrics capture angst, anxiety, insecurity and assertive strength all in one.

A masterpiece of a song.

STREAM: ‘Is This How You Feel?’

Fyfe is the new solo project from former David’s Lyre frontman, Paul Dixon. He almost broke the internet a few days ago with second single St Tropez, but it’s so damn good we had to feature it. Much like the sonic of his old project, Dixon’s synthesizers, lush brass and string orchestration and delicate guitar parts are fused with his sweet vocal tone and intricate percussion rhythms.

The harmony of St Tropez and previous single Solace is a tapestry of intrigue – in a similar way to Laura Mvula‘s writing. The song simply mugs you, opening with a guitar riff that lulls you with a Vampire Weekend-like innocence, then Miike Snow comes at you with an all out rhythmic assault, followed by a legato melody supported by the horn section of David Bryne and St Vincent followed by a party where they all hang out. This is seriously great music by a seriously talented man.

Dream soul seems to be the way all the cool kids are taking their music in 2013.  We don’t know too much about Melbourne’s Haarlo apart from Stacey Gardiner sings and Jono Steer produces. 1/2 tempo jams are the vibe du jour and ‘Easier’ steps up to the plate, mixing 90s RnB with 2013 production.

Wrap your ears around this

If you can imagine an XX track with a Florence Welch vocal produced by Massive Attack, you’d have an idea as to the sonic of London based trio, London Grammar. Stark, arid and pensive, their debut single Hey Now, is one of the best songs we’ve heard this year. It is incredibly satisfying to hear a vocal that builds through a track, willing the listener, forcing us to forward to the next phrase with the production’s energy matching that of the vocal performance. Compelling, climactic music.

2013, you’re killing us already.

Laura Mvula is a rare artist of intrigue and depth. The music, made by this 26 year old graduate from UK’s Birmingham Conservatoire, sounds as if Imogen Heap’s vocoder and Esperanza Spalding have formed a super band with Kimbra on backing vocals. Jazz is a huge influence here so many comparisons will be drawn with the likes of Amy Winehouse. But there is much more. The sheer skill in the vocal harmonies, the incredibly clear voice… those lyrics that tug those heartstrings . Mvula is a serious talent.

With Haim recently being pronounced first in the ‘BBC Sound of 2013′ and Mvula placing fourth, 2013 will be a diamond year for music.

STREAM: Laura Mvula – GREEN GARDEN

Chela has become a bit known to us here at Far Land. We’re big fans of the mysterious yet intriguing band Clubfeet, who’s latest crushing single Heartbreak, Chela has provided the lead vocal for. Then there was her vocal on Goldroom’s Fifteen. She’s demanding a lot of attention from Australia’s left-field pop lovers. There is much similarity in the sonic soundscape between Chela and Clubfeet. 80′s aesthetic with incredibly smooth production. Her vocal is insane and she brings one hell of an attitude at the top of the song.

Plus. She’s a total babe.

We’re so proud of this. When we released our first artist Harts a few months back, people around the world fell in love with his unique blend of Prince influenced funk and his Lenny Kravitz-esque guitar presence. Our mates, NYC’s French Horn Rebellion, took one listen and swore they had to remix All Too Real. With it, they’ve brought their own blend of new jack swing and disco funk to the fold. Their remix bounces along throughout drop-ins and drop-outs and features a seriously intense drum fill. We know that their recent work with New Jack Queen – Jody Watley has had huge attention. New Jack currently seems to be the new way – check the Plastic Plates remix of the Presets. Partiers, there’s a new vibe coming.

Download the mp3 here.

Order the Harts 7″ Vinyl

So if 2012 was a year of duets, Far Land family man Pluto Jonze has come up with the antidote to Gotye/Kimbra. If any of you were wondering whether there was any of the duet horse left to flog, we can say there most certainly is.

Pluto’s hopped into bed with a computer and has written a song that is part Stealers Wheel, part The Sunscreen Song, part Elton John, part Stephen Hawking. After listening, we definitely need more philosophical monologues in Apple Talk in our lives.

Giddy Up.

We’ve been loving Plastic Plates for a while now. Session drummer to the stars by day, remixer to the underworld by night, Felix Bloxsom has delivered some killer remixes of Adele, Mark Ronson, Sia, Van She, & Empire of the Sun. Today he released a New Jack remix of Sam Sparrow’s latest track, the prince-esque synth ballad ‘Shades of Grey’. We think it’s high time for New Jack Swing to bounce back – the syncopated bass lines and swung tambourines on this gem can pretty much fill the dancefloor themselves alone. Teddy Riley and Jody Watley better watch their backs.

ALSO NOT BAD – Bloxsom’s minimal house remix of The Presets’ Promises. It’s bloody good and proves he’s a talented bastard across a different styles. His basslines are really inventive – the build at the end of this track is sublime. This is not just some kid with ableton on his laptop. *proper musician siren*