These Fresh Faves were picked by our readers over the weekend – and reviewed by Fresh On The Net’s Steve Harris this week. You can hear all these tracks in a single Soundcloud playlist here.

A.A. WILLIAMS – Control (arco Version)

Control is taken from the forthcoming EP, arco, a strings and voice reworking of A.A. Williams’s self-titled debut EP that will be released on October 15 by Bella Union, with the strings conducted in the studio by A.A. Williams herself. If this track is anything to go by, then it’s a really good fit: the strings add poignancy and weight to the already dark, brooding textures of the original.

Before the year is out you can catch A.A. Williams at The Scala in London on 19 October, then from November 12 onwards at The Foundry in Torquay, O2 Institute in Birmingham, SWG3 in Glasgow, Leadmill in Sheffield, Manchester Academy 2, Y Plas in Cardiff, and finally the O2 Empire in Shepherds Bush on November 20.

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ANNIE BOOTH – Cocoon

Cocoon is the first single to be taken from Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Booth’s forthcoming second album, Lazybody, which is produced by Chris McCrory and will be released on November 15 by Last Night From Glasgow.

Apparently, although most of the songs on the album were written before the pandemic, they deal with themes that strike a very familiar chord now. This track is a case in point, it’s all about recovering, dare I say healing, while cocooned away from everyone else, but comes across as quite a bit more defiant, determined and optimistic than perhaps that makes it sound.

With support from BBC Introducing in Scotland, Vic Galloway, and Jim Gelatly on Amazing Radio, along with Creative Scotland’s National Lottery funding, it’s clear Annie Booth is an artist to keep your eye on.

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CRAZY FLUKE & JODIE NICHOLSON – Gravity

Crazy Fluke is an Essex-born producer now based in Hull. Jodie Nicholson will be familiar to Fresh On The Net regulars, as she’s been appearing in our Fresh Faves since 2016. While Jodie’s own music tends much more towards acoustic indie folk, here her voice is the driving force of this sleek dance track, and it truly is a winning combination, and not just IMO — Gravity was BBC Music Introducing Humberside’s Track Of The Week from last Monday.

Gravity is out to buy and stream now, and you can catch Jodie on tour in Middlesborough, Manchester, York, Glasgow and Liverpool over the next few months, with more dates for London, Leeds, Manchester, Stockton-on-Tees, and Newcastle early next year.

Crazy Fluke:
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Jodie Nicholson:
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FOLKATRON SESSIONS – Flower Of Magherally

The classic Irish folk song, Flower of Magherally, gets something of a modern makeover here in a live arrangement by experimental folk collective, Folkatron Sessions. It’s beautifully done, with ambient synths complementing the traditional acoustic instruments and sweet vocals.

Folkatron Sessions — another act FOTN regulars will already know well — is a collective of eight folk, jazz and electronic musicians from England, Ireland and France. This recording is taken from their Home No More EP, which is available to download now from Bandcamp.

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JACKAL TRADES X MORPHAMISH – On It Again

If this Fresh Faves playlist was a tasting menu at a fancy restaurant, then so far you’ve enjoyed all sorts of delicate flavours, along with a little sweetness and spice, but now they’ve brought out a deep-fried kebab nailed to a plank.

This is a track about going out that’s all the more urgent because “it’s been a while”. It sounds like someone’s been bouncing off the walls for the last eighteen months, and has just kicked down the front door from the inside. Glasgow’s Jackal Trades provides the vocals here with music by Morphamish.

On It Again is available now to stream on Spotify or buy on Bandcamp, and if you enjoyed the track there a great partially animated video on YouTube you should check out too.

Jackal Trades:
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Morphamish:
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JESSIE REID – Give Me Love

Jessie Reid is another artist in these Faves that should be familiar to Fresh On The Net readers and BBC Introducing Mixtape listeners alike. Give Me Love is an understated love song with gentle, layered vocals, guitar and strings that build, but never overwhelm. It’s very nicely done.

Jessie will be supporting Night Flight on their October tour, which takes in Brighton, Hoxton, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Sheffield, Glasgow and Newcastle. Give Me Love is out now to stream and buy in all the usual places.

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

KATHERINE PRIDDY – The Summer Has Flown

The Summer Has Flown is, according to Katherine Priddy, “an ode to the spinning seasons and a farewell to the summer”. Tell me about it, I had to put the heating on last week! Thankfully, Katherine’s take on that is rather more poetic, with lines about “black seas cracked under darkening skies”, and “silhouette strangers on a steepening hill”.

The Birmingham-based artist has enjoyed widespread acclaim for her work so far, with Richard Thompson saying in 2018 that her deput EP Wolf was “The Best Thing I’ve Heard All Year” in MOJO Magazine (he then invited Katherine to support him on his Irish tour), and loads of support on BBC Radio from Mark Radcliffe on the Radio 2 Folk Show, BBC Radio Wales, Gideon Coe, someone called Tom Robinson, and just yesterday, Cerys Matthews on her 6 Music Sunday morning show.

The Summer Has Flown is taken from Katherine’s debut album The Eternal Rocks Beneath, which is available now, and you can catch her at the Focus Wales festival in Wrexham this coming weekend, then touring around the UK until the end of the year — details on her website.

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MARIO A GARCIA – A True

A True by Mario A Garcia is a reggae protest song asking various characters, including “Mr Headline Man”, “Mr Blue Light Man” and “Mr Bullingdon Man” (no idea!) to “leave all the citizens alone”, because they’re suffering enough without work or money.

Sadly I can’t tell you anything about Mario A Garcia, but David Rodigan played A True on his 1Xtra show a few weeks ago, and it’s taken from Mario A Garcia’s album No Rich Man, which was released on September 15, and is available to buy now.

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PRIME PANDA – Love Departed

Love Departed is like scratching a musical itch — it begins all restless and irritated, but is quite satisfying in the end (this is why nobody ever quotes my reviews). Prime Panda is a 5-piece jazz fusion band from London who’ve been going a while it seems, and are supported on ExileFM by our own Neil March, who says “They gave one of the most outstanding performances by any band I have put on since I got back into the live promoting game four years ago. If you get the chance to see Prime Panda live, take it!”

Love Departed is available on Bandcamp now, and you can catch them playing at Off The Cuff in London on November 19.

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REZZONATOR – Float

I previously reviewed Rezzonator, aka Duncan Rose from Nottingham, in Fresh Faves 404 with his track Inversion, which I described as “muscular, textured and hooky”. In Float, things are quite a bit more ambient and understated. There’s some piano, copious bleeps, synth strings, and a humming bassline, all of which is very pleasant, but in this 3:37 radio edit version, over just a little too soon. For a full dose, head over to Rezzonator’s Bandcamp page to bathe in the full 9-minute version.

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PS from TR: If you’ve submitted a track that hasn’t been picked for the Listening Post, our team has definitely listened to it and there’s no need to send it again: feel free to send us an even stronger track another week. The same goes if you were picked for the Listening Post but didn’t feature in our Fresh Faves.

But if we’ve recently featured you in our Fresh Faves – or on my BBC Introducing Mixtape – please wait three months before sending us another track, so we have space to help other deserving artists… For more info see Robinson Has A Good Old Moan.