Eyeballin': Midland's Journey Soundtrack + Win His Placement EP

Will Saul’s sterling Aus Music imprint takes reign of Room Two this Saturday flexing the hip rolling house, soulful techno and low end bass theory of Leeds DJ/producer Midland backed by Cosmin TRG and Applepips man Al Tourettes on the live stage. Midland's been on our wish list to play at our disco for some time now following wide releases across the spectrum on Turbo, More Music and Phonica, working together with heavyweight talents Caribou, Pariah and Julio Bashmore and playing storming sets alongside everyone from Joy Orbison, Steffi and to Will Saul this very Saturday night. Landing off the back of his excellent ‘Placement EP’ with a brand new remix EP featuring Motor City Drum Ensemble and Lone on Aus Music, Midland continues to make the underground community sit up and take notice for his production skills of devastating effect. Switching up the tempo from what we’re used to from him, Midland eases us into Monday with his personal journey soundtrack which he describes in his own words... “I find travelling an extremely nostalgic experience; usually it’s a time where I listen to music that reminds me of the places I’m going or just stuff that has a nostalgic quality to it. Here are a selection of tunes that have soundtracked my many trains home, planes to new places and night buses at the end of the night. Consider it an imaginary soundtrack to an imaginary journey.” We always like to start the week off with a bang so to win your very own copy of Midlands ‘Placement EP' answer this question: Who did Midland collaborate with on ‘Your Words Matter’? Send your answers to competitions@fabriclondon.com Nick Drake - Introduction I just think this is one of the most beautiful openings to an album ever. Its tainted by a certain sadness because Nick Drake died after only three albums but it’s got a sort of expectancy that belies this sadness. Robert Kirby who arranged the strings also did work for Elvis Costello, Elton John and many other people. Ulrich Schnauss - Between Us And Them This is another of my favourite openings to one of my favourite "electronica" albums of all time. When I first got this album, the title "far away trains passing by" seemed almost too perfect for it to live up to how you imagine it to sound, if that makes sense. For plane take offs on a sunny day/at sunset there is no better soundtrack. Jan Hammer Group - Don't You Know A tune that I learnt about from Appleblim once upon a time when he was staying at our house in Leeds. Its got a Psychedelic edge that perhaps Jan Hammer isn't always associated with but in terms of the influence on people like Air you can't touch it. Alan Parsons Project - Mammagamma Something my brother sent to me many moons ago, its the side project of Alan Parsons who helped produce Pink Floyds "Dark Side of the moon" and the Beatles "Abbey Road" and "Let it be". It has a quite sci fi vibe to it, its unmistakably seventies but all the better for it. Steve Moore - C Beams I am a sucker for synth arpeggios and pads, no one is doing it better than Steve Moore at the moment. It sounds old without being needlessly homagey. Check his stuff on L.I.E.S and with Daniel O'Sullivan as Miracle. Com Truise - Cathode Girls If you hadn't guessed I have a bit of a soft spot for synths. The whole Com Truise album "Galactic Melt" blew me away when I first heard it. This one is just one of many favourites. I love how he makes his synths sing, they are razor sharp and make me feel like I’m in a cheap (but great) 80's sci fi film. Peter Broderick I am a bit of a melancholic sod when I want to be, and this piece is so full of sadness and melancholy it’s almost like a guilty (unhappy) pleasure. Give me a solo piano and some strings and any day. Sand Circles - Distant Lights This is a new album which I stumbled across recently, it sounds like a lost tape of Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada making a lo fi house record. It’s an amazing, completely worn out set of soundscapes. I would like to listen to this driving across America at dusk one day. Boards of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy Probably my most listened to travelling song and one of my all time favourites. The moment when it all drops out and the guitar comes in at 1:40 mins is one of the most beautiful moments in a song I can remember. Whats funny about this song is how busy it gets with all the clattering percussion but at no point does it feel crowded. Led Zeppelin - The Rain Song I always think of this as the slightly cooler but less accessible cousin to "Stairway to Heaven". That recurring effected guitar that acts as a call and response the whole way through still gives me Goosebumps every time. I still remember finding out about this as a teenager from a friend one holiday and listening to nothing else all week. Radiohead - Motion Picture Soundtrack One of the oddest and most affecting of Radiohead's many odd and affecting songs. It sounds like the final dream sequence from some mad 60s art-house film with loads of trippy visuals and synchronised swimmers.