The track I’ll be opening my next DJ set with
Sherwood & Pinch: Never Die
Pinch: I like to start a set with something unreleased to set the mood. We made this one quite recently for that very purpose.
The track I always use to rescue a dancefloor
Max Romeo: Chase The Devil (Congo Natty Dubplate)
Sherwood: Unreleased dubplate from Congo Natty. Because almost no one has a copy – but recognises the Max Romeo part – it’s a reliable crowd pleaser.
The track I wish I’d signed to my label
Metal Heads: Terminator
Pinch: I would have had to have set up a record label when I was 11 years old, but it would have been worth it to have put this out. It’s THE proto tune that set off the cold jungle sound in 1992 and led to all the UK dance mutations I’ve found most absorbing over the last 20 years.
The track I think has been unfairly slept on this year
Logos: Glass (Shapednoise Remix)
Pinch: This remix sounds like someone ripping sheets of metal apart with their bare hands, while an underwater rave alarm sounds an apocalyptic warning. No drums but plenty of cold-rush energy. I bet you’ve never heard of it. Get your ears on it.
The track I’d play to show off my eclectic tastes
The Fall: Deer Park
Sherwood: While I’m a sucker for a good singer, I also like what I call anti-production and I find Mark E Smith’s non-singing delivery and lyrics inspiring.
The track I wish I’d never played
Spice Girls: Wannabe
Pinch: Oh God, I wish I’d never played this one out now. I wasn’t even wearing any trousers at the time… And I was running for a bus but I just couldn’t catch up with it, late for an exam I hadn’t even prepared for…
The track that should have been a crosover hit
Kahn & Neek: Backchat (Jus Now Remix)
Pinch: A wicked rhythm that fits with loads of different vibes. Also, on a very cool label where you have to ring up their phone number to find out details of the next release, old-school rave style. “Badman no tek backchat.”
The track I’d play at my funeral
Remarc: R.I.P
Pinch: Really hope this isn’t one that’s been listed here 100 times already. So the coffin would go into the cremation oven as the tune started, and everyone at the funeral would have to bruk out hard, like in those gospel-jungle mash-up YouTube videos. Or face the wrath
Sherwood & Pinch play BoomTown Fair, Winchester, Sunday 16 August. Their album, Late Night Endless, is out now
