A northern soul classic which I've brought out of the dusty crates in honour of a good friend's wedding... what better song to celebrate such a wonderful event?! With lots of love to Alice and Nick. :)

You may have come across 'Sugar Man' on David Holmes' Come Get It I Got It compilation CD. I finally managed to track down the original 'Cold Fact' LP from 1970 and was pleasantly surprised to hear a psychedelic mexican bob dylan with two fingers pointed straight at the establishment.

Find out all about the man, the myths [wrote all his work in prison and shot himself on stage after quoting from his song, Thanks For Your Time] and his music on the excellent official website at www.sugarman.org.

I'll admit it - I'm caning this one at the moment. If you've downloaded my first mixtape you'll have already heard the wonderfully evocative slide guitar twangs, the Pink Floyd-esque passages and the ELO vocals. Sublime.

From new irish folk to us alt-country. I love this track. It somehow manages to be both experimental and extremely mainstream. Dadaist surrealist and MOR. From the 'I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning' album.

Walking past an Irish pub in Wellington city centre I heard this blasting out into the night. A songwriter who's not afraid of using electronics to augment his sound but without ever venturing into Jamie Liddle Warp territory. I don't know why but after years of enjoying predominantly instrumental music this is the guy who reminded me of the power of a good song. The Irish have always had a great tradition of straight-up singer-songwriting.

I've my cousin Mark to thank for this one. He makes the best Christmas 'songs of the year' compilation CDs and hands them out as presents to friends and family. Thanks Mark!

As people who know me well will know, I hardly ever listen to the words of a song- I don't know, I just like a good vocal melody, that's all... but when the lyrics get through they tend to really strike a chord and like all the best songs this one just feels so true. Tired of partying every night? Feeling like your hedonistic days are coming to an end? This one's for you.

What better way to start a new section on songs and songwriters than with Nick Drake? Depending on who you believe, this gifted young man may or may not have commited suicide by taking an overdose of anti-depressant medication after recording only three albums. As a result he's far too often thought of as downbeat and morose. Enjoy the typically sublime musicianship and let those vibes put a huge smile on your face. Feels like the sunshine.