Joy Orbison - The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow EP - 22 Feb

From the opening beat of The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow, the first track on the new Joy Orbison EP of the same name, you'll be infected. The crisp, fresh beats are a perfect base for fuzzy, uplifting synths and with the clipped shaker in there 'sssh'-ing things along the track is a proper winter warmer. Not that this tune has limited seasonal appeal - it will no doubt go down a storm this summer too from Bristol to the Balearics. But Orbison (real name Pete O'Grady) is worth much more than just an Ibiza notch, this guy is a genuine talent, one of the most determined to raise himself up from the primordial two-step swamp in many a year and one of the most interesting in terms of potential.

The second track on the EP, So Derobe, is another treat of a tune. With a Valley of The Shadows-esque refrain running through it, the track has a vintage, atmospheric feel and the cut up vocal is perfectly woven in through the minimal beats as if they were always meant to be. The listening experience is like sitting down to your mum's Sunday roast: perfectly put together with all the trimmings. Actress's Neu Haus So Glo remix of the EP's title track is nicely in line with the rest of the record, stripping out the ravey synth and adding in a sepia-style vocal sample.

O'Grady has such a confident, focused, no nonsense style that it's sometimes difficult to believe this guy is as young as he is - but then he has been Dj-ing since the age of 12 so he's always been ahead of the game. Whether this wonderful sound is the result of an overflowing talent or sheer steely commitment at the production coalface I don't know but either way you just can't help getting excited about what he's going to do next. The EP is due out 22 Feb on Aus. Listen to it here http://tiny.cc/eH9oz