WIN! The House Of Coxhead: Top 100 Songs & Remixes of 2011

Both my Top 100 Songs & Remixes of 2011 have been well received over the the past 7 days, and with my birthday and the new year approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to run a competition to give 10 people the chance to win all 200 tracks. All you need to do is send an e-mail to tjc89209@hotmail.co.uk with your full name, Twitter username and answer to the following question.

As of December 30th 2011, how many songs are there in my iTunes? (clue: between 41,000 - 42,000)

COMPETITION CLOSED!

This is my final post of 2011, as it's my birthday tomorrow. The winners will be announced in the new year at some point (probably January 2nd) and the songs will be sent to your e-mail as soon as possible. Hope you all have a lovely new year and an even better 2012. Thanks for your support, it means more than you will ever know.

Tom x

Mystro - UK Rap Up 2011

Mystro, my favourite UK MC, this morning debuted his latest UK Rap Up on BBC Radio 1Xtra, which has now become an annual event since 2009. The beat is once again produced by Mys' long-term friend/collaborator Black Einstein, and the London-born rapper touches on everything from the riots > Cher Lloyd > TOWIE, and MUCH more. Click play, appreciate the level of skill shown from one of the best lyricists out there and be on the look out for a CDQ/video coming soon. Naturally spitting.

Project Alfie vs. KanYe West - Family Business

Taken me a while to get round to listening to this, but here is my favourite track from Project Alfie's 5-track mixtape, which sees the 25 year old singer/songwriter reworking Hip-Hop Classics by Jay-Z, OutKast, Dr. Dre, NaS and this one from KanYe West. 'Family Business' has always been one of my favourite KanYe songs, but Alfie definitely does it justice by adding his own unique Soul-infused classic style to it and creating a totally fresh sounding track - can't wait to see what he has to offer in 2012. Download the tape HERE.

WIN! Tickets to see Ed Sheeran & Lester Clayton in Wolverhampton

To win 1 of 2 pairs of Tickets to see Ed Sheeran being supported by Lester Clayton at The Wolverhampton Civic Hall on January 18th 2012 just answer this one simple question...

What special day of the year was Lester Clayton born on?

Send your answers with the heading 'Lester Clayton Competition' to lesterclaytonfans@live.com along with your name and D.O.B by Wednesday 11th Of January at 3pm. Winners will be notified by email by 8pm. Good luck!

Sidenote: Over 16's only, you will need ID to collect your tickets

The House Of Coxhead: Top 100 Songs of 2011

After bringing you the Top 100 Remixes of 2011 on Christmas Eve, here is my Top 100 Songs of 2011. Whereas the majority of the tracks on the remixes list were from an Electronic genre, this list covers a much wider range of music, including Funk, Soul, Hip-Hop, Folk, Alt Rock, Pop, Grime and more. There will be a distinct lack of songs from Rock/Indie artists, but for those people who follow my blog closely, you will already know that this isn't something that I cover on regular basis anyway. 2011 has been a simply mind-blowing year for music, and putting this list together became a much more difficult task than first planned, because I had to get down to an eclectically selected list of 100 tracks from a 8,500 song playlist. As with the remixes list there will be a few selections that you would/wouldn't have in your list (or higher than I have them), but for me this covers everything positive that has been released in 2011 and the incredibly wide diversity in sound. Hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed putting it together over the past 3 months, see you all in 2012 and thank you for your continued support. Happy New Year and Happy Birthday to me (for New Year's Eve)!

Click to read more ...

Pete Tong - Essential Selection (Best of 2011)

Radio 1 legend Pete Tong, with a little help from Seth Troxler and the Radio 1 listeners, has put together this special Essential Mix to round up a spectacular year of music. For the past 20 years this guy has managed to keep things fresh and has provided the nation/world with the most up-to-date Electronic radio show of all-time. This is just another example as to why he is one of the most loved Radio DJs out there. Hit the jump to see the tracklist and pick up your copy for free below.

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B.O.B. - Play The Guitar (Feat. André 3000)

Following the Lil Wayne featuring lead single, here is the title track from B.O.B.'s sophmore album, which is now available in the US. Bobby Ray does his thing, it's got a cool beat (Salaam Remi) and a catchy chorus, but Andre Benjamin steals the show, as ever. Debut solo album in 2012, please?!

Hardsoul - Back Together (Feat. Ron Carroll) (Soul Purpose Remix)

This stunning re-work is taken from the forthcoming Soulfuric Recordings 'Back Together' Re-Master Collection, which comes with 3 massive new Mixes from Martin Ikin (Soul Purpose), Crazyibiza (Pornostar) and Pete Herbert. One of my favourite House tracks of all-time, and this remix is nothing short of spectacular.

The Quaranteam - #TheQuaranteamEP

After bringing you a taster of this project the other day, The Quaranteam (Loudmouth Melvin, Mentalist, Pyro Barz, K-Nite 13 & Skillit) yesterday unleashed their full debut release, The Quaranteam EP. The London-based collective have provided us with a refreshing underground 8-track EP that is a must listen for any Hip-Hop lover. You can hear one of my favourite tracks below and download the EP HERE.

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Frank Ocean - 4 Tears

Frank Ocean, one of the stars of 2011, recently took to his Tumblr and let go of this short, but brilliant, unreleased piece of music. Can't wait to hear his debut LP next year:

"I just listened to this a few times for myself. Figured maybe some else needed to hear it - it’s called ‘4 tears’."