Tom Vek's Desert Island Discs

1. Soft Serve by Soul Coughing
This track will always remind me of summer, I think it's one of the first songs that pulled me out of my grunge emo formative tastes when I realised it was a track that would make me feel happy and positive, that wasn't naive or irritating. Soul Coughing remain my all time favourite band, and this track really represents a blissed out jam that is definitely a go-to track in my musical medicine cabinet.

2. Right Here, RIght Now by Fatboy Slim
I like it when I hear a piece of music that I really connect with outside of the genres I'm used to and when I first heard this track I was absolutely blown away by it, the orchestral sample is so perfectly treated and the repetition gives it an incredible hypnotic vibe, it's what I always thought was a weakness in classical music, the lack of repetition, which is why when a classical sample is repeated it has an amazing effect on me. Whenever I hear this track it makes me think of all sorts of bigger picture stuff.

3. Souvenir by Cable
Due to the fact that I grew up on grunge and guitar music, I developed a taste for a more angular post rock, abrasive yet angularly melodic stuff, and to me, the British band Cable were the perfect blend of all this while seeming thoroughly modern in how cynical and wry the lyrics were without being pretentious. This track I remember from auditioning the album on a listening post in my local Tower Records, finding it quite harsh and then not being able to get it out of my head for two days and rushing back to the shop to purchase it. This track opens the album When Animals Attack which is my favourite guitar record of all time.

4. Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt by DJ Shadow
Like many others the DJ Shadow album Endtroducing... has a huge effect on me, and this track is the lynchpin of the record for me, such a haunting and hypnotising track, that also has this menacing purpose to it. It really educated me in the merits of sampling, looping and repetition of breaks, minimalism and deconstructing tracks, or making tracks out of whatever was needed not just what was in a traditional band setup. The end chorus, with the extra sample, just brings the track up to this crazy crescendo, really moving stuff.

5. Turn The Page by The Streets
I have to admit that the first time I heard this song, when the low strings sample came in, I unexpectedly cried, and that's the honest truth. As with some other tracks in this list, I feel honoured to get true lucid reactions from music. This track has such a great approach, it's positive without being confrontational which obviously is a major theme in a lot of rap music. I think this is a true masterpiece, and a completely fulfilling listening experience.

6. Ataride by Wagon Christ
I was trying to pick something which represents my more electronic music influence and experience. The thing I like about this track is it's quite undefinable but completely understandable, stabby synth parts, with a Funky Drummer style slightly drum and bass break and Squarepusher-esque bass line. I always DJ this track, this is what I'd have playing in my club on repeat.

7. Soma by Smashing Pumpkins
This is my favourite track off my first "favourite album" Siamese Dream. A totally epic track, experimenting with the extremes of the grunge "quiet-loud-quiet-loud" approach, a total lullaby of a track. I'd be bummed not hearing Geek USA, the next track on the album though!

8. Arose by Thomas Newman (American Beauty OST)
The American Beauty soundtrack and a great deal of Thomas Newman's other film scores seem to resonate with me, and this track, from the dream sequence when a rose petal covered Mena Suvari is writhing around on Kevin Spacey's bedroom ceiling is a truly beautiful piece of music.

9. Low Five by Sneaker Pimps
Feels like it shouldn't be that old but I remember recording this song off the TV onto my recordable walkman at the time and listening to it on loop. It's an example of an excellent pop song, completely catchy and concise while having some of the best and interesting production going.

10. A Chore (Tom Vek's re-edit) by Tom Vek
A little pretentious to have one of my own tracks but if I was truly deserted I think I'd need something, considering how much I listen to. I'm fond of this rework because it allowed me to explore the cut-up remix approach I was finding so desirable about a lot of great cross-over club music of recent years (ed banger etc..) that doesn't occur in my music ordinarily, although it's moving that way. Anyway, I just really like the wall of noise in this track, lovely slab of undefinable tuneful mess, good loud on headphones.