I got pretty excited when Good Block’s debut album, Window, dropped. Having been a fan of the duo’s first EP, 4 Corners, by the third, Naiad, I was completely hooked. So in February I sent them an interview enquiry. However, since they are keen to retain a level of anonymity, which I totally respect, and understand, we settled, instead of a list of “inspirations”. Records that had fed directly into Window’s sonic aesthetics.

In the past, when reviewing Good Block’s music, I’ve referenced folks such as African Head Charge, Bush Chemists, The Compass Point All-Stars, Colourbox, Thomas Dolby, Japan, William Orbit, Red Box, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Shriekback and Andrew Weatherall. As a consequence I was super interested to find out how often I’d been on the money, and how often I’d been wide of the mark.

Within the selections below you’ll spot sides from ZTT and On-U Sound, plus some obscure mid-90s techno. There’s a Jah Shaka favourite and a Weatherall remix, a loved-up UK Balearic classic and the genius of Wally Badarou. Mr. Orbit does indeed get a look in, and there’s also a lot of Japanese synth-pop.

Good grooves supplied by Good Block.

Photos and montages by Guy Bolongaro.

Wally Badarou  / Fisherman Theme

Art Of Noise / Paranoimia (Ben Leibrand’s 89 Mix)

Ryuichi Sakamoto / Risky

William Orbit / Water From A Vine Leaf

Jesus Loves You / Generations Of Love (Oakenfold Mix)

Haruomi Hosono / Strange Love

Bim Sherman & Strange Parcels / More Is Insane

A Dip In The Pool / A Breath From The Snow Queen

Wally Badarou / Kiss Of The Spiderwoman

Poison Girlfriend / Fact 2

Ryuichi Sakamoto / Futique

Japanese Telecom / Japanese Animation

The Other World Collective / Artificial World

Finitribe / 101

Dread & Fred / Jah Send Me

Hajime Tachibana / XP-41

Sandii / Zoot Kook

Furniture / Why Are We In Love

Good Block’s wonderful Window can be ordered directly from Bandcamp. To listen to the above playlist uninterrupted, pop over to the pair’s Youtube channel.