Bandcamp winter warmers selected by Secret Soul Society‘s Cal Gibson.

T.S. Eliot famously proposed April as the cruelest month but I suspect many would instead plump for January: certainly here in the UK the sunlight seems to have vanished and the cold and the rain run amok. Summer becomes a distant dream and the days are short and brutish. As ever, then, we turn to the musicians, to the singers and the players, for some blessed relief from the gloom. Here are a few shafts of aural sunlight to sprinkle into your days:

Wonder | Angelo Cruzman, Jacoby | Multi Culti

Dreems and Jacoby serve up six slices of pure Australian sampledelia that all swing to a collaged groove: lots going on, plenty of soul, a magpie’s view of leftfield dancefloor tackle brimming with joie de vivre. La La La (Peace and Love) is a modern classic in the making.

MILITANT DON | Mala x Magugu | Deep Medi Musik

In total contrast, the legend that is Steve Barker recently put this heavy roller in as the centrepiece of a mix he did for Loose FM: it’s a full-on call to arms that hits super hard. Snare rolls, bass and lyrical flights of fancy: strictly for the headstrong.

Déja Vu – EP | Cecily featuring Brandon Lane | Cecily

More bass and more lyrical flights of fancy, this time in a stripped back soul setting: Cecily‘s beautiful voice and Brandon Lane‘s sinewy bass lines make for a satisfying whole. No beats and no need: just the two of them have got it all.

#Tenorio c/w Nebulosa | 45trio

The Flower Records guys and Paul Murphy join forces as the 45trio come correct with a stunning version of Nebulosa: the piano riff to end all piano riffs, essentially. Dancefloor jazz fire for wintry evenings.

Sei | Chiaré | Four Flies Records

Chiare‘s second album is another quiet joy, two years after her sparkling debut. More introspective and dialled-down than the poppier vibes of its predecessor, it’s a sweet selection of Italian skewed soul: warm and inviting and good for the soul.

Scientist and SunDub Meet The Spirits of N.Y.C. (Jump And Dance) | SunDub, Lutan Fyah, Scientist | SunDub

The Scientist Dub harks back to his classic productions: bouncy, flouncy, full of vim and vigour: very few sculpt sounds like Scientist sculpts sounds. Forwards ever, backwards never indeed.

The Pocket of Fever | Masahiro Sugaya | Ambient Sans

If you’re not seduced by the breezy tones of the title cut then skip to Conversation of the Wind, a truly wonderful helping of picked guitar figures and wandering motifs: a gentle unwinding of the mind. So good it hurts.

Maxwell Elemuo Acc. By Friimen Music Coy | Maxwell Elemuo – Friimen Music Coy | Cinedelic

Heavy on the super funk: a fantastic lost Afro gem from 1976 that includes a spellbinding take on My Sweet Lord and a near 12 minute jamdown Ajiboye Special. Cinedelic have a clutch of unmissable reissues out: all are highly checkable.