The January playlist has fallen into a routine of selecting wholly from favourite tracks of the previous year that had not, up to this point, made it onto a Fruit Tree Records monthly set. As such, the January collection is always the only one of the years to feature music from just one year. My general rule when putting together these 75 tracks every month is to share sounds that have stimulated the senses, that have caused a stir of excitement or even a flush of nostalgia as something unheard for a few years re-emerges, but mainly the idea has always been to reflect the sounds and discs that featured in my life over the past four weeks. Because I do not just listen to new releases, I am also a constant crate digger and collector of records going back as far as music can be found in a physical format so that gives me a good hundred years to explore in, the lists almost always dive back and forth between the eras. Also, as my tastes cannot be limited to just one or two genres, I will always sail across multiple styles and movements although in recent years a thread has settled; it runs something like pop sounds through garage and psychedelia incorporating soul, r&b, country, folk, blues then ending with more extensive explorations in jazz, classical or progressive rock. That is the structure but for me, once the playlist is compiled, I like to put it on shuffle when I listen and get a wonderful surprise with every tune.

Over the years they have become an essential resource for me as well, because with so much music flying about and no bottomless pit of funds to find physical product (part of the reason for the album of the year lists is they help narrow down the most listened to releases that really merit ownership as a physical product and that superior vinyl sound) the playlists help chronicle and mark down all my discoveries. So, whilst putting this together it occurs, just as it seems to every year, that despite all the real-life shit tumbling our way, at least this has been a wonderful year for music again. If it were lean then finding seventy-five pieces of music from the year that I had not used in any other previous monthly playlist would be a challenge, but again it is as easy as making a cup of tea, the only dilemma being what not to include. Credit for whoever did the Sgt Pepper inspired sleeve art is absent because I found it on the internet uncredited, but it was such a striking image of those departed these past twelve months I had to use it. They may not all have been names especially connected to Fruit Tree Records, but it just feels very sobering as there are so many faces on there who just do not register as even being that old to me, let alone having now passed. So, it is with time hey? Who knows where that goes… happy new year