The following three songs are taken from Around The World in 80kbps, selected to give some idea of the range of the column and to relieve the occasionally overwhelming burden of tracking them down on P2P.

Royal Family– Kaikki Yhden Puolest

Unintelligible (to most) but catchy (to me, at least) upbeat hip-pop single from Finland, bearing the best use of the siren in recent memory. Insanely repetitive, but also fast and unrelenting enough for you not to notice that it never bothers to stop or go anywhere other than forward at a break-neck pace.

Kitty and the K– I Am A Motherfucker

Hyperactive, yet twee, electro meets hyperactive swearing. The result? Something like a collaboration between a five year old synth genius and his bratty eight year old sister. Obnoxious in every sense of the word, but appallingly catchy.

[visit an (un?)official Kitty and the K website here]

M-Flo Loves Boa– The Love Bug

This song reminds me of watching one of the news channels and seeing a report on how South Korea is now a big tourist destination for the Japanese, who have developed a fairly recent mania for their culture, particularly their soap operas. Their music, too? This Korean lot cut a swathe through the Asian pop market with this song, and with good reason; listen out for a cheeky interpolation of “Rapper’s Delight”, a dorky but lovable call-and-response in the verses and a chorus that is so sickly and sweet it’s practically dripping in nectar.

[buy “The Love Bug” here]