Michael Holland curates the latest edition of The Playlist, where records, travel and friendships intersect.

“For me, the best way to discover new music is by listening to the people you trust playing their favourite records” says Salford-based artist and player-of-records Michael Holland. This is our philosophy too: after all, asking DJs, record stores and music-making friends from across the region to share their favourite tracks is a thinly veiled way to bulk out our own knowledge.

Holland’s theory is also put into practise; he invites people to play records with him each month at Haxan, a chilled-out Sunday session that runs from the afternoon and into the night at Common. “Each month we share knowledge and enthusiasm for the music we discover on our journey through life,” he explains. It’s a great way to pass a Sunday, with a few pints and a musical conversation taking place on the other side of the room.

Sometimes the records echo the end-of-weekend lull, and sometimes they’re harder to swallow, but they all take you to new places in the process. Holland also co-runs Teasers Pleasers at Soup Kitchen each month, where the journey continues, encompassing psychedelic, tropicália and kraut you can dance to. For now, though, he steps up and offers us his Top 5.

Lightning Glove – Brave New World

This track comes from Lightning Glove, a collective of switched-on artists and musicians who are part of a bustling energetic scene in Prague. My friend Paddy from Salford-based band Gnod introduced me to it, and their album Radical Zoo (Nothing) is the second record on our label Ono Tesla. Paddy and I are keen to release previously unknown music that we feel passionate about, rather than purely easy-going, easy-to-sell sounds for the masses. Here’s a live version of the track recorded in 2013 at Czech festival Creepy Teepee.

Jeff and Jane Hudson – PCP

Dark subject matter but a mellow vocal delivery makes this a solid favourite of mine from husband-wife duo Jeff and Jane Hudson.

Peter Jefferies – On an Unknown Beach

Adventure is another good way to discover music; my own New Zealand adventure revealed lots of new and magical music to me, including this beautiful Peter Jefferies record. I bought it from Rae in Manchester’s Vinyl Exchange when I arrived back. Words can’t truly explain what travel and experience does but the poetry contained in this music comes close to describing the feeling of what it was like to be alone on a beautiful beach on the south island of Aotearoa in New Zealand.

Nico – These Days

Finding one song can sometimes reveal a whole world of new sounds to you. For me, many of those moments have come from evenings shared with friends. When I first heard this record it was a revelation; These Days has to be one of the most beautiful recordings I have ever heard.

Kult Country – Trembling Moon

Trembling Moon is a track made by some friends of mine. All absolutely lovely people, I’ve watched Kult Country play a couple of times already this year. This is a live recording from their gig at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds. Trembling Moon features on Kult Country’s latest single and the record sounds fantastic!