It's drawn from an album with artwork and a name that are a sly comment on American foreign policy. But the first track taken from Abe Duque's new album Don't Be So Mean, the Obama-sampling Tonight Is Your Answer, is political but far from pessimistic.

It's a reflection of Abe's chequered life. He's been both a US Marine and a resident DJ at New York's notorious club-kid 90s-club Limelight. He knows how to operate the machine gun on the cover of the album, but wishes there was less call for gunfire. He's been arrested for potential terrorism - but for being found with a knife issued to him by the US government itself.

Don't be so mean, as the expression goes ...