The excellent To Pikap record shop and bar in Thessaloniki, Greece asked me to pick five records from their racks while I was there last year and talk a little bit about them. Here’s what I chose…
Music
The good people at Dusk Dubs asked me to assemble a playlist of influences and important records so I picked songs jumping off from the Dust & Grooves influences mix I did a few years back, which roughly cut off in the early 90s. I’ve rewound a few years back into the end of the 80s but the bulk of the music comes from the decade after. This isn’t a mix and I’ve only selected the content rather than constructed the flow, as is the Dusk Dubs way, There are notes to go with each selection over on their site to put each track into context too. Listen HERE
October 19th – London, more to be added… event page info
The The fans – re-release of the first recordings of Matt Johnson are imminent. This tape originally existed in a tiny run, some hand-copied and sold at his earliest gigs, I only know one person who has one (and it’s not me). Now restored from the original tapes with 3 unreleased tracks from the same era. It’s being made available again for Cassette Store Day on Oct 12th and the pre-orders at TheThe.com are already sold out so make sure you ask you local shop to get enough copies in.
https://www.thethe.com/product/see-without-being-seen/
Out today: #8 of 10 projected releases I’ve designed for the De:tuned label as they celebrate their first 10 years. One release a month, multiple combinations of great artists coming up across nine 12″s whose covers fit together to form a larger image, with a tenth remix 12″ to finish things off.
Order:
Juno: http://bit.ly/2mokvex
Phonica: http://bit.ly/2kWzZGo
Bleep: http://bit.ly/2mr6qwZ
Clone: http://bit.ly/2m35sa2
Deejay: http://bit.ly/2kpn9jA
Norman: http://bit.ly/2kVPhLJ
Decks: http://bit.ly/2muZVt1
HHV: http://bit.ly/2m7jEiu
Over 30 years in the making, ‘Lesson 4′ by the original cut and paste duo Double Dee & Steinski, is finally coming to vinyl. Begun around 1985 as a follow up to the initial Lesson trilogy, it was never finished and languished on tape until the early 00’s where it resurfaced due to an off-the-cuff remark made during my trip to NYC to work with Steinski and interview the pair for Solid Steel. They gave me the tapes of various works in progress to re-edit for said interview and then, aside from an extremely poor quality bootleg, it disappeared again.
A few months ago, in a flurry of web activity, a complete 11min+ rework appeared, now subtitled ‘The Beat’, along with numerous other tracks, all now available on vinyl for the first time. Doug and Steve have obviously got their mojo back and been hard at it in the studio, aided by ADA and are putting their work up on Bandcamp including remastered editions of the original Lessons. Get the limited 12″ now, direct from their site, these may not be available anywhere else.
I chanced upon these beautiful new posters for the Royal Opera House down in the London Underground this weekend. Shot by Giles Revell and designed by Atomic – they captures the motion of ballet dancers to stunning effect.
Out today: #7 of 10 projected releases I’ve designed for the De:tuned label as they celebrate their first 10 years. One release a month, multiple combinations of great artists coming up across nine 12″s whose covers fit together to form a larger image, with a tenth remix 12″ to finish things off.
Order:
Juno: http://bit.ly/2KYVW0s
Phonica: http://bit.ly/2HlDApr
Bleep: http://bit.ly/2ZkbbpK
Clone: http://bit.ly/2HmDL3Y
Deejay: http://bit.ly/2ZcuPJp
Red Eye: http://bit.ly/2HoS2gr
Norman: http://bit.ly/2ZpTM38
Decks: http://bit.ly/2Nvt6YC
HHV: http://bit.ly/2NrkAJU
Triple Vision: http://bit.ly/2NqUmY9
The excellent Vanishing Twin have just premiered a new video for ‘You Are Not An Island’ from their ‘Age of Immunology’ LP. Most of their videos so far have been monochromatic, surreal mini-masterpieces, harking back to various visual movements of the 20th century (check the Man Ray-isms of ‘Telescope’) but the new one changes the format somewhat. Adding muted colours and a Moebius-like world vision full of bowl helmeted figures and pulsing black spheres.
They are also off on tour around the UK and Europe over the next few months. Go and see them, buy their records, they’re one of the most interesting bands out there at the moment.
Sad to hear of the passing of Pedro Bell, best known for his covers for Funkadelic and George Clinton, his art is so rich in detail, colour and messages with the pre-computer hand-drawn type and awkward figure drawing giving the work an untutored edge. That he was legally blind for 20 years and struggling with health issues is an all too familiar story but his black psychedelic comic visions will live on.
A few new things I’ve been listening to online over the UK bank holiday weekend – a brand new Future Sound of London ambient mix – The Electronic Brain Storms 12 – very deep, the usual high standard, great for the comedown into the new week.
The second of George Stewart Lockhart‘s radio series exploring the roots of the London club scene and beyond from the people who were there, newly re-christened Fiver On The Door. This time round his guest is Femi from The Young Disciples who goes into depth about the London scene in the 80s and 90s.
Part 1 (then titled Nights Over London) featured yours truly and can be found here or the full run compiled on George’s site http://gslstudio.com/radio/
The latest episode of Big Mouth, the weekly pop culture podcast, this week featuring a review of the new DAISY Age compilation, Friendly Fires LP and a look back at Definitely Maybe among other things. Always good for a listen and Andrew Harrison‘s quick-fire punnery, recent episodes have tackled Jeremy Deller‘s acid house doc and exhibition, Mick Houghton‘s book on his time as publicist for The KLF, The Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes and Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. Find all previous episodes here.
It’s been nearly a week and I’ve been away since returning from this madness so this is late but: The Delaware Road, 2019 : Ritual & Resistance, a 1 day event deep in the heart of Salisbury in a working army base was a blast. Hidden at the end of a road which went through a ghost village and fields of rusted tanks and distant watch towers, red Routemaster buses ferried us to the destination, driven by a man who asked us to reset our watches to the local time of 1944.
Along the way locals muttered about a rave happening at the military base but this was no ordinary party. 40 performers ranging from live bands to DJs, poets, installation art, spoken word artists, a witch and a lot of men looking very intently at laptops, tape machines, keyboards and modular synths filled the concrete spaces with a huge amount of sonic beauty and debauchery. The stark concrete and brick huts and outhouses housed all manner of the most leftfield electronica and alternative music and performance you’ll see in any venue or festival, let alone a working M.O.D. facility.
The Delaware Road encampment
The main gathering space and stage inside the curved Nissen hut
Stand out moments are hard to quantify as there was so much on and it was a battle to either catch certain acts or get into the rooms they were playing in as some were cramped/crammed by the time you’d arrive. The exception was the main Nissen hut/stage which was big enough to accommodate many and came into its own once the sun went down and the projections kicked in. In the Psyché Tropes room, Sculpture rocked as they always do and Howlround with Merkaba Macabre in a tape loop/modular synth soundclash definitely blew the cobwebs away and probably affected the baby swallows in the nest up in the rafters forever. The Castles In Space room was rammed for Polypores, The 12 Hour Foundation and Concretism and the Buried Treasure room hosted Ian Helliwell, Simon James and Soundhog whose set I caught the last part of with the memorable special lighting effect deployed during his ode to the Commodore 64. Add Andrea Parker playing an electronic pioneers set and Doug Shipton layering cosmic sounds in the main hut before a frankly terrifying performance by Lone Taximermist after which Steve Davis and myself closed things and this was still only half of what was on offer. You could have gone again and had a completely different festival so props to Alan Gubby for all his hard work making it one of the most memorable and manic line ups yet in the Delaware Road saga.
Andrea Parker
Doug Shipton
Polypores
The 12 Hour Foundation 
I never did find out who this lot were but they seemed to play all over the place, Push and Neil from Electronic Sound magazine look on over the wall.
Frances Castle from Clay Pipe Music exhibiting her wares 
Ben Soundhog
Ian Helliwell
Simon James
Nick Taylor from Spectral Studio exhibiting his work
Howlround and Psyché Tropes 
Sculpture 
A short blast from their set at this link https://www.facebook.com/strictly.kev/videos/10156224556540025/
Steve Davis and yours truly courtesy of Robin The Fog
Steve having a wail of a time closing the festival.
Markey Funk has finally released his ‘electronic music for silent documentaries’, JLM 1913/1921, which soundtracked silent films of Jerusalem several years ago in his home town. I’ve had these in my possession for around 2 years now (I even played several tracks at the first Further night back in 2016) so I’m delighted he’s finally getting them out there now.
He’s reactivated his Som label, one he uses only for soundtracks and private commissions, to release a very limited cassette edition of the tracks, up for pre-order now.
(above) The line up for Saturday’s event, I’ll be on before Steve Davis, playing acid/kraut/electronica to get you moving.
(below) Event guides, one for each audience member. Some ticket options have now sold out. Visit FIXR, Bandcamp or Ticket Tailor for availability:
Ticket Tailor: https://
FIXR: https://fixr.co/event/
Bandcamp: https://
(below) Exclusive Spectral Studio merch by Nick Taylor, available at the event, there should be plenty of goodies for sale so bring cash (no wi-fi on site so no card payments) and Frances Castle of Clay Pipe Music will be selling her wares too.
I’ve got to give a plug for the Musicians’ Hearing Service, a charity organisation who are dedicated to helping with all hearing-related problems that musicians can encounter. From ear protectors and plugs to tinnitus therapy and more they provide an excellent service and big discounts on items that can save your hearing.
A friend recommended the service (they can’t advertise because they are a charity so rely on word of mouth) and, after filling out a short questionnaire online to prove I’m a working musician, I was booked into their London clinic for a fitting. I’ve been wearing moulded ear plugs since the mid 90s and had to renew them due to wear and tear but what I didn’t know was that our ears are constantly growing so, roughly every 4 years, you should have a new fitting taken. I’d had mine for over 20 years so it was high time and the discounts they offer can save you around £100 compared to private options. Three weeks later and the new ear plugs arrived!
If you’re interested then visit them online (don’t be put off by the image of Coldplay on the main page), they have clinics in most major cities in the UK and it’s a simple process to see if you qualify for help. Highly recommended.
Lots of 45Live action today – Crossover festival tonight in Nice, France with Pete Isaac, DJ Woody & DJ selector the punisher plus my annual guest mix on 45 Live Radio with the DJ Greg Belson airs tonight on dublab
Proud to add my name to this new initiative by the UK music industry calling on the government to recognise and act on climate change/emergency whilst attempting to minimize current impacts created by our sector. For more info.
Completely separately, yesterday I stumbled across this online resource, Anything But Plastic which has alternatives to everyday household items I’d not even considered replacing with greener alternatives.
I currently use Naked Larder for package-free shopping on certain items – you sign up, order from them once a month (minimum order £25) then book a pick up time to collect your order in your own containers.
And to the eBay user who gave me my first negative feedback in 18 years because I used recycled packaging to send him his record – F**K YOU!
The video to the new Anna Meredith single, taken from her forthcoming second album, is incredible. A one-take Lego train ride around a huge track with Anna and her band playing along in different locations.
The king of puns, Andrew Harrison, and the lovely Siân Patternden invited me back onto the Big Mouth podcast this week to review the Warp 30th anniversary, the new Thom Yorke album, Anima, and the current TV adaptation of Joseph Heller’s Catch 22. The Quietus’ Luke Turner also joined us and we each chose current favourite tunes and stories we’d seen in the news recently. It you become a Patreon backer of the podcast you’ll get the show at least a day early and an exclusive ‘Extra Bit’ each week, where we describe our worst and best festival experiences this time round.
Out today: #6 of 10 projected releases I’ve designed for the De:tuned label as they celebrate their first 10 years. One release a month, multiple combinations of great artists coming up across nine 12″s whose covers fit together to form a larger image, with a tenth remix 12″ to finish things off.
Order:
Juno:
Phonica:
Bleep:
Rush Hour:
Deejay:
Clone:
Red Eye:
Norman:
Decks:
HHV:
Triple Vision:
