Rough Trade 40 book

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I’m very chuffed to have an interview with Savage Pencil aka Edwin Pouncey in the new Rough Trade book celebrating 40 years of the shop and associated labels. Just published by Thurston Moore‘s Ecstatic Peace imprint it’s packed with scrapbook-like anecdotes, photos, poems, drawings and interviews by a who’s who of the independent scene.

My piece runs to five pages and covers SavX‘s career from aspiring cartoonist and early employee of the Portobello shop to Blast First cover artist and abstract painter with Battle Of The Eyes. The interview was so long that I had to cut it down by more than half so I’ll publish the full thing here with many illustrations once the book has been out a while.

*Also – there’s a free John Grant one-sided 45 with etched B side if you buy the book from Rough Trade shops

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Hintermass ‘The Apple Tree’ LP

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The Hintermass LP arrived yesterday in all its summery glory, just check out that artwork, good enough to eat. As with all things Ghost Box it’s another piece of Julian House wonder, how he does it I do not know, always different but always quintessentially ‘House’. The music is a new collaboration by Jon Brooks (The Advisory Circle etc.) with lyrics on half the tracks by Tim Felton (Seeland / ex-Broadcast). A mixture of folk-tinged songs and ‘Krauty’ electronica, it’s too early to fully comment at the moment but on first listen I’d say it’s worth it for the last track alone. Listen and buy here

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Lucky Cat Ultraman special radio show

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A few weeks ago, when I played the Resonance FM fundraiser at The Book & Record Bar, I gave Zoe ‘Lucky Cat’ Baxter a couple of Ultraman 45s from my collection as a present. I’d picked them up in Japan over 15 years before and had bought them in to an OST show with Jonny Trunk years ago, more to show him the sleeves than to play the music. I met Zoe for the first time there as she has the show before Jonny and she recently reminded me that she was wildly coveting the records back then as she loves East Asian culture.

They’d been sitting in my collection for years, unplayed and unseen, so I thought, ‘why not give them to someone who will appreciate them more than me?’, seeing as we were on the same bill. She’s already put them to good use by including them in an Ultraman special on her radio show and showing off the covers on her Instagram (see above and below). She has a wealth of information on the show and it’s nice to know that they’ve gone to a good home.

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Graphic Means trailer

Graphic Means (Official Trailer) from Briar Levit on Vimeo.

Graphic Means is a film about graphic design processes through history from hot metal, PMT to the desktop publishing revolution of the 90s and beyond. Funded by a Kickstarter in 2014, director Briar Levit has pulled together 25 interviews with many leading figures in the field and is now in post-production with the aim of an Autumn 2016 release. You can find out more at the Graphic Means website, pre-order the DVD and buy a calendar and badges to help fund the film to the finish line.

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The Delaware Road live trailer


The Delaware Road is a psychological thriller & an audio-visual treat for fans of archived electronica, far out jazz & haunted folk grooves. Loosley based on the lives of influential electronic musicians Delia Derbyshire & John Baker from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Compere: Dolly Dolly
Live perfomers: Howlround, The Dandelion Set, Ian Helliwell, The Rowan Amber Mill, Robin Lee, Loose Capacitor, Tim Hill, The Twelve Hour Foundation, Revbjelde.

Now booking for live shows in 2016. Contact: [email protected]
Also available as a 19 track compilation CD + download via Buried Treasure Records

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Kosmischer Debris x 9.7

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You know the deal by now, the latest 9 daily experimental designs from my Instagram – these were made from miscellaneous photos of analogue kit I’ve had kicking about for years: a Russian reel to reel machine, Abbey Road desks, Sarm Studios patch bays and the like. I started with the central image, photos divided up and decreasing in size on themselves and then started putting mirror images together. Sometimes it’s amazing what forms itself when you place to edges together.

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ROM Returns

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Hands up who remembers ROM: The Space Knight? The character has been tied up with rights-holders Hasbro for years to my knowledge but it looks like that’s been sorted now. He’s coming back via IDW for Free Comic Book Day this year:
“Rom the Space Knight #0 will feature an introductory 10-page story of Rom’s arrival on Earth, an incident that sets up an ongoing Rom series launching in July 2016.”  Great cover by Zach Howard and Nelson Daniel

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Soundsci ‘Ronin / All Hands On Deck’ 45

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Yes I am biased, as two of my closest friends are part of the group, but, true to the golden rule of this blog – that I don’t post anything that I don’t personally love – this needs to be featured. I was lucky enough to wangle a digital file of the B side, ‘All Hands On Deck’ out of the crew last summer and played it as the last track in a gig in Russia where it finished the night in fine style. An uptempo cut with a triple DJ cut jam between Ollie Teeba, DJ Woody and Mr Thing that should leave scorch marks at any B-Boy jam. You can preview & buy the 45 or DL now from here

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Ken Nordine ‘Fuller Paint Color Spots’ 7″

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Taken from the Audio Arcana blogspot: this is an incredible find in the discography of Ken Nordine; a 7″ EP of the original Fuller Paint Company adverts that went on to form the basis for his classic album, ‘Colours’. These versions are markedly different from the ones on the Philips LP and a new track, ‘All Colours’ shows up at the end. More info and full download HERE

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Pork free magazine from Goblinko

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I found this by the door of a record shop along with all the other piles of free magazines the other day. It’s nice to see something like this in amongst the slickly designed, oh-so-cool others that vie for your attention. Crammed full of alt. / weirdo / mondo / trash / whatever you want to call it culture and proud of it. Goblinko is a store in the States that sells all sorts from badges to posters to T-shirts, records and fanzines. There’s not many left like this

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Flexibition 2016: Pop-Out Humpty Dumpty ‘slotty’ by Cliff Richards

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Found the other day in the middle of the West End, was only looking wistfully at one on eBay the other week. Inside the cover, the contents are beautifully preserved with the slotty having never been assembled. The version of Humpty Dumpty on the flexi, by Roger Hyslop, actually breaks into an uptempo funky arrangement halfway through! There are two more slottys in the range but this is by far my favourite.

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Ted McKeever’s ‘Pencil Head’

Pencilhead1+2Ted McKeever fans – he’s been back making comics on his own terms for a while now but Pencil Head might just be the best yet. A thinly disguised McKeever is a main character in a career-referencing look at life as a comic creator working in the industry. He’s pursued by his own personal demon and there’s all sorts of other weirdness going on in a strip peppered with the kind of oddball characters he does best.

Past works get referenced (Transit, Metropol, Eddy Current and more) which make it a joy for the fans to spot the little cameos. It’s only 2 issues in but it’s a lot more fun than his recent angst-ridden output. A one of a kind comic creator making a book about being just this in an industry that wants everyone to fit the same mold.

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Herne Hill Save The Half Moon music event

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Last minute gig addition, I’ll be playing some music at this on Saturday, it’s a local event for me and there have been lots of things going on in the area recently that threaten the livelihoods of local businesses in this community. A sudden 70% increase in rents to property by the local Dulwich Estate group has already caused one shop to close and the Half Moon Pub, already closed for over two years due to a flood, has had it’s music license revoked unexpectedly. There’s more about it here but basically it boils down to the seemingly unending desire to squash any life and vitality out of London and replace it with the dreaded luxury flats as property owners cash in and squeeze the people who made these areas desirable in the first place out.

Posted in DJ Food, Event, Music. | 2 Comments | Tags:

45/7 Vinyl Club mix #20: DJ Food

A new all-45s mix I did for the 45/7 Vinyl Club (not to be confused with the 45Live crew but the aims are similar). Each guest is asked to provide a mix made from vinyl 45s only, answer 5 questions and choose a unique hand-painted cover which they are then sent with a special 45/7 Vinyl Club 7″.

Click into the mix link for the interview and, as there’s no track list provided, here it is below

Dr. Donald B. Louria – Is Marijuana really dangerous? (Teach Records)
DJ Shadow – This Time (I’m Gonna Dub It My Way) (Universal / Island)
Sixtoo – Incedental 1 (Bully)
Dr. Donald B. Louria – Does LSD increase creativity? (Teach Records)
Controller 7 – Wandering Song (Bully)
Primal Scream – Kill All Hippies (Creation)
The Giallos Flame – Vultures feat. Wolf People (Analog Screams)
Cavern Of Anti-Matter – Total Availability and the Private Future (Peripheral Conserve)
Blues Explosion feat. DJ Shadow – Fed Up & Low Down (Edit) (Mute)
The Go! Team – Grip Like A Vice (Memphis Industries)
Paul Weller – Rip Up The Pages (Lynchmob mix) (Island)
The Protein Bros – Drainpipe (Rural)
The Edgar Winter Band – Frankenstein (Epic)
John Rydgren – The Noise (Teach Records)
Beck – Mixed Business (Geffen)
Chaps – Ascension To Virginity (Decca)
The Zutons – Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love? (Deltasonic)
Ocean Colour Scene – Hundred Mile High City (MCA)
The Soundcarriers – Boiling Point (The Great Pop Supplement)
D.O.T. – Say Your Prayers (Twisted Nerve)
The Dirty Feel – Get Down (No Label)
Toolshed – Pazuzu (Theme From Exorcist II) (Black Deck)
The Giallos Flame – Italia Violenta (Analog Screams)
Alan Copeland – Mission Impossible/Norwegian Wood (ABC Records)

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