The latest instalment of Spannered's Oddcast series comes from none other than Glasgow's Dave Donnelly, aka Production Unit. Dave's no stranger to these pages, having previously contributed two short works of fiction about talking cows and a rather exquisite review of Autechre's Quaristice album.
Formerly a member of Glasgow's now-dispanded electronica trio the Marcia Blaine School For Girls (along with Ruaridh Law, aka The Village Orchestra), Dave's had outings under his Production Unit guise on keen-eared labels such as Highpoint Lowlife and Stuff Records. He currently has releases primed and ready for Broken20 (which helps to run with Law) and Phuturelabs. The Broken20 release, titled ICU Tracks, is a particularly intense body of work — a stark techno set (suitably supported by remixes from Perc and Emptyset's Paul Purgas) constructed from the sound of hospital machines.
A while back, just after we got a whiff of his Mature Cheedar Dadcast for Techno Dads, we asked Dave if he'd pick up the Oddcast gauntlet for Spannered — and he's done so with gusto. "The theme is 'other music'" he tells us, "stuff that I'd probably never normally put in a mix." Well, we think he deserves one fat cigar for this epic two-hour selection, chock-full of beauty and strangeness in equal measures — and a large plastic beaker of warm sambuca for holding the dubious accolade of being the first (and probably last) mix on Spannered to feature the versatile delights of the legendary Bernard Cribbins.
Tracklisting:
Bjork - Overture
Rose and Sandy - Play Cat's Cradle
Hildur Gudnadottir - Aether
Fatimah al Zaelaeyah - Ya mun dakhal bahr al hawa (Hey, who enters the sea of passion)
Gendhing Kemanak Anglirmendung (Pelog Barang)
Drummers of the Societe Absolutment Guinin - Yanvalou
Njib Ould N’Ghaimich – Guetna
Throbbing Gristle - Exotica
Directions - Echoes (Continental Drift version)
John Coltrane - Ole
Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
The Beach Boys - Fall Breaks and Back to Winter
Scorn - White Irises Blind (Minimal Mix)
Godflesh - Christbait Rising
Scorn - Drained
John Cohen - Tar River
Coil - Triple Sun Introduction
Hype Williams - Untitled 1
Tangerine Dream - Love on a Real Train
Steve Reich - Proverb
FSOL - Papua New Guinea (Dub Mix)
Pole feat. Fat Jon - Slow Motion
Senking - Mimi
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (Instrumental)
BFC - Sleep
Mos Def - Kalifornia
Chris Thomas King - Hard Time Killing Floor
Raphael Corderos - Rock Creak Parp
Bernard Cribbins - Winkle Picker Blues
^ New Production Unit EPs out soon on Broken20 and Phuturelabs