Holla! I hope this finds you all well and surviving life (and the kids holidays)
I enjoyed last weeks live show, even though I was properly knackered, it seems I always record them at my lowest ebb with the battery light flashing, maybe that’s where I have to go to find the best music, who knows?
So, it’s quite a contrast listening back to this show, which it seems I recorded live at 1BTN, a mere 12 hours after being in the studio recording another show the night before. I think I generally had more energy 8 years ago, I think that’s something we can all recognise?
It could also be the fun of doing live shows, which I am going back to this week. On Friday I’ll be live on 1BTN in a new monthly slot, 10am to Midday and I’m very excited about what that is gonna look and feel like. For those of you who don’t know, I did a weekly show on 1BTN for about 6 years, and I very much enjoyed it. I kinda let internal politics ruin it for me and I eventually moved to Soho Radio and Totally Wired, both stations I love, but I would record shows remotely from the comfort (and isolation) of my own studio, which has it’s many pluses, not least being I have access to 3000 records at any time, but there is something in packing a bag with some tunes, and making a 2 hr show from those limitations. Something I very much enjoy.
Of course I’ll post that show on here too, if you can’t tune in live, but 1BTN has a shoutbox/forum you can find here:
https://www.1btn.fm/#
You need to create an account (of course) but being able to chat with the listeners during a live show definitely has an impact on the direction and the vibe, so if you can tune in and message in, please do!
I’ll also be continuing my show for Totally Wired for now, there will probably some cross pollination along the way, but I’m really looking forward to doing something in my hometown, I’ll probably also use the opportunity to promote my work as a producer and mixing engineer, I mean, why wouldn’t I? I’m pretty rubbish at self promo, something I need to work on.
I find it fascinating listening back to my old shows, they come and go so frequently and I forget what music I have and how I put it together. It feels like familiar territory, so maybe I’ve got stuck in a rut, or shall we call it a style?
More recently I’m trying to evolve that style though, I guess as I work more and more as a producer, I’m finding interest in more and more music of differing styles, and I find that exciting. I also think my kids are having an influence on my musical taste, which is fascinating, how they listen to and absorb what they are finding. I guess I;ve tried to teach the to keep as open a mind with music as possible, because connections and emotions are everywhere, sometimes when you least expect it.
Speaking of which, I found I got quite emtional and Abba Voyage in London last weekend. I took my daughter and it was simply the best thing ever, both of us singing and dancing and smiling. But revisiting (or really visiting for the first time( those songs live, and, in effect, performed by the original members, with their thoughts looking back, hosted by younger, holographic, version of themselves, was both quite weird and quite wonderful.
Even if you aren’t a fan of Abba, you need to see this. The whole thing is insane, and then add the original music, the songwriting, the production, the arrangements, the engineering, the mixing and mastering, there have never been many bands with the legacy that Abba have. Essential.
Back to this show, I’m really enjoying how deep I went, there are some tracks I can’t find or remember, which is always a good thing, and I think that speaks again to having to throw some records in a bag and hot foot it to the studio, something I’m very much looking forward to doing again.
So, please join me on Friday 10am UK time, and I’ll send you another show next week.
Cx
Tracklist:
Lemon Jelly - Soft
St Etienne - Only Love Will Break Your Heart (Richard X Remix)
Sebastian Tellier - La Riournelle
Moses Boyd - Sirens
DJ Shadow - Ashes to Ashes feat Matthew Halsall
Stefano Torossi - Loving Tenderly
The Free Design - Nobody (Mars Volta Remix)
Nils Frahm - Colliderscope
Calibre - Samurai
Ben Lucas Boysen - Golden Times 1 (Max Cooper Remix)
Cotton - Dreaming of Another Place
Anouar Brahem - La Nuit
Bill Evans - Skating in Central Park
Joe Harriott and Amancio D’Silva Quartet - Stephano’s Dance
Marcel Louis Joseph - Priere au Soleil
Bossa Trio - Tema Em Do
Barbosa - Seara De Oxala
Wan Trio - Selvagem
Fruko y Sus Tesos - No Estas en Nada
Juan Pablo Torres y Algo Nuevo - Pastel en Descarga
Luiz Henrique - Mas Que Nada
Khruangbin - Lady and Man
Dorothy Ashby - Heaven and Hell
Rodrigo Tavares - Yangon
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