Track Of The Day: The Desperate Bicycles - Skill (Refill Records)

 

Throughout their short existence, The Desperate Bicycles were perennial John Peel favourites and this track, ‘Skill’, which had equal billing with ‘Occupied Territory’ on their penultimate release, featured in a session that they did for his show in the summer of 1978. In spite of not owning the record, this is the track by them that I remember the most, mainly because of the slightly dissonant guitar riff that runs through it. I had the’New Cross, New Cross’ release, which is currently going for an exorbitant amount on Discogs. Hearing this track, however, instantly takes me back to listening to my radio between 10-12 on a weekday night, (not Friday when the ‘Rock Show’ was on), it balancing next to my ear, often in total darkness.

Track Of The Day: Ian O'Brien - Dayride (Ferox)

 

Superior jazz-inflected techno from Ian O’Brien, on Ferox. One of the best labels for as long as it lasted. You can feel the roots of the genre in this one. It’s an undulating flying carpet of machine funk. Machine funk that also crosses over into jazz and house. There’s a real Brazilian feel to the percussion and a great attention to modulated detail. The dynamics are amazing and the sense of eternity implicit. Wondrous stuff.

Colin Dale - Abstrakt Dance Show 16.04.2026

 

Track List. Crackazat – Shine Louie Vega Presents Funki Cadets Featuring Willy Soul - Feelin' Good Tonight (Shapes Mix) Harry Dennis - Counting Clouds (Rob Redford & Damian Charles Jungle Sounds Mix) Black Jazz Consortium - A Century Of Love Piers Kirwan ft Dalena - Kingdom (Sean McCabe Cosmos Dub) Tevatron - End Of Cycle N808 - Witches Witch feat Zoe Wavy Mr. G – Firewater Dan Ivy ft. Biyi – Location Jay Robinson – Stroker Native Alien - Universal Language Analog 87 - PH3 This Must Be The Place Techfunkers - You Can't Stop Us Now (B-Boy Mix) Slok – Roots Underground Resistance - The Outer Darkness feat. Saul Williams LAZA - When My Mind Overflows Loxodrome - Fornax A Wet Basement - Fill Rate Parte 2 D5 - Sides Of Space James Shinra - Hive Mind San Soda – Cocomo Etcher – Phonetics SLPWLKR - Self Control Test A Brooks Mosher - Get Ready ( Fred P. Reshape ) Planet People - Reaktor Theory You & Me - Close To Me (Robert Hood Remix) Tim Wright - Oxygen (Abe Duque RMX) Ian O'Brien - The End of an Era

Track Of The Day: Gary Clail feat. Bim Sherman - Beef (Future Mix) (RCA)

 

A logical choice to follow Mark Stewart and a track that often bombs around my brain. ‘Beef’ takes me back to the heady days of 1990, the tail end of my first year at Sussex University and the Glastonbury festival. Three drug-fuelled days spent with friends from the campus. I have no idea how much I slept, or if I slept at all. I know I only went to the bog once and it was cathartic. I slept in someone else’s tent because mine had been hijacked, and there was a sound system about 50 metres in front of me blasting out ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’ on repeat. Thankfully that changed to ‘In A Silent Way’ just before dawn. By then, however, the damage had already been done and, admitting defeat, I set off with John Hassay to the folk tent. It was in full swing and we ate ice cream and chatted to a Scottish lad there about different types of acid. ‘Beef’ was big on the main field sound system, which added to the apocalyptic nature of the whole occasion.

Track Of Yesterday: Mark Stewart - Hypnotised (Mute)

 

To my eternal regret, I never saw either The Pop Group or Mark Stewart live. And it’s too late now. We do, however, have a rich back catalogue of his uncompromising musical and idealistic vision to call upon at will. And ‘Hypnotized’ was his first solo release after the split of The pop Group, here extended and mixed into an industrial dub nightmare by Adrian Sherwood (who else?). And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just as much about the ambience as anything else here, with Mark Stewart’s vocals taking a minimal role, but overstatement is the enemy here. Concision is everything. Lovely Burroughs sample too. The instrumentation is provided, more or less, by Tackhead under the guise of Maffia Members.

Track Of The Day: The Martian - The Voice Of Grandmother (Red Planet)

 

Unmistakably Reed Planet, albeit not as banging,=. All of the recognisable elements are present. The string stabs, the instant groove, the spaced out, woozy synth and a constant beat. All combine to make this track one that feels more constant than most. There are some jazzy bits as well. The percussion rises and falls as if it were trying to accommodate soloists. This sounds like techno that could have been played at The Loft. It has that drama and aura of togetherness. Positive stuff.

Track Of The Day: Ornette Coleman - Ramblin' (Atlantic)

 

This is from Coleman’s fourth album, and obviously a lot more conventional than what came later. And what came later is an acquired taste. ‘Ramblin’’ is aptly named. It pootles along nicely, like I do on some of my more recent runs. Loads of lovely soloes to enjoy. And, in spite of its relativity, it has a mind of its own.

Track Of Yesterday: Moxx - Re-B1tch (Yoshi)

 

The A side of a release which also has an amazing B (‘Time Is Running Out’). ‘Re-B1tch’ is one of those tracks which, contrary to popular belief, may sound a little better pitched up. ’Tis of no matter though, as pitched down it could also slide into many a psychedelic disco set. I reckon I’d refer it in full groove flow though, aligned with some very dubby house, designed to keep the beans effervescent and at peak time delirium. A permanent slow burner.

Track Of The Day: A:xus feat. Naomi - Callin' U (Extended Vocal Mix) (Guidance)

 

A piece of timeless vocal house music from A:xux, aka Abacus, aka Austin Bascom, who is truly one of the unsung deep house producers, even if he gets kudos what he gets isn’t enough.And this is fabulous. Atmospheric, soulful, jazzy and powerful. Taken from the film ‘Bagdad Cafe’, but nothing like the original. I’m glad about that because watching that film at the Screen on the Hill in 1987 with Peter Pulford brings back vivid memories ozone of *The* great acid trips. I have no idea where we went after the film, but before it started we went on one of those LSD walks that you do, going past and exploring the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead. I mean going into the hospital and walking around it like a couple of weirdos. The film came next and was incredible, the cinema was almost as good as the film, so we had it to fall back on if things got boring, which they didn’t. One of the great acid experiences was had that night. I think it was probably when later we were on the tube and got off at Wood Green to listen to the escalators, which we thought were descending into hell. I have no idea where we ended up, but it was one of those life-defining experiences. I haven’t watched the film again, but coming across this track today has awoken all sorts of memories. All of them good.

Track Of The Day: Addy Weitzman - No Man's Land (The Time & Space Machine Shango Dub) (Slacker 85)

I came across this earlier today and was sufficiently moved to post it. It’s a piece of slightly up tempo chug with the type of cavernous production, courtesy of Richard Norris, that wouldn’t sound out of place bouncing off the walls of a castle. Norris reimagines the track a number of times so the release is actually billed as a collaboration between The Time & Space Machine & Weitzmann. This is what I want to listen to at the end of a hard week. Lovely stuff!