My youngest is flying to Ibiza tomorrow, and I’m a little bit jealous because I’ve never been. Anyway, he’s starting to get into music and making tunes. I’m pretty much letting him develop in his own way but being on hand in case he has any questions or wants any advice. I’m sure he’ll try and find some clubs to go to when he’s there, but he’s not too clued up at the moment. Having said that, neither am I. I guess he’ll go for the bigger venues, as those are the ones his friends will also gravitate towards. It would be nice, however, if he happens to come across a place where they’re playing stuff like this. He’s definitely into more BPMs at the moment, I mean he is 18. You never know though. I’ll be playing this in the car later when I grab him from the train station, as well as other Balearic delights, and let’s see if he asks what it is . . .
Friday, September 12, 2025
Thursday, September 11, 2025
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Tuesday, September 09, 2025
Track Of The Day: Cabaret Voltaire - Everything Is True (Plastex)
Preceding ‘The Conversation’ by a year and, to the best of my knowledge, still only available on CD. ‘Everything Is True’ is the opening track from ‘International Language’, and is an eloquent blend of the ambient and dance floor. It was those dynamics that ‘The Conversation’ amplified to such amazing effect further down the line, which makes me think that, in spite of this album being credited to both Kirk and Mallinder, the hand of Kirk is the controlling influence. Including a submerged spoken word sample from Orson Wells, ‘Everything Is True’ is trademark Cabaret Voltaire. Disorientating, haunting and, above all, funky. It’s a good three minutes before the kick first hits, but before that it’s impossible not to listen. There are layers upon layers of subtlety to penetrate. Phantom voices come and go in the void while various disparate sonic elements come into play, and then disappear. Nobody has ever done it better.
Monday, September 08, 2025
Track Of The Day: Prince Hammer - Flash Your Dread (Front Line)
I have vague memories of one Saturday morning in Probe, Liverpool, and coming across ‘Bible’, by Prince Hammer on Front Line. This was a label that had been launched by Virgin Records to push roots reggae in the late 70s, which was probably the genres heyday as, riding on Bob Marley’s coattails reggae had, at that time, become pervasive and, alongside punk, exemplified a side of musical counter culture. Anyway, waffle over. Me and my friends were fascinated by it and started buying it in droves. Prince Hammer, of whom I know nothing, definitely comes across as being heavily influenced by U-Roy, having a relaxed, but strangely also quite direct style.
Sunday, September 07, 2025
Track Of The Day: Happy Mondays - W.F.L. (Think About The Future Mix) (Factory)
Remixed by Paul Oakenfold at the height of his powers, ‘W.F.L. (Think About The Future Mix)’ is a gargantuan piece of work which, for many, is as important a contribution to global civilization as the Colossus of Rhodes or ‘Gangnam Style’. And who am I to argue. The Mondays were THE fin de siecle band during their short but very intense existence. Forget misery merchants Radiohead. Having a good time is where it’s at. The only sentiments I disagree with here, however, is that I should ‘think about the future’. Because the present is all we’ve got. I do look forward to a coffee every morning though. And, if it’s paired with a pain au chocolate, even better.
Saturday, September 06, 2025
Track Of The Day: Point Blank - Rog (Phono)
Having already featured ‘A Game Of Two Halves’, it’s only right that ‘Rog’ also has its place in the sun. What I like about this track is its volume and restraint. Also the drums at the beginning have exactly the same sound as my own personal impression of downbeat percussion, Elements coalesce in this track quite quickly and the funkiness and syncopation soon become irresistible. This is interesting because there are some classic dub techno traits present here which very quickly take off and transform into something else entirely. We shouldn’t be too surprised at this as Swag, aka Chris Duckenfield and Richard Brown are the brains behind this release, two chaps with more than their fair share of funk corpuscles. And the record came out on Phono, Matthew Herbert’s label. Herbert contributes a remix of ‘Rog’, which is nice, but the mighty original holds sway. The way space is made in order for the sounds to breed is something special. Tension builds and worlds collide. And in spite of the discipline of its execution, there’s a real primitive edge to it, the soundtrack to those monkeys freaking out at the beginning of ‘20011’ when the camera pans away.
Track Of Yesterday: Tappa Zukie - M.P.L.A. (Klik)
Coming out in 1976, Tappa Zukie’s ‘MPLA’, named after the Angolan Socialist Democratic Party, who fought a war against the colonial Portuguese from 1961 to 1974, has nothing whatsoever to do with uprisings, war and the overthrow of oppression. Not directly anyway. It’s an ode to resettlement in the promised land of rasta. The MPLA is also name checked in ‘Anarchy In The UK’, again, not directly because of its cause, but because it rhymes with UK. More than anything else though, this kind of namedropping was a sign of the times, and the constant political upheaval going on everywhere back then. Not much has changed I suppose. However, back then I think it meant more to the individual on a more idealistic level in that there seemed to be more of a capacity to participate and realistically contribute, than now.
Friday, September 05, 2025
Thursday, September 04, 2025
Track Of The Day: A Man Called Adam - Que Tal America (Extended Mix) (Prescription)
There was a time when I would have bought this just for Derrick Carter’s Dub Edit. And, while that is a great version,. It’s this one that I reckon I’d play out should chance present itself. That being said, this version also has quite a bit of the DC touch. The driving percussion here being offset by more subtle sonic umami in the shape of various keys being overlayed. Not as energetic as the Dub Edit, but it's no slouch.
Wednesday, September 03, 2025
Track Of The Day: Portishead - Glory Box (Go Beat!)
My youngest is really getting into music right now which is great, as it feels like it’s the first thing he might be *really* passionate about. So, in the kitchen trimming chicken thighs, giving some off cuts to Clive and I play a mix that begins with John Martyn’s cover version of ‘Glory Box’, which had my son asking me what this is, and where’s the guitar solo because he’s heard the same track with a guitar solo which goes “Playing With This Bow & Arrow.” Anyway, he was referring to the towering original, probably the song Amy Winehouse wishes she had written and something I hadn’t listened to for a long time, but which came back to me in a Proustian rush. And now I can’t get it out on my mind, but is it Balearic?
Tuesday, September 02, 2025
Track Of The Day: ReKaB – Cyborg Romance (Acquit Records)
The sudden, unexpected death of James Baker, aka ReKaB has been keenly felt by his many friends and colleagues. Such a shame, and what a great artist. RIP.
Monday, September 01, 2025
Track Of The Day: Bill Evans Trio - Autumn Leaves (Riverside)
It’s the first day of meteorological autumn, and it feels like it. So, with that in mind, here’s a piece of classic Bill Evans, taking us back to 1959. A few years before I was born. It’s difficult to believe that, in spite of his timeless, preppy appearance, Bill Evans was a heroin and cocaine addict whose years of substance abuse caused his premature death at 51 in 1980. Another great gone due to stronger demons.