October Chart

Armchair Psychiatrist – Stingray 313 (Naked Lunch)

 Collision With The Past 1 – Versalife (Frustrated Funk)

 Maybe – The Hasbeens (Bordello A Parigi)

Shoot The Owner EP – Lerosa (Ferox)

 Ode – Tin Man (Absurd)

 Six – For Disco Only (For Disco Only)

 Night Time Is The Right Time – Drvg Cvltvre (Permanent Vacation)

The Underground Understands – Deetroit (Unknown Deetroit)

 Sound Transmission – STL (Something)

 Work It Out EP – B-Tracks (Regular Expression)

Mark Bell Lives On

Some Arbitrary Thoughts

It’s been a while since I wrote something specifically for the blog, I can’t remember the last piece, but it was probably last winter. Of course, during that time I’ve been reviewing and interviewing for Ibiza Voice, communicating through a series of links and blurbs, and life, as it does, has taken over,. But it’s about time I started to redress the blogging balance. It’s therapeutic and, in spite of the recently rumoured drop off in all blogging activities, fills me with a nebulous sense of achievement, the same as finishing a particularly satisfying mix, only less fraught with difficulty and prone to error.

Watching the evolution of deep house, techno and its associated sub-genres from semi-rural Suffolk will always feel vaguely surreal. I haven’t been out clubbing for a while now, but still believe I’ll make it down to London for the next Thunder (something always scuppers my carefully-lain plans at the last moment). At the moment, my main objective is to try and make it to the next Free Rotation, but I need an invite, which could yet prove top be a stumbling block. (If anyone can invite me and a friend I’ll be eternally grateful). What I have done, musically over the past twelve months though, is go back to basics, sort of.

To my mind, the best music of any genre being made at the moment is coming out of the west coast of the USA. The deep, abstract, cosmic house sounds of Joey  Anderson, Fred P, DJ Qu, Nicuri and Jus’ Ed isn’t particularly revolutionary, but it’s crafted with such attention to detail and soul that it kicks everything else in the same genre into touch. Having said that, what comes out on the Sex Tags family of labels is equally vital, but from another angle entirely, lacking the reverence of the former group but being every bit as competent because of, not despite, its eclectic, loose-limbed approach. The reactivation of Ferox and Mosaic has gone swimmingly so far, while Steffi’s Dolly goes from strength to strength with some of the best deep house outside  the west coast being well-represented.

Right, it’s tiring trying to squeeze everything in, I guess I’ll just have to update a lot more regularly from now as it's the only way I’ll say what I need to. Having said that, I started this article with the sole intention of describing how difficult it is to put a mix together when time is tight. In effect, what this means is that I almost always start to out a set together from scratch, hardly having had a chance to listen to any of the tracks before playing, and being guided by my instincts throughout. This makes me think how any sets are regularly approached, and what level of concentration is required in order to play the perfect two hours.

Given the time and space I think I’d be the best DJ in the world, but we all would be if we had the chance. It’s important to me because, to my eternal regret, I never learnt to play a musical instrument. That being said, despite having sung in a few bands in my mid-teens, I doubt that being in a group would have been a good fit. Far too many rehearsals and practices for my liking. I get bored too easily and am a little skittish so, as far as my personality is concerned, DJing is  more me. Every set is different , even if similar records are being used. Plus you answer to no one, except yourself.

Eric Cloutier Live At Voltt Loves Summer Festival 30/8/14

Untitled EP - Sleeparchive/Mike Parker (Repitch Recordings)

Times are currently hard over at Bling Towers, but a piece of writing before the end of the week on a random sonically-associated topic should surface, and the next instalment  of Thee Kaleidoscopic Rebellion is due this Saturday night, so things can't be all bad. Meanwhile, here's a little oblique projection of a review for Ibiza Voice.

Random Clips Of DJs Playing: 21

Tunes Of The Day

Some Sets I've Been Diggin'

It's been so long since I've been in the blogging groove, but with the long, dark autumn and winter nights fast approaching, the time to get back into said groove is imminent. Review writing is also not what it used to be and one has to keep the home fires burning somehow, so the first of a weekly series of "pieces" will surface next week. Meanwhile, I'm off to Rome this Thursday for a long weekend. Plenty of time to re-engage after.

September Chart

Overtaking On The Inside Lane – Paul Bennett (Modernista)

Zipacon – Anthony Naples (The Trilogy Tapes)

Steady Mobbin’ EP – Melja (Mr Saturday Night)

 Perfume – Claire (Acoustic Division)

Guerrilla Soul EP – Guerrilla Soul (Vanguard Sound)

 Auftakt – Mura Oka (Latency)

 Upset About Lance EP – Frak (Tsar)

 The Return Trip Vol 3 – V/A (Blind Jack’s Journey)

 Terekke – Terekke (L.I.E.S.)

 Have No Fear – Gabicci Brunner (Take The Elevator)

Iron In The Soul

Iron In The Soul by Cacophonous Bling on Mixcloud

I'm not sure why, but this was the first thing that came into my head when thinking of the name for my latest mix. The halcyon days of the early eighties came flooding back too, when I first started reading stuff like this, and probably read more than at any time since.

Horizon Rage – Mura Oka (Latency)

Waterproof Theory – Heinrich Dressel (Frustrated Funk)

Crysosleep – Matti Turonen (Trust)

Have No Fear (Sandman Reshape) – Gabicci Brunner (Take The Elevator)

Baseacid – Traxx (Annunaki Cartel)

Into The Woods – Guerilla Soul (Vanguard Sound)

You Want – Yusuke Yamamoto (Serie Limitee)

Jazzy Things – Four Walls & Funky Jaws (Kolour Ltd)

Junebug – Brooks Mosher (Dolly)

Overtaking On The inside Lane – Paul Bennett (Modernista)

Sugar Puss – Junior Fairlplay (Crimes Of The Future)

Epsolon – Bobby O’Donnell (Strobewax)

Equanimity – RV800 (Formula)

Houses In Motion (Tin Man Remix) – Palms Trax (Lobster Theremin)

Red Between Green – Claire (Acousitc Division)

Second Coming – Michael Zucker (Aesthetic Audio)

Serenitatis – Anomaly (Soul People)

Lacanan – Causa (Blind Jack’s Journey)

Koch - Lee Gamble (PAN)

Read my review of an album which I believe has just raised the bar a tadge here.

Spotlight Diktat EP - Voiski (Sheik N' Beik)

Here's a write up of an EP from this distinctive French artist for Ibiza Voice.

Thee Kaleidoscopic Rebellion: 13/9/14

After what has seemed an age, TKR came out of its extended hiatus with a selection from Harry Sword. Here be ye playlist, the show will be uploaded as soon as I have it.


Cluster – 21:32 (Four men with Beards)

Moonraker – Plutonium on the low (Great Circles)

Autonervous – Enfant Terrible (Ratlife Records)

DJ Spider – Blizzard from the Netherworld (Plan B)

Policran Alarm – Shelter or Funkbox (NY or Detroit mix) (SubBASS soundsystem)

Gerhard – Epy (Defunkt)

Seldom Seen – Stunning (Underground Resistance)

DJ Spider – in the land of demons (Plan B)

Levon Vincent – Games Dub (Underground Quality)

John Heckle – Analogue Bulldog (Mathematics)

Satanic Soul – Each dawn I die (Sabotage)

Silicon Scally – Deodexed (Cultivated Electronics)

Beneath – Trackies (No Symbols)

Morphology – Dark Star (Cultivated Electronics)

A Made up Sound 004

Anthony Shake Shakir aka Da Sampla - ? (wild oats)

The Cap – Entro and Terri (L.I.E.S)

Amon Duul 2 – Henrietta Krotenschwansz

Pete Swanson – Positive (Confessions)

Scorn – Silver Rain Fell (Earache)

Ike Yard – Loss (Regis version)

Portion Reform – Under Duress (Downwards)

Portion Reform – Unrest (Downwards)

Peverlist and Pinch – Esperanto (Punch Drunk)

Perc – Before I go (Perc Trax)

Anworth Kirk – Avonwaith (Pre Cert)

Thee Kaleidoscopic Rebellion: 13/9/14 by Cacophonousbling on Mixcloud