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SOCIAL MEDIA

Thematic #01

21 February 2024

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I've tried a couple of different ways to put selections up that don't put any weight on the mix aspect and lean entirely into sharing great music that a lot of people might not otherwise encounter; this is true at least where I grew up and spent most of my life. The musical palate in Aberdeen in the 1980's was pretty limited, it improved marginally in the 1990's but mostly due to rave culture that swept through the UK in that era, but it was never a hotbed of variety or diversity in the North East of Scotland. Things have changed quite a bit since then in the faces you see and voices you hear on the street, but I couldn't say if it's broadened the culture or not, I'm not in the town very often these days but you'd have to hope it would enhance the range of options available.

 

Anyway, I always liked dipping into things I was never exposed to, I used the public libraries and mail order through magazines and newspapers and these Thematic selections are really geared towards that line of thought from my younger days. Sometimes they will be considered quite commercial to someone who may have grown up in a very diverse area, but not everyone did, and perhaps many haven't explored music outwith narrow parameters, so perhaps these will bring something to the table in that regard.


I'm not sure why I've felt uneasy at sharing these in recent years, perhaps because of the lack of interest or feedback. I have actually had them hidden from public view for the most part since they were done in 2016. Although there's no focus on mixing, I do still try to create a nice flow so that the tracks sit well together. This one leans into funk and disco though not in the most commercial sense, there's a definite 'world music' vibe through this selection. Anyway, enough words, the music is where it's at and you can decide yourself how it flows and where it sits in terms of the genres. I'll link up to where you'll be able to easily grab the tracks for your own collection.

 

 

Tracklist 

01. Ron Rinaldi - Mexican Summer (Spacetalk)
02. Jam Band '80 - Jammin' (With The Jam Band) (Rush Hour Music)
03. Sunset Gun - Be Thankful For What You Got (Thanks But No Thanks Edit) (Balearic Blah Blah)
04. Carrie Cleveland - Love Will Set You Free (Kalita)
05. Nana Love - Love Feeling (Dance Mix) (BBE)
06. Rob - Make It Fast, Make It Slow (Soundway)
07. Baby Huey - California Dreamin' (Curtom)
08. Experience Unlimited - Functus (Black Fire)
09. Marvin Gaye - Right On (Tamla)
10. Jeff Floyd - Don't Leave Me (City Of Dreams)
11. Jaye P. Morgan - Let's Get Together (How Do You Are?)
12. Reuben Wilson & The Cost Of Living - Together (Cadet)
13. Frederic Castel - Open Up (Leng)
14. Billy Paul - It's Critical (12" Version) (Philadelphia International Records)
15. Oby Onyioha - Enjoy Your Life (Soundway Records)
16. John Ozila - Funky Boogie (Spaziale)
17. Bokoor Band - Onukpa Shawarpo (Strut)
18. Roy Ayers - Africa, Centre Of The World (pitched up) (Polydor)
19. BB Seaton - Dancing In The Moonlight (Studio One)

 

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Dusk Dubs Selection - DD0305

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Dusk Dubs was a podcast series, in a similar vein to the Back To Mine series. My contribution is from back in 2015. There were so many great names contributing to this series, I'm not sure how my name managed to be put in as an option, but it was and I was really happy to be a part of it. 

 

The brief was to provide tracks that meant something to me for some reason or another, to write a little about each track and the guys would segue the tracks together. Or as they put it to me, no mixing, just letting the tracks breathe. As is often the case with these things, I'm not sure everyone followed the brief... I know from my dealings with Box Frequency FM that even the simplest of guides, like time limits to mixes, were often not followed very well. 

 

Sadly, Dusk Dubs is no more, and the website is down too, otherwise I'd have shared some links and the writing I contributed with my tracklist. The tracks each have a meaning to me in one way or another though, and as mentioned, this isn't about mixing (and it wasn't me doing that part in any case). The final aspect was providing an image to use as a cover for my show and I opted to use one from a bike trip I had been on and this is of Glen Coe in the Scottish Highlands.


 

Tracklist 

01. Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Moonlight In Vermont (Wax Time / Verve)
02. Bill Withers - Hope She’ll Be Happier With Him (Sussex)
03. B.J. Smith - We Can Sail (NuNorthern Soul)
04. Nina Simone - Do I Move You? (RCA)
05. James Brown - King Heroin (Polydor)
06. Nick Drake - Saturday Sun (Island Records)
07. Harry Nilsson - Everybody’s Talking (RCA Victor)
08. Jellybread - I Pity The Fool (Blue Horizon)
09. Fat Freddy’s Drop - Hope (The Drop)
10. Massive Attack - Better Things (Virgin)
11. Gwen McCrae - 90% Of Me Is You (RCA Victor)
12. Lani Hall - Love Song (A&M Records)
13. Junip - Without You (City Slang)
14. Suzanne Kraft - Flatiron (Melody As Truth)
15. Kings Of Convenience - Misread (Source / Virgin)
16. The Detroit Experiment - Highest (Ropeadope Records)
17. The Doobie Brothers - Losin’ End (Warner Bros. Records)
18. Christian Prommer’s Drumlesson - Plastic Dreams(Sonar Kollektiv)


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Reflect - Guest Mix for Corsica One

20 February 2024

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This one comes from back in 2021. It had been a good couple of years since I'd been asked to do any guest mixes, and it was always something that gave me a bit of a thrill. Putting mixes together has been a big part of my life, but only in the sense of being a hobby I've loved through the years. At one point I wanted it to be more than that, but opportunity only knocked a couple of times and it was the right opportunities, nor the right times, so a hobby it has remained. Being asked to do a guest mix though, it's nice because it gives me the feeling like someone else has actually enjoyed the selections and stitching together of tracks, and who doesn't like to feel they're doing something they enjoy but getting it right in the sense others do too. That feeling has been few and far between, so when Alessio of Corsica One asked me to put something together for him to host on Mixcloud, of course I was happy to get on the case. As it stands, this was the last guest mix I put together for anyone, so maybe I'm not getting it quite right for others after all... but it's right for me and I'll go with that 🙃

 

This mix straddles the ambient / electronica sphere, sounds like I've grown to love more as I have explored the genres over time. I'm not altogether content with the cover image but I've opted to leave it as it is. The photo is one I took during my bike trip to Europe in 2019 and is from a few days I spent in Vienna, Austria where I managed to take in a gig with José González.

 

 

Tracklist

01. Biosphere - From A Solid To A Liquid (Biophon)
02. Cosmic Neman - ProximaB (Tigersushi)
03. Sun Electric - Love 2 Love (Music From Memory)
04. Jo Johnson - Discontent Arises From A Knowledge Of The Possible (Self Released)
05. Pauline Anna Strom - The Eighteen Beautiful Memories (RVNG Intl.)
06. Soundstory - Rainstorm (Self Release)
07. Etienne Jaumet - Orage Dans Le Creuse (Tigersushi)
08. Jonathan Fitoussi & Clemens Hourriére - Five Steps (Versatile)
09. Carbon Based Lifeforms - Dreamshore Forest (Analog Remake) (Leftfield Records)
10. James Bernard - UWA10 (A Strangely Isolated Place)
11. Masayoshi Fujita & Jan Jelinek - Workshop For Modernity (Faitiche)
12. David Moufang - Sergio Leone's Wet Dream (Music From Memory)

 

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Restore The Soul

19 February 2024

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I've been out of action the last week or so, but slowly getting back into things and what better way to do it than sharing a mix that was put together in the spirit, and (I think) with the feeling of restoring the soul. There's no real back story, I put the mix together following a period where I wasn't doing too great and the music within feels like it connects to healing and rebuilding, or at least to my ears and mind. I had used a different cover originally that I wasn't as keen on, so I've updated that. Perhaps it'll pick up a few more plays, this one went so far under the radar that it was barely worth sharing.

 

 

Tracklist 

01. Luftrum - Dawn Chorus (Self Released)
02. Andrew Wasylyk - Blossomness #2 (Clay Pipe Music)
03. D. Rothon - The Ghost We Bring (Clay Pipe Music)
04. Trigg & Gusset - Blue Shades (Preserved Sound)
05. Amanda Whiting - After Dark (Jazzman)
06. Nat Birchall - Mirror Mind (Ancient Archive Of Sound)
07. Ishmael Ensemble - The River (Reprise) (Severn Songs)
08. Dwight Trible ft. Matthew Halsall - Deep River (Gondwana)
09. Yusef Lateef - Like It Is (Music On Vinyl)
10. Chip Wickham - Pushed Too Far (Lovemonk)
11. Katya Yonder - Mood (Meteron)
12. Arooj Aftab - Last Night (New Amsterdam Records)
13. Warren Hampshire - Eye Of The Deluge (Athens Of The North)
14. Luke Howard Trio - Phases (Hobbledehoy)

 

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All Night Long

9 February 2024

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I have no backstory to share here, I can't actually remember when this was recorded but think it was around 2019. There was a different cover attached to it that I was never very happy with, so I've updated it. This was made using an Ai programme and a bit of editing from me with a design app.



Tracklist 

Caribou - Leave House (Motor City Drum Ensemble Mix) (Merge Records)
Talaboman - Sideral (Matt Karmil Remix) (Studio Barnhus)
Mount Kimbie - Made To Stray (DJ Koze Mix) (Pampa Records)
BNJMN - Keep The Powers Out (Rush House Direct Current)
Siggatunez - Dreamcatcher (Tieffrequent)
Jimpster - Ceilings (Freerange)
Adam Stromstedt - Rent (Banoffee Pies)
Quentin - Mirage (Hivern Discs)
David Alvarado - Beautification (Peacefrog Records)
Moodymann - Freeki Mutha F cker (KDJ)
KiNK - Bitter Sweet Special Dub (liebie*detail spezial)
Bratha - Untitled (Self Released)
Sfire - Sfire 3 (John Talabot's Bubble Metrolopis Rework) (CockTail d'Amore Music)
Marvin & Guy - Moreno (Permanent Vacation)
Mark E - Oranges (Space Dub) (Spectral Sound)
Delorean - Seasun (John Talabot Remix) (Fool House)
Lorenzo Kurizu - Lauwerecht (Neo Vinyl Recordings)
Carrot Green & Selvagem - Vandre (Disco Halal)

 

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Farewell

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There's a few things to say about the background to this mix from back in 2019. The first thing to say is I've updated the cover. The original cover portrayed a particular aspect of the back story, one which isn't  quite reflecting where things are now that a few years have passed. Also, I'm breaking from the normal blog post layout by putting the player and tracklist ahead of the main blog post. Why? Well, the post is likely going to be quite long, even though next to nobody will read it, it's just a case of me wanting to have some things written down to share thoughts and meanings on things, in my own corner of the internet. So, this post will continue below. 

 

One more point before the music and the further part of the post... if you listen to this mix, please pay attention to the tracks used. These were picked out very purposefully, to convey a message or a story. It could be the titles, or the words within the tracks or indeed the general vibe of the music. This was done to reflect the points I'll try and make later in the post.



Tracklist

01. Slow Meadow - Everything Is A Memory (Hammock Music)
02. Umber - It Just Fills The Hollow Spaces (Sound In Silence) (w/ extracts from Sean Parker interview)
03. The Green Kingdom - The Largest Creature That Ever Existed (Home Assembly Music)
04. Thomas Méreur - Moving On (Preserved Sound)
05. Antonymes - Strains Of Doubt (Facture)
06. David Shrigley - Questions (Late Night Tales)
07. Selffish - I Came To Leave (Serein)
08. Kutiman ft. Adam Scheflan - Dangerous (Siyal Music)
09. The Greatest Hoax - Left You Behind (Serein)
10. Hoshiko Yamane & Mikael Lind - Getting The Message Across (Time Released Sound)
11. Kate Tempest - Hold Your Own (American Recordings)
12. Kate Tempest - Lessons (American Recordings)
13. Penelope Trappes - Puppets (Optimo Music)
14. London Grammar - Truth Is A Beautiful Thing (Metal & Dust)
15. Cass. - Leaving (Into The Light Records)
16. Oubys + Monolyth & Cobalt - Parallax Review (eilean Records) (w/ extracts from Carole Cadwalladr Ted Talk)
17. Penelope Trappes - Farewell (Houndstooth)
18. Gigi Masin & Jonny Nash - Postcards From Nowhere (Melody As Truth)
19. Kryshe - Underlying Reality (Serein)
20. Matthew Halsall - Ai (Gondwana Records)
21. Seahawks - Didn't Know I Was Lost (Land Of Shadows Dancing Mix) (Ocean Moon)
22. 4 Hero ft. Ursula Rucker - The Awakening (Raw Canvas Records)
23. Kutiman - And Out (Melting Pot Music)
24. Nina Simone - Isn't It A Pity? (RCA Victor)
25. Air - Realize (Be With Records)
26. Soundstory - Rainstorm (Self Released)
27. Earth, Wind & Fire - Evil (CBS)
28. Greg Foat - Not That It Makes Any Difference (Athens Of The North)
29. William Ryan Fritch - Our Thirsting World (Lost Tribe Sound)
30. Jason Van Wyk - Away (Home Normal)
31. Channelers - A Quiet Invitation (Inner Islands)
32. Slow Meadow - Artificial Algorithm (Hammock Music)
33. Beanfield - To Be Alienated (Street Beat) (w/ extracts from Krishnan Guru-Murthy & Jaron Lanier Interview)
34. Portico Quartet - Ways Of Seeing (Gondwana Records)
35. Up, Bustle & Out - Clandestine Operations (Ninja Tune) (w/ extracts from Chamath Palihapitiya Interview)
36. Saint Petersburg Spin Disco Club - Simple Customers (Emotional Response)
37. Breathers - Don't It Make You Feel (Numero Group)
38. Evadney - Anchor Me (Self Released)
39. Perth County Conspiracy - If You Can Wait (Anthology Recordings)
40. Colorama - Anytime (Music For Dreams)
41. Dennis Stoner - Maybe Someday / Maybe Never (Anthology Recordings)


As ever, I've opened downloads on Hearthis


 

Right, so back to the backstory and main blog post. 

 

The main thinking for me behind this mix was about deleting all of my 'Meta' accounts, so Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp. I really did a thorough job on that, downloading my data, going through the official process of removing personal data stored by them, manually deleting all the content and connections. I hit a hurdle when I realised that you could not delete the app from a Samsung Galaxy phone, merely 'disable' it. Having said that, the 'Farewell' wasn't just a nod towards ditching social media platforms to some extent, it was also about how I felt we were losing certain things that we may have taken for granted.

 

I've always felt quite uneasy about social media. Let's take the corporate, data scraping and feed manipulation to one side and just focus on the human aspect. Being of an age where I grew up without the internet, but then seeing and experiencing the social, cultural and commercial shifts in society as a result of the growing capacity and functionality of the internet, perhaps gives people of my age bracket (and thereabouts) quite a unique perspective. We're old enough to know life before it, we're perhaps young enough and (generally) tech aware enough to be able to adopt things that have developed over the last 25 years better than the previous generation are generally able to. I think with that perspective in mind, we've seen the toxicity in society, the polarisation and entrenchment of viewpoints, the ability of individuals to hide behind a moniker and express things in ways and to people they never would have been able to previously, and on a scale that is difficult to get your head around. For every positive aspect of the connectivity and function the internet has given, there is without doubt an equal proportion of negative implications that comes hand in hand. So, my general unease about social media stems from that, but is far from limited to that. I think it's also very hard to discern truth, sincerity and quality of connection or interaction because of the impersonal nature of it and I've certainly felt and experienced a massive drop off in genuine real life connections too. That latter part is perhaps a personal thing, I don't know.


With regards to how the social media companies operate, I think we're seeing things play out even more clearly now than when this mix was put together, and we now have another big player on the field in Tik Tok. It was only a few years ago that many people were shouting very loudly about this. Algorithms being manipulated, the addictive nature of receiving dopamine hits for likes, comments and shares, the scraping of data, the monitoring of movements, the fact that if you aren't paying to use a product - then you are the product. Then we have the bullying, the gaslighting, the pile on's to people with differing opinions, the cancel culture, false and misleading information and the bots that amplify those messages, the lack of transparency, the normalising of extreme content, the restriction of growth outwith the social media platforms (people don't leave these sites and visit very many websites outwith the platform). The list really could go on and on and on.


We have a handful of men controlling the largest parts of the online world and they are pretty much free to operate as they wish, they aren't elected, they don't answer to anyone, they have the means to access the highest levels of legal experts, they can hire and fire as they choose, and circumvent rules and laws by exploiting loopholes or passing the buck to someone they view as dispensable.  


When I opted to ditch Meta a few years ago, it was clear in my mind that it, and Zuckerberg, were by far the most dangerous and damaging pairing on the scene. The scale, the reach, the lack of transparency and the documented evidence was clear and overwhelming. Although Twitter was viewed as a cesspit, you could still find navigate your way around it, make it useful and ensure your feed was accurate and trustworthy. For me the biggest problem was the anonymous trolls that would often inhabit the replies. However, since Musk took control it has become an incredible mess of misinformation, gaslighting and a manipulated propaganda hell hole. The amplifying of misinformation has gone off the scale with the 'free speech' given as the regular fall back from his bootlickers, when in reality it's pushing agendas that suit him and his own goals. My feed has become pretty useless, the people who I trust and would like to see on my feed are throttled and demoted in prominence because they don't pay for the 'verified' status, which no longer means what it should and simply serves to diminish the clarity and trust of the original intent of the blue tick.

 I suppose the tl:dr (too long, didn't read) of all that is that social media has never been more dangerous, more manipulated and more impactful on society than it is now. I intend to step back from it as much as possible, without fully disconnecting myself because despite the overwhelming negativity I feel about it, there are some things that are useful to me. 


So,  I think, for the most part moving forward, unless it changes, I'll be a lurking reader of Twitter and no longer posting though I haven't for a few months anyway. On top of that I'm going to delete all content on there. I don't feel happy to have things hosted on there when Musk is pushing the extremes and giving a safe haven to very extreme views and content. Free speech shouldn't mean free from responsibility, especially when the ramifications can be extreme.

 

I have reopened a Mixamorphosis account on Facebook, very reluctantly, and it still appears that news feeds are as useless as they were a few years ago. Really, I wanted a reliable source for music news on artists and labels I follow, and since Twitter has gone so far downhill, I'd hoped that the alternative would be better. I also think I need a presence to some extent, though I very much doubt it will be much use. At the time of writing, I've had the page open for a couple of months and only gained a couple of connections. I guess I'll just see how it goes, though I won't be having a Facebook presence of my own in a personal sense. Follow or don't follow, I'll just keep doing what I think is right for me and block out the external noise as much as I can. I've thought about trying to utilise Tik Tok, but it's really not likely. There's so much utter mind melting drivel on there, though there are a few good and informative accounts, they're few and far between. You know, maybe I'm just not cut out for it all. I can't help but feel we're too far down the rabbit hole now; the genie has been let out the bottle, it's unlikely to be put back. I've got a Bluesky account, but I'm not sure if that will become as useful as Twitter once was, it's certainly missing a lot of the key accounts that I'd like to see.


I've waffled on long enough. I'll leave you with a couple of points of reference, things that are useful to be aware of - 


The Social Dilemma - This is a link to a Netflix documentary. It gives a good overview of what I've tried to go into, far better than I could. It's worth watching, it's definitely worth being aware.

The Great Hack - This is another link to a Netflix documentary. This one is about the Cambridge Analytica scandal and Facebook specifically.

 

I could go on. In reality, not many people care or pay attention to these things. Similarly with the issues going on around the world, people don't care until it arrives on their doorstep, or the algorithm triggers enough outrage.

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The Drifter

6 February 2024

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A guest selection for Salvatore Muscat, aka Sequenchill. A man with a huge Mixcloud following and regularly putting out great musical selections. I really liked how this one turned out and it seemed to be well received at the time. I think I've only done one more guest mix since then though, so perhaps it's just good to my ears in reality 😂 Just as an FYI... I had no idea that I'd used a few tracks from the same label until I came to link them up. I often forget what labels things are on, tracks are organised by genre for me, so it was coincidental and shows the label picked some great music!


The cover image is a photo I had taken a year or two earlier when I was on a camping / biking trip to the North West of Scotland. The title refers to how I felt at the time, like life was just drifting, not really under my control. It still does, but I'm working on it.


 

Tracklist 

01. SoundStory - Rainstorm (Field Recordings)
02. Max Ananyev - Laurel Forest (Serein)
03. Slow Meadow - Ghosts In The Brazos (Self Released)
04. Seabuckthorn - The Observatory (eilean rec.)
05. Tess Said So - Black Light (Preserved Sound)
06. Scrimshire - Won't Get Better (Rebecca Vasmant Remix) (Albert's Favourites)
07. Kryshe - Queen's Court (Serein)
08. Ishmael Ensemble - Song For Knotty (Banoffee Pies)
09. Greg Foat - Driftin' (Athens Of The North)
10. Brambles - Aréte (Serein)
11. Colourist - Where Will You Go? (Serein)
12. Copenema - Some Di Some Day (Music For Dreams)
13. Mammal Hands - Three Good Things (Gondwana Records)
14. Lowercase Noises & Blurstem - Ochre (Self Released)
15. Foundsounds - Relaxing Rain & Loud Thunder (Self Released)
16. Kettenkarussell - Drift (Giegling)


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We Dig Deeper Guest Mix

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This was a guest 'mix' I was asked to do for Mark Gardner (aka Strange Cargo) back in 2019. The concept of this being as if it were being recorded to a 90 minute cassette tape - this idea was very much up my street because that's my era. If any young folk should happen upon this post, that's a cassette in the cover image, you could have 45 minutes on each side, you couldn't skip, though you could have your finger pressed equally on 'play' and 'fast forward' on some devices which would let you hear roughly where you were as you fast forwarded through the tape. Sometime, the actual tape would get chewed up by the player, if you were luck it didn't destroy the tape and you could rewind the tape into the cassette manually with your finger or a pencil. In a lot of ways, I love how we moved on in the digital world, but the physical aspect of media, whether newspaper, cassette, video, cd, vinyl and all that came with it feels like a lost experience. Everything is convenient and instant these days, which is great, but I can't help but miss some aspects and of course, I don't particularly trust these big companies to give us good value as the digital only era starts to really bite... you just need to look at the price of digital games as an example of where we're headed. Anyway..... I've digressed massively.


Back to the concept behind this. It was meant to be one side (45 minutes) with a light theme and the other side leaning into the darker side. I'm not sure I really achieved that, but the listener can decide for themselves. This came about at a really busy time for me, there was a huge amount going on with my Mum and I was loosely thinking about heading off on my bike for a tour around Europe on my own. That was daunting and extremely spontaneous...as they all have been! Literally deciding to go on the morning I leave and just going with the flow. As it turned out, I was staying in an amazing hotel on the border between Switzerland and Germany, called the Eckert, well worth a visit and the food is a real amazing experience, and of course, you're on the doorstep of the most beautiful areas in mainland Europe!


For the cover image, I've gone with my own design. The original was really just an advert for the show, that's been and gone a long time now, so I've allowed myself to put my own spin on it. 

 

I'm quite sure I could have been a bit more focussed with this post, but anyway, on to the music.


 

Tracklist 

 

Light - A-side


Good Weather For An Airstrike - Mesopelagic (Self Released)
Levi Patel - As She Passes (Nocturne) (Self Released)
Hampshire & Foat - The Promise (Athens Of The North)
Lani Hall - Sun Down (A&M Records)
Aktuala - Dejanira (Bla Bla)
Alela Diane - Lady Divine (Rough Trade)
Joseppa & Musyl - Follow Me (Eskimo Recordings)
Deodato - Also Sprach Zarathustra (Columbia)
Family Four - En Hast Utan Namn (Eskimo Recordings)
Master Phil - Waporday (Dreamtime Records)
David Axelrod - Fantasy For Ralph (Mo Wax)
Alice Clark - Looking At Life (BGP Records)

 

Dark - B-side


Ralf Hildenbeutel - Promenade (An Unpleasant Dream) (Touched) - Proceeds go to Macmillan Cancer Research
The Green Kingdom - Momentary (Rusted Tone Recordings)
Kutiman - Line 1 (Siyal Music)
Hampshire & Foat - Rain Clouds (Athens Of The North)
Mason Proffit - Everybody Was Wrong (Ole Smokey Edit) (Self Released)
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound Of Silence (T2MM Edit) (Self Released)
Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky (Red Axes Remix) (Self Released)
Harry Nilsson - One (RCA Victor)
A Forest Mighty Black - Everything (Compost Records)
Leifur James - Mumma Don’t Tell (Late Night Tales)
Moby - Go (Solarno’s Lounge Attack Mix) (Self Released)

 

 

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Be Kind

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There's a couple of tracks I wish I hadn't used in this mix, and a few that I wish I had. That's the nature of recording mixes without planning them in advance, or it is for me. I look back with a critical ear.  I think there's a good chance of a follow up to this at some point. The message in the cover is extremely important to me. There is far too much of all those words I nestled into the background in this world. If it wasn't true, then moments of kindness wouldn't be celebrated as they are, it would be accepted as the norm, and that's the direction we should be travelling, but instead we seem to be moving further away from that. Anyway, the emphasis is, Be Kind, find joy in simple things, move away from things in life that bring you or others down. It's a start point and one I need to look to myself.


 

Tracklist

01. Slow Meadow - Palemote (Self Released)
02. Fumio Miyashita - See The Light (Abridged) (Light In The Attic)
03. A conversation with Rickie Lee Jones (Youtube)
04. Umber - All The Ships (Oxide Tones)
05. Birds Of Passage - On Our Hands (Dronarivm) - Proceeds go to Warchild
06. Caught In The Wake Of Forever - Faultless Youth Declined (Dronarivm) - Proceeds go to National Suicide Prevention Helpline
07. Weyes Blood - Everybody's Talking (Mexican Summer)
08. The Green Kingdom - Bell Garden (ambimix) (Rusted Tone Recordings)
09. candysomething - Sellotape (Self Released)
10. Levi Patel - Her Angled Beauty (Self Released)
11. Evan Bartholomew - Medicine / Healing (Newlands Music)
12. Good Weather For An Airstrike - Breathing (ft Inachus) (Hawkmoon Records)
13. William S. Fischer - Chains (Late Night Tales)
14. The Cinematic Orchestra - To Believe (Ninja Tune)
15. Hampshire & Foat - The Solitude Of Certitudes (Parts 1 & 2) (Athens Of The North)
16. Man Watching The Stars - Fields (Self Released)
17. Charles Bukowski on life
18. Agnes Obel - Poem About Death (Late Night Tales)
19. Endless Melancholy - In Transition From Anxiety To Acceptance (Dronarivm)
20. Jonathan Fitoussi - Aquarius (Further Records)
21. Katarzyna Borek - Uranus for Craig Armstrong (Weather Storm) (BITTT)
 

 

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Just A Sample

5 February 2024

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I thought this was a good idea as means to try and increase engagement on my Soundcloud and social media channels and the back end of 2018 (I think). It didn't quite have the desired effect but I still think it was a good idea.

 

I've always loved hearing the creativity that is involved in the art of sampling, and there is no genre that embraced and mastered the art more than Hip Hop. So, to do something a little different and interactive (or maybe not, it might have been done before), I thought I'd put together a wee selection of tracks that have been sampled by Hip Hop artists. The Soundcloud player below are of the original tracks, played in all their glory, very little in the way of mixing.

 

So, the challenge, should you choose to accept it is to listen to the Soundcloud player and try and identify the hip hop tracks that they were used in. Some are well known, some are quite obscure - trainspotter-ish if you know what I mean. At the very bottom of the post, I'll share a Youtube link that gives the answers. A word of note - some are extremely NSFW and only for adult ears, especially track 6; they don't get much more explicit, so fair warning. If you want to cross reference (try not to cheat though) you can make use of the amazing website whosampled.com.

 

For those of you that don't know, the thing in the picture above is a sampler - a Boss SP 202, something I had many, many moons ago though I never quite got to grips with it.


 

Tracklist 

01. Dizzy Gillespie & The Oscar Peterson Big Four - Chicken Wings (Pablo Today)
02. Smokey Robinson - Quiet Storm (Tamla)
03. Bob James - Nautilus (Evosound)
04. Stan Getz & Luiz Bonfá - Saudade Vem Correndo (Verve Records)
05. Herbie Hancock - Watermelon Man (Columbia)
06. Brick - Fun (Bang Records)
07. Otis Redding - Let Me Come On Home (Atlantic)
08. Average White Band - School Boy Crush (Atlantic)
09. Silver Convention - Fly, Robin, Fly (Polydor)
10. Jame Brown - The Boss (Polydor)
11. Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle (Chess)
12. Galt MacDermot - Space (Kilmarnock)
13. Bill Withers - Make A Smile For Me (Sussex)
14. The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You (End)
15. Ronnie Foster - Mystic Brew (Blue Note)
16. Gary Burton - Las Vegas Tango (Atlantic)

 

Download available via Hearthis

 

 

 

The Answers

 

 

 

01. Jurassic 5 - In The Flesh (PAN)
02. De La Soul - Breakadawn (Tommy Boy)
03. Ghostface Killah ft Raekwon & Cappadonna - Daytona 500 (Razor Sharp Records)
04. The Pharcyde - Runnin' (Delicious Vinyl)
05. LL Cool J - 1-900 LL Cool J (Def Jam)
06. Akinyele ft. Kia Jeffries - Put It In Your Mouth (Stress)
07. EPMD - The Steve Martin (Fresh Records)
08. Ultramagnetic MC's - Grip The Mic (Ol' Skool Flava)
09. Red Man & Method Man - How High? (Remix) (Def Jam)
10. Nas - Get Down (Columbia)
11. Boogie Down Productions - Breath Control II (Jive)
12. Busta Rhymes - Woo Hah! (Elektra)
13. Citizen Kane - Blackrain (Treehouse Records)
14. Fugees - Zealots (Columbia)
15. A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation (Jive)
16. Cypress Hill - Illusions (Columbia)

 

 

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Back To Mine 2

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I originally had this posted as 'Back To Mine 2019' but I've decided to rename the two Back To Mine posts (as it stands). Having the date within the title seemed unnecessary and even more so given the time span through the selection.

The concept isn't new, it's been done by countless others in various guises, but the whole 'Back To Mine' feel was / is such a great concept to share great music without worrying too much about mixing or sticking within a narrow parameter of genre. Even the title evokes memories of heading home after a good night out and digging through tape, record and cd collections finding gems that carry meaning, memories or simply sounds to get lost in until the morning light starts filling up your room.

I do want to emphasise that this isn't a "mix" and it's not about pulling out obscure, underground tunes from my collection or throwing the latest hot tracks from the Beatport charts into a mix. It's a compilation that is a personal journey of music that has some memories or meanings attached to it. I really enjoyed digging through my music and pulling things out to use for this so don't be surprised if there is more of these down the line. I'll add the caveat that I've used (perhaps liberally on occasion) a touch of reverb to help get those tracks to sit together through some of the intros / outros - it's still not a mix though! As always I'll link the tracklist up as best I can so you can pick things up for yourself, most of the links are going to be Discogs, but you might find things cheaper via Ebay or the bald spaceman's platform (you know, the rich book seller).

Finally, the image has been updated from the one I originally had used, which I think was a bit rubbish, not to put too fine a point on it. The photo used for this updated version is a couple of miles from where I currently live. It is a spot I've been walking my dogs (2 current Irish Red Setters and my beloved Border Collie that was my world before the red heads arrived) for about 14 or 15 years now and is looking towards Cothiemuir, the place where my Mum's Cherry Blossom is planted and her ashes were scattered. It's a beautiful and peaceful part of the Aberdeenshire countryside.


 

Tracklist

[Re:Jazz] - That Night (INFRACom!)
Jazz Vandall's - Summertime (Hed Kandi)
LTJ Bukem ft. DRS - Constellation (Good Looking Records)
Gak Sato - Green City (Temposphere)
Josè Gonzàlez - The Forest (Imperial)
Taj Mahal - Queen Bee (Legacy / Columbia)
Maurice Moore & Family Affair Band - Everything That Shines Ain't Gold (Melodies International)
Jackie Wilson - No Pity (In The Naked City) (Brunswick)
Nina Simone - Baltimore (Album Version) (CTI)
Massive Attack - Better Things (Wild Bunch Records)
Bob Marley - Waiting In Vain (Island Records)
NuYorican Soul ft. George Benson - You Can Do It (Baby) (NuYorican Style Remix) (Cutting Edge)
Lamb - Cotton Wool (Fila Brazillia Remix) (Fontana)
Daft Punk - Fresh (Virgin)
Badly Drawn Boy - The Shining (Twisted Nerve / XL Recordings)
Kings Of Convenience - The Weight Of My Words (Four Tet Remix) (Source)
Nightmares On Wax - Les Nuits (Warp Records)
Sad Rockets - Sad (Morbid Records)
J.J. Cale - Magnolia (Shelter)
Terry Callier - Ordinary Joe (Cadet)
Minnie Riperton - Reasons (Epic)
Sly & The Family Stone - I Ain't Got Nobody (Ace)
Brief Encounter - What About Love (Capitol Records)
Gloria Jones - Tainted Love (EMI)
Merry Clayton - Light On The Hill (Repertoire Records)
The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There (Stax)
Billy Paul - It's Critical (12"Version) (Philadelphia International Records)
Country Joe McDonald - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag (Rhino Entertainment)
The Doors - Roadhouse Blues (Elektra)
Top Drawer - Song Of A Sinner (Guerssen) 

 

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Dum Spiro Spero

4 February 2024

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I don't remember exactly when this mix was put together. I think it might have been in the Autumn of 2018, but you could tell me it's a year older and I'd not know for sure. I've never had it posted on the blog for some reason. I suppose it kind of followed on from the mix I shared in my previous post 'The Fragility Of Life', and so when I explain (should you need it) that Dum Spiro Spero is a latin phrase that means something along the lines of 'While I breathe, I hope'. With everything that had gone on with my Mum I think that did sum up where my mind was - I'm still breathing, she's still breathing, so we hope for the best. Quite a few years have passed by since then and that feeling has been around for the most part, but the hope part feels like it's evaporated.


Anyway, that's the back story out the way. I really love the music and the flow of this one. It's had hardly any plays at all and I think that's perhaps because most people that followed me did so when I was playing house, tech house, then edits of disco and soul etc. So, as I started experimenting with other genres, play counts fell off a cliff. I don't mind, it's just a shame that a lot of people aren't open minded to lots of different music and approaches, I can't help but feel this music deserves mores ears, hence me sharing it in mixes (unsuccessfully).


The image for the cover is a photo I took of Bennachie, near where I currently live. The photo is taken from just next to the Harlaw monument on the outskirts of Inverurie.


 

Tracklist


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