The first in a series of regular playlists featuring selections from the artists and friends of the label. The idea with the series is an hour long set, a brief musical snapshot rather than a 47 hour odyssey (my rolling playlist got a little out of control so is now archived). I go first, enjoy! x
‘Tiger Leone’ from the new EP features on the latest Secretsundaze show on NTS. I have a long association with James & Giles and worked as a consultant for the first Secretsundaze CD back in 2007 licensing all the songs for the compilation. I remember negotiating the Omar S license over a long phone call with his wife and also licensed Holy Ghost Inc which i later went on to reissue on Isle Of Jura.
Here’s a selection of ‘With You’ 12″s out in the field, thanks to all who bought a copy. The initial press of 500 has sold out with my distributor and the last of the 12″s are in the shop. I have a couple of edits to do of forthcoming reissues and will then commence work on the next EP.
The latest Skylab show is up for streaming. I have to say it’s a good one! It starts off with some Dub and Reggae before moving into Disco and some musical curveballs. I’ve not bought many records lately due to the insane shipping times from the US and Europe so i dug deep into my collection finding a lot of stuff i’d forgotten I owned.
Tracklisting:
UB40 Present ‘Arms In Dub’ / Prince Fatty ‘Get Ready’ / The Rolling Stones ‘Feel On Baby’ (Dub) / The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band ‘Roob Lor Pu Tai’ (Rootikal Re-Dub) / Good Morning Tapes ‘Silence Please’ / Jeff Majors ‘Yasmeen’ / DJ Mad A & Dr Stevie Levitating Pharoah’s (Ambient Mix) / FG’s Romance ‘What Is Love Today’ / Percussions ‘Talking Drum’ / Pieces Of A Dream ‘Mt Airy Groove’ / Ketiov ‘F’ Afrodesia ‘Deep Down In Zanzibar’ / Sirs Cut ‘Love Me Right’ / Tony Allen ‘Jealousy’ / Mongo Santamaria ‘Ebora’ (yeza) / King Africa ‘Version Jungle’ / Dr Togo ‘Be Free’ / Skyway ‘High’ / Flamingo Pier ‘Boogie Meltdown’ / Whodammany ‘Troublemaker’ / Common Sense ‘Voices In My Head’ / Lavender Interlude / Velvet season & the hearts of gold ‘Love directions’ / Supermax ‘Love Machine’
The Test Pressing ‘Stay In & Chill’ series has introduced me to so much great music these last few weeks so its an honour to contribute to the series with my own selection. I started with Fantastic Mr Fox and ended up at Jim Reeves, you can check it out above.
Dr Rob and his always on point Ban Ban Ton Ton blog pulled together some really great book and movie recommendations from various DJ’s, Producers and Label People. I recommended ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St John Mandel which you can read about here and 28 Days Later for the Movie list.
It feels like a strange moment to share new works & i appreciate buying music may not exactly be a priority right now. The release was put into production some weeks ago so is in the system to be released in May, titled ‘With You’ its another 6 track EP / Mini LP following last year’s ‘Monster Skies’. Like the last EP the idea is to bring together the melting pot of influences that also inspire the label. The A side has a Balearic vibe with a distinct dub influence, and a lifetime of house music influences emerge on the B side with some hypnotic basslines & mesmerising melodies (hopefully! 🤠) set to classic Roland drum programming. Mastering By Matt Colton. Sleeve Design By Bradley Pinkerton. Pre-Order Here.
Test Pressing ran a ‘Day In The Life’ feature, if you want to know what i eat for breakfast read on! There’s also some more interesting insights into my digging process and the prospect of making a living from music during the Coronavirus crisis.
New Juno chart for March is here packed full of the good stuff.
My favourite music site Test Pressing gave the ‘Transmission Two’ LP the thumbs up:
“One of those compilations that slides between dimensions, opens stargates, and suggest wormholes well worth heading down. You’ll find pathways and connections here and anyone who can do that and keep us dancing or reflecting is doing good work in my books”.
You can read the full review here.
