Around the world on the 45th Parallel

Last weekend, Imaginary Stations beamed their Annual 45th Parallel Midwinter Broadcast via the ionosphere using the services of the great Shortwave Gold. From a secret shortwave laboratory in the mountains way up north, the broadcast had tracks featuring the circle of latitude, music from above, below and along the magic line, and also tunes to keep us warm during this mid-winter season thanks to DJ Frederick and Justin Patrick Moore.

And at 07.15 One Deck Pete brings us a mix called Above and Below the 45th Parallel.

Tracklistings:
Radio Lario – 30 Degrees North
Boca 45 – Forty Five
Haj i Ji – Above and below (RSD remix)
The 45 King – Armen
The Soulfulists – 4 degrees warmer

So get wrapped up, get a cup of hot cocoa in your hands and make sure you’re wearing those warm comfy slippers and enjoy this show of the highest (45 degrees) order,

Slow mo shortwave

Imaginary Stations will be bringing another Downbeat on Shortwave (show number 3) this weekend (cheers Fred!) on Saturday 14th February 2026 at 1200 UTC and on Sunday 15th February 2026 at 1000/1400 hrs/2100 UTC on 6160 kHz.

Our good dub gardening friend Jesse Yuen from North of The River Swan, Perth, Australia and One Deck Pete from SE23, will be bringing you two 15 minute mixes each in a back to back downtempo style.

Tune in your shortwave radio or if you haven’t got one, via an online Software Defined Radio here (tuned into 6160 kHz) at the right time this weekend in AM mode and listen in and chill out to their slow-mo selection.

Buses connect us all

Here’s KBUS from last weekend, a tribute to the ‘umble autobus from Imaginary Stations. There’s all sorts of bus related tunes from DJ Frederick and Justin Patrick Moore and the show really is the ticket if you love bus travel!

The show includes at 03.49 a mix from One Deck Pete called Mind The Closing Doors and here’s the tracklistings:
Alan Doyle [f/ Steph Simon] – Confessions Of A Bus Rider
Hoovobot – No fair Bus Fare
The Salsoul Orchestra – Chicago bus stop
Lifetime Pineapple – Double bus fare

Big up the bus!

Japan in dub

Thanks to Stevyn Iron Feather Journal for sending this tune on to us via Facebook messenger late last night. “Some wicked japan dub” he told us and rightly so! Cheers Stevyn.

The first daffs in north London

Cheers to Debby H for getting in touch again, with a picture of the first daffodil “about to flower in a front garden along my road”. Wow they are early! Cheers again Debby.

Any more pictures of flowers that shouldn’t be flowering? If so send us some pictures to onedeckpete at gee male dot com.

There’s a rat in me (kitchen) garden what am I gonna do?

Blimmin ‘eck! You never know what is going on in your garden at night do you? Thanks to Debby H for this screenshot of a local rat climbing up one of her trees. Crazy goings on indeed.

Years ago one lunchtime, we saw a rat sniffing around some bin bags in Holborn as office workers were walking by and eating their Pret sarnies. The rat had not a care in the world and couldn’t care less about being seen. We’re not that keen on rats funnily enough but this ain’t a bad “rat” related tune.

 

Wednesday night dub

A nice track from the Partial Records Bandcamp from King Tubby called Rising Dub, the dub of The World Has Just Begun (The Children Rise) by Earl Sixteen and The Heptones.

 

It don’t get better than this (again)

We have no idea how to describe this excellent track, it’s absolutely bonkers and something else! It’s by Lifetime Pineapple and called Double Busfare and what a wonderful graphic too.

The Thursday Tune (bus related of course)

As usual, looking for some tunes for a forthcoming shortwave mix we found a nice tune.  It’s a great bit of Polish Rap from Litlost from the Olszak / Bitykradne – Night Bus EP called Promienie słońca Brooklynu. Really good stuff indeed.

A passport to beer and nuts

We’ve just listened to this weeks Great Lives on Radio 4 with John Cooper Clarke about one Johnny Green (once hippy, driver, writer and the road manager of The Clash and Tour De France fan). It’s a great 27 minutes with contributions from his kids, Topper Headon and Chris Salewicz. It’s nice to hear old JCC’s distinctive voice again. To listen to the show click here.

On the subject of Johnny Green, here’s something about him on blackmarketclash.co.uk (here) about The Clash’s Bury St Edmunds gig in 1978 (where we were also in attendance). We love the line at the end which makes us smile “I considered the Camden Town rockabilly as my friend and a passport to beer and nuts”. We all love a passport to beer and nuts.