Greenhouse classics (revived)

Posted on March 16, 2019 by onedeckpete

Cheers for Justin Moore for starting us off again on the search for gardening related music with his recommendation for Mort Garsen‘s Cosmic LP “Mother Earth’s Plantasia” last week here. Also a big thanks to the good Dr Strangedub from The Echo Chamber on KFAI for his mix a few years ago below and Pete Haigh from the monthly Funkology radio show (on “On The Wire” on BBC Radio Lancashire) for his gardening-related chart here. We’re now looking for more. Know any deep house classics that mention “potting on”? Or some dubstep that mentions dephiniums? Or just some fine tunes you like to like to prune the roses to? Send us your nominations please. Remember music and gardening do mix!

Keeping it short and sweet

Posted on December 29, 2018 by onedeckpete

Little and often is an apt saying when it comes to gardening. The job for today was to tidy up the bed at the bottom of the garden that had gone a bit haywire (above). There was a fair bit of weeding to do and pulling up of dead Nasturtiums that were left to their own devices followed by a good old forking over. It looks like a proper vegetable bed now (below) rather than a bombsite!
In the process we found a couple of spuds that were missed when we initially harvested them in the autumn and also found a few dried out pods of some heirloom French climbing beans we bought at the Roots and Shoots Potato Day earlier this year. That’s one less packet of seeds we’ll have to purchase then!

Talking of Potato Days and Roots and Shoots here’s the next event in a few weeks time and one well worth going to!
London Potato Fair/Roots & Shoots Potato Day
9th and 10th February 2019 11.00am-2.30pm
Roots & Shoots
Walnut Tree Walk
Lambeth, SE11 6DN
http://www.roots&shoots.org
FREE ADMISSION
More details on this and more such like events (all across the UK) at this site here.

And here’s a festive treat from The Groove Thief from KGNU Community Radio’s “Dub Palace” show. The mix includes some heavyweight bass from RSD, Prophet, Johnny Clarke and our very own Madtone with “Compost your mind”.

A happy and prosperous 2019 to one and all from us at Weeds!

The plant that came from outer space

Posted on October 9, 2018 by onedeckpete

In celebration of buying another Foxtail Lily from Shannon’s this weekend Madtone & The Eremurus All-stars have composed a short piece of music called Foxtail Lily Dub influenced by said plant. To say that the root crowns are out of this world is an understatement and the blooms are something to behold!

The flower spike:

The mad as anything root crown: (about 10 inches across!)#FoxtailLilyDub #Itcamefromouterspace

Bean pole idea of the week

Posted on July 7, 2018 by onedeckpete

The other week we went over to an open garden event in Blackheath and had a lovely afternoon in some fantastic surroundings and even dipped a hand into our pockets at the plant sale there. While in the veg garden this bean pole idea (above) caught our eye. We very much doubt that the rusty looking metal things that are holding the bamboo canes in place have anything to do with garden centres (they’re probably something off a building site or in a steel-fixers toolkit) but we could be wrong. It’s a great idea though! If you know what they are actually are (and if you can buy them at garden centres) answers on a postcard please.

And two other good ideas if you’re thinking of picking up some tunes this weekend. The first the Aimes mix of Cloud Nine by Joe Morris and the next a belter from yesteryear from the excellent Johnny Clarke called Blood Dunza/Dub Dunza. May the sun reign this weekend and while we’re asleep we get a bit of rain.

Welcoming back that yellow thing in the sky

Posted on May 17, 2018 by onedeckpete

Here’s a lovely tune called Janet 50 from Smith & Mudd, with the top frenchman I:Cube on the mix. If this 7 minutes of joy don’t welcome the sun back into the garden, god knows what will! One to stick on (in the headphones of course) when getting the hose out at 7am to give those plants their morning soak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRo00HhD_GU

And if you enjoy “tipping around” with a hoe later on in the day here’s a tune of the calmer variety from Everton Blender called Sing for Jah with a great dub to boot.

It’s good this gardening lark especially at this time of the year and it can only get better!

Music to accompany the sunshine

Posted on May 6, 2018 by onedeckpete

Big shout to Dr Strangedub & DJ Baby Swiss out of KFAI’s The Echo Chamber and Bruno out of Dan Dada Records for the latest instalment of Around The World in Dub (volumes 9 and 10) available free from the Dan Dada Bandcamp page here. Thanks a million to the crew for including Jazzmin & Madtones‘s Earth Citizen.

The free (we repeat FREE) compilation contains 35 cracking tunes of a dub wise or dub influenced nature from all around this planet of ours featuring Dubmatix with Earl Zero, Trevor “The Technician” McKenzie and The Last Boss & Dubby Doo and a lot lot more, all on a top quality tip! There is no excuse; download, chill out then dub out! #jazzminmadtone #earthcitizen

From April showers to a dub shower

Posted on April 30, 2018 by onedeckpete

Big thanks to long-time friend The Rhythm Doctor for pointing us in the direction of this tune the other night, Hold Up Your Head by Errol Carter (aka “Flabba” Holt of the Roots Radics/Morwells) produced by the great Rupie Edwards. With a keyboard sound reminiscent of Unexpected Places by Hortense Ellis it’s a killer of a tune and on the B side a top dub called Tank Skank that the youtube here doesn’t do justice. The single is less than a fiver on discogs so hunt it down! We would like more dub showers on the stereo and less rain in the garden please (or could it rain in the night?).

Not a prediction for today’s weather

Posted on April 22, 2018 by onedeckpete

We celebrated Record Store Day 2018 (supported by BBC Music) at Weeds by putting two coats of Cuprinol on a garden gate (supported by two ham sarnies, a posh sausage roll and copious cups of tea.)

The Scotch Bonnet crew did it in a far better style by releasing a belter of a tune using a vocal from the late great Bim Sherman (courtesy of Adrian Sherwood) over a hard rhythm built by Mungo’s Hi-Fi as you can hear! Already played on On The Wire and I can hear this going down a storm on KFAI’s Echo Chamber as well as many others. May Scotch Bonnet and Mungo’s keep putting out such fine music forever!

That’s May sorted then!

Posted on February 22, 2018 by onedeckpete

Two events in the distant future that are well worth sticking in the diary or on that wallchart thingy:

Annual plant sale at The South London Botanical Institute, 323 Norwood Road SE24 9AQ. Saturday 12th May 11am – 1pm. Wide range of unusual, locally grown and reasonably priced plants and advice on how to grow them. Free entry. More info here.

Spring Plant Fair at Telegraph Hill Centre, Kitto Road, New Cross, London, SE14 5TY. Saturday 19th May 2018. 1pm until 2pm. Admission £2. More info here.

And for no other reason that finding this single on youtube at work this afternoon here is the excellent Big Youth with Gregory (Isaacs) with My Time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtYpqLqOQiA

And Bob Andy’s original from years gone by. Tunes to stick on loud this weekend while keeping warm indoors if the weather forecast is to be believed! Roll on spring!

Spring is just around the corner

Posted on February 8, 2018 by onedeckpete

Here’s an excellent mix from a good mate of weeds The Rhythm Doctor. It features some lovely tunes including one of a very rare nature; Joe Monsano – Haile Selassie Instrumental off Bullet Dub, a special Rhythm Doctor re-edit of Lizzard – Satta I and the damn right mad The Upsetter – Tipper Special. The full tracklistings are:

Alan Watts – Intro
Beris Bradley – Cool Rock (Slight edit)
The Upsetter – Tipper Special
Rupie Edwards – Feeling Irie
Big Youth – Jim Screechie
Augustus Pablo – Harmony Dub
Light of Saba – Collie Version
The Destroyers – Compass
Geffrey Chang & all stars – U.F.O
Lizzard – Satta I Dub (RD version)
Prince Buster All Stars – Boop
The Morwell – The Giant
Joe Monsano – Haile Selassie Instrumental
Michael Campbell – Home Guard version
Linval Thompson – Mariguana
Blackbeard – Cut after Cut
The Upsetters – Return of the Super Ape
Prince Far I & The Arabs – Homeward Bound
Augustus Pablo – Abyssinia Dub

It’s a mix to stick on loud while sowing those early tomato seeds under a plastic propagator on a warm windowsill indoors. But in the words of the song “Cool it, don’t rush it” as it’s still a bit t’wirley!

Weeds up to me knees

Madtone, gardening and life

Category Archives: Dub for the greenhouse