Category Archives: Free Radio Skybird

Radio IS a foreign country

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Cheers to Steve Barker from the excellent On The Wire radio show for letting us know about the wonderful online radio station that is Radio is a Foreign Country here. As it describes itself: “An endless stream of obscure (and mostly retro) global music and audio ephemera.” Crazy is not the word.

There’s a whole load of stations to have a listen to here from Shortwave, Exotic, 24/7 Nature Radio, Oddball (including Mechanical Music Radio), American Elsewhere (WBCM Radio Bristol) and tons more. It is such an eclectic selection and for God’s sake, don’t touch that dial. Cheers again Steve!

Now across to the twin cities

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Another big shout out to our good friends across the pond Dr Strangedub and DJ Baby Swiss of the excellent radio show The Echo Chamber on KFAI. We’ve said this countless times, but if you want to hear reggae, dub, downbeat and beyond, tune in from 8 – 12 UK time on a Wednesday morning here.

This Wednesday just gone was the annual Echo Chamber/Echo Beach Dub Club Tiki Bar Special (not unlike the The Skybird Lounge series of shows) with all sorts of beach bar and holiday beach destination classics including One Deck Pete presents a mix for WAVE at 80 mins in.

Tracklistings:
The Grizzly Folk – Broomway
High Skies – The shipping Forecast
Michael Rose – Surfing in the dub (Intro)
Quiet Village – Keep on Rolling

Pull up the deck chair or get the 1970’s sun lounger out and tune in here for a far out holiday sunny vibes show as there’s some wonderful stuff on the show.

On a worldwide tip

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Here’s the latest Lingua Franca (Episode number 10!) with “Songs sung in different languages” from Will Jeff on Love Will Save The Day FM.

If you want a nice worldwide mix up journey of a radio show, you can’t get better than this. Cheers Will!

Suggs went to Herne Bay Pier once (and it was news)

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Here’s a very chilled 6.04 minutes by High Skies called The Shipping Forecast off an LP called Fluidities by Jonathan Hughes with guests. An excellent ambient track with a nautical theme.

And talking about nautical themes, here’s a photograph of the sea from Herne Bay taken yesterday evening. Zoom in with a magnifying glass and you’ll see from left to right, a very tiny Red Sands Sea Fort, a container ship passing through the wind farm and next to that an even smaller Shivering Sands Sea Fort.

If you remember, Red Sands Sea Fort was where the classic Dangerman Not So Jolly Roger episode was filmed in 1996. Pictures from the show above and below, and the whole episode is up online here. The picture below features the very large (250 ft) Medium Wave antenna of Radio 390 that was still in operation on the fort.

And here’s a version of a important tune that featured in the show. For more on the actual tunes played on the show, have a look here.

You cannot escape the stones (not Jagger and co.)

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Thanks to Justin Patrick Moore for sending this book cover from Fred Vargas to us. Crazy coincidences of a stone circle kind. Any one drying the dinner dishes tonight with a standing stone tea towel? We await your pictures…

Standing stones in a yard sale style

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Cheers to our good friend across the pond Justin Patrick Moore, for sending us the flyer for his yard sale that was on Saturday that featured some standing stones “Callanish Stones I think..” There’s some great standing stone coincidence vibes going on. Cheers Justin!

A bit of downbeat for the weekend

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Here’s the fourth episode in the Downbeat on Shortwave series with Jesse Yuen and One Deck Pete that was broadcast this weekend on Imaginary Stations via Shortwave Gold.

Jesse and Pete bring you two 15-minute downtempo mixes each over the hour-long show. We’ve posted up two recordings, the above the clean studio version. The recorded off the radio, mono version complete with atmospheric sounds literally, is below. Enjoy the tunes!

Jesse Yuen Mix 1
Stress Assassin – Me We
Pugilist –  introspect Ft. Tamen
Drug Free America – Baby Doll and the Dolphin Burger (video edit)

One Deck Pete Mix 1
Deadbeats – Got it going on (Space Hopper original)
Stereo Total Vs Mad Professor – Das erste Mal dub trip 2
Transglobal Underground – Templehead – Burundi Beat mix
Madtone – It is AI but WE created it

Jesse Yuen Mix 2
Leslie Winer – King of sleep
99 Cents – Adrenalin Spaceboy (Dub Boy Extended mix)

One Deck Pete Mix 2
変化への恐れ – Shinogi シノギ
Mad Professor – Boombox version 2
Kuna – Decade Dub
Space To Crash – Holding Hands

It ain’t in FM stereo, but we like it!

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Earlier this afternoon we tuned into Downbeat on Shortwave (brought to us via Imaginary Stations) using The University of Twente’s online SDR here. Propagation wasn’t brilliant but we got a signal, unlike the sound of static on our shortwave receiver at home. Hopefully tomorrow’s conditions will be better and the later timing of the transmission helps. Here’s what was heard.

Imaginary Stations bring you music you don’t usually hear on the shortwaves every week and has an archive that is well worth looking through here. Expect the unexpected as they say and a whole lot more! Never mind the genre, it’s all about great music on the shortwave bands with some added remixing thanks to the ionosphere and those groundwaves.

Tune in here tomorrow at 1300 UTC (2pm UK) and 2000 UTC (9pm UK) for some chilled out sounds from Jesse Yuen and One Deck Pete. A big shout to all the Imaginary Stations crew: Fred and NanSea, Justin Patrick Moore and Marc from Belgium. Here’s to more eclectic programming on shortwave!

More Downbeat on Shortwave this weekend!

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This weekend Imaginary Stations bring you the fourth episode in the Downbeat on Shortwave series with Jesse Yuen (from Perth, Australia) and One Deck Pete (from Catford Village, Londres).

Jesse and Pete bring you two 15-minute downtempo mixes each over the hour-long show. Expect some ambient, dub, reggae and downtempo tunes for a chilled-out weekend.

The show is broadcast on Saturday 13th June at 1100 hrs UTC (12 noon in the UK) on 6160 kHz and then again on Sunday 14th June at 1300 hrs UTC (2pm in the UK) on 6160 kHz and 2000 hrs UTC (9pm in the UK) on 3975 kHz/6160 kHz. Thanks to the great Shortwave Gold for beaming those radio waves skywards.

Don’t worry if you haven’t a shortwave radio you can tune in via an online Software Defined Radio here (pre-tuned into 6160 kHz). Just plug in at the right time(s) and experience that shortwave mono sound with all the fading and cross channel interference live.

Here’s the older shows for your listening pleasure!

Programme 1

Programme 2

Programme 3

Opening doors

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Cheers to Will Jeff for letting us know about this great tune by Jack D called Opening the Door. It’s got a touch of the Ghost Towns mixed with a chilled out Renegade Soundwave. Cheers Will!