Category Archives: imaginary stations

We love interval signals

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Further to our last post about interval signals, cheers to our mate John F for sending this interval signal over on Facebook from Radio Tirana, Albania (above). Simple but effective like all the best interval signals, and we’ve just found out it was a trumpet version of a tune called With Pickaxe and Rifle. Blimmin’ eck!

That got us thinking of another old one, this time from Radio Prague, which was recorded off the shortwave and put on an LP by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Here’s a live version with an orchestra, shortwave noise and a vocal through a megaphone.

Our friend Kit G5KIT from Bristol got in touch and mentioned this excellent one from Radio Berlin International “The one I heard most as a kid”. Cheers Kit, now that is a classic!

And a favourite tune of ours from years ago that had an interval signal sampled on it, was  Rephazer‘s Interval #1 from his excellent Interval Signals set here. Here’s a Madtone re-edit of the track with a Jasmine Tutum vocal over the start as a bit of an exclusive for a shortwave mix a few years ago.

Through researching this post we have rediscovered a clip of the late great Holger Czukay listening into shortwave radio from1984. It don’t sound like any intervals signals are contained here but it’s such a good clip it has to be aired again.

There’s a great collection of interval signals here from the SWLing Post article and on this classic site here. Have you a favourite interval signal? Do send them to us here.

Just to end, here’s a lovely classic musical box/ice cream van type interval signal from HSW Bangkok Meteorological Radio (supposedly a version of “Wandering The Plains” from the Nintendo game Super Mario World). Big shout to all interval signal fans all around the globe!

On a wildlife tip…

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While we were sitting on the garden decking around 5:45pm this evening, enjoying the sunset, a fox strolled in as bold as brass up by the pond and joined us to watch the view. Behind is last year’s Christmas tree and in front to the right, a Dalek of the small variety.

Work little and often (before the weather changes again)

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It wasn’t too bad here earlier this afternoon, so we tidied up the bed by the garage (above) and stuck in some seeds from the Kew Garden flower collection we were given as a xmas present. There’s some wonderful seeds in those selections.

Then at the back of the bed we stuck in the remaining seven seed potatoes of the “Jazz” variety. There’s still going to be some cold nights to come, so when they do sprout they’ll hopefully be protected by the jam jars. Hope there’s been some work in the garden where you are.

An oldie but goody

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We don’t usually go back in the archives for mixes but found this one by accident this evening. One Deck Pete‘s “Bouncing off the ionosphere” mix which was transmitted on Free Radio Skybird via Channel 292 on 6070 kHz on 8th December 2019.

Tracklistings:
UKDD & Spoonbeats – It’s time to tell you
KoKo – keep down
Maxime Tisne-Versailles – Roi De Plaines
AMY Root – Elif(OIJ_remix)
Ernest freeman – Live it up

It’s been years since we’ve heard these tunes especially the wonderful Maxime Tisne-Versailles tune Roi De Plaines. Sometimes those old ones come back to haunt you.

 

So nice we had to play it twice

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We’re just researching another shortwave radio mix and remembered this wonderful track from Triptica out of Alajuela, Costa Rica called Mysterious Radio Signals. This was recorded off air from One Deck Pete’s “Interval Signal Tea break” mix which was broadcast on KMTS on December 17th 2000 at 2300 UTC on 9670 kHz. We do love the track and its cut and paste video.

Destination: all over the map

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This weekend there was a edition of Skybird Radio International featuring DJ Frederick and Justin Patrick Moore, who journeyed all over this globe of ours in an all genre style. You don’t need a passport, or carry over-packed suitcases to go on this international musical coach trip as itwas transmitted over those shortwaves and now on Mixcloud:

 

At 3.38 there’s a mix from One Deck Pete and here’s the tracks:
Madtone – Diamonds in the sky (excerpt – full track here)
Les Maîtres Fous – La Mort d’Icare
Aselefech Ashine & Getenesh Kebret – Wegenne
Narcy – Nehaya
Wilmoth Houdini – Blow Wind Blow
Unknown Track off “Cantos Oscuros” from Little Axe Records

And Justin Patrick Moore played this obscure one from Jodie Foster, released in that heady year of Punk, 1977.

Getting on the right track

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Here’s the Imaginary Stations tribute to the humble locomotive, CTRN. All the crew were aboard this week including DJ Frederick, Justin Patrick Moore and Marc from Belgium with all sorts of interesting train stuff crammed into the one hour show which was broadcast thanks to Shortwave Gold.

After a great story from Marc from Belgium at 7.50 mins in is a mix from One Deck Pete called “This one’s for the trainspotters out there”. Here’s the tracks:
Saiko – Traintrack
Jah Wobble – Turner, Whistler and Blake
The Hardy Tree – Railway tracks
Vin Morgan meets Lone Ark – Train Dub
Otis Rush – So many roads, so many trains

Here’s a few more train related tunes.

And we don’t know nothing, and we don’t really care

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We just heard on the Craig Charles show Nobody but you by Clarence Reid from 1969 and were shellshocked by the intro. We just didn’t know! Have a listen…

We remember a good while ago spotting this intro from James & Bobby Purify from I’m your puppet which is adapted on the excellent I am the toughest from Peter Tosh. We heard both songs a good few times and just didn’t make the connection.

That’s what we love about Reggae, you think you know a little about the genre and you know next to nada. We are always prepared to be educated and suprised, a bit like gardening!

How can you listen to that? It’s not even stereo

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Big shout to regular Imaginary Stations listener Friedrich-Walter Adam in Germany for posting up his clip of the Downbeat on Shortwave show on last weekend’s Imaginary Stations via Shortwave Gold on youtube. 

 

Some say we are mad for listening to different recordings of shortwave shows but each listener, depending on where he or she is, and what they are listening to it on and what time will get a different mix thanks to the groundwaves or the ionosphere and that is something else in our book. But is it in stereo they ask?

The youtube clip features Alpha Seven – Rain chime (beatless remaster) and Múm – There Is A Number Of Small Things (2019 Remaster). It was Justin Patrick Moore who originally recommended Alpha Seven‘s The haunted testcard tapes and here’s two great tracks off it. In stereo.

It may be raining here…

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It’s a terrible day today here in London. It’s tipping it down, feels about zero degrees and last night we even put some protection around the mimosa plant we have in a large pot near the house, just in case.

It’s a lot better over the other side of the world in Perth, Australia where our Downbeat on Shortwave collaborator Jesse Yuen is, and he’s sent a couple of pictures of the gardening work he did yesterday in the searing heat of 36 °C but today is a nicer 26 °C. Above is a view of the front garden which is coming along nicely (in October he sent us a post about starting work on his garden here) and yesterday he put some steel edging in. Looks great!

Also he planted a hakea pin cushion plant, that we had never heard of before. He said, “They have amazing flowers when mature” and he’s right there (below).

Cheers for the update Jesse and we look forward to seeing more pictures of the garden as they are inspiring.