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

 

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.

It was ten years this month: Weeds on the wire

We don’t usually look back in time but by chance we saw this earlier, which originally was posted on Weeds on July 10th 2016. Have a read/listen. Thanks again to Steve Barker for sending us this at the time!

Socialism train

Socialism Train – 19 in a socialist reggae style

Big thanks to Steve Barker from the excellent On The Wire on BBC Radio Lancashire for supplying this ace reggae chart for us. On The Wire has been playing the best in reggae, dub, electronica, ambient and all sorts of eclectic business weekly for over 30 years and is available on listen again here.

So here’s the tunes and there’s some crackers on here. If the tune is not featured, click on the links to view on youtube.

Cheers again to Steve for the chart, shouts to Fenny and Jim at On The Wire too. Keep up the good work!

1. Ethiopians – Socialism Train

2. The Mighty Diamonds – I need a roof


3. The Heptones – Equal rights


4. Peter Tosh – Get up, stand up


5. Burning Spear – Social living

6. Abyssinians – This Land is for everyone


7. Derrick Morgan – People’s decision


8. Max Romeo – Socialism is love

9. Dillinger – Crashie First Socialist

10. King Tubby – Big Youth fights against capitalism


11. Freddie McGregor – I’m a revolutionist


12. The Youths – We a socialist (version)


13. Prince Jazzbo – Step forward youth


14. Jeb Loy Nicholls – To be rich (Should be a crime)


15. Still Cool – To be poor is a crime


16. Johnny Clarke – Declaration of rights


17. I Roy – Every mouth must be fed


18. Gregory Isaacs – Working class

19. Screechy Dan – Raise Your Glass Fi Di Working Class

To listen to the wonderful programme that is On The Wire, it is no longer on BBC Radio Lanchashire but check the blogspot here.

It’s also on Totally Radio on Sundays at 6pm here. It’s well worth a listen.

Here’s a great tune that was played on last week’s show from L.S. Diezel & Launch DAT called “Poor Man’s Glory”. There’s even a south London Tai Chi connection with this one!

Barry Norman’s Film of the Week

Here’s an excellent film from many years ago well worth watching. It features some historical stuff, Noel Dyer who hitch hiked from Peckham to Ethiopia, The Reverend Hillman, a chap with some great headwear at 39.30 in and some excellent tunes.

The first is one from the great Wilmoth Houdini (one of his well known tunes “Black but Sweet” here as sampled by the Sabres of Paradise) called Ethiopian War Drums.

Then the great Mighty Terror with Emperor of Africa.

 

And a cracking Prince Buster tune called The Prince of Peace only ever heard played out once upstairs at The Betsey Trotwood at an On-U sound related event on a Friday night many moons ago featuring Pete Holdsworth who told us he obtained said record from a charity shop for a sum of less than a quid, years previously.

And finally the Ethopian reggae sound of Tilahun Gessesse. All great stuff off a great film!

Echoes of a worldwide vibe

Big shout to Dr Strangedub for featuring the mix called “We love shortwave” from One Deck Pete on this morning’s Echo Chamber on KFAI here at 83 minutes in here. Track listings are as follows:

Radio Sweden Interval Signal
Triptica – Mysterious Radio Signals
Jasmine Tutum & Madtone – This Frequency
Shortwave Sounds – Reflections
Madtone – Spoken Words from Ibiza
Holger Czukay/Jah Wobble – Hiss n Listen
Gregory Morris & The 18th Parallel – Dub In Your Stereo (dub of Message in your radio by Kumar)

It’s lovely to hear Radio Sweden’s old Interval Signal over the airwaves alongside some great dub and downbeat on a Wednesday morning from 8-12am. Tune in and enjoy the show every week here at the allotted time! Cheers again to Dr Strangedub and DJ Baby Swiss.

And talking of the Echo Chamber here is the person who actually told us about the show many years ago, WIll Jeff. Here’s this month’s show from him called Lingua Franca show on Love Will Save The Day FM (below).”Songs from around the world you can sing along to” indeed. Some wonderful stuff on here in a balearic summery worldwide style. Tune in!

Tunes to keep you cool in this heatwave

 

Here’s a lovely bit of reggae to keep you cool in this mad heatwave we are experiencing in London now. The first is from The Disciples and it is called Living by The Sea mix 3 (previously unreleased) and a wonderful bit of dub. It’s got those keyboard stabs that remind us of Gregory Isaacs and his Rumours tune.

And talking of Gregory, here’s a great one from years ago featuring an extended “jam” of the “Rock On rhythm.” Keep a listen out for a couple of Skybird Jams radio shows coming soon with extended mixes, tracks over 8 minutes long and “Jam” bands aka “Music to increase your attention span”.

Tomato fruit puller. Puller, puller

Whilst researching a future post, we found this great variety of tomato from Seed Spring Seeds (website here).

As it says in the blurb on the site:
A Romanian tomato producing large, roughly heart-shaped fruit that weigh an average of 365g and measure about 8.5cm in diameter. Captain Beefheart’s big taste is combined with a juicy flesh, tender skin and few seeds, making it one of the best large-fruited tomatoes you are likely to encounter. The plants are good growers and will produce fruit well into the autumn.

A pepper called Frank Zappa anyone?

The above is a fantastic Beefheart tune as played on the excellent Andrew Weatherall – Live at Antenna Studios mixtape here.

A bit of downbeat for the weekend

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 AssassinMe We
Pugilist introspect Ft. Tamen
Drug Free AmericaBaby Doll and the Dolphin Burger (video edit)

One Deck Pete Mix 1
DeadbeatsGot it going on (Space Hopper original)
Stereo Total Vs Mad ProfessorDas erste Mal dub trip 2
Transglobal UndergroundTempleheadBurundi Beat mix
MadtoneIt 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 ProfessorBoombox version 2
KunaDecade Dub
Space To Crash Holding Hands

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

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!

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

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!