This is a blog post about this is a music show

We’ve just recently discovered on twitter through @StrangeBeacons an excellent shortwave broadcast called This is a music show which is now on our weekly listening rota. It’s put together by someone called “Your host” and originates out of Toronto, Canada and their recent shows are up on their soundcloud page here.

https://soundcloud.com/thisisamusicshow/this-is-a-music-show-055

The show contains a real eclectic mix of music from records founds in thrift shops, lesser known international classics, pitched down disco, easy listening, across the board malarkey and some excellent dub! Added to that, there’s shout outs and even images and text broadcast in MFSK64 digital mode too, all in an hour, how do they fit it all in? Tune in, you’ll like it!

We tried on youtube to find one of the tunes played on the latest show Sanchez’s “One in a million dub” but only found the vocal version but these two related tunes turned up. We never knew that about the Eddie Floyd original that inspired the reggae version. Well you learn something new every day!

Free Radio Skybird coming to you soon…

It seems like it’s been a while since DJ Frederick’s Free Radio Skybird was last on the shortwaves. Don’t worry, it won’t be long until the next one on Sunday 16th February at 1400 UTC/UK on 6070 kHz via Channel 292. The show will be rebroadcast on Sunday 23rd February at 1100 UTC/UK on 7440 kHz. If you haven’t got a shortwave radio it can also be heard on the SDR link on Channel 292’s site here.

The programme will feature Justin Patrick Moore’s Radiophonic Laboratory and One Deck Pete (from Weeds up to me knees) presenting the Skybird Mailbag. There’ll also be an airing of Pete’s “Less is more” that has new tunes from Mai, Mohammad-Reza  Shajarian & Seventh Soul and Blanco.

Mixes from previous shows are available at our audio podcast page here. The programme will be available on DJ Frederick’s Soundcloud page a day or so before transmission date if you want to hear it in true stereo but we here prefer the show with added noises from the ionosphere. Tune in and turn on! #shortwavesnotdead #madtone #freeradioskybird

Free Radio Skybird’s last flight of 2019

The last transmission of 2019 from DJ Frederick’s Free Radio Skybird will be on Tuesday December 31st at 0900 UTC on 6070 kHz shortwave via Channel 292. The show will be rebroadcast on Sunday 5th January at 1100 UTC/UK on 7440 kHz. If you haven’t got a suitable shortwave set it can also be heard on the SDR link on Channel 292’s site here.

The programme will feature Justin Patrick Moore’s Radiophonic Laboratory and One Deck Pete (from Weeds up to me knees) presenting the Skybird Mailbag. There’ll also be an airing of Pete’s “Nine and a half minutes at ninety BPM” that has new tunes from: Frapp, Blundetto, Lama’s Dream and Mario Pinosa Trio. Mixes from previous shows are available at our audio podcast page here.

The programme will be available on DJ Frederick’s Soundcloud page a day or so before transmission date if you want to hear it in true stereo but we here prefer the show via the ionosphere. Tune in and turn on! #shortwavesnotdead #madtone #freeradioskybird

By the way we’re always looking for decent tunes to play on our spot on Free Radio Skybird. If you know of anything “up our street” so to speak, do contact us via the blog or at onedeckpete (at) gmail (dot) com and if we like it we’ll play it. Free Radio Skybird is now available via 5 FM stations in the USA WSCS, WMNB, KBOG, KOWS and WEJP as well as good old shortwave via Channel 292 and the above is the transmission zone when the conditions are good.

Weekending and chilled

An excellent instrumental (the vocal side from Kahina Quali is top too!) from the great Blundetto with Booker Gee out of Paris, France to wind you down for the working week ahead.

If all goes well this one will be aired alongside other quality tunes from Frapp, Lama’s Dream and Mario Pinosa Trio in a mix called “Nine and a half minutes at ninety bpm” broadcast on the next transmission of Free Radio Skybird on New Years Eve at 09:00 UTC on 6070 kHz which will be repeated on Sunday January 5th at 12:00 UTC on 7440 kHz. Get your set set.

Here’s a random pic from the blog to remind ourselves of how things are in the garden when the weather is nice as it’s been a while since we’ve set foot in out there let alone stick a fork in the ground!

Channel 292, Where are you?

Today One Deck Pete‘s “Bouncing off the ionosphere” mix was broadcast on Free Radio Skybird in the 49 meter band on shortwave. Due to interference and unfavourable conditions there was no recording off the airwaves today so here’s the studio version for your listening pleasure. #shortwavesnotdead #shortwavesnotdead

Festive free radio fun

Next Sunday 8th December at 1700 UTC/UK will be a new transmission from DJ Frederick’s Free Radio Skybird on 6070 kHz shortwave via Channel 292 and if you haven’t got a suitable radio it can also be heard on the SDR link on their site here. The show will be rebroadcast the week after on Sunday 15th December at 1100 UTC/UK also on 6070 kHz.

This month’s programme will feature: Justin Patrick Moore’s Radiophonic Laboratory, Steve with Indie Science Radio and our very own One Deck Pete presenting the Skybird Mailbag. Also there’ll be an airing of Pete’s “Bouncing off the ionosphere” that has new tunes from: UK DD, Koko, Maxime Tisne-Versailles, Amy Root and Ernest Freeman.

The programme will be available on DJ Frederick’s Soundcloud page a day or so before transmission date if you want to hear it in true stereo but we here prefer the show via the ionosphere. Tune in and turn on! #shortwavesnotdead #madtone #freeradioskybird

We don’t want no more co-channel interference

Here’s the studio recording of One Deck Pete’s “Sunspot minimum but the music’s maximum mix” which was transmitted on Free Radio Skybird on the 5th October 2019. (No recording off the airwaves this time due to poor quality signal and co-channel interference.)

Tracklistings:
Froth Whitlam – “Sheeba”
Dasya – “Tango on the Street”
Andre J Kwenda – “Umbali”
Madtone – “Diamond in the sky” first worldwide play on shortwave radio.

And if you’re longing to hear a bit of distorted audio here’s what Madtone’s “Diamond in the sky” sounded like recorded off an online SDR in Carlow, Ireland. Additional percussion thanks to co-channel interference from Radio China International and fades and noise courtesy of the E and F layers of the Ionosphere.

A healthy dose of goodness and light

Here’s a  lovely piece of ambience from about : forest off their Bandcamp release The Land of Three Moons on Dewtone Recordings out of Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s called Calling Light and if all goes well will find itself on a forthcoming mix for Free Radio Skybird. A track to drift off to and dream about a return of some good gardening weather!

We bring you tomorrow’s transmissions today

Big shout to DJ Frederick and all involved in this month’s Free Radio Skybird that will be beaming out over the shortwaves at 7pm UTC tomorrow Sunday 4th August on 6070 khz in the 49 Metre band. Tune in here at 8pm UK time and listen to the programme with the added bonus of the sound of radio waves bouncing off the ionosphere. If you rather listen to a clear audio version we’ve included a link to the recording of what’s going to be broadcast tomorrow which is posted up on DJ Frederick’s soundcloud for a limited period.

The hour of eclectic programming includes Weed’s very own One Deck Pete with “Soul on shortwave” at 23.53 in, Steve with Mini Indie Radio and the first episode of Justin Patrick Moore of Sothismedias’ Radiophonic Laboratory (featuring tunes by Meat Beat Manifesto, Fred Judd G2BCX and more) at 46.17.

Tune in to Radio Free Skybird via the ionosphere or the internet and as DJ Frederick says “Keep your radio free, keep your mind free and keep your spirit free.”
#freeradioskybird #shortwavesnotdead

https://soundcloud.com/djfrederick/free-radio-skybird-4-august-2019#t=0:00