Since you’ve been away

You go away for a week and when you come back the garden has grown a little. We have a pair of cheeky cardoons at the bottom of the garden that have survived whatever is eating the leaves for the last couple of years. They are looking quite majestic!

As we didn’t have much luck with our pepper and tomato seedlings earlier this year, the plants we bought from B&Q are doing well and the few bargain ones we bought at Blythe Hill Festival are starting to grow a little even if they were a little late being put in. We can’t remember how many we got but it was 5 or 6 for £2, what a bargain!

The above was another plant bought at a summer fair. We think it may be Lambs ear, Mullen as we were told next year we’ll get some tall yellow spear flowers. It’s technically a weed but one that attracts pollinators galore. If it’s something else do let us know.

This blog post was written whilst listening to this wonderful soundtape put up by the great Dave Brown (in Mississauga, Canada) from November 1980 and a brilliant tape it is too! If you love the older soundtapes do have a look at his mixcloud.

And if you want to hear a slice of Jamaica from 1977, listen to the great Jah Love Muzik below.

Big shout to apprentice dentists everywhere

Big shout again to Dr Strangedub of the excellent Echo Chamber show on KFAI for the debut play of Jasmine Tutum & Madtone‘s newest tune called “Times and Tings” at 47.00 mins in after the classic track “Apprentice Dentist” from the great Lone Ranger. Tune in here.

As you know the good Doctor S with DJ Baby Swiss presents the show every Wednesday morning (available on archive here too) featuring the best in reggae, dub and downbeat and well worth tuning into from 8 am.

Much more music…

News just in! There’s a new EP release from Jasmine & Madtone and it’s up on Bandcamp here featuring the two tracks that were on The Rhythm Doctor’s excellent mix on Gilles Peterson’s Breakfast show on Worldwide FM. Expect more new music from Jasmine & Madtone soon!

In the beginning there was rhythm

Weeds up to me knees give a big shout to Chris The Rhythm Doctor who was interviewed on this week’s Gilles Peterson’s breakfast show on Worldwide FM. After a while of waiting for the show to go up online yesterday, the show is now finally up in all its glory on Mixcloud.

At 1.37.00 on the show is the interview featuring Chris chatting about his early days in Birmingham and Coventry, a good bit about the Jazz Funk days and bit on his involvement in the early days of House music. Trouble is, there’s loads more that can go in there! Any chance of a part two or three, Gilles?

At 2.33.00 in there’s an exclusive mix from Chris. Cheers to him for playing two Jasmine Tutum & Madtone tracks alongside lots of great eclectic stuff including the brilliant Don Cavalli “Fire Fire”, Arina Singh and the crazy dub of The Detonators “Lift Off” (which as the legend goes, after hearing it, Jerry Dammers contacted the tune’s producer John Collins and got him to produce The Specials’ Ghost Town).

Do check RD’s label Almost Unknown on Bandcamp here and expect more releases on the label. And as we keep mentioning, do check out his Monday morning show here on IDA Radio (Tallin) which has a fine mix of tunes for the start of the week.

Here’s the full tracklistings of the mix as it’s a bit sketchy on the Worldwide site at the present moment:

01. Uku Kuut – Visions of Estonia (PPU)
02. Collage – Uni,Tule Silma Peale!/Sleep,Come On The Eye! (Melodiya)
03. Treee vs Hüpnosaurus – Suveöö/Summer Night – Rhythm Doctor Rub (Umblu)
04. N.Ae. – Fatum/Fate (Polskie Nagrania Muza)
05. Arina Singh – Persian Glitter Carpet (Unreleased)
06. Jasmine Tutum & Madtone featuring Lee “Scratch” Perry – Livicate (Unreleased)
07. Maarja Nuut – Kutse Tantsule/A Call To Dance (Self Released)
08. Gunars Rozenbergs – Disko Roze (Melodiya)
09. Konstantin Orbelyan – Vocalese (Melodiya)
10. Medey – The Hunter Suite (pt 1) mix Stanton Davis (Melodiya)
11. The Detonators – Lift Off (Special Request)
12. Jasmine Tutum & Madtone – What Is Man (Unreleased)
13. Don Cavalli – Fire Fire (Rag Records)
14. The Outlaws – Crazy Drums (His Masters Voice)
15. Chyskyyrai – Khara Tüün – Rhythm Doctor radio edit (Indigenous Lifeforms)
16. Vladimir Tarasov – Monotipijos 45 (Melodiya)
17. Skeet – Meathouse (Almost Unknown)
18. Mad Musician – Jazz In (Tribe Recordings)
19. Ajukaja & Ats – Signal (Mida)

North London garden news

A big thanks to Debby H for sending us some pictures of what’s going on at the moment in the plant pots and flower beds in her north London garden. The ornithogalum above and below has started to produce more flowers and looks great.

The pictures of the cosmos (below) in her last post here influenced us to run out and get a plant for ourselves. It’s now in a pot  and with its great flowers they’re a new favourite of ours here at Weeds.

The phlox and the sedum (below) are looking healthy too, unlike some of the plants in our garden. We’ve been doing a fair bit of watering here but there’s only so many times you can go up and down the garden with a watering can.

We stopped the hose a good few years ago after Gerry Hectic recommended a great episode of Gardeners’ World which was about conserving water which shamed us from using said hosepipe. What was funny we were going to get the hose out yesterday and when we unravelled the thing we noticed that the outside tap was stuck in the “Stop” position. Someone somewhere was making sure we didn’t use that hose!

The golden rod looks gigantic and the flowers are starting to open and the tomatoes are looking healthy too.

Cheers for the pictures Debby as they are appreciated here.

More cool stuff on the shortwaves

On Sunday 11th August 2024 at 0900/1300 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then at 2000 UTC on 6160 kHz and 3975 kHz Imaginary Stations have yet another version of COOL, this time COOL 5 via Shortwave Gold. Like the last COOL shows, it’s summer vibes galore and tunes to listen to whilst on the sun lounger. Towels and suntan lotion at the ready please!

Then via WRMI on Wednesday 14th August 2024 at 0200 UTC on 9395 kHz they’ll be bringing you a back to school special of KMART, your “official supermarket shortwave radio station”. Expect voucher give-aways, extended opening hours and the best blue light specials on the planet (*All subject to availability of course). Tune in and enjoy an alternative to shopping via the shortwave dial.

We never knew that. Part 303

Reggae is one of those genres that if you think you know a little, you’ll always be suprised. By pure fluke we found the above tune from Ranking Toyan – Kill No Man whilst looking for another Toyan tune on youtube. We then remembered the horn version on the LP Aggrovators Meet The Revolutionaries we bought in a second hand shop many moons ago and used the title track on a “Radio Clarion Vs KDUB” shortwave mix. That thing called the internet can be great sometimes!

Big up the Echo Chamber on KFAI

A 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. As we’ve said before, if you want to hear reggae, dub, downbeat and beyond, tune in from 8 – 12 UK time on a Wednesday morning here for a cracking good show. At around 37 minutes into the 24th of July show you’ll hear Madtone‘s “Who’d be a pirate” just before a lovely garden related tune from Sister Julie called Garden Binghi.

Have a listen to the whole show here as it’s wonderful stuff! Thanks again the good Doctor!

On the radio

On Sunday 4th August 2024 at 0900/1300 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then at 2000 UTC on 6160 kHz and 3975 kHz Imaginary Stations have another version of COOL, this time COOL 4 via Shortwave Gold. Like the last COOL shows it’s all about those summertime tunes, 1950’s sun tan lotion adverts, deckchairs, long drinks and cool nights. If you’ve loved the last few summer shows you’ll love this one. Shortwave on, sunscreen on and tune into COOL.

Who’d be a (radio) pirate?

Big shout to Jon at Coughing Pigeon on Brum Radio which is one hell of an eclectic show and well worth listening to if you like a bit of mix up from some acoustic chilledness, reggae, dub and all sorts. Thanks to Jon for playing a rough mix of Madtone‘s “Who’d be a pirate?” at 11.04 on the recent show of 19th July 2024 (below).