Category Archives: Reggae

Dub gardeners of the world unite yet again

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday morning on Radio 4 was a lovely dubwise treat thanks to Don Letts with Dub Revolution: The Story of King Tubby (available on listen again here) a celebration of the dub organiser himself. Worth a listen if you love the world of dub like we do here.

And talking of the rebel dread you may remember that in 2013 that Don said about Weeds: “A Dub/Punk/Gardening blog….now’s there’s a combination I can relate to! Actually tailor made for The Don…..check my yard bredrin’….” and sent some pictures (one below) of his garden which we loved! More pictures of his garden here.

And by chance yesterday we found a link of Don and his wife Grace’s garden on Gardeners’ World which originally went out last year. Have a good butchers at the garden from 6.40 minutes in here. As Don himself says, it’s a real mix of styles! #dubgardenersoftheworldunite

Dub gardeners of the world unite

Posted on by
Reply

A big shout to Jesse Yuen who presents the excellent RTM.FM show North of the River Swan that specialises in downtempo dub and low end business on the second Sunday of the month from 4-6pm. Thanks to Jesse for sending us some pics (Thanks to Dee for taking them) of his great looking indoor planting scheme. The space is so bright and alive!

There’s a good variety of plants here even though us at Weeds are not the best when it comes to looking after plants of the indoor variety (we tend to overwater them then forget about them we’re ashamed to say.) There’s all sorts here including Kentia Palm, Chinese money plant (sometimes known as the UFO plant!), Prayer Plant, Tropic Snow, Mother-in-law’s Tongue, Devils Ivy, Parlour Palm, Umbrella Tree, Yucca, Mistletoe cactus (that looks well interesting) and the well hardy Spider Plant. (By the way whilst we’re on the subject of houseplants we have to mention a podcast to start following if you love gardening of the great indoors. It’s Jane Perrone‘s On the Ledge available here.)

And Jesse sent some of his favourite tunes from the North of the River Swan record boxes below to get stuck into. We didn’t know a lot of this stuff and that is what’s good about this music lark, once you open up that can of worms it’s never ending. There’s a ton of excellent tunes played on the show too so peruse the show’s mixcloud site here.

And do listen to the last episode of the show from 2020 featuring Jesse and Dubplate Pearl as it’s excellent stuff and full of some cracking tunes! Includes Prince Fari, Yabby You, Tradition, the great Depthcharge from Keith Hudson (What a tune!), a dub of Play fool get wise by Johnny Clarke and lots more great music.

Thanks again Jesse for sending the pics and the tunes!

Misty in dub

Posted on by
4

The weather’s been alright up until last night when it felt more like winter. We even had a visit from the Lewisham Heron yesterday who couldn’t get any of the fish in the pond due to the fine pea netting thrown over the top and gave up his statuesque posing after a few minutes. This morning we woke up to the above, mist galore. We reckon they’ll be a few jobs to be done in the garden this weekend, digging up dahlia tubers maybe one of them!

And here’s a great tune for those cold dark nights indoors, A man called Adam‘s Tic Toc (Disco Rockers Dub). It’s excellent stuff indeed, a nice off the wall dub mix reminding us of those great dub B sides on scratchy seventies seven inchers.

Which made us think of another great interpretation of dub from Bronx Dogs of Sizzla’s Rain Showers another piece of clever mixer madness with some nice cut ups thrown in plus what sounds like Tubby’s “Squawky”. A nice tune that works very well even at 33!

And while we’re looking back a few years here’s a great tune Imperial from Lazy Boy that has a lovely dub interlude at 1.16 mins in which could go on for ever in our eyes!

Dub don’t you just love it?

We all love free stuff! And if it’s dub, even better!

Posted on by
1

And just as we’d finished writing the last post, we’ve just heard on the 18th of this month (4 days away!) is the release of the FREE Echo Chamber – Around the world in Dub Volume 11/12 via the Dandada Records Bandcamp here.

An action packed 28 track dub set including The Process Skip McDonald, Trevor The Technician McKenzie, The Mutant Frogs, Plastic Culture & Dubby Doo and a brand new number from Jazz’min and Madtone called Return to the branches. 

Get on the site on the 18th and download it for FREE!

Can’t live without my radio

Posted on by
Reply

We’re a week and a bit behind on This is a music show and this afternoon listened to show number 084 and there were some great tunes played (including thrift store finds and more Polish records too) alongside a shout for Free Radio Skybird too (Cheers Your Host!) We loved The Lost Generation with The Sly, Sick and the wicked. We’ve never heard of it before and it’s one hell of a tune!

https://soundcloud.com/thisisamusicshow/this-is-a-music-show-084

And then a few records later Your Host plays the Leroy Sibbles version of Ain’t No Love which is another belter! The 12″ we own was obtained for a couple of quid a few years ago from the market around the back of Vauxhall Sainsbury’s which was not a place for the faint hearted! The only flea market that has heavy heavy security. God forbid it can’t be still there now.

Hearing that Leroy Sibbles tune we were brought back to a time when we used to own a cassette of the great Mikey Dread on his radio show in Jamaica from Christmas 1978. What a tape! Here it is in all it’s glory.

So do yourself a favour and tune into This is a music show if you like good tunes and across the board business! #thisisamusicshow #freeradioskybird #dreadatthecontrols

It’s Reggae time!

Posted on by
Reply

Big shout to Jesse Yeun for including One Deck Pete‘s “Weeds up to me Knees dub mix” (at 59.29 on the mixcloud below) on his great North of the River Swan show on RTM:FM yesterday. There’s a right old mixture of great downbeat on the show from Karminsky Experience, Tortoise and even one from a duo called One Deck & Popular. Have a listen in…

Two times on a Sunday on shortwave

Posted on by
1

Some news about the next transmission of DJ Frederick’s Free Radio Skybird on Sunday 27th September at 1100 UTC (12 Noon UK time) on 6070 kHz shortwave via Channel 292 (and repeated the week after.) Next week’s show features DJ Frederick, Justin Patrick Moore’s Radiophonic Laboratory and Shane Quentin with more of that Radio Reflexology and our very own One Deck Pete with “Tunes to cheer you up” series. 49 metres on a Sunday afternoon is once again where it’s all at! If you haven’t got a suitable radio it can also be heard on the SDR link on their site here.

Also on Sunday 27th September 2020 (and repeated the week after) at 1800 UTC (7pm UK time) on 3955 kHz via Channel 292 is the final transmission of Radio Lavalamp for a while. The ultimate programme of the year will feature One Deck Pete with his The Purple Nucleus of Creation 003 mix. Tune in to “Your ethereal shortwave music station” on 3955 kHz or using this link here when the time is right! #Freeradioskybird #Radiolavalamp #shortwavesnotdead #Funwithashortwaveradio

Don’t touch that lamp!

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s the studio recording of One Deck Pete’s “The Purple Nucleus of Creation 002” that was broadcast this evening on Radio Lavalamp on 3955 kHz.

Tracklisting:
Nayl – Loading (Kontor Germany)
Drowsii – Leather Doves (AWAL)
Tabitha Project – Aguamar (Berry Parfait)
Seventh Soul & Homayoun Shajarian – Lost (Tarr)
Camille Murray – Ghosts are real (Khanti)
#shortwavesnotdead #radiolavalamp #thepurplenucleusofcreation

Tomorrow never knows (it’s going to be 34 degrees)

Posted on by
Reply

It’s a Thursday night and it was still 20 odd degrees outside a couple of hours ago when we gave the raised beds a watering, not the best time to do it we know but the plants are parched and have you seen the weather forecast for tomorrow? They’re going to need all the water they can get. On the way back and forth to fill up the watering can we passed this sad cabbage (above) and for weeks we’ve been thinking it’s on its last legs but it seems to keep going.

As we keep saying, it’s been a mad old year with the COVID19 lockdown but it’s forced us to grow more stuff in the garden and even given us time to give the plants a bit of TLC as we couldn’t go out anywhere. The raised beds have turned into a jungle and there’s a good bit of garden anarchy going on elsewhere, dahlia’s partnered with cabbages and a courgette/zucchinni plonked next to the silver birch we found in a carrier bag in the street three years ago (here) and more self-seeded nasturtiums than anyone could ever wish for.

The other day we picked a few green potatoes where the sun had got at them thus making them non-edible. We thought we’d throw them on the compost heap then thought of all the times we’ve pulled up sprouting potato skins from the beds and remembered a tip from Bob Flowerdew where he sticks weeds, potato skins and anything that may sprout again into a bucket of water. Then when the stuff is beyond redemption he sticks the mush into the compost bin. We’re giving it a try too, that bucket alongside the comfrey liquid on the go is making it a place of strange smells at the bottom of the garden! #lockdowngardening #dontsmellthosebuckets

And news just in…

https://soundcloud.com/thisisamusicshow/this-is-a-music-show-075

It(’s not) just the same old show, on my radio

Posted on by
Reply

We’re listening to some mix-up business on Venture FM at the moment with PD Coolie. We’ve already had Terry Jacks’ “Season’s in the Sun” (a formative record with one Andrew Weatherall god rest his soul), The Archie’s “Sugar Sugar” covered by Big Youth & Junior Byles above,  The Jamaicans with Baba Boom and earlier Fats Domino with Blueberry Hill that put us in mind of this version from the great Jah Wobble. Radio, as a medium you just can’t beat it!