Big thanks to Steve Barker from the great On The Wire radio show for letting us know what the single in the last post was. It was X Press with Black Ivory from 1973. And here’s the other side Tenderness. Cheers Steve, it’s appreciated!
A big shout to our good friend actoss the pondJustin Patrick Moore (of the excellent The Radio Phonics Laboratory Book here) for passing on this great piece of electronica. It’s from GLOK / Timothy Clerkin with a lovely track called Empyrean. Starts pretty bonkers and gets even better, it’s a catchy bit of electronic malarkey. No idea what it reminds us of but it is great. Cheers Justin!
Big thanks to Mike G and Julia (Ace photos as usual by the way Julia!) for sending pictures of their wonderful dahlias that have been loving the decent weather up there near Coventry for the last two days. The black dahlia (above) is really something else!
The one above is another favourite of ours, a classic of dahlias! And as for the orange one below… We’ll be buying some tubers for the spring, we will.
And these pictures have given us an excuse to repost up an example of that rare genre called dahlia dub from Madtone called A dahlia state of mind.
And another dahlia themed track this time by Asta Hiroki.
And a final one by Jean-Michel Serres.
Here’s the audio of yesterday’s Skybird Radio International which was broadcast via the services of Shortwave Gold. It’s all about grooves from around this world of ours and there’s some wonderful eclectic music in a true worldwide style from all of the Imaginary Stations including DJ Frederick and Justin Patrick Moore.
At 03.28 there’s a mix from One Deck Pete and here’s the tracklistings:
Madtone – Diamonds in the sky (excerpt)
Entjar Tjarmedi, Enip Sukanda, et al – Berber Lajar
Narcy – Bedaya
Leik – Toy Center at night
Los Zheros – Para Chachita
Dr Charty – Falling in Dub
So tune in and enjoy the show with just under an hour of worldwide tunes!
Here’s a nice piece of cut and paste dub sitar business from Richard Houghten out of California called Sitar Dub funnily enough. Once you get into that looped groove it’s hard to get out of it! Enjoy.
We’re just putting another shortwave mix together and picked this tune from Tommy McCook & The Supersonics called Second Fiddle. It starts off with a “Popeye the sailor man” type motif then into a very interesting rock steady number.
Then we found out by accident that The Incredible String Band did a cover of it. Well we never knew that! There’s a lot we don’t know we reckon, music is one big can of beans.
This week the Imaginary Stations crew will be bringing to you the return of Skybird Radio International via the shortwaves on Sunday 15th September 2024 at 0900/1300 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then at 2000 UTC on 6160 kHz and 3975 kHz via Shortwave Gold. Expect some wonderful eclectic music in a true worldwide style from all of the Skybird crew of DJ Frederick, Justin Patrick Moore and at 3.28 in is a mix by One Deck Pete featuring Entjar Tjarmedi, Enip Sukanda, Narcy, Leik, Los Zheros and Dr Charty.
Then next week on Wednesday 18th September 2024 at 0200 UTC on 9395 kHz via WRMI they’ll be bringing you another episode of Skybird Radio International which is another worldwide affair as you can imagine with more tunes from around this musical globe of ours. Tune in and travel the world!
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.
We’re away for a few days not far from Eastbourne and very close to Beachy Head, which of course was used as the cover location of Throbbing Gristle’s 20 Jazz Funk Greats and the red and white striped lighthouse below there featured as Schnipps’ rocket that was to be launched against London in The Prisoner (“The Girl Who Was Death” episode.)
The last few days we’ve been wandering to Beachy Head using different routes on the South Down’s way, getting to know the shoreline and just enjoying the chilled vibes and good weather. Rain is sadly forecast for tomorrow.
On every walk this week we’ve bumped into a friendly older man with a tooth missing, in walking boots, carrying a rucksack either sitting on the many benches there having a rest or just passing by on his way to some place.
Today it came as no surprise we bumped into him again, this time idling about on a coastal route. We bid him good day and smiled to ourselves that we crossed paths again and he asked us “Do you want to know a secret?” ”Yes” of course we replied!
He then spent ten minutes telling us that the undulations in the earth below us were filled in trenches from the First World War. Then he chatted about Ancient Tumuli now hidden on a nearby golf course. An Ordinance survey map was pulled from his rucksack to be added as evidence and lots of local knowledge were imparted within the short meeting.
We at Weeds love meeting these characters on holiday and a fun filled conversation would be guaranteed if a couple of pints were shared with them. The alternatives so far in the pubs have been barflies talking very loudly about their luxury 5 star holidays to Dubai or their jury service experiences “I 100% knew he was guilty but the judge obviously didn’t”.
We here prefer people who spill local secrets on hilltop footpaths. Here’s to the great characters you meet when you’re away from home!
It doesn’t take long, just a few days of dryness to ruin what you have in your garden. Our good friend Gerry Hectic came back the other week from Gilles Peterson‘s We Out Here festival and his tomato/strawberry experiment in one of those strawberry pots was looking the worse for wear. It is totally sad to see the before (above) and after (below).
Please tell us there’s a happy ending Gerry!
And to change up the vibes on this sad event here’s a wonderful number from Cyril Diaz Et Son Orchestre with Feeling Happy. May this tune lift spirits and sad dry plants everywhere.
Weeds up to me knees 