The final Free Radio Skybird programme of this year (bar the repeat two weeks later) is on Sunday November 21st at 1200 UTC on 6070 kHz via Channel 292.
It features DJ Frederick, Justin Patrick Moore with The Radiophonic Laboratory and Weed’s own One Deck Pete with “Tunes to cheer you up.” Tune in! #shortwavesnotdead #freeradioskybird
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!
We’re just researching a gardening related mix and just came across a collective called Plants Dub “a project of inter-species music that inquire the communicative transfer between the human being and the plants”. Now you’re talking!
We’re going to dig deeper (no gardening pun intended) and do some finding out. Here’s one to start with “Phoenix carariensis” which is the Canary Island date palm. Who says gardening and music don’t mix?
And just to press home the point here’s a mix from the good Dr Strangedub from the excellent Echo Chamber on KFAI from a good few years ago. Well worth a listen.
Dub gardeners of the world unite!
Now here’s a nice tune to put on a Saturday morning when you were keen to do a bit of autumn cleaning up in the garden but the reality is that it’s grey and lashing it down. From one of the blokes involved in the Thievery Corporation on the Montserrat House label here’s Eric Hilton with a tune called Maestro Del Sunono.
We had some nice weather during lockdown yesterday and during the lunch break (as we’re working from home) did a little bit of tidying up in the garden. Little and often as they say, even if it is just walking up and down the garden path wielding a pair of snippers and clipping here and there (cutting off the odd dead tomato and courgette stalk). It’s still gardening though isn’t it?
The stuff we sowed in the raised beds at the start of lockdown are still making progress, there’s some beetroot to be harvested, probably two parsnips and the odd tiny lettuce. It ain’t the good life for sure but it’s the life for us!
The upside down terrarium/fish bowl found in the street certainly gets used in the Weeds garden, it might have been moved yesterday to cover a pepper plant that is still going strong but previous to that it was keeping a bit of sprouting ginger and some garlic seedlings warm.
And just to prove it ain’t spring, our silver birch found in the street three years ago here is turning a lovely old shade of golden. It is November you know? The dahlias don’t seem to know it though! #lockdownlunchbreak
Here’s a nice tune from Triptica out of Costa Rica called Mysterious Radio Signals found on Bandcamp this week while researching some music for a forthcoming DJ Frederick radio project. This is a tune that will get under your skin. It’s very nice indeed, one to lift those lockdown blues! #triptica #lockdownblues
It was a lovely morning, this the first saturday of the second UK lockdown so a bit of gardening was in order. It was only a light bit of gardening as we don’t know how long we’ll be locked inside for this time so we’ll make all the jobs stretch just in case. Anyway with gardening we at Weeds always prefer the “little and often” approach every time.
It was mainly a tidy up of the beds in front of the “Dad corner”, getting rid of the old tomato plants and whatever had self-seeded there. As you can see we’ve a new feature, (well we’ve had it for ages but it’s been hidden by self-seeded nasturtiums) part of the front wall that came down when we took out the ivy that was holding it up in the first furlough.
Also yesterday we threw out an Argos slow cooker we had for years that was on its last legs not before commandeering the inner crockpot as something to stick over the rhubarb crowns to keep them warm and come spring “force” the rhubarb to grow that little bit earlier. We know an old crockpot is not as good as candlelight in heated outbuildings (that’s the commercial way of forcing rhubarb. More about the practice here) but it don’t look too out of place in the garden. If they ask, we’ll tell people that it’s an expensive “dedicated rhubarb forcer/warmer” bought on HP from a specialist plant supplier (no mention of Argos either).
There were even a few forgotten spuds from the raised bed found too! Gardening during lockdown brings many suprises!
DJ Frederick sails solo on the shortwaves on Free Radio Skybird this Sunday November 8th 2020 at 1200 UTC on 6070 kHz via Channel 292 as part of the station’s tenth anniversary. Then in a fortnight’s time the whole crew return for their final broadcast of the year. Tune in this weekend for some interesting listening! #freeradioskybird #freeradio #shortwavesnotdead #valvesnotdead
The other evening the neighbours looked on thinking we were losing our marbles as we gave the lawn the last cut of the season. Dusk was fast approaching, the sun was still around but there’d been a fair bit of rain during the day so the grass wasn’t the driest it’s ever been.
When at the council we were always told give the grass the latest cut you could before the weather goes far too silly for mowing as this combined with an early spring cut with the mower blades on “High” would save you a lot of work (going over the grass a few times with the mower and constantly raking) in the long run. We here at Weeds swear by that advice!
Also a little bit of grass seed was put down to fill the gaps in the relatively newly sown area just outside the back door that was once a bit load of 1970’s crazy paving. It should grow at this time of year what with the rain and the odd bit of sunlight, unless the birds have it!
And here’s a nice bit of dub that’s been floating our boat of late…
DJ Frederick‘s Free Radio Skybird is back on the 49 Metre shortwave band again this Sunday October 25th (and repeated the week after) as part of the station’s tenth anniversary. The broadcast goes out at 1200 UTC on 6070 kHz via Channel 292. Expect the usual mixture of stuff with DJ Frederick, The Radiophonic Laboratory and Weed’s own One Deck Pete. Tune in! #shortwavesnotdead #freeradioskybird
Weeds up to me knees 