How can you listen to that? It’s not even stereo

Big shout to regular Imaginary Stations listener Friedrich-Walter Adam in Germany for posting up his clip of the Downbeat on Shortwave show on last weekend’s Imaginary Stations via Shortwave Gold on youtube. 

 

Some say we are mad for listening to different recordings of shortwave shows but each listener, depending on where he or she is, and what they are listening to it on and what time will get a different mix thanks to the groundwaves or the ionosphere and that is something else in our book. But is it in stereo they ask?

The youtube clip features Alpha Seven – Rain chime (beatless remaster) and Múm – There Is A Number Of Small Things (2019 Remaster). It was Justin Patrick Moore who originally recommended Alpha Seven‘s The haunted testcard tapes and here’s two great tracks off it. In stereo.

It may be raining here…

It’s a terrible day today here in London. It’s tipping it down, feels about zero degrees and last night we even put some protection around the mimosa plant we have in a large pot near the house, just in case.

It’s a lot better over the other side of the world in Perth, Australia where our Downbeat on Shortwave collaborator Jesse Yuen is, and he’s sent a couple of pictures of the gardening work he did yesterday in the searing heat of 36 °C but today is a nicer 26 °C. Above is a view of the front garden which is coming along nicely (in October he sent us a post about starting work on his garden here) and yesterday he put some steel edging in. Looks great!

Also he planted a hakea pin cushion plant, that we had never heard of before. He said, “They have amazing flowers when mature” and he’s right there (below).

Cheers for the update Jesse and we look forward to seeing more pictures of the garden as they are inspiring.

Slow mo shortwave

Imaginary Stations will be bringing another Downbeat on Shortwave (show number 3) this weekend (cheers Fred!) on Saturday 14th February 2026 at 1200 UTC and on Sunday 15th February 2026 at 1000/1400 hrs/2100 UTC on 6160 kHz.

Our good dub gardening friend Jesse Yuen from North of The River Swan, Perth, Australia and One Deck Pete from SE23, will be bringing you two 15 minute mixes each in a back to back downtempo style.

Tune in your shortwave radio or if you haven’t got one, via an online Software Defined Radio here (tuned into 6160 kHz) at the right time this weekend in AM mode and listen in and chill out to their slow-mo selection.

A view from Perth, yesterday

It’s a mildish 6°C on Boxing Day in London today, but thanks to our Downbeat on Shortwave collaborator Jesse Yuen, here’s some pictures of summer in Australia at the moment.

These photos of his parents’ garden in Perth are full of some great plants and landscaping ideas and we’re particularly loving that shaded retreat in the bottom picture. Their garden is looking great Jesse and thanks for the update!

A shortwave slow down

Imaginary Stations will be bringing another Downbeat on Shortwave this weekend (cheers Fred!) on Saturday 5th July 2025 at 1200 hrs (UK Time) on 6160 kHz and on Sunday 6th January 2025 at 1000/1400 hrs (UK) on 6160 kHz and at 2100 (UK) on 3975 kHz/6160 kHz.

Our good dub gardening friend Jesse Yuen from Perth, Australia and One Deck Pete from Brockley Village, London will be bringing you two 15 minute downtempo mixes each in a back to back downtempo style.

Tune in your shortwave radio this weekend or if you haven’t got one, via an online Software Defined Radio here (tuned into 6160 kHz) at the right time in AM mode and listen in and chill out to their slow-mo selection.

Limited copies come with an extra “via the ionosphere” mix

A big thanks to DJ Frederick and Imaginary Stations for broadcasting Downbeat on Shortwave last weekend via the transmitters of  Shortwave Gold. The show featured two 15 minute mixes in a downtempo style back to back from Jesse Yuen (Australia) and One Deck Pete (London, SE23).

We’ve posted up two recordings of the show. The first is the stereo studio recording and below that, the off-air recording via the shortwaves recorded in glorious mono. Fading and extra noises thanks to the ionosphere/groundwave.

Big shout to Jesse Yuen for getting involved and into the spirit of this shortwave radio project of ours.

Chill out via the ionosphere (or by groundwave)

Imaginary Stations will be bringing you a one-off programme called Downbeat on Shortwave this weekend. On Saturday 18th January 2025 at 1200 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and on Sunday 19th January 2025 at 1000/1400 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and at 2100 UTC on 3975 kHz they’ll be an hour of downtempo tunes being transmitted across the shortwave radio waves. (UTC is same as UK Time at the moment).

Jesse Yuen from North of the River Swan (Australia) and One Deck Pete from Imaginary Stations/Weeds up to me knees (McLaren’s, Brockley Rise SE23) will be bringing you two 15 minute downtempo mixes each in a back to back style. Tune in your shortwave radio this weekend or if you haven’t got one, via an online Software Defined Radio here at the right time and on the right frequency as they say (in AM mode) and listen in and chill out.