Remix awareness for a Thursday night

Last year we posted up an LP called Social Awareness from Stinky Jim out of Auckland, New Zealand here. Cheers goes out to Jim who this morning let us know about the new remix LP here. If you love reggae, chilled out tunes and the eclectic you’ll love this!

On first listen Cry for the Ute (Solar Tropics Remix) really stuck and we now can’t get it out of our heads. Very subtle but also very grand. We’ve just found out that Solar Tropics are “an Ambient Art project based on Nature, Space and Magic” from California. Sounds like something up our street and have got a bandcamp site we’ll explore (here).

Like the original LP there’s some brilliant productions here, including Strange Fish‘s version of On The Ag and the strange warped sounding ice cream van type chimes and mad beats of Christophe El Truento‘s remix of Cry for the Ute. Flames of Love the Jefferson Belt Remix is tripped out and bassed out on a stripped down, less is definately more tip. More horizontal dreamery on Le Creak (Triblin Sound Remix). Who needs stress with these tunes. Looks like we have another favourite as well in Runs On the Board with Jefferson Belt on the desk, now this stuff brings the blood pressure down with its chilledness. If you want it bringing up again you can always listen to Loose Carry (18th Man Dub by Seekers International).

So if you like reggae, downbeat and a little bit of upbeat-downbeat (if that’s a thing) and you want to listen to something that encapsulates all of that but at the same time want something that takes you on a different trip, you must get this 16 track set.

By the way Jim runs Stinky Grooves the long running radio show on 95bFM out in New Zealand which is well worth lstening to if you love tunes of the dubbed and bassed out variety. Have a butchers here. Cheers again Jim for letting us know about this top LP!

Tunes doing well on a Wednesday evening

A big cheers to Stinky Jim out of Auckland, New Zealand for making us aware of his release Spacial Awareness this morning and what a release! We don’t really know how to describe it apart it’s a right old mix up business of a set and one that we love here. This is something that will grow and grow on us and hopefully will do the same to you.

Most of the tracks are on average five minutes but they don’t seem that long at all and to be honest with you it would do no harm if they were extended time-wise. It’s a set of suprises too as we’re going through it again bits are jumping out at us which didn’t before.

We still not sure what’s our favourites are as it’s early days yet but Loose Carry cheers us up no end. Great steel pan hook that comes in and out mixed up with a bit of the Incredible Bongo Band which gives a great smiley vibe and it’s a lovely bit of bonkers (in the best way possible). This is the stuff!

Another lovely one here is Cry For The Ute a good groove with lots going on around it that you just got to keep listening and enjoy, “Yout them a take over” it’s subtle stuff. At the end a loop that blends in seamlessly will get you thinking “I know that, what the hell is it?”

We don’t want to go on anymore, have a listen and decide yourself. It’s excellent stuff in our book. Cheers Jim!

Just to let you know Jim also broadcasts the long running radio show on 95bFM out in New Zealand called Stinky Grooves no less and another radio show well worth listening to. The archive is here.

Songs to sow seeds to

Here’s a very apt tune from Akcept out of Christchurch, New Zealand with a nice and chilled dub called Springtime Stepper. The weather isn’t that spring-like here at the moment, we’ve had cold winds, sleet, rain and frosts of late and it’s more like winter!

As it’s nearly the end of the month this is more like a guide of what to sow late april/early may and it all depends on this mad weather anyway. My spuds are coming through the ground now but still have fleece on the top of them and probably will have for a couple of weeks or so. If you are going to risk sowing outside, sow under protection with some fleece, jam jars or a cloches or wait until the weather heats up later this month.

So it’s nearly time to sow those french, runner and broad beans (do wait as beans hate sitting around in cold wet soil) and peas. Also carrots, beetroot, leeks, radishes, turnips can go in and you can start sticking in your parsley, coriander, swiss chard, salads, lettuce, rocket & leaf beet.

To be on the safe side sow indoors: brassicas, french, runner and broad beans, all types of pea, sweetcorn, courgettes, squashes, cucumbers and melons.

May the weather be with you!