So much new music coming through to us right now. Off the back of

Words and music from Kamikaze below. I recommend hitting play while you read and revisiting as necessary.

In the Northern Hemisphere 20th March marks the Vernal Equinox, the point in the year that the Sun appears to cross the equator from South to North, marking the end of Winter and the start of Spring. It is the zero point of the celestial coordinate right ascension, the right ascension of ascending node if you will. Can released a tune called ‘Vernal Equinox‘ on their 1975 LP Landed, which opens this mix. In 1998 Coil released an EP called Spring Equinox : Moon’s Milk Or Under An Unquiet Skull. You’ll be delighted to hear that this EP was limited to 1000 copies on “milky” white vinyl and 55 copies on “piss” yellow vinyl.

At Equinox, day and night are of equal length. Sunrise is due East and Sunset due West. The Arabic for Equinox is تساوي الليل والنهار or Tasawi Allayl Walnahar, which translates as equal day and night. Canadian noiseniks Schizophasia released a track of this name on their 2013 LP 4000.

We also refer to Vernal Equinox as The First Point of Aries, even though this point now falls within the constellation of Pisces. Earth’s precession (ie ‘wobble’) has shifted it out of Aries into Pisces over millennia, and in another 500 years or so it will have slipped into Aquarius. DeepChord released a tune on Modern Love back in 2007 called ‘The First Point Of Aries’, which is included in this mix, as well as ‘Anthroprophh’s Precession’.

The constellation of Pisces does not hold loads of interest for the amateur astronomer, but it does contain the spectacular Messier 74 galaxy, a face-on spiral with loosely wound arms. Included in this mix is a trance banger called ‘Messier 74’ from Serbian producer Zyce.

There are terms we use to describe each Full Moon of the year, passed down from the Native Americans. There is a New Moon around Equinox this year, but the next Full Moon that follows it will be the Pink Moon. Hence the inclusion of the title track from Nick Drake’s Pink Moon LP (“pink moon is on its way”).

Spring is celebrated in cultures worldwide in terms of new beginnings, rebirth, and resurrection. It is the time of sprouting, blooming, and coming out of hibernation. There are traditional spring-themed folk numbers in here from Russia, Azerbaijan, USA, and Bahamas, and a rebirth-themed tune from Madlib. There are seasonal floral inclusions from Sonzeira (plum blossom); Ian Middleton (snowdrops), and Muslimgauze (tulips).

Vivaldi probably wrote the most famous Spring-themed music, as part of ‘Four Seasons’, though personally I can no longer hear this without wanting to claw my own eyes out. My dayjob is in substance misuse and I spend a lot of time phoning up the DWP for our clients for help with benefits, and Vivaldi is what they’ve chosen as their hold music, so I’m thoroughly sick of the sound of it. Thankfully Max Richter reworked it in stunning fashion, so the first movement of that is included in here.

Stravinsky probably has the next most well-known Spring music, in the form of The Rite Of Spring – a 1913 ballet “depicting various primitive rituals celebrating the advent of spring, after which a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to death” (~wikipedia). Besides a brief movement from Part 2 of this, we also have Alice Coltrane’s spectacular cover of ‘Spring Rounds in here’, as well as John Osborne’s plunderphonic version, from his infamous Plunderphonics LP, ie the album that the Canadian Recording Industry Association ordered be destroyed, largely on account of Oswald’s neat rearrangement of Michael Jackon’s ‘Bad’.

Otherwise find great Spring-themed music from Moor Mother Godess, O$VMV$M, Children Of Alice, David Cain, Moondog, Michael Valentine West, The Mods, Ravi Shankar, and a great Sun Ra tune from 1957.

We finish up with a snippet of Willow The Wisp – a 1980s BBC television animation narrated by Kenneth Williams.

Happy Equinox!! x 

Tracklist

Can – Vernal Equinox
Anthroprophh – Precession
O$VMV$M – Spring
Children Of Alice – The Harbinger Of Spring
Michael Valentine West – Springtime
DeepChord presents Echospace – First Point Of Aries
Moondog – Dragon’s Teeth : Voices Of Spring
Ravi Shankar – Kafi Holi (Spring Festival Of Colours)
The Mods – Spring Dance
David Cain – Spring
Zyce – Messier 74
Sun Ra And His Arkestra – Springtime In Chicago
Delbon Johnson – It’s Always Springtime In Nassau
Igor Stravinsky – The Rite Of Spring Pt 2, iii : Glorification Of The Chosen One
John Oswald – Spring
Alice Coltrane – Spring Rounds
Coil – Spring Equinox : Moon’s Milk Or Under An Unquiet Skull, Pt 2
Max Richter – Spring 1
Muslimgauze – The Girl That Sleeps With Persian Tulips
Moor Mother Godess – Springdance
Madlib – Rebirth Cycle (Super Soul)
Bizzy B & Equinox – Merda Style 2004
Schizophasia ‎- تساوي الليل والنهار (Tasawi Allayl Walnahar)
Nick Drake – Pink Moon
Touva – Khoomi : To Celebrate Spring In The Steppe
Village Of Suzemka, Region Of Briansk – I Walked Across The Mountains (Spring Song)
Bob & Ron Cooper – When Spring Comes In (The Spring Glee)
Ian Middleton – Snowdrops
Sonzeira – Plum Blossom
Kenneth Williams – Willow The Wisp : The Joys Of Spring

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The everlearning music inquisitor that JMF is, his selections are steeped in musical importance as much as personal reference. Make sure you check the accompanying notes below. This should be required reading for Music 101.

This mini-series has been a pleasure to dive down in to for me. Whilst I have my own indulgent radio show to talk about music I don’t often get the chance to have JMF’s and Paul’s selections explained to me in the way they have been in this format. Despite its brevity, I’ve learned a lot with the selections that everyone made. I’m thinking this should be a yearly thing, more frequently if we can manage it.

Rollin’ With The 9s – Part 3: Jimmy Monsta Funk

1929
Louis Armstrong – When You’re Smiling (Coral)
A giant of 20th Century music who played, sang and scatted his way through the American songbook and influenced many a musician to either follow or to rebel against him. Armstrong first recorded this song in 1929 and it became a standard in his cannon.

1949
Louis Jordan And His Typanny Five – Saturday Fish Fry (MCA)
Jordan’s Jump Blues music was a follow on from the blues and a precursor to Rock and Roll, his style would go on to influence the likes of Coxsone Dodd of Studio One fame (who heard his music on stints cutting cane in the US and over the radio back in Jamaica), he was in some respects also a precursor to rap music, using rhyme and alliteration to tell a story over a strident backbeat.

1959
Olatunji! – Jin-Go-Lo-Ba (Drums Of Passion) (Columbia)
We often look to Western Classical Music as a pillar of all modern music, but without the incessant and insistent beat of Africa, we would have no strong foundation. Babatunde Olatinji brought his own Yoruba rhythms to work with the likes of John Coltrane, Horace Silver, Max Roach and Stevie Wonder. This song has been covered over the decades by Carlos Santana, Candido and Jellybean, amongst others.

1969
Bob & Earl – Harlem Shuffle (Island Records)
Although this song was originally released in 1963, it was a commercial failure in the UK, only garnering the attention it deserved on its re-release in 1969. The song was arranged by (an as yet unheard of) Barry White and it’s introduction was sampled for the ‘House of Pain’ hit ‘Jump Around’.

1979
Prince – I Wanna Be Your Lover (Warner Brothers)
As far as my favourite recording artists are concerned (at least one’s the average joe would know), Prince always comes out somewhere on top. Although most of his key work was released in the early to mid-1980s, this track from Prince’s second album showcases the virtuosity he would become known for.
Already Prince’s work is imbibed with the trademark high falsetto and salacious wordplay, but all that you hear was played by, sang by and multitracked by the Purple one, then when the song breaks down we get a full-scale jam, which truly shows you the force of musician as arranger.

1989
Exocet – Lethal Weapon (Catt Records)
This is the year where the number of records I possess rises dramatically (I must have got an increase in pocket money or a raise from my £2.80 an hour!), there were so many well-known classics to choose from, but in the end I went for one of those faceless bangers that fed the warehouses of England. I know very little about Exocet, but when this track dropped on a fuzzy TDK cassette, it would also derive an immediate reaction.

1999
DJ Rasoul – Kickin’ Ass (Zebra Recordings)
Two big records from this year were swerved (Shades of Jae by Moodymann, Knights of the Jaguar by DJ Rolando aka The Aztec Mystic) in favor of a record from a lesser-known talent from San Francisco. I went to SF in 1999 on a little DJ excursion, meeting some of the bright lights of the city, playing to some hyped up rooms and getting a sense of the tangents the locals had gone down (be it the house doings of Spundae or the deeper approach of Dub Tribe).

Making sure to visit every establishment selling vinyl, I found myself in Zebra Records (which felt more like an electronics store dedicated to scratch DJing competitions in its downtime, than it felt a house mecca), but the guy there pushed me to buy his latest house 12, I did, it’s one of the best slices of disco cut up I ever did pick up and the drums do kick ass!

2009
Martyn – Is This Insanity? (ft. Spaceape) (3024)
Much like Paul and KPs previous mentions on Ras G, when Spaceape passed to the other side, I was regretful of a talent lost, his voice always melifoucious and on point (check his cover of Prince sound Sine of the Times with Kode9 for a true version excursion). When I first started listening to Martyn, I heard a producer taking the palette of Detroit Techno and painting his own vision with different brush strokes, Great Lengths was a producer at the peak of his powers, adding Spaceape on top made this package track straight up epic.

2019
The Comet Is Coming – Super Zodiac (Impulse!)
The last couple of years have seen a resurgence in Jazz music, with young practitioners bringing the old school chops with a new school post-rap, post-rave swagger. The Comet is Coming is one of the many projects that features the insistent blowing of Shabaka Hutchings, this album also features the polyrhythms of drummer Max Hallett, with the vibrant electronics of Dan Leavers, it feels like an amalgamation of all of the ideas that came before it while striking out to a place on its own at the same time.

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This was originally going to be one mix tied together but given the fact that the mixes are designed to be accompanied with a degree of reading along of the selection notes, we thought it better to split it up as it was originally recorded.

My selections, through no deliberate intention, were mostly born from events and turning points in music that occurred in the 9 end of decade years from 1949 to 2019 (and then a bonus). There’s some shout out to gear and company creations, break-throughs in how music is consumed and more than one year which stands out due to a tragic death. And as this was done pretty on the fly you’ll see that my choice justifications get more and more descriptive the more I got into it.

Jimmy Monsta Funk’s edition coming up next, it’s bound to be heat.
 

Rollin’ With The 9s – Part 2: Keith P

1949
Eddy Arnold – Texarkana Baby
The recording industry changed forever in 1949 with the release of the first-ever seven-inch 45rpms. ‘Texarkana Baby’ is often credited as the very first one but in reality it was one of a number made for sale by RCA on the 31st of March that year.

1959
Buddy Holly – Everyday
This was the year of “The Day The Music Died” – referring to the tragic plane crash that killed three of the top recording artists of the time: Richie Valens, Big Bopper and Buddy Holly. Buddy Holly was a musical genius. I won’t go in-depth here about the many examples that prove this but I will point out that when he defined the rock-n-roll lineup of two guitars, a bass and drums there was no blueprint for him to work off.

This record here is pretty nuts in that he even used knees and a typewriter for percussion and the lovely glockenspiel sound you hear throughout is a celeste, played by the producer’s wife. Like I said, so far ahead of the curve. Holly recorded so prolifically that the label was able to reissue new records for ten years after his death.

1969
Tim Blake – Metro / Logic
This is the year Peter Zinovieff invented the first digital sampler – the 300,000 EMS Musys. In fact, and equally as important, it was the year EMS was born. Electronic Music Studios was formed between Peter, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell, shaping electronic music as we know it.

When pulling together this list I’d actually thought Wendy Carlos used the VCS3 machine however it turns out she was one of it’s biggest critics. I then was going to play something from the inventor Peter Zinovieff, or possibly Hawkwind or even The Who (not Pink Floyd never liked them) but ended up coming across this 1977 album from Tim Blake called the Crystal Machine. Created by customizing 2 VCS3s tt blew me away musically and had to be shared as an example of these machines.

1979
Stevie Wonder – Venus’ Flytrap And The Bug
Nice flow on from the previous record, 1979 was the year Stevie Wonder released Life Of Plants, arguably the first mainstream album making heavy use of sampling. ARGUABLY.

I’ve always been fascinated with the way this album was made. Stevie, being blind, couldn’t simply watch the movie and work the music to it. Someone described each scene to him as it went along and the music came from that. It’s a pretty bugged out way to do a soundtrack to a nature documentary with no words that relies heavily on stunning visuals.

1989
Tetris Music A
There was a point made somewhere in the RBMA Diggin’ In The Carts series that sat with me: most of the music I exposed myself too until the age of 12 came from video games. In 1989 Nintendo released the Game Boy. And while I didn’t acquire one until 1992 or so from that point on it soundtracked a not-insignificant amount of time I spent on the move. This included every family vacation which made up so many happy memories.

Despite minor upgrades in the following decade, realistically, the Game Boy wasn’t properly super seeded until 2001, and despite so many milestone games along the way you can’t really beat the music from Tetris to own the era.

1999
Goldie – Kemistry
Another track here that dedicated to someone’s passing this year. 1999 was the year DJ Kemistry, one half of Kemistry and Storm, and one of the founders of Metalheadz, was taken from this world. I discovered drum ‘n’ bass very late in the game (shouts to who:ratio and Timmy K for the introduction) but when I did Kemistry and Storm mixes became the bar. The DJ Kicks the duo presented still stands as the best drum ‘n’ bass mix I’ve come across.

‘Kemistry’ was Goldie’s dedication to Kemistry originally released in 1992, but is a fitting tribute to put in here.

2009
Broke DJS – Jaan
The first Awkward Movements record. AWK001. Originally there were two of us in this thing together, and as sometimes happens that relationship fell apart before our second release even came out. There’s a lot of regret involved in that, and unfortunately, that’s what I’m reminded about when I hear this record. It makes me a bit sad if I’m being honest.

Broke DJs were a duo who were friends with Liam, who was the other founder of Awkward Movements, and in fact, the one who first referred to me as “the Awkward Mover” which birthed our name. Important year for us, and an important track. A lot of fun was being had, a lot of hard work to get it off the ground and a lot of opportunity was still to come. Back in 2009 you could stand on a corner with a box of records that said “dubstep” and probably sell the lot of them. Big ups to everyone who supported this first record, and Awkmo crew past and present.

2019
Ras G & The Afrikan Space Program – Sign Me Up
Wow. This is the third on the list related to the year someone passed away. And again a record that sums up my feelings about the event as opposed to being released this year.

Much the same as Paul having Ras his list for 2019, I was truly saddened to hear about Ras’ passing. A true musical force passed through the void this year. Crazy. And though his career was cut short what a legacy he left behind.

Back in the days of Beat Soup I used to regularly be calling the record stores he was working at trying to get him on the phone and get a mix. I never did, but we did cross paths years later when we wanted Ras for a remix. We couldn’t reach an agreement at that time and I regret not locking that down.

Ghetto Sci-Fi was massive for me. To this day my number one Ras album. And I introduced Jazzman Gerald to Ras G with this record. ‘Sign Me Up’ was pumped crazy loud from his offices for weeks after.

RIP Ras.

2029
Deltron 3030 – 3030
Okay so not strictly 2029 but it’s something from the future at least. Sort of. Set in the 31st-century and released in 2000 it’s crazy how fresh the Deltron 3030 LP still sounds. Dan The Automator, Kid Koala and Del The Funky Homosapien – it doesn’t get much better. 

Just in – turns out the cover art is a photograph of the Perisphere, a structure constructed for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. That’s right, 1939. Seems it was meant to be.

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Rollin’ With The 9s gives Kamikaze, Jimmy Monsta Funk and myself to look at years ending in 9 through our own personal music lens’, drawing on records that we felt reflected music or events from the year. There’s a bit of commitment required here as it’s somewhat designed to be listened to with the selection notes in front of you.

Paul Ackroyd aka Kamikaze is up first with a session that goes chronologically, choosing a record recorded in each year ending with a 9 from 1899 to 2019. Taking you from ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ to ‘Dance Of The Cosmos’ in one sitting is impressive on its own right.

Rollin’ With The 9s – Part 1: Kamikaze

1899
Scott Joplin – Maple Leaf Rag
One of his earliest compositions, and the blueprint for ragtime moving forward. While Joplin never made an audio recording, his playing is preserved on seven piano rolls for use in mechanical player pianos.

1909
Mr Ero – My Darling Rose
An early piece from Georgia, short ‘n’ sweet. Typical of early day 78s where gramophone companies were trying out the format to see what they could do with it, leading to a lot of fairly strange records released.

1919
Marika Papagika – Arahova
Marike was the first greek singer to record in the USA, and typical of the trend of singers and musicians relocating to New York from overseas in mid/late 1910s to take advantage of the blossoming record industry.

1929
Robert Wilkins – That’s No Way To Get Along
It’s got to be blues in 1929. Spoilt for choice really, so have just gone with an old favourite.

1939
Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit
Gotta go bleak in a year a war’s kicking off.

1949
Lata Mangeshkar – Aaeyega Aanewala
From the 1949 film Mahal, “India’s first Hindi reincarnation thriller”, this is the track that propelled Mangeshkar’s illustrious career. Some estimates believe that she has made something in the region of fifty thousand recordings!

1959
The Flamingos – I Only Have Eyes For You
Going doo-wop here because it represents a developing freedom, certainly in the USA at the time. Plus, of course, a need to dip into the abundance of teen heartthrob hits I’ve got from the time. This is a stone-cold classic.

1969
White Noise – The Black Mass: An Electric Storm In Hell
Experimentation time, and how better to represent that than on offshoot project from the licence-fee-funded radiophonic workshop? Such an important album.

1979
First Choice – Love Thang
I just had to go disco here. Proper timeless this one.

1989
808 State – Pacific State
I whittled this down from a ludicrous amount of tunes, but reckon this says ’89 as good as any.

1999
Aphex Twin – Windowlicker
I was originally going to go godspeed here, for the post-apocalyptic anti-millennium choice, but then I remembered ‘Windowlicker’. And ‘Windowlicker’ trumps everything basically.

2009
Broadcast and The Focus Group – Mr Beard You Chatterbox / Drug Party
Mid/late-00s dance bits started to get more experimental and dark (wonky, dubstep, etc), and it ended up dominating the more experimental sections of record shops. 2009 for me spelled the end of that, and a lot of people dropping the beats altogether (eg ‘bass’), and the people that were already a bit weird sounding had the freedom to go all-out batshit bonkers, eg like when Broadcast inexplicably teamed up with The Focus Group to record one of the most spectacular albums ever made

2019
Ras G – Dance Of The Cosmos
Because 2019’s been shit for a lot of things, but Ras G’s passing knocked me for six.

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I love Behind The Beat. And given the amount of homes I regularly find it in – propped up in a record room, bedroom studio or sitting beside Dust & Grooves on the family bookshelf – I know that I’m not the only one who’s been keenly waiting over a decade for this to drop. Rashid’s photo book threw new light on just under thirty beatsmiths including Cut Chemist, Chief Xcel, Farma G, Dilla, DJ Shadow and the recluse king of the beats Madlib.

And while studio pics are something to be flouted nowadays, any thoughts that it might just be watered down shots of guys in front of laptops are quickly thrown out the door with the previews below. The new lineup is equally as great as the first one, and Rashid’s access comes via his reputation and dedication to shooting the best. Flying Lotus, Just Blaze, El-P, Oh No, Kenny Dope, Waajeed, Oddisee and DJ Format among them, it’s set to be another hardcover masterpiece.

Shipping out October 13th post- launch party at Rap Cats in LA where Raph will be signing books and prints. Get down if you can, and if you can’t get on the pre-order as this is first edition material.

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Do yourself a favor and take two hours to David Rodigan and Gilles Peterson in session. Broadcast on Worldwide.fm last week, it’s yet another session that Gilles and crew (shouts to Thris Tian) have delivered for the platform cementing the station as one of the best channels out there. It’s impossible to say people don’t care about radio anymore with sessions like this dropping.

Ram Jam’s a member of the elite in the reggae, radio and record collector communities that’s got stories for days. He’s and traveled the world, clashed with the biggest systems in Jamaica and held down regular radion since 1978. He’s also recently dropped an autobiography – Rodigan – which I can’t wait to read. You couldn’t ask for a better audio taster than what he’s doing here, as he plays records and talks about them with Gilles.

Tracklist
Culture – Love Shine Brighter [17 North Parade] // Jamaica
Ini Kamoze – Trouble You A Trouble Me [Island] // Jamaica
Desmond Dekker – 007 (Shanty Town) [Trojan] // Jamaica
007/Bounty Killer Rodigan Dubplate
Dennis Brown – To The Foundation [Greensleeves] // Jamaica
Bunny Wailer – Fig Tree [Island] // Jamaica
Bob Andy – You Don’t Know [Green Door] // Jamaica
The Wailing Souls – Fire House Rock [Greensleeves] // Jamaica
Big Youth – S90 Skank [Sunsplash] // Jamaica
Carlton and the Shoes – Better Days [D.E.B.] // Jamaica
Delroy Wilson – This Life makes me wonder [Big Shot] // Jamaica
Junior Murvin – Police and Thieves [Island] // Jamaica
King Tubby – No No No [Rootikal] // Jamaica
Jackie and the Soul Vendors – Ram Jam [Coxsone] // Jamaica
Augustus Pablo – Stop Them Jah [Yard Music] // Jamaica
Soul Vendors – Love me girl [Coxsone] // Jamaica
Bob And Tai – I Don’t Mind [Unknown] //
Gregory Isaacs – Material Man [Island] // Jamaica
Bim Sherman – Too Much Work Load [On-U Sound] // Jamaica/UK

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Lists of things to buy and check out are always good provided they come from the right people, and Jimmy Monsta Funk is still top of that list. He’s dropped some proper heat on us this year and we’re still sitting on about six hour of mixes comprising of wax from 2015 that’ll be up shortly.

A lot of good pieces in here I missed the first time around including the Junjo reissue and the Shabaka And The Ancestors LP. Keen to dig in properly in the coming weeks and see what else we slept on.

5 Documentaries Of 2016
Inside Obama’s White House
Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People
Planet Earth II
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
What Happened Miss Simone?

20 Tracks To Check From 2016
808 State – In Yer Face (Bicep Remix) [Feel My Bicep]
Adesse Versions – Push It Along EP [Heist]
Byron The Aquarius – High Life EP [Sound Signature]
Damiano von Erckert – California [DVE Records]
Floating Points – Kuiper [Pluto]
Jack The Mack – Jack The Mack 3 [Unknown Chicago]
Mall Grab – Menace II Society [Unknown To The Unknown]
Marcel Lune – Sketches EP [Local Talk]
Mark Flash – Audiofluid EP [Underground Resistance]
Mella Dee – Deep Soul EP [Dext Recordings]
Ninos Du Brasil – Para Araras [Hospital Productions]
No Question Asked – Validation Of A DJ [No Questions Asked]
Prince – Chelsea Rodgers (DJ K disco funk re-edit) [Pantone Music]
Rising Sun – Trilogy EP3 [Fauxpas Musik]
Samo DJ & Tzusing – Hollabackboi [Public Possession]
Save! – Darkness In The Middle (I:Cube remix) [Les Disques De La Mort]
Stojche – Asset 005 [Tangible Assets]
Swindle – Works Haffi Run (feat Ghetts) [Butterz]
Timeline – Forever Forward EP [4evr 4wrd]
Truncate – Wave 1 [Truncate]

20 Albums Of 2016
Achim Funk & Mr. Nylson – The Bridge To Yesterday [Newtold]
Anohni – Hopelessness [Rough Trade]
BadBadNotGood – IV [Innovative Leisure Records]
Black Milk & Nat Turner – The Rebellion Sessions [Computer Ugly]
Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition [Warp Records]
Family Atlantica – Cosmic Unity [Soundway]
Floorplan – Victorious [M-Plant]
Ital Tek – Hollowed [Planet Mu]
Kaytranada – 99.9% [XL Recordings]
Kendrick Lamar – Untitled Unmastered. [Top Dawg Entertainment]
Mr. Lif – Don’t Look Down [Mello Music Group]
Oliver Coates – Upstepping [PRAH]
Omar-S – The Best! [FXHE Records]
Saul Williams – Martyr Loser King [Fader Label]
Shabaka And The Ancestors – Wisdom Of Elders [Brownswood Recordings]
Skee Mask – Shred [Ilian Tape]
Steven Julien – Fallen [Apron Records]
The Invisible – Patience [Ninja Tune]
Trim – 1-800 Dinosaur Presents Trim [1-800 Dinosaur]
Yussef Kamaal – Black Focus [Brownswood Recordings]

5 Top Reissues
Henry “Junjo” Lawes – The Evil Curse Of The Vampires [Greensleeves Records]
Massive Attack V Mad Professor – No Protection [Virgin]
Peter Thomas & Mocambo Astronautic Sound Orchestra – Space Patrol (Orion 2016) [Mocambo]
Studio Pressure – Jump [Certificate 18]
The True Underground Sound Of Rome Featuring Stefano Di Carlo – 1991 – 2016 Secret Doctrine [Male Records]

Exhibition Of The Year
Stay. Now. Then: Housing Questions and Answers for 99 years at ArkDes Stockholm
http://www.arkdes.se/articles/bo-nu-da-bostadsfragor-och-svar-under-99-ar

SEEING DJ JOHN COLLINS FROM UR AND EDDIE FOWLKES DISCUSSING TRUMP ON CHANNEL 4 NEWS UK

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Looking back at the records and tapes I shouted at last year and it’s pretty spooky how many artists and labels came back again. Maybe I’m getting old, not playing out as much and listening at home instead, or maybe it’s just the couple of big boxsets breaking the record budget, but the most noticeable shift was towards albums over singles. For whatever reason the music that really stuck with me this year were completed pieces start to finish, showcased by the likes of Lone, Trim and Black Merlin exploring different concepts and vibes for a whole LP, still made up of individual tracks.

The master of this seems to be Seekersinternational and there’s no denying the impact that he had on our bank account this year. There’s knowledge and history in those recordings, and Seekers have taken all the influences upon them to craft their own presence across multiple sub-genres. 2016 was the year of more people hearing the Seekers own sound across a number of labels, each one carrying it’s own heat.

On a similar tip, the #BokehThread incident occurred too, and restored my faith in getting sent new bits to listen to. Big ups all involved there, especially Miles and the Bokeh Recordings camp themselves who also took up a fair bit of our listening time across the year and undoubtedly our  most hit label, and always reliable.

7s, 10’s, EPs and 12s
Healing Force Project – Gravitational Lensing EP [Firecracker Recordings]
Kaiju – Burn Down Babylon [Deep Medi]
Beatrice Dillon / Karen Gwyer – Curl / Common Soundproofing Myths [Alien Jams]
Copeland & Gast – Sisters Of Control [All Bone]
Porter Ricks – Shadow Boat EP [Tresor]
Lemme Kno ‎- UNTHANK009 [Unthank]
Brassfoot – Realms [Apron]
Lee Gamble – Chain Kinematics [UIQ]
Seekersinternational – TrustInDigikal / IfUWantMe [Bokeh Versions]
Don’t DJ – Gammellan [Berceuse Heroique]

LPs
Al Dobson Jr. – Rye Lane, Vol. 2 & 3 [
Black Merlin – Hipnotik Tradisi [Island Of The Gods]
Dan Melchior – Plays ‘The Greys’ [Ever / Never]
Floorplan – Victorious [M Plant]
Sleaford Mods – Live At SO36 [Harbinger]
Lone – Levitate [R&S]
African With Mainframes – KMT [Soul Jazz]
Seekersinternational – LoversDedicationStation [Bokeh Versions]
Seekers International meets MX 7 – Inna Dancehall Showdown [ICS Library]
Rashad Becker – Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol. II [PAN]
Howlround – A Creak In Time [Psyche Tropes]
GH – Housebound Demigod [Modern Love]
Shinichi Atobe – World [DDS]
Ibrahim Alfa – Hidden By The Leaves [Workshop]
Kassem Mosse ‎– Disclosure [Honest Jon’s Records]
Trim – 1-800 DINOSAUR Presents Trim [1-800-Dinosaur]
Dog Chocolate – Snack Fans [Upset! The Rhythm]
Andy Stott – Too Many Voices [Modern Love]

Cassettes
The First Baboon Civilization – The First Baboon Civilization [Moontown Records]
SeekersInternational – RaggaPreservationSociety EP [Diskotopia]
Stretch & Bobbito – Radio That Changed Lives: 11/02/95 [Stretch & Bobbito]
Aquadab & MC A ‎– All Over There [Bokeh Versions]
Abu Ama ‎– Arabxo Ishara [Bokeh Versions]
Ras G – The Gospel Of The God Spell [Street Corner Music]
Ras G & The Koreatown Oddity – 5 Chuckles – InTheWrld ‎[Leaving Records]
Damu – Off The Spectrum [Keysound]

Best Reissues / Compilations / Super Expensive Boxsets
Count Ossie / The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari – Grounation [Dub Store]
Gas — Box [Kompakt]
DJ Guy – Structures & Rhythms 94-99 [Organic Analogue]
Sun Ra & His Solar Arkestra – I Roam The Cosmos [Art Yard]
King Geedorah – Take Me To Your Leader [Big Dada]
Various Artists – Magnetophonics – Australian Underground Music 1978-1984 [Vinyl-On-Demand]
Various (Adrian Sherwoord) – Sherwood At The Controls Volume 2: 1985-1990 [On-U Sound]
Steve Reich – Drumming, Six Pianos, Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ [Deutsche Grammophon]

Essential Book Buys
Here’s hoping you didn’t sleep on ‘313ONELOVE‘ by Marie Staggart. There’s something moving about the A4 sized hard cover book and the way it’s been lovingly crafted. Despite this social media age, it feels like Detroit techno hasn’t been watered down by the people that make it. From the fans perhaps – with ‘Detroit’ continuing to appear in too many press releases from records all over the world – but not from the artists themselves. This book is that extra dimension to the original scene that many didn’t even realise was missing, and worthy tribute to the city and artists who birthed and built techno as well as those carrying it on today.

On the other side of the spectrum comes This Is Grime by Hattie Collins. A scene that’s built itself up from London youth centres and artists connecting directly with followers and contemporaries. The originators come together to tell the story of how Grime formed and grew to what it is today. Kano, Dizzee, JME, Wiley, Novelist, Terror Danjah, Jammer, Crazy Titch – the list goes on and on of those in conversation with Collins, the job’s been done properly. Stunning photos too.

Watch and Rewatch
With release dates being different in countries and all that, the two documentaries that I repeatedly rinsed the most this year were actually released in 2015.

Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives and Wall Writers: Graffiti In It’s Innocence (along with Invisible Britain worth saying) were the films I carried house to house to share and insist on making people watch. Links above give a better run down, but you can check the trailers below.

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Stored on libcom.org (“a resource for all people who wish to fight to improve their lives, their communities and their working conditions”) alongside such greats as Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman and Government In The Future by Noam Chomsky, we found this treasure worth shouting out.

Published by Hooligan Press in London in 1987, Radio Is My Bomb: A DIY Manual For Pirates is a wonderfully dated guide to pirate broadcasting. Mostly aimed at activists it covers everything from laws (including going to court and getting gear back), existing stations, equipment and basic ethics to name but a few parts in it’s 72 pages.

The information may be mostly redundant, but as a behind the scenes snapshot of a period, and a beacon for London’s DIY radio scene, it’s certainly worth looking at. Possibly even worth printing and binding as a Christmas present for Secret Santa in your squat.

Big ups to whoever took the time to scan it it to PDF, links below.

Part 1: https://awkmo.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/radio-is-my-bomb-part-1.pdf
Part 2: https://awkmo.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/radio-is-my-bomb-part-2.pdf

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There’s no way I’d be able to give voice or proper tribute to what happened in Orlando last week. The mass shooting of a lone gunman targeting the LGBT community seemed to highlight different issues for everyone. From the state of the media, to gun laws, to tolerance, to the spiral America is falling in to – the list is long and varied. I can’t talk for the LGBT community, but for those friends of mine who are a part of it I can only imagine how intense and tragic it’s been for them. 

And for Paul, this meant dealing with it through what he does, through music. Read the words, listen to the music, and remember Love Is Love.

via Paul Ackroyd aka Kamikaze

As you’ll no doubt be aware, last weekend 49 people were shot dead and another 50-odd injured by Omar Mateen, a Florida resident who opened fire at a Latinx queer night at Pulse in Orlando. All killed or injured because of their sexuality or their gender identity.

In the papers over the following days the reaction of some of the media was questionable to say the least. Refusal to acknowledge, in some quarters, that it was a specific attack on the LGBTQI community for starters. Or from others quarters, step up the Daily fucking Mail, the idea that this wasn’t even front page news, with the undertone that they had it coming or something along those lines. Instead they opted for a fearmongering story about Turks invading our land if they join the EU. And then there’s that fucking Westboro Baptist Church lot who have been out in force campaigning in their unique anti-gay way at the funerals of the deceased. Or Donald fucking Trump, the orange cunt, trying to jump on the tragedy for political gain. And then later in the week dropping the ‘ask the gays’ bombshell.

So I got distracted from my usual radio prep for the week, felt too much sadness about the above. And needed to do something to help process that.

So step up #LoveIsLove – 90 minutes of LGBTQIetc artists for Reel Rebels Radio this week. There were piles and piles of records in contention for this one – way too many for a measley hour and a half. And sadly, with the intention of keeping the energy up, it’s the more experimental artists that missed out. So no Harry Partch, no Pauline Oliveros, no Annea Lockwood, no John Cage (nor accompanying 4m33s of silence for the deceased), no Wendy Carlos and no Karel Goeyvaerts. So I’ll perhaps return to those next week on NTS for a lil gay electroacoustic segue. We’ll see…

But the things that actually made the cut? Check it out here, tracklist and download below, and not an Elton in sight.

LoveIsLove xx

Matmos – Steam and Sequins for Larry Levan [matador]
Grace Jones – Feel Up (Larry Levan mix) [Universal]
Mighty Duke – More Women [Cultures Of Soul]
Cobra Killer – Six Secs [DHR]
Labi Siffre – I Got The… [EMI]
Marlene Dietrich – The Boys In The Backroom [Decca]
Arca – Vanity [Mute]
THEESatisfaction – EarthEE [Sub Pop]
Le1f – Grace Alek Naomi [Terrible]
Angel Haze – Impossible [Self-released]
Cakes Da Killa – Keep It Coochie [Mishka]
Lady Sovereign – A Little Bit Of Shhh! [Chocolate Industries]
Lady Sovereign – The Battle (ft Frost P, Shystie, Zuz Rock) [Chocolate Industries]
Throbbing Gristle – United [Industrial]
The Velvet Underground & Nico – European Son [Verve]
Heatsick – Vom Anderen Ufer [Pan]
William S Burroughs – Present Time Express [Sub Rosa]
Matmos – Rag for William S Burroughs [Matador]

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