The lack of updates on here recently really does point to the fact that I have been super busy recently, not through lack of wanting to share stuff. One day I won’t have a pressing deadline that doesn’t allow me the luxury of uploading all manner of wonderful content to this blog. Or needing some downtime to let off some steam. Last week was all accounts, mortgages and life stuff and this week it’s all light shows. Plans are afoot in many camps, some of which I still can’t reveal, also the heat doesn’t help.
There’s been a lot of carbooting this summer and I seem to be picking up esoteric badges here and there along with picture frames, art materials for my kids and even the odd record. Find of the year so far was this battered but beautiful copy of the limited edition Robert Rauscherburg-designed Talking Heads LP, ‘Speaking In Tongues’.
I made it to Birmingham to see the Henry Chalfont exhibition, caught up with Snub and Sprite contributing to the 2000AD-themed wall at the Hi-Vis graffiti jam and managed to score some lovely original comic art from Hunt Emerson all in the same day.
Given the weather we’ve been having it’s appropriate that I’ve just finished ‘Heatwave’ by John L. Williams, a look at British news and culture during the long hot summer of ’76 – very good it is too.
Finally, the Telepathic Fish enamel badge samples have arrived and look amazing, lucky purchasers of the deluxe edition of the compilation will be getting one of these come September 5th.
Currently there is no time to do a radio show because I’m engaged in preparing mixes elsewhere for others, no doubt they will all arrive at once in a musical glut after months of gestation. Speaking of which, here’s this month’s recommendations from the ever-flowing sea of sound. The Natural Yoghurt Band have put out two albums this year already, ‘Parasol’ is the newest, Markey Funk is back for another Delights 45 with the excellent double-header as The In Sound Company. Awkward has collected a load of beats under the title, ‘Hardcore Restoration 2’ and Hawksmoor has been experimenting with tape loops in the style of Howlround or Paul Cousins for Castles In Space‘s new CD imprint, Lunar Module.
Album of the year contender is from Coastal County who follow their superb debut from 2018 with ‘II’ – that’s it in the centre of the pic at the top. Fans of Axelrod, Gainsbourg, Schifrin et al should check it – also RIP Lalo, we’re losing so many greats at the moment. Tortoise get remixed by all and sundry and the mysterious Telefax Productions hip houser from last year gets a set of remixes – I know who’s behind it but am sworn to secrecy. Ternion Sound make the kind of dubstep I like, and look at that logo, beauty. Last but not least, I may have had something to do with the (may the) fourth part of the Rave Wars saga, ‘The Acid Awakens’, which sold out very fast due to each 7″ coming with an attached Star Wars figure.