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Saturday 1 December 2012

It's A Fookin' Pleasure

Currently my favourite joke:


This isn't just "and then I got off the bus", although that is part of the joke. It's the look on his face...that's what does it for me. The triumph of a naughty schoolboy performing to a willing audience.
It also serves as a point of ordinariness amidst all the surrealism. It's not really Mayor Vaughn...the knowing look says 'here's Chubby!'...a real person. This is a skillfully done technique for giving greater emphasis to the weirdness. I love every minute of this show.

Anyway...I'm back on the virtual air this month, though not with a show in the usual sense.
Here:  DANDELION RADIO . Please check the DR schedule for times.
I've made a 2 hour mix of some of my favourite tunes of the last 3 months, linked together with some occasional text-to-speech. It's not meant to inform or educate, although it may do so incidentally. It's pure entertainment. Mostly electronica...no grindcore moments this time, I promise.

For some time I've wondered about the point of an internet DJ telling you what he's just played. The website in front of you can tell you all the information you need to follow up on a tune if you want to....certainly more than the DJ can reasonably communicate. There is 'presence', of course. The difference between good radio and great radio. Weeeellll....7 years on and I still don't like the speaking bits very much, but I do love to mix down tunes. The fun task I have set myself is express my presence without being ...present...so to speak...and to allow a 21stC person to do it for me. We need to get used to these virtual people. There's only going to be more of them.

As this is one continuous piece of music and not a 'show' in the normal sense, but rather a 'session' by Coseyhead, I believe that I can break the normal rule (a licensing requirement) and give you the playlist now:

Technohead - I Wanna be a Hippy (Casketkrusher Mix)
Remute - West East (Original Mix)
Chinese Man - Miss Chang (remix by Tha Trickaz)
Proxy - 8000 (Original Mix)
Ankokushinwa - Lakeside
Green Velvet & Harvard Bass - Lazer Beams (Original Mix)
David Herrero - Eisbär (Tribute Mix)
RadicalG - Deathstar ( Original Mix )
C_C - To S_3
Blawan - Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage
Fanu - Shatner Rap (Feat Greenleaf)
Pole - Lurch
Hanetration - Rufus
Mueran Humanos - Leones en China
WPN-114 - Dialoghi
Rayman Origins - The Lums' Dream (''Glou Glou'')
Lucky Dragons - Mirror Makers
Blank and Kytt - Thursday and Snow (Reprise)
Goran Bregovic - Me Sam Devla Romani
Proxy - Shut Up! (Original Mix)
Limited Toss - Bodbod
Audio - Fringe
Tipper - Shatter Box
Miii - The Hardware Anthem
Remute - Planet Murdoch (Original Mix)
Cornell Campbell - Fast Car


Have a lovely Christmas everybody.
Turkey rights and peace!

It's been a fookin' pleasure.

Peter





Sunday 7 October 2012

The kiln blew up in the erotic pottery workshop and there are red hot ceramic penises everywhere!




I hope I can move like this guy when I'm his age, which isn't so far away. Tell you what though, they're right...old is cool.



 Another cool old guy.

 One more video. Chay from The Suicidal Birds and Orang Goreng from Pony Pack have a new album out as 'Milk & Morphine'. The album's called 'Can I Carve My Name In Your Face?', and it sounds like it. Get it free from bandcamp here.

 

 No show this month. I've got lots of music to share, but I haven't found the will to perform lately. I've been focusing a lot of attention on the label recently, and I feel very pleased about the way it's developing. I'm just ready to publish the fifth release of this year, a fine, gorgeous album by collage artist Don Trust.


Available from October 9th at wombnet.com. Forthcoming releases I can be relatively confident about include new albums from Ryan Hardy and Steveless & Syd Howells.




 I had a lovely learning experience last week. I briefly took up online poker...not for money, just for fun. I had a bit of beginners luck, then did a quick tutorial. Now, I don't know Poker...I've only played a couple of times in my life, and never 'got it'. After playing a bit online, and reading up on a bit of theory and technique, I began to see the beauty of the game. I love games, and although I don't have experience of the poker-type, I was a decent Bridge player in my youth. Though usually of gentle mind, as a gamer I'm calculating and ruthless. I have never cheated. As a good friend of mine put it "if you cheat, how do you know if you've won?" Nor do I play just to win...beating a vastly inferior opponent is boring. It's the music of the game that I love. Bridge is about harmony and balance. Each hand unfolds in mathematical perfection. Well, a few hours playing Poker and I could hear the song. So I read bit. Next day, I lost hand after hand after hand.... I was trying to play an elegant game against people who only wanted to win. The nature of that particualr game was that you could throw everything in...loose it all.....leave the room and return with a new stake....over and over again. There was nothing to loose...no incentive towards strategy, so several players would simply bet erratically, loose it all, reload and try again until they were lucky and won a big pot. Then they would use that capital to intimidate other players...scaring people off with large bids only they could afford, scooping up the other erratic players as they came and went. It struck me that they were being good citizens...playing the capitalist game. They didn't know any better....Anyway...easy solution...I was in the wrong room...what did I expect from a free public poker room....Ghandi? So there you go. Not profound. Quite ordinary, really. Occasionally we may wander into the wrong room. That's Ok. Leave.



breathe well
Peter


Thursday 6 September 2012

She was nekid, and sitting in this chair that come from France

Terry Allen-The Girl Who Danced Oklahoma
It makes perfect sense in context. The song is from his amazing album Lubbock (On Everything), which is arguably the finest country record ever made....Yeah, I know...the wise man avoids hyperbole, but in this case....well, just listen to it on youtube . Before you ask, it was not I who uploaded this just a week ago, but it's not the first such incident I've experienced recently. Serendipity is quite reliable.

This month's Eclectic Music For Mind And Bodhi is mostly pretty chilled out stuff I've been listening to during this beautiful summer. It starts with a Carol Voderman mash I found on youtube. The video's quite short and most amusing to my childish sense of humour, so I've embedded it.



 As usual, most of the tunes are from free netlabels, so I'll list them in order.

Ostad Khan from Darling ~Dada 0.1, the first compilation from that label.
Trollhead On The Loose and 5Y5 from Bedroom Research
Ryukau D040802 Sayonara Records
Aka Gelbart Please Please Me
Nebulist The Structure Of Chaos pt1 on Braincore
Sexton Ming & Colin Shaddick
Smill Prophecy ep and Kaleed Un Jerrikane... on Audio Activity
The Creature Cocoa Don't Explain It
Le Matin Chnasons
Knolios Melanin on Nanoloopsis
Ubik My Room Is The World on Musica Vermella
mmpsuf Retina on Sutemos
Sol Rezza Shorts For Radio
etc EP02 on Element Perspective
Indian Wells Night Drops
Jaws vs Paws
Ducktails

 The Dandelion Radio license doesn't allow me to publish playlists before or during broadcast...only afterwards. All the stuff above is Creative Commons, and not bound by PRS/MCPS rules, so the restriction doesn't apply. 'Free' isn't just about the price.
 If you only download one thing from that list, I'd recommend the Darling Dada compilation. An energetic slice of French underground.
 Understated and unassuming, 'Jaws vs Paws' is a lovely ride.
 Nebulists gets the prize for the most soul this month (unless you count The Supremes with a surprisingly filthy little number). Deep, moody and dark, but not depressing. It's a fine line.
 For creative weirdness... Le Matin's 'Chnasons'...what a great title.

Finally, do take a look at my netlabel wombnet. There's a new album from Chris Cook that you've got to hear.


'till next month then.
.. do lots of things I wouldn't do...

Peter

Thursday 2 August 2012

Oh, by the way, which one's Pink?

Yeah, well, OK...this title is a bit different from the last few.
A couple of young friends of mine have recently discovered Pink Floyd, after I passed on to them a copy of the 8 bit version of Dark Side Of The Moon. They got the original, on vinyl, and are loving it. I've wondered about suggesting Wish You Were Here. Many musicophiles like myself...of a certain age...consider this the only Floyd album worth hearing. The Syd Barrett albums are charming, but hardly great music. 'Moon' is perfect, of course, but maybe too perfect. A little too polished. The late 70s albums are dull as pig shit and after that it all went a bit downhill. In the middle of that early phase is the crazy diamond that is this glorious album. The only record they did with soul. If you haven't heard it, do check it out. 1975 was quite a year for music, with many of the credible acts of the late 60s and early 70s reaching their maturity before the long slide to the tastelessness of the 80s. Isn't it amazing how some musicians can get a lifetime of fame and cash on the strength of just one great record. That's show business!

That's my rant of the month.

No EMFMAB, but I do have an episode of my reggae show 'Dandelion Roots' airing on Dandelion Radio this month. Go there for daily show times. Here for more details.

Can I share with you my musical pick of the month?
Can you handle French rap?
This album grabbed me from the first bar:
Kaleed - Un Jerrikane de plus - Chainsaw Attitude Volume 2
on the netlabel Audioactivity.

The photograph of 2 Green Woodpeckers on a telegraph pole opposite our house was taken last week by my wife Sarah. We get a lot of birds around us.
 A bird story follows:
A Kestrel flew in the house a couple of weeks ago. It went for a kill on the sill and tumbled through the open window, along with the bird it was after! I was sitting a few feet away. It quickly came
to it's senses and flew towards another window that was closed, banging itself repeatedly, and loudly against the glass. It was only at that point I realised what it was and what had happened. We have small birds coming in fairly often. They tend to freak out a bit, then calm down, look around and head straight for the open window they came in through. They're not stupid. A Kestrel, if you don't know, is a small British bird of prey. (This photo may be the same individual, but we cannot be sure. It was taken in the garden 3 years ago. We have at least one local pair. This male bird has an ex-rat in it's talons.) I say small, but that's just relative to others of it's kind. It's a pretty big and fierce bird to have freaking out less than 10 feet away, I can tell you! I wasn't truly scared that harm could come to either of us, 'cos I knew it was just frightened. Anyway, it did calm down after a minute (That's a long time to a bird. They perceive about 10 times faster than us.) I called Sarah in from another room, and she arrived in time to see the bird get it's bearings and fly straight out the way it came in. It was a couple of minutes before the Blue Tit that had been its
intended meal emerged from a corner of the room where it had been hiding...doing that phasing out thing that they do where you can look straight at them and not see them. It was a bit shocked.They can go very passive when frightened....linked to the aforementioned invisibility in some way, I'm sure...so this one needed Sarah's help to get out. She has boundless compassion for small creatures. (The Tit in the photo is almost certainly not the same individual, but is probably from the same family.) Everyone survived the experience, that time, but a Kestrel must eat to live. Consider all the insects that Great Tit would have eaten in it's life that would have been saved if the Kestrel had been successful. Do not all entities have an equal right to life? Thaddeus Golas said something astute about this in his 'Lazy Man's Guide To Enlightenment'; "There is no important difference between live and dead matter, since both are made up of live entities." Listen here.

shine on
Peter

Wednesday 11 July 2012

If You Think I'm A Nutter You Should Talk To My Sheep

 It's an interesting thing about language that it's possible to come up with an arrangement of words that has never been heard before and yet does make sense.
I think that's what I've been looking for with these absurd blog titles. Of course, English is particularly appropriate for this kind of word play because of the huge vocabulary available...and many other factors...and this makes substitution of inappropriate words for comic effect quite easy. The title of this blog is really just such a substitution. "....and then I got off the bus....". It raises a smile, but it's not got funny bones. I think it's difficult to invent something totally new, something totally originally absurd, and I have great admiration for those that can. The language...the form...hasn't really got anything to do with it. Surely watching Basil Fawlty beating a car with a broken tree branch is funny even without understanding the language or the cultural context? I think so. I think the same of music. If music is truly original it somehow transcends cultural barriers. Ironic, really, that powerful artistic movements often began with idiosyncratic or even revolutionary individuals on the fringe of their disciplines.

 Something to think about there, then.

 Creatively, it's been an interesting time for me. I've not got much juice for the radio show. It suits me to take a few months off. I'm playing live a couple of times this month. Brighton, as usual. Drop me a line if you're interested.

 What is choice? That has been on my mind. Who is choosing? There's more than one me, and not all of them experience choosing. As children, most of us seem to have little choice about the physical circumstances of our lives. Until we leave school, even the hours of the day are controlled by others. Many people carry this helplessness into adulthood, and end up doing all the crappy underpaid jobs that just serve to keep them busy, while making a few people they've never met rich from their sweat. But really, which one of us is free to act totally as we please without regard for anything? Thankfully, none, although sometimes it seems to be the goal of modern thinking...to replace the perfect balance of nature with a version of the world as simply a thing for us to use as we please?
 So what do we choose? There is the chocolate or vanilla question. What do I have for breakfast? Questions for which the desired answer is no answer....it doesn't matter, and we usually end up in distress if we pursue the meaningless as if it were real. Religions have been built upon such trivia (i.e. the con/tran-substantiation debacle, if you know your theology). I would say that this is the choice we face most commonly. Almost all human affairs are no more important than chocolate or vanilla. Why do I say it's so trivial? Because any experience or thought based upon perceptual evidence is defined entirely by the point of view, and not just how issues are answered, but more importantly what contexts are chosen. Essentially, everybody is right from their point of view, and the quality of an experience is determined not by rightness or wrongness, but by a pre-existing desire to prove a point.
 That's as far as my reasoning takes me right now. The only meaningful choice I perceive is "do I choose to see the world through the eyes of fear or the eyes of love", and what the fck does that mean in practice? At the moment, I see no middle ground between the formless realm, where choice is irrelevant 'cos all is one, or the organised, rigid world of individuality where choice is an illusion, 'cos we are always overwhelmingly effected by other forces (where born, what parents, what school, what weather today, what Govt etc, etc). So, as has become my custom, I've tried to explore this huge issue musically, in the classic form of the mixtape. In the hope of deeper understanding, I give you:


Coseyhead Presents - Choice DOWNLOAD MP3 (75mins,173MB)

See Krishna explaining to Arjuna how to act without judgement. Only the truth can set us free. (But I would say that 'cos I've got Stn/Mrc in Aq square Nep in Scorp. My self perception is pretty accurate, it's my cosmology that's delusional.) Ah, Krishna, only your true form can open my eyes!
This mix follows on from Mythunderstanding. It was mostly complete last year, but finished off recently. I hope to have part 3 ready before the end of the summer. It will be a lament for Pan, who is not dead, so it becomes a celebration. Goatboy is the ultimate idiosyncratic, revolutionary artist.

There may be a Dandelion Roots Reggae show over at Dandelion Radio next month...remains to be seen whether I'll have the time 'cos of the aforementioned gigs.

This month I have been mostly listening to
Goran Bregovic-Karmen (With A Happy Ending)
which I highly recommend.



 tarra a bit
 Peter

Saturday 2 June 2012

I Don't Think I Should Bite Another Dragon's Banana

I can't remember where I got the title...I just write 'em down when I hear them, but I thought it was pretty good advice for anyone. This months Eclectic Music For Mind And Bodhi is a full 2 hours of fun featuring a session from Jared C. Balogh. He composed 4 new tunes specially for the show, which you can hear, as usual, at Dandelion Radio throughtout the month of June. Jared also has a new album out on wombnet 'Silent Anticipation'.

Another star of the show is the new album on Disko B from Schlachthofbronx 'Dirty Dancing'. Does what it says on the can. Filthy. Best album of the year so far for me.

Roger Species has a new album on Crouching Demon Hidden Message, which is a new label set up him by Roger and Shitmat. Free at Bandcamp here.

Blocsonic is a netlabel I've been following for some time. An excellent catalogue. Political rap from 'Tab' and glitchy beauty from 'Sumgli'.

Qebrus' album 'Exophobia' on Bedroom Research is a must hear! Experimental IDM.

Proot netlabel does it again....Batfink's new album 'And The February Hiss' here.

An unusual aibum from Wellington Boot here.

You'll find Chilean space rock band 'D Zoom' here.

Russian netlabel Nanaloopsis here, for some minimal tech.


I'll be taking a break from this EMFMAB for the summer to focus on other musical pursuits,
but I'll be back again in the Autumn. There will be a Dandelion Roots show in July, so please drop by for that.

May your hair grow long and matted,
Peter



Natureboy

Wednesday 2 May 2012

There's A Big Difference Between Peeing In A Kettle And Beating A Man To Death

This month on EMFMAB;
The first session in this season of my show is from Don Trust, a collage artist based in Brooklyn.
He's created a 20 minute piece especially for the program, which you can hear all rhis month at Dandelion Radio. The session will be available later in the year as a wombnet release.

As if that wasn't enough...well, I have to say that I think this month's show contains some truly wonderful music, including Yva Las Vegass heart opening masterpiece 'Crack Whore', the latest compilation from Aberdeen's Dance Corp Records, a new album from Snail Bob on wombnet, and a few other sounds to amaze.

In case you hadn't realised, the theme for the last few blog titles has been quotations from film/tv that are perfectly sensible in context, but are particularly notable out..This sort of thing amuses me. Congratulations if you know the sources. You must watch as much tellie as I do.

A happy musical note...I found out the other day that Shitmat is active again. No more Wrong Music, but he's started a new label with the magnificent chopper Roger Species, called 'Crouching Demon Hidden Message' the first release being a new one from Roger. which I'll definitely be featuring on my next show.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

"Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he ever wanted....he lived happily ever after"


March on Eclectic Music For Mind And Bodhi:
Just one hour this month...but read on.
Here's links for the free stuff:
Sounds from the Finnish Hardcore Techno Underground: Kovaydin Vastarinta Records
Dvorjak Remastered: Local Records
Black Sea Hotel live at the Golden Festival
Lovely Little Girls: Massive Vulva Cantaloupe
Jared C. Balogh: Revitalized Eyes
Kappah: Tribal Dances: Bedroom Research Records
Blue Ducks: Six: Records On Ribs
Chuck Bettis & Friends:Playfull Moaner

Also notable is a delicious collection of Balkan electronica from Green Queen Music, 'Balknaica v2'.

The big news this month is that I've started a new all Reggae Show on Dandelion Radio, provisionally called 'Dandelion Roots'.
I buy and listen to lot's reggae these days, and I've been playing it live for 4 years with my mate Gaz as 'Dub In The Pub' in Brighton UK. George warms up, I play to open the heart, and Gaz follows with the heavy bass. Resistance is futile. We are regularly joined by I Lodica on vocals and melodica. We are a dance outfit. Between us, we have decades of experience making people boogie.

I hear so much good new reggae music and re-issues of hard to find classics, that I want another outlet to share it. Hence 'Dandelion Roots'. I'll be focusing on solid dance tunes, but also the unusual, the sort of thing I might be reluctant to play on a night out, but would suit the DR ethos.

I have a lifelong relationship with reggae. I was 18 in 1981. Punk was over. Reggae was the rebel music of my generation, and it was also our dance music.
I lived for most of my youth in urban mixed communities, in the UK, where it was ubiquitous. It was later in my life that I came to realise the spirituality within the music. It often sings of suffering, but it feels life affirming. It sings of injustice, but affirms our self determination and the freedom of the spirit. It also sings of our friend and ally Mary. Hallelujahgobble. Despite the mask of christian imagery, it is at heart animistic, and indeed the rhythms are connected to ancient African rituals for invoking deities. The roots of reggae are the roots of us all, not just Africans. It sings of the Natural Man, the upright and humble man. No wonder that reggae has spread all over the world; it speaks to a need within us all, to remember how connected we really are...to each other, yes, but also to nature.

We are at home, and never left the garden.


A statue of Kali in College Square, Arnab Dutta, Kolkata.

There are a few changes to the website.

The artist's bios are up. Thanks to everyone for answering my questions. I asked the kind of things I want to know. I hope it illuminates.

There are a few reviews for 23ID-Bird Flu.
Thanks to Maclej, Jason, Dellamorte and Louise.
I'm very happy that we reached 500 downloads in the first month.
I've admired Karol's music for many years and I'm gratified to play a part in getting it heard.

Next on wombnet:
Snail Bob: Unshellfish
.......coming soon....

Lastly, for my own purposes I wish to share this picture of my father, who died in 1976, but whose loving presence I have never felt so strongly as I do now.

I and I is misty in I roots.

Wednesday 1 February 2012

I think we can stretch to a dog.

I've got a bit behind with website. There's some artists' bios I haven't quite finished, which I'll try to complete this month. I've got some reviews of 23ID's marvelous 'Kung Flu' album.....ditto. Also another dj set to upload.But, as it's the first of the month, I thought I shouldn't delay in telling you about this month's Eclectic Music For Mind And Bodhi on Dandelion Radio.

First of all, for a laugh check out this Four Lions Hilarious Dubstep rmx video on youtube.

As usual, I play a lot of free music. Please support free netlabels using the creative commons license. 'Free' isn't just about no payment, it's a question of our freedom.

Proboscis by Bunfly is a compelling and evocative treatment of Rachel Bond reading her poem. There's a 9 minute edit here, which I play on the show. The full version is 45 minutes here. The short version came from an excellent ambient collection 'Classwar Karaoke Survey 016'. That's a free net label with many more downloads here.**********[77] has a 4 track electro-dub ep '[tv2]' at afterbeat.org. Polish. Try it here. I think it's a bit special. Not fancy, but spacious and pretty and patient. Lovely late night pipe music.**********French singles netlabel Beko has had 100 releases. There are a few excellent compilations available at the website here.**********More dub and bass music, and another Polish release you've got to hear is 'Dub Is An Experiment With Drum And Bass', a 5th anniversary compilation from Ninjahlab here.**********Glorious metal from All The Empires Of The World with the album 'Return' here. That's from Records On Ribs.**********BuzzRo 2011 is a collection of electronica from Romanian netlabel Local Records here.**********Ergo Phizmiz's netlabel Chinstrap continues to satisfy. I recommend the 'Chinstrap Christmas Party' here.

I want to mention Icecapades records from Manchester, who are the UK distribution for Pregnant's new album 'Life Hard-I Try. It's not a freebie, this one, but well worth a few quid from bandcamp here, and while you're there check out their earlier release from Irma Vep.

Okilydokily.
Don't leave your Dad in the rain.
Peter

Friday 6 January 2012

EMFMAB January

I often wonder about the role of the radio DJ on the internet. The comforting voice from the little box is a thing of the past, and websites...your phone...gives you more information than a person can say. I can't stand the way some DJs sound like they are in the club...which mean's that you are not...in...the club. "I got this tune the artist sent me...I got it free but you sfuckers gotta pay". Any of you know what I mean? Are you "not in the gang"? Neither am I.

This month's Eclectic Music For Mind And Bodhi on Dandelion Radio is well worth a listen...but of course I think that. Honestly though, I'm amazed at the new music I find every day. Very little of me in this episode. Just a joke and an introduction. I want to draw your attention to a few highlights. All the below are licensed Creative Commons and free to download.

Something you must hear immediately is Red River by Tickle on Black Lantern Records. It's a superb catchy, punchy anti-mcshiteburgerdisneyetc rant.

Also on the subject of monstrous appetite is an interesting mugabe from a collection of East/Central European experimental electronica 'Eastern Daze' from Audiotong.

Grab this now! 'Modluv' by Sans Blanc. I know nothing about them. It's a great album. Dada.

Here's a lovely album of glitchy electronica by Herve Provini-'Digital Music Landscape For Drum And Computer' on Audioactivity.


One last thing...I want to mention a couple of my favourite reggae releases of last year. Check out this beautiful bit of atonal spongy dancehall from Angie Angel-How You Feeling.
Also Natalie Storm with Dreadsquad-Beat That Chest. Bit of a surprise, that one. It's from a collection of Sleng Teng remixes on Superfly Records...in Poland. Yup. Great tune. Promptly followed by a load more remixes in December, none of which cut it.

Check back later this month for a new wombnet release.

go with dogs
Peter