A very special edition of Near Mint this week as Hannah and I embark on a voyage to the Moon. Along the way we enjoy some in-flight Casuals, a spot of German sci-funk, some Space-Monkey-business, a smidgin of hungry Disney martians and a performance of Greensleeves live from Lunar Central. Those in the know are already describing this week’s show as a ‘belter’. Don’t forget to tune in 6pm every Tuesday on Resonance 104.4FM. Next week’s show promises to be a very noisy one…
We’re charmed and humbled by this article on Howlround in FACT magazine and the splendid Mr. Tom Howells, particularly the description of the delightful chaos that ensued during that Cafe Oto set alongside Mr. William Basinski. And for digging out a track from Soundcloud that we’d practically forgotten making! Eagle-eared listeners might have noticed that it’s actually an early version of this track from our second album:
Fans of Ghost Box and spooky ambient need to hear @RobinTheFog‘s tape splicing adventures: https://t.co/ZRrRsWVUET pic.twitter.com/F433u9HO34
— FACT (@FACTmag) March 16, 2016
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The fact that this embedded Tweet insists on sitting to the left of the frame instead of in the centre is really affecting my OCD impulses….
An absolutely classic Near Mint show on Resonance 104.4FM this week, featuring a trip through the record box of voracious digger Tom Central. Resident DJ of long-running club night Soundcrash, one half of the Shapes Of Rhythm duo and the man behind the rather super Keep Up! label, his collection is literally groaning with killer library, Bollywood and psychedelic jams from years spent scouring record shops across the globe for the rarest and strangest vinyl – that is now threatening to take over his house. We’re very happy he let us have a rummage – but also extremely jealous. Have a listen and you will be too!
Two for the price of one on Near Mint-related activities this week. First off, the latest edition of our weekly Resonance FM show with a very exciting exclusive ‘Business Funk’ mix from Datashat, an alter-ego of the London-based DJ, producer and ‘programmer nerd’ John Davies. As well as making his own highly-regarded brand of glitchy electronica under the name Datassette plus numerous remixes and mash-ups (his cheeky re-working of the Starfleet Theme remains a personal favourite), he also released a trilogy of Businessfunk mixtapes several years ago that rapidly gained a cult following and have been considered the definitive statement by connoisseurs of the genre ever since. This week’s show is the long-awaited fourth instalment – a special bonus edition, but no less corporate!
To those unfamiliar with the genre, Datashat claims, probably quite rightly, that Businessfunk is really the only way to describe ‘this insane subgenre of late 70s and early 80s library music’. ‘It’s such an odd little scene’, he continues, ‘a lot of it seems to have been written specifically for pompous corporate videos of sales charts going through the roof, with track titles like “Money Markets” and “Positive Image”, but it often carries a completely ill-fitting funk and disco influence that attempts to give the corporate world a bit of street-cred or friendliness something. It often fails so hard you can’t help but laugh. On the other hand some of it is just genuinely good music!’ We’re very excited to have him on baord, and if this exclusive bonus instalment whets your appetite for more, you can still hear the original Businessfunk series at Datassette.net, along with all sorts of other exciting bits and pieces.
Howlround’s first live performance on 2016 occurs this Thursday 10th March at The Amersham Arms in New Cross as part of this rather super line-up that also includes Nuances, Design A Wave and much more. Further details can be found by visiting the event’s Facebook page here.
It certainly will be a pleasure to return to venue with a long history of supporting experimental and electronic music. I seem to remember the last time I was there was quite a few years ago now, orchestrating a chaotic piece of audience-participation performance art based on a gigantic game of ‘Simon Says’. Against all expectations it was a total triumph, ending up in a dead heat between two guys attempting to slow-dance while whistling for an imaginary cat; both determined to win the grand prize of a whole pint of lager. The game was finally halted when the promoter pointed out that one of them was on crutches. Spoilsport…
Please enjoy the latest edition of the Near Mint show on Resonance 104.4FM, featuring a field trip to sunny Southend to visit this week’s special guest Jennifer Lucy Allan. Writer, journalist, former staffer at The Wire magazine, co-runner of the rather super Arc Light Editions label, qualified carpenter and the first person ever to undertake a PHD on Foghorns, it should be immediately obvious why we asked if we could have a rummage through her collection. And what a rummage it was…
It’s a pretty heady brew she’s served up for us, featuring everything from a Japanese record on the subject of earthquakes, super-rare Finnish jazz, 60s Bollywood, Pierre Henry’s magic space pop and even some forthcoming Arc Light Editions treats from the legendary Joan La Barabara. Huge thanks to Jen for a great show and you can find this show as well as all previous episodes in the Near Mint series on my Mixcloud page. I rather think that future guests are going to have to work jolly hard to keep up the standard we’ve maintained on the series so far!
And finally, thanks to Ben Soundhog for digging out this stimulating visual accompaniment to the show’s opening track:
A double-bill of Resonance radio treasures for you today. First off is the latest episode of the adventures in compulsive record-collecting series Near Mint, presented by myself and fellow obsessive hoarder Hannah Brown. This week Hannah take the controls to bring you a Synaesthesia special – to whit, a mix of ‘delightful smelling’ tracks – that is, it’s the music itself that smells nice rather than the vinyl it’s pressed on. Synaesthesia is a neurological condition where, in some cases, music can evoke ‘phantom smells’ for the listener, and Hannah, being something of an expert on the subject, has carefully curated a playlist of the highest olfactory excellence. It’s probably not a coincidence they sound pretty good too. Good work, Hannah Brown. Going to be very poor tracking down my own copies of these gems:
The Pastels – One Wild Moment (Stereolab Mix) (Up Records)
Happy Meals – Altered Images (Night School)
Brooks & O’Hagan – Calibair (Ghost Box)
Jonti – Nightshift in Blue (Stones Throw)
Jane Weaver – It’s Not Over Yet (Bird)
Vermont – Übersprung (Kompakt)
Secondly, I should also thank Alan Gubby of Buried Treasure for joining me on last Saturday’s OST Show in Jonny Trunk’s absence and for bringing in such a fine selection of music, to all the listeners who rang in for the competition with their appallingly bad puns and to Ghost Box for letting us give the Hintermass album it’s ‘world exclusive first play’ (allegedly). The full three hours are available here in two parts, warts and all, exactly as they went out, which is quite a sacrifice for me – I usually don’t let anything out the gate until I’ve buffed it to a high sheen. You’ll hear an unreleased “John Baker” cue (we’re 99& certain!). lots of falling about laughing occasionally leading to coughing fits, a couple of slices of dead air you could drive a bus through, and the unfortunate use of the term ‘eclectic’; but also some truly extraordinary and sublime music. Kettle and earphones on…
On a similar note, Jon Brooks of the above Brooks & O’Hagan and Hintermass, but also of The Advisory Circle too has very kindly donating a signed test pressing of his solo LP Shapwick to the Resonance FM fundraising auction. An LP that was released in a very limited edition back in 2013, sold out within minutes and then a repress sold even faster. At the time of writing you have five days left to enter this auction or face paying £65 on Discogs for a copy. Once again, all proceeds go towards keeping the greatest radio station on Earth transmitting for another year. Worthy cause, great LP. Get with it:
Yep, it that’s time of the year once again where the world’s greatest radio station asks its listeners and supporters to dip hands into pockets and donate towards keeping them on air for another year. But it’s by no means a one-way street as there’s a whole pile of special broadcasts taking place all this week and an online auction with plenty of fantastic objects, artifacts and experiences you can win in exchange for your cash: Record bags, festival tickets, a psychedelic tour of London in a Rolls Royce – the full list can be found on the bespoke Resonance Fundraising website here. I’m currently bidding on brunch for two at the Oxo Tower. There are a couple of Howlround items up for grabs as well:
First off, the final remaining copy of the Torridon Gate LP, number 100/100, hand-numbered and stamped, screen-printed cover by Hannah Brown and printed translucent sleevenotes. A one-off pressing of 100 copies only, the entire stock sold out in a single afternoon back in April 2015, but we’ve been holding this one back especially. Click on the above image to bid!
Secondly, an even-rarer test pressing of latest album Tales From The Black Tangle. Hand-written label, numbered 2/6, in full-colour LP sleeve. This album is also now completely out-of-print and despite lots of harrumphing from the populace in general, there will be no re-presses. Sorry, all, but a promise is a promise! This is your last chance to own a slice of Howlround history! Click on the above image to bid!
Next up, and forgive me for banging on about this again, but I really am super-excited about this coming Friday (19th), when we’ll be rocking the Book and Record Bar in West Norwood, with all proceeds going to the fundraiser. Lucky Cat Zoe, Hannah Brown, Michael the Landlord and myself along with very special guest DJ Food will be manning the decks from 8pm and there’s a raffle with fabulous prizes and a bar (please don’t spill any on the vinyl). Rumours that DJ Food will be giving away a large chunk of the records he plays remain unconfirmed, but persistent. Part two of his guest appearance on mine and Hannah’s new Resonance show ‘Near Mint’ is repeated this Friday at 10am, but you can also now listen to both parts on my Mixcloud page here.
The following afternoon, I shall be heading to the studio to present a marathon fundraising special of The OST Show in regular host Jonny Trunk’s absence. I’ll be joined by Radiophonic expert and Buried Treasure Recordings commander-in-chief Alan Gubby, who in a message probably unintended for publication has assured me he’s cooking up a stew of everything from “gritty 7″ rock n rollers to groovy radiophonic funk with lots of abstract tape experiments and early synth minimalism in-between – a couple of unreleased [insert names of legendary Radiophonic Workshop figures] bits, plus a competition prize package of Buried Treasure releases including the last vinyl copy of The Vendetta Tapes” – that last being, of course, the vinyl LP of unreleased John Baker cues, released last year and leaving Radiophonicists the world over in a state of complete frenzy. If you missed it the first time around, here’s one final chance to get your hands on a copy. Tune in, 15.30 on Saturday…
Speaking of Radiophonics and proof if any were needed of just how important Resonance FM is as an alternative broadcaster, have a listen to Rebecca Gaskell’s documentary on Delia Derbyshire Day that was broadcast last week as part of the station’s regular ‘Clear Spot’ feature. You might recall my BBC report on the event from a few weeks ago, but this goes into far more detail than can be achieved in four minutes and really lifts the lid on just what a remarkable composer she was, featuring lesser known extracts from her archive plus extended interviews with festival curator Caro C, archivist Dr. David Butler and musician Mandy Wigby – plus I’m proud to say I had a small consultancy role and sourced some of the music. It’s always nice to be useful!
And lastly, another superb Clear Spot from a couple of weeks ago was ‘Beauty and the Bleak’, produced by Art Assembly’s Julia Dempsey and mixed and edited by myself in a frantic scrabble to meet the Tx deadline – but it was more than worth it! The second of Art Assembly’s in the series of Saisonscape: Decay programmes, this edition features extended interviews with poet and musician Autumn Richardson and sound artist Lauren Bon discussing their work. Their locations and subject matter differ greatly, but their approaches to the subject of decay, isolation and, yes, bleakness, compliment each other beautifully. A real pleasure to work on, this one, event if it was a bit of a narrow squeak to get it finished!
And lastly, while it doesn’t really have anything to with Resonance, there’s another chance to hear Howlround’s sound installation ‘Mansion House Clocks’ produced for Vespertine York last September, at St. Mary’s in the city’s Castlegate area. From 17th-20th, Vespertine York are kicking off the year by exhibiting some of the bespoke works they’ve commissioned over the past year along with a programme of workshops and other delights. Further details here. That was a jolly fine installation, even if I do say so myself…
Adventures in compulsive record-collecting with obsessive hoarders Robin The Fog and Hannah Brown. This week: part two of a visit to the record room of DJ Food, in anticipation of his headlining set at our Resonance FM fundraiser at West Norwood’s Book and Record Bar this Friday. Are you ready to move out in style? Go, dig it out and swing with it!
Many thanks once again to Strictly Kev for opening up the contents of his magic record box for us and if this little lot doesn’t whet your appetite to come and see him in action in West Norwood this Friday, then surely nothing will. Except, of course, the knowledge that all money raised will be going directly towards helping to keep the greatest radio station in the world on air for another year. And the fact that Lucky Cat Zoe, Hannah Brown and my Foggy self will be spinning some tunes too. Plus the bar. And the raffle. Who are you to resist such delights?!
Presenting the first episode of Near Mint, a brand new Resonance FM series, Tuesdays at 1800 GMT on record collecting, record collectors and the compulsive and foolhardy pursuit of blowing all your earnings on the pursuit of strange and obscure vinyl, a subject I consider myself something of a scholar. Presented with my old Resonance chum Hannah Brown, this first edition is the first of a two-part special recorded inside the record room of Strictly Kev aka DJ Food. In anticipation of his star-turn at our ‘Digging Deep’ Resonance Fundraising Night at the Book And Record Bar in West Norwood, on February 19th, we thought it might be fun to have him to spill open his secret record box and allow us a peek into the contents. Playful psychedelia, cut-ups (metaphorical and literal), locked grooves, direct-to-disc booth recordings, children’s songs about the elements… The results were far too good to contain in a single half-hour programme, so part two will follow at the same time next week. Here’s what we played:
Alan Copeland – Mission Impossible Theme / Norwegian Wood (ABC)
Stock Hausen & Walkman – Buy Me, Sue Me (Hot Air)
Unknown Auto Recording (My Bike) (Calibre)
Christopher Rollen – #7″ (Hosing Records)
Johan Timman – The White Blood Cells and the Antiibodies (Look Out For the Killer) / The Brain (excerpt) (Hausa International)
Golden Orchestra & Chorus – The Space Alphabet: Comets / Hydrogen & Helium (Golden Records)
Alen Robin – Introduction / Humphrey (Janus Records)
The John Benson Brooks Trio – Love Is Psychedelic (Decca)
Marshall McLuhan & Quentin Fiore – The Medium Is The Massage (excerpt) (Columbia)
A little post-show detective work revealed the above ‘Auto Recording’ to be a rather lo-fi cover of this. Though I must say I prefer our unknown friend! When was it recorded? Where? And who was this unknown motorcycle enthusiast? It’s the fact that we’ll never, ever know that gives it it’s savour!
Many thanks to Kev for not only pulling out such incredible treasures, but for taking the time to photograph the sleeves and send them over so that you can enjoy poring over as much as I did! And to cap it all he’s only gone and designed us a new poster for the fundraiser as well! If all this classy material doesn’t encourage you to come down on 19th, nothing will!
Robin The Fog 