insomnia, and the likes

i'm not normally a drafter, but i admit for this blog there are odd remnants of posts which lack the ability to grow into anything substantial. so this very late post is a blossoming to accumulate the dregs of my blogging, and also pay homage to my FIRST FOLLOWER, wow, it feels good (who cares if i know her, and well at that?!)

music wise, i'll highlight some things which have been drifting my way recently.



resonance 104.4 FM - the London based, community run art radio station is yet to really filter up north, but i got involved just before christmas and wish to spread the news. when i realised its massive scope for interesting shows, the huge array of music it offers, and the positive ethics behind the running of it, i knew i was on it something- not to mention the shows by great independent mags such as the wire, artrocker and art monthly. so i picked a few podcasts at random and found many very impressive; they worked as a reminder of my deep-seated love for radio with a purpose- and that excludes commercial purpose.

particular good shows/podcasts are
'rhythm incursions' - they vaguely define themselves as covering hiphop, dubstep and electronica likes, but i would say it's far more encompassing, as one of my favourites so far under them has been carlo's mix; a canadian dj with influences roaming from boards of canada to flea-markets to graphic violence; oddly enough which come through in the music he puts together (by 'feel' rather than beat or rhythm). slightly annoying is the fact that he purposefully doesn't provide track-listing, as some are just amazing and impossible to find.
another is-
'turntable: radio' - a show dedicated to scratching and turntablism (if those squeaky notes aren't for you, don't click the link), normally it has some great mash-ups, especially the famous xmas mix which i had on for my xmas party at one point; it was insanely apt!

i'm still only part way through my journey into resonance, but it's impossible not to find great things from a radio station with the ambitions it holds and the support it gets.

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travel part 1.

on the slightly different note of music venues, i've spent time in a couple of UK cities recently which i haven't been to before. edinburgh- i visited once but not properly- i went to a while ago to support my friends who were opening a set at cabaret voltaire, which was such a good venue almost mimicking edinburgh caves but in a club atmosphere. and brighton- of which i attended the amazing balkanesca night at komedia. i'll talk more about UK cities after this weekend where i'm returning to the southern realms of bristol, but to briefly mention- the balkan night managed to live up to the berlin set expectations, somehow. i was more than impressed.

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so a while a go i was battling with insomnia, giving me about 5 hours total kip when i should have had at least 25, but as ever, this leads me on to endless exploration into the wonderweb, and an effort to try and narrow my focus on a life plan. probably not the best state to be writing cover letters, but it seems to be conducive to good internety finds.

when when my meandering began and i found a world of creative genius' contained in record labels. my favourite so far has had to be fatcat records, the masters representing amongst others...

hauschka (or the less hip - volker bertelmann): a german experimental, ambient composer who uses delicate piano sounds to create yann tierson style masterpieces.

mum: icelandic group taking electronic tinkling to a whole new level

animal collective: 'nuff said

no age: kings of cool the smell LA club rockers

and basically, many more great artists. please hire me in easter yes?

the real reason fatcat records hit me however, is the way their website is overwhelmed by an independent ethic buzz which is alive only in these types of record labels where faceless corporate music is about as far away in ideals as iran is to the USA (owch, poor metaphor). its just so different and wonderful. the browsing resulted in many political blogs and indie zines recommended whole-heartedly by the team, and i really felt in that website, caught up in a community phenomenon of creative backlashers (talking of which, i went to starbucks at the weekend oh gosh, but ate a pack-up in their faces, ker-chung!)

another musicy thing: SPOTIFY, the new medium for playing music, a itunes-esque streamer with no buffering, completely legal, and so much available! get invited here: CLICK! you won't be disappointed.

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ill leave with a video (check the 'arty' use of fish-eye cam lense!):



that's all folks. E