Mine was somewhat stressful, actually. Came up to London on Saturday night to DJ at International Hi-fi, only to find that all the trains were completely screwed due to a lightning strike on the trackside (eeeeep!). That was my cue to sit on a sweltering Thameslink train (all the Southern services had been cancelled) without any air-con, as we dawdled up to London in about 2 hours. Gah.
Sunday at least brought with it a chance to eat BBQ and drink Scrumpy: without that i'd have just given up on the entire weekend.
This week then? John Foxx on Thursday night at the Scala, with Palace Fires at the Metro before that...there's the launch of Xfm's new club night, The Weekender, at the Islington Academy on Friday night, oh and Mumm-Ra and TheLongcut at Dingwalls tonight....
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
OK people....
If you go to the Aberfeldy page on myspace, you can DOWNLOAD "Whatever Turns You On" the title track of their new CD, which has been on constant rotation here at Westway Towers for the past fortnight. It's just a wonderful slice of shimmering pop genius: I can virtually guarantee that your life will be better for owning it.
And if you've got a spare quarter of an hour, I can also implore you to check this out: it's a 15 minute piece of photo-journalism about the Grime scene in East London.
And if you've got a spare quarter of an hour, I can also implore you to check this out: it's a 15 minute piece of photo-journalism about the Grime scene in East London.
Thank God for that....
The temperature must have dropped about 10-12 degrees overnight, it's still humid, but no longer stultifyingly opressive.
Have yourselves some Sun Ra.
While we're on the subject of mp3's, i've started doing a link on the show to "Download Of The Day" so i'm guessing that some of the people who get the daily email may well stumble across this humble little blog. If so, then welcome. Say hello in the comments :)
Have yourselves some Sun Ra.
While we're on the subject of mp3's, i've started doing a link on the show to "Download Of The Day" so i'm guessing that some of the people who get the daily email may well stumble across this humble little blog. If so, then welcome. Say hello in the comments :)
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Sweltering....
It's hot. Damned hot
*sweats*
Anyway, it's been a few days, so what have I been doing? A quick trawl of the boot sales on Sunday turned up some great old Balearic vinyl : "Afro Dizzy Act", that sort of thing...So Sunday night saw me at the decks, pretending I was back at Shoom :)
Sunday was also a time for swimming: nice and late in the evening, just when the sun dips towards the horizon is exactly the right time to swim in the sea at Brighton...The water may be FREEZING when you get in, but after a while you don't really notice (or maybe it's just that you can't feel your extremities any more)
This week has been ridiculously hot: nights filled with cold showers; days spent wilting on the Tube. But there's quite a (cliche alert) Blitz spirit to the whole thing: we struggle on, secretly proud of ourselves for coping.
Monday was Palace Fires at the Barfly, they were excellent: assured, languid and relaxed, yet focused completely on what they were doing. I spent most of the gig trying to work out who they reminded me of (with little success);at the end of the night I told Steve (guitarist) that fragments reminded me of The Stars Of Heaven (and BTW, ignore that review, they were an AWESOME band) only for Steve to tell me he loved TSOH, making him the only other fan of the band I've met in 15 years.
Yesterday night was The Sleepy Jackson at the Scala: he's a cocky little bastard and no mistake about it...But it's no understatement to say that Luke Steele is a genius. Last night he veered between feeback excess (including some heroic guitar-tossing antics and lots of windmilling axe-hero shapes) and impossibly frail episodes that counterbalanced the squall of noise and ideas that always swarm around his head. There were a couple of moments which bordered on the spiritual: I could feel my spirits rise in tandem with the goosebumps on my arms. Can't just have been the cider, can it?
*sweats*
Anyway, it's been a few days, so what have I been doing? A quick trawl of the boot sales on Sunday turned up some great old Balearic vinyl : "Afro Dizzy Act", that sort of thing...So Sunday night saw me at the decks, pretending I was back at Shoom :)
Sunday was also a time for swimming: nice and late in the evening, just when the sun dips towards the horizon is exactly the right time to swim in the sea at Brighton...The water may be FREEZING when you get in, but after a while you don't really notice (or maybe it's just that you can't feel your extremities any more)
This week has been ridiculously hot: nights filled with cold showers; days spent wilting on the Tube. But there's quite a (cliche alert) Blitz spirit to the whole thing: we struggle on, secretly proud of ourselves for coping.
Monday was Palace Fires at the Barfly, they were excellent: assured, languid and relaxed, yet focused completely on what they were doing. I spent most of the gig trying to work out who they reminded me of (with little success);at the end of the night I told Steve (guitarist) that fragments reminded me of The Stars Of Heaven (and BTW, ignore that review, they were an AWESOME band) only for Steve to tell me he loved TSOH, making him the only other fan of the band I've met in 15 years.
Yesterday night was The Sleepy Jackson at the Scala: he's a cocky little bastard and no mistake about it...But it's no understatement to say that Luke Steele is a genius. Last night he veered between feeback excess (including some heroic guitar-tossing antics and lots of windmilling axe-hero shapes) and impossibly frail episodes that counterbalanced the squall of noise and ideas that always swarm around his head. There were a couple of moments which bordered on the spiritual: I could feel my spirits rise in tandem with the goosebumps on my arms. Can't just have been the cider, can it?
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Tim's 40th.........
And also, I went back to the land of my childhood, to my best mate Tim's 40th birthday party. Dj-ed at the bash (obv.) and met loads of people I hadn't seen in years (sometimes, up to 20 years!) The memories came so thick and fast I had to stop and catch my breath.
Ooooooooops
Well, I was going to tell you about wireless....And how much fun it was...And the people I met, and the things I did...But then I did this festival and it put a lot of it into perspective. It was great to give a little bit back for once: to support kids who have a hard time in whatever they're doing: kids to whom music represents a real form of escape, something to aspire to, something to throw all their energy into. I met a lot of people who feed off the energy of the music business, as opposed to people who end up dragged into a vacuum of cynicism. I've got an awful lot out of music over the last 15 years, and now? It's payback time.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Iain's Wireless.... Part 1.
So, how was it for me?
Great, really. Another year for Wireless (its second) and the organisation, as ever, was impeccable. Peoples main gripe with the festival seems to be that it's somewhat corporate... But the money generated from sponsorship seems to mean that it runs like clockwork, where's the problem in that? Seeing as the first people I bumped into were Michael and Emily Eavis, both with big grins on their faces and clearly enjoying the day, I'd say it's not really an issue (and hey, Glasto has its fair share of big-business involvement now)
So, Wednesday. A beautiful day, bright sunshine, a cold beer and some DJ-ing in the O2 bubble to start the day off. As you'd imagine, I gave the crowd a judicious slice of the Sukpatch CD, as well as a couple of gems from the new Trunk Records compilation "Fuzzy Felt Folk" From there on, the day began a course that was to become familiar over the next few days: namely running between the three main stages, announcing bands. Went to the myspace stage and bumped into White Rose Movement, as I was with Zeb, an old compadre from the days of The Pretenders, his bro Finn is singer in the WRM. Also chatted to Sean McCluskey and his charges Cazals: who put on one of the shows of the day. Ran down to the Xfm stage (pushing to check out the Raconteurs on the main stage) to stand by the monitor desk while Bob Mould was playing. Being that close to one of your heroes when they're playing "Celebrated Summer" was quite awe-inspiring.
Once all of my commitments had been honoured, I obviously started on a course of serious drinking: I left the festival early, about 10-ish, but made the mistake of having a nightcap (or three) when I got back home. Cue: a broken night's sleep and a bleary start to the next day.
Great, really. Another year for Wireless (its second) and the organisation, as ever, was impeccable. Peoples main gripe with the festival seems to be that it's somewhat corporate... But the money generated from sponsorship seems to mean that it runs like clockwork, where's the problem in that? Seeing as the first people I bumped into were Michael and Emily Eavis, both with big grins on their faces and clearly enjoying the day, I'd say it's not really an issue (and hey, Glasto has its fair share of big-business involvement now)
So, Wednesday. A beautiful day, bright sunshine, a cold beer and some DJ-ing in the O2 bubble to start the day off. As you'd imagine, I gave the crowd a judicious slice of the Sukpatch CD, as well as a couple of gems from the new Trunk Records compilation "Fuzzy Felt Folk" From there on, the day began a course that was to become familiar over the next few days: namely running between the three main stages, announcing bands. Went to the myspace stage and bumped into White Rose Movement, as I was with Zeb, an old compadre from the days of The Pretenders, his bro Finn is singer in the WRM. Also chatted to Sean McCluskey and his charges Cazals: who put on one of the shows of the day. Ran down to the Xfm stage (pushing to check out the Raconteurs on the main stage) to stand by the monitor desk while Bob Mould was playing. Being that close to one of your heroes when they're playing "Celebrated Summer" was quite awe-inspiring.
Once all of my commitments had been honoured, I obviously started on a course of serious drinking: I left the festival early, about 10-ish, but made the mistake of having a nightcap (or three) when I got back home. Cue: a broken night's sleep and a bleary start to the next day.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Just back from Wireless (day 2)
Will give it a bit of a complete review soon, but let me just say I had to introduce John Cale on stage tonight. Bloody hell.Founding member of the Velvets....produced the first Stooges album...worked with NICK DRAKE. I nearly fainted. What a hero. Strongest handshake in the music business EVER, it's worth noting, as well.
nunnite all.
nunnite all.
Oh, and some GENIUS for you...
A little NOF, but that's the way (uh-huh) we like it, innit?
Get some Stereolabrat in your life. As I type, it's "Nature =Asshole" that's rocking my world, dood.
Get some Stereolabrat in your life. As I type, it's "Nature =Asshole" that's rocking my world, dood.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Might not mean anything to anyone, but here goes..
When I was a kid, one of the happiest days of my life happened when I went to this place.
(Not the pool, or the bowl next to it)
I spent hours in the reservoir, doing forever kickturns, frontside tailblocks, stalled-out backside blocks...just learning to feel the board beneath my feet. For anyone who cares, it was a 27x8" Sims Superply with Fultracks and Big Red Kryptonics.
(Not the pool, or the bowl next to it)
I spent hours in the reservoir, doing forever kickturns, frontside tailblocks, stalled-out backside blocks...just learning to feel the board beneath my feet. For anyone who cares, it was a 27x8" Sims Superply with Fultracks and Big Red Kryptonics.
Monday, June 12, 2006
*slight aside*
Nick? You listening? Get back on your board! The times have caught up with you! Look!, that's essentially your deck, with a different logo :)
Those Street Rage wheels are a little played out...email me and i'll send you some street wheels for the 21st century, and you can get your muthafuckin swerve on....howzat?
x
Those Street Rage wheels are a little played out...email me and i'll send you some street wheels for the 21st century, and you can get your muthafuckin swerve on....howzat?
x
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Oh Dear.
My apologies. It's been rather a long time hasn't it? I seem to remember that most blogs are composed, in no small part, of groveling posts every now and again, apologising for the lack of updates. I'm no different from everyone else: that's a hard lesson to learn, isn't it?
So, I hear you say, where have you been, Iain? What have you been doing? OK, let me think. There was the Great Escape festival here in Brighton, which was, frankly incredible. So inspiring, as well- it was obviously an attempt to rival the structure and importance of SXSW, and, considering this was it's first year, it was a roaring success. Brighton really lends itself to this sort of thing, there's its faintly bohemian air, its profusion of students, ready to raise merry hell at the earliest opportunity, it's close enough to London for the massed hordes of our wonderful record business to hop on a schmooze train...If there were any minor quibbles it was really only that the queues on the Saturday night were far too long and meant that a lot of people missed out on the chance to see some of the acts on the final night. The night before was completely different, I went from the Pressure Point to The Ocean Rooms, from Zap to Audio, ending up at the Spiegeltent and having seen close to a dozen bands in the process.At this point I should also perhaps point out that it was also a pub crawl with the added attraction of some rather fine bands for many people, and why not? Let them see bands ina state of advanced happiness, that's what I say. Next year it would be rather nice to see a much wider range of venues being welcomed under the umbrella of the festival-and actually, it would also be good to see events attaching themselves to the festival, for the hell of it..I like the idea of gigs springing up in Rounder Records, in Fopp....Just the idea that people could arrive from wherever, plug in a PA and try and attract the attention of A&R men or scouts. Maybe next year, we'll see.
So what of the bands that I saw? Top of the pile has to be Hot Club De Paris, who'd I'd been aware of via the Moshi Moshi compilation CD, but live, they were absolutely entrancing. Want to know what they're like? Hmmm... Like a barbershop version of Primus, like .......Oh, I give up. Suffice to say, they're my new favourite band (still can't quite knock Sukpatch off the top of the perch, but there you go...) The set they played at the Pressure Point was pretty close tp perfection and actually left me gasping for breath at one point. You know that feeling you get when you're seeing a band that's SO good and SO natural and SO funny and the entire thing becomes this all-encompassing concoction that leaves you swooning and you suddenly feel rather light-headed? And you realise that's it's because you've been forgetting to breathe? Bingo. That's Hot Club. There's some stuff for download on the myspace page, but, as ever, do keep abreast of those mp3 blogs: they'll be your favourite band soon too, mark my words. The new single (get ready for the best title EVER) "Sometimesitsbetternottostickbitsofechotherineachotherforeachother" is out soon, buy or die.
That's the good then; sometime soon after the festival, when the gales and storms were not letting May go without a fight, I got zapped by the summer 'flu. Gah. On top of the annual Hayfever, it resulted in a fortnight ruled by painful sinuses, a head full of candyfloss and a hacking cough that seemed as if it would be with me for the rest of my life. As I type, the Sun has won the battle with the rain, the summer has banished spring...The World Cup has begun....Here's hoping things get better from here on in.
finally then, this week to come: what will it bring? AFAIK, a v/o on Monday, The Scream doing an Xfm gig on Wednesday and DJ-ing for the showing of the England game on Thursday. Bring it on.
So, I hear you say, where have you been, Iain? What have you been doing? OK, let me think. There was the Great Escape festival here in Brighton, which was, frankly incredible. So inspiring, as well- it was obviously an attempt to rival the structure and importance of SXSW, and, considering this was it's first year, it was a roaring success. Brighton really lends itself to this sort of thing, there's its faintly bohemian air, its profusion of students, ready to raise merry hell at the earliest opportunity, it's close enough to London for the massed hordes of our wonderful record business to hop on a schmooze train...If there were any minor quibbles it was really only that the queues on the Saturday night were far too long and meant that a lot of people missed out on the chance to see some of the acts on the final night. The night before was completely different, I went from the Pressure Point to The Ocean Rooms, from Zap to Audio, ending up at the Spiegeltent and having seen close to a dozen bands in the process.At this point I should also perhaps point out that it was also a pub crawl with the added attraction of some rather fine bands for many people, and why not? Let them see bands ina state of advanced happiness, that's what I say. Next year it would be rather nice to see a much wider range of venues being welcomed under the umbrella of the festival-and actually, it would also be good to see events attaching themselves to the festival, for the hell of it..I like the idea of gigs springing up in Rounder Records, in Fopp....Just the idea that people could arrive from wherever, plug in a PA and try and attract the attention of A&R men or scouts. Maybe next year, we'll see.
So what of the bands that I saw? Top of the pile has to be Hot Club De Paris, who'd I'd been aware of via the Moshi Moshi compilation CD, but live, they were absolutely entrancing. Want to know what they're like? Hmmm... Like a barbershop version of Primus, like .......Oh, I give up. Suffice to say, they're my new favourite band (still can't quite knock Sukpatch off the top of the perch, but there you go...) The set they played at the Pressure Point was pretty close tp perfection and actually left me gasping for breath at one point. You know that feeling you get when you're seeing a band that's SO good and SO natural and SO funny and the entire thing becomes this all-encompassing concoction that leaves you swooning and you suddenly feel rather light-headed? And you realise that's it's because you've been forgetting to breathe? Bingo. That's Hot Club. There's some stuff for download on the myspace page, but, as ever, do keep abreast of those mp3 blogs: they'll be your favourite band soon too, mark my words. The new single (get ready for the best title EVER) "Sometimesitsbetternottostickbitsofechotherineachotherforeachother" is out soon, buy or die.
That's the good then; sometime soon after the festival, when the gales and storms were not letting May go without a fight, I got zapped by the summer 'flu. Gah. On top of the annual Hayfever, it resulted in a fortnight ruled by painful sinuses, a head full of candyfloss and a hacking cough that seemed as if it would be with me for the rest of my life. As I type, the Sun has won the battle with the rain, the summer has banished spring...The World Cup has begun....Here's hoping things get better from here on in.
finally then, this week to come: what will it bring? AFAIK, a v/o on Monday, The Scream doing an Xfm gig on Wednesday and DJ-ing for the showing of the England game on Thursday. Bring it on.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Needles again..........
Saw them at the Dublin Castle last night, they're shaping up to be a really special band : despite equipment problems, shonky power supplies, wandering microphones and the fact that Big Paul was suffering from some sort of lurgy, it was another belter of a show. The new single is ACE (and is on the NME site at the moment)
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
*points down*
OK, so the photo didn't work....i'm not sure why*. It's the cover of "Skateboard!" issue 19, early 1979, John Sablosky doing an invert at (I think) Arrow skatepark in Wolverhampton. Riding a Sablosky Deck (obv.) with Indy's and Benjy Boots. I'm really coming round to doing some sort of essay on the way the front covers of the mag show how the craze lived and died over an 18-month period. I realise it'll be of no interest to abso-fucking-lutely (Tmesis!!!!!!!) anyone except me, but I don't care. Watch this space.
*I'm sure nobody cares, but if you head here and do some digging, you may find it.
*I'm sure nobody cares, but if you head here and do some digging, you may find it.
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