Another rare meeting of the two Captains, this one fancifully delineated by the late, great Jack 'King' Kirby. There they stand, shoulder to shoulder, those two proud and noble hereos of our respective nations. Sigh...takes me back to the times when you could feel proud of your Western origins and values. These days I feel fucking embarrassed. Never mind though, eh?

Incidently, this little masterpiece can be found on the back cover of the Captain Britain Summer Special 1980. It's printed on glossy paper. Don't you just wish you had an original copy too?

Helpful hint: This would make a great Xmas Present. So would this. That's Kirby's mid-70's run on Cap America collected up nicely. I used to have all the original comic books, natch. But then I sold them when I was really, really skint. A collection so carefully maintained in childhood plundered, betrayed and totally fucked-over by the grim necessities of adult life. Makes ya wanna spit, don't it? These would make a nice replacement. Add this, too. Thanks in advance...

Holy living fuck! This is the Space Calculator, an ingenious cardboard device enabling children to instantly access useless information about the planets in our solar system. It was given away with issue #1 of Star Lord comic in 1978. Or was it issue #2? I'm not entirely sure, as I appear to have, er, mislaid my collection. Shame, 'cos I had the full set. It only lasted about a year, mind. Eventually, presumably due to poor sales, it was absorbed by 2000A.D. That was the common practice at IPC Magazines, wasn't it? They didn't just cancel a comic, they merged it with a more popular one, thus ensuring that the small loyal readership it had gained would continue to buy. The same thing happened to Tornado a couple of years later. Actually, now I think of it...Marvel UK did exactly the same thing - like when Captain Britain merged into Spider Man..as did Hulk Comic. And so on. Eventually, all that was left of British adventure weeklies was the bloated, omnipotent 2000A.D. and Spider Man Weekly, which for a brief period was known as Spider Man TV Comic, fact fans.

But to resume. Although the actual comics are lost, this Space Calculator has somehow remained in my possession for the past 28 years. Having lasted that long, I guess it'll have to stay with me for the rest of my natural life. I can hardly dispose of it now, can I? Oh well, best put it back in the old biscuit tin where I found it (lots of blogging potential in that biscuit tin, oh yes!).

But hang-on a sec'...why was Star Lord not as popular as 2000A.D.? I thought it was way better. It had nicer paper quality, for a start. And it had a least two sure-fire classic strips in the shape of Strontium Dog and Ro-Busters (no surprise that those two strips continued in Tharg's rag). Of course Ro-Busters introduced the character of Hammerstein, the ex-war droid, who would find greater fame years later when his earlier life was re-told in ABC Warriors. And I think he had a bit-part in the Judge Dredd Movie.

Star Lord was also the name of the fictitious editor of the comic (that's him top left in the picture below) and he was on some sort of mission to train the children of the UK to be battle-ready against the threat of imminent invasion from the deadly Interstellar Federation. He referred to his readers as 'Star Troopers', whilst that condescending alien bastard Tharg just called us all 'Earthlets', like we were some fucking juvenile lower lifeforms or summit. Maybe the whole concept was just too stupid, even for children of the post-Star Wars late '70s. But then, 2000 A.D.'s 'alien editor' and script/art/lettering droids (hello Kek) was hardly believable either, was it? Let's face it - the answer to 2000A.D's continued success is Judge Dredd.

GUTTERBREAKZ FM: PLAYLIST ARCHIVE

TRANSMISSION #16: PITCHFORK SPECIAL

Kode 9 - Lime (Hyperdub cd-r promo)
Atki 2 & Indi Kaur - Zig Zag (cd-r dub)
Geiom - Berkane Sol (Berkane Sol 12")
Shackleton - Tin Foil Sky (Skull Disco cd-r promo)
Secret Agent Gel - Toady (cd-r dub)
Soundbox - ???? (cd-r dub)
Jakes - Merciful (cd-r dub)
Wedge - Monkey Puzzle (cd-r dub)
Drop The Lime - Creepycrawler (cd-r dub)
Starkey - Marsh (cd-r dub)
Forsaken - Faith (cd-r dub)
Headhunter - Late Night Sanctuary (cd-r dub)
Monkey Steak - Lighthouse Dub (Pinch Rmx) (Punch Drunk cd-r promo)
Stormfield - Haiku (Monkey Steak Rmx) (Combat cd-r promo)
Narcossist - Filter Skank Rmx (cd-r dub)
Kode 9 & Spaceape - Victims (Hyperdub cd-r promo)
Forensics - Endgame (cd-r dub)


TRANSMISSION #15: JULY 2006

The Caretaker - Untitled (V/Vm Test)
Boards Of Canada - Left Side Drive (Warp)
Blackdown - Crackle Blues [Burial Mix] (Keysound)
Shackleton - Hamas Rule (forthcoming on Skull Disco)
Sandoz - I and I Meditation (Soul Jazz)
Various Production - Co Beat (Various Production)
Headhunter - The Arrival (Ascension)
Distance - Cyclops (Planet Mu)
Skream - Blipstream (Tempa)
Digital Mystikz - Misty Winter (Soul Jazz)
High Planes Drifter Vs. Goldspot - Sholay (Tempa)
MRK 1/Sizzla - I Got To [Virus Syndicate Instrumental] (Contagious)
Spac Hand Luke - Synkik (Rephlex)
Johnny Dark - Can't Wait (Kin)
V/Vm - You're So Sick (V/Vm Test)
Sleeparchive - Bleep 04 (Sleeparchive)
Madtone - Emerald (Blossoms Kitchen)
Amit (with Outrage) - Unholy (Commercial Suicide)

TRANSMISSION #14: JUNE 2006

Once 11 - Bottled Paycheck (The Agriculture)
Burial - Wounder (Hyperdub)
Blackdown - Lata (forthcoming on Keysound Recordings)
The Herbal Medium - Patch (dub)
Geiom - Shock On The Rocks (Berkane Sol)
Upstart - Subtrank (dub)
Narcossist - Terrorist (dub)
Tech Itch - Know (forthcoming on Ascension)
Kion - Yard Music (forthcoming on Clandestine)
Headhunter - 7th Curse (Ascension)
Skuba - Plate (Hotflush)
Slaughter Mob - Born Under Cow (Halo Beats)
Warlock - Cellar Door (Rag & Bone)
N-Type - Way Of The Dub (Dub Police)
Digital Mystikz - Earth Run A Red (Soul Jazz)
Kope 9 & Spaceape - Backwards (Hyperdub)
Digital Mystikz - Ancient Memories [Skream Rmx] (DMZ)
D1 - Bamboo (Road)
Caspa - For The Kids (Dub Police)
Grim Feast - Metropolis (dub)
The Kilamanjaro Darkness Ensemble - Lobby (Planet Mu)

TRANSMISSION #13: MAY 2006 (1st Anniversary Special)

Delia Derbyshire - Happy Birthday (BBC Records)
Forensics - Warm Storm (dub)
White Boi - Abel Sinner (dub)
Cogent - Dirt Bag (dub)
Secret Agent Gel - Banker (dub)
Appleblim - Fear (dub)
Tech Itch - Implant (Ascension)
Skream - I [Loefah Rmx] (Tempa)
N-Type - Ghetto Yout Rmx (dub)
Bass Clef - Untitled Strings (dub)
Mathhead - Stagger (forthcoming on Pitch Black)
Starkey - Strike Now (Werk)
Kion - Nusrah (dub)
Elemental - Deep Under (Hotflush)
Takomo - Bomb Man (dub)
Amit - I'll Hunt You (forthcoming on Commercial Suicide)
Atomly - Hotdougs Riddim (dub)
J@kes - 3.09 v.1 (dub)
DJ Distance - Temptation (forthcoming on Tectonic)
Atki 2 - Guilty Pleasures [Pinch Rmx] (Werk)
Monkey Steak - Lighthouse Dub (dub)
Moving Ninja - Alien (dub)
Peverlist - All this talk of blood and iron is the cause of all my shaking (dub)
Serantis - Senseless Riddim (Senseless)
Forsaken - Thunder (dub)
DJ Wedge - Dogtown (dub)
Boxcutter - Hyloz (Planet Mu)
Emalkay - Frequency (Boka)
Headhunter - Final Cut (dub)
DJ Kudos - No Man's Land (Soundproof Recordings)
Skuba - Dream (Hotflush)

TRANSMISSION #12: APRIL 2006

Nikki St. George - Attack Of The Alien Minds (Trunk)
Pinch - Qawwali V.I.P. (Planet Mu)
DJ Wedge - Fever (dub)
Shackleton - Hypno Angel (forthcoming on Skull Disco)
luke.envoy - Honour Kill (Hotflush)
Vex'd - Bombardment Of Saturn (Planet Mu)
Grim Feast - Monopoly (dub)
Boxcutter - Bad You Do [Halfstep] (Planet Mu)
Digital Mystikz - Anti-War Dub (DMZ)
Richard H. Kirk - BN2 (Dust Science)
Uniform - He's Above His Station (Planet Mu)
Kyler - Brewster Baked A Sour Apple Memory (Planet Mu)
Breakage - The 9th Hand (Planet Mu)
Equinox - Do You Understand Me? (Planet Mu)
Bizzy B - Flava (Planet Mu)
Exile - Openable Dog (Planet Mu)
The Gasman - Flatus (Planet Mu)
Drop The Lime - Mathhead Megamix (Reduced Phat)
Dolphin - Soul Cannibal (Planet Mu)

TRANSMISSION #11: MARCH 2006

b0a - Big Block (dub)
Headhunter - Sleepwalker (dub)
Skream - Hag (Tempa)
Dev 79 - From The Get (Slit Jockey)
Waifer - Fire Rmx (Slew Dem Productions)
Jammer - Murkle Man [instrumental rmx] (promo)
Wiley - Carnival (Southside)
Newham Generals (Footsie) - Dirtee Skankin (Dirtee Stank)
Blackmass Plastics - Sickostep (Dirty Needles)
Search & Destroy - Candy Floss [Loefah Rmx] (Hotflush)
Darquan - Bigga Times (Storming Productions)
Chris Clark - Urgent Jell Hack (Warp)
Spank Rock - Backyard Betty (Big Dada)
Jimmy Edgar - Semi Erotic (Warp)
Omen - Frontline (forthcoming on Tectonic)
Moving Ninja - Uranium (dub)

TRANSMISSION #10: FEBRUARY 2006

Boxcutter - Hayfever Dub (forthcoming on Planet Mu)
QPE - Kitty (The Agriculture)
Copy - Plagiarhythm (Audio Dregs)
Secret Agent Gel - Reprise (dub)
Kion - Kubla Rmx (dub)
D1 - Identify (Tempa)
Cyrus - Prophesy (Tectonic)
Scuba - Thank You (Hotflush)
Starkey - Shoot The Messenger (dub)
Fuze - Noizu (The Thing Is...)
Mathhead - South Bronx (dub)
Atki2 feat. Renee Silver - Shocking Out Proud [DTL Salty Mix] (Shadetek)
Various Production - In This (Various Production)

TRANSMISSION #9: JANUARY 2006

Bass Clef - Welcome To Echo Chamber (dub)
DJ Distance - Taipan (Boka)
Cogent - Sundayz (dub)
Mark One - Tomb Raider (Southside Dubstars)
Shackleton - Majestic Visions (Skull Disco)
L-Wiz - Girlfriend (Dub Police/Storming)
Loefah - Root (DMZ)
Search & Destroy - Mark Of The Beast (Combat Wax)
Warlock - Full Tilt (Rag & Bone)
DJ Charmzy - Banger (Black Ops/L.D. Cats)
DJ Mondie - Pull Up Dat VIP (Foot In The Door)
Mr Keys - Merkin (Southside)
Forsaken - Smerins (dub)

TRANSMISSION #8: DECEMBER 2005 (XMAS SPECIAL)

Sy Mann w/Jean Jacques Perrey - Jingle Bells (Pickwick)
DJ Charmzy - Ghost (L.D. Cats)
AFX - Snivel Chew (Rephlex)
Luke Vibert - Dirty Fucker (Planet Mu)
LFO - Flu Shot [kringlan] (Warp)
Sleepachive - Research (Sleeparchive)
DMX Krew - Brain Location Service (Rephlex)
A Guy Called Gerald - Tajeen (!K7)
Coki - Officer (DMZ)
S.N.O. - Bring Da Beat (Terrain)
Skream - Midnight Request Line (Tempa)
D1 - Belong (Soulja)
DJ Pinch & P. Dutty - Alien Tongue (Tectonic)
Digital Mystikz - Neverland (DMZ)
DJ Distance - Saints 'n Sinners (Boka)
John Baker - Xmas Commercial (BBC Records)
V/VM - Cocaine (V/VM Test)
Vex'd - Fire (Planet Mu)
Jon E. Cash - Cash Beat (L.D.Cats)
Roll Deep - When I'm 'Ere (Relentless)
Eastwood & Oddz - Champion VIP (Southside)
Waifer - Grime Instrumental (Slew Dem Prod.)
2nd 2 None - Toxic (A.R.M.Y.)
Monkey Steak - Ruff Ting King (Werk)
Toasty - Angel (Hotflush)
Loefah & Skream - 28g (Tectonic)
Burial - Southern Comfort (Hyperdub)
The Gasman - Ice Dance (Planet Mu)
Venetian Snares - Szerencsetlen (Planet Mu)
Boards Of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy (Warp)

TRANSMISSION #7: NOVEMBER 2005

Hell Science Dept - Cold Tap (dub)
Appleblim - Girder (forthcoming on Skulldisco)
S.N.O. - God Loves a Tryer (Terrain)
Skream - Skunk Step (Big Apple)
Skream - Affekz Rmx (Southside)
SLT Mob - Pull Up (Urban Graffiti)
Search & Destroy - Killamanjaro (Destructive)
Warlock - TV Controls Your Mind (Rag & Bone)
F1 - I Hate You (Southside)
Agent X - Killohertz - Alias Rmx (Heatseeker Recordings)
Imp Batch - Fusion - EJ Rmx (A.R.M.Y. Bullet)
Black Ops (DJ Dread-D) - Are 1 (L.D. Cats)

TRANSMISSION #6: OCTOBER 2005

Boxcutter - Gave Dub (dub)
Loefah & Skream - Fearless (forthcoming on Tectonic)
Pressure feat. Warrior Queen - Money Honey (Hyperdub)
Professor J-S - Militia (Boka)
Vexin - Killa Switch (dub)
Forsaken - Grimeminister (dub)
Baddie - Technique (dub)
Geroyche - Great Expectations (Ventilator Tontrager)
Glass Candy - Lovin' Machine [Nite Vocode] (Troubleman Unlimited)
Giedo Primo - An Idle Celebration (dub)
Scary - Irate Jungle (dub)
Jackson & His Computer Band - Radio Caca (Warp)
Boards Of Canada - Tears From The Compound Eye (Warp)

TRANSMISSION #5: SEPTEMBER 2005

Various Production - Faller (Various Production)
Geroyche - Death (Ventilator Tontrager)
Appleblim - Cheat I (forthcoming on Skull Disco)
Kode 9 - Kingston Dub (Hyperdub)
D1 - Steam Roller (Soulja)
Skuba - Sleepa (Scuba/Hot Flush)
Search & Destroy - Cave Dweller (Halo Beats)
Moving Ninja - Lost Tribe (Tectonic)
Roi Masters - Bedoin (dub)
Mark One - ???? (Southside)
DJ Oddz - Strung Out VIP (Black Majik)
Macabre Unit - Lift Off (Terrorhythm)
Forensics - Hiding Place (dub)
Mathhead - Skyjacker (forthcoming on Ruff/Peace Off)

TRANSMISSION #4: AUGUST 2005

Glen Brown & King Tubby - Version 78 Style (Blood & Fire)
Burial - Nite Train (Hyperdub)
Mark One - Bad Mood (Soulja)
Barry Lynn - Grub - Half-Step Mix (MP3 dub)
N-Type - Square Off (Southside Dubstars)
SLT Mob - Guts 'n' Bones (Hot Flush)
Flatline - Auto (Destructive)
Big Shot - Nuclear Waste (Southside)
DMX Krew - The Monsignor (Rephlex)
Chontaduro - Cientosesenta 8 (MP3 dub)
Baddie - Lazor Gun Dub (MP3 Dub)

TRANSMISSION #3: JULY 2005

Go West - We Close Our Eyes (Chrysalis)
Vex'd - Cold (Planet Mu)
K-Punk & Friends - London Under London - extract (cd-r)
Gutterbreakz - Bickle Skank (MP3 dub)
Plasticman - Section 7 (Southside Dubstars)
N-Type - Tibetan Shadow (Southside Dubstars)
Shackleton - I Am Animal (Skull Disco)
Macuso - One Mudda (MP3 dub)
DJ Pinch - Nightmare Prt.1 (cd-r dub)
Coki - Mood Dub (DMZ)
Toasty - Take It Personal (Hot Flush)
Distance - Empire (Hot Flush)
Hell Science Dept. - Predator (MP3 Dub)
Anonymous - Grim Dubs Vol.4 side A (Werk)
Forensics - Gunshot (cd-r dub)
Chase (US) - Slowlow Bounce (MP3 dub)

TRANSMISSION #2: JUNE 2005

T'Pau - Heart and Soul (from the album 'Bridge Of Spies', Siren records, 1987 - this one comes from my wife's collection, honest!!!)
Gutterbreakz - Halflite ('brutal & british' mix, unreleased)
Roll Deep - Heat Up Instrumental (from 'In At The Deep End' 12" album sampler, Relentless Records)
Anonymous - Grim Dubs Vol.3, side 2 (Werkdiscs 12" test pressing)
Forensics - Blunted (cd-r, unreleased)
Barry Lynn - Ricta (MP3, forthcoming on Hot Flush (?))
DJ Distance - Drop 1 (from 'Closer Than You Think' 12" EP, Sting Recordings)
Amen Andrews - Red Hot (MP3, forthcoming on Rephlex)
Kyler - Grand Coulee Dam (cd-r, forthcoming on P.Mu)
Donea'o - My Philosophy (Bounce) (Social Circles 12" test pressing)
Anonymous - Grim Dubs Vol.4, side b (Werkdiscs 12" test pressing)
Vex'd - Crusher Dub (from the album 'Degenerate' on P.Mu)
Appleblim - Mystikal Warrior (cd-r, forthcoming on Skull Disco)

TRANSMISSION #1: MAY 2005

Vibert/Perrey - Moog Acid - Plasticman Rmx (forthcoming on Lo Recording)
Mark One - The Greatest (Boka 12")
DJ Q - Random (Southside 12" test pressing)
Big $hot - Killa Bee(?) (Southside 12" promo)
Macabre Unit - Crusher (B-Line 12" promo)
Dusk & Blackdown - Submerge (cd-r - should be coming out on vinyl shortly)
Gutterbreakz - Keep It Twisted (original Gutter material)
J8 - Boppity (from demo cd-r sent to me by the guy who runs Pin Prick records. might be getting released, but no firm plans yet)
Roi Masters - Sixshooterriddim (unreleased MP3 demo from Khalil, Montreal Grimist previously mentioned in one of my 'Gutter people' posts)
Quatar 330 feat. Black Ops- 8-Bit Grime (Japanese guy who's a mate of Minikomi - unreleased as far as I know)
Nice Nice - I'm A Human Person (from "Yesss!"promo cd-r sent to me by Audraglint Records, Portland Oregon. released 21st June)
Barry Lynn - Brood (MP3 sent to me by Barry, still unreleased to my knowledge)
Starkey - Read Your Mind (MP3 sent to me by Minikomi from forthcoming Kidmagnet EP)
Virus Syndicate - Taxman (cd-r, forthcoming on the Planet Mu album "The Work Related Illness", released 30th May)

BENEATH THE FLYOVER

Straddling the muddy, swollen waters of the River Frome between Bromley Heath and Hambrook, the grey Ballardian lines of the flyover defile the gentle walkways and peaceful, ancient woodland. I walked these paths with my father many years ago, and now I walk them once more, with my own offspring. Little has changed in the intervening years, except (naturally) for the layers of graffiti art. It's a post-Hip Hop world now. Beauty within ugliness, ugliness framed by beauty...I like it here, still...

BLACKPOOL

I saw some interesting, even beautiful places during a recent tour through the North of England, but nothing quite as obscenely fascinating as Blackpool's famous promenade. The architecture is simply astonishing...a strange mish-mash of styles from Victorian pomp to disgusting 60's vulgarity, all crushed together and wrapped in a permanent disorienting swirl of light and spectacle. Growing up in Bristol, I spent my childhood holidays at resorts on the south coast, never encountering anything like this.

Sod the bloody Tower or the piers, for me the most mindblowing piece of architecture was this weird thing covered in rectangles with rounded-edges (see below). I was totally gripped by it's guady stupidity, and the way it was gradually falling into disrepair and neglect. I can imagine that, if they closed-down the arcade that occupied it's ground floor, the entire building would just collapse in an exhausted heap of rubble.

It's external stairway fucked me up...it was like walking into the pages of a Jack Kirby comic - an angular, snaking monstrosity...the jaws of fucking doom...

Speaking of disrepair, the Big Dipper at Pleasure Beach was a thing of wonder. Despite obvious attempts to update Pleasure Beach as a modern day (Americanised) theme park, much of the old world remained, including the Big Dipper, now completely dwarfed by the Pepsi Max roller coaster. It looks like a fucking shambles, it's rickety wooden structure gradually rotting in the salty air, paint peeling, rust seeping from the bolts that hold it together.

The Big Dipper's main entrance is a scream - a pointless expanse of orange shades, like something Kirk and Spock might've visited in the future of the '60s. I felt like I was walking onto the set of Barbarella, or the film adaptation of Moorcock's The Final Programme.

There's nothing like the desolate working men's club atmosphere of the Central Pier's family bar at lunchtime. Old England prevails here. You can smoke a cigarette anywhere you damn well like in Blackpool - nobody seems to give a shit (apart from me who's recently given up and my pregnant wife). Blackpool is a nicotine smoker's paradise. I felt utterly alienated, as though I was the only lower-middle-class Southerner on the planet. It was an interesting feeling.

Blackpool at night should be wonderful, but actually feels slightly seedy and unsafe. Behind the flashy razzmatazz lurk unshaven men, counting their money. Seemingly all the people doing the menial work in the service industry have eastern European accents. There's a vague smell of mobsterism, opportunism and exploitation.

Alarmingly, the poster below would appear to be designed to appeal to people of my generation. How mortifying.

Couldn't finish without a mention for the Doctor Who Exhibition, which was originally located at Longleat but now resides on the Promenade at Blackpool. Nice to see it still exists in some form. I was impressed to note that, amongst the many collectible items on sale in the shop, was an original 7" single by The Human League - the one with a Radiophonic Workshop homaging b-side called Tom Baker. I also felt vague pangs of sadness at the array of original Target novels, toys and mags, many of which I once owned, most of which have long gone from my life and now act as forlorn beacons to memories of an expired childhood.

A nice piece by Mick Austin, from the early '80s. What it lacks in composition, is made up for in its humorous whimsy - the good Captain America proudly jumping into thin air, whilst saluting before his country's greatest symbol of liberty, blah blah blah, whilst reluctant hero Brian Braddock, aka Captain Britain, slumps on Liberty's shoulder, frowning with annoyance, probably because he knows he'll shortly have to get up and rescue Cap America, who, in the heat of the moment, has forgotten that he can't actually fly.

Is Mick still in comics, I wonder? He was always very good with the water-colour art (see his various posters and covers for Warrior and Marvel UK), but never really cut it as a black and white strip cartoonist (see his attempts at the Dr. Who strip, Timesmasher, Mad Man, etc). Hrmmm...

GUTTERBREAKZ ARCHIVES (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

LIVE REVIEWS

Context - Dubstep Special, March 2005
Dig Deep - Dubstep Special, June 2005
Digital Recitals, June 2006
Dubloaded May 2006
Dubloaded April 2006
Dubloaded March 2006
Dubloaded Feb. 2006
Dubloaded Jan. 2006
Dubloaded Dec. 2005
Electrotoxic (Belfast) Nov. 2005
H.E.N.C.H. @ Dissident, May 2006
Noir, Pinch, Bass Clef, Feb. 2006
Noir, March 2006
Noir, May 2006
Plastician @ Level Club, Nov. 2005
Richard H. Kirk @ 93 Feet East, London, 2002
Richard H. Kirk @ The Cube, Nov. 2004
Ruffnek Discotek, March 2006
Ruffnek Discotek, Feb. 2006
Ruffnek Discotek, Oct. 2005
Ruffnek Discotek, Sept. 2005
Subloaded II, April 2005
Subloaded III, Oct. 2006
Subloaded IV, April 2006
Toxic Dancehall, Dec.2006


RECORD REVIEWS

Abiku - Location
AFX - Analord Series
AFX - Analord Vols. 9 & 11
Atki 2 - Grim Dubs 5 & Sweaty palms EP
Autechre - Untilted
Benga - Newstep
Biochemical Dread - False Kings Of The Earth
Boards Of Canada - The Campfire Headphase
Burial Album
Boxcutter - Oneiric
Cex - Actual Fucking
Chevron - Everything's Exactly The Same
Chicago/Detroit Reissues
D1 - Believe EP
Daft Punk - Human After All
dDamage - Radio Ape
Destructive Recordings - Our Sound
DJ Pinch & P Dutty - War Dub/Alien Tongue
DMX Krew - Collapse Of The Wave Function Vols. 4 & 5
DMX Krew - Body Destruction EP
Dubstep Allstars Vol. 2
Dubstep Allstars Vol. 3
edIT - Crying Over Pros For No Reason
Ed Lawes - 14 tracks/Pieces
Footsie - Scars/Dirtee Skankin'
Geroyche - Voxxx Series A.1
Grim Dubs Vols. 1 & 2
Indianhead - The Strongest Weapon
Indianhead - Trap Them And Kill Them
Jimmy Edgar - Bounce, Make, Model
Jimmy Edgar - Color Strip
Jackson & His Computer Band - Rock On EP
Johnny Dark - Can't Wait EP
Julian Fane - Special Forces
The Gasman - This One's For You
The Gasman - Remedial & The Grand Electric Palace Of Variety
Kid Spatula - Meast
Kyler - Pur Cosy Tales
LCD SoundSystem - 1st Album
LFO/AFX EP
LFO - Sheath
Martin Rev - To Live
Mark One - Plodder/Devil Man
MRK 1/Virus Syndicate Overview, May 2006
Mike Simonetti & Dan Selzer - Crazy Rhythms
Milanese - One Up
nnng - Monkey Straddle
Pan Sonic - Kesto
Phthalocyanine - No One Said You Didn't
Plasticman Overview
Prefuse 73 - Surrounded By Silence
Richard H. Kirk - Earlier/Later
Rinsessions Vol.1
Roll Deep - In At The Deep End (sampler)
Sandoz - Digital Lifeforms Redux
Sandoz - Live In The Earth
Sleeparchive - Research EP
Sleeparchive - Radio Transmission EP
Tomorrow People
Various Production - Sir 7"
Venetian Snares - Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett
Virus Syndicate - The Work Related Illness
Vex'd - Degenerate
V/Vm - Sabam
Warpvision DVD

FEATURES & INTERVIEWS

A Guy Called Gerald
ATKI 2
Australian Underground
Boxcutter
Breakstep
Ed DMX
DJ Distance
DJ Pinch
Drop The Lime
Grime Scene Investigation Prt.1
Grime Scene Investigation Prt.2
Gutterpeople: Transmissions From The Global Electronic Underclasses
Hell Science Dept.
'It's Grimm Down South'
Kid Kameleon on Ragga Jungle
Luke Vibert
Paul Autonomic
Quiet Storm/Storming Productions
N-Type
Return Of Vinyl, Dubstep-Sheffield Interface and The Future Of IDM
Schematic Records
Shitmat and The Amentalists

GUTTERBREAKZ FM

Complete Setlists
Comments - September 2005
Comments - November 2005
Comments - January 2006
Comments - February 2006
Comments - March 2006
Comments - April 2006
Comments - May 2006
Comments - June 2006

RETRO-ZONE

Aphex Twin Memories
Art Of Noise
Bleep Archeology #1
Bleep Archeology #2
Bleeps, Bass and the 'Fake' LFO
'Bliss-Bleeps'
Dave Howard Singers Interview & Biog
Desert Storm
Doublevision Presents Cabaret Voltaire
Dr. Who/Radiophonic Workshop/Chris Achilleos
Elektric Music & Kraftwerk
The Faust Tapes
French Moog-tronica
History Of House - a Personal Perspective
Hauntology
Joyce Sims
The Latin Rascals
LFO - Singles & B-sides
Made In Belgium
Made In Belgium - The Hip-House Connection
Mantronik - The Megamixes
New Beat & Belgian Hardcore
NME Hi-Voltage Cassette
Post Punk & Robert Rental
Robert Rental Profile
Suicide - Ghost Riding
Suicide's Roir Cassettes

MISC.

Back To Guttertech
'Blogariddims'
Bootleg Appreciation Post
'The Boredom Of Sheer Abundance'
David 25 & DJ Kowalsky in the Mix
'Dubplate' Gallery
Drums, Bass and Roy Batty
Emoticon D'n'B Mix
Fuck The Brits Mix
Image Gallery 2005
Noise Essay
Phon Mooda Mix
Popscape
Record Label Rant
'Rejoice But Be Wary'
Revega Tribute
Simon Reynolds - A Celebration
The State Of Dance Music
Vinyl Resurgence
Woebot's 'Neue Deutche Welle' Compilation

ELSEWHERE

1959: The Naked Lunch Vs. Kinda Blue
'23 Minutes Under Croydon'
'Afterimage' Mix
Cabaret Voltaire's 'Over & Over'
Compilation Albums
Delia Derbyshire - Electrosonic
Industrial Exotica
Gallon Drunk
Grime: The Emperor's New Clothes?!
Gutta Interview @ Fortune Grey
Jean-Michel Jarre
New Beat: The Boccaccio Mix
Nonsense Electronica 10+1
'OHM Sweet OHM'
Paul Beaver & The Moog Synthesiser
Pitchfork/The Month In Dubstep
Richard H. Kirk Meets The Truck Bombers Of Suburbia Uptown Vol.1
Suddenly It's 1980
Vangelis
Wizard Of The Vibes: Lance Gambit Trio Vs. Milt Jackson

BLOGARIDDIMS...WHAT IS BLOGARIDDIMS...?

Okay, so I signed-up for Droid's 'Bloggariddims' podcast thingy, then rashly offered to do one of the early ones (this is actually #2 in the series) without having a clue what form my podcast would take. So then I decided it wouldn't have any dubstep, or any current music at all, instead focusing on a few 'golden oldies'. But planning a proper continuous mix seemed like too much hard work in the time given, so then I thought I might try doing something like John Eden's 'RSI Radio', which operated at a 'John Peel' pace, but my own attempts came out shit. So then in desperation I just spent an evening recording a bunch of tunes and half-arsed mixes into the laptop, then edited the mess into something listenable the following day. Yes, there was actually some post-production this time. In fact, quite a bit of editing went into this, to the point where it became part of the creative process. There's a few cool/irritating (depending on your point-of-view) '80s-style stutter-edits in there, which kinda fit in with the overall retro vibe. To think that, back in the day, it would take an experienced studio engineer several hours to splice tapes together for that effect, yet now any old fool can do it on a freeware program like Audacity in a matter of moments. This is progress, I suppose.

Overall, this podcast is like a good-time party mix, Gutter-style. Its about having some fun, getting a bit sentimental, having a bit too much to drink, making a pass at an old girlfriend and generally making a fool of yourself, but not really caring too much, because you're among friends...and complete strangers. It came out okay, although now I wish I'd put more '80s 12 inch extended-edit mixes in there.

And I wish there was more Detroit Techno in there.

And another track by Joyce Sims.

And at least one track by Chaka Kahn.

And I wish I'd gone back a bit further...as far back as 1981...but no further, cos anything before that which wasn't just Hit Parade surface-tension would probably be stuff that I've discovered after the event. This is only for music that I experienced as it happened, in real time.

Somewhere there's a parallel universe where Radio 2 sounds like this every day.

Here's a blow-by-blow account of the podcast's content...

Section 1

LFO - Intro Loops
Model 500 - Milky Way
Farley Jackmaster Funk - The Acid Life
Chemical Brothers - Fuck Up Loop
Bassbin Twins - 2 Turntables And A Crate Of Skint

This first section was mixed live using my Numark cd-j decks. I decided to experiment with the loop functions on the Axis 4, extending out a few sections from the "Intro" to LFO's classic "Frequencies" album (17), the continued influence of which cannot be underestimated. It's the Greatest Album Ever Made. Its taken me 15 years to realise it, but that's the truth. In my world (and what other world is there that I should give a shit about?) "Frequencies" is the best album ever made. It's better than "Led Zeppelin IV", which, despite my best efforts to make contact, never meant anything to me ever. It's better than "The Modern Dance", which is a shambling, unfocused trainwreck by comparison. It's better than "The White Album". I don't need to go into in-depth analysis to explain that - just play the two back-to-back and its obvious which is the superior record. Besides, the "White Album" was made by people of my dad's age, so why the fuck would I like it anyway? I could probably respect the opinion of someone who claimed that "In A Silent Way" is a better album than "Frequencies", but in my world, "Frequencies" is perfect. Perfect sound. Perfect beat. Perfect poise. Perfect length. Perfect mix. Perfect title. Perfect record label. The sleeve design is almost perfect, which is good enough for the purpose of this argument (the sleeve design is predominately black, which matches the spacey blackness of the music within, which is Detroit distilled in the test tube of Chicago by the Bunsen Burner of Dusseldorf, created with black secret technology by two skinny white kids from the city of Leeds, in the North of England, which is in itself a perfect scenario). It contains a track called "LFO" which was a hit single. Perfect. When forced to playlist "LFO" on his show, Radio 1 disc jockey Steve Wright proclaimed it was 'the worst single ever', live on air. Perfect. (Steve Wright is now a Radio 2 disc jockey, and I'm not, which is anything but perfect, but I digress...). When they were offered a spot on Top Of The Pops to perform their hit single 'LFO', LFO refused. Utterly perfect. Then they fucked-off and did little of any consequence for several years. Perfection achieved. "Frequencies": my favourite album, ever. "LFO": my favourite hit single, ever. LFO: my favourite 'pop group', ever.

Oh and by the way, that's my voice you hear at the start, pitched-down electronically to mimic the vocal at the start of the original Intro track. I'm sure most people will get the joke, but just thought I'd better point it out for anyone out there who hasn't actually heard the Best Album Ever Made.

This leads into some posh mid-90s Detroit techno from Model 500 aka Juan Atkins from the album "Deep Space" (10). I have a special fascination for Juan's work, going right back to his earliest cuts with Cybotron. I always liked that stiff 808-electro undercurrent - a harder, tenser funk than the frantic 909 sizzle of Derrick May, plus he had that whole sci-fi philosophy in place - a head-in-the-clouds visionary. A true dreamer of dreams. His output from roughly 1985-90 had that edge. Tuff, urban, afro-spacious, phuturistic machine-funk - the perfect absorption of Kraftwerk into black music (massive apologies to the great Afrika Bambataa, but Juan kicks yer ass, buddy). Yet I decided to use a track from the mid-90s, when Juan was probably a bit past his prime. No matter, cos I still reckon "Deep Space" was a great album - better overall than "Landcruising", released by that whipper-snapper Carl Craig the same year. Significantly, that year, which was 1995, was also the year that Detroit Techno and I finally parted company. I left Juan floating in deep space, and lost Carl on the einbahn. Occasionally I hear snippets of things that I could swear sound like really boring 4/4 deep house, but I pray I'm mistaken...

I'd intended to fade-out the LFO loops, but couldn't quite bring myself to do it, so they continue throughout the whole of Juan's track and then mix into Farley Jackmaster Funk's "The Acid Life", one of my favourite examples of my favourite drum machine ever, the Roland TR-808, in full effect (in fact all my favourite 808 workouts come from this late '80s period). It's got that distinct 808 groove - cold, mechanical but somehow managing to swing like fuck, cos the 808 was one of those machines that just swung naturally, like it had a 'James Brown' circuit, or something. Surely it's no coincidence that the 808 was the only TR drum machine with a black skin? Farley used practically all of the 808's sounds in this track. Those claves and cowbells mean more to me than an Amen loop ever will. The 808 doesn't like to share stereo space with other instruments. It likes to have plenty of room to flex its muscles. Sometimes the rimshot will get friendly with an echo, whilst the kick drum tunes itself into a frequency so deep you'd think it was a sub-bass note, and suddenly pure dub-space is achieved. The 808 was the first drum machine to actually improve on the human/acoustic version (with the original Linn LM-1 coming up fast behind). Marvin Gaye understood that when he recorded "Sexual Healing". I've seen the old footage of Marvin performing that song, smooching and twitching in time to the 808's precision sex-funk - one of the greatest God-given Souls of all time seduced and enthralled by a machine. An important evolutionary step, methinks. Certainly up there with Sly Stone's earlier "...Riot Goin On" in the league of spark-inducing bio-technological groove precedents...

(...meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Kraftwerk were busy recording "Kling Klang". The connections weren't immediately apparent, but it all came together in the mid-late 80s, when the Chicago gang first dared to let the machines take centre stage, to allow their emotions to flow unhindered through the wires and circuits, to trust in the machines to express something that words and biology could not achieve alone...)

(...but of course its never really that simple, because while Kraftwerk were recording "Kling Klang", and Sly was recording "..Riot..", Lee Perry was sitting in a shed at the bottom of his garden in Jamaica, dreaming of the future through a haze of ganja and rum, and Suicide were busy reinventing the rock'n'roll spirit through machine rhythm over in NYC, whilst George Clinton, Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock (to name a few) were already busy laying down the afro-analogue foundations, whilst Georgio Moroder was imagining new electronic methods to make people dance, whilst Brian Eno was...thinking...always thinking...whilst Richard H. Kirk was listening intently...and where would any of them be without Delia Derbyshire, anyway? Or Steve Reich, or Terry Riley, or La Monte Young, or John Cage, or Sun Ra...? This paragraph needs to end now, I think...)

I never owned an original Trax copy of "The Acid Life", but its available on Warp's indispensable "Influences" 2-disc set (16), which should be in everybody's collection. God knows why, but from there I went into a one-bar loop of the Chemical Brother's "Fuck Up Beats", from their 1995 debut album "Exit Planet Dust" (15), which sent me hurtling into shameless Big Beat revivalism with "2 Turntables and a Crate Of Skint" by Bassbin Twins. I really liked a lot of that Big Beat stuff at the time, and why bother pretending otherwise? Mind you, my enjoyment didn't extend to actually buying many records - this one is taken from the "Essential Skint" compilation (12), given away free with the January 1998 issue of the now defunct Select magazine. I'm sure you can pick up a copy for 50p in hundreds of charity shops throughout the UK. This is the most recent piece of music in the whole Podcast. There's nothing else I wish to say about it. My previous self (the dj/vibe conductor) made a split decision to use it, and my current self (the editor/post-match commentator) has decided to respect that decision, no matter how inadvisable it might appear.

Section 2
Renegade Soundwave - Kray Twins (Easy Mix)
Dave Howard Singers - Yon Yonson Meets Dr. R-R-Ruth #1
Steinski & Mass Media - We'll Be Right Back (Re-edit)
Rhythm Device - Acid Rock

Back to the tail-end of the '80s with four unmixed tracks that rocked my world 'back in the day'. Renegade Soundwave's totally critical "Kray Twins" first came into my life over the airwaves when John Peel played it on his show sometime in '87. To say that the earth moved would be an understatement. "Kray Twins" combined crunchy hip-hop beats, digidub bassline, soundtrack-sampledelica and Garry Asquith's slurred, vaguely menacing vocal drawl, and it felt like clinical precision smashing into total fucking chaos. There was a primal savagery and insolent swagger at its heart that lifted me out of the chair and threw me across the room. Crucially, it was a British gutter-tech-punk collision of a kind I had never experienced before, and remains a central influence and inspiration to me. This is the "Easy Mix", a shorter edited version on the CD single reissued by Mute Records in 1992 (11), which I feel hangs together better than the full-length version.

Next comes more sampledelic mayhem care of The Dave Howard Singers, which was basically this Canadian guy, living in London's Camberwell district, called Dave Howard and anyone else he chose to work with. This track comes from the remix edition of his Kurt Vonnegut-inspired "Yon Yonson" (4) . I actually tracked Dave down and interviewed him back in the early days of this blog, so anyone wanting to find out more should go here. One of the main points to consider was that Dave came from more of a classic song-writing tradition, but he always had that little techno-monkey on his back pushing him down strange career-crushing paths. This track is the furthest out into studio-as-instrument remixology he ever went. Incidentally, since that interview I had a hand in reuniting Dave with all his old master-tapes. But that's another story for another time.

Next is some proper New York-style cut-up Hip Hop courtesy of the legendary Steinski, from the 'Hard Sell' remix edition of "We'll Be Right Back" (9), released in 1986. Steinski was a real '80s hero for me. He didn't actually release many records, yet pushed the boundaries of hip hop production, editing and mixing everytime. Then its a quick hop back across the Atlantic to the heart of the Benelux, with the devastating "Acid Rock" by Frank De Wulf under the alias Rhythm Device (8). Released on the Music Man label in 1989, "Acid Rock" straddles New Beat, EBM, proto-hardcore and is also a genuinely innovative dance-rock hybrid. I actually covered this track a couple of years ago in my first Belgian piece, but what the hell. Besides, this is the version with the Deep Purple riff at the start! It was mind-blowing stuff at the time, trust me...

Section 3
Jack Frost And The Circle Jerks - Shout
Edwards & Armani - Up Your Bum (Acid Petrol Mix)
Armando - Downfall

Genuine Chicago Acid minimalism from Jack Frost (aka Adonis) and Armando, both taken from my mate Mike's genuine rare-as-fuck Trax EP (6) which I still haven't given back, collide with some genuine, original Belgian '89 acid, care of Edwards and Armani, who's "Up Your Bum (Acid Petrol Mix)" is another damn fine example of the New Beat effect, in full-effect. This one came out on the seminal Belgian label MG Records, although my copy is a German pressing on the ZYX label (5), which probably isn't as desirable from a collector's point of view. As Doppelganger rightly pointed out, the original New Beat was a more subtle animal than the full-frontal sex-crazed beast that V/Vm has since brought into being. "Up Your Bum" is suggestive in a more cheeky, flirty way. It lets you glimpse a bit of stocking-top under the lycra mini-skirt, and it encourages you to stare at its ample cleavage, but you never get to see the nipples, which sums up my sexual experience in the '80s perfectly.

But if this is indeed a mini battle between Chicago '88 and Ghent '89, and if I'm being totally honest, the guys from Chicago probably win. Armando's track is just so stripped-back and raw...I doubt there's even any midi involved. It's probably just a Roland TB-303 slaved to a TR-707 drum machine via the Sync 24 DIN connectors, with each machine programmed on its own internal step-sequencer. The track is very dry and airless with little in the way of studio enhancements. Its a live jam - man and machines feeding off each other, lost in the moment, the creative exchange captured onto tape with an immediacy and energy level that still shines through today. The Jack Frost tune is similarly sparse and lo-tek, although it does have some nice flanging on the hi-hats. This is what acid house is all about, as far as I'm concerned. I listen to this section now and think I should've done a whole hour of oldskool acid. And I would've made sure I stayed at the original tempos, too. This shit operates around the 120bpm mark. If there's one thing I cannot stand it's djs pitching these tracks up to fit into modern dj sets. Acid at 130-140bpm just turns into fucking Euro Acid circa 1992-onwards, which bores the living shit out of me. You pitch-up these old Chicago tunes and not only are you destroying their groove, you're also pissing on their souls. Speed kills. There should be a law against it.

Section 4
Interlude
Mantronix - Get Stupid (Part II)
Bass Generator - Tibetan Jam

Brief spoken interlude from an old bootleg cassette (which I forgot to include in the picture). I can't remember the lady's name, if I ever knew it, but she was introducing the acts at The Cities In The Park festival in Manchester in the summer of 1991. It wasn't a particularly great festival, although much of the music me and my mates were playing in the car journey and on the boombox in our tent was the sort of thing you hear in this podcast. The festival was okay, but the tapes we brought along were better. Our vision was better. Our hopes and dreams for music were better, too. In the summer of 1991, anything seemed possible. The sky was the limit. I'm dedicating this podcast to myself, the person I was in summer 1991, and I'm also dedicating it to the young lady, who's name I forget, who was a gorgeous brunette, who took a lot of shit from the crowd for being a simple, sexy lady with a big smile and a big heart.

Then its back on the 80's hip hop, with a couple of very odd, possibly even unhinged, examples. First come the mighty Mantronix with a track from their third album "In Full Effect" (14), called "Get Stupid (Part III)", which is like a bizarre gameshow prototype for Del La Soul's "Three Feet High And Rising", featuring 'Dave the Original B-Boy' as he tries to tempt Mantronik to part with his computer in exchange for wonderful prizes. The answer is, of course, a resounding, Max Headroom-like "No". I wrote a couple of posts about Mantronik in the early days of the blog, which sum up my general feelings about this man. Next is the completely bonkers, but totally ace "Tibetan Jam", which I've credited to Bass Generator, cos that's where I got it from, though I think the true creators of this masterpiece are these guys. Bass Generator was this dodgy hardcore label in the early '90s that released some really badly-produced bootleggy material. This version of Tibetan Jam is on the b-side of the "Is The Clonk Alright" 12" (2).

Section 5
Man Machine - Shout
Kicksquad - Soundclash (Hyper Mix)
Beltram - My Sound

A brief mixed section, that's a sort of pre-jungle grab-bag. All the best hardcore music was made before 1993 (folds arms, cocks head arrogantly, ignoring the cries of outrage). Here we have some ruff UK breakbeat-rave from Kicksquad, lifted from the 'Kickin' vs. Vinyl' double-album (7), which had a massive impact on me. Beautiful sleeve art by Junior Tomlin, too. Breakbeats always sounded great when shackled to the pounding 909 kick of House. Then from one 'champion sound' to another, with Beltram's "My Sound", an original Belgian anthem via NYC, on the mighty R&S label (3). As for Man Machine's "Shout" (1)...I can't remember what that would've been classed as at the time. Hardcore-techno-house-blah blah blah. We weren't that bothered about micro-genres back then. Things were a lot more open minded. Whatever, it's a wicked little 4/4 stomper that always got the adrenalin pumpin' back in the day.

Beaumont Hannant - Latur

Lastly, a quick jump forward, or perhaps back, to the mid-90s, and the final track from Beaumont Hannant's "Texturology" album (13). If you weren't around at the time, you might be forgiven for thinking that 1994 was all about Jungle. Well, perhaps if you were living in London it was, but for some of us, just moving out of our youthful hardcore phase, looking for something a bit deeper emotionally, 1994 was also the year that the intelligent/ambient/armchair techno movement found its perfect pitch. Like a spiral galaxy gradually coalescing around the white-hot nucleus of Aphex Twin's first "Selected Ambient Works", this was an album-orientated movement spearheaded by Warp's "Artificial Intelligence" compilation in 1992. By '94, it was spewing out luxurious albums the size of solar systems, with Autechre's "Amber", Global Communications' "76:14" and Hannant's "Texturology" being three examples which, over a decade later, I still listen to and consider to be 'classic' albums. But whilst the Autechre 'brand' still remains very visible, and "76:14" is still in print, "Texturology" appears to have completely drifted out of the collective consciousness, if indeed it ever truly entered it. At the time of writing, only one seller on Amazon.uk is selling it - a 'like new' second hand copy for £28! Why did everyone forget about Beaumont? Perhaps because his time was so brief - "Texturology" was the glistening triumph, the perfect resolution to the series of EPs he'd been tantalizing us with beforehand. But it was also his creative peak, with subsequent releases yielding dramatically less stimuli. Yet "Texturology" caught the mood of '94 for me perfectly, with its Detroit-inspired symphonic aspirations, strong sense of harmonic structure, and, as the title suggests, gorgeous vistas of midi-controlled electronic texture, creating landscapes in the mind's eye, and stirring emotions in the heart. The colours were delicately mixed, but applied to the canvas with broad, life-affirming strokes. It was anything but fucking 'chill-out' music - I shudder at the thought of all those bland, mood-flattening slabs of audio driftwood released under the 'ambient' flag over the years. His music may sound a little dated today, as nearly all ten-year-old music tends to sound a little dated, but Hannant showed me a future that I like to think still has a future. The machines are there to help express feelings, not to hide behind.

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Right, that's enough bullshit from me, but if you fancy having a listen, you need to paste this URL into your Podcast software...

http://www.weareie.com/audio/blogariddims/Blogariddims.xml

I tried it in iTunes with Droid's podcast two weeks ago and it worked perfectly. But just in case you need a little help, here's Droid's 'Podcasts for Beginners' instruction manual...

Click on the Link to the podcast

Copy the link (PC users: right click and select "Copy Shortcut," Mac users: click and hold the mouse button and then select "Copy"), or alternatively, click the link as normal, and then copy the URL of the window that opens.

Paste the link into the subscription field of your podcasting software. This process may vary depending on your software.

If you use Itunes, things are slightly different:

When you click the Subscribe button next to a podcast in the iTunes Music Store, iTunes downloads the latest episode of the podcast. When you click the Get Episode button next to a podcast episode in the Music Store, iTunes downloads that episode.

You can also subscribe to a podcast if you know the podcast feed URL. Choose Advanced > "Subscribe to Podcast" and enter the URL. (see above)

You can see your podcasts and podcasts episodes by selecting Podcasts in the Source list.

If you dont have any podcasting software, and still want to get these mixes, your best bet is to mail the bloggers involved and ask nicely - though some may choose to make a straight mp3 link available at time of broadcast.

posted by droid

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...and that's me finished for the summer...and possibly for a lot longer...maybe forever. We'll see. I'll still be floating around, adding the odd interjection at Dissensus, maybe even posting an occasional thought over at The Idiot's Guide, but basically I'm done with the blog t'ing for now. I need my space, not Myspace. I need substance, not news bulletins. I need to get it together, cos I decided I'm either gonna be a great music blogger, or I'm not gonna blog at all. And that means detaching myself a bit and doing some wandering around, mentally and physically. I'm prepared to get lonely again, if that's what it takes. And then...?

Take care.

AFTERIMAGE

Okay, first the good news - I recorded a mix I'm quite pleased with, and you can grab it over at Riddim.Ca. (thanks for giving me a bit of space on your well-respected site, Paul). The bad news can be found somewhere in the accompanying text. Yes, that's right, I've decided to stop writing/enthusing/mixing/promoting dubstep. Its not a decision I take lightly. Its been going round in my head for awhile. There's several factors involved, but the main problem being that I just can't think of anything more I want to say on the subject. I guess I'm bored with trying to find new ways of saying the same thing. If there's no strong urge, then I really can't see the point of continuing for the sake of it.

Now to answer a couple of points raised. Firstly, just because I've stopped writing about dubstep, doesn't mean I've suddenly stopped liking/listening to dubstep. I'll still be buying records, still going along to a few clubs etc (see below), but just for my own pleasure. Secondly, some people confuse 'retiring from dubstep' with 'retiring the blog', as though the two are inseparable. This is part of the problem I guess. When I started this blog, I'd never even heard of dubstep, yet somehow the two are fused in some people's minds. I suppose I let my enthusiasm get out of control. Having said that, I am gonna take a long break from blogging over the holiday period, (same as I did last year) and spend some quality time with my family. I may return in September. Then again I might not. If I feel as empty and unmotivated as I do now, then I probably won't, but things can change.

I've got a couple more things to post this month, then the hiatus begins. Thanks to everyone who read, listened and communicated, and special thanks to all those artists featured in my mix (and a few others who I couldn't squeeze in). I hope you all find success doing what you love to do, and hopefully I'll be buying records with your names on in the future.

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Next week sees the first H.E.N.C.H. night, where the collective consciousness of Bristol's dubstep scene will coalesce every month, to do battle on the decks in an attempt to blow our (and each other's) minds. This could be the true beginning of the Bristol 'FWD>>' community I dreamed of. Let it be so...

DALSTON, WE LOVE YOU...

Thanks to Simon for linking to this new blog, which is all about excavating music from old cassettes found at the Dalston Oxfam shop in East London. I find it particularly appealing cos its doing something that I often meant to do, but never got around to (remember my 'cassette pets' posts a few years ago?). I found the above scan in a folder on my harddrive today. I must have scanned this inlay about 18 months ago, but never got around to recording any of the audio, or writing anything about it. I doubt I ever will, either. Hopefuly Dalston will come across this one, and many others like it on his journey. Keep it reel, bredrin...

R.I.P. Roger Keith 'Syd' Barrett

HANUMAN COLLECTS THE BEATS

Not content with getting his first solo track included on Werk's "Grim FM" compilation, Monkey Steak's Hanuman (right) recently sent me his "Salty Dog" mix - a strange blend of dancehall, rap, world, ragga-jungle and breakcore sounds, with a little nod towards grime. I don't think I've heard a mix quite as heclectic as this before. "I have to admit its more the kind of stuff I listen to at home", explains Hanuman. "If I'm honest, then there is not enough world stuff in it. The two Jewish Klezmer tunes are banging, though. Good music too stagger round a dancefloor to after too much vodka." Crikey, so is this your first mix? "Its one of the first mixes I've done which I am really pleased with, but I have some other stuff which has well ropey mixing on."

You can download Hanuman's mix from my page at SmokeRing. Don't forget there's also an ace reggae mix from fellow-Grim FM'er Bass Clef (who's also started a blog) and the most recent Gutterbreakz FM mixes are there too. Thanks once again to Adam for giving me a bit of server space.

BOOM!!

For reasons I can't be bothered to go into right now (but surely will at some point), I find this extremely attractive. Note the complete lack of CD/MP3 compatability. A bit out of my price-range though. No matter, there's a few cheaper options around. To be honest, all I really want is another Hitachi TRK 8190, like the one I used to have. No doubt the mists of nostalgia are clouding my judgement, but I don't think I've ever heard a portable system that sounded as good as that. I used to put an Amstrad computer-based drum sequencer through it, and it sounded so damn brutal. Modern life is rubbish.

Visit the Boombox Museum

WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS...

GUTTERBREAKZ FM - JULY 2006

V/Vm BRINGS YOU TOTAL SEX

Lots of exciting things happening over at V/Vm Test Records at the moment, not least the continuing revival of Belgian New Beat - that cruelly overlooked/forgotten/brushed-under-the-carpet/dirty secret of Dance Music. I discussed V/Vm's first New Beat maxi-single in my genre overview last year, and now there's another vinyl 4-track EP released on WeMe Records, straight outta the Benelux, which means that V/Vm's James Kirby has finally fulfilled a life-long ambition to release a record with the legend "Made In Belgium" on the cover. Check my friend Kek's blog for a full and accurate description of this EP. There's good news too for all the old closet New Beat fans who don't have a turntable anymore - V/Vm has just released a CD called "Sabam", compiling most of the tracks from the two vinyl EPs plus several other new tunes, resulting in a 13-track, hour-long, journey to the heart of the Belgian porno-acid/sub-120bpm stomp, with "Fuck My Pussy" being a prime example of that unique aesthetic whereby outrageously full-frontal female sex-grunts combine with turgid, doom-mongering sequencer riffs and clumpy 4/4 beats, resulting in a sound that is simultaneously frigid, horny, uptight, sexually liberated/inhibited and all the other weird sensations that we loved about the original New Beat movement ( I say 'we', but I guess that just means a few old bloggers based in the south-west of England). "Antwerpen Nights" adds resonant, detuned slabs of synth-sorrow with Kraftwerkian percussive blips and freeze-dried waves of spine-chilling strings, while over-stimulated lovers fornicate in an endless pleasure-loop somewhere in the background. The (ham) fisted electro beats and sickly, staggering riffs of "Space Bunny" make me feel weird and unbalanced everytime. I'll leave "The Acid Sausage" to your imagination. Do you dare to explore the sleazy underbelly of this distinctly European post-acid phenomenum? "Sabam" is a great place to start....