Posted by joly on Aug 14, 2010 in
old tape When I left the UK for the USA in 1983 I was sure to pack with me a few nuggets of British culture to entertain and amaze the colonists. Apart from reggae disco 12″ers and VHS’s of the Young Ones tv series – as yet unseen on this side of the pond, I had a copy of this broadcast – a Sunday morning one-off perpetrated by Keith Allen and mates such as David Rappaport – using the same transmitter as Dread Broadcast Corp. A visit with northern industrial gay Gerry Arkwright kicks off 90 minutes of segment after segment of ribald and raucous hijinks – some of the most outrageous programming to ever hit the airwaves. American listeners were a little non-plussed but when, in 1984, I visited Vancouver and played it to the Canadians they went nuts for it, playing it over and over til they had it word perfect.
(Thanks to Mike the Bike of DBC for forwarding a copy.)
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Tags: BPR
Posted by joly on Jun 18, 2010 in
ras kush In part two of this session Ras Kush, of Black Redemption Sounds of Praises, dug further into his extensive vinyl collection sprinkling liberal amounts of Wackies in the process.. It kicks off with an african selection, followed by some mash down babylon vibes turning into a brief vocalist showcase featuring singers like Barry Brown and Al Campbell. A modern international steppers segment includes the magical ‘Superstar’ by Japan’s Mighty Massa – a staple of Black Redemption sets at the time – leading into a couple of other popular tunes..
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Tags: ras, ras kush, wackies
Posted by joly on Jun 18, 2010 in
ras kush,
reggae vibes This is part one of this session in which Ras Kush, of Black Redemption Sounds of Praises, dug into his extensive vinyl collection for rarely played tunes. He began by showcasing the dubwise style including selections from producers Coxsone Dodd, Lloyd Barnes, Adrian Sherwood and Tapper Zukie. Then comes ‘blessed’ selection of rastafari tunes including Earl Sixteen’s take on Niney’s “Jah Love is Sweeter” riddim before he flings some of classic instrumentals – particularly notable is the work of Douglas Guthrie, a much undersung sax player whose work must have influenced Dean Frazier.
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Tags: ras kush
Posted by joly on Jun 16, 2010 in
reggae vibes AK’s story is that as a youth he was a promising sound boy in the UK when suddenly he was hoiked off to the musically remote outlands of the USA by his family. AK thus stayed true to roots of classic sound system while the peers he left behind might have had other distractions. However he was not totally out of touch – a network of cousins and pals, plus occasional visits, kept him up-to-date with the latest hot lovers rub-a-dub tunes from UK dances. His contemporary selections continually amazed Streamola’s globally dispersed audience who had little opportunity to hear much beyond mainstream dancehall and roots artists. Here he is warming up the crowd on the Reggae Vibes stream with some of the latest smooth steppers before he goes for the old stuff we all know he is going to eventually pull out. Pay special attention to Easy B’s cover of “Number One” around 50 mins in.
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Tags: ak, rub-a-dub
Posted by joly on Jun 16, 2010 in
reggae vibes AK The Conqueror was a stalwart member of the Yahoo Club Rasta and a very popular DJ on Streamola, particularly with the ladies, specializing as he did in Lover’s Rock, both classic and modern. The Reggae Vibes stream was founded just to cater to his sessions. Making them all the more rare and desirable was the fact that at his remote Pennsylvania location his Internet connection was less than reliable, thus a good session was always a matter of chance if not divine providence. In this one we hear him, in lo-fi recorded directly off the original 24k stream on 9-23-00, digging into his vault of old time classics.
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Tags: ak, lover's rock, revival
Posted by joly on Mar 25, 2010 in
mix,
old tape As we all know the ecstasy and agony of romance drives much of creation, and so it was with this, a mixtape from the late 80s, and the oft-repeated soundtrack to many pinmaking sessions in the early 90s. It starts off warm and easy, becomes enraptured, and then helplessly unrequited..
Tags: joly, lover's rock
Posted by joly on Mar 25, 2010 in
old tape,
session Here’s another of those short fragments off an old mix tape of mine – includes fav tunes from the likes of Dillinger, Hugh Mundell, Jackie Mittoo, U Roy, Roland Alphonso, and The Skatalites.
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Tags: joly, www
Posted by joly on Mar 24, 2010 in
mix,
old tape This is a very brief fragment from 1988 or so, some NYC radio plus a bit of Dominic – a young Ladbroke Grove skallywag who had turned up after making a name for himself in Jamaica – testing his chops on hip-hop played by Dreadbeat Massive’s Woody Dee. One feature of NYC is a large Caribbean Desi population, and the tune near the start is as sublime a combination of the two cultures as you are ever likely to hear!
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Tags: dominic, nyc, radio
Posted by joly on Mar 24, 2010 in
recast I have to make a few guesses about this one – 1) that it is from 1987, and 2) that it is from a London station called Time Radio. 3) that the host is DJ Eddie Edwards as it says on the tape which is actually marked with the date 17-3-84.
Lee Scratch Perry, in one of his first broadcasts after going awol some years earlier, is a guest giving previews of the soon-to-be-released collaboration with Adrian Sherwood and On-U crew – Time Boom X De Devil Dead.
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Tags: london, radio, scratch
Posted by joly on Mar 24, 2010 in
DBC,
old tape,
recast Yet more DBC. As mentioned early broadcasts, out of necessity, utilized the “plant the cassette player and transmitter on the tower block and retire to a safe distance†method. By 1984 the station’s technology had advanced to the point of being able to, via relays, do live broadcasts. Even to the extent, in the safety of the Notting Hill Carnival celebrating crowd, of coming live from the street. This snippet, hosted by Ranking Miss P, kicks off with the talents of the young MC prodigy Mekka Stephenson, hoarse no doubt due to toasting night and day, and then goes to station manager Lepke chatting up Portobello Road revelers.
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