i forgot last month but here’s the youtube version for my non-spotify babes xo
joy - isaiah collier
i thought this was so totally naff the first three? four? times i heard this. oh joy, isaiah? whatever. no time for that. why aren’t you just giving me what i want, namely the saxophone and no vocals? and then i was at the gym, on the leg extension machine (not a favourite of mine), listening to an edition of gilles peterson’s saturday show which was about to expire on bbc sounds, and when joy was played, it suddenly clicked. there’s so much joy! i do have time for that!
bootie call (club asylum boogie punk dub) - all saints
i got given an all saints cassette when i was 7ish, but i was spice girls thru and thru. i remember feeling confused and ungrateful that i didn’t want to listen to all saints, because i only wanted to listen to wannabe on repeat. it’s possible i cried. this story has no relevance to bootie call (club asylum boogie punk dub) which is a complete banger of a uk garage remix that has been getting me in the summer spirit of late.
it’s a trip - the last poets
andrew ibi played this for the dancefloor at milestones jazz dance a few weeks ago. based on everything i’d seen online, i really assumed jazz dance was For The Old Heads; i love the old heads, but my intro to jazz, properly, was through the uk scene in the 2010s. this is what i want the most. i am constantly buying music (especially for my radio show) and saying e.g. ‘can i play this new shabaka track in the club??’. sometimes, i get bold, and i try, and it never goes well! my vision does not meet the reality. but at milestones, andrew played moses boyd! kamasi washington! this last poets track! i danced! other people danced! it was 6pm! sometimes there are events i attend or sets i see which really change my view on what is possible in the club/dancefloor, and this was one of them. blessed!
it is also cool to sometime reflect now on how detached dancing in public and drinking are for me now. pre-pandemic those were intertwined in an unshakable way. i couldn’t have imagined dancing on an early, empty dancefloor, sober. but as i stopped drinking so much (for bad reasons), i now could not care less if i’m only on the diet cokes (a positive outcome). DJing also helped, because it gives you a) a purpose for being at the event; b) almost an expectation that you’re moving behind the decks, where people are gonna see you; c) an understanding of how nice it is when someone is dancing to music you’ve selected 🕺🏻
wait (hatchet gets a new hide) - formal sppeedwear
from stoke on trent, this is so talking heads coded it’s crazy. angular like, i assume, their shoulder pads.
folklore - caracas trio
can’t remember which worldwide fm radio show i stole this off but i stuck that shit in my loot bag so fast and skeddadled outta there like there was a comedy looney tunes zoom noise following me.
love is a choosing - aja monet
aja monet’s new album is gorgeous <3 this track is beautiful <3 i felt an immense pressure from The Culture to listen to both this album, and the sparklemami album — they are both amazing. The Culture wins again!!
fancy good - electric machine
there you go. it’s kinda library music but it’s nice for a sweet sensual union. doesn’t have that kinda cold electronic vibe that italo disco often has.
god will dry my weeping eyes - horace family
UGH yes this makes me want to move my ass. it’ll come on while i’m cooking and next thing i know i’m getting low in my own kitchen holding some spring onions. absolutely infectious groove.
ascension - the lemur conspiracy
i’ve seen and/or dj’ed after young sheffield jazz band the lemur conspiracy a few times now and thought they were really excellent, and was a bit confused as to why they hadn’t released any of their own music. but now they have!! it’s fantastic. especially because it’s got some of the good space noises i love in my jazz atm. can’t wait for more.
big time - hound
always reppin’ hound, grunge-y la-style goodness from glasgow.
sound service station: radio
on june’s edition i played a few spoken word bits, romantic songs in a flat minor, trip hop from chile, psych rock from ontario, rhythmic bits from amsterdam and only one full ten minute nu jazz track. listen back!
bonus radio:
i did a cover hour and played a full hour of disco digs. it’s not the usual sound but it’s fun if you fancy some old timey disco.
sound service station: party
i’m so excited to be taking sound service station from the aural realm into the physical realm with a party! it will be at grub records in sheffield on friday 10 july (which also happens to be my birthday). very civilised time (8-midnight). i’ve got three of my favourite sheff selectors on the decks: mucho maas, regina caracol, sirrey. and me. with all warm groovy summer selections.
come down for a boogie, a bday, a wine! there will be birthday cake and party bags and fun. i believe it’s also gonna be about 28 degrees so i’ll be waving the hand fan. thank GOD tho cos i really went hard with this ‘let the sun shine in’ branding.
++ if you’re going to tramlines, i will be playing in the vip area on saturday 25th july for la rumba, come say hi!