The Listening Club - 8th March 2025

Howdy folks,

Hope you're all doing okay. Bright and dry here in Amsterdam, still a bit shivery, but the buds are growing fast on the lilac outside, which is a good first indication that spring is on its way, bang on schedule for a change. We're feeling replenished on that front anyways, having spent a few days in slightly warmer Roman climes, enjoying some ancient history (can't really avoid it) and tasty local produce (ditto), which was very much apprciated indeed.

Speaking of changing seasons, Daylight Saving has come into effect for some folks today, so if that's you, watch out when setting your tune-in alarms for the next couple of weeks, mkay?

Last Sunday we had @JimMcCauley in the chair, delivering a quality obscurity in the shape of Dr Calculus' "Designer Beatnik" from 1986, which certainly got the assembled grooving and scratching their heads simultaneously, which is quite an achievement. Thanks to Jim for the pick, and for sailing the frisb over to @ogili, who's here with today's intro...

"Not going to lie, I only discovered this artist, and album a couple of days ago.  

Which is good, because I really wanted to pick something from what’s known as ‘UK Underground’. A  left field, experimental, British take on Urban music starting to strut its way into the global overground, again proving that it takes everything being a bit shit for British youth to make great music.  I've been amused by the thick scouse drawl and scally swagger over minimal, brutalist, synthscapes of EsDeeKid starting to take off in America, a country which collectively can’t cope with a British accent which isn’t bone-china posh or gor-blimey cock-er-ney.  Warmed to Dexter In the Newsagent’s recent ‘girl in her bedroom with a guitar’ style alt-R&B mixtape which deals with the death of her father and the anxiety of youth rather than the genre’s normal champagne sheen. Heard great things about ‘Black British Music’ by Jim Legxacy.  But Esdeekid’s album is only 20 minutes long, Dexter In The Newsagent’s mixtape isn’t available to buy digitally yet, and ‘Black British Music’ is still on my ‘must get round to listen to this’ list. 

Having said that, I’m not sure this is technically ‘‘UK Underground’ but it’s definitely British, laid back and experimental, jazz hop. 

So get some respite from the shitstorm engulfing the world with this theatrical concept album released late last year. A story about coming to terms with being lost which weaves though lush jazzy soundscapes by the self-styled Prince of Cats, Lord of The Bins. His first release after a hiatus of 7 years after a very well received concept e.p/mini-album.

You want drinks suggestions?  A saucer of warm milk infused with catnip and/or indica, Redstripe, or even a small glass of something from a bottle labeled ‘drink me’, would pair well."

Right then, download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT, regardless of what timezone you find yourself in today.

The Listening Club - 1st March 2026

Greetings folks, hope you're doing okay - pinch and a punch of deja vu and all that. 

28-day months are weird. Glad there's only one of them. We need that bit of off-centre in our calendar, imho, just to keep us alert. Anyway, it's been another soggy week in Amsterdam, what a surprise, but the temperature is going up, so there's that, meaning hype cat's mood is improving by the day as he gets more quality mousing in, and we've got a last minute skip out of the country planned for a few days that will hopefully remain dry and warm, so can't really complain too much, really. 

Also not complaining about last week's mighty fine #CatsAndDogsVortex, which seemed pretty evenly split between canine/feline subject matter and weather-related topics. So thanks to everyone for chipping in tunes and @akx for the fine mixdown. Back to regular programming, we find @JimMcCauley with the frisb and this to say by way of introduction to tonight's pick....

"I didn't read the NME or Melody Maker or even Sounds as a teenager. When I did bother with the music press it was Smash Hits, during its imperial 1980s phase. The fact that it was on the whole marketed at teenage girls is an irony that's not lost on me but hey, I just loved its whole vibe, although I quickly learned that it wasn't something to be seen reading at boys' rugby-and-cadets grammar school.

So, one of my top social follows these days is Rob Manuel's excellent Random Smash Hits bot, which serves up a random page every hour or so complete with a link to the entire issue on the Internet Archive. And it was thanks to one of these issues that I happened upon tonight's album a couple of weeks ago.

Basically there was an interview with one of those second division pop stars who persisted while never making much impact; like, I knew the name but none of his songs. So I looked him up on Wikipedia and found mention of an album that seemed very much up my street, the selling point to me that it was described as an inspiration for one of my favourite albums of all time.

A collaboration with a trombonist who'd quit a briefly popular band after getting sick of playing their big hit song, this album was made in response to discovering a London nightclub where people were taking drugs and dancing all night to crazy electronic music. The morning after one trip to this club, the two of them decided they were going to do something about it, and this is the result.

It died on its arse. At least two years ahead of its time but sounding very much of its time in terms of instrumentation, it's an anachronistic, experimental pop curio created for a scene that didn't really exist when it was released. Naturally it's right up my street; enjoy!"

Right then. Download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 later today.

The Listening Club - 22nd February 2026

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing okay. Amsterdam's still doing the grey and wet thing, but hype cat has been acting more than a little twitchy over the last few days, which is always an indication that a seasonal change is on the horizon. Weather forecast indicates a freak jump into the mid-teens next week, which could mean a rare February stooping session, or at the very least a little early spring cleaning and pruning around the outside of the homestead. Exciting stuff, eh? 

Last Sunday saw @Saucer in the chair, hitting a ton of genres simultaneously with his pick of the second half of Hen Ogledd's "Free Humans", which seemed to go down very well indeed. Thanks to Mr.S for the pick, and for sailing the frisb over to @JimMcCauley, who has an extra week to ponder because...

...yep it's end of the month, and considering the aforementioned grey and wet, a #CatsAndDogsVortex was agreed, not just acknowledging the state of the weather, but also celebrating our furry companions, and possibly also making referrence to their propensity for scrapping with one another. Plenty of options for folks to get their teeth into, so let's see what @akx has made of the combined selections...

Direct download's here (right-click save-as) alt google link here, and the stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT later today...

The Listening Club - 15th February 2026

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing okay. Back in Amsterdam again, which means no more rolling hills, draught ale or decent pies, but the weather remains resolutely grey and wet. Hoping for one of those groundhog-defying early spring bursts; could really do with it right now, for sure.

Reminder that it's nearly last Sunday of the month already (gosh), which means we'll be #vortexin' in a week's time, so please bring forth your theme suggestions tonight, and shout them out, many thanks in advance!

Last Sunday saw @spiny in the chair, getting seriously boisterous with his pick of Two Day Rule's "When You're Ready" from 2001, which got the assembled bouncing around quite successfully. Thanks to Mr. S for the pick and for throwing the frisb over to another Mr. S, @saucer, who's here with today's intro...

"You can experience a band's works as concoctions and tease out sound ingredients and label them variously as recognizable or new. That can be fun. 

And then maybe you realize you're thinking too much about what you're hearing.

Either way, this band. Their delicious song recipes include elements surprising and familiar, playful and sardonic. Fun to disentangle or to step back and experience ensemble.

I first heard their name just days ago, reading the reviews section in an issue of The Wire, seeking out a treat for LC tonight. And you know what? I'd love to be playing you their 2026 album but it comes out later this week... dang it.

Maybe you haven't heard this evening's pick. It's from their very eclectic back catalog. It's their poppiest and maybe most playful, combining nods to '70s British prog, Afrofuturist funk, Broadway musicals, Chiptune, Cosmische, and so on. Hope you enjoy at least bits of the mishmash!"

Right then. Download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT later today.

The Listening Club - 8th February 2026

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing okay. Not much change for me since last week, still surveying the Kentish landscape, still mostly wet and grey, making the most of the environment with the aid of some decent dark beer and a tasty pie here and there, as you'd expect - some things the English still do better than most, thank the gods...

Last Sunday we had @eryngium in the chair, getting dark and mysterious with their pick of "Veils of Winter" by Blackwater Holylight, which seemed to hit the spot with quite a few of the assembled posse.Thanks to Eryn for the pick and for sailing the frisb over to @spiny, who's right here with today's intro...

"Welcome fellow listeners to this weeks pick from me.

This is my second time doing a pick, and its harder than it looks isn't it! I want to pick something that might be new to you guys, but not so obscure that its not interesting. Hopefully this is somewhere in the middle. From the early 2000s, a band local to me who had a big live following but never quite made it, as if often the way. Apologies if the sound quality isn't that great, it just sounds like that on the cd :)

Also, this is a short one, but punchy. Enjoy!"

Right then, download's here, stream's below:

Hope to see you 20:00 GMT later today.

The Listening Club - 1st February 2026

Greetings folks, pinch and a punch and all that...

Hope you're all doing okay. Typing this out with a twilight view of rolling Kentish hills, which is now a considerable novelty for m'self as the Netherlands, as u kno, are very flat indeed. Notwithstanding the change in geology and geography, the weather has been pretty similar to Amsterdam: cold and wet, sigh. Plus ça change, and all that, eh?

Last Sunday saw us celebrating a new branch of the sexageneray cycle with a #FireHorseVortex, which saw an excellently wide-ranging run of equine selections. Thanks to everyone for chipping in tunes, and to @JimMcCauley for the excellent audio corral-work.

Looking back we find @eryngium with the frisb, and this to say by way of introduction to today's pick...

"My part of the world has been crushed under a snow and ice storm for the last week, and after being stuck indoors hiding from the cold, I picked an album that makes me feel like I’m wrapping myself in a warm weighted blanket. Settle in to your comfortable chair for this one. Today also marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox in the Northern hemisphere, which I think ties in rather nicely with the seasonally appropriate title of this album."

Right then, download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT.

The Listening Club - 25th January 2026

Hey folks,

Hope you're all doing okay. Another mixed bag of winter activity here in Amsterdam, not too much of anything though, which is okay by me. Will be experiencing a slightly different slice of the season for the next few weeks as I'm heading back to the UK to take care of some family matters, for the sake of my travel plans I hope the weather keeps on just as it is, to be honest...

Last Sunday saw @SimonLandmine delivering a selection of English eletropop in the shape of "Live From Loud Valley" by Spray, which went down pretty well with most folks, as noted - thanks to Simon for the pick and for sailing the frisb across to @eryngium, who has an extra week because...

...yep, end of month means #vortex, and this time i'd been decided that we turn to the calendar for a celebratory forward-looking #FireHorseVortex. Thanks to everyone who chipped in a tune or two, and to @JimMcCauley for doin the mixin... download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT later today.