The Listening Club - 27th December 2015

Happy Vortex everyone!

It's the most won-der-ful time of the year! Fridge is full of tasty leftovers, there's a pile of random booze to process, a stack of new presents to play with, friends to visit, and New Year's is on the horizon.... but nothing seems to be happening except "The Great Escape" on BBC2 in perpetuum; we're deep in the quantum state of the holiday season, the existential conundrum in the midst of wonderland, the #festivevortex.

(Last week, lest we forget, @wojsvenwoj was in the chair and brought the year's regular picks to a close with Dutch Uncles' "O Shudder",   which was appreciated by some, and 80s Bingo-d to death by others. A brave and fine pick nonetheless, many thanks to them for that, and flipping the frisbee across to @andershanson for next week but first...)

Yeah. #festivevortex. Tunes of 2015 times twenty-three according to the #lc. Boffo. Let's have it.

Direct download here, hearthis stream:



See you at 8pm GMT. Bring a bottle.

The Listening Club - 20th December 2015

Festive greetings folks!

Hope you're all doing well, and however you choose to celebrate this chunk of the calendar, wishing you all a most complementary, peaceful time! Here in AMS it's the first Xmas in the new abode, so lights are twinkling and the freshly-installed tree is looking mighty fine, if somewhat groaning under the weight of lights and ornaments...

Reminder that next Sunday is #festivevortex, so we need one or two of your favourite tunes from 2015 to shuffle up and serve with much alcohol and bonhomie next week - get 'em in as soon as you can please!

Last week @saucer was in the chair, and plumped for left-field French lo-fi goodness courtesy of "The Cult Of Less" by Lispector, which went down rather well indeed. Many thanks to him for the pick, and for sailing the frisbee across to @wojsvenwoj, who is here with a fine way to end the year's selections...

"Aside from to-do lists, I can't make a list to save my life. Especially ordered ones, such as those best-albums-of-the-year lists that multiply and spread across the land as the new year approaches. I have a hard enough time quantifying what I like about a song or an album, never mind comparing and contrasting albums released during one revolution around the sun and sorting them in a way which reflects which ones I think I like best at that time. 

However, I appreciate and respect the people who can - or at least make the effort to try - as those lists are an excellent source to find releases I missed over the year. 

So, for this week's Listening Club, I went looking through the Top Ten album lists looking for something I had missed entirely, a band and album I was unfamiliar with. A look through the lists from music magazines was surprisingly dull and similar and while I was tempted to pick Kendrick Lamar's record just because I haven't heard it, he didn't met the unknown artist criteria. So I turned to the bloggers and came across a list which emphatically placed this selection at its top. The band's name may have flashed across my consciousness during 2015 but it did not leave an impression. The description of the album sounded interesting so here it is: a record I have not heard, that may or may not be well-known, that may or may not suck, that I will be listening to for the first time today."

Righty-ho. Direct download is here, and the hearthis stream is...

Hope to see you at 8pm!

The Listening Club - 13th December 2015

Greetings all,

Hope you're all fine - feeling rather good here as last week's holiday mode evolves into festive mode, aka more opportunities for fun, food and alcohol. It all seems to have worked out rather nicely for a change... Also worth throwing out advance notice for the holiest of holys, yea the 2015 #festivevortex, which will take place 8pm GMT on Sunday 27th December. As always, from each of you i need a couple (pls no more than 2) of your favourite tunes that came into existence during this year, for playback and combined merriment. If you can get them in early, it would also be very much appreciated, naturally...

Last week @rougeforever was in the chair, treating us to (probably) her favourite album of the year, Sufjan Steven's "Carrie And Lowell", which was rather fine. Many thanks to her for the pick, and for flipping the frisbee across to the newly-returned @saucer, who is here with the intro...

"Freshly home (in California) from my unjustifiable-except, you-know, yolo, trip to Doha and London, jet lag in full force. Had a fabulous time (including two! listening club evenings hosted by @emmaprice), bridged back into real life with @rougeforever's frisbee toss (and yes, dear NSA, I did declare the frisbee on my landing card).

It was chilly, windy, & rainy in London. We're closing in on the end of 2015, a year that has made me value (more sharply and vividly) simple things that are dangerous to take for granted, among them friendship, caring, safety, & sanity. This year I've also learned something about the difference between fear and danger, and this evening's album is all about fitting this (complex but maybe elemental) mood.

In technical terms we have a short, lo-fi, minimalist, romantic set, from a relatively obscure artist whom I cannot recall how I discovered.

Be warm, and enjoy."

Righty-ho. Direct Download is here and the HearThis stream is....



See you at 8pm GMT!

The Listening Club - 6th December 2015

Greetings all,

Yep, we're back from the beach trough, looking rather brown and slightly plumper as you'd expect. A very enjoyable week's diversion from the cold and dark for sure, although the severe paucity of quality musical entertainment during that time has left me well in need of some good old home cooked #lc fare...

Last week @JimMcCauley was man run tings, and presided over the #EspritD'EscalierVortex, which sounded all the shades of random that one would have expected. Thanks to Jim for taking care of business, and everyone for chipping in a track or two. Back on normal schedule this week, and therefore @rougeforever is due here any second with this week's introduction...

"We're away for the weekend in Yorkshire. At this time of year it's customary to look back on the year, think about highlights and lowlights and for a lot of us, that means thinking about the soundtrack that accompanied those memories. For me that means driving through New England to the sound of Fallout Boy on the radio, sitting on delayed trains to the sound of Father John Misty and wanting to dance to Taylor Swift whenever she appeared on the telly. It meant putting this Listeningclub pick on my headphones and trying to hide the tears when I listened to the words. Make no mistake - this album is a weepie.   It's about death and mourning, about that time when you're so deeply deeply sad that you don't think you're ever going to crawl out and feel normal again. It's about looking for redemption, and how sometimes it's the little things that keep us going when we don't feel we can. Truly, something for everyone. With just under three weeks to go, I think it's my album of 2015. 

We were lucky enough to see this album toured this year. Only one date, but that show went straight into my top 3 shows EVER.  

If you like this artist or their ilk you will have heard this already. I'm afraid a lot of you won't enjoy this record, but them's the breaks. You can pick next week, and treat us all to some overblown proggy nonsense which will make me want to tear my ears off. Gotta love listeningclub.  

I do hope though, you'll find something to like about this record. Even if it's just the lyric about wanking."

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is...


Hope to see you at 8pm GMT!

The Listening Club - 29th November 2015

Evening, all! @JimMcCauley at your service, what with @kleptones (and of course @nessiest) being away on some sort of Club 18-30 holiday complete with sun, sea and shit hotel wifi. It's a miserable day here in Bath, but I'm taking comfort in the fact that it's doubtless worse for everyone who's swarmed into the city to brave the horrors of the annual Christmas Market.

Last week @samsmitter stepped up to the decks and spun us a good 'un in the form of Christine Perfect, the debut solo album from the artiste latterly known as Christine McVie, and some splendid Sunday evening listening to boot. Thanks to Sam for the pick, and for tossing the frisbee in the direction of @rougeforever.

Before we get on to tonight's entertainment, here's your four-week warning for the impending 2015 #FestiveVortex. It's the original and best Vortex, made up of all our favourite tunes released over the past year, so start making your shortlist and check it at least twice.

But now, is it the #IMissedThatVortex or is it the #EspritdEscalierVortex? I'm calling it; it's the #EspritdEscalierVortex, an hour or so of tunes that you would have submitted for previous vortices if you'd only thought of them in time. It's a thoroughly random selection as you might expect, but it all seems to have fitted together rather well, so thanks to everyone's who's chipped in a song or two.

The download's here, and here's the HearThis stream:


See you at 8pm GMT!

The Listening Club - 22nd November 2015

Hey all,

22nd already? Jeepers, how time flies. Bloody fine week here tho, despite shitty weather, some awesome gigs now stored in the memory banks from Zu, John Grant & Brad Mehldau. Three very different shades of excellence, but wow and gosh is really all I can say. Sure makes the crappy parts of life bearable when there's such wonders to be witnessed...

Speaking of such wonders, next week is (1) #vortex week and (2) me on holiday. Still looking for a subject for (1) and a deputy for (2). Let's have a chat later about it, eh?

Last week, @JonnyDaPigg was in the chair and reflected the mood rather well with his pick of The Beatles "Love" soundtrack album. Big thanks to him for the selection, and for flipping the frisbee down to @SamSmitter, who is here with this week's pre-match....

"This album comes into the well-established Listening Club category of “lesser known solo album by someone from a famous band”. 

Although I have nothing against them I’m not particularly a fan of the band in question, but this record reflects their roots and inspiration rather than their better-known material. It has some fine playing from the musicians, a charming (if technically limited) singing voice, a combination of original songs and classic covers, and some pleasingly simple/clunky production as was common at the time. It has a coherent sound and vibe of its own, which I always like in an album. As these mp3s are ripped from vinyl I have provided audible crackles for extra authenticity and atmosphere. 

The album disappeared for a while after its initial release, to be re-released once the artist’s profile had become bigger, and so apparently acquired “legendary” or cult status while it was missing from record shops. I’m hoping it will be new to most people, and hope it slots nicely into your Sunday evening/morning/daytime. 

Cheers! Sam"

Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is...


See you at 8pm GMT!

The Listening Club - 15th November 2015

Greetings all,

Hope you're well and good. An expectedly muted intro this week, Friday's events casting a dark shade on any attempt at chirpiness. That said, it's very sad to see high-profile artists immediately cancelling shows both in France and neighbouring countries in the aftermath. Although indeed security would be of a much heightened concern, if ever there was a time to show that life, and concerts, go on, now is that time. And it's certainly not the "first direct hit on music", Bono you ass - as the fleeing survivors of martial musical censorship in Mali, Senegal and Pakistan among many other places will testify. Big up, surprisingly, to Madonna, for being the first of those high-profile folks to speak a little common sense for once. On we go...

Last week on Planet #LC @akx was in a curveball mood, throwing out a serious dose of multicultural pop in the shape of Katzenjammer's "Le Pop", which hit the spot for quite a few of you. Many thanks to Aarni for the pick and for flipping the frisbee across to @JonnyDaPigg, who is here with his intro...

"I thought I had my pick for this week narrowed down to 3 choices, had the blurb all ready then Friday evening happened. Suddenly didn't feel right. I thought about using one of my French albums in tribute, top of the list was the soundtrack to La Haine a brilliant film I'd been introduced to by my French housemates whilst at uni. Looking at my Facebook and Twitter timeline it seemed an apt title, only it didn't. In fact it was the opposite of what I wanted. So my pick was really simple after that. It's an album full of songs you will all know. It's not a hidden gem, it's fucking obvious. It's an album we can all switch off to and enjoy (I hope). It's one of those remastered and reworked albums that actually is remastered and reworked, not just a little extra gain to add some loudness *cough, definitely, maybe, cough*. There is so much to hear within this, some Chemical Brothers and an M&S advert to name two, I may just stick the headphones on relax and float down stream.

Enjoy."

Reety-ho. Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is...


See you at 8pm GMT!

The Listening Club - 8th November 2015

Evening all...

Or morning, or whatever. Hope you're getting on and by anyway. Mildness in the air here, which is nice, not quite reached the level of multi-layered swaddling yet, gig wise only a below-par performance from Jaga Jazzist to report (sound engineer having an off night? band in a grumpy mood? bit of both? who knows... - Support act Elephant9 were well on form tho, so not all lost)... this week there's shows from Zu and St.Germain to look forward to, both of which should be grand, I hope.

Quick note to say I'll be away from these environs on Sunday 29th November on a lil' holiday, so if anyone cares to help out by heming the old ship #LC, on a vortex Sunday too, please let me know...

Last week Hull's finest @DaveW took his debut turn in the chair, and smashed it to smithereens with his choice of Crass's "Stations Of The Crass" from 1979. Thanks to Dave for the pick, and for flipping the frisbee across to Finland, where @akx is ready with his intro...


"Hi hi hi and hugs from an increasingly cold and dark Finland!

So my first instinct, upon catching the frisbee from @DaveW, was to post an album I'd recently purchased, but hemmed and hawed about it and decided not to, after all.

So, instead, I looked through my Last.fm profile for an alternative, and here's an album I had to actually travel abroad to actually buy (seven years ago, huh...) after a friend linked me the MP3s.

The band's style is rather unique, and I'm pretty sure those of you who have heard them before will recognize who this is. Those who haven't . . . well, I guess it might be pretty polarizing. We'll see! Here goes!

PS. For those who do download the .zip, no, those are not the real track/album/artist names. They're anagrams of them, though.

PPS. This isn't a very long album, so your #drinkingclub libations needn't last for more than 40 minutes."

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is....



See you at 8PM GMT!

The Listening Club - 1st November 2015

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all fine and dealing with your halloween-induced sugar-enhanced hangovers, if you're that way inclined. Not so fussed about it personally, although it did tickle me to see some rather gruesomely dressed and made-up sights trundling back and forth on their bikes last night - a two-wheeled zombie apocalypse? Only in Amsterdam...

Last week we were stretching our perceptions in a very different way with the #surrealvortex, which was really rather excellent fun indeed - many thanks to you all for the selections and the ormolu.

Back in regularly-scheduled-programming land, we find @DaveW clutching his debut frisbee, so here he is with the pre-match...

"When Eric tossed the frisbee in my direction I've got to say my instinct was to hide under the duvet and pretend it hadn't happened. I've been lurking around here for a while, had my mind blown by a few of the choices, opened up to some new music and, ahem, don't want to let you all down!

After much umming and aahing, headshaking and telling some real world friends what a mess I'd got myself into, I started pondering why my shelves and hard drives are cluttered with such a jumble. And I thought back to 14-year-old me, in the playground of a horrendously violent all-male school.

1979. We didn't know who we were. Mates that wore brand new Harrington jackets were unfathomably listening to new wave of British heavy metal, punks flirting with hair stiffening products seemed to be clutching Two Tone releases, kids in denim were humming songs from The Jam's Setting Sons. Addled by a diet of solvents and diet pills, we were a mixed up bunch, all swapping vinyl because none of us could make up our minds who we were.

Which is how I came to this album. A friend of mine was telling me how it was better than everything else the genre had to offer and the next thing I knew I was taking it home on the bus, marvelling at the crazy, DIY nature of the stencil-laden and collage-a-go-go cover, and couldn't wait to drop it on to my low-rent Fidelity record player.

What I discovered is what I hope you'll be down with. A jaw-dropping, intelligent racket, if ever there was one. A wall of sound, grating guitars, stolen bits of audio, a healthy dose of profanity, plenty of politics and some excellent humour. It was an antidote to everything else around at the time and, dare I say it, was a damn sight more 'authentic' than pretty much everything I'd listened to up to that date (and most things since).

It's long. In its vinyl form it's a double album (although three sides played at 45rpm). And the last 30 minutes give you a chance to here the raw nature of the band playing live. Although you might have given up on it by then.

Not sure what you'll make of it. I might be asked to leave after this. But I hope you're able to appreciate something that I continue to play. It means something. As all of the choices on here do. Enjoy, if you can."

Righty ho. Fidelity-owners club represent! Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is...

The Listening Club - 25th October 2015

Hey everyone,

Hope all is fine with y'all. A hum-ho week here, grey skies and small spots of illness here and there, punctuated happily by Sleaford Mods distributing their usual brand of damage on Friday night. Plenty of time for film-watching, tune noodling and planning excursions, so no complaints from me...

Speaking of which, last week it was, hey!, me @kleptones in the chair, in that alternate reality I spoke of, with the soundtrack to a gig that never happened, aka The KLF's "Live From The Lost Continent". No idea who did the work involved in mixing that one, but I'm sure they're feeling rather pleased with themselves. Kudos to @DaveW too, who grabbed the frisbee and will be here next week with his debut pick...

But now, yea verily it's vortex time, and a #surrealvortex has been decided. But what does that mean? Well, here's 22 mighty different ways of slicing that particular conceptual cake....

Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is....



Clocks have gone back in Europe, which you'll either know or not, so we're back on GMT, 8 of the clock (must change those banners). See you in a bit!

The Listening Club - 18th October 2015

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all fine and dandy. Amsterdam is currently thronged with music types as the annual Dance Event takes over the entire city. Sadly the weather has been rather crappy, so the temptation to go out and about and see what free entertainment can be blagged has been seriously dampened. Still managed to trek out through the squelch into a nearby forest on Thursday (quite literally in the case of part of the return journey, glad I had a torch and a personal sat-nav), to see Robert Fripp play in a remote house with his hundred-strong Symphony of Crafty Guitarists. With barely 70-80 people watching (no room for more) it was quite the intimate affair. I'm still buzzing from the experience...

A reminder that it's #vortex time again next week, so looking for thematic suggestions - the last two #sleepyvortex and #wakeupvortex were both mighty fine indeed, so get thinking and we'll discuss it later this evening....

Last week, @emmaprice was in the chair, and treated us all to the sounds of Misty's Big Adventure and their "Funny Times" album, which produced a bit of marmite-ism amongst the assembled - some fell for it considerably, others not so much, but as always, very welcome - thanks to Emma for the pick and for flipping the frisbee across to myself, guess I deserved it. So let's get all italic and break out the heavy duty hyperbole...

"Must say, this one is proving quite tricky to introduce without revealing too much. 

It's certainly not an album, that I can be sure of. Maybe it could be considered an unexpected historical revisionary recreation, or possibly an intercepted archival transmission from a parallel universe of an event never to be realised within this one, an experience of magnanimous proportions, a true gathering of the tribes, a bootleg recording of the soundtrack to a cataclysmic electronic ritual, an incantation intended to blast open the minds of a generation, the culmination of several years intense preparation and observance, resulting in a gigantic celebratory occasion the likes of which had never been seen before, and maybe never would again. One thing is for sure - if this is what it sounded like, who knows what such a spectacle may have actually looked like, or what it must have felt to experience it. Sadly, this is the closest we will ever get... the rest lies between you and your imagination.

To those already initiated there will hopefully be much surprise and rejoicing. To those completely unfamiliar, take a deep breath and hold on tight.

#DrinkingClub = Nectar Of The Gods or failing that, Tennant's Super."

Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is....

See you at 8pm! (BST +1)

The Listening Club - 11th October 2015

Hey folks,

Hope all is fine with you - not bad here in A-dam, a late delivery of sun making for an enjoyably bright early autumn, meanwhile the evenings have included taking in two mighty fine vocal performances, courtesy of Public Image Ltd and Blackalicious - both prime examples of astonishing vocal talent, and the accompanying music was none too shabby either... cracking sets both.

Last week in #LC land, @JimMcCauley was in the chair, and rocked the fuck out of everyone, early-70s Brummie style with his pick of "Slade Alive" - A righteously rocking sound indeed. Many thanks to Jim for the pick, and for sailing the frisbee across to @EmmaPrice, who's here with this week's intro...

"Greetings fellow Listening Clubbers

I've been wanting to share this album with you all for a while so have neatly avoided the notorious frisbee angst.

Have you ever met someone and instantly known they're a musical soul mate? Someone to talk about music into the night with, to go to gigs with and share mixtapes with because you can't wait to hear what they think of the music that makes you tick.

Like Listening Club really, you never know quite what you're going to be introduced to next.

This is a truly bizarre and glorious band I discovered in such a way. They never fail to make me smile and to unleash the chair dancing. 

Drinking club recommendation is cold cider, a marquee in a field and lots of bunting."

Okidoke - Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is...


See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)...

The Listening Club - 4th October 2015

Hey everyone!

#ListeningClub this week is on location, coming to you live and direct from my mum's house in Kent, where I've been doing the usual mix of odd jobs and IT support as you'd expect. Also taking time to grab a few choice English delicacies to bring back (lime marmalade and pickled onions, since you ask), enjoy some late summer sunshine with a few pints of bitter and a roast dinner, and celebrate the Amsterdam Glastonbury ticket squad's excellent performance this morning sorting out festival tickets for a whole bunch of people. A quite respectable day all round indeed.

Last week we woke up the town with the #wakeupvortex (not actual pope album pictured, obv), a rather spectacular selection of rise-and-shine anthems and then some. Thanks to all for the picks, track list is in the comments of last week's post if you missed it!

Back to regularly scheduled programming, @JimMcCauley was left clutching the frisbee, so here he is with this week's intro...

"Picking tonight's mystery LP was a piece of cake. Figuring out what to write about it isn't so easy. The problem is that the band in question is – to the UK contingent at least – instantly recognisable. You'd be hard pushed to find anyone in this country who doesn't know at least one of their songs pretty much off by heart. So it's difficult to say too much about them without giving the game away.

The thing is though, I've known all the hit singles for years, but beyond that I've never had a clue, so recently I've been acquainting myself with their albums and I think this is the one that stands out. It's a live album, recorded on a shoestring budget just after they'd begun to have a bit of success in the singles chart. Up until then they'd made a living on the road but not managed to sell many records; this was the album that turned things around.

It's big and loud, top-heavy with covers and all over just a little too quickly (which should please everyone who wants to watch This is England '90 at 9pm), but it's one of the great live albums, capturing the energy of a tight live act who've hit their stride and are about ready to take up residency on Top of the Pops, and it really makes me wish I'd been around to see them back then."

Alright! Direct download is here, and the new old HearThis stream is below:


See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1) !!!

The Listening Club - 27th September 2015

Hi folks,

Hope all is fine with y'all - Gentle weekend here, following a three day gig run as previously mentioned (all excellent too), the snotty cold doing the rounds here that has previously been kept at bay has finally taken a bit of a hold, so both myself and @nessiest are tucking ourselves up all cozy like and sipping a warming toddy. Soon will be well again tho, and no shortage of things to do with a vortex to keep me occupied during the meanwhilst...

Last week, the aforementioned @nessiest was back in the chair, and pulled out quite the modern classic (biased? moi?) in the shape of Cornelius's "Point", which was received very warmly indeed by the assembled. Thanks to Vanessa for the pick and for sailing the frisbee across to @JimMcCauley for next week's selection.

But first, the counterpoint to last month's #sleepyvortex, yep, it's the #wakeupvortex! A selection of fine morning selections from you all - going to be hard to get to sleep after this lot, I'm telling you...

Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is here:


See you at 8pm (GMT+1) for a wake up call!

The Listening Club - 20th September 2015

Greetings folks,

Hope you're doing fine and dandy, whatever you're up to - the drift into Autumn continues here in A-dam, which really just means the rain is getting slightly colder, however my body has definitely clocked the season change, putting the old nasal mucous membrane into production duty and starting the yearning for warming pots of stew, chilli and curry, not to forget the delicious local range of seasonal bock beers. However, already feeling rather musically nourished following a 6 hour Mr Scruff set on Friday might that touched pretty much all the possible bases, including a full 16 minute drop of this when he needed to pop off to the little DJs room. Very impressive stuff, as always. This week there's Hugh Cornwell, King Crimson and Demdike Stare to look forward to, so join me in saying Yay to the Autumn touring times!

And Lo, it's #vortex time again next week folks too, after the #sleepyvortex are we having a #wakeupvortex ? Let me know on the tweets, please....

Last week @NeilPBardhan was in the #LC chair and hit a huge home run with his pick of "Granada Doaba" from Gnawledge, a very impressive blend of cultures and beats indeed, and one that received a pretty much universal thumbs-up from the assembled. Many thanks to Neil for the pick and for sailing the frisbee back across to @nessiest, who's here with this week's intro...

"My listening club dilemma is often “how do I find something none of you will know, that’s still worth taking up your evening for”? Tonight I finally let that one go – I suspect more than a couple of you will know this album and the artist, and you know what? I would love to listen to this album with you guys so much. If it can’t be with you in the room, then at least we can listen to it together. I was going to go for a recent release by someone else but flipped to this because hopefully even if you do know it, you may not have listened to it in a little while.

This is a playful gem of an album, focused, precise, but never cold and remarkably cohesive. It balances sweeping grooves with songs veering off into the horizon. Less is more sums up this album nicely and the result is a lyrical dream. (Yes I used all the adjectives.)

It’s not unrelated to a recent-ish pick by another listeningclubber, but definitely not the same. I like the idea of our choices being part of a longer dialogue though.

Reminder: shuffles off, folks – this story needs to be told in order."

Yeehaw. Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is here!

See you at 8pm (BST+1)

The Listening Club - 13th September 2015

Hey there,

Hope you're all doing fine - all is gentle here at Kleptone Towers following a rather rambunctious Saturday session at Magneet Festival, which is kind of like a forgotten corner of Glastonbury or Burning Man relocated to a sandbank on the north east coast of Amsterdam. Much lunacy, bizarre music, happy people and tasty beer, and now the inevitable hangover. Well worth it tho... one of the best fests in the city for sure.

Last week in these here environs, @cdrose_writer was in the chair, and chose to celebrate Mancunian culture with his pick of Lonelady's 'Hinterland' which was rather warmly received by the assembled. Thanks to Chris for the pick and for flipping the frisbee across to @neilpbardhan who's here with this week's intro...

"My oldest friend tipped me off to this album in the summer of 2009. It got some national (American) attention at the time, which pleased my friend: it's a project by some of his college friends who'd gotten Fulbrights to Spain to put together this record with influences from several continents' worth of traditions. In time, they formed a collective to put out more records like this. I lost track of them by and large, but this album keeps coming back for me as that "just so" feeling and sound. I nod my head. I sway. I write. I think a lot about their inspirations for these combinations. It's about mixes and meetings, collaborations and conquests, beats and breaths.

And if you're reading this while listening to the first track and thinking "What are you talking about, combinations?", just wait until you hit the second. Enjoy!"

Okaydoke - direct download is here, and the hearthis stream is here

See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)!

The Listening Club - 6th September 2015

Hey all,

"September already? Can't believe it" etc. Feeling short changed over the summer for sure, but still, indoor fun doth beckon with a satisfactorily full calendar of gigs to attend over the next few months, kicked off on Friday with a rare visit to these shores from John Cooper Clarke, and mighty fine he was too....

Over in #LC land we all donned jim-jams last Sunday for the #sleepyvortex, although looking at the tracklist a fair chunk of it was rather a non-sleeping vortex - make of that what you will... a fine selection of picks though, thanks to all who chipped in. Are we doing a #wakeywakeyvortex next time then?

Back to regular programming, @cdrose_writer was left holding the frisbee, and here he is with this week's intro...

"Instead of lazing by a poolside with a margarita and a trashy paperback in hand, I spent much of this summer rekindling an ongoing on/off love affair with my hometown, the great city of Manchester.  (Yeah, it’s on again.)

Aside from Vimto, Corrie, the splitting of the atom, the invention of graphene, Eccles Cakes and the Manchester Egg, I am sure that most of you will know this great city as the home of one or two well-known bands.  Given this heritage I was tempted to choose something Manc for your ears this evening.  You’ll probably be pleased to know I skipped over Northside and even Frank Sidebottom when considering my choice (though the latter was a sore temptation), and wouldn’t have gone for anything as obvious as Unknown Pleasures or Slaughter and the Dogs’ Do It Dog Style. 

I didn’t want the evening to descend into the endless debate about which the best Fall album is (though it’s Bend Sinister btw), there are too many Durutti Column lps to even think about and – sadly – A Certain Ratio recorded many great tracks, but never made a great album.

And then I realised I was being far too nostalgic.  Manchester – I was surprised to find - is still a town where a fair number of men of a certain age (about my age, tbh), still wander around with that haircut, desert boots and designer cagoules, telling each other that things are 'sorted,' and a place where several pubs seem to have Madchester’s 20 Greatest Hits stuck on a loop.  I wanted none of that, so have gone for a record from earlier this year, a record that looks back to the city’s industrial past and forward to its post-Industrial future.  It’s a record that could be from lots of places, yet remains very Manc."

Reety-ho. Direct download is here, and as mixcloud has taken this down before I even finish typing out the blurb, it's time to try something new, let me know how it goes for you... so you'll find the stream on HearThis!


See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)!

The Listening Club - 30th August 2015

Greetings,

Hope you're all doing fine - Happy August Bank Holiday to UK folks also, hope that you're making the most of it already, looks like gloomy weather may well dampen any bonus activities you had planned - Although having said that it's been a glorious day here in Amsterdam, despite rain forecast, so you never know, and it has indeed now reached that point in the North European summer where any additional good weather needs to be celebrated to the fullest wherever possible. It's our duty, it really is...

On planet #lc last week wor @nessiest was in the chair and dared to go for a cherished sound from her homeland in the shape of Fat Freddy's Drop's debut platter "Based On A True Story", which got folks bobbing and chilling in equal measures, so it seemed. Thanks to Ness for the pick, and for flipping the frisbee across to @cdrose_writer, who will be back next week with his pick...

But now, maybe the mellowness of the above had something to do with it, here comes the #sleepyvortex - 19 selections, all pertaining to the head-hitting-pillow section of the day. Will they all send us softly into dreamtime? Only one way to find out...

Direct download is here, and the mixcloud is here!

See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)...

The Listening Club - 23rd August 2015

Hey all,

Sunshine abounds this weekend in Amsterdam, which I'm sure suited everyone bopping at Lowlands festival, the folks lining the Prinsengracht for the annual Grachtenfestival classical concert, and the hundreds of thousands packing out the harbours to see the big-ass ships (as no-one else but me seems to call them). Even though I've been doing none of these things (a slight lie, as we did hear a bit of the music from the classical concert and many a toot from the ship horns), there's still been more than enough frolicking around the quieter areas of the city to declare it a successful weekend. Yes indeedy. Simple pleasures - good company, food, booze etc. Finest kind.

Back in #lc land, you may have noticed that I've started sticking up some "Tune!" of the day links - feel free to DM, post of email a link to a tune if you want to include one - old, new, whatever, lets keep sharing those fine sounds all week long...

Also looking for a #vortex theme for next week, so thinking caps on, tweet yer suggestions please!

Last week @mrhig was in the chair and played well against type with his pick of Fantastic Plastic Machine's "Luxury", which achieved its intention of wrong footing many of the assembled, myself included. Many thanks to Matt for the curve-ball, and for flipping the frisbee across to @nessiest, who is here with the pre-match...

"I listened to a load of new albums that have been on my playlist of late, searching for something new and interesting, goodies to share with the club. 

But. 

You know those albums that form part of the soundtrack to your life? You give copies to friends and know the tunes by heart, go to the band's gigs and shout with the joy of recognition when they bring out one of those old tunes? 

That. 

I am wearing my heart on my sleeve by sharing a dearly loved, well-worn favourite, all the way from my home-town. The desire to share this wee beauty with the discerning ears of the listening club outweighs any fear you'll be bored pantsless by it, as always you'll make up your own minds.

Ten years old and the band's first studio album, it has mellow grooves, blending roots, dub, soul, jazz and funk with the occasional moment of earnest naivete which a biased listener like me finds charming. Self-produced and released on their own label it made the band world famous in New Zealand.

I made @kleptones go to one of their gigs and he's put up with me raving about their talents for the past two years. Now I get to share the love with you guys. 

Substance of choice tip: whatever you like, the mellower the better. Best listened to with no shoes on."

There you go. Direct download is here, and the mixcloud, if we're really bloody lucky, will be here (best download just in case if you can though...)

See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1) !!!

The Listening Club - 16th August 2015

Greetings!

Hope all is fine with yourselves - Standard European summer continues apace here in A-dam, which means, yes, quickly alternating lovely sunshine and torrential storms, although admittedly right now it's betwixt and between the two, keeping us indoors sipping coffee and peering out at soggy tourists who in turn are peering down at soggy maps, wondering where the hell their AirBnB has gone. Par for the course, indeed...

Over on Planet #LC, last week @FaberFedor did his usual head-spinning selection trick, bringing out the bluegrass with selections from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" from 1972. A serious level of hoedowning was achieved for sure. Thanks to Faber for the pick, and for flipping the frisbee back across the atlantic to @mrhig, who's here with this week's intro...

"As the years get further away in the rear view, it's easy to romanticise the decades gone by as more glamorous than they really were to live through at the time. It's only natural sometimes to look at how things are today and reminisce at how much better we had it way back when. 

Gain enough distance from the past though, and eventually a different view begins to open up. How things really were. This is often a lot darker and more horrific than we claimed to remember it. Taking a look in UK news in the last five years at anything about the past would confirm that.

Our artist tonight has a view of the past that is more or less entirely fictional, but that doesn't make it any less valid.

I first came to find this artist when their music was used on a 1990s UK comedy series. I've been a fan ever since. In common with a lot of the music I enjoy, they have a slightly fantasised look at how the past used to be. Those halcyon days when air travel was impossibly glamourous, when the future held nothing but promise, and automation would ensure none of us had dull jobs anymore and could all focus on lofty ideals, and none of us would be lonely or in need of companionship…

We get the future we deserve, not the one we long for.

For a bit of fun, as you listen tonight, attempt to work out where this artist comes from. Your mileage may vary but I think they come across as quite prismatic in their possible nationality. In addition this may be the first example of its particular genre for Listening Club (or it may not - I'm not all-knowing). Enjoy! Luxuriate.

Serving suggestion - something on the rocks, something with a bit of fizz, or maybe a martini. Go louche."

Right then. Direct download is here, and the mixcloud, if they're feeling charitable, will be here.

See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)

The Listening Club - 9th August 2015

Hey all!

Well well, a glorious weekend here in Amsterdam, so with a fine breakfast and bloody mary combo swimming around in my stomach and the sound of Terry Riley's "Rainbow In Curved Air" and Arvo Part's "Cantus In Memory Of Benjamin Britten" floating out of Radio 6 (good work Tom Service), it's time for a bit of tapping before a sitting out and relaxing session in the sunshine. Hoping there's no late disturbances like last week, kudos to @thejayarr for whipping a new treat out of the bag once he discovered his original selection had already been chosen last year by @eastvanhalen. For future reference, the list of albums we've already had is now here (thanks @akx, and ironically @thejayarr for the work) - a quick ctrl-f on that page if you're selecting and think you could be risking a repeat wouldn't go amiss! Also, stat fans, the track selections for the end-of-the-month vortexes are here, may prove handy if you're new and wondering what all this #vortex business is about...

So yes, @thejayarr turned it around in storming speed last week zooming back with "3rd Eye Vision" by Hieroglyphics, which did the job rather nicely indeed. Many thanks to him for the double effort, and for flipping the frisbee across to @faberfedor for this week's selection. And here he comes...

"Hi-de-ho, LC!

While listening to last week's excellent selection by @thejayarr, 
I kept thinking a good counterpoint would be $ALBUM by $BAND. Surprisingly, I don't own a copy of $ALBUM. I went to the local CD store but they didn't have a copy. Seeing how I don't want to encourage Apple's iTunes business, I looked around for an alternative.

I came up with this week's selection.

I find the background to this album to be very interesting. You may or may not. This band was a moderately successful soft country rock band in the early 70's (think early Eagles). They came across a musical tradition (which is the title of the album) which was very non-commercial. Their record company didn't want to do it but the band was adamant ("were adamant" for our Brish friends). They harassed their record company until the record company said "Fine! Here's some money. Go away!"

It became their most popular album and spawned a series of albums in the same vein with similar titles by other artists. Interestingly enough, you never hear anything from the band members themselves as they played as session musicians to the artists you'll be hearing.

During the opening strains, I expect to read a lot of "@faberfedor Are you freaking serious?!" or "I hate this style of music!" Keep listening. These were the best artists of their time in this 
genre. Not the stars. Not the headliners. The best musicians.

See you at 8 PM BST."

Indeedy. Download is here, and the mixcloud (*sacrifices goat*) shalt be here. So mote it be.

The Listening Club - 2nd August 2015

Hey there!

A real fijn day here in A-dam, sitting in the sun out front of the house watching folks trundle past, whilst sipping an elongated bloody mary and mulling over an intense day of fun yesterday at Pride - still the most insane party day of the year; all the lunacy of King's day, but crammed into a much shorter area and time frame. Truly crackers.

Back on planet #lc we vortexed it up last week with the #lastdancevortex / #lasttunevortex, which despite the different interpretations of the theme, flowed together rather nicely I thought - many thanks to everyone for chipping a tune or two into the pot.

This week we're returning to regularly scheduled programming, which means it's over to frisbee-holder @thejayarr for this week's intro...

"Looking back over my previous picks, it's pretty clear that they all fall into the mold of 'white guys with guitars'. With that in mind, I've tried to go for something different this time. Really different. This is hard, unflinching rap which probably won't be to everybody's tastes, and there's a good chance that the people who'll like it will have already heard it anyway (because it's not exactly obscure), but screw it, it's too good to not pick.

This is a record I only came to earlier this year, after track 3 was featured on the closing credits of a TV show, of all places. It's got one of those intros you can't ignore and when I looked it up, it turned out it was by a group that I'd heard of but had never even been tempted to investigate. It's their second album and, along with their début, it hasn't left my phone for months now. Hell, I've listened it to at least five times this week and I'm still not tired of it.

Turn up the volume and enjoy. You can always apologise to the neighbours later."

Well, sadly @thejayarr picked an album we've already had, but has quickly supplied a replacement -
Direct download is here, mixcloud stream (if it survives long enough) is here.

Hope to see you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)

The Listening Club - 26th July 2015

Hey everyone,

Hope you're doing fine - Slow going here in Amsterdam, as a wave of supremely grotty rainstorms batter the lowlands into submission, meanwhile a set of titanic-sized hangovers sit around the house following a highly experimental evening of gin & tonic making. Ouch and oh dear...

Last week in #lc land, @tibieryo was back in the saddle, and pulled one right out of left field with Yamantaka//Sonic Titan's stomping album "YT/ST" (available from Bandcamp here!). Many thanks to Joe for the pick, and for flipping the frisbee across to @thejayarr for next week's pick...

But first, tis #vortex time!, which after a little discussion, allow us to dim the lights for a #lastdancevortex... or is it more of a #lasttunevortex ? Either way, it's the end of the night in club #lc, over and over again... join us to find out what exactly that entails.

Direct download is here, and the mixcloud is here.

See you at 8pm! BST (GMT+1)

The Listening Club - 19th July 2015

Greetings,

Happy Sunday Y'all - Hope you're doing good. Pleased to have the new homestead finally ready for guests here in Amsterdam this weekend, with My Own Mum being the inaugural guest, we'll see if we can tempt her with a little bit of #lc action later... Speaking of which, it's #vortex time again next week: I seem to recall a flurry of possible suggestions for themes over the past couple of weeks, so we'll have a chat about it tonight and decide then, yeh?

Last week @AndersHanson was in the chair, and took, I think, maybe the most daring #lc pick one can take, selecting something by his favourite band Delays, namely their debut album from 2004, "Faded Seaside Glamour" which seemed to go down rather well, I'm sure much to his relief. Many thanks to Anders for going for it, and for flipping back the baton to @tibieryo, who is right here with this week's intro...

"I heard about this band when they were longlisted for the Polaris Prize. I read the band name, and I thought "That's the stupidest fucking band name I have ever read."

I googled them out of sheer morbid curiosity and found their Bandcamp. Their genre was a 27-word paragraph. And I thought, "that is the most useless, pretentious, and self-consciously 'arty' thing I have ever read, and it's dumb."

Figuring it was a Sunday morning and I felt like going further down the rabbit hole cos I had nothing else to do, I pressed play on the first song on their first album. Within minutes, I had a new favourite band.

I make a habit of saying that there has been no progressive, innovative, or "new" music with a guitar as a lead voice since 1980. And very frequently, I have my head up my ass about something.

Here are a band, an album, and a genre of music I had my head up my ass about. The only downside is that their fans don't know how to pogo."

Okidoke. Direct download is here, and, if the gods are willing, come the hour, the mixcloud will still be here.

The Listening Club - 12th July 2015

Hey there,

Good to see you, hope the season is proving complementary to your fine selves and needs. Life goes on here in A-dam sensibly today, tidying, sorting and setting up the spare room for impending family and friends visits, after a rather delicious Friday drinking @nessiest's mighty fine melon & raspberry daiquiris in the sun whilst watching drunk Dutchies negotiate the watery highways, and a rather mellow Saturday dealing with the related hangover thereof. All par very much for the course, as you'd expect. Yay summer!

Back on planet #LC, @eastvanhalen was in the chair last week and hit quite an impressive home run with a collection of Mandrill's finest work, "Fencewalk: The Anthology". Many thanks to her for the pick and for sending the frisbee back across the atlantic to @AndersHanson, who is right here with this week's pre-match...

"Finally I've done it! This band has been on my shortlist other times I've made a Listening Club pick but either it just didn't feel the right time or I couldn't decide which album to pick. Finally I’ve gone with it.

This is without doubt my favourite band. I discovered them ten years ago when they released their first single and I've just loved everything about them. I love that I was living just five miles from where they grew up at the time I heard their first single. I love the title and the imagery of this album's artwork. I love that they've underachieved commercially even though you often hear their songs on TV. I love their floppy blonde haired pop cuteness yet also indy edge. I love that their lead singer talked about his depression at the time I was going through the same thing. And love that someone I fell in love with at the time this album came out was coincidentally also one of their small number of fans. Of course, I also love their catchy songs and their relaxed melodies but that should be obvious.

There’s so many other great songs of theirs I wish I could play, but in the end I went with their first album which is how I first discovered them and at last year's tenth anniversary tour they simply played it from beginning to end at each gig. Enjoy!"

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, and, in shallah, come the hour, the mixcloud will still be here.

See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)!

The Listening Club - 5th July 2015

Greetings all,

@kleptones back again after traditional Glastonbury hoo-ha with @nessiest and @emmaprice - as usual much fun and unsanitary insanity in the fields, too many highlights to mention but as usual wishing I could clone myself a hundredfold to take it all in - there's just waay too much to do... I know, first world problem deluxe.

Back on planet #lc, @jimmccauley and @holette teamed up to help this year's #livevortex which sounded mighty fine indeed - thanks to all who chipped in a tune or two. Way back on the other side of the fence, @eastvanhalen was found to be "with frisbee", and here she is...

"Hey everybody:

As is traditional, I threw out all the entries I had in the hopper, judging them too angsty/shouty/proggy for the lush and gorgeous summer we're having here in Vancouver.

Instead, here is a band I only first heard about a week ago. It's a disc from an anthology (!), with the songs dating mainly from the mid 1970s. The tracks run from booty-shaking R&B to salsa to balladeering in a way that, to me, has a real New York City feel. This is music for sun and hot pavement and drinks on the fire escape and sweaty dancing. Get something cold to drink and enjoy."

Righty ho! Direct download is here, and if we're feeling lucky, the mixcloud might well still be here...

Hope to see you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)

The Listening Club - 28th June 2015

Hey there,

For one week only it's me, @holette, and my main man @JimMcCauley at The Listening Club controls while @kleptones plays tunes at Glastonbury.  He may be at the mother of all festivals but we've got our own spectacular in the form of the annual summer Live Vortex, celebrating your pick of the finest live performances.

Last Sunday, it was, ahem, my pick, and Marlena Shaw's album The Spice of Life, seemed to suit most people's mood. Certainly there were a few people rewinding straightaway so good to spread the love on that one.

As I write, the weather forecast for my part of the world at least, is looking soggy, but the festive spirit is strong! We've erected the Listening Club gazebo, the chai tea urn is on and I imagine Jim standing by in a black bin liner with holes cut for his arms.

I'm sadly unable to join you tonight due to a prior appointment with a yurt four miles down a forest track in Mid Wales (What? No wifi?). So thanks to @JimMcCauley for pulling your tracks together and hosting.

Hope you enjoy the selection, easy on the crowd surfing, and let's hope @kleptones survives his mini break with Motörhead and Sleaford Mods.

Download is here and the Mixcloud (which should be safe from last-minute nuking this time) is below.

See you at 8!

Listening Club: Live Vortex 3 by Jedburgh on Mixcloud

The Listening Club - 21st June 2015

Hey there,

Hope all is good with you - hustle, bustle and frenzy here in A-dam, as we prepare ourselves for Glastonbury next week - weather forecast not looking too bad for a change also, which is damn good news... But hell, Motorhead, Run The Jewels, Super Furries, Mary J Blige, FFS, Sleaford Mods, Leftfield, Sam Binga, Courtney Barnett, Lionel Ritchie and shitloads more in one place - still my favourite venue on the planet. And a Smiths tribute band. Arf. As last year, I'll be spending Thursday evening and night on-site playing tunes for my good friends running the Cornish Arms, which means lots of swearing at computers this weekend as I sort my set out. Bless @nessiest for tolerating this, It'll be well worth it (I keep assuring her)...

Also looking forward to next week's #summervortex - co-run by @holette and @JimMcCauley, bless their combined cottons... as with previous years, in celebration of the summer festival season, we're looking for the finest live performances you have - email address to send to will be on the twitter profile, looking forward to hearing them!

Back in #LC land, last week @samsmitter was in the chair and treated the ensemble to The Fall's mighty "I Am Kurious Oranj" which was grand fun, both for those who knew it, and those who didn't. Thanks to Sam for the pick, and for skimming the frisbee out to Wales where @holette is waiting with this week's intro...

"The voice, the songs, the fabulous production on this album all sound like pure class to me. It features much sampled tracks and one of the best known will be familiar to many - an instant shot of joy.  I first put a scribbled name to this artist many years ago, after skipping up to ask a DJ at the boozy Sunday end of a banging dance weekender at Pontins, Prestatyn, of all the classy places.  Great music, good company, and a table full of drinks. Sound familiar? 

 I'm sure Listening Clubbers will fill us in on some of the artists who've sampled this vocalist.  Various song writers on the album have penned other bona fide super hits. The tracks are pretty varied with influences from gospel to soul and fantastic funky arrangements.  Hands may well be in the air at some point. Hope you enjoy!"

A mighty one this, short but very sweet - you owe it to yourselves to tune in and groove! - download is here, mixcloud (leaving it till late to upload, in the hope it will still be there come 8pm) is here!!!

See you at 8!

The Listening Club - 14th June 2015

Hey all,

Back in Amsterdam again, but sadly didn't manage to get the sun in our suitcases, which is a shame as we could do with a bit right now and in forthcoming weeks... which reminds me that it's coming up to "that time of the year again". Yes, I'm off to Glastonbury in a couple of weeks, and therefore a) it's time for the third annual recorded-live-only #summervortex and b) we need a volunteer to step forward and host that week and the vortex. Let me know if you're up for it, merci merci!

Still on the admin front, looks like Mixcloud has updated it's scanning system, and pulled down a pile of old #LCs for the sin of "predominant use of tracks by the same artist". It is against their T&Cs so not much we can do, suggestions for alt. streaming welcome, Sam's already had this week's removed once, so lets hope the second attempt isn't taken down before 8pm tonight.

(NB I don't really mind personally if things don't stay up there long term apart from the vortexes, but keeping them up long enough to do one listen would be a bonus...)

So last week it was me in the chair, pouring Coldcut's "Journeys By DJ - 70 Minutes Of Madness" mix into your collected lugholes, and seemed to go down pretty well, which was rather gratifying, glad you enjoyed it. @samsmitter was the recipient of my frisbee toss, and here he is with this week's intro...

"It is perhaps a natural reaction for a music enthusiast to shudder slightly when hearing the words ‘project’ or ‘collaboration’, and find their mind wandering to David St Hubbins recording an album of his acoustic numbers with the Royal Philharmonic. This is particularly so when the collaboration involves exponents of the “high” (i.e. posh) arts. When I first heard about this album, and the accompanying stage show, I was a sceptic, and to my regret I did not abandon my prejudices and go to the theatre. But over the years its become a favourite of mine, an album I prefer to a lot of the more celebrated output by this band. For me it has a kind of cohesion as a record, which is something I always want from an album, and a groovyness that anticipates the flirtation between indie rock and dance music that was about to dominate the 5 years or so that followed it (and is perhaps an early example of it). As an only slightly relevant aside – a school music teacher once gave me and my friends the somewhat backhanded compliment that we had achieved a band sound that was “just ever so slightly out of time”, saying that it was something this band had been trying to achieve for years.

I should perhaps offer a warning that this is not particularly mellow or relaxing Sunday evening (or morning) music. It occasionally breaks the commandment “Thou shall not make monotonous repetitive music”. It does, however, reward “going with it”, and repeated listening as well. The band will be familiar from the first moment, hopefully the album will not be. I hope you don’t hate it!"

Okaydoke, direct download is here, and (if they're slow on the uptake) Mixcloud link is here (but I'd grab the download if I was you....)

See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)!

The Listening Club - 7th June 2015

Greetings from Brighton!

Nice to be back in the old homestead again, with some half decent weather to boot. A weekend of booze, burgers and catching up with old friends really can't be beat, looking forward to erasing the hangover with a decent roast as soon as this is done.

Last week we had the fine #summervortex, which really was a splendid selection of seasonal tracks, many thanks to all who chipped in. Tracklist can be found in the comments of last wek's post as per usual...  Back to regular programming this week, and it's me with the frisbee, so I'd better go all italic...

"Ah that's better. Thinking back to the last time I picked an #LC album whilst I was away from home, I picked Negativland from the XOXO conference in Portland. So to continue a rather loose thread of picking albums that had rather a large influence on me and the music I ended up making when I'm away from home, here's another (for me) classic album, a DJ mix that's been getting a few fresh mentions online recently as it's celebrating it's 20th birthday, and is quite rightly held up as one of the very first mixes of it's kind. It definitely had a huge effect on myself at the time, demonstrating how far it was possible to stretch out in the space of 70 minutes without losing the groove.

I can't say too much else without giving the game away, although it will become pretty obvious to quite a few of you who's behind it as soon as you hit play at 8pm. It's quite a trip, Hope you enjoy it!"

Okaydoke, Download is here, and the Mixcloud is here.

Looking forward to seeing you at 8!

The Listening Club - 31st May 2015

Hello all!

Well then, insert "loading summer - season not found" gag here. Yeah, not quite feeling the season yet here in Amsterdam, the past week having been a week of rain and keeping the heating on. Forecast is looking a little better though, which is jolly good, as m'self and @nessiest will be heading over to Brighton next weekend for a sojourn, and that's one town that really blossoms in the sunshine, for sure...

Last week @rougeforever was in the chair and treated the assembled to "Close Watch", a selection of the finest work of John Cale, which went down very well, especially in these environs, as I'm just a bit of a fan, noticeably so much that the frisbee was flipped my way to follow, something that will be much fun because as previously mentioned I'm in Brighton next weekend. We shall see what transpires...

In the meanwhilst, it's time to combine our musical energies and cast forth a "decent weather, pls" spell in the shape of the #summervortex - we have 18 fine summer-scented selections from you all to present to the weather gods, so come on!

Download is here, and ye olde mixcloude can be found here.

Get the barbecue on, and we'll see you at 8pm BST (GMT+1).

The Listening Club - 24th May 2015

Greetings y'all,

As with last week, short and sweet intro as the sun's out, and this time the forecast says staying out, also there's a national holiday on Monday here in the Netherlands (Whit Monday)  so it's a tap tap tap get this sorted so we can go out and enjoy the afternoon, Bank Holiday stylee! Also next week is #vortex week, so if you have suggestions for a theme, let us know...

Last week, @saucer was in the chair, and kinda continued the stylings of the previous week with his pick of Howe Gelb's "The Coincidentalist". Many thanks to him for the pick, and for flipping the frisbee across to @rougeforever for this week, and here she is...

"Welcome to the Bank Holiday weekend.  Or Memorial Day weekend if you're of the American persuasion.

I've gone for another record I really really love.   Except there are a few songs I don't really love on it, so I took those off.   Also, I don't know about you, but I've not been in the mood for long Listeningclub choices recently, so my edit keeps it just below 50 minutes.  (You can thank me later).

This is a solo Greatest Hits album by someone who was in a very famous band.  He's the Lennon to the lead's McCartney.  He's my favourite sort of person - on one hand talented, capable and stable, but on the other hand racked with dark brooding thoughts, chaos and madness.   This makes for a great record - you'll hear his psyche opened up in the lyrics and his performances. The lead singer of the band gets all the attention, but this guy actually deserves it.   So come with me on this record.   It won't always be an easy listen, but it'll be worth your time, I can promise you.

I'd suggest you turn all the lights off, take your clothes off and open the wine.  Mind you, I'd always suggest that."

Okaydoke! Dowload is here, and the mixcloud is here.

See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)

The Listening Club - 17th May 2015

Hey all,

Wow, suns out here, quick sort #LC and I can run and... aw shit, it's gone in again. Ah well, I'm typing now. Hope you're getting some of what makes you all happy, anyways. Not actually that bad here, tho @nessiest is still in NZ, and while the cat's away.... well, the mice sit at the computer playing with their musical things, eating beans on toast. Yes, folks, I'm that predictable.

Fortunately, ol' #listeningclub is, as usual, far from predictable - what with @akx chilling everyone last week with Lowlight's "Always & Forever - Americana 1" mixtape. Cheers to Aarni for the pick and for flipping the frisb across to @saucer for this week's pick, and here he is...

"First, I'd like to congratulate @akx on earning the “That beer was so fine I forgot @saucer was up just 8 weeks ago, and that his pick was, uh...” badge on untapped!

My 3rd time doing this and still awful at reading the room, as it were... aiming for multidimensional Venn diagram intersection perfection for each of our multivariate tastes... which remain mysterious... hurts my brain. Aua! as my German friend says.

(Dude, you say, you're _overthinking it_, but then I'm all like I'd rather try to _read_ the effing room than _empty_ it. Let's just say I keep Demdike Stare, Jelena Glazova, Klangstabil, Isolat Pattern, Government Alpha, and La Monte Young for my own time, ok? Ok.)

Boring story short, I circled through a dozen genres and came back to one of the first records I'd thought of. It's suitable counterpoint to my previous two picks. Good for putting a baby down, if the baby likes subtle, jazzy Americana, performed with heart and mastery.

The track order here is for the vinyl version and I added a little silence between sides.

Hope you enjoy."

Indeedy. get yer download here.. and the Mixcloud here.

See you at 8pm!