Medieval Elixir by Ion on Mixcloud

Hi, Ion here, and what a playlist I have for you today. Probably not what you’re all used to, but under encouragement from the Duke (I’ve been unsure whether to post this music for a while), here it is. I warn you now, it’s a bit of a departure from my last disco-house mix! OK, where to begin….ah yes “Soul”Spektrum….recently I believe an American described soul music to Big Face as “…black people’s sex music…” well, that’s probably debatable in itself ….but what is soul?? I know my soul comes from Blighty, as I guess do most of yours, but what do I hear in all of our mixes….quality music with soul for sure, but I think it’s pretty much American influenced sounds. Where’s Blighty’s soul? Most of my life I’ve been a countryside dweller and while I love the urban influenced soul, there is definitely something to be said for Ye olde English music of the fields, barns, woods and inns. As we all know from experience, the tempo of music which suits urban and rural life and differing climates is very different. So, next time you find yourself sitting in the country, staring at a view or smoking a pipe, I plead with you to give this mix its chance…our true souls must come from our anglo-saxoness right?? I’ve been a folk appreciater for many years now and in this mix I’m hoping to share with you lads something of our true heritage. I’ve steered away from the modern folk of people like Nick Drake and John Martyn (who I’m sure you’re all familiar with), who are themselves fantastic folk writers, and tried to make up my mix from songs that have been passed down over the centuries from one generation to the next. On my playlist are traditional acoustic folk songs, folk rock from the revival in the 60/70s and modern re-tellings from recent times….as with most folk albums, I’m going to give you all a little run down of the songs…..it’s a bit of a ramble I’m afraid so I’ve added it all as a comment so as not to fill up the Duke’s page. Sorry if I’m boring you all a bit, but I kind of feel the effort musicians put into continuing these songs throughout hundreds of years deserves a bit of detail.

happy birthday bro mix

Happy Birthday Bro Mix by Thinwhiteduke on Mixcloud

admittedly it's a day late but here is mix to celebrate my brother's 29th (i think) year on earth. none of the music is especially new but a couple of the tracks i have only unearthed recently and there is no particular theme to the mix other than selecting tracks I thought my bro might enjoy on his way to work.

note to bro: i don't think they make the aisles on those new virgin trains wide enough so if you're going to throw any shapes make sure you're not wearing anything sharp or with serrated edges. other than that i hope you had a good knees up and i want you to treat yourself to a warm but expensive can of "euro piss" on your next train ride home. enjoy

those that want to download it for their journey to work can do so here

Bubble & Squeak

Bubble & Squeak by The Lone Arranger on Mixcloud

Big debates happening this week. I'm not talking UK politics, but the debates inside my head - How to host these mixes? Soundcloud with it's 2 hour limit? Mixcloud with small file size and no downloads, or the anonymity and lack of streaming of rapidshare or equivalent.

As with most decisions I try to decide - I am still undecided. But today, this way seems like a good idea: I've setup a mixcloud account for anyone that wants to stream (Bear in mind that this mix had to be compressed to 160kbps to get down to 100MB).

But for anyone that wants to download a 320kbps copy, you can get it from here.

So, on to the tunes. When I was putting my last mix together, I ended up with the obligatory 'yes', 'no', and 'maybe' folders. Eventually, the 'maybes' started to look like a nice little collection in their own right, but with a different feel to the yes's. And so, this mix was born: The leftovers, the bubble and squeak, the mysterious old takeaway containers found at the back of the freezer.

Featuring some stuff from Lack of Afro and Koop (Only caught on to both of these recently but really like everything I've heard), a personal favourite from Aim, a taste of the new Soil & Pimp album, a few tracks I found on Juno last year, and a nice cover of The Stranglers to finish.

Download it here

...Oh yeah, tracklist:

intro

Lack of Afro - Beautiful Here

Free The Robots - Jazzhole

Inverse Cinematics - Detroit Jazzin'

The Young Lovers - Low Down Groove

Mr President ft Mr Day - Meet Again (B Boys edit)

Monsieur Dubois - Something Nu

Fanga - Tiogho Tiogho

Benny Berigan - Snake Charmer

Re:Jazz - People Hold On (Metropolitan Jazz Affair Remix)

Souljazz Orchestra - Rejoice (Part 2)

Koop - Come to Me

Aim - Good Disease (featuring Stephen Jones)

Slum Village - Fall In Love

Gelka - So Many Ways

Deadbeats - You Never Know

The Jazzinvaders - Make It Work

Matty Blades - The Beat Goes On

Pinnawela - You Can Dance (Envee Ensemble version)

Soil & Pimp Sessions - Quartz and Chronometer

Pulshar - Golden Brown

Boogie Times

Well, my old mate John seems to have come through again and not only put together a fine collection of classic boogie, but he sent it to me as a mixcloud....so where do I put mixclouds, yes you guessed it, right here in the soul spektrum.

So here you have it - my man JC - "Rare and classic boogie tunes from the late 1970's to the early 1980's collected in over 12 years of working in secondhand record stores. Enjoy!"
JC - Here And Now Recordings.

Boogie Times by Here And Now Recordings on Mixcloud

looking up to you

The Revenge : Looking Up To You Rework by The Revenge

since MYsoul posted his southport mix (see March archive) i've been obsessed with the michael wycoff track 'looking up to you'. Not as if the original needed reworking but I came across this house version which is a real nice slow burner which i thought i'd share with you.

Sunny Day, Sweeping the Clouds Away...

Sesame Street, 2010. The once-bright streets now more resemble the grim urban sprawl of 'The Wire'. Once renowned as a place where the air was descibed as 'sweet', the huge rise in the popularity of crack use amongst street residents and spiralling crime rates means the air now is somewhat less saccharine: these days, you are more likely to see Big Bird carjacking lost tourists to feed his meth habit than roller-skating and singing in a curiously camp manner.

Back in 1973, however, it was all a lot more carefree and, following this week's shocking and violent death of Mr. Snuffleupagus which, according to official reports 'had all the hallmarks of a gangland hit', I was prompted to revisit those halcyon, sun-kissed days when I was but one year old and the Sesame Street kids got their little flared Grover-grooves on.

As well as the 123456789101112 kind of thing, they also got some jaw-dropping musicians in to do guest slots. As long as you agreed to spend a couple of minutes discussing the alphabet with a frog puppet, they let you do this. Live.

Stevie Wonder - Superstition: Sesame Street 1973

You might have seen this before, but even if you have, it bears watching again. Extended workout, fake ending.... Go on, Stevie. No wonder all the Glastonbury-bound are sounding extra-smug this year.

whole bowl of soul

whole bowl of soul by lone arranger

Recorded using Traktor with a Behringer controller, this mix is a snippet of what I've been listening to recently. Somehow a lot of soul tracks found there way in to it. Most have come from browsing blogs, listening to podcasts and the odd recommendation from Sunday and 'brews.

I love the idea behind this site and can hopefully contribute an occasional unheard gem.

Thanks for the invitation.

Enjoy.

Gizelle Smith & The Mighty Mocambos - The Time Is Right For Love

Mayer Hawthorne - Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'

Binky Griptite And The Sugarman Three - A Lover Like Me

Anna King - Mama's Got A Bag Of Her Own

The Bamboos - Got To Get It Over

Lack of Afro - Closer To Me feat. Roxie Ray

Alice Russell - All Alone (Captain Planet Remix)

Lee Fields & The Expressions - Money I$ King

Aloe Blacc - I Need a Dollar

Alvin Cash - Keep On Dancing

Lack Of Afro - When The Sun Goes Down

Chris Joss - Ford Mustard Cutter

The Herbaliser Band - Geddim!

The Bamboos – Typhoon

Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings - Got A Thing On My Mind

The Soultwisters – Soulpudding

Greyboy - Love (feat. Nino Moschella)

Darondo - Didn't I (Trishes Edit)

Alucidination - I'm Not Bad