Naming my blog after an obsolete medium, it's no surprise that I can't help but look backwards, particularly to the time I was 17-18. Despite going through some personal shit that I'm not sure I'd cope with now, that period has a halcyon glaze. It appears it can for a lot people too, mythologies arise for many from late adolescence, cultural choices set in stone.
And I process and return to that time through tapes. I have a shoe box of tracks and mixes I tapped off the radio, almost all BBC Radio 1 specialist shows from 2002-3. There may be one or two things from Radio 3's Mixing It strand, but it's mainly The Breezeblock, The Blue Room, and Gilles Peterson.
Currently in the Sony is a Mr Scruff mix from spring 2002, with a Peshay mix on the other side. Adding to the circles and the loops, the standout track on the Mr Scruff mix is Natural Self's Raise the Game.
A joyous riot of horn blasts, good times and broken beats. It's also a joyous riot of pretty much the last 30 seconds of Black Brothers from Latin Jazz chap Tito Puente.
Loops upon loops upon loops. It's not even the first time I've written about these never ending cycles. Is escape possible? Do I even want it?
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