Saw Flat Eric in a camper van window on the way to The Swan last night. Oddly enough, it wasn't the first time I saw him that day. I also came across him on the cover of a Mr Oizo album in the sale section of the new Tangled Parrot in Swansea.
I didn't pick that album up, though; instead, I purchased from said sale section:
XL Recordings - The Second Chapter (Hardcore European Dance Music) [£7]
Kode9 & The Spaceape - Memories of the Future [£5]
Joker - The Vision [£2.50]
So, to make up for that, here's the classic Mr Oizo banger, Flat Beat...
How'd you like that heatwave last week? WE USED TO CALL IT A SUMMAAAH!!
Grim. It was grim. But it ended beautifully. I drove to Falmouth, Cornwall late on the Thursday, directly towards the lightning that broke the wave, heading down for a funeral. I was hurtling over Bodmin Moor with horizontal bolts in the sky, on full SD card shuffle, and this came on...
Trust me, it was 'king Lynchian mate, with the ambient drama of SOPHIE's Infatuation (The Trenches) and all that electricity, darkness, and death. It was something, brother.
Original image: Caldwbr, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
As mentioned in the last section of the No Tags 2 book, on a piece about music, separation, and incarceration. V. surprised to learn only now about National Prison Radio in that piece. It launched in 2009, a few years earlier, and I'd have been all over it at uni. Shows how much things drop away, I suppose.
Another one from Flo Dill's breakfast show on NTS, I think this was on Ultimate DJ as a joke song or something, but I dig it. Oldball crunchy new wave from late 80s Belgium.
Ashamed to say I think the algo chucked this one up on Instagram for me. But it got me. More scratchy electronic new wave, this time from early-80s Australia.
Finger on the pulse as ever, here's a great little video that was featured in a buzzy blog about Corduroy Psychedelia and Boards of Canada in March, which I picked up on after it was mentioned last month on No Tags 68.
Geometry of Circles is a cool AF animation made for Sesame Street in 1979 with a bespoke Philip Glass soundtrack. We used to have it so good.
I left Do You Radio on as it went into the repeats for a change the other day. Had my head in Markdown, trying to fix a table that shouldn't be a table. A tale as old as time.
Tape 05 is the first music from Boards of Canada in 13 years. So, if everyone could hold off bombing each other to oblivion until the album drops, that would be fab.
PS hi how are you? Sorry for the lack of posting, a mix of sickness, holidays and general existential dread means I've not felt like posting. But hey, couldn't miss this news.
I've been enjoying Four Kings on Channel 4, a "documentary series exploring the careers of great Black British boxers Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis, Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn, featuring interviews with the men themselves."
Figured it would be good to roll out again that video of Benn entering the ring to We Are I.E. by Lennie De Ice, but it's got a copyright strike.
Finger on the pulse, Sammo, here are the top 12 tracks I heard in 2025. Not stuff that came out in 2025, but stuff that I heard for the first time in 2025.
In no particular order...
John Martyn - Please Fall in Love with Me [1981]
Van Morrison - Dweller on the Threshold [1982]
Il Quadro di Troisi - Non Ricordi [2020]
Joshua Idehen - Mum Does The Washing [2024]
LCD Soundsystem - Home (Tom Sharkett Edit) [2025]
Capone - Music Love Song [1979]
Robyn - Dopamine [2025]
SOPHIE - Is It Cold in the Water? [2018]
SOPHIE - Immaterial [2018]
Snooper - Pom Pom [2025]
Earl Sweatshirt - 2010 [2021]
Clipse - P.O.V. feat. Tyler, The Creator [2025] (this is also my music video of the year)
This'll be the last 9 in 1 in 2025, I reckon. Better pack it with cutting-edge tracks and not a load of sad bangers from the 1980s... who am I kidding!
Similar era and feel, but very different tone now. This is a homage to David Gower, the stylish left-handed batsman who was in his pomp in 1984 when this came out, and not that delightful peninsula to the west of Swansea.
Ah, yes, the track that I always think is PSB or New Order and never 'Electronic'. Dipped into the 90s with this one, don't worry, normal service will resume shortly.
From an album called 'Synthesizing: Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat' from 1982, it's like if Black Devil Disco Club hailed from Pune rather than Paris. Heady chug from before chug was a thing.
Still not leaving the 80s. I swear I've posted this before, I've got a 'Womack + Womack' tag, but it's empty?? Also, 116m views on YouTube for Teardrops; you simply can't argue with numbers like that.
Oh shit, waddup! Top video this. Is this Unc Rap? TBH, I only really know Grindin' by Clipse, but this measured flow sounds so much better than your mumblers... and *poof* we all become Uncs.
Unsurprisingly, I loved it (this is the 20th post on this blog tagged Devo after all), even if it was a bit of a hagiography. It works especially well with the first couple of glasses of port of the season and a bag of chocolate coins.
Santa's back, baby! Don't call it a comeback, but here's my first all-new mix in 10 years: it's a half-hour or so of weird and wonderful Christmas music and stings, featuring Radiohead, The Futureheads, and other acts not called something-head, such as Tyler, the Creator, Confidence Man, and Rotterdam Termination Source.
New Aphex Twin dropped on his not-at-all secret SoundCloud account a couple of days ago. In fact, the artwork is a holiday snap (does AFX have guns??).
The other track is Zahl am1 live track 1c f760m1 unfinshd, which has this blurb "got many requests for this one from a few years back, italy, pic with my love from scilly recently...need sun...relentlessly raining in uk...mixed down on the zahl, think theres better mixes, will upload if i find em,"
The moment that melody line kicks in at 30 seconds, you just know the Dewaele brothers are involved in this. And yep, it's on Deewee and has that late Soulwax vibe that I'm such a sucker for.
'Tis the season, appaz. Last week The Futureheads released a whole album of Christmas songs called... Christmas.
I'm not sure I'll be slapping down £15 for the CD, but there are a few bangers on it. If I ever do another Xmas Mix, then their cover of 'What's This?' from A Nightmare Before Christmas will 100% be there...
Who remembers Deutschland 83? Man, that was good TV. Anyway, The Space Lady does a cover of what would become the theme tune to the series, originally done by Peter Schilling. I feel The Space Lady works really well in a list/mix/radio show, but not sure I'd want an album or gig of it, y'know?
Straight outta Do!! You!!! It might take a few spins, but when it hits, it stays hit.
Honest to God, if you told me I'd be posting a Van Morrison track when I started this blog in 2009, especially after that dogshit Green Man show, I would simply not be having it.
A recurring theme in these lists is me always choosing the oldest and crispiest video on YouTube if I can, and today is no exception. There's higher fidelity out there, but I know this tune from taping Fabio off Radio 1 back in the day. Taping as in taping with shitty cassettes recorded over and over again. Hiss me, Hardy.
Anyway, this absolute d'n'b roller from 2001 was featured in Reduced 39, Mumdance's Substack, where they post 5 tracks and 2 DJ mixes every Thursday. And that's it, all links, no words. Jump in and jump up.
Original image: Dave Dyet, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Been sitting on these for a while, as the last 9 in 1 was over two months ago. Strong possibility I've forgotten where I came across these, a journey for us both to share.
This duo seemed to get a lot of support from NTS a couple of months back. Not Welsh despite the name, but we can forgive, laid back motorik 90s chillout vibes, with a bit of Islet to it.
I know we had Pat Benatar earlier, but this is somehow even more 80s. Incredible. The video is also a treat, bordering on parody. Then the bit that Alan Braxe and Fred Falke sampled for Intro just drops from nowhere. Top top stuff.
A Llantwit Major-based music blog for things post-punk, electronic and a little bit left of centre, with second-hand cultural musings, third-rate sociological stabbings and very rarely the odd mp3.
I also write the odd album review for Buzz Magazine and used to present Amser Electroneg on Bro Radio.
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