I recently had the pleasure of covering for Nick Stephens on his monthly Netil Radio show, and am happy to share the two-hour show here. The full tracklist, including the likes of Tutu Ta, Maria Somerville, Tones On Tail and CS & Kreme, is included in the Soundcloud link below.

I’ve also been going through a phase of reading almost exclusively about music lately. I tend to give myself a hard time about what I choose to read (the weightier or heavier the tome, the better!), but have encountered a juncture in life where I’m happy to just spend time with what I actually enjoy rather than feeling like I should read this or that for any particular reason. There’s a few that I haven’t got around to just yet (including ‘Post Punk Then And Now - edited by Gavin Butt, Kodwo Eshun and Mark Fisher’ and ‘England’s Hidden Reverse’ by David Keenan), but the following are a selection that I’ve enjoyed in recent months.

Atom TM - The Nonconformist Virtuoso by Ximo Noguera (BUY)

Uwe ‘Atom TM’ Schmidt is an artist that I have revered for as long as I can remember. In terms of technical ability, sheer quantity of output and overall quality control over the past three(!) decades, I really struggle to think of anyone who sits on the same level. This book takes a chronological journey through his various key projects (Lassigue Bendthaus, Atom Heart, Flextone, Señor Coconut) and collaborations (Pete Namlook, Esplendor Geometrico), and gives an interesting insight into his unique outlook on electronic music and life. In a recent interview, it was posited that he could re-release his discography again from the beginning, and nobody would notice that the music was anything other than contemporary. I wouldn’t disagree at all! His influence can be found all over the contemporary landscape, from the ambient and downtempo scenes all the way to the most pounding techno floors.

Conform To Deform - The Weird & Wonderful World Of Some Bizzare by Wesley Doyle (BUY)

This is a highly enjoyable caper, detailing the initial highs and inevitable lows of Stevo Pearce and his Some Bizzare imprint. Incredibly, the label was set up while Stevo was barely out of short-trousers, with their very first release, 1981’s ‘Some Bizzare Album’ featuring the then mostly unknown or unsigned talents of Soft Cell, The The, Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget and Blancmange. At the age of 18, Stevo was taking the likes of Soft Cell to the pinnacle of the world stage, taking a combative and highly unconventional approach to the major labels, and usually getting what he wanted by hook or by crook. They truly don’t make them like Stevo any more and, love him or hate him, it’s hard to argue that the music industry was a more colourful place with him and Some Bizzare in it, for a few years at least. The ‘talking head’ approach to the book provides an excellent and balanced account of the label from universal acclaim to eventual bankruptcy and beyond, with notable contributions from the likes of Mute’s Daniel Miller, Karl ‘Regis’ O’ Connor, Annie Hogan and Michael Gira from Swans.

Everything Keeps Dissolving - Conversations With Coil by Nick Soulsby (BUY)

Coil are one of those artists that, for me, present an entire universe within their works. While every last detail of their output is incredibly well considered and realised, they also do a fantastic job of pulling back the curtain on their lifetime of influences, leading the more engaged fans of their work up all manner of garden paths. This collection of rare interviews serves as something of a blueprint for their approach to musick, magick and life from the very beginning to the untimely end.

Also highly recommended…

Street-Level Superstar - A Year With Lawrence by Will Hodgkinson (BUY)

A first-hand account of time spent with the eternally (wilfully?) unsung Lawrence of Felt/Denim/Go-Kart Mozart infamy. An often amusing account of one man’s quest for fame and concomitant self-defeating fear of what it might entail.

A Year With Swollen Appendices - Brian Eno’s Diary (BUY)

A straightforward publication of one year of Brian Eno’s diary, and it would be hard to argue that 1995 was the most interesting of his career. Even so, it’s an enjoyable window into a vivid and eternally curious mind. It can be as mundane as it can be amusing or insightful, but that’s part of the appeal for me.

Strange Things Are Happening by Richard Norris (BUY)

Richard Norris is somebody whose work I had some knowledge of, having booked his Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve project (with Erol Alkan) a couple of times, and remembering The Grid’s ubiquitous chart hit ‘Swamp Thing’ from my youth. For one thing, I found it interesting to learn more about his role in the seminal ‘Jack The Tab’ collaboration with Genesis P Orridge and others, which was an attempt to imagine what acid house might sound like before it became a codified commodity. I’d recommend the book to anyone with more than a passing interest in psychedelic culture.