Bulletin (18/04/21)
A small but transparent window into what’s going on with me, be it my DJing at parties or online, my label activities and radio show, or whatever else might have been on my mind recently.
Parties
It feels a bit odd to start a Bulletin with this heading, since parties are still resolutely off the menu in most places I know. There are signs of life over in the UK, though the dissonance is strong as I see posters and line-ups for events while I’m still sat here in my pyjamas playing Nintendo. Yet I feel glad for those lucky enough to live in places where getting together is now very low-risk – clips of parties in Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam bring both hope and longing.
I’ve had some very advanced bookings, including two in the UK in the autumn. It has been so long since I last played records in front of a crowd that I’ve started having bizarre fantasies flashing through my head: What on earth could people want to listen to after 18 months of bewildering isolation? And why on earth would I be the person to provide an answer that question? I expect those doubts will last until at least 20 minutes into my first set back.
My future intention is for this Bulletin to be a place where I can talk about actual parties that I’ve attended or played in. I’ve realised that my old music blog was written at a time when I rarely played outside of house parties, so I’ve never done much articulating of what it’s like to be a DJ paid to play in a club. This is something I’m very interested in, so I can’t wait to have some proper material.
Streams
In the meantime, I have a few online things that are helping me keep my otherwise neglected records in circulation.
Last Thursday I paid my first visit to Lusophonica, which is housed in an angular extension to the Cascais Lightouse Museum. I took a bag that for me was emblematic of London parties I was going to circa 2008-2012, a time when you would hear a lot of classic labels like Prescription, Mosaic, Perlon and Svek and producers like Swayzak, Marc Kinchen, Herbert, Pépé Bradock and so on. My listening and buying habits in those years were influenced greatly by Andrew James Gustav, so this set is in many ways a tribute to him.
The recording is archived on mixcloud – the first two hours are a set by my host Evonii, and then I start with the eternal ‘Paper Moon’ by 51 Days.
Joe Delon @ Lusophonica, 15/04/21
Flamingo
This Wednesday at 16h-18h GMT you can listen to the latest broadcast of Flamingo on Rádio Quântica. I’m still trying to maintain a good balance between club and non-club music, even as the actual clubs remain shuttered, so expect assorted stuff and talking in the first half and then a dancefloor mix in the second. There’s new music from Nottetempo, Butter Side Up, Otmi, Haus Of Altr and more (including Jennifer Paige).
I also bought a new microphone so hopefully I now sound like I’m actually in the room, rather than down the end of a long tunnel.
Welt Discos
The test pressings for Lerosa’s EP are finally on their way from the plant. The delay means their arrival coincides with the planned full release date, a situation that occurred with WLTD001 and is more than a little embarrassing from the perspective of the label owner (me).
Sadly, this seems to be a systemic problem in the industry, as I have yet to hear of a pressing plant that reliably delivers on time. We cross our fingers that the TPs are good and there are no further delays with the full pressing. If you haven’t listened to it yet, you can check out the full tracks on CMYK’s channel: A1 / A2 / B1 / B2.
Compensating for any frustration is the happy news that both WLTD003 and WLTD004 have been sent for mastering. The two releases germinated in different ways – the first through me contacting an artist whose existing work I admired greatly, the second through another artist I didn’t know sending me a nice IG message. What united the two processes was the friendly and creative exchange that ensued, leading to two fantastic EPs that I am very much looking forward to sharing.
Subscriptions
I’m planning to introduce a paid subscription option for this newsletter, so that anyone who wishes to can make a monthly contribution for the time and resources I put towards it. I have conflicting feelings about this, but if there are those of you value what I do to the extent of being willing to support me financially, I’ll gladly put that towards keeping on doing it and making it better.
Everything I’m currently putting out – Track-By-Track, Midweek Mixes, Flamingo show notes, these Bulletins – will continue to be accessible to everyone through the free subscription.
For anyone who does decide to sign up for a paid subscription, I’m considering different ways of saying thank you, but I could use a little help to understand what people might actually appreciate. Some initial ideas I had were:
Downloadable mixes (this would include archive mixes and live recordings, as well as the mix section of every month’s Flamingo)
The above, but in a podcast format for those who listen to podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify etc (I’m not a user of these platforms so I’d be interested to know if any of you are)
Digital promos of Welt Discos releases
I’m very keen to hear what you think about this, from the general idea through to the specifics. It’s new territory for me so all feedback and opinions are gladly received - you can comment publicly on this post or reply privately in an email. Thanks.