Midweek Mixes (12/01/22)
A run-down of some of the mixes and radio shows that have been soundtracking my existence – from the box-fresh to the tried-and-tested – all guaranteed to brighten up your week.
Rizmi - Sable Radio (24/10/21)
Rizmi has long been a staple of Midweek Mixes - here, here and here. She recently uploaded a radio show from late last year on Leeds station Sable Radio, with the tags #dub #soul #jazz #Birmingham. That Brum representation comes early on from Demarae feat. Shenai ‘Rocks On The Lake’ and as someone from Birmingham but with very little love for the place it’s a happy reminder that cool stuff is happening there. Through those hashtagged genres, traversing decades and continents, Rizmi conjures a healing mood that peaks with ‘Poem For My Lady’ by The Positive Force with Ade Olatunji, a stunning piece of spiritual jazz from 1977 Detroit.
Jason Kendig - There Is No Planet Earth #25
There Is No Planet Earth is an archival project on Instagram posting memorabilia (photos, posters, footage from parties) relating to club culture from 80s and 90s Detroit, Chicago and New York - not unlike the stuff Test Pressing does over the in UK. I only recently found out they also have a mix series, with principally US DJs presenting their take on that classic era. Jason Kendig from Honey Soundsystem takes us back to a packed mid-90s dancefloor ruled by strings, pianos and, uh, saxophones - in this club, garage house is here and it’s not leaving until the last record has run out.
Aside from the relentless bangers - Nu-Birth’s ‘Anytime’ being the highlight, as it is in pretty much any set - my favourite thing about the mix is how the track names and lyrics tell a story from start to finish. Madhatter’s opening ‘Why?’ leads into Yohan asking “On and on/I find myself wondering why?” Later, Beat People wonder ‘What Must I Do?’ and the answer comes immediately from Oscar G: ‘Movin On’. The mix holds on to this no-regrets feeling until the final track, with Spring telling us “No time for crying/So let us move on”, and it feels like a good motto for the year ahead.
Joe Delon - archived mixes
For people who have a paying subscription to this newsletter I occasionally post downloads of old mixes and recordings, accompanied by tracklists and a bit of context about the time, place, and my mindspace when they were made. These aren’t archived anywhere and I have realised that substack’s built in search function is pretty pants, so here’s a list of links to those pages if you want to check them out:
Butter Side Up 055 (April 2020)
EOS Radio (May 2021)
Live @ O/B, Lisbon (Feb 2018)
Dimensions 247 (Jul 2021)
Live @ Closer, Kiev (Jun 2021)
Mix For Tracy (Apr 2019)
Brain Damage Mix for Prosumer’s NTS Show (Nov 2019)
They’re also all available to stream online (check my soundcloud and mixcloud pages).
There’s a new mix coming out shortly which is heavy on the Chicago-Detroit-New York house vibe, though less 90s and more 80s jack (not unlike the mixes I used to do under the alias Jack Gyllenhaal many moons ago). I’ll share the mix here once it’s up.