Midweek Mixes (22/09/21)
A short 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.
Kyle Hall - Ash Lauryn pres. Underground & Black
Christmas has come before Halloween this year with an hour of original Kyle Hall productions played by the man himself at Ash Lauryn’s Underground & Black BR.
For me the particular joy of Kyle Hall’s music is captured in the moment 47 minutes in, where he filters the glitchy accents of one track into a moment of beatless repose. The crowd cheers, breathes, and then in comes a chugging UK funky-esque beat soon to be joined by a fat bassline and wonky but entirely coherent pads and leads. It’s groove, feeling and PARTY wrapped up in an effective yet idiosyncratic package, which is everything I love about him. As someone on the livestream commented: “Those Kyle Hall moments!”
Another one follows shortly after as he wraps up the set with a one-two of “4wrd Motion” and “Ghosten 4 A 2nd X” from the perennial Equanimity EP. His eyes closed briefly, shoulders jumping, it’s time for him to breathe a little before receiving an ovation from the crowd.
Stephen Howe - SH101 on Refuge Worldwide
A somewhat premonitory radio show from Stephen Howe (previously appearing here) that focusses on the emergence of bass and bleep music in early 90s Yorkshire. Recorded last month as a tribute to a particularly fruitful scene and time, listened to today - the day after Richard H Kirk’s death - it takes on the feeling of a heartfelt eulogy.
Kirk was a man who seemed to transform every sound he turned his attention to, conjuring intrigue from simplicity and always finding the funk in the silence. Hearing those blank and disembodied tones of Sweet Exorcist’s ‘Testone’, which kicks off this show in its ‘Testfive’/‘Testsix’ guises, today still raises the hairs on the back of my neck just as it did the first time. Hero worship is a bit of a fool’s game, but if you were going to worship someone then Kirk would be an excellent choice.
This show, broadcast on Berlin’s Refuge Radio and curated and narrated with the care and attention I’ve come to expect from Stephen, can now act as a celebration of both Kirk and the groundbreaking scene(s) his electronic work influenced.
Oh, and I probably should have mentioned already: it’s BANGER AFTER BANGER.