On this show music from Dubmatix, Giant Brain, H. Hawkline, Dave Graney and the MistLY, 2 Lost Souls, Mark Corrin, Family, Van Der Graaf Generator, Carol Hodge, Four Candles, Neural Dance, Lucy Kruger and the Lost Boys, and Neon Kittens
Dubmatix – Tubby’s Dub
It was the album King Tubby meets Rockers Uptown that altered my world. The deep bass lines and the syncopated drum groove with the “flying cymbal” aka “flyers” style created by drummer Santa Davis captivated and hooked me for life. Behind the music, I was hearing was King Tubby, one of the pioneers of dub who helped propel it into the musical consciousness of people worldwide so today I pay tribute to the dub master and Santa Davis’ “flying cymbal” style.
Dubmatix he bridge between rocksteady and roots began in the late 60s into the new decade of the 70s and with it, the sounds, tempo, and styles evolved into the next phase which would become roots reggae. Still, in between, there was a short period of time where the music and lyrics straddled the past and the future. Lee’ Scratch” Perry was at the forefront of this change and played an essential role in developing new sounds, ways to utilize sound fx, and production styles.
Giant Brain – Munich
Experimental electro-prog project GIANT BRAIN released their Grade A Gray Day full-length on March 10th via Small Stone Recordings and Kozmik Artifactz. The mind-bending offering serves as a final studio tribute to the memory of late guitarist Phil Dürr.
On January 11th, 2019, Dürr returned to the great mothership in the sky, days after suffering a cardiac arrest while in Germany visiting relatives. Between his international familial bonds and his membership in such hard-touring bands as Big Chief and Five Horse Johnson, he was mourned by friends, fans, and family globally. His loss was most keenly felt in Detroit, Michigan, his hometown since moving to the area from Mexico as a child, and where he was amid recording the latest album.
After the pain, tears, toasts and reflection, bandmates Al Sutton, Andy Sutton, and Eric Hoegemeyer endeavored to finish what they had started. Coming out four years after Dürr’s passing, Grade A Gray Day is GIANT BRAIN’s last musical will and testament, serving as both a tribute to their departed bandmate and the final chapter in a collaboration that reaches back to the 1990s, when the band members laid the groundwork for the Detroit rock renaissance of the following century.
Long fixtures of the local scene, GIANT BRAIN coalesced between sessions at Rustbelt Studios, Al Sutton’s recording facility in Royal Oak which has hosted regional and national rock royalty. One of the best guitarists in town, no small feat given the terrain, Dürr laid down six-string ideas that rolled as much as rocked while the Sutton brothers supplied taut rhythmic support and technical expertise. Their mix of Krautrock grooves, Detroit attitude, and ambient textures was first heard on 2007’s Plume. Producer and programmer Eric Hoegemeyer would join the band for 2009’s Thorn Of Thrones, with both albums being released on Small Stone Records.
From its packaging to the songs therein, Grade A Gray Day is a family affair. Sue Lott and Scott Hamilton, who played with Dürr in fellow Small Stoners Luder, guest on different songs, Detroit music luminaries Kenny Tudrick, Billy Reedy, James Simonson, Bob Ebeling, and Darrel Eubank sit in on others. UK transplant and Keeping The Blues Alive recording artist Joanne Shaw Taylor lays down searing guitar leads on two tracks and the album artwork was provided by underground art legend Mark Dancey, whose work has graced album covers by Soundgarden and who played guitar alongside Dürr in Big Chief.
Despite being a studio entity, GIANT BRAIN has always sounded like a band. There’s no denying, however, much of their unique musical voice was centered around Phil Dürr’s guitar playing, his ability to change gears from gritty to dreamy in the course of a single verse, his love of blues rock gravity and post-punk atmospherics, always thinking in the back of his mind, “What would Eddie Hazel play here?” At times sad and at other points a celebration, Dürr’s presence pulses and reverberates throughout Grade A Gray Day, whether in his guitar interplay with Joanne Shaw Taylor on the opener “Munich,” or the plangent chords hovering underneath Sue Lott’s vocals on “Between Trains,” the album’s final track and a moving farewell.
H.Hawkline – Milk For Flowers – Milk For Flowers
H.Hawkline (Huw Evans) with his fifth album, Milk For Flowers. Released on Friday 10th March 2023 via Heavenly Recordings, the album was produced and features musical contributions from long-time collaborator and celebrated solo artist Cate Le Bon amongst as host of other special guests.
Dave Graney and the MistLY – Pianola Roll – Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Where I Hide
Originally released in 1997 on The Devil Drives album – remade in 2011
2 Lost Souls – A Line Crossed – 52 Singles
Another in the series
Mark Corrin – Out Of Office On – Exit Gritty City
Mark’s last release on German Shepherd includes his usual off kilter look at life – tongue very firmly in cheek
Family – Strange Band – Anyway
New anniversary version of this classic album
Van Der Graaf Generator – Darkness (11/11) [Live, Royal Festival Hall, London, 2005] [2022 Remaster] – Interference Patterns
Great version from the 2005 comeback tour – originallpy on “The Least We Can Do I Wave To Each Other”
Carol Hodge – Wrong Side Of The Glass – Vertiginous Drops
Great new album from the talented Carol
Four Candles – Meat Machine – Too Old To Die Young
Opening track from the final album
Neural Dance – Technophobia (Algorithm Neutraliser Mix) – Single
Great radio friendly version of Neil’s recent single. Mark from Four Candles is now part of the live band.
Lucy Kruger And The Lost Boys – Howl – Heaving
Fascinating new album shows a change in emphasis and direction
Neon Kittens – Mirror Mirror – UR Toast
Almost impossible to keep up with Andy Goz’s prodigious output!
Different Noises 