Cartwheel
Radio Dread
There’s a whole world of reggae radio on the net. From rotating streams to continuous play, it’s truly possible to hear great roots, dub, or dancehall 24-7. XLR8R.com has several favorite shows, starting with L.A.’s bombastic and always exciting DJ Baby Ace, whose Baby Ace Radio is available via Live365 or iTunes radio. You’ll hear ’nuff current riddim sets in the mix, ridiculous drops, and sound effects that will make a listener feel like a Crystal-clutching top-shotta chilling in the VIP section at Asylum nightclub in Kingston. Also recommended via iTunes radio is 808 Live Reggae Cast, although it’s not always streaming.
On the “catch it when you can” tip is Ovadoze Movement’s Dancehall Vibes program, broadcasted weekly on Holland’s Stadsradio Helmond. This program is all about pre-releases and just-breaking riddims, such as DJ Sunshine’s After Dark, Stephen McGreggor’s Tremor, and Baby G’s Gang War. If you crave to know what’s new before any of your fellow dancehall DJs, this is must-listen radio.
For more traditional fare, check Jammin Reggae Archives. DJ Mike Pawka brings you traditional and new roots reggae (Steel Pulse to Da’Ville), and the site offers each show as a podcast, Windows, Real Player, and even Linux stream. The broadcast is laid-back and unpretentious, the selection balanced and well-chosen.
Oddly, satellite radio stations XM and Sirius are two of the few non-terrestrial music venues that offer very little selection when it comes to reggae–XM has one show, “The Joint,” while Sirius has no reggae, only reggaeton/salsa programming.
But let’s switch back to regular old FM for a look at DJ Richie B’s (Hot 102 FM, Jamaica) top ten this week:
1. Morgan Heritage “Brooklyn & Jamaica” (Juke Boxx)
2. Shaggy “Church Heathen” (Big Yard)
3. Gyptian “My Fadah She” (Real Lyfe)
4. Nanko “Loco Amor” (Downsound)
5. Collie Buddz “Come Around” (Sony Urban/Epic)
6. Mavado “Last Night” (TJ’s)
7. Daville “This Time I Promise” (Fashozy)
8. Chuck Fender/Cherine Anderson “Coming Over” (Birch Hill)
9. Buju Banton “Driver” (Gargamel)
10. Tessanne Chin “Hideaway” (Klariti Productions)
More online reggae:
Jah Radio w/Bush Doktor
Uptown Riddim Radio w/ DJ Killa B
Shockout.com w/Selecta 7, Jah Mex
Various Hosts/Stations from Around The World
Lars Bartkuhn Dimension
It’s been along time since I heard anything from Lars or the other guys from the Needs crew, but Lars delivers for sure. Chord scales that will make grown men and women weep and rejoice, whether they are listening to broken, house, or techno all night long. This screams “WMC track” if I ever heard one. Anthem?
Various Artists The Upsetter Selection: A Lee Perry Jukebox
Would you trust a man who burned down his own studio to do justice to his musical archives? Lee “Scratch” Perry dresses down his production genius by acting like a charming acid casualty, but his blunt stunts suggest a master prankster. He shows a similar sly wit on this soulful and eclectic overview of his career. Given just two discs, anyone would struggle to assemble the definitive Upsetter greatest-hits collection. Perry forgoes that route, charting an eccentric course that captures his independent spirit (check the diss track against Trojan founder Chris Blackwell) while indirectly hitting all the pertinent historical markers.
Stephen Vitiello Listening to Donald Judd
Sculptor Donald Judd could radically alter a bare room’s mood just by placing a simple box in the right place. Sound designer Stephen Vitiello explores the audio spaces that Judd’s sculptures inhabit in a Texas town by attaching microphones to their surfaces, capturing whatever vibrations pass through. It’s an intriguing idea, but the result is an otherwise generic musique concrte mix. There are a few strong moments of broken, droning electricity invading pastoral scapes of birdsong and trains passing through, but the over-indulgence of boiling hums and erratic pacing often makes everything seem hollow and emotionally lost.
Various Artists Telefon Tel Aviv: Remixes Compiled
You don’t have to like New Orleans-based duo Telefon Tel Aviv, or the artists they’ve remixed over the last seven years, to like this compilation-each song here sounds less like one or the other, and more like a new beast. However, hardcore followers of Charles Cooper and Joshua Eustis might notice their dense, trippy style everywhere: Nine Inch Nails’ “Even Deeper,” John Hughes III’ “Got Me Lost/Driving in L.A.,” and Apparat’s “Komponent” are reason enough to buy. Others, like a Bebel Gilberto version, approach Café Del Mar-style anonymity. But generally, TTA’s production imparts a night-blooming, wide-eyed shine that can make anything, even indie mopers American Analog Set, unbelievably sexy.
Stewart Walker Concentricity
Celebrating 10 years as a leader in all things techno, this seasoned veteran delivers a journey though delicate melodies, drifting pads, and emotional soul. Further developing the minimal Berlin sound, the tracks here stick to a skeletal structure while making novel use of subtle clicks, dissonant keys, and hazy synth tones. The percussive elements remain simple and tight while bits and pieces of reversed stabs, reverb-soaked chords, and hollow hits bring you through an after-hours session worthy of 8 a.m. on the shores of Ibiza.
The Sea and Cake Everybody
The Sea and Cake rightfully deserve their designation as elder statesmen of the Chicago art-pop landscape. This time out, Sam Prekop and company return in an older, more perceptive incarnation of the band, eschewing the electronic flourishes of past releases for a more classic sound reminiscent of their self-titled debut. The difference here is clearly refinement. Never has the guitar playing of Archer Prewitt and Sam Prekop sounded so in-sync and sophisticated. And bassist Eric Claridge and drummer John McEntire continue a legacy of stylish understatement. Everybody proves there’s plenty left in Chicago’s prodigal sons.
The Go Find Stars on the Wall
One measure of a successful label is the presence of a signature sound. Berlin’s Morr Music certainly has one, represented dutifully by The Notwist, Lali Puna, Styrofoam, and now The Go Find, the pseudonym of Belgium’s Dieter Sermeus. His second album for Morr is a pastiche of gentle pop songs and subtle electronics but what differentiates it from, say, Ms. John Soda is a more organic singer-songwriter sensibility. Stars on the Wall isn’t quite coffeehouse material, but it’s intimate and amenable at first approach and softens with successive listens.
