Medina Records

I’ve been uploading a number of my mixes onto Mixcloud. All of these are already available in downloadable form here but if you just want to stream or are part of the Mixcloud community then check them out.

Much of the music I upload onto my blog I also add to my YouTube account and indeed a lot of music I don’t blog ends up there too. In many ways it’s a little simpler and less time consuming uploading music to YouTube and the feedback is better too. So subscribe to my YouTube channel or just keep visiting (the link is always up there on the top right) for a busier experience.

Jamaica Band – Sticky Fingers

Bugs Bunny – The Bunny Hop

Ashton, Gardner, Dyke & Co – Delirium

Gilles Peterson has been over in Cuba to shine some light on the music scene recording a series of documentary shows for Radio 1 and putting together an LP of new music. Bonus-beats-wise you get footage of an excited Gilles digging in an unamed store in Havana. Memorise that store front.

Spine TV seems to come and go but when it’s there it’s definitely worth checking out. Lots of gems to be viewed in the current incarnation plus live streaming video of DJ MK, Harry Love and guests many evenings (UK time zone). Here’s a brief guided tour of some of New York’s record shops from a mixtape king and DJ Amir Abdullah.

In New York again this time focusing on A-1 Records and their overstocked basement.

Some fella digging in Mumbai. Bollywood scores aplenty.

If you’re British and of a certain age this track will bring on a flood of nostalgia. Originally a KPM library track (from KPM1253 – The Reggae Album) it was used for several years as The Gallery music on British children’s show Take Hart. In many ways it’s a sister track to the equally sublime ‘Left Bank Two‘ by The Noveltones which was the theme music to Take Hart and prior to that The Gallery music from Take Hart’s parent show Vision On.

Thankfully ‘Marguerite’ didn’t remain hidden away on a hard to find library LP and was released as a single which makes it so much easier to wallow in the near perfection of Bob Morgan’s clarinets and lilting reggae.

Bob Morgan And Steppin’ Out – Marguerite

Oh I made a YouTube video for it too. As I say, if you British and of a certain age…

Paul Morley’s doing great stuff on The Guardian website at the moment. Lots of video/audio interviews going up with the likes of Goldie, soundtrack king Daniel Pemberton and lots of disco goodies going up at the moment too.

Paul Morley Showing Off

I love ‘Selected Sound’. There’s a bunch of killer tracks throughout those copper coloured LPs.

First up the Berry Lipman penned ‘Act Of Treat’ from ‘Action & Tension & Space’. Monster synth riff, funky drums, stabs – a huge record. Still uncomped and unsampled I think.

Rex Brown Company – Act Of Threat

Then there’s Klaus Weiss’ super dusted moody synth cut ‘Survivor’ from His sought after ‘Time Signals’ LP. Electronic funk has never sounded so good.

Klaus Weiss – Survivor

Great funky theme to a long forgotten TV show penned by Richard Denton & Martin Cook who composed various BBC soundtracks during that time (look out for a BBC LP called ‘Hong Kong Beat‘).

Quiller – Quiller

As a bonus here’s the first ten or so minutes of the first episode of ‘Quiller’.

Sadly the soundtrack to the 1970 film ‘Fragment Of Fear’ has never been released although Johnny Harris did see fit to make new recordings of a couple of tracks including the movies theme on his excellent ‘Movements’ LP. Great tracks they are too with the moody title theme and the frenetic ‘Stepping Stones’ complete with Harold McNair on flute. It’s well worth picking up the album which is easy to find on whatever format you require.

Johnny Harris – Fragment Of Fear

Johnny Harris – Stepping Stones

As an added bonus here’s the first nine minutes of the aforemention movie including the original version of the theme music.