He's A Complicated Man, But No-one Understands Him

Theme From "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes was released as a single in the USA on 30th September 1971.

The original, full length 4:39 vocal version was the opener of the double album soundtrack to the blaxploitation film, out in July the same year.

The single was edited to a more radio-friendly 3:15, whilst retaining the almost two-minute instrumental introduction. As an aside, I've love to see Richard Osman have the balls to include this in the 'Win When They're Singing' round on his House Of Games.

Theme From "Shaft" got to #1 in the Billboard Hot 100, and spent two weeks at #4 in the UK from 12th to 25th December 1971.  

Isaac deservedly won an Oscar for "Theme from Shaft" in 1972 for Best Original Song, itself becoming a historic moment. Hayes was not only the first recipient who had both written and performed the winning song, but he was also the first African American to win any Academy Award in a non-acting category. 

Apart from a slew of cover versions released around the same time as the single and film soundtrack, there have been relatively few since, and even fewer of note.

However, there are two in my collection that rate amongst my personal favourite covers, not least because given the artists involved, they are both surprisingly faithful versions.

Cabaret Voltaire are believed to have recorded their take on the Theme From 'Shaft" around 1981, though it didn't appear on an official release until the Eight Crépuscule Tracks collection in 1987.

The Wedding Present included their version of Theme From 'Shaft" as the B-side of Boing!, the eighth of twelve singles released every month during 1992, spending one week at #19 in the UK.

I've uncovered another couple of gems on t'internet, firstly a 1999 cover in Arabic by Malik Adouane, which adds a whole new layer of thrills, with a video that allows Malik to live his Richard Roundtree moment.

And lastly, an interpretive dance like no other by Lola Falana. You have never seen cops like this before... It's been recorded off the telly, so has the expected sound and vision glitches, but the arresting sight of Lola and her police squad provide ample distraction.

Did I say lastly? The last word has to be Isaac Hayes, naturally. If the 4:39 album still feels too short - DJDiscoCat clearly thought so - then how about his 2019 'Soul Purrfection' re-edit, all nine minutes of it?

I can dig it.

Return Of The Rebel

This Is Ska is a new single by Double Trouble and Rebel MC, their first in three and a half decades.

I wasn't expecting that!

Those who will remember their collaborative smash hits Just Keep Rockin' (UK #11, June 1989) and Street Tuff (UK #3, October 1989) will be reassured that this is a bouncing, upbeat tune in the same vein.

Coming along for the ride are the legendary Blackout JA and contemporary artist Kaya Fyah, who also happens to be Rebel MC's daughter.

In 1994, Rebel MC aka Michael West converted to Rastafari and changed his name to  Mikail Tafari. From this point, he continued to release music as Congo Natty.

So, it's a real blast from the past - and breath of fresh air - to hear This Is Ska. Guaranteed to blow away those Monday blues.

And, in case you need reminding...

 

Nobody Starts This Way

After two previous failed attempts, it was third time lucky as I got to see Billy Nomates perform live at Electric (formerly SWX) in Bristol on Wednesday night (24th).

A mad dash from work, a quick stop at home for a change of clothes, then via the M4 and M32 to Bristol. I'm always keen to catch the support act and feared I'd be late but, when i approached the stage, this was the sight that greeted me. 

 

Had John Medd arrived before me?

 

No, this was the stage device for Emily Sadler. I'd done zero research into the support but had I done even a casual search, then the clues were there: her Instagram moniker @cirquemily and a show billed as "Beneath The Big Top"; this wasn't going to be your standard 30-minute singer/songwriter acoustic support slot.

 

Emily describes herself as an "Aerialist, Handbalancer and Roller Skater" and we got two out of three live on stage...well, would you attempt roller skating with all the cables and kit lying around?

 

It was a truly arresting sight, as Emily performed to a backing tape, switching from introductory narration to music and back again, as she moved through several 'acts.

 

Not everything went strictly to plan, but you try walking across four upright narrow necked glass bottles, in ballet shoes and on point. Emily managed two, stumbled and dropped on the third, though from the audience's perspective, it was a win. 

 

That moment of seeing Emily perfectly poised, the tips of her toes resting in the mouth of two bottles, was jaw-dropping. The aerial hoop routine the choreography, the sheer novelty of seeing something off-kilter at a music gig got the evening off to a great start. 

 

Never skip the support act, kids! 

 

One thing that has dramatically changed in my gig-going experience since my teens is how punctual everything is these days. By necessity, of course, driven by venue curfews or club nights following hot on the heels of live music. For the punter, it's almost entirely eliminated the interminable wait between support slot and headliner.

 

And so, pretty much on the nose at 9.00pm, Billy Nomates took to the stage. The pendatic complaining consumer may have placed a call to Trading Standards at this point, as Billy clearly and unmistakably now has mates, in the form of Mandy Clarke (bass) and Liam Chapman (drums). Or, maybe they're not friends at all...

 

Friendship status aside, and frequently cited stage nerves notwithstanding, Tor Maries is a natural on stage, delivering stunning vocals, energy and presence, along with frequent and endearing between song banter.

 

"Whose idea was it to have a hometown gig to open the tour?" asks Tor at one point. "Promoters!", shaking her fist in mock indignation. 

 

It was a good call, though. There was a hugely positive vibe, the sense that no-one here was present to be convinced or persuaded that Tor Maries is an exceptionally talented songwriter and performer. Boy, did she and the band deliver, though.

 

Even the occasional fluffs were styled out with great humour: Mandy couldn't get a bass groove right early on and it took three starts before it locked in. And we just applauded all the more. On another occasion, Billy's banter was supposed to be a cue for Liam to lead in to the next song, and he missed it. Twice.

 

"in fairness," reflected Tor. "We haven't practiced it." 

 

All but one song from current album Metalhorse was played (what did Comedic Timing do wrong?), including Moon Explodes ("We were sat in the back of the van, definitely not stoned" remembers Tor with a twinkle in her eye) and Dark Horse Friend, with Liam doing a fair impression of Hugh Cornwell, who guests on the studio version.

 

Barring the set closer, Metalhorse dominates the first half of the show, concluding with Strange Gift, Tor's tribute to her dad, seeing her strap on an acoustic guitar, whilst LIam and Mandy remain seated and reading newspapers. After the energy of the last half hour or so, it's a beautiful, touching performance.

 

"Any interesting stories in the papers?" asked Tor after the song.

 

"Man drives 800 miles to return bag," deadpans Liam *

 

"800 miles?" wonders Tor aloud to the audience. "Uh oh... that's dangerous: 800 miles, I'm between two Scottish musicians; before you know it, you'll be asking me for...

 

When I wake up...

 

...maybe I'll do it at the end." (Spoiler: she didn't)

 

What we were treated to though, was a second half that delved into the already expansive Billy Nomates back catalogue, with songs from the self-titled debut and 2023 follow up Cacti.

 

2020's Emergency Telephone EP also got a couple of outings, with Heels and Petrol Fumes. Even more satisfying were a couple of songs from the growing "Tor Tape" collection that Tor has been gradually adding to Bandcamp since August 2023. 

 

pornos in the waiting room came out in July this year, knives in September 2023 and whilst these Tor Tape songs are described as B-sides and demos, they're every bit as hard-hitting and complete songs as those that have appeared on any of her albums.

 

After a muscular version of balance is gone - this 3-person line-up is spectacularly good - we're sadly at the end of the night. 

 

Joking that the band were "way too cool for an impractical encore", Tor, Liam and Mandy launch into The Test from Metalhorse, a highlight amongst highlights. 

 

"You know I can't come down," Tor sings at one point and, as I walk back to the car, reflecting on the last couple of hours, I'm not sure that I can either.

 

If you can get to any of the remaining dates on Billy Nomates' UK tour, I'd urge you to run not walk. Don't miss out.

 

Setlist hasn't (yet) posted details for the Bristol show but looking at the post for Southampton a couple of nights later, I think it's pretty much the same, so I've used this as the basis for today's hour-long selection. If you're new to or relatively unfamiliar with Billy Nomates / Tor Maries, then you are in for a treat.

 

As a bonus, I'm also reposting the 44-minute Dubhed selection I created in June 2023. A few duplicates/overlaps between the two but when the music is this good, who cares?

 

1) Life's Unfair (2025)

2) Metalhorse (2025)

3) Nothin Worth Winnin (2025)

4) Plans (2025)

5) No (2020)

6) Moon Explodes (2025)

7) Dark Horse Friend (ft. Hugh Cornwell) (2025)

8) Override (2025)

9) Heels (2020)

10) Gas (2025)

11) Strange Gift (2025)

12) pornos in the waiting room (2025)

13) knives (2023)

14) blue bones (deathwish) (2023)

15) Hippy Elite (2020)

16) Petrol Fumes (2020)

17) Spite (2023)

18) balance is gone (2023)

19) The Test (2025) 

 

2020: Billy Nomates: 5, 15

2020: Emergency Telephone EP: 9, 16 

2023: Cacti: 14, 17, 18

2023: knives EP: 13 

2025: Metalhorse: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 19 

2025: pornos in the waiting room EP: 12 

 

Nobody Starts This Way (1:03:11) (GD) (M)

 

 

And here's a bonus link to Little Boy, Don't Think You Quite Understand, my previous Billy Nomates selection from 2023.

 

 

* This is a true story!

A Dream Of A Forbidden World

An hour in the company of Marc Almond is never going to be dull, and today's selection is further evidence of this fact.

Exploring Marc's deeper, longform cuts, this is not for the faint hearted: the shortest song comes in at 5:51 and the Long Version of Split Lip is exactly that, over 17 minutes of Marc magic.

And the madness of opening song The Beautiful Light Of Madness is that this 1995 demo never made it onto an album or EP, only appearing years later on rarities collections or deluxe reissues. It says a lot about Marc's prolific songwriting that gems like this would not be polished up for a commercial release.

As ever, Marc's songs weave a wondrous web of intrigue, narratives that could comfortably be collected for a discomfiting fireside read. And, to close, a slice of French sleaze, originally written and recorded in 1972 by "La Chanteuse De Minuit" Barbara.

I've just realised that it's just over a year and a week since I last saw Marc perform live at the Beacon in Bristol, which seems a good excuse to reactivate my previous Marc Almond selections. Too much is never enough!

1) The Beautiful Light Of Madness (Early Demo) (1995)

2) A Lover Spurned (12" Version ft. Julie T. Wallace) (1990)

3) She Took My Soul In Istanbul (Album Version ft. Suraya Ahmed) (1988)

4) Split Lip (Long Version) (1984)

5) Demon Lover (Extended Remix) (2015)

6) Lord Of Misrule (Album Version ft. Ian Anderson) (2020)

7) Worship Me Now (Starcluster Remix ft. Jarvis Cocker) (2014)

8) Incestuous Love (Amours Incestueuses) (Cover of Barbara) (1993)

1984: You Have EP: 4

1988: The Stars We Are: 3

1990: A Lover Spurned EP: 2

1993: Absinthe: The French Album: 8

2002: Little Rough Rhinestones, Volume 1: 1

2014: The Dancing Marquis (bonus tracks): 7

2015: Demon Lover EP: 5

2020: Chaos And A Dancing Star: 6

A Dream Of A Forbidden World (1:00:45) (GD) (M)

Cover Stories (September 2024)

Playing Up The Vamp (May 2023)

A Promise Of Heaven Or Hell In Your Song (January 2022)

Spool If You Think It's Over

Dayve Hawk, an artist you may never have heard of, remixing artists you (mostly) may never have heard of...

In the late 2000s, my main source of finding about new music had shifted dramatically from magazines to online, sites like RCRD LBL (RIP) and The Hype Machine (still going!) opening the door to artists, remixers and music blogs that allowed me to tap into scenes and sounds that would otherwise have passed me by.

Dayve Hawk is a prime example, back then a self-described "stay at home dad" who also recorded and released music at home as Memory Tapes, Weird Tapes and Memory Cassette. 

Memory Tapes is perhaps the most well known of the three, with three albums between 2009 and 2012. The latter two can be found on Bandcamp, along with various singles up to and including what seems to be the last release to date in 2015.

Dayve was also a prolific remixer during the same period and I've collected ten for a C90-friendly side, one as Weird Tapes, the rest as Memory Tapes.

Dayve's work was frequently categorised as chillwave, glo-fi, "the sound of 2010" (though presumably not in 2011), along with artists like Washed Out and Neon Indian. The music has transcended and outlived most of the appellations and I struggle with labels anyway.

Elements of the music sound very much of their time, in a good way, but I also like the psychedelic elements of Dayve's work, the sudden dips into uptempo bangers alongside moments of beautiful serenity. Also, these are remixes in their purest form: vocals and elements of the original are present, but bent into new sonic shapes so that the finished version often bears little relation to the source material.

If you've never heard of Dayve Hawk and like what you hear, there's a fair bit more to check out. I've read that there's even an official remix of a Britney Spears single out there, which I've never heard. My curiosity is piqued!

1) This New Technology (Memory Tapes Mix): Midnight Juggernauts (2009)

2) Lions In Cages (Memory Tapes Remix): Wolf Gang (2010)

3) I Think (Memory Tapes Remix): Demon (2010)

4) Give It Up (Weird Tapes Version): Datarock (2009)

5) Suffocation (Memory Tapes Remix): Crystal Castles (2010)

6) Ambling Alp (Memory Tapes Remix): Yeasayer (2009)

7) Drive-In (Memory Tapes's B-Live Mix): Thunderheist (2010)

8) Real Life (Memory Tapes Remix): Tanlines (2010)

9) Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (Memory Tapes Remix): Tame Impala (2012)

10) Crystals (Memory Tapes Remix #1): Fixers (2011)

Spool If You Think It's Over (44:46) (GD) (M)

Nineteen Sixty Nine, OK?

Four festivals. Four icons. Four incredible performances.

Imagine it's 1969 and you got to experience at least one of these in person. 

Imagine if you got to experience all four *

Mindblowing.

1) Love City (Live @ The Woodstock Festival, Bethel, New York, 16th August 1969): Sly & The Family Stone

2) Sunshine Of Your Love (Live @ Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreaux, Switzerland, 22nd June 1969) (Cover of Cream): Ella Fitzgerald

3) Tutti Frutti (Live @ The Toronto Peace Festival, Toronto, Canada, 13th September 1969): Little Richard

4) Four Women (Live @ Harlem Cultural Festival, New York, 17th August 1969): Nina Simone

 

 

 

* It's roughly a two hour drive from Bethel to Harlem, so getting from Sly & The Family Stone's set at Woodstock to catch Nina Simone the following day was doable in theory...provided you weren't so stoned that you slept through your alarm clock and were fit to drive in the first place!

The Spaces Between Places Where Interesting Things Can Happen

Miki Berenyi Trio have a new song called Doldrum Days out and about, a lush (pun intended) six and a half minutes of shimmering guitars, pattering percussion and ethereal vocals that will have you grinning from ear to ear, whether from nostalgia or the joy of listening for the first time to something special.

As a huge fan of Lush from the outset - their first three 12" EPs were prized possessions - I somehow managed to let Miki's subsequent band Piroshka pass me by, but I've been enraptured by MB3's beautifully harmonious sound. 

It's a testament to the trio - Miki, Kevin 'Moose' McKillop and Oliver Cherer - that, having forged their partnership on the live circuit, the move to recording and releasing music has unlocked a creative burst of activity in the past twelve months. 

Doldrum Days comes hot on the heels of Miki Berenyi Trio's first album Tripla, which debuted in April. The album is full of reassuringly familiar sounds and sonic surprises, such as Gango, the penultimate song on Side One and an energetic tribute to Gang Of Four.

You can find Doldrum Days in all the usual places and catch Miki Berenyi Trio on their UK tour starting next month if you can.

Miki Berenyi Trio's debut vinyl release was the Covers EP, bravely tackling four songs by Miki's first band. Light From A Dead Star was originally the opening song of Lush's 1994 album Split.

MB3's version is a 'straight bat' cover (copyright Martin @ New Amusements) but this is no bad thing.

And it would be mean of me to namecheck Lush and not reactivate the Dubhed recreation of the mixtape that I created in July 1992, wouldn't it? 

Forty five minutes and fifteen songs pulled from the Scar, Mad Love, Sweetness And Light and For Love EPs, crammed onto one side of a C90 cassette.

Here you go!

I Couldn't Fall Further Than I Already Have

I last (and first) gave a nod to Georgia in July, when I included her single Wanna Play in half a dozen picks for the summer.

Of the six selections, I described Wanna Play as "the closest of all to a banger, and I love it" and I still stand by that in-depth appraisal of the single.

Of course, time waits for no-one and Georgia's delivered another certified Grade A banger with new single Get Over It, which came out earlier this month. It hits all the sweet spots, and the video directed by Spike Silverton is simple yet effective, lots of dizzying crossfaded images of Georgia dancing in a corridor before cutting to extreme facial close up and rapid edits for the choral break. 

Whilst the music is aimed squarely at the dancefloor, it also satisfies the hunger for pop with smart lyrics and run times that rarely exceed the four-minute mark and, like Get Over It, typically come in at under three.

Georgia is signed to Domino Records and currently three albums in, the most recent being Euphoric in 2023. Here a couple of singles from the album, Some Things You’ll Never Know and the opening (almost) title track, It's Euphoric.

  

The press bods at Domino describe Georgia as "as a unique left-field pop artist." If that weren't enough of an unsubtle hint, I will mention - but only in passing - that Georgia's dad is Neil Barnes of Leftfield.

The only other thing I will mention is that, after Neil and Paul Daley retired Leftfield in 2002, Neil returned to release new music as Leftfield in 2015, the same year that Georgia released her self-titled debut. 

In my blissfully ignorant state, I would like to think that Georgia's exploding talent inspired her dad, but there is no doubt that she is on her own path and doing very nicely, thank you.

As well as formidable songwriting chops, Georgia can also turn in a deft cover version, as evidenced by this fine example on Radio 1's Live Lounge in the summer of 2023.

Groovejet by Spilller and Sophie and a snippet of The Style Council's cover of Cover of Promised Land by Joe Smooth at the end? How meta is that?

And yes, she makes drumming cool in a way that Phil Collins could only dream of. In fact, that was how I first encountered Georgia, way back in 2019 when she performed Never Let You Go on Later...With Jools Holland on BBC2.

If that's whet your appetite for more Georgia, go buy some stuff over at the Domino Records shop.

Happy Birthday To You (All)

On 22nd September 2015, US Judge George King ruled that the original copyright to Happy Birthday was invalid and the song would now be entirely in the public domain. 

The tune was originally composed 1893 by Mildred and Patty Hill, two sisters from Kentucky, and titled Good Morning To All. This subsequently evolved into the song that you, me, pretty much the whole world has been singing ever since.

The copyright was filed in 1935, and obtained by the Clayton F. Summy Co. from the sisters,; the company was succeeded by Birch Tree Group, which claimed the copyright. 

In 1988, Warner/Chappell acquired the copyright for $15 million when it bought the Birch Tree Group, and had been collecting fees on the song since then. In 2015, revenue was estimated at $2 million a year (approx. £1.95 million today), from charging every time Happy Birthday was used in a film, television episode, advertisement or other public performance.

In 2013, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Nelson filed a putative class action suit against Warner/Chappell, in the name of her production company Good Morning To You Productions. Warner/Chappell had asked for $1,500 (roughly £1,520 in 2025) for the right to use Happy Birthday To You in a documentary that she was making about the song and its history. 

A week later, a further suit Rupa Marya v. Warner Chappell Music Inc was filed by Rupa Marya and Robert Siegel, and subsequently the two suits were combined, arguing that Happy Birthday was in the public domain and should not be subject to copyright fees.

Ultimately, Judge King ruled that the original copyright was only granted for the melody, and the rights to piano arrangements based on the melody, not the song itself. In other words, the Clayton F. Summy Co. had never acquired copyright to the song's words.

At the time of the ruling, Happy Birthday remained in copyright in the European Union, but happily this expired on 1st January 2017 and is now fully in the public domain.

All of which seems a good excuse to wish this varied bunch a Happy Birthday, sharing a special day with the date of this landmark legal victory.

Toni Basil (82)

David Coverdale (74)

Vudi aka Mark Pankler (73)

Richard Fairbrass (72)

Doug Wimbish (69)

Nick Cave (68)

Andrea Boccelli (67)

Joan Jett (67)

Billie Piper (43)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Optimum Space To Twitch

Celebrating Keith McIvor aka JD Twitch aka one half of the mighty Optimo, following news of his passing on Friday 19th September 2025 at the age of 57.

Last month, it was revealed that Keith had an untreatable brain tumour and funds were raised to support round-the-clock care. And now he is gone. My thoughts and best wishes go to Keith's family, friends and loved ones.

Keith was a legend in music for two reasons: his solo work as DJ and producer JD Twitch; then there was Optimo, or Optimo (Espacio).

The latter had two separate and distinct identities. Optimo (Espacio) was a club night that ran in The Sub Club in Glasgow from 1997 to 2010, a partnership between long-time pals Keith and Jonnie Wilkes. 

Optimo, or Optimo (Espacio) was also a remix and production duo of Keith with Dave Clark, and which provides a heavy contribution to today's selection. The pair have released countless remixes over the years and it's a testament to the quality of their work that this is just as much about what I had to leave out than what I included.

And Keith's remixes as JD Twitch kept the bar very high, as today's picks will attest.

But that wasn't my first experience of Keith's music, though I found this out much, much later. 

In my first forays into downloading MP3s from music sites in 2000 and 2001, I was introduced to Mount Florida via the Matador Records label. I knew next to nothing about, but were subsequently revealed to be a partnership between Keith McIvor and Mike Lancaster. Just five releases between 1997 and 2001 - a 12" of untitled dubs, three EPs and an album, Arrived Phoenix - all excellent.

Today's selection is a tribute to Keith's formidable skills at the controls, redefining trance music for the 21st Century and creating remixes that frequently surpassed the original source song.

I could have gone on and on, but I've restricted my selection to 13 songs and just under 90 minutes. It's not enough, though it manages to span Keith's end of the century excursions with Mount Florida right up to this year's rerub of Primal Scream.

If you're a fan of Keith's music, I hope this serves him well. If you're less familiar with his work, then I hope it inspires you to go looking for more, it's every bit as good as what you'll find here.

Rest well, Keith, you have left so much to savour and remember you by.

1) Life Magazine (An Optimo (Espacio) Mix): Cold Cave (2010)

2) No Social (Optimo Espacio Remix): The Shortwave Set (2008)

3) In Sintesi (JD Twitch Optimo Mix): Róisín Murphy (2014)

4) Buzz In (Optimo Remix): Boris (2009)

5) 18 Hours (Of Love) (An Optimo (Espacio) Remix): K-X-P (2018)

6) Circus Of Life (A JD Twitch Remix): Primal Scream (2025)

7) Autonomia (A JD Twitch Optimo Total Destruction): Mark Stewart vs Primal Scream (2012)

8) G-Twang! (Single Version): Mount Florida (1999)

9) Greater Reward (Piano Power Edit By JD Twitch): Severed Heads (2015)

10) Infected (A JD Twitch Optimo Mix) (Cover Of The The): David Shaw And The Beat (2012)

11) White Rooms And People (A JD Twitch Mix): Working Men's Club (2020)

12) Lost In Satie (Single Version): Mount Florida (1999)

13) Bedjem Mebok (JD Twitch Remix): 10LEC6 (2017)

1999: Stealth EP: 12

1999: Strut EP: 8

2008: No Social EP: 2

2009: Buzz In: Remix Project EP: 4

2010: Life Magazine EP: 1

2012: Autonomia EP: 7

2012: Infected EP: 10

2014: Mi Senti Remixed EP: 3

2015: Big Saints Reward (88-90 Dubs) EP: 9

2017: Bedjem Mebok EP: 13

2018: 18 Hours (Of Love) / Tears (Extended Interlude) EP: 5

2025: Come Ahead: The Remixes Volume One: Vocals: 6

2025: JD Twitch: Heavenly Remixes EP: 11

Optimum Space To Twitch (1:28:51) (GD) (M)

Watt's The Frequency's Zenith?

Today's selection is an hour-long tribute to bartender, auto mechanic and master of the 12" edit, Joseph Watt.

My first experience of Joseph's work was in 1985, buying either the 7" double pack of What's Your Problem? by Blancmange or the import 12" of Master And Servant by Depeche Mode, both of which contained examples of his handiwork.

I soon discovered his vast body of work with Art Maharg as Razormaid, though much of it was out of my reach until the early 2000s, when it became available online via various music blogs.

Since then, I've amassed over a hundred different Joseph Watt edits and remixes, spanning 1983 to 1993 and covering a wide range of genres, but favouring the alternative and electronic pop music of my teens.

In pulling together this selection and post, I discovered a fascinating article-cum-interview with Joseph from 2014 on the Red Bull Music Academy website of all places. It's well worth a read, especially if you have an interest in Razormaid and the US subscription-only remix services that proliferated in the 1980s, but also as an inspirational tale of serendipitous and seismic career changes.

"Where did you come from? 

Are you like some big hotshot DJ from Miami or Paris?’"

They said I was like this enigma. 

I’d just say, 

"What do you mean?

I just came over from my apartment on 17th Street"

I've selected and sequenced nine personal favourites from Joseph's catalogue, some commercially released, some included on the numerous Razormaid 12" singles and compilations from the 1980s and 1990s.

The aforementioned remix of Depeche Mode is present, Blancmange too, though instead of That's Love That It Is from the What's Your Problem? 7", I've gone for Game Above My Head, a stunning extended remix that appeared on the follow up 7" double pack, Lose Your Love.

I offer apologies to anyone led by the post title into thinking there might be some R.E.M. here as well. Not so, but the rest of the mixtape, from Sparks to Erasure, Bronski Beat to Vicious Pink, O.M.D. to Talking Heads and ending with Electronic, is pretty heavyweight compensation. 

1) Burning Down The House (Razormaid Mix): Talking Heads (1987)

2) Music That You Can Dance To (Razormaid! Edit): Sparks (1990)

3) Smalltown Boy (Razormaid Mix): Bronski Beat (1984)

4) Game Above My Head (U.S. Extended Remix Version): Blancmange (1983)

5) Tesla Girls (Razormaid Mix): O.M.D. (1992)

6) Master And Servant (US Black & Blue Version) (Edited By Joseph Watt): Depeche Mode (1984)

7) Cccan't You See... ('89 Mix By Razormaid aka Art Maharg & Joseph Watt): Vicious Pink (1989)

8) Sometimes (Extended Mix By Rico Conning) (Edited By Joseph Watt): Erasure (1987)

9) Getting Away With It (Digital Mix): Electronic (1992)

1983: That's Love, That It Is EP (USA 12" single): 4

1984: Master And Servant EP (USA 12" single): 6

1987: Sometimes EP (USA 12" single): 8

1988: Class X One: 1

1989: Razormaid's 4th Anniversary Issue: The Atrocity Exhibition: 7

1990: Prehistoric Razormaid!: 2

1992: The Best Of... This Is Only A Test!: 3, 9

1992: Razormaid! 7th Anniversary Box Set: 5

Watt's The Frequency's Zenith? (1:02:43) (GD) (M)

Further listening:

Bevans Above! (Bert Bevans, November 2021)

L'art De La Discothèque, Volume 1 & Volume 2 (François Kevorkian, May-June 2025)

WareHouse (Martyn Ware, May 2025)

How Can It Feel This Wrong?

A stunning new version of Roads, performed by Portishead in support of Together For Palestine.

Filmed at the Cube Microplex in Bristol and posted the day that the festering sore on the backside of humanity left the UK.

Thank you, Beth, Geoff and Adrian.

Something's Missing

Today's completely random pick - and why I'll be forever grateful for the 'shuffle' option on my music player - is "BabyRock" Rock, a 2010 single by Clorofila.

I listen to full albums a lot as well as the Dubhed selections that I churn out at an alarming rate. I also listen to a lot of mixes that other supremely talented people - professional and unpaid (never amateur) - have put out there in the blogosphere.

Frequently though, I like to press shuffle and have an hour or so of whatever the music library on my computer or phone decides to fling at me. 

Frequently, it will offer a song or a remix that I haven't heard in a very long time - in some cases, just the once before it was filed away or overwhelmed by the deluge of newly acquired stuff that inevitably follows. 

So, this is a great way of being reminded of a great but overlooked song and will often send me back to the album, EP or wider work of said artist.

I'll 'fess up, I know very little about Clorofila, and have caught up via Discogs to write this post.

Clorofila was the project of Mexican graphic designer Jorge Verdín, initially with pal Fritz Torres. Formed in 1998, Clorofila was a founder member of the Nortec Collective, described on Discogs as 

The term Nortec is a conjunction of 

Norteño ("of" or "from the North") and Techno, 

but mainly describes the collision between 

the music, style and culture of electronic music 

with those of norteño and tambora, 

two popular music genres from the North of Mexico. 

These styles are characterised by their use of 

accordions and double bass (norteño); 

tubas, clarinets, horns and pumping bass drums (tambora) 

and quirky use of percussion and polyrhythmic snare drum rolls (both). 

All of these elements are used to create a sound 

that is very Tijuana. 

As a complement, there's also a 

"Colectivo Visual" 

a group of designers and VJs 

who take care of the visual side of Nortec live shows. 

My introduction was via Ahora Yo A Ti... Una Colección De Remixes Por Panóptica, a 2005 compilation of remixes by Nortec Collective member Panóptica aka Roberto A. Mendoza, which included a rework of the Clorofila song Almada.

Up to now, Almada and "BabyRock" Rock have been the only two Clorofila songs in my collection.

"BabyRock" Rock appears on the 2010 album Corridos Urbanos, labelled as "Nortec Collective Presents: A Collection Of Songs By Clorofila" despite the fact that Jorge had effectively left the collective circa 2007/8.

Unlike Fra Lippo Lippi earlier in the week (sorry, guys!), on hearing Clorofila again, I was inspired to check if Corridos Urbanos was available for purchase on Bandcamp. It is, though on CD only, shipping from the USA. I ended up buying the 13-track digital version from iTunes for £3.99.

If you prefer to dip your toes into the water first, there's the 2014 follow up Ahorita Vengo, a digital snip at five US dollars.

You may have noticed that I referred to Clorofila in the past tense. In looking up the biog info for this post, I discovered that Jorge sadly passed on 16th April 2024, at the age of 59.

A sad end to the story perhaps, but I am grateful that today's random shuffle prompted me to take a trip back into the music that Jorge created.