Earlier in the summer, I immersed myself into 𝘈 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘺, the fascinating book by famed ethnomusicologist Gage Averill, in which he narrates how Haiti’s vibrant and expressive music has been one of the most highly charged instruments in the struggle against oppression at the hands of colonial […]
Category: Blog
Dance For Haiti
20 songs to celebrate 20 years in London
Towards the end of November 2000 I landed in London with a backpack, one cassette tape and dreams aplenty. Years have mysteriously passed (who knows where the time goes?!) and here I found myself, as Londoner as can be, celebrating twenty years of trials and tribulations in the city. For 20 days (+ 1) in […]
SOUNDS OF 2020 – THE WEIRDEST YEAR IN MUSIC
“Music is the healing force of the Universe” This quote taken from Albert Ayler’s spiritual jazz masterpiece perhaps never sounded so accurate as it did in 2020. Most of us searched for solace in music in even deeper ways than ever. I for one spent even more time than usual consuming music, digging, seeking out, […]
Gratien Midonet Compilation on Time Capsule
It is finally here: the project started at the tail end of 2019 has finally become reality with the release of a retrospective of Midonet’s career highlights on double vinyl and in full audiophile glory. After tracking down Gratien in Noumea, New Caledonia, we spent the best part of 2020 exchanging long emails as I […]
Roots & Culture – Sounds of Love and Freedom
The recent combination of a lockdown + unusually hot weather has made us dig deep in the crates in search of fresh tropical grooves. Mixes were made, with two of these focusing on roots and culture iterations in all their glorious varieties.
Sounds of Our Times – Music For Quarantine
Just over a couple weeks ago, I was asked by Christina Hazboum of Marsm Arts (the company with whom we toured Palestine in July 2019 in a cultural exchange between the UK and Palestine) and the lovely chaps at Rhythm Passport to put a mix together. Christina’s hometown in Palestine, Bethlehem, had already been in […]
2018 – My Year In Music
Starting with the party scene, Beauty & the Beat has been the source and inspiration for two brand new audiophile parties, one in Paris called Sweet Apric∞ts, and the secnd one in Sheffield called Apricot Ballroom Sound System. (Ah those apricots! Glad to see them back in fashion, half a decade after their first rise […]
Guest Mix for Ransom Note
Towards the end of 2018 I was invited by the ever excellent music blog Ransom Note to deliver a mix to add to their series “The Wednesday Alternative”. As always it’s a psychedelic and eclectic affair, which goes from ambient to krautrock to cosmic funk to island disco to upfront gwoka, deep kadans and much […]
XTERRA ROMANIA 2018
Yes yes, as you can see, this is a race report, despite the fact that I officially retired from racing last September, that I have barely trained in the meantime, that…well there were countless good reasons to stop (tired body, better things to do etc), but surely there has to be a ‘come-back’ before calling […]
2017 – A Year In Music
On a personal level, 2017 will remain as the year I stopped being an elite triathlon racer (my last ever race was completed in September in Barcelona). As a result I found myself with 15 to 20 hours of ‘spare’ time every week, which I can now dedicate to M.U.S.I.C. Expect to see me DJing […]