Beautiful Swimmers

Here's more yearning for the summer. 'Big Coast' got released on a chunky twelve inch by the Future Times label in 2010. A contender for my tune of the year, this is some glorious dubbed out '80s Baywatch action. Whoever does the videos for these folks deserves a massive high five (check the video for 'Oh Yea' too)

Full Noon

A mix of tunes recently put together whilst dreaming of long hot summer days. Introduction courtesy of Rod McKuen and San Sebastian Strings. For more information on tracks etc. contact danceflawed@gmail.com

You can stream the mix using the player above, or download it here in high quality 320kb MP3

Heartworn Highways

Anyone with a passing interest in Southern rock, country and bluegrass of the mid-seventies should watch Heartworn Highways if they haven't done so already. Amongst disarmingly intimate footage of reknowned artists like Townes Van Zandt and Steve Young, the real hero that emerges for me is one Larry Jon Wilson. He appears in the second scene working on a song called 'Ohoopee River Bottomland' and his soulful barritone, laidback style and all-round geniality really shine above the rest of the film. See below for that scene:

Electric Eden

Just finished this enthralling read by Rob Young called Electric Eden - Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music, which charts the meandering development of the folk music canon in Britain over the last hundred years or so. The book has enjoyed almost unanimous critical acclaim and you can pick up a copy in all good bookshops. Young's painstakingly well-researched tome will have you seeking out the music and musicians considered within on a page-by-page basis.

Young manages to successfully weave the development of Blighty's indigenous folk narrative into the prevailing social, cultural and political climates of the time. Although his own overtly socialist political stance threatens to take over at times, his knack for vivid descriptions of the sonic palette and enthusiasm for the folk continuum, more than make up for it.

For a taste of the artists covered within, pay a visit to the Seek Music website, where music writer Ian Preece has compiled a mix inspired by the book, that takes in the likes of Davey Graham, Shirley Collins, Fairport Convention and Ewen Macoll.

DIY Classical Music

If like me your knowledge of classical music is on a par with an understanding of advanced neuroscience, here's a cute and accessible little introduction through the back door from the leftfield, courtesy of the ever-enlightening Mississippi Records' tape series. It features a selection of scratchy compositions from the likes of avant-garde composer Erik Satie, street musician 'The Viking Of 6th Avenue' Moondog and Maureen Tucker from The Velvet Underground.

Download 'Classical Music For And By The People' here.

For more Mississippi Mixtapes, covering all kinds of obscure music from early doo wop and rhythm 'n blues to Jamaican soul and African oddities visit the Root Blog here.

Beatles graph of authorship

Hairpiece or Herpes?

From the makers of Bacon Or Beercan? comes the next logical step in misheard foreign phrasing of English words amusement.

The Dream Syndicate

All Aboard!

An intriguing tour bus spotted in a car park near a dormant volcano in Japan, 2007.

Twilight Circus Mix

To belatedly kick things off on the Vurshon blog, here's an 80 minute mix of digi-dub from outer space featuring Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem and complimentary selections. Link & tracklist below...

Twilight Circus Dub Mix MP3

Tracks:

The I-Tones - ‘Top Line Special’

Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - ‘Carousel’

Forest Swods - ‘Rattling Cage’

Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - ‘Bord’

Dubclash - ‘Space Station’

Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - ‘Electric Africa’

Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - ‘Horsie’

Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - ‘East Of Memphis’

Systemwide - ‘People Of The Book’ (Swayzak remix)

Dub Specialists - ‘Hold The Wah’

Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - ‘Rolling Thunder’

Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - ‘The Ride’

Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - ‘Binshaker Dubplate’

Zenzile Dub - ‘Funky Delhi’

High Tone - ‘Echo-Logik’

Glen Brown & King Tubby - ‘Lambsbread Dub’ (Leftfield’s Half Past Dub mix)

Strategy - ‘Dunes Dub’

Jack Dangers meets Dubloner - ‘Turn Left For Jabilaya’

Mike Stott - ‘Modern Love 2’

Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - ‘Oats’


Ryan Moore is the Netherlands-based multi-instrumentalist and echo warrior behind Twilight Circus and has been producing his own unique take on the dub canon for nearly two decades now. As well as releasing a slew of great albums and compilations of dubplates featuring ethereal keys and the trademark Twilight sonic palette, Moore has also released some mighty good soundsystem singles featuring contributions from heavyweights like The Disciples, Big Youth and Brother Culture. Check the Twilight Circus website for a full discography and links to buy stuff. This mix (hopefully) showcases the wide breadth of his sound intermingled with other digital oddities of a somewhat other-wordly nature, from the French adventures of High Tone and Zenzile Dub, through UK players like The I-Tones and Dub Specialists to the claustrophobic experiments of Forest Swords and Strategy.