Dancing, Poetry and Soup
It's hard to enjoy these things at the same time but God loves a trier
Hello again! Firstly and most importantly, thanks for subscribing. I hope you enjoyed what you have read so far. I’ve loved chatting to some of you, particularly James, Zahra, Jed and Laura. Feel free to reach out regarding anything you’ve read, or anything else you may think is of interest.
Now, I know I said this would be a monthly Substack but I’ve already decided that there is so much wonderful stuff in the world that I need to make this fortnightly. I’m aiming to send you more frequent information in easy to digest chunks. So with that, let’s get into it.
Radio
Emma Warren writes about culture from a place of authenticity and empathy. Her book “Dance Your Way Home” is a must read for anyone who has ever felt elation when moving their feet to music. To coincide with the launch of the paperback version, Emma made a radio show for LWSTD-FM. It focuses on music of Caribbean origin that was being made in South London in the mid 80’s.
Also of note was Chris Coco joining Dave Holloway on his Do!!You!! show. Chris was playing tracks off of his new album, which is more for floating than dancing. Both the show and the album are an absolute delight.
Music
Hot Biscuit Recordings and Rahaan are a match made in heaven. Deep disco edits that are abundant with joy and energy. I treated myself to the “Versions” EP from Phonica records and have fallen in love with each of the five tracks on it.
Whilst at Phonica I also picked up the second release from the Bank of Switches label. Deep delights of a more electronic nature are provided by Dan Formless.
Life
We’ve ended up here pretty quickly, and that’s because I’ve got a lot of life to discuss, so go make yourself a drink and get comfy.
We start once again with Emma Warren, who gave a talk at Jazu with movement director & choreographer Robert Hylton. Like Emma, Robert has published a book on dancing. Whilst coming at the subject from different places, both agree that dancing is a personal and essential act. To the soul, there is little difference between two stepping at kitchen discos or pirouetting on west end stages.
My head filled with movement, I spent my first Sunday at Dingwalls. Gilles Peterson, Patrick Forge and Janine’s long running party is now held in Piccadilly at the classy Neon 194. Original selector Chris Bangs made a special appearance and Myele Manzanza’s three piece band provided a spiritual segue between the dancing. It was great to catch up with Sean from Melomaniacs, a community radio station doing wonderful things. Adam McPherson was there too. He’s lovely. If you are at a gig or dance and see Adam McPherson, you know you’re in the right place and are going to have a great time.
The same can be said for Laura Robertson, who was at the Cheeky Soundsystem party at the Birds Nest in Deptford. Cheeky Soundsystem play the most beautiful, uplifting electronic music on a sound system that is less cheeky and more downright obscene. The venue was packed and the atmosphere was delightful. It could have gone on forever and I would still be there, happy.
So finally we come to the filling of this dance sandwich. The filling in this case is soup. Soup and poetry to be precise. Humble soup is a seasonal get together where people share a meal and share some thoughts. The evening was very relaxed and the spoken word element intimate. Those who shared their work were met with attentiveness from those in attendance. An audience as warm as the soup they had just eaten.
Self Promo radio bonus
In March I celebrated 5 years of community radio. I decided to make my Aaja music show in April a recognition of those five years by having a few people I have collaborated with on radio shows over the years join me. You can listen back to that show here. Don’t expect to see links to my own shows here, however I was touched to be joined by Dear Boss, Afrolicious Mumma, Conor Jatter, QuinC, Gaucho, TT, Chance the Neighbour, LS Dare and the main man DJ Toffee, so wanted to include it.