Rebirth Radio News
31/12/24
​
Another year done and dusted! How was it for you? We had a quietly good year, as you can see from the diary entries below. No great shakes, but that's where radio differs from putting on an event - it's all about consistency and ongoing development over weeks, months and years, rather than cramming everything into a few short hours!
Possibly the best Christmas present we could have received was the reassuring news that the "In Space" vinyls have left the factory and embarked on their long journey across the sea to Rebirth HQ. It would have been great to have received them in time for Christmas, but the important thing is they survived the bankruptcy of the record plant and are now in the capable hands of the shipping company.
Special thanks to the new record plant owners, who literally stepped in at the fifty ninth minute of the eleventh hour to buy all the bankrupt company's assets (including our records), and who have promptly dispatched the goods. It wouldn't come as a surprise if the boat carrying them gets plundered by marauding pirates, or falls into the Bermuda Triangle, knowing our luck. But that said, there's something resonant and touching about the fact that Rebirth Audo's latest vinyl record has survived the death and rebirth of the company manufacturing it, hopefully coming out the other end stronger and more interesting as a result!
​
So how do we follow that up then? Well, with our latest new release, hooray! Check out "Walkin'" and let us know what you think. Hope you like it.​
​
MetaSparks and I sat down for the second time to discuss in inordinate detail the music and lyrics of the 1979 Sparks album "Number One In Heaven". This time we looked at the dazzling, dizzying proto-trance of "Academy Award Performance".
A bit of downtime on the new sets front over the Christmas period, however I did manage to knock out a special selection for the end of the year. "WFH" is a slow-building, eclectic house-based set that focuses more on the obscure than the commercial side of things. It features tracks by our good friends JJ Lacey and the Streetlight Walkers alongside a bunch of artists you've never heard of;-)
Mix Of The Month: Can it really be five years ago that I looked over my finances and realised that, if I made some savings and cut back on my spending, I could just about afford to buy my first house? And so I prepared for a personal lockdown for a few months whilst I'd get the ball rolling with the purchase, recording the "Lockdown" DnB set in December 2019 as a reflection of the self-imposed financial lockdown I was about to commit to. But then, barely three months later, the entire world entered a very different kind of lockdown. Life really does sometimes imitate art!
30/11/24
Well, it's certainly not boring... The saga of the vinyl edition of "In Space" continues to twist and turn. At the fifty ninth minute of the eleventh hour, it appears that a buyer has stepped in to rescue our record plant from bankruptcy. We have joined forces with around seventy other clients also awaiting delivery, and are confident that the new owners will want to honour the company's commitment to its existing customers before beginning to take on any more.
​
Dutch vinyl pressing plant announces bankruptcy, accused of "fraud" by artists​
With allegations of fraud now making the international music press, our records (that we have told are manufactured and ready to be delivered...) have unintentionally taken on new value as part of this news story! It wasn't the way we were expecting things to pan out, but the situation has resulted in us making contact with dozens of awesome musical peepz from all around the world.
​One way or another, these records will eventually make their way into the right hands - it doesn't matter when or how. The more convoluted the journey, the more interesting their story!
To mark the occasion of the planned vinyl release, we have instead put out a brighter, fresher 2024 re-release of "In Space"; based on the original vinyl masters, then subsequently remastered digitally using state-of-the-art AI technology. Yeah, man! Whichever way you cut it, we think this is the best we've ever heard these songs sound.​
​
Now, onwards... we can now announce the line-up for the upcoming Highway 62 single! It's a star-studded affair featuring none other than the wonderful Cheryl Holland on vocals, additional music by JJ Lacey, remix by David Noakes and project guidance from Neil Young. A veritable Who's Who of Rebirth Radio! The song itself is called "Walkin'", written by Cheryl and myself. All being well, and who knows what could happen, it should be available by the end of the year.
​
For the third time now I've been chatting Sparks online, this time with someone who outdoes even me in the Mael fandom stakes. The brilliant MetaSparks channel breaks down fifty years of Sparks songs, and for the "tryout" in what we hope will become a series of six videos, I was invited to be a guest. Together we took an in-depth look at the song "Tryouts For The Human Race". "An excellent, articulate dialogue...", "wonderful discussion...", "very rewarding", it says here. Ahem. They must have been watching a different video ;-)
If you really enjoy the sound of me pontificating about chord patterns, drum programming and reverb levels, here's my take on the latest NOW compilation. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Finally we get to this month's new DJ sets, and we've got these three selections stacked up for November. Get yer lug'oles around these!
Mix Of The Month: Let's have a nice bit of hard dance to blow away those autumn cobwebs! This well-worn set dates back to 2007, originally recorded in Hastings if I'm not mistaken. The sound is hard and fast, with periodic bursts of twinkly euphoria. Featured artists include James Lawson, K-90, Lee Haslam, Hyperlogic, JFK and loads more...
31/10/24
You couldn't make it up... If you remember, production of the vinyl edition of "The Dub Assignment" was delayed following the explosion of the record press (luckily, we were assured, nobody was injured). Unfortunately, our "In Space" vinyl release has suffered an even greater snafu: the entire record pressing plant has just gone bankrupt. Maybe we're the problem?!
​
There's some good news however: we understand that the vinyls have been pressed, the artwork printed and everything is currently lying around in a warehouse awaiting delivery. It's just there's nobody to deliver it. Therefore a road trip to The 'Dam to pick up the merchandise may well be on the cards! More good news is that we'll be continuing to work with our mastering supremo, just in digital-only format for the foreseeable future. And if you happen to come across a vinyl copy of "In Space", snap it up as it could well end up being something of a valuable rarity!
​
​None of this will have any impact on the upcoming Highway 62 single, scheduled for release in December. We are ever so close to being able to reveal more about the single... it can be revealed that it's a very special collaboration. Watch this space...
​​
From "In Space" to "In Outer Space"....whoosh, whoosh. It was a pleasure to join Monte Mallin once again for a chinwag about our favourite band Sparks. This time we focused on the 1983 album "Sparks In Outer Space", maybe not one of the band's A-list albums, but still a great fun listen and definitely an influence sonically on the type of streamlined, hi-speed New Wave synthpop that you can hear in tracks like "Green Lady"!​
We kick off this month's new mix selections with the long overdue DJ debut set from Princess Groover, aka Cheryl Holland. You can catch her spinning funky house tunes at the Sore Bee, Sowerby Bridge, on the last Saturday of every month.
Mix Of The Month: 2016's "Asynchronous" was one of the original Safe:Spaced sets. In this case, the title means "designed to be listened to at a later date", so hopefully the selections still resonate to this day. Although it's eclectic and varied stylistically - ranging from lover's reggae to euphoric synthpop - there is definitely a distinct flow and meta-narrative to the whole journey. Featured artists include Lauryn Hill, Dawn Penn, The Specials, The Stone Roses, Strawberry Switchblade and loads more!
30/09/24
A lot of stuff in development right now, so expect a splurge of activity in the upcoming few weeks. The limited edition vinyl edition of "In Space" is in its last stage of production (we've been on "Dutch time" - it's taken twice as long, but boy have they infused the grooves with their special Dutch magic dust!).
[EDIT: Well, that post aged well, didn't it! See next entry...]
​
Work has also started on the brand new Highway 62 single, which we are aiming to release by the end of the year. And I have taken part in another couple of Sparks-based Youtube discussions, which should be online shortly. It really is the calm before the storm!
​
Some great sets from the regulars this month. Feast your ears on these...
Mix Of The Month: A fair few Septembers have elapsed between the recording of this collaborative set with JJ Lacey and our latest joint endeavour, coming soon... I've always had a real soft spot for this unique mix, which was first recorded onto Minidisk, if memory serves me well. We share the tune selection and mixing duties, with JJ adding an additional layer of sound FX and samples, so even the most familiar of tunes take on a new dimension. All in all it's a fairly chilled, highly eclectic mix of soul, disco, chilled house and ambient sounds, including artists as varied as Hall & Oates, Moby, The Orb, Spiller, Marvin Gaye and loads more!
JJ Lacey returns with a marathon two-hour chillout set, comprising 100% original material!
31/08/24
As summer draws to a close, it's time to reflect again on our continuing mission here at Rebirth Radio. Whilst all around your trusty servers has been somewhat chaotic, with Rebirth HQ getting a fresh lick of paint and a general refurb, the music has streamed away seamlessly. These quiet months are when our "kaizen" approach really pays dividends - continual, gradual improvement and refinement of our output with no need for fanfare or over-promotion. Come and find us whenever you feel like - we'll be here :-)
What you don't get on Rebirth Radio is as important as what you do get - no outside interference, no adverts, no propaganda, no inane banter... just pure, unadulterated vibes!
​
Talking of which...
Mix Of The Month: Passions run wild atop this mountain of sweet Northern Soul and Motown sounds. Inspired by the Robert Knight track that opens this set (quite possibly the very best song ever recorded, if we're honest!), this selection is guaranteed to lift your spirits. Featured artists include The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Isley Brothers, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Sly & The Family Stone and a whole bunch more...
30/07/24
Right, let's get straight down to business... First up this month, we must say a massive congratulations to DJ Chucky for yet another Hard House #1. Grab your copy of "Black Magic" now!
It's that time of the year when I give my verdict on the latest Now That's What I Call Music compilation. The series reaches the giddy heights of its 118th volume. What are the highlights and lowlights? Join me and let me know your thoughts...
Meanwhile, behind the decks this month...
Mix Of The Month: A gradually evolving hard dance set of varying styles, ranging from bounce to hard trance. Evolution Of Dreams somewhat deliberately hides its light under a bushel at first, preferring to incrementally build up the pyrotechnics as it progresses towards its epic denouement.