Rebirth Radio News
30/04/24
A very happy Easter to you all. To kick things off this month, here's the latest in the very long-running series of my Now That's What I Call Music reviews, marking the 117th volume of this staggeringly successful compilation series. One of the foundations of my life-long passion for music was NOW2, forty years old this month! Wrapping my young ears around a tracklist that featured such gems as "99 Red Balloons", "Relax", "What Difference Does It Make?" and, erm, "That's Living, Alright", I was sold on the capabilities of pop for life. Here we are all those years later, and I make the case that the best pop music of 2024 stacks up pretty damn well against those 80s classics. There still hasn't been a Rebirth track to appear on a NOW though.... we're working on it!
If you enjoyed listening to me pontificating about my favourite tunes, check out the chat I had with Christian Huey and Monte Mallin for the Sparks Podcast. In 1979 Sparks released the ground-breaking "No. 1 In Heaven" album, produced by Giorgio Moroder. We take a deep-dive into the album's songs, lyrics and production techniques, and we look at its enduring influence on electronic music.
Now, onto this month's DJ sets. Get a load of these!
Mix Of The Month: Maybe this short little set could have been twice as long, but it's good to leave the crowd wanting more, innit! This thirty minute mix of relatively downtempo beats nonetheless builds steadily in intensity, starting with exotic, ambient psydub, and twisting, glitching and hopping its way up to something of a messy climax. All in all, it's a pretty chilled audio tribute to good ol' Leodis!
30/03/24
A relaxed March this end, taking a little break from new shows and concentrating instead on backend admin. The vinyl masters for "In Space" have come back and sound amazing! The actual records are being produced as we speak, and we hope to have them available by the summer.
Meanwhile, with her brand new single, let's give it up for the wonderful Cheryl Holland!
Just a few new sets from the regulars this month!
Mix Of The Month: A truly special set, one of my personal Top 5! Recorded in 2012, just after my move to Sheffield from the South, this incendiary collab features Sanction (aka Meganekko) introducing Yours Truly to the world of neurofunk. The mix combines several genre-defining tracks from the likes of Noisia, Spor, Phace & Misanthrop, Apex and Aeph, lightly sprinkled with a few jungle cuts from peepz like Adam F & Dillinja. Best of all, the whole thing kicks off with DJ Sway's stunning DnB remix of the original Rebirth composition "Flaming Wars"!
29/02/24
Woop woop, it's a Leap Year!
February has been a solid month of music our end. Behind the scenes, we have submitted In Space for vinyl release - expect to see it in the Spring! This will be an exclusive, limited edition, high-quality vinyl, mastered and pressed by our friends Deepgrooves at their amazing record pressing plant in Amsterdam. The Dub Assignment nearly blew up their machinery, though luckily nobody was injured in the explosion. Let's hope In Space doesn't do too much damage!
Back to the old-skool for the third instalment of Elementals. For this one we go back to the mid-late 90s and the speed garage era. Features tracks by Logic, Faithless, Groove Control, Amira, Serious Danger and loads more.
Also new this month... take your pick from this lot!
Mix Of The Month: Back to the 80s for a fun-filled selection of dance, funk and electropop. No major concepts behind this mix, just a whole bunch of really solid 80s dance tunes. Features tracks by Miami Sound Machine, Chaka Khan, Shannon, Herbie Hancock, Art Of Noise, Depeche Mode and loads more!
31/01/24
Well, well, well, it's 2024! We hope you made it safely through the holiday season and are nicely bedded into the New Year. We have certainly hit the ground running this year, with musical hi-jinks aplenty to keep you entertained. Our goal for 2024 is to keep growing, evolving, drawing in new sounds and reasserting the best of the old stuff.
Talking of old stuff, I started the year with a series of live radio shows taking things right back to the roots of rave. The first two Elementals between them include almost 60 classic hardcore/techno/rave tunes, packed into around two hours. If you like The Prodigy, SL2, Bizarre Inc, Altern 8, Urban Hype etc, you'll go ape for these action-packed sets!
Now coming right up to date, here's our first new face of 2024... ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Formless. In the words of the man himself, the debut set for Rebirth Radio "seamlessly blends the nostalgic beats of one or two old gems with the pulsating energy of the latest tunes. Crafted with passion and precision, this set is a testament to my love for the genre and the evolving soundscapes within it. The eclectic mix not only pays homage to the roots of UK Garage but also introduces the audience to the freshest sounds on the scene." We hope to be hearing much more from Formless over the next few months!
Our very own Rebirth Audio is proud to announce the official release of JJ Lacey's brand new album. Give it a listen, you won't be disappointed!
Meanwhile here's this month's new sets from the Rebirth crew...
Mix Of The Month: sometimes the best mixes come from all the leftover tunes that you couldn't fit in anywhere else. The tracks on this unpredictable, slow builder of a set really don't fit the mould, despite being absolute bangers in their own right. Let's take the all-time classic opener "Dooms Night" - exactly what genre is this tune?! A broad definition of this selection is "tech-house", but that seems much duller than the music actually sounds ;-) Me being me, I manage to shoehorn some classic 70s electronica (including the obligatory Sparks reference) into proceedings...
JJ Lacey returns with a marathon two-hour chillout set, comprising 100% original material!