Rebirth Radio News
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21/12/23
Today is one of those dates that sounds like a mic check! Testing, testing, 21, 12, 23... Talking of mics, cabling and technical gubbins, we shall be using the Christmas break to have a refit and technical upgrade. Here at Rebirth Radio, we are constantly asking ourselves what makes us special and worthy of anyone's time and effort.
In an era when you can pull up any tune from musical history at the click of a mouse, why should anyone bother listening to Rebirth Radio?
Well, why would I personally choose to listen? Firstly, my absolute favourite way of hearing music is as part of a DJ mix. Ever since I was blown away by the first DJ mixes I ever really paid attention to, I've always believed that the synergy and momentum that comes from a string of seamless musical transitions, with no dead time between tracks, has the ability to create a kaleidoscopic, kinesthetic journey of different emotions, feelings, moods and ideas, that hits so much harder than just a selection of separate songs.
The art of the mix is what we live for.
Our love for the simple art of mixing records, and our roster of amazing DJs is at the heart of what makes Rebirth Radio a unique listening experience. Our shows are based on the real stories of real people from every walk of life, each with an inspiring personal tale to tell. Our talent, people like 13x, Bluebird, Neil Young, JJ Lacey, Justin Nicholas and the crew, have all lived, loved, enjoyed the good times and mourned the bad, all the while sharing their most intimate musical moments with you, dear listener.
In between DJ sets we keep the tunes coming with hand-picked, curated playlists that make listening fun, unpredictable and ideal to have on in the background while you work, travel or chill. Yes, Spotify can let you know exactly what tunes to expect and when, but sometimes it's actually more fun not to know, just to hit play, and go with whatever the radio throws at you.
Like other radio stations we enjoy scheduling different music for different times of day. Not many people want to hear the same music at 9am as at 11pm (though there's always time for DnB!). Our schedules are built around our lives: non-stop hits in the daytime, banging tunes for drivetime, and gradually more chilled sounds as the evening progresses. We love it all in its place, indeed our motto is:
There's no such thing as good or bad music, just the right music or the wrong music for the moment.
Our aim is to get it right far more than we get it wrong (which does happen on occasion, as a result of our constantly experimenting with new ideas!) We are always open to suggestions and, in terms of content, "mi casa su casa": if you have any music you'd like to contribute (either original material or DJ sets), we'd love to showcase it. Get in touch!
All in all, what we hope to offer at Rebirth Radio is a highly personal, passion-filled radio station that finds a way to pretty much cover all bases; our musical nucleus remaining totally outside the constraints of Big Tech whilst using all the benefits of technology to make it as easy as possible for literally everyone to get involved.
Ultimately, it all comes down to a simple click of this big, friendly red button...
OK, enough yakking. Now let's get down to the nitty gritty. A fair amount to get through this month, as we cram in as many new sets as we can before 2023 draws to a close. I kick things off with my now traditional end-of-year commercial bangers set.
About as far removed from the above as you can be, whilst still under the umbrella of dance music, here comes Vol. 8 of the Colours series. A massive thank-you to collaborator Bluebird for reconnecting me with the amazing world of psytrance, a good decade and a half after my previous psy mix (2008's "Strange Travels Vol. 12").
And switching things up once more, I submit my final DnB set of the year for your approval. Let me know what you think of this little selection!
Also new for December:
Mix Of The Month: the original Strange Travels spanned 1995 and 1998, with a trio of new sets periodically through the 00s. We've already looked back at Vol. 3, which saw the series leap from mid-paced techno to the origins of Goa and psytrance. In 2019, I created this prequel that sets the scene for the entire Strange Travels series, and indeed the Colours series of today. Purists may scratch their heads at the opening 1-2 salvo of Strawberry Switchblade and Sparks remixes, but this is a personal journey, and it was these sounds that bridged the gap for me between 80s synthpop and 90s trance. Once things get going, we're in for all manner of very early trance and techno from the likes of LFO, David Holmes, Bandulu, System 7 and a fair few more. Finally, Stephen King fans may recognise the cover art, a reference to his eerie time-travelling short story/mini-series The Langoliers.
30/11/23
No rest for the wicked! Bluebird and I are back with Volume 7 of the Colours series, and we reckon this is one of our best yet! Let us know what you think.
Not that much more to report this month, it's the calm before the Christmas storm! Still, the beats keep coming if you know where to find 'em...
Mix Of The Month: have we gone back to this one yet? Following on from the Tales Of The Unexpected set, Picture Box similarly draws its inspiration from the ridiculously creepy theme tune to a long-forgotten TV show. In fact, this piece of music is called "Manege", and it derives its eerie, discordant tones from the strange Cristal Baschet instrument. How we get from that to dark dubstep in a matter of moments has to be heard, but it works somehow. All is explained in the sample towards the end: it's all about retrieving those scary subconscious memories and doing something constructive with them. Your only fear is fear itself!
29/10/23
And we are back! First up, Bluebird and me'sen present the SIXTH installment of our Colours series, with Volume 7 already in the pipeline. This particular selection is something of a slow builder, taking a little time before unleashing all its pent-up energy. By the end, of course, we're flying at the speed of light!
MVP of the Month goes to Justin Nicholas (that's Most Valuable Player, not Minimum Viable Product...). Justin is something of a Renaissance Man, turning his hand to multiple styles ranging from commercial house to progressive trance. Not bad for a former happy hardcore MC! You can hear "Jutt" all over the Rebirth Radio schedules. This month alone we've had these new sets from the talented Mr N.
Also new this month...
Mix Of The Month: it all begins on the bucolic moors, however the tranquility is soon interrupted by the sound of heavy industry. Welcome to Yorkshire! This musical journey takes us from Ilkley to Hull, backwards and forwards across the Ridings via way of Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford and Harrogate. Our tour guides include The Human League, Pulp, Gang Of Four, Utah Saints, Everything But The Girl and loads more. Ey oop indeed :-)
30/09/23
As Summer turns into Autumn, be sure to check out our new and improved Autumn Schedules. Every night is Club Night on Rebirth Radio, so why not invite your friends over, tune in and have a rave in your own home?! To get the party started, Bluebird and myself present Volume 5 in our Colours psytrance series...
A couple of special anniversary shows this week. The BeatDown hip-hop show celebrates 13x's twentieth contribution (excluding the two live specials). Meanwhile 13x's own Schrodinger's Box electronica show notches up its thirtieth episode. There's still life in our quantum cat yet, it seems!
Also new this month...
Mix Of The Month: a vintage hard dance set, dating from an incredible two decades ago. Inspired by the underground London scene of the day, especially what you'd hear at venues like EQ, Mass and Thyssen Street Studios. Most of the featured artists are still about, one way or another. Includes tracks by Organ Donors, DJ Choci, Max & Amino, Nick Sentience, Captain Tinrib and loads more.
27/08/23
Happy Bank Holiday crew! Whatever you're up to, make it a good one! First up this month, we congratulate our good friend Cheryl Holland on her second release, the truly excellent "Get Up To Get Down". If you like your uplifting vocal house, with a massive drop and bumping beats, be sure to give it a listen!
Meanwhile on the decks, I've knocked up my third consecutive DnB set, "Parallax", and the team have been busy putting together all manner of goodies for your enjoyment.
JJ Lacey returns with a marathon two-hour chillout set, comprising 100% original material!
Mix Of The Month: Possibly my personal favourite of all the mix collaborations JJ and I have ever put together, and most of that is down to the Lacey lad's amazing use of sound FX and samples. That said, the tune selection and mixing is pretty damn on fleek, if I may say it myself! One of those all-too-rare mixes that totally transcends space and time and creates its own self-contained musical universe.
30/07/23
Yo! How goes it? Hope you have had a good month, whatever you've been up to. Relatively quiet here on the new shows front, but with so many sets in our schedules now, there's barely enough hours in the day to fit them all in anyway! My latest DnB set crams in as many tunes as it can into just over half an hour.
Over to the Rebirth crew now for a listen to what they've been working on...
Mix Of The Month: Let's rewind back to my very first DnB set from waaaaaay back in 2002. Which means it involved nowt but a pair of 1210s, a mixer and a little collection of records, followed by the painstaking process of burning it onto a couple of dozen CDs. At the time a one-off foray into a new genre for me, Jungle Queen in fact turned out to be merely the first stage in an on/off DnB journey I've been on ever since. Featured artists include Adam F, Ray Keith, Goldie, Dom & Roland, Total Science and loads more...