Here is a new live show for you, I do apologise for the lack of regular live shows recently. Life really does serve up some curveballs sometimes and its been either untimely or just impossible to get some space behind the decks and organise my thoughts into a show. In the meantime, I hope you’ve been enjoying the archive shows.

However, I did carve some space this week, and this show will be broadcast on Totally Wired Radio at 2pm this Saturday, right up against Jamz Supernova and Gilles Peterson, so I guess I’m aiming at the listen again crew. Shout out to you guys listening again, love ya x

I’ve been sat surrounded my music making equipment in my studio, but recently I’ve been mostly working for clients, mixing their tracks, which I love BTW, helping other realise the music in their heads is what drives me forward and is so rewarding, but I do occasionallly like to indulge myself in some of my own self initiated creativity. Its almost impossible at the moment to find the space to do so, so I thought I’d start this show with a piece of my own, to remind me (and maybe you) that I do create music myself. Its a track called Exhale, and I hope it acts as a sort of auditory ‘amuse bouche’ before we head off on musical adventures.

I kick off with some new music, my inbox has been lsowly filling up with new music, so I thought it mught be nice to get into some of that, Alina and Tulsi getting a remix of their latest work, then the Heliocentrics and Marshall Allen bringing some heat with Nuclear War.

I feel confident to get into places that are maybe outside where many dj’s go, and I sometimes wonder what all this music means. I’ve done a bit of DJing out and about, at sea level and above 3000m, and I can’t quite balance all this different music I am into, but I think I’m getting there, knowing when to lean into the fringes and when to go all in on some bangers. The set I did for Chip Wickhams warm up that I put out a few weeks ago felt like a good example of that.

So we go some places, Ganavya, Anoushka (whom I love) Dorothy Ashby and into some DJ Khalab, both new and old sitting together nicely.

I upped the energy with some D’n’B and then a couple of stompers, which I’ll be taking in my bag for any gigs this summer, but then I fancied heading to the fringes again, new music from Sault, Mr Bongos incoming Record Club Vol 8 and Momoko Gill.

I”ve been thinking about doing a Nick Drake and related music show for a while, I’m still not sure if I”m going to do it, but I wanted to play a few bits from vinyl I”ve bought over the last few months, so there is a track by his mother, Molly, some of his own rare home recordings and a version of a Burt Jansch track. Black Eyed Dog is a powerfully sad track that appeared toward the end of his recording career and, in retrospect, could be seen as a sign he was struggling. Then I found a version of that by Self Esteem, whom I just listened to on the Adam Buxton podcast and really rate. Before a version of Pink Moon and then Andy Beys’ seminal version of Riverman, which I might like even more than the orginal.

I’ve been listening to a lot of artists work recently as I’m actively looking for more artists to mix tracks for, and came across this song by Simone Tang which stopped me in my tracks. Its an unusual album which is a little eccentric and sweet and this track does it for me, hoping you dig it too…

Finishing with a little Fairport Convention with their version of Chelsea Morning, which I hadn’t heard before, always going for the Joni or Jennifer versions, so it was a nice suprise to find this in a box set of Nick Drake adjacent (Joe Boyd worked with them too) music I picked up at King Bee in Manchester and couple of months ago.

Making these shows is a lifeline for me at the moment and I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I do sharing this music with you. Feel free to send to friends.

See you soon

Cx

Tracklist:

Chris Cracknell - Exhale

Alina Bzhezhinska and Tulsi - Journey Home (Cosmic Analog Ensemble)

The Heliocenrics and Marshall Allen - Nuclear War

Ganavya and Jahnavi Harrison - The Bee

Anoushka Shankar - In This Mouth

Dorothy Ashby - For Some We Loved

Khalab and Baba - Nana

Khalab and Baba - Denifurula

DJ Khalab - Yaka Muziek

KH - Looking At Your Pager (Clipz Remix)

Suburban Architecture - Focus

Swell Sessions vs Seiji - Prepared To Go feat Ernesto

Dizzy K - I’ll Never Love Again (M.A Dizzy Mix)

Sault - Good Things Will Come After The Pressure

The Sylvers - Wish I Could Talk To You Baby (Kenny Dope Remix)

Momoko Gill - Ineffably (BBC Maida Vale Session)

Jo Mango - The Windowpane

Molly Drake - Poor Mum

Nick Drake - Way To Blue

Nick Drake - Strolling Down The Highway

Molly Drake - Do You Remember?

Nick Drake - Black Eyed Dog

Craig Armstrong and Self Esteem - Black eyed Dog

Aurora - Pink Moon

Andy Bey - Riverman

The Incredible String Band - Little Girl

Simone Tang - Hey Little Love

Fairport Convention - Chelsea Morning

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Happy Sunday (or whatever day you are on when you receive this) but for me its a Sunday. I’ve got a few jobs to do and I’m gonna cook a roast, it’s that sort of day. And this show has started very much in that vein with a track from Nils Frahm then into his old label mate, Ben Lucas Boysen. This start is very much in the tradition of how I used to start shows, easing slowly in, a reset if you will, before heading into musical adventures to who knows where.

Quite the ethereal start, traversing many worlds, which I hope gave your brain a place to unwind, then into some Dee C Lee and Tara Lily and heading towards the mighty Ezra Collective and The Ballistic Brothers, tunes I’m gonna make a note of for any summer dancefloor action I might be in charge of…

Its quite funny hearing Amanda Whiting’s ‘Nomad’ a tune (and album) I produced. I haven’t revisited this for a while for various reasons, but it still sounds epic and I’m very much not getting that thing that producers get a few years after working on something where you can kinda hear where you were and how far you’ve come since. So, either I did a good job, or I haven’t progressed, lets hope its the former.

Whats quite mad about this show is how quickly digital promos come in and out of my conciousness. I’m listening back to this hearing music I can’t remember every hearing, but give me the vinyl and it sticks in my brain. So, it feels like some of this stuff is new, even though it’s now a few years old.

Heading into Hip Hop world, coincidentally playing the A Side to the Q Tip track in last weeks archive show, Breathe and Stop, then heading homewards with some feel good funk, which I normally don’t go near because of Craig Charles, but every now and again, some slips out.

I enjoyed hearing this show again, so hopefully you’ll like it. I’ll have some new music and a new show for you next week, keep it locked xxx

Tracklist:

Nils Frahm - ?

Ben Lucas Boysen - Dance

Kiasmos - Told

Shards - Facta est Deserta

Jon Hopkins - Falling into Place

Amirtha Kidambi and Elder Ones - The Great Lie

Nick Marks - Dedication

Dee C Lee - Every Day Summer

Tara Lily - No Way Out

Ezra Collective - Life Goes On feat Sampa the Great

Sly5thAve - Liberation

The Ballistic Brothers - Come On

Basil ‘Mennenberg’ Coetzee and Lionel Pillay - Plum

Amanda Whiting - Nomad

Goran Kajfes Tropiques - Unity in Diversity

Chip Wickham - La Sombra

Janek Van Laak - Here to Stay

Ill Brothers - Funkneck

Gang Starr - Check The Technique

Tye Tribbett and GA - No Way

Q Tip - Breathe and Stop

? - La Da Da

The O’Jays - For The Love of Money

James Last - Here Comes The Sun

? - Oh Happy Day

The 5th Dimension - Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

I hit upon the idea to create a mix to celebrate the 25th Anniversay of Endtroducing, Shadows seminal debut album, to coincide with a special reissue of the record. Lets be clear, no-one, least of all Shadow himself, asked for this, but I’ve been a fan since seeing him spin tunes at the Blue Note in Hoxton all those years ago and I thought it could be interesting to see if I could bring anything to his canon of work.

After spending a long time going through all the various vinyl I have of his, ripping anything I didn’t have already, finding weird B sides and white labels until I knew I had everything I could possibly have amongst my collection.

In typical form, I had an idea of where I wanted to start, but no real plan after that, hoping the DJ gods and the 10,000 hours I’ve amassed behind the turntables, turn up and guide my way.

This is a mix I am genuinely proud of, it feels like culmination of everything I have learned about DJing, both technical and musical, trusting my instincts to tell his story. There are moments where, imagining its a mix I’m hearing on the radio, I have a smile on my face because I know something good has just happened.

I’m not generally one to consider anything I’ve done is good enough, so this is a nice rare moment for me, where I actually think I’ve created something that I am proud of and stands up against anything my heroes might have done.

Obviously, you might want to be a DJ Shadow fan to listen to this, or maybe you’ve never heard of DJ Shadow, in which case, I implore you to give this is a listen, he is an artist that doesn’t rest on his past successes and continually strives for new sounds amongst an ever changing landscape.

Enjoy

Tracklisting:

Midnight in a Perfect World

Midnight in a Perfect World (Hudson Mohawk Remix)

In/Flux

Suicide Pact

Swimming Upstream (Gab Demo)

The Mountain Will Fall

DDMFSOB (Unkle Uncensored feat Roots Manuva)

Just The Right Thing

High Noon

Mystical with Solo (Original Mix)

Slingblade

What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt4

Sad and Lonely

Blood on the Motorway

Atmospheric Disturbances (Original Mix)

Organ Donor (extended Overhaul)

Giving Up The Ghost

The Number Song

Drone Warfare (feat Nas and Pharoahe Monch)

Six Days (Soulwax Mix)

Bergshrund (feat Nils Frahm)

Systematic (feat Nas)

Six Days

My Lonely Room

Stem/Long Stem (Clams Casino Remix)

Right Thing (Z Trip Get The Party Off Mix in three parts)

Stem/Long Stem (Medley)

Building Steam with a Grain of Salt

Midnight in a Pefect World

Nobody Speak (feat Run The Jewels)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

I enter the festive season with the best intentions, I’m gonna make a lot of beef stew, have mulled wine with friends everyday, wear a scarf and generally be as festive as fuck.

As with most people, I guess, those good intentions fall foul of real life and all its time sapping things… so I don’t do as much festive-ing as I’d like.

Nils Frahm used to do these beautiful Christmas mixes and Fred Deakin always drops a banging mix at this time, and I wish I had the prior planning abilities, or the headspace to be as regular as my heroes.

So, it seems, at best, I start this old show from 2017 with these intentions, dropping Frank Eddies’ version of East 17s’ Stay Another Day, and how glorious is it? However, as it was a show that went out on boxing day, and possibly live, I wasn’t so prepared as to carry on in that vein.

However, it is a round up of 2017 with some incredible music.

2017 was the year I think I spent the most of vinyl, and it was quite the year for music, so it seems at least I was in the right place at the right time with enough money to expand my record collection.

So this goes back to when I used to do regular three hour shows, which is quite some work, but I kinda liked digging in for that extra hour, it really gave me time to breathe and play a ranging show, I guess I could do it again, if I wanted to?

I did a round up of 2025 last week on my main show, which you can go back to check out, but I hope you enjoy this one, from 8 (jeez) years ago, which only feels like yesterday.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and wishing you a great start to 2026.

Love, as always.

Cx

Tracklist:

Frank Eddie - Stay Another Day

Ben Lucas Boysen - Good Times Vol 1

Radiohead - I Promise

Eabs - Waltzing Beyond

Giorgio Gaslini - V Movimento

Sly5thAve - Still D.R.E.

Rodney P - Untitled feat Lanre Sulola

London Grammar - Rooting For You (Accapella)

Floating Points - Kelso Dunes

Phil France. and Mr Scruff - Joy of Brass (Mr Scruff Remix)

Gorillaz - Strobelite (feat Peven Everett)

Quantic and Nidia Gongora - Ojos Vicheros

Fruko y Sus Tesos - Botando Corriente

Nebula - Silent Journeys

Nicola Cruz - Puente Roto (Quantic Remix)

Sampa The Great - Healing

Girma Beyene - Yebeqagnal

Nautilus - Root Down (feat Fleur Earth)

Wojtek Mazolweski Quintet - London

Moses Boyd - After Tomorrow

Rava String Band - Verde Que Eu te Quero Ver

Ruby Rushton - Where Are You Now? Pt2

Danger Mouse - Chase Me (feat Run the Jewels and Big Boi)

Jordan Rakei - Eye To Eye

Abtract Orchestra - Dilla Mix 2

Meeka Kates - Fault Line (Ambassadeurs remix)

Avalon Emerson - 2000 Species of Cacti

Four Tet - Planet

Four Tet - Two Thousand and Seventeen

Zara McFarlane - Allies or Enemies

Melanie De Biasio - Your Freedom is the End of Me

Melanie De Biasio - Gold Junkies

Kamasi Washington - Truth

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

I hope 2025 has been kind to you.

There has been lots of great music set against the increasing insanity of the world.

Personally, I’ve been working on a diverstiy of projects, I’m not sure my feet hit the ground that much, when they do it’s usually to fall into bed exhausted by the days, or at least thats how it feels.

One thing is for sure, I’ve bought, been sent and listened to a tonne of new music this year.

My shows are usually made up of about 50% new stuff and the rest (OK, 50%) is a wander into my vinyl collection, increasingly trying to find records I’ve forgotten, or only played the ‘big’ track from and digging a little deeper. Sometimes it’s inspired by whats happened between shows, and, if I wasn’t doing a round up, I’ve fallen back in love with Madonnas ‘Like a Prayer’ and found a copy on 12” (which is going to my daughter for Christmas, shhhh, don’t tell her)

I’ve found, after years of going about things, that unashamedly using real life to inspire selections, whether its a new record, a new to me record, something I’ve heard on the radio or blasting out of someones window, really satisfying. I hope you are getting to know me a little more through the show, and I’d be delighted if anything sparks your interest or reminds you of something else, or you have something you think I’ll dig, then please do get in touch.

If I had to recommend two records from 2025, I’d point you to Chip Wickhams’ ‘The Eternal Now’, on Gondwana Records, which, I was lucky enough to help bring into the world. It is Chips’ finest work to date and worth the two years spent making it.

The other record, which seems to have come about just at the right time for me, is William Tyler and Kieran Hebdens ‘41 Longfield Street Late 80’s’. A beautiful mix of acoustic guitar and electronics, chords and melodies which evoke Nick Drake (yep, I’m still in that groove) and its just a wondrous thing, and an odd thing, and I”m pleased that records like this are being pressed onto vinyl for the small amount of people who will fall head over heels with it, as I have.

I hope you enjoy this show and I wish you all a merry, peaceful Christmas, and I’ll be back with you in the New Year, looking forward to all it brings.

Peace

Cx

Tracklist:

Fred Again - Actual Life 2 Piano Live 20th March 2022

Burial - Untrue

William Tyler and Kieron Hebdon - Secret City

Sault - T.H.

Cedric “IM” Brooks and the Divine Light - Third World (Afro Beat)

John Tchicai and Strange Brothers - I en Kaeldaer

Sebastiano Tapages and Pedro Dos Santos - Despedida de Mangueira

Naire - Um Dia Azul De Abril

Nina Maia - Kao

Majken - Nearly There

Ea Akilat - Run IV (Midas 104 Remix)

Everything is Recorded - Goodbye (Hell of a Ride) feat Nourished By Time

Wet Leg - Mangetout

Nick Drake - Northern Sky

Litis Viljanen - El Retiro

Gomez - 78 Stone Wobble

Deanna Wiggs - Growing Pains

Chip Wickham - Nara Back feat Peach

Nukhet Ruacan - Golge

Quantc - Theme From Salva (remix)

Chip Wickham - No Turning Back

William Tyler and Kieran Hebden - If I Had a Boat

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

As is quite often the case, I’ll hear a track and won’t be able to get past it for a while. I’ll bore friends endlessly, I’ll play it on the radio insessantly, I’ll shoehorn it into live sets and it was definitely the case with a particular track by Anna Meredith.

Nautilus is an incredible piece of music, it almost so doesn’t work, but yet it does. It was pretty much the only piece of work I had listened to of Anna’s when I tracked her down ahead of her appearance at Brightons Mutations Festival and I’m afraid to admit this wasa. tough interview. Not because Anna wasn’t generous and lovely, she was and is, but I think I nearly pulled it because I hadn’t had a chance to prepare, and was possibly in the middle of some sort of famiy crisis.

But, you only live once, as Del Boy said, so I decided to jump in anyway and hopefully it isn’t too bad, and I was in the middle of obsessing over this one track.

I have since gone back and dug into her back catalogue and she has gone on to do many great things, so it didn’t ruin either of our careers.

So, this show was built around the interview and her work, giving me full range to lean into the corners of my world, inspired by her work.

Hope you enjoy it. x

Tracklist:

Matthew Halsall - Tropical Landcapes

Sarathy Korwar - Intimate Enemy feat Upaj Collective

Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids - An Angel Fell

Monday Michiru - Double Image

Dilemma - Aim Low

Natural Born Chillers - Rock the Funky Beats

187 Lockdown - Gunman (Drum and Bass Mix)

Dr Octogon - Blue Flowers

*Anna Meredith Interview *

DJ Shadow - Bergschrund

MOP - Ante Up

Nas and the Bravehearts - Oochie Wally

RJD2 - Ghostwriter

Marlena Shaw - California Soul

Desmond Chambers - Haly Gully

Moe Turk - Find My Way to U

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

So, my friend and colleague, Sinah, also known as Ea Akilat sent over the latest episode of her podcast and asked me if I wanted to include it in my show.

Of course I do! I love her taste in music and I am helping her with her own music, with, hopefully, some collaborations between us coming in 2026.

I played a little B2B set a a local record shop on Saturday and the theme was the best of the year, so the first hour is all vinyl tracks I’ve bought this year, most of which has been released this year. Nick Drake being the exception, but regular listeners know I am in a NIck Drake groove at the moment and I can’t see myself coming out of anytime soon.

Sinahs mix is all about Airwaves Festival and she has discovered some amazing stuff, so stay tuned for that. I don’t have a tracklist so get shazamming!

This is what I played:

William Tyler and Kieron Hebden - If I Had a Boat/Spider Ballad

Four Tet - And Then Patterns

Sault - HTTR

Everything is Recorded - Never Felt Better feat Sampha and Florence Welch

Fred Again - Actual Life Piano Live

Majken - Nearly There

Nick Drake - Northern Sky

Iiris Viljanen - You’ll Meet Him

Nils Frahm and FS Blumm - Leuchter 2

*Ea Akilat Guest Mix*

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Ah man, I’m in a terrible rush today. Getting through a long list of jobs before I travel to France tomorrow for some work related things (and some fun hopefully) and I wanted to send out a show from the archives.

So I just listened to one of my early shows from 1BTN or 1 Brighton FM as it was known and, not to blow my own trumpet, the music is simply incredible!

I used to do my show live, and it was recorded off the broadcast feed, no-one really knew what they were doing, so the sound isn’t amazing, and I used to throw records in a bag and trundle off into Hove and see what happens. I’m pretty certain this show is 100% vinyl, although there may be a couple of tracks in there that never got a pressing, so maybe I had some digital stuff with me, but I’m quite astounded by the breadth of music I had taken along.

There is some stuff in there you’ll definitely know, like the opener Will Powers (which is a also a good psotove affirmation if you need it) Lemon Jelly, one of my all time favourites from Sebastien Tellier, even Van Halen and the Beach Boys!

But then there are some deeper cuts which I hope you love as much as me. I love Derek Gripper and his amazing guitar playing, Treva Whatevas’ Bouncing Bomb always brings a smile, and I think this is the first time I ever thoguht about mixing the Transglobal Underground into the Ewok Theme from Star Wars, a move I usually reserve for any show broadcast on May the 4th. I wonder what led me there?

So this ia three hour show with plenty of twists and turns, and I’m rather proud of myself from 2017 for being bold enough to go to all these places.

Most DJ’s have a style. or a genre and I’ve always hated that and, if I’m honest, its always worked against me as a DJ because its hard to know where to put me, I get that.

However, looking back as a proof of being someone who is deeply motivated by music and has a sizeable bag to delve into for inspiration and references when working with artists, I think I’m doing OK.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did relistening to it.

See you soon

Cx

Will Powers - Adventures in Success

Lemon Jelly - Soft

Sebastian Tellier - La Ritournelle

Tony Allen and Africa 70 - No Accommodation For Lagos

Cara Stacey - Theta Waves

Tinariwen - Afours Afours

Derek Gripper - Elyne Road

Finnegan and Finlan - Seasons of Doubt

Matt and Boog - Radio Sunday

Matt and Boog - Night and Day

Bonobo - Second Sun

Floating Points - Kelso Dunes

Van Halen - Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love

Eden Ahbez - Full Moon

Nancy Wilson - Son of a Preacher Man

Donald Byrd - The Weasil

Blue Mitchell - Good Humour Man

Jimmy McGriff - Blue Juice

Gand Starr - Check The Technique

Marlena Shaw - California Soul

RJ D2 - Ghostwriter

Treva Whateva - Bouncing Bomb

Transglobal Underground - Temple Head

John Williams - Ewok Theme from Star Wars

Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal

Jamie XX - The Rest is Noise

Theo Parrish - Footwork

Surfjan Stevens - Chicago

Vitamin String Quartet - Get Lucky

Kings of Convenience - Failure

Jeb Loy Nicholls - Going Where The Lonely Go

Mary Wells - Satisfaction

Pastor TL Barrett and The Youth for Christ Choir - Joyful Noise

Killer Joe Piro - Hang on Sloopy

Lea DeLaria - People Are Strange

The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Wotcha, this is my latest show for Totally WIred and for you Substackers, man, its been a hectic couple of weeks and my brain has been not storing the inspiration it usually does, so when it came to putting this show together, I had to lean back on my vinyl collection and my musical instincts to slowly creep through this one.

Saying that though, Melanie Be Biasio looks like she has done a couple of gigs recently, sadly, for me, in her homeland of France, but that did remind me of her last album, which I love and you should too. In fact,, you should go listen to everything Melanie has done, she is incredible. She did send me a postcard for all the love and support I’ve shown her over the years, it’s a much treasured possesion.

I then played a bit more of that William and Kieran (Four Tet) record which is doing it for me, I like the acoustic guitar matched with electronica, its got my brain whirring…

So I can do a little self promotion, I played Nara Back by Chip Wickham, which I co produced. Its sounds so good on vinyl and the vocals are out of this world. My poor tired brain can’t handle the fact they were recorded right by where I am typing this, they sound otherworldy.

The new Sault record has been largely unlistened to by me, so a track had to be played.

Then a little journey into XL recordings Richard Russell’s Everything is Recorded, which is a stunning record with some heavy colabs, then into the Jamie XX/Gil Scott Heron colab from a few years back, again on XL.

Into a little mix (but not Little Mix) with an old Scruff remix, nicely into brand new Oliver Night feat Roots Manuva, into Cabin Dance and then Jazzanova. That led me to a tune from Gilles Petersons ‘INCredible Sound of’ album for the track by Incognito. I’m generally not a fan of Brit Funk or whatever its called, but this remix is top notch.

Briefly into some orchestral moves with Godtet and then London Symphony doing the Star Wars end theme, then a massive swerve into Crooked Mans remix of Jarvis Cockers ‘Cunts are stilll Running the World’ which seems as apt as ever.

Then a bunch of new bits (apart from Ezra Collective)to finish up and there we go, another two hours of music, which I hope will prick your ears, make your head nod, give you a little solace and make your world a little better.

Tracklist:

Melanie De Biasio - The Chaos Azure

William Tyler and Kieran Hebden - Loretta Guides My Hands Through The Radio/Secret City

Chip Wickham - Nara Black feat Peach

Sault - H.T.T.R

Everything is Recorded - My and Me

Jamie XX Gil Scott Heron - My Cloud

Omni Trio - Byte Sized Life (Mr Scruff Remix)

Oliver Night - Boss Feat Roots Manuva

Cabin Dance - Octo Octa

Jazzanova - Coffee Talk (Yukihiro Fukatomi Remix)

Incognito - I Can See The Future (Ski’sa Main Mix)

Godtet -

The London Philharmonic Orchestra - Star Wars End Theme

Crooked Man - Cunts

Lia Kuri - Cyclone (Ryan Hemsworth Mix)

Brian Jackson and Masters At Work - Lady Gray and John Coltrane

Gerardo Batiz - Aguamarina (A Elis Regina)

Ezra Collective - Dark Side Riddim

Nubian Twist feat Fatoumata Diowara - Chasing Shadows

Dina Ogen - Mergeretas Sang

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Digging into my archive of radio shows, I decided to go as far back as I could, and, as it happened, it threw up this show from 2016, which I still remember recording down in the 1 Brighton FM (now 1BTN) bunker.

As I mentioned on an archive show from a couple of weeks ago, I recreated the soundtrack to a snowboard movie that was very influential, and I got to do that because of a mix I had put together for the premiere of a movie. Well, this is that mix, which I performed live on the radio, then unplanned, I carried in the same vein to close out the 2 hour show.

I remember being carried away by the enthusiam on the chat box, and where I normally finished the set on the classic ‘Once in a Lifetime’ I dug deep for some of my favourite tracks from snowboard movies that hadn’t made the planned mix for one reason or another…

The 90’s and 2000’s were a golden era for snowboard (and skate) movies, technology had made it easier for anyone to make something half decent and that unlocked a lot of creative individuals to make seminal movies without much outside help.

And the sound tracks to those movies, sought after on VHS or DVD and watched on repeat, because the soundtracks to our lives, and rightly so, I mean, look at this tracklist, and it only really scratches the surface and they are all legit bangers.

So, I hope you enjoy this one and much as I remember putting it together, please share with your friends who might appreciate this one, and don’t forget, thats winter is on its way… x

Tracklist:

Doves - Firesuite

Nathaniel Merriweather - Stroker Ace

Primus - Over the Electric Grapevine

Gang Starr - Above the Clouds

NTM feat Busta Flex and Lord Kossity - IV My People

Neil Young - Heart Of Gold

The Knife - Heartbeats

Weezer - My Name is Jonas

Helmet - Biscuits for Smut (Mutt Mix)

Hammerbox - When 3 is 2

Beastie Boys - Sneaking Out of the Hospital

Luscious Jackson - Lady Fingers

Modest Mouse - FLoat On

The Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle

Her Space Holiday - Key Stroke

The Cadillac Tramps - Don’t Go

Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime

Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky

The Cars - Just What I Needed

Should have Mischief - 93. ’Til Infinity

De la Soul - Keepin’ The Faith

The Saturday Knights -

RJD2 - 1973

The Go Team - Ladyflash

Donovan - Season of the Witch

Molokai - Fun For Me

Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself

Supersuckers - Creepy Jackalope Eye

Firehose - Bad Lieutenant

All - She’s My Ex

Carpe Wade - Elvis

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Well, its been a few weeks, OK, six weeks since you’ve had a live show from me. I’ve been busy OK? Actually, there has been loads of family stuff going on and its eaten up all my time and energy, apologies, but life can do that sometimes.

However, I dragged my sorry arse out of bed early, got into the studio and rather enjoyed putting this episode together, and I think there is a breadth to the music that is rather pleasing.

I kick off with Weekender by Flowered Up, which popped into my head because the guy who runs Green ISP who provided our internet (and I’d recommend) has been on the phone whulst I’ve been sorting the internet connection for an elderly relative. We got talking about music because he saw my email footer and he ended up sending me some stuff to listen to, which, I thought, sounded quite like this, in a very raw form.

I recently picked up Gomez’ ‘Bring It On’ as it was reissued, and given how I’ve ended up being friends with a couple of the guys from Gomez, I felt I should support the cause. Its a great album, it was at the time, winning a Mercury Music Prize, and it still sounds as good as ever.

I’ve been reading the official Nick Drake biog recently, so I’ll be playing songs by him for a while, Saturday Sun is one of my favourites. It leads on nicely to Kieran Hebdon (Four Tet) and his side project with William Tyler, which I have been loving since it dropped.

Nils and FS record is still in my listening pile an I’m grateful to Lieter for sending me a copy from Germany.

Jumping forward to the Sault track, which I heard whilst listening to 1BTN last week, they have dropped so many records in recent years that I’m not overly famiiar with them, and this track is the closer to the album ‘Unititled - God’ and its a little different, with a slight whimsy about it, which I love. That made me think of the Jim Noir track ‘Eeanie Meanie’ whcih I also adore. I first heard this in a sound track to a snowboard movie, and as winter is coming (and I have an alter ego as a snowboard culturalist and somewhat historian dontchaknow) it felt like the right time to play it.

That then led me down a 7” sized avenue, finishing up with a repressing of Joy Divisions ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ which is numbered 497 of 500. I don’t know the story behind this, or why it is a limited run, any ideas?

From there, a classic slab of Simple Minds and then I was just trying to work my way out towards the end of the show in some sort of way, so into the mix for some Andrea Parker on Mo Wax, two versions of Radioheads’ Everything In Its RIght Place, and finishing with some Boards of Canada.

Phew, we certainly covered some distance and I hope you enjoy(ed) listening.

Please feel free to share with fellow music lovers, and don’t forget, I’m in my studio everyday, helping people with their records, so if you or anyone you know needs a Producer or Mixing Engineer and you like the cut of my job, then get in touch.

x

Tracklist:

Flowered Up - Weekender

Gomez - Get Miles

The Spellbinder Project - Switchblade

Nick Drake - Saturday Sun

William Tyler and Kieran Hebden - When it Rains

FS Blumm and Nils Frahm - Leuchter 2

Liris Viljanen - Gianni

Sultan Stevenson - Afterword

Jorja Smith - Rose Rouge

St Germain - Rose Rouge

Godet - Always Bright

Colin Wilkie, Shirley Hart, Albert Mangelsdorff and Joki Freund - Ich Armes Maidlein Klag Mich Sehr

Dave Pike Set - Raga Jeeva Swara

The Joachim Kuhn Group - Depression and Illusion

Everything is Recorded - No More Rehearsals

Sault - Life We Rent but Love is Rent Free

Jim Noir - Eenie Meany

Belle and Sebastian - Legal Man

Rodrigo and Gruff - Gold Medal Winner

Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

Simple Minds - Theme for Great Cities

Andrea Parker - Melodious Thunk

Radiohead - Everything in Its Right Place

Boards of Canada - Telephonic Workshop

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

A few years ago, I was asked to DJ at a premiere of a snowboard movie. As always, I massively overthought it, buying loads of tunes from classic snowboard movies on vinyl (because it matters, yeah) and then making a mix which I would then perform at the night… All well and good.

Because that went so well, I then wanted to carry on in the same vein, and there had been a snow/skate movie come out of Canada called The Burning. It was nowhere to found online, not even a mention of it. But I was sure it hadn’t been a dream and many UK riders cited it as one of their favourite of all time, and it had a killer soundtrack.

So, I tracked down the producer/director, a guy called Murray Siple and told him about my plan to recreate the soundtrack, he was pretty suprised to find a DJ and snowboarder from the UK of all places, asking after his film which he had pretty much forgotten about. A conversation ensued and he promised he would put a version up on Vimeo so I could work out what tracks were played…

Hearing the soundtrack after all those years immediately transported me back to a flat in Bourg Saint Maurice, where a bunch of scruffy snowboarders would sit and devour movies like these, before tryng to emulate them the next day, although emulating the soundtrack proved to be as difficult.

Some tracks were listed, some were listed wrong, Shazam proved to find some tracks difficult, but in the end, I had most of the tracks, bar one I think, on vinyl and I put the soundtrack together.

And here it is, even if you have no interest in skate or snowboarding, these are some killer tunes put together by the best named DJ in the planet, DJ Vinyl Ritchie, and lovingly recreated by me many years later…

You might also noticed that I was DJing under the moniker 6ft Stereo at the time… the joy of youth!

Enjoy x

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

No new live show from me this week. Many apologies, I was away DJing at over 3000m in Austria last week, plus some heavy life stuff didn’t leave any room for a new one. So we are taking a trip back to feb 2017, remember when life seemed a little easier all those years ago?

But a random pick seems pretty relevant, The Prodigy open this show, and they have been on a UK tour this week, doing Prodigy business and looking and sounding incredible. Jack White also seems to be everywhere, so moving into one of his side projects seems apt, this is The Dead Weather.

When I worked at HMV back in the day, I used tro rinse this track by Bomb The Bass, there is a heavier remix of it I must play soon, someone remind me yeah?

Q-Tip sounding good on a solo track and I have no recollection of ever doing this Eric B and Skee Lo mash up, I obviously didn’t like it and haven’t done it since. I must have felt bad for such a train wreck, so I‘ve played the full version of I Wish, a banger for sure.

I actually played this track by Her Space Holiday at over 3000m last week, and this is such a tune, a classic from a snowboard movie.

Another timely play for cLOUDDEAD as this track is remixed by the Boards of Canada who also have some new music incoming. Exciting.

I know I’ve said it before, but I’m totally besotted with Melanie De Biasio and her music. When I ordered her last record direct, a few days after it arrived I received a handwritten postcard from her, saying thanks for all the support over the years, which is one of my treasured possessions. This track No Deal, is fucking incredible.

Following that is another incredible track from an incredible album, Matador. Detroit by Gaz Coombes, whom I’m also besotted by. I’ve seen him play at Glastonbury and been in tears, I’ve seen him play about 2 feet away from me in Brighton, he’s so good, either on his own, with a full band or with the ‘Grass. This tune is heavyweight and he didn’t shy away from a chugging outro which I love.

Heidi Vogels track is turned into a stomper by The Cinematic Orchestra, and I played this at Alphabet whilst warming the crowd up for Chip Wickham a fortnight ago. Its funny that it has popped up here too.. Either I play a lot of the same music, or I knew what I was doing then and bought fucking good records.

I’ve also just introduced my daughter to this track from Courtney Barnett and this is one for the car. I’ve screamed along to this countless times and I really recommmend her album ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit’ it still hits hard.

Another incredible album is ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ by Radiohead. Not as lauded as Kid A or OK Computer, but I think its another masterpiece, this track really lights me up.

Then we head weird and a bit phsycadelic with Vibration Black Finger, Silver Apples and touching back down with Sarathy Korwar, whom you can go into my archive and listen to a full interview with him.

Closing out the show with a remix of Kelly Watch The Stars by Air, into David Axelrods ‘Holy Thursday’ which, in my mind, leaves you a good spot.

I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did, I’ve got a few tracks I had forgotten about to revisit. x

Tracklist:

The Prodigy, Manfred Mann and Public Enemy - Shut ‘Em Up (feat Jaguar Skills)

The Dead Weather - Act Like a Buffalo

Bomb The Badd - Bug Powder Dust

Q-Tip - Vivrant Thing

Eric B and Rakim/Coldcut/Skee Lo - Paid in Full mash up

Skee Lo - I Wish

Her Space Holiday - Key Stroke

Zero 7 - Light Blue Movers

Matthew Halsall - Sailing Out To Sea

cLOUDDEAD - Dead Dogs Two (Boards of Canada Remix)

Olafur Arnalds and Nanna - Particles

Riven - Infinity’s Edge

Nils Frahm - La (Sebastien Freij Rework)

Melanie De Biasio - No Deal

Gaz Coombes - Detroit

Heidi Vogel - Turn Up The Quiet (Cinematic Orchestra Remix)

Little Miss Sunshine OST - First Push

Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best

Radiohead - Decks Dark

Vibration. Black FInger - Black Pearl

Silver Apples - Misty Mountain

Sarathy Korwar - Eyes Closed

John Swing - Touch

Strange Cargo - Montok Point

Air - Kelly Watch The Stars (Moog Cookbook Remix)

David Axelrod - Holy Thursday

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

I’ve known Mr Scruff for quite a while now, I’d say we were friends. He was the first person I’ve ever interviewed, and it is suprising that he didn’t think I was a total cock when I first met him, maybe he did actually, but I think I redeemed myself.

Ok, lets tell that story briefly… Scruff was booked to play the Arcadia Spider at Glastonbury, I was working for Arcadia at the time. I hoped I might bump into him, and after a triumphant set on The Bug (which, incidentally was the only music at Glastonbury for a couple of hours due to a massive thunderstorm) finishing with the Hot 8 Brass and their version of Sexual Healing, I did indeed see him wandering down the backstage area.

It might be worth mentioning that I had just taken a ittle MDMA for the first time (late to the party at about 41) and was having quite the day. I seized my hazy opportunity and approached saying Hi and saying how much of a fan I was, then I asked him to record a mix for the podcast I was doing at the time. he was generous, but cleary not interested, but I had a CD of my podcast in my pocket (that even seems weird typing it) and gave it to him.

Fast forward a few days and truly back on earth and I felt like a bit of dick, so I messaged him on socials and apologised for asking a little too much, but he was cool and said he and his mates had listened to the CD on the way home and really enjoyed it, he mentioned one of the tracks on it, so he must have checked it out. Phew.

A while later he was playing in Brighton and I’d had an idea for a (another) podcast called The Current State of Music and how I’d love to interview him, again, being the generous, lovely guy he is, he obliged and I spent a couple of hours with him at Concorde 2 talking about his journey in music.

You can hear the podcast in the archive on my Substack.

Fast forward quite a few years and I was chatting to him at We Out Here, we talked about when he was next playing Brighton and it turned out to be near to my 50th and I asked him if he wanted someone to warm up. He did and invited me to open for him, and what an honour…

So here is that warm up set, nearly a year later, I tried to cover a lot of bases, without being too obvious, without going too hard, just some headnodding to get in the mood for the man and a 5 hour set (which, btw, was awesome)

Enjoy x

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

I think I’ve mentioned before that life has a habit of getting in the way when I go to record these shows? Well, life came at me this week and I haven’t been able to get organised to bring you the usual mix of new music, new to me music and digging in my crates music, so instead we are going back a couple of years to my first show on Totally Wired Radio (where this show gets broadcast)

Funnily enough, it starts with my remix of Amanda Whitings’ Where Would We Be, which is the track that got me my first major radio play, so it’s nice to hear that again.

Looking at the tracklist, its quite staggering how fast music comes and goes these days. Digital releases just don’t get the same amount of attention as vinyl releases, and I don’t think just think thats the case with me. Its is obviously easier to release a digital track, a few mouse clicks and your track is all around the world, but I think that ease has created a ‘fast music’ culture where music is literally being thrown out and forgotten almost instantly.

Gilles Peterson was quoted as saying that if someone gives him a track on vinyl, he’ll listen to it, and I’d concur. If an artist or label go as far as putting music on vinyl, I’ll respect that and give it more gravitas than something that falls into my inbox. That isn’t to say that I disgregard digital promos, its just the number I get. Can you imagine what Gilles’ inbox looks like? Jeez.

However, there is some gold in this show. Flock, whom I sadly missed at WOH, but its almost a jazz super group (if there is such a thing) featuring two Current State of Music Podcast guests Sarathy Korwar and Tamar Osbourne. Comet is Coming. whom I totally love, Jamie XX (obvs), Marc Mac, Gorillaz and Sault all firing out new music.

Finishing with a great version of Tempted, penned by the worst interview guest I’ve had, Chris Difford, so bad in fact I’ve not really wanted to go back and see whether I could put it out. As bad an interviewee he was that day, he does write great songs, and this version reworked by Erykah Badu and James Poyser really is a great track to stick around for…

Hoping I’ll be back in control for a new show in a couple of weeks, and hoping you guys are well too… x

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

As you all know, I have a co-production credit on the new Chip WIckham album and we have become firm friends since, which is a joy in itself.

He was in town to record an interview with Capsule Records for their radio show and he also had the first copies of the new record (he gave me #1) which again was a joy in itself.

He mentioned he was doing a release day signing in Capsule, so I suggested that whilst he is signing, I play some tracks from the new record, alongside some other spiritual jazz tunes and a plan was formed.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and we had a joyous afternoon in Capsule (shout out to Lawrence and Sarah) Chip was signing records and chatting to his fans, I was spinning tunes, and the joy with long jazz tracks is that could also talk to people about my involvement in the record, what tunes I was playing and,generally, chat about music.

Someone plugged in a little recorder into the mixer so my set was recorded and here it is for you now… Its a bit of a journey and some cuts are deeper than others, but I hope you find something in there you dig. x

Tracklist:

Chip Wickham - Nara Black

Takeo Moriyama - East Plants

Chip Wickham - Falling Deep

Yusef Lateef - Love Song from Spartacus

Sons and Daughters of Light - Let The Sun Shine In

Chip Wickham - The Eternal Now

Rene McLean - Aida

Chip Wickham - Astral Travelling

Sarathy Korwar and the Upas Collective - Intimate Enemy

Mysterium and Ursula Rucker - Lonely Can Be Sweet

Ahmed Jamaal - Poinciana

Koop - Waltz for Koop

Chip Wickham - Outside

Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda (feat Pharaoh Sanders)

Chip Wickham - No Turning Back

Sathima Bea Benjamin - Africa

Pharaoh Sanders - You’ve Got to Have Freedom

Sonny Red - The Mode

Pharaoh Sanders - Rejoice

Lopez Alexandria - Morning

Grady Tate - Moondance

Chip Wickham - Shamal Wind

The Cosmic Range - Palms To Heaven

Swarthy Korwar - Utopia and Visions

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Well, I thought the last couple of weeks would be a bit easier with the kids back to school.

Things don’t always pan out how you hope and I came into this show with very little plans about what I was going to play.

I played Saturday Sun by Nick Drake to my daughter in the car the other day, and I think no-one comes close to Nicks ability to write such beautifully melancholic songs. I am in awe of what he acheived in three albums and sad that he didn’t survive this world long enough to hear how beloved he has become. I’d love to go back in time and tell him how much people will think of his songs, maybe that would be enough for him to go through another day, then another one…

The second track weighs in at 19 minutes long and is the B side to the new FS Blumm and Nils Frahm record ‘Handling’ I’m going to do a seperate post of my Substack about this record, so tune in for that…

I picked up the Jamie XX Gil Scott Heron record whilst I was DJing at Capsule Records for Chip Wickhams album signing session. I saw the distinctive cut out and jumped on it, I love Jamie XX and was happy to find this.

After a brief sidequest with The Avalanches and a couple of brand new tunes, I worked my way to Stardust ‘Music Sounds Better with You’ which was the first record I learned to DJ with. Two copies, back and forth, learning the rudimentaries. I wrote a post about this on my Substack this week if you want to check that out. I dont know where my original copy went (or another track I had on Roulé called Spinal Scratch) so I bought this one on Discogs recently.

I know Get Lucky got played to death, but I can’t resist the full 9 minute Daft Punk remix, its so good…

As I talk about, Diana Ross, Sister Sledge and Abba aren’t normally staples on my show, but maybe they should be, all great tracks and fine examples of exquiste production. All found at charity shops recently and hapy to blow the dust off.

I finished with a little run of new Jazz bits which have landed recently and leave you, in light of Trumps visit to the UK and all the bullshit surrounding it, a rather spicy track I couldn’t resist…

Hope you enjoy this one, its definitely a journey and I’m happy to have you with me…x

Tracklist:

Nick Drake - Saturday Sun

Nils Frahm and FS Blumm - Leuchter 3

Gil Scott Heron - The On/Off Switch (interlude)

Gil Scott Heron - Blue Collar

Jamie XX x Gil Scott Heron - Running

Jamie XX feat The Avalanches - All U Children

The Avalanches - Frontier Physiatrist (Mario Caldato Remix)

Till Bronner - Il Trucido E Lo Sbirro

Rabbath Electric Orchestra - Samares feat Raphael Imbert and Minino Garay

Chip Wickham - The Eternal Now

La Chooma - Cozumel

One Inch Punch - Yin Yin

Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You

Daft Punk feat Pharrell and Nile Rogers - Get Lucky (Daft Punk Remix)

Diana Ross - Love Hangover

Sister Sledge - Lost In Music

Abba - Dancing Queen

Don Phillipe - Displacement

Ami Taf Ra - Speak To Us

Ami Taf Ra - Love feat Ryan Porter

Charles Stepney - Step on Step

Ahmed Jamal - Poinciana

Anita O Day - Rock and Roll Blues

Donald Trump is a Cunt - The Kunts

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

This week, Gorillaz launched new music, a great track featuring Sparks, and album and a tour.

This is following the brilliant House of Kong exhibition that has been running throughout August at the Copperbox Arena in London’s Olympic Park, which, in itself hinted at new work in the pipeline.

But this reminded me of a show I did back in 2017, I’m guessing around the time the Plastic Beach Tour was touching down in Brighton. I nearly got a pass to go and do the sound whilst the 1BTN, or 1 Brighton FM as it was then, head guy Mickey interviewed Damon Albarn. That didn’t happen sadly, but the missus and I did have tickets to the show anyway, so all good.

So I put together a show, featuring their big hits but also trying to unlock some deeper album cuts and rareties the casual listener might not know about.

The sound quality isn’t great, this was the broadcast feed and had limiters etc on it, which back then, no-one really knew what they were doing at the station, so forgive that please.

Obvioulsy, Gorillaz, have dropped loads of good music since then as well, so it is only a screenshot of where they were at that time, just in case you wonder where some of their newer stuff has gone…

I hope you enjoy this, I do sometimes like to deep dive on an artist, there was that time I played a whole Nils Frahm album from start to finish. Maybe I lost a listener or two on that one, but then I did get messages saying they loved it, so I’ll continue to do things like this.

Putting a show out on Substack means I can do that. Which I love.

See you next week for the usual radio show, stay safe, sane and as always, fuck facism. x

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Well, time seems to be flying, the seasons have done an abrupt handbrake into Autumn and We Out Here already feels like a distant memory. This is my first show since that weekend, so I’m gonna take you back to the set I did at midnight on the Tomorrows Warriors stage. I wrote a bit about the experience of that a couple of weeks ago, so you don’t need me to go into that again, so instead I’ll talk about the selections for this show.

Starting with Chip Wickham… it was my absolute pleasure to work with Chip on his new album, which, is out today, and in particular this track Nara Black. I’ll be doing a longer post about what happened this week, but I listened to the vinyl version of this track as I recorded the show, and it sounds insane. A lot of love went into his album, two years in the making and I hope you love it.

Jeremiah and Ashars’ tracks are from an album curated by Gilles Peterson and given the stellar line up at We Out Here, when I saw this down at Capsule Records in Hove, it immediately caught my eye. As a collection of songs, its not instant, but slow moving, sometimes quite abstract pieces, which I love, an album that you keep discovering new things on.

Nina Maias’ album is something I’ve had for a few weeks on promo, but I heard a track that instantly piqued my interest on 6Music. The label, Mr Bongo, is based in Brighton and I’m good friends with them, as they release music of mine on their publishing label, so I popped in to get this on vinyl. Another record that will take some time to uncover all its gems, which I’m looking forward to.

I seem to have found a few Nicola Conte 10” records recently, so it seemed apt and in the flow of the show to play this, followed by the 4Hero version of Minnie Rippertons’ Les Fleurs, in homage to Rotary Connection, who headlined WOH on the Saturday night, playing tracks I thought I would never hear live, and performed so well.

The new Sault record is another grower, it didn’t grab me on first listen, but consecutive plays have revealed greatness, this is a great track.

The last few tracks are all from recent Mr Bongo releases, including a version of Dancing Drums by Anandar Shankar, which isn’t what I was expecting, but good to hear nonetheless.

Then we get into my set from We Out Here.

I wanted to play the 4Hero version of Black Gold of the Sun, as a nod to anyone who had been watching the Rotary Connection an hour previously, followed by WIllis Jackson and Jimmy Smith as a nod to Gilles. Then it was all about making the dancefloor jump, mostly with fairly new tracks I’ve been keeping an ear open for, as I knew I had this coming up, but I wanted to play things which wouldn’t be too predictable and in the same style, it is, after all, a festival with a certain aesthetic which I wanted to stick by. Floating Points was a nod to last years headliner (which was fucking epic btw) and I finished with a crazy track I heard recently that would give whoever following me free reign to go where ever.

So I hope you enjoy this show, its been crazy recently with kids heading back to school, work commitments lining up, new releases to talk about. Life, generally…

I hope also you are all doing ok, if you can please share this with someone you thnk might dig it too and I’ll see you again soon.

Love Cx

Tracklist:

Chip Wickham - Nara Black

Nils Frahm - You Name It

Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer - Snacko

Ashar Gamedze - Meloncholia

Nina Maia - Mar Adentro

Nicola Conte - Jet Sounds (Nuspirit Helsinki Remix)

Minnie Riperton - les Fleurs (4Hero Remix)

Sault - R.I

Nukhet Ruacan - Golge

Nana Benz du Togo - Danser

Ananda Shankar - Dancing Drums

**We Out Here Set**

Nuyorican Soul - Black Gold Of The Sun (4Hero Remix)

Willis Jackson - Nuthern Like Thuthern

Jimmy Smith - Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf Pt 2

Sault - I Just Wanna Dance

James heather - Invisible Forces (Ishmael Ensemble Remix)

Quantic - Run (Sofia Kourtesies Remix)

Raz and Afla - Shikor Shikor (Jamz Supernova and Sam Interface Remix)

Nubian Twist and Sean Kuti - Carry Me (UKG Version)

Weval - Open Up That Door

Floating Points - Birth4000

London Grammar - Hey Now (Bonobo Remix)

Voices of Fire - Joy

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Firstly, I’ve left this show until the last minute and I should also be preparing for a festival gig this weekend, so I’m sort of combining the last couple of weeks of my life, and thinking about what I might play out.

Phew, glad I got that out the way. I guess its the thing I always do of setting your expectations low, and then you can only blame yourself if you think it’s shit. I did warn you.

Enough of that though, far too deep for a simple 2 hours of music.

The overwhelming theme, looking at the tracklisting, is that I’m thinking about this festival and trying to work out, in my head, what I think is the best pitch. The problem is, the stage I’m playing has a noise reduction curfew at 11pm, my set is at midnight. Don’t overthink it, is what I get told, but you don’t inhabit my brain, which has turned overthinking into an art form (did you not listen to my first mixtape, starting with a rather grandiose opner from Dylan Thomas?) So, is it going to be empty, with ravers all heading to the noisier parts? Is it going to be mellow, so I play a set accordingly? Do I go esoteric and play weird stuff that no-one knows to try and be ‘that guy’? Do I try and represent what I’m all about, get a few people interested and hoopefully follow me on Substack? Fucking hell, I’m really overtinking this.

Back to the show.

I’m really enjoying sharing music with my kids, my eldest is really engaged and likes electronica, so I played him the opener Chem Bros track to gauge his reaction. He was into it. Perfect. So that spawned a few tracks which seem to fit together. I particularly love the Sexwitch track, the repetitive build makes me want to dance on a clifftop at sunrise.

That album was produced by Dan Carey, so that led me onto a little DC tip, with Kae Tempest (I’ll be posting an interview I did with them from a few years back soon) and onto new music from Wet Leg.

Swerving from that into some Gorillaz. I took the family to their House of Kong exhibition last week, which is fucking brilliant and well worth the trip. I love how things like that now have to have a bit more about them, immersive and well put together. I’d love to get involved in those sort of projects, it fascinates me. It reminded me how good and how consistent Gorillaz have been, so I tried, in three tracks, to cover that. I might do an episode solely devoted to them soon too.

I locked into some bangers, testing them out for the weekend, was happy wuth that arc, so pulled the rip cord on that and dived into some oddments from second hand shops and random 7”s taking in James Last, Andy Williams, Art Garfunkel doing the saddest song from the saddest movie, before another second hand find, the ong version of White Lines (Don’t Do It) which took me down a bit of an electro(ic) avenue.

Phew (again)

So, thats the story of this weeks show, I hope you enjoy it. If you can, please share to your mates and I’ll see you soon. Cx

Tracklist:

The Chemical Brothers - The Sunshine Underground

The Gaslamp Killer - Listen for my Whistle

The Spellbinder Project - Dark Is The Light

Sexwitch -

Kae Tempest - Tunnel Vision

Wet Leg - Mange Tout

Gorillaz - Momentary Bliss feat Slowthai and Slaves

Gorillaz - Don’t Get Lost in Heaven/Demon Days

Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood (Refix)

Malcolm Mclaren - Double Dutch

Raz and Afla - Voodoo Eze (Esa Remix)

Jamie XX - All You Children

Sofia Kourtesis - Nitzah and Aminaa

Weval - Open Up The Door

Floating Points - Birth4000

Andy Williams - Up, Up and Away

James Last - Here Comes The Sun

5th Dimension - Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In

The New Freedom Singers - The Whole World In HIs Hands

Art Garfunkel - Bright Eyes

Adrian Celetano - Prisencolinensinainclusol

Grandmaster Flash and Belle Mel - White Lines (US Remix)

Le Fox - French Kiss

Janet Jackson - When I Think Of You

The Rocksteady Crew - She’s Fresh

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Since we last spoke, I’ve been away. My wife’s elderly Auntie had to go into sheltered accommodation and it fell to me to go there and empty her house and make it fit to be rented out, all in a short space of time, whilst the kids are on holidays… great timing yeah.

The house is about two and a half hours from home, so I stayed up there, on a mattress on the floor, surrounded by paint and other detritus, however, I think it is always fascinating and depressing to see what one persons life accumlates and what, when it comes down to it, is considered surplus.

How does this relate to the show this week, I hear you cry! Well, I listened to a lot of radio, and one track in particular stood out, The Voices of Fire - Joy, was a treat late on the Friday night when energy was flagging. I found two records worth keeping, Sgt Peppers and a Monty Python album, and through finding these, I had a conversation with the house clearance guy (who was an angel sent from above) and he bought down some records from his warehouse for me to look at, which included The Beatles ‘Get Back’ on 7”. Nothing valuable, but nice to save from landfill and a few oddities to play on the show.

Since we last spoke, I also saw Fred Deakin do his Club Life show, and one of his club nights was an attempt to not be cool, to play whatever feels right, to bring a smile, or whatever, and I’ve been mulling over that. So, as well as my continuing search to find great new music, great old music, I”m gonna be a little more open to playing oddments, such as ‘Duelling Banjos’ which I found in a charity shop recently, because these tracks can steer my show into totally different spaces, whcih is exciting, right?

These last two weeks have been absolutley draining, from the motional rollercoaster of the kids leaving school (and a secret Fatboy Slim gig to finish proceedings) to being on my own for ten days, working all the hours. However, I did get to have a couple of pints n the Sunday afternoon with an old friend and his wife, whom I haven’t seen for years but live in the same town, and it was a conversation with them that led me to playing the opening track this week, James’ ‘Say Say Something’ from the album Wah Wah, which we talked about… on that note, go listen…x

Tracklist

James - Say Say Something

Sarathy Korwar - There Is Beauty There Already

Bicep - Sikorsuit

Hi Tek/The 2 Bears - Come Get It (Tekstrumental)/Modern Family

William Shatner - It Hasn’t Happened Yet

Voices of Fire - Joy

The Beatles - Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles - A Little Help From My Friends

The Beatles - Get Back

The Kinks - Louie Louie

Rubettes - When You Are Falling In Love

Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell - Duelling Banjos

Leo Kottke - Cripple Creek

Henry Mancini - The Magnificent Seven

Naire - Um Dia Azul De Abril

Som/3 - Um Minuto

Sebastian Tapajos and Pedro Dos Santos - Despedida De Mangueira

Luli Lucinha e o Bando - Flor Lilas

Hidden Orchestra - Dawn Chorus

Nick Drake - My Thoughts of Mary Jane

Famous Blue Cable feat Feist - Riverman

Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet - We Love You

Wojtek Mazolewski Experience - Paris

Perera Elsewhere and Andy S - Fuck Le System

Modeselektor - Mega Mega Mega

Kiasmos - Burst (ANNA Remix)

Raz and Afia - Shikoor Shikor (jazz Supernova and Sam Interface Remix)

Sly5thAve - Liberty (Sam Interface and Jazz Supernova Remix)

Amy Dabbs - First Love

Alina Bhazinska and Tulshi - Nomads Nocturne

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

This show starts with a couple of tracks that are about 20 mins each in length, and there is a reason for that.

My daughter has just finished primary school and it has thrown up a lot of emotions, both for her at a time of big change, and for me as a parent. The school has become part of our routine and I feel I am very much part of the community, one which we are now leaving.

The emotional drain has been palpable and when I started recording the show, I just didn’t have it in the tank to really dive in as I usually do. So I thought I’d let some music do its restorative thing, a couple of amazing, long tracks, so I could sit, listen, gather my thoughts and energy.

So, from Melanie De Biasio’s ‘Blackened Cities’ and Four Tets ‘Morning’ to where we end up, via some charity shop finds, I hope this show does for you what it did for me.

If you are a parent in similar circumstances then I hope you can find some time to sit still and let some music do its thing for you too.

Cx

Tracklist:

Melanie De Biasio - Blackened Cities

Four Tet - Morning

Molly Joyce - 15 April 2000

Nils Frahm and FS Blumm - Leuchter

Slawomir Zubrzycki - Carillon

Crayon - Home Safe

Lemon Jelly - Come Down On Me

Lemon Jelly - Go

Wendy Craig - Say Goodnight

The New Seekers - I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing

John Hammond - I Can Tell

Merry Clayton - Gimme Shelter

Anandar Shankar - Jumpin’ Jack Flash

Johnny Harris - Paint It Black

Jeb Loy Nichols - Coming Home Love

Moodorama - Breathe In Breath Out

Laura Vane - Face

Raz and Afia - Shikor Shikor (jazz Supernova and Sam Interface Remix)

Amy Dabbs - Up In My Frills

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

A few years ago I had an idea for a show because sometimes I play some heavy jazz on my regular show and I feel I might be pushing it a little too far.

That got me thinking about whether people actually like jazz or just pretend they do, and for people who don’t, or who say they don’t, how can you break down what it is and help people find their way into it?

Does that even make sense?

Well, it did to me, and my idea was find some of my favourite musicians and DJ’s, all passionate about lots of forms of music, but who are, how could I put it, Jazz sensitive? Get those people to talk to me about how they got into jazz and if there was a specific tune that spoke to them, a gateway drug if you like, then I’d play that tune and maybe that could be your gateway into jazz too.

There is also an event called International Jazz Day that happens in the spring every year, with the legend Herbie Hancock being its most notable patron, and this show earned me a letter from him, which blew my mind a bit…

I did have plans to do another one, and my first port of call was Herbie himself, but that conversation with his agent faltered and other thigns came along, but I’m really proud of this show, the line up I managed to get on it (trying not to fan boy with Shabaka too much)

Maybe I’ll do another one, one day. I’d be keen to know what you think, and if there is any tunes you particularly like (or don’t like) Let me know. Cx

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

You may have seen, the other day, I posted the view from the DJ booth as I warmed up for Chip Wickhams’ gig at Alphabet in Brighton.

It was a great honour to play the warm up slot, I’ve had a few outings behind the turntables recently and I’m enjoying playing to people. As much as I love my radio show, getting some instant feedback from the dancefloor is really fun, plus the jeopardy of it, really lights me up.

The previous night in Manchester, Andy Votel, a name that appears on many records I’ve owned for years, was on warm up duties, with Graham Massey from 808 State and Badly Drawn Boy in attendance, and I knew some of the Brighton luminaries would be out in force, so I worked hard to play a set that not only represented where I am, but also what Chip is about.

Having worked with him on his last album, we’ve talked alot about music, so I felt like I was armed with the knowledge, and as a result, I felt I did his blistering live show a good service, getting the crowd nice and loose for what was to come.

Alphabet themselves were lovely, they put me all over the socials for it and the main room was packed out an hour before Chip was on, so that too was a good start…

Here is what I played, imagine a very warm club, anticipation in the air and maybe a few beers deep and this is what you’d have been listening to, finishing with Rae and Christians ‘Spellbound’ (you can go back into my archive and listen to Mark Rae talk about this track) which although Chip didn’t play on the recording, tells a lovely tale of playing it at Rae and Christians big reunion gig and getting a proper moment when he plays the flute intro. Fantastic. Enjoy. x

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

This is my first show solely for Totally Wired Radio and Substack, which is where all my shows are going from now on.

In that spirit, I’m talking more about why I’m playing what I’m playing, a little more about the world around us and how thats impacting music, as well as playing interesting music, both new and old, brand new releases and new to me old records, and a few gems that mean something to me, or have popped into my brain for some reason.

Let me know what you think and if you know of music you think I’ll dig, then please let me know.

Heres the tracklist:

Lemon Jelly - Ramblin’ Man

Breaks Co Op - The Otherside

Mr Scruff - Shanty Town

Grey Reverend - Regen

Rival Consoles - Known Shape

Raz and Alfa - Shikor Shikor (Jamz Supernova and Sam Interface remix)

Eight in the Room - Bought and Sold

Burial - Near Dark

Floating Points - Del Oro

Air - Kelly Watch The Stars (Demo)

Mouth 2 Mouth - Deep In The Pocket

Gorillaz - 12D3

Alfa Mist - In My Defence

Radiohead - Kid A

Howard Stern vs The Dust Brothers - Tortured Man

The Dust Brothers - X Files Theme

Beck - Dark and Lovely/Devils Haircut (Dust Brothers Mix)

Apeman - At Random

Mugen - In The Morning

Tycoon Tosh - Who Police the Police?

Tycoon Tosh - China Syndrome Pt 2

Andrea Parker - Melodius Thunk

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Back last year, possibly November, Chip came to Brighton to play a show, we'd had a few online conversations before then, he was a guest on my show "Jazz For People Who Think They Don't Like Jazz (listen here) which was a real pleasure, and Chip was really enthusiastic. So fast forward back to this gig, I'd told Chip I was going to be there, and was nearish the stage to the side, and I was pretty surprised when he clocked me and gave me a nod...

After the show, he came into the bar where I was hanging out and we got chatting, really just to say thanks for a great show, and it was a great show, the music just blew my mind and took me away to that place you hope you'll find when listening to live music... anyway, we got chatting and he told me he was a big fan of my radio show and thanked me for the support, which wasn't really what I was expecting to hear! I'm his fan, not the other way around! So yeah, that was a bit of a moment. but suffice to say, Chip is a lovely, talented beyond belief, down to earth guy, making his way in music, who has done a few laps of the park so to speak, so I knew he'd be a good guest.

We also have a couple of other random connections, one being my good friend Fred who lives in Manchester and the second being Chips nephew who taught my son in Primary school!,

Small world innit?

So, yeah, a real pleasure to chat to Chip, which nearly went off the rails due to a power cut on his road in Madrid where he currently lives, but in spite of this, we managed to chat for a long while and it was a real pleasure.

If you want to find out more you can find his work here:

https://www.gondwanarecords.com/artists/chip-wickham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

So stoked to have had the opportunity to talk to a proper legend in the game and find out more about his journey. one of the original DIYers and still hustling, putting out his best work yet (IMHO) with a new album incoming on Strut Records.

Idris did a piece for a me a couple of years back, after chatting to him online a little bit. He is a warm, welcoming, generous person and obviulsy has such a unique voice, both musically and in the music business, he has seen most trends come and go and is still on it, partnering with Bandcamp on his latest album launch, which, sadly I don't have the details of just yet, so I can't post them here for you.

Please do take the time to listen to his work, its not quite like anything else out there, his 2018 album An Angel Fell is what drew me in, and I would say a masterpiece, but early listens to the new album show that Idris is not resting on his considerable laurels, pushing forward all the time, developing new skills and keeping the Pyramids hard at it.

I could have listened to Idris' stories for hours, we did talk for over two, and I keep thinking of things we could have gone into, but I hope you find this conversation as interesting as I did, from diving back in time to talking about the industry today, and some sage advice at the end.

Enjoy

https://idrisackamoor.bandcamp.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

This was one of my favourite conversations so far, and I know I probably say that about all my guests, but really, I get so much out of the connections I'm having with my guests, and it feels like something meaningful to my life. I wonder how you, the listener, are feeling about them?

Adam is a kind soul, you can tell that he is compelled to be in music, in many different forms, maybe to his detriment, or maybe not. he certainly feels the weight of looking after others, whether that is band mates or artists on his label, I imagine he is a good friend because he genuinely cares and feels it. He has been part of the industry for a long time now and I feel our paths may have met, had I gone to Alchemea (a music school in London) because it was probably around the same time that I looked round it, but decided it wasn't for me, which to be honest, was probably imposter syndrome and low self asteem kicking in more than anything (and maybe money!)

Adams label has come on my radar through working with Amanda Whiting on a remix of one of her tracks and its Adams label Alberts Favourites that is putting it out, so its funny how these connections have come around and then yoou look back and see the threads running through your life, but it seems to make sense to me now and I don't feel like a complete outsider or imposter, which is a good thing...

So, yeah, I hope you enjoy this episode, we cover a fair bit of ground, from shit haircuts to mental health (all the same thing to me) so hold tight... Cx

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Tom Gray is someone you probably don't know, but you may well know the band he is in, Gomez, who lit up things with music that seemed to be on the verge of falling apart and won a Mercury Music Prize for their debut album Bring it On in 1998. and we talk about what that means to Tom, then and now. Which kind of sums up Toms character, always looking forward and relishing the chance to be creative in whatever guise he happens to find himself, of which, he has many guises, but really it is all the same to Tom.

So you may know Toms music, but you probably don't know how he is changing the landscape for the better for millions of musicians and songwriters around the world, starting a movement called #brokenrecord which has already seen most major record labels write off atists historic debt, which means artists might now stand a chance of making some money from their back catalogue. I am clearly not knowledgeable enough about the music industry, but I've spent quite a bit of time with Tom this year (helping him build his new studio) and I"ve learned so many tings I wasn't aware of, and most of it isn't good, but Tom is working tirelessly for change and, its no surprise given his outlook, and the fact he is very hard to argue against, that he is making real progress.

Tom has also recently been diagnosed as ADHD, which we didn't have time to go into, but mirrors my own mental health journey and currentlly being diagnosed with autism, maybe we'll get a chance in the future to revisit this subject, There was a load of things we could have got into, but didn't have the time for, hsi work for The Ivors, his work with the PRS, UK Music, as well as his songwriting and his work with the Roald Dahl Foundation.

Tom is a really fascinating person and I enjoy being in his company, he is funny, intelligent and engaged, often absolutely knackered, but a genuinely warm and caring person who gets it done...

Here are some links you might look at if you want to find out more about Tom:

Gomez: https://www.gomeztheband.com/

Ivors Academy: https://ivorsacademy.com/news/tom-gray-is-the-new-chair-of-the-ivors-academy/

Broken Reocrd: https://mixmag.net/feature/brokenrecord-music-industry-streaming-labels-artists-exploitation-equitable-renumeration

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

So, i fucked up... I talk about it in this episode. I forgot to press record on the second half of this interview with one of the most talented musicians I have had the fortune to chat to. Proper podcast error 101, however, through that failure we ended up going in again a couple of weeks later and chatting about all sorts we didn't get to in the 'lost episode'.

So there is a joy in that failure, and I learned quite a bit from it...

I hope you enjoy this episode, Tamar is quite the indivicual and I'm glad I got to spend s much time with her, as well as seeing her on stage with Sarathy Korwar (S3 E1) here in Brighton.

Enjoy

Cx

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

I've known Rob for a little while, bumping into each other at various things around Brighton. He is a partner in Tru Thoughts, a record label which has been going strong for 20+ years, launching the talents of people like Bonobo, Quantic and Alice Russell. But they don't rest of their laurels, Rob is an amazing DJ and always has his ear to the ground of new music they can help introduce to the world.

So although we've said hi loads of times, and Rob contrbuted to a show I made for World Jazz Day a few years ago https://soundcloud.com/chriscracknelldj/jazz-for-people-who-think-they-dont-like-jazz we've never really had a chance to sit and chat, so it was a pleasure to invite him over to my studio (Gold Tone Studio) and sit for a while and talk about running a label, the place of a DJ and just chat about music in general.

If you want to find out mre about Rob, you could head to https://tru-thoughts.co.uk/ and find out more about his label, his radio show and, of course, by some music! Enjoy x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

I think it was DJ Format, or jean Claude of If Music (both previous guests) who put me onto Amandas music, and I'm sure Rebecca Vasmant had a part in that too...

I certainly picked up After Dark from If Music, it came out on Jazzman records which is a great label doing good things and its quite an etherial album and got a lot of play on my radio shows at the time. The Sunflower EP came after and I'm a sucker for an interesting cover version so my senses got spiked by her cover of Kylie Minogues "I Can't Get You Out Of My Head'

When Lost In Abstraction was incoming, I think I messaged Amanda to say I'd give it some airplay and she sent me a digital copy and I loved it, there was a couple fo tracks on there I thought were ripe for a remix and I knew Rebecca had put a remix on After Dark, so I thought she might be open to me kncking one of her tunes about.

It was Where Would We Be that really caught me and last year I went about making it into something with a more hip hop vibe to it, and I had an idea to invite a spoken word artist to contribute to it. I couldn't get anything to work out quite how I wanted and it fell to the backburner for a while.

After this interview she asked me what was happening to it and suggested getting it finished one way or another, and as we talked about, I said 'Yes'! Fate intervened and a young singer who had been using my studio agreed to add vocals and absolutely smahed it and a poet called Matt was recommended and he delivered, Amanda loved it and asked me to produce her new record.

So this episode is a bit special for me, and really its the power of connections, positivity (which isn't always easy to muster) and saying 'yes' when an opportunity presents itself, which in turn means overcoming your fears, and maybe getting yourself out of the way and seeing yourself as others do, not as you do, something I struggle with, but am learning to tame...

Enjoy!

If you want to know more about Amanda, you can check her out here: https://www.amandawhiting.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Episode 2 of the new series, this week with Matt Ingram.

I'm guessing you haven't heard of Matt, but you'll almost certainly have heard some of the music he has been involved in, whether its drumming, production or writing, he has worked with some major artists and made some brilliant music.

More than that though, it was Matts energy he brought to a session in Eastbourne where we met last year that made me want to sit down and chat with him, he is really engaged, present and brings an amazing energy, even to what was quite a long day.

As you'll hear, Matts story is one of persuing his dream with dogged determination, getting into uncomfortable spaces and working hard until they become more comfortable, which I find so inspiring.

I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did...

You can find out more about Matt here: www.mattingram.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Episode 1 in the third series of The Currennt State of Music.

Its great to be having these conversations again, after an extended break (yeah covid and all that) and I'm so pleased to kick things off with someone whose music I have been enchanted with for years.

I picked up Day To Day in If Music after it was recommended by Jean Claude, also noticing it was on Ninja Tune and then grabbed My East Is Your West a couple of years later. It was this album that really blew my mind, the energy of the performance, the atmosphere iterally jumping off the record. Its not often a live album can capture the energy in the room, but everything about this album is glorious.

Fast forward a little and the release of More Arriving saw a slight change of direction, increased conciousness, a harder sound and I saw himm and his band at a small gig in Brighton and was blown away.

He was kind enough to provide something for a radio show I produced for International Jazz Day in 21 called Jazz For People That Think They Don't Like Jazz on.soundcloud.com/U8cQy talking about what got him into jazz, and from that I knew he'd make a great guest on this podcast.

If you want to know more, you can check out www.sarathykorwar.com/

or find him on Instagram www.instagram.com/sarathykorwar

I hope you enjoy the conversation and I'll be making the mix I created as the bed available soon to listen to.

If you do enjoy this podcast, a review and some stars on whichever platform you use would be greatly appreciated.

Cx

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Hey, I hope you are well. Happy Record Store Day! Well, its actually tomorrow (18th April) but this will be broadcast on the actual day on Totally Wired Radio, so we may as well celebrate. For me, any day can be Record Store Day, and I”ve been digging in crates a fair bit of late, so todays show, although doffing a cap to RSD, is mostly about some of the dusty old records I’ve been picking up.

I love record shops, the allure of finding the best song you’ve ever heard and that maybe no-one else knows about is very much what drives me, so heading to the more obscure shops is where you’ll find me.

The best two shops ever, were Disque on Chapel Street Market in Islington, and If Music in Soho. Sadly Disque closed it’s doors many years ago, but If Music survives online after a greedy landlord fucked them over during lockdown. I miss those places so badly. I used to arrange my work to be in London on a Friday morning, so I could then skive off and spend hours with Jean Claude on a Friday afternoon, coming out a few hundred pounds lighter in my pocket, but a few pounds heavier in my record bag.

I saw a video recently of a guy talking about online record shopping, and I guess this might be a generational thing, but I like digging through crates, not scrolling on a screen. The connection and excitement isn’t there, and I also know where most of my records come from, what the day was like, what else I bought at the same time, all that esoteric stuff that I do beleive makes you a better DJ as a result.

Of course, these are the ramblings of a 50 something vinyl addict, and I appreciate the world is changing. I love Bandcamp and what it does, but lets support our record shops throughout the year, not just on this one day. This one day doesn’t really represent what a record shop does day in and day out, which is to help you discover your new favourite music. Amen.

So, here is this shows tracklist:

Miles Mosley - No Love Lost

Naveed - Day Come Through

Jhelisa - Oxygen

Jhelisa - Friendly Pressure (Amalgamation of Soundz Remix)

Suburban Architecture - Purpose EP

Moses Yoofee Trio -. Nothing to Lose feat Mulay

Swell Session, Mr Scruff and Elsa Esmerelda - No No

Lionrock - Fire Up The Shoesaw (Discotheque Remix)

Combustible Edison - Bluebeard (Space Patrol 2000 Mix)

Hector Live - Mi Gente

Fania All Stars - Estrellas De Fania

Ricardo Eddy Martinez - La 132

Rembert Egues - Tema Para Un Amanecer

Juan Pablo Torres y Algo Nuevo - Rompe Cocorioco

Arp Frique and The Perpetual Singers - Alpha and Omega

Play It Like Francis - L’Aventure Crest la venture (remix Alex Revox Jr)

Beck - Venom Confection (E-Pro Remix)

Treva Whateva - Singalong

Young MC - Bust a Move

Only Child - Rain feat Buffy Brox

Niko - Sound Off

The Belle Stars - The Clapping Song

Money Mark - Maybe I’m Dead (Dust Brothers Remix)

The Dirty Beatniks - Getting’ Stupid

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Season 3 of The Current State of Music podcast is imminent! New episodes are in the bag with more in the pipeline, some incredible conversations with some incredible people, which, if you are a musician, producer, artist or work in the music industry might help you with your journey.

I sincerely hope you get as much out of these conversations as I do.

Episode 1 of the new season will be with Sarathy Korwar, dropping Tuesday 9th May.

I hope you can join us... x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

An interview with the man behind Aston Microphones, the story which led him to where he is today and the motivation behind the industry leading microphone brand, just ahead of a major innovative announcement on the 2nd May 2020. Links: https://www.astonmics.com/EN

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Pt 1 of my chat with Iain Archer

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Pt 2 of my interview with Iain Archer...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

A good old chat with the dark lord of Steam Punk hip hopppery. We talk about his career, steam punks, balancing being a parent with a life of gigging and all sorts of other stuff.Links:Website: https://www.professorelemental.com/Bandcamp: https://professorelemental.bandcamp.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

An enjoyable chat with the nicest guy in music, Tru Thoughts' J Felix. Recorded at Gold Tone Studio, we cover his career, teaching young people music, taking knocks and learning from them.Links:His page on on the Tru Thoughts website: https://tru-thoughts.co.uk/artists/j-felix/HIs residency at Patterns: https://patternsbrighton.com/j-felix/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

This interview blew my mind... and changed the format in which I do these podcasts. Artist, record collector, DJ, producer, very forthright and super motivated to push all aspects of his life forward. Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aroe_heavyartillery/Art Republics profile and his work for sale: https://www.artrepublic.com/biographies/402-aroe.html

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

A hugely enjoyable chat with a true raconteur and someone who has lived a life in the music industry. Great company, the only way this could have been more relaxed would be have been to record it in a pub! Lee chats about how the music industry has changed, how BBE has coped/is coping with the changes with many funny stories and opinions weaving it all together.Links: The BBE website: https://www.bbemusic.com/The BBE show on 1BTN: https://soundcloud.com/1btn/bbe-music-06012020

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

An interesting chat with singer and top-line writer Laura Vane, talking about her childhood growing up in a musical family, beating expectations, doing the work and dealing with family life and having children and a career. I'm sure there are listeners out there, as well as me, that can relate and will find comfort to hear about the struggles of balancing family life and a creative career. Enjoy.Links:Her website: https://lauravane.com/Laura and her band The Vipertones: http://lauravaneandthevipertones.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

See Pt1 for links and other good shit.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Wotcha, sorry (not sorry) for taking a couple of weeks off the radio shows, I’ve been in the French Alps iving a former life, then a family holiday, both of which were very life affirming, and now I’m back to the studio and full of verve ready to work on clients music and share some music with you.

I’ve had quite a few people jump on board since we last spoke, so I’d like to say hi and welcome, as well a brief outline of what you are in for.

Every couple of weeks I make a new radio show for Totally Wired Radio, which I usually post here a day before for you lucky listeners. Then in between I post an archive show, randomly picking something from my 10 plus years of broadcasting. Sometimes the universe chooses something that seems strangely relevant, other times, its so random but throws up some songs or mixes I had completely forgotten about.

Either way, I hope you find something you can get into and becomes some of your favourite music.

This show starts with a Record Store Day release from Gorillaz (new album is fucking great btw) featuring James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and Andre 3000 and is pretty epic, and one of my favourite things ever. Maybe don’t listen with kids around though…

I’ve loved Beth Orton since she appeared on early Chemical Brothers records, so it was nice to hear this again. Heroes of Limbo are a Worthing based outfit, helmed by a mate of mine, Glen. I haven’t seen him for ages so nice to hear this too.

It feels like I was trying to find a groove, jumping around a little, to find a common thread, which sometimes comes easier than other times, I can almost hear myself digging around to find that thread, I’m sure it’ll arrive soon.

If in doubt, go latin, which is what I’ve done here, there is the thread…

There is a solid selection of latin grooves, perfect for a spring day like we’ve had today. See? Sometimes it just fits…

Heading out of latin and into some other grooves, courtesy of Marc Mac (4Hero) who is the man, then into some low key bangers to take us home. Hope ya dig! x

Gorillaz, James Murphy, Adre 3000 - Do Ya Thing!

Beth Orton - Forever Young

Crafty 893 - XxXxXxX

Heroes of Limbo - T.R.O.Y

? - ?

Somaji - Isamichan (feat Stance)

Papo Vasquez - The Last Dynasty

Bobby Matos - Philadelphia

Inner Sense - Bahiana/Batucada

Afro Cuban Jazz Project - Baila mi Conga Vacilala

Joyce - Feijao Com Arroz

Miguel De Deus - Black Soul Brothers

Antoniio Adolfo and A Brazuca - Voo Da Apolo

? - ?

Victor Vera - Pressure (Daniel Sbert Remix)

Marc Mac - Kingston Hot

Floating Points - Grammar

KH - Looking at your Pager

Gold Panda - Metal Bird

Moses Boyd Exodus - After Tomorrow

Sault - Air

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

A ranging conversation spanning over two hours with an interesting man who has had a bonkers career. Clearly an individual from the off, finding fame of sorts, dealing with the lows, changing it all up and finding a niche which allows him to express himself fully.I tried to edit this down, but found that it he is enjoyable to listen to and I had great fun with this one, so here it is in two parts...Links:His website: https://mrbthegentlemanrhymer.bandzoogle.com/An interesting article from the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/25/mr-b-gentleman-rhymer-chap-hopEat My Goal! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz-XiweyDVs

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

A really special chat with a quiet, thoughtful, talented, creative mind for this episode, as part of Unkle alongside James Lavelle, Rich has craved himself a career in music and shares some really insightful thoughts with me.Links:His website: https://www.richfile.co.uk/An interesting article from Sound on Sound: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/unkle-recording-never-never-landRich on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richfile75

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

A chat with the Ex DMC champion, record collector and musical encyclopedia, one of the few people with access to John Peels archives and all round nice guy. A pleasure to sit with him in the 1BTN bunker where he occasionally hosts the BBE show and find out his story and what he thinks about the current state of music...LinksHis website: http://www.djmrthing.com/A Boiler Room set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBK_ixr32Cw

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com

Possibly my favourite of the mixes for Season One of the Current State of Music podcast, mainly because Lemon Jelly have been massive influence on me and my music, but alsp being able to sit with Fred and chat with him was massive pleasure.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriscracknelldj.substack.com