Acecast #017. 29 August 2007.

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acecast #017 aug 2007 Acecast #017 Aug 2007 (MP3, 128Kbps, 29MB, 31m:00s).

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If you have an MP3 player you might want to use a “podcatching” application to subscribe to Acecast (RSS 2.0).

Acecast is also listed in the iTunes podcast directory.

A year has gone.

I’m back, sorry for the abscence, but I promise to be a good boy and get this going on a regular basis again. The articles will be a little shorter, but as a minimum they will include full tracklistings and download sources. The full MP3 links for each track will go and so will the short tracklisting. I’ve also finally put the tracklisting for Acecast 16 up. Watch this space. Hopefully Dreamhost can get their act together, the last few weeks have been nothing but pain …

External credits.

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3 Tag Tools.

Copyrights.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads and were available at the time of production of the podcast. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #017, 29 August 2007.

  • WildspotBelbury Poly. The Acecast signature tune
  • Danza 3 — Night-Time Epitome
  • 21 to 35 — Boom Bip & Doseone
  • Sway (demo) — Headless
  • Acid Reprise — French Theory
  • Sonic Infusion — Mudhoney
  • Everybody Daylight — Brightblack Morning Light
  • Dogwood Rust — Comets on Fire
  • The Greatest — Cat Power
  • London, Leicester Square, Musicians — Dallas Simpson (ambience)

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Wed, 29 Aug 2007.

Thu, 30 Aug 2007

Acecast #016. 28 August 2006.

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acecast #016 aug 2006 Acecast #016 Aug 2006 (MP3, 128Kbps, 33.6MB, 36m:29s).

Download the MP3 file using the link or icon above.

If you have an MP3 player you might want to use a “podcatching” application to subscribe to Acecast (RSS 2.0).

Acecast is now also listed in the iTunes podcast directory.

Banking on a bank holiday.

External credits.

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3 Tag Tools.

Copyrights.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads and were available at the time of production of the podcast. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #016, 28 August 2006.

  • WildspotBelbury Poly. The Acecast signature tune
  • If You’re the Only One — Dead Combo
  • Blanket on a Beach — The Double
  • Darkest Star (Monolake Remix) — Monolake/Depeche Mode
  • They’ll Have Apple Juice in the Morning — Cagey House
  • Ease — Hanne Hukkelberg
  • Cante 08 — Seis Tormentas
  • Tra. — 8m2 Stereo
  • Bi Air — Jo Jena
  • Checkpoint Echo — The Penetrators
  • London, Leicester Square, Musicians — Dallas Simpson (ambience)

Brief playlist for Acecast #016.

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Mon, 29 Aug 2006.

Wed, 29 Aug 2007

Acecast #015. 29 July 2006.

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acecast #015 jul 2006 Acecast #015 Jul 2006 (MP3, 128Kbps, 25.7MB, 28m:08s).

Download the MP3 file using the link or icon above.

If you have an MP3 player you might want to use a “podcatching” application to subscribe to Acecast (RSS 2.0).

Acecast is now also listed in the iTunes podcast directory.

The Tunisian-Norwegian combo.

natacha atlas
Natacha Atlas

I had to rush out this podcast, so not much talk from me this month. But more space for music. A long sequence of music with some sort of Mediterranean connection to start with. Zemeken, Checkpoint 303 and Yazan Al Rousan all have some sort of Tunisian connection. Zemeken is a Tunisian collective of amateur musicians, Checkpoint 303 is based around Paris-based SC (SoundCutter?) MoCha and Yazan Al Rousan is Jordanian, but lives in Tunis. Natacha Atlas of Transglobal Underground fame is a Belgian, but with Arabic ties.

I didn’t find enough material for a full podcast while checking the links from Tunizika — so to contrast the lush first 20 minutes, I finish off with a Norwegian double of Lasse Marhaug (of noise duo Jazzkam(m)er) and Serena Maneesh.

External credits.

Checkpoint 303, Zemeken and Yazan Al Rousan found via Tunizika. The Serena Maneesh refix track found via Wikipedia.

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3 Tag Tools.

Copyrights.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads and were available at the time of production of the podcast. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #015, 29 July 2006.

Brief playlist for Acecast #015.

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Sat, 29 Jul 2006.

Sun, 30 Jul 2006

Acecast #014. 26 June 2006.

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acecast #014 jun 2006 Acecast #014 Jun 2006 (MP3, 128Kbps, 32.8MB, 35m:44s).

Download the MP3 file using the link or icon above.

If you have an MP3 player you might want to use a “podcatching” application to subscribe to Acecast (RSS 2.0).

Acecast is now also listed in the iTunes podcast directory.

The second SXSW 2006 Special.

jenny owen youngs
Jenny Owen Youngs
©Meghann Lyding

The tracklisting has been ready for a couple of months now, so apologies for being late to market. I blame changing jobs and the World Cup (in soccer). As the previous show these tracks are taken from what I’ve rated top of my “Top 90” of the 941 free tracks from the SXSW 2006 Music Festival.

The show contains electronica from Ladytron, folktronica from Tungg and some female lead rock’n’roll joy from Comanechi and Juliette & the Licks. There’s some quirky stuff from Xiu Xiu (do they sample Billy Mackenzie?) and Jenny Owen Youngs makes sure this podcast is rated expletive. I play some soul-blues from Black Joe Lewis and Canadian talent Cadence Weapon makes a return to Acecast. Cadence seems to have lost his domain name, and can now be found at Cadence Weapon music.

I finish the set with a Norwegian double — new band Serena Maneesh (or is that Serena-Maneesh? Even the band themselves seems confused). While going through the tracks I thought Serena Maneesh were English; it’s only over the last couple of weeks I’ve woken up to the fact that they are from the old country. No such mistake with Thomas Dybdahl though. He was also part of Norwegian supergroup The National Bank (with members from Jaga Jazzist and Bigbang) and I finish this podcast with A Lovestory from Thomas. Enjoy.

External credits.

Only one external credit this time, the 2006 South by Southwest festival site. All tracks on Acecast 14 are taken from the SXSW showcasing artists providing free legal MP3s.

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3tag.

Copyrights.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads and were available at the time of production of the podcast. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #014, 26 June 2006.

All artist links point to their 2006 SXSW showcase page, which have short biographies and links to their homepages.

Brief playlist for Acecast #014.

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Tue, 27 Jun 2006.

Wed, 28 Jun 2006

Acecast #013. 17 March 2006.

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acecast #013 mar 2006 Acecast #013 Mar 2006 (MP3, 128Kbps, 35.1MB, 38m:23s).

Download the MP3 file using the link or icon above.

If you have an MP3 player you might want to use a “podcatching” application to subscribe to Acecast (RSS 2.0).

You can also subscribe to Acecast podcasts in iTunes (4.9 or later) — use “Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast” and in the pop-up window enter
http://www.acecast.com/index.rss20 .

The St Patrick’s SXSW Special.

neck psycho-ceilidh band
©Neck/Daniella

I am halfway through listening to the 941 tracks in the two SXSW torrents 2006 (free legal MP3s). Rather than wait until I’ve finished my listening (like last year), I’ve decided to get out some of the top tracks right now.

The show was recorded late on St Patrick’s Day, so what better way to start than with a rock’n’folk track called St Patrick’s Day from Neck. I continue with a couple of modern R’n’B/hip-hop/soul tinged tracks (let’s call it “nu-soul”, shall we). Deep’s lyrics are a bit stereotypical (“bitches” and guns and all), but the delivery is excellent and there’s some mean wah-wah guitar. Stephanie McKay’s Tell Him is just pure class.

I play three tracks that could all be classed as space rock. Lesbians on Ecstasy’s Pleasure Principle start out as raunchy electronica, but then the Lezzies pick up their copy of Hawkwind’s Quark, Strangeness and Charm (1977) to borrow the riff&whispering from Hassan I Sahba. I’ve seen Norwegian band WE live and on telly gigging in India and their full-on space rock (they call it “Cosmic Biker Rock’n’Roll” though) is a treat. I’ve always wanted to feature them on Acecast and now I can, since Catch Electrique is part of the SXSW MP3 showcase. The third galactic track comes from veterans Chrome fronted by Helios Creed (I had no idea they were still going).

If I had to select a favourite track [you’ve just done, Ed] from the 400 or so I’ve been through so far, it would be Gliss’s Blue Sky. Last year I opened with the vocal wonders of Erika Wennerstrom (Heartless Bastards) for my SXSW show. Just like Erika, Martin Klingman’s voice is what makes Gliss stand out from the pack, his sneery drawl sounds like he is the product of a foursome between Marc Bolan, (early) Tom Petty, Peter Perrett (Only Ones) and Courtney Love.

There was an abundance of good trad singer-songwriters in 2005; but so far this year (400 MP3 to go so I might still find some) I’ve struggled to find any. Not to worry, I’m a sucker for steel guitar and good female backing vocals, so instead I’ve dug up some classy country from Mando Saenz (think Lyle Lovett without the big band).

I finish the show with Australian vocal talent Sia. She’s been compared with Dido (ugh), but that’s off the mark. I would place her in better company, somewhere around Des’ree and Tori Amos.

More rock and less electronics&acoustics than normal on this Acecast, but I guess the SXSW festival is the sort of happening where you need to make a bit of noise to make an impact.

Special credits to Mando Saenz for having a good artist website (whoever set up Sia and Stephanie McKay’s flashy nightmares of sites could learn a thing or five from Mando).

External credits.

Only one external credit this time, the 2006 South by Southwest festival site. All tracks on Acecast 13 are taken from the SXSW showcasing artists providing free legal MP3s.

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3tag.

Copyrights.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads and were available at the time of production of the podcast. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #013, 17 March 2006.

All artist links point to their 2006 SXSW showcase page, which have short biographies and links to their homepages.

Brief playlist for Acecast #013.

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Sat, 18 Mar 2006.

Wed, 19 Apr 2006

Acecast #012. 26 February 2006.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast #012 feb 2006 Acecast #012 Feb 2006 (MP3, 128Kbps, 33.8MB, 36m:59s).

Download the MP3 file using the link or icon above.

If you have an MP3 player you might want to use a “podcatching” application to subscribe to Acecast (RSS 2.0).

You can also subscribe to Acecast podcasts in iTunes (4.9 or later) — use “Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast” and in the pop-up window enter
http://www.acecast.com/index.rss20 .

A long podcast in the shortest month of the year.

sara rumar
© Sara Rumar

Thirty-seven minutes long, a playlist of 13 legal MP3s and my ramblings make Acecast number 12 my longest podcast to date. I open with the Editors’ minor hit Munich, taken from the 2006 South by Southwest roster of showcasing artists. I’ve started filtering the two torrents available for 2006 (940 free MP3s or so) and Munich is the first of many tracks to come from this year’s model (meanwhile you might want to have a look at my 2005 SXSW recommendations).

Sarah Rumar from Sweden keeps up my tradition of playing Scandinavian artists and kindly lends her voice to Acecast to introduce the delightful Euro-pop track Au Monde for her album Stupid Like Me (Warning: contains Swedish laughter).

Magnetix and one-man-one-band Jawbone takes us through some twisted rock, before we explore lusher electronic landscapes in the forms of Jo Jena, Claudio Rocchi and Daniel Lanois (well Shine is at least lush).

I play some proper noisy rock (Godheadsilo and Olneyville Sound System) and contrast the rock with some nu-soul (or R&B?) from Steve Spacek and DJ Come of Age. DJ Come of Age is a fellow podcaster and his Soul Music of the World podcasts will be of interest if you liked the nu-soul tracks played recently on Acecast. I finish with some more electroacoustics from Jo Jena and with a pure acoustic guitar track from the veteran string-wizard Bill Nelson.

Bill is one of the four artists whose fan club I ever was member of and Bill’s Acquitted by Mirrors (a lot of the original content now available online) was excellent — with free vinyl EPs and a good magazine containing writing and artwork by Bill. The three others (as if you were interested) — Durutti Column’s “subscription” service, John Foxx’s “The Service” (both shortliving failures — but I’ll gladly hand over fifteen quid anytime to keep Vini going) and The Cramps’ Legion of the Cramped (which was brilliantly run from Scotland by Lindsay Hutton).

External credits.

Jo Jena’s electroacoustics was found via Disquiet, Sara Rumar’s Au Monde via the Swedesplease blog.

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3tag.

Copyrights.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads and were available at the time of production of the podcast. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #012, 26 February 2006.

Brief playlist for Acecast #012.

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Mon, 27 Feb 2005.

Thu, 09 Mar 2006

Acecast #011. 11 February 2006.

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acecast #011 Feb 2006 Acecast #011 Feb 2006 (MP3, 112Kbps, 26.9MB, 33m:39s).

Download the MP3 file using the link or icon above.

If you have an MP3 player you might want to use a “podcatching” application to subscribe to Acecast (RSS 2.0).

You can also subscribe to Acecast podcasts in iTunes (4.9 or later) — use “Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast” and in the pop-up window enter
http://www.acecast.com/index.rss20 .

Valentine, bloody Valentine’s Day.

rebels of the flesh
© Rebels of the Flesh

A special Valentine’s podcast; if you are looking for romance this might not be the place … as it contains a classic Mississippi John Hurt murder ballad, the sinister V/VM version of A Lady in Red (V/VM aka James Kirby gave Chris de Burgh a copy of this). There is a possible connection between a lady dressed in red and murder ballads with lyrics like When they heard Louis was dead/All the people they dressed in red (spelling kept as it is),

White folks, accostomed to black being the colour worn both for funerals and for post-funereal mourning, sometimes think that references in blues songs to dressing in red signify a party atmosphere or happiness over a person’s death. Not so. In Africa, and among African-Americans in earlier times, drssing in red has been a funerary custom. As such, it is reminiscent of burial with red ochre pigment, which was used among neolithic poeople (the “red paint people”) the world around. The religious idea behind this custom is that as a baby is born from the mother’s womb through blood, so will rebirth occur (after interrment in Mother Earth) through blood.

Another old blues song with a similar lyric is “Ella Speed” as recorded by Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) circa the mid 1930s.

There is some dirty rock from old punks Rancid and new girls on the (Courtney Love?) block Rebels of the Flesh.

I play an SMS of love from Saalschutz. Hello Saferide (hello Annika, second time on Acecast) takes us through a bit of bile on her Valentine’s Day.

Normally I only play MP3s. On this show there are two exceptions: the Rebels of the Flesh track is played courtesy of the band and their manager. A bit of an exclusive I think, but no free MP3 is available. I make up for the lack of MP3 with that nice picture of the girls. I am happy to be a small cog in (Kim Foley’s?) underground build-up of the band as long as I get sent promo-material like this.

The second non-MP3 track is so old it’s an MP2. The band A Western Front released the album Full Blown Dave for free in 1994. One of the members, David Beach, writes that this was the first album released for free on the Internet. He might be right. The Problem is the standout track from this album, from a band that once warmed up for the Sex Pistols (re-union tour I suspect).

I finish the show with proof that makeovers do work. Thomas Walter has done a tremendous job lifting the Lisa DeBenedictis track Tiger into something otherworldly.

External credits.

The Samarah track was found via Alex Young’s Milieu (a blog tracking netlabels, mostly electronic) and V/VM is via Radio Plus (listing free legal MP3s of tracks from the late John Peel’s shows).

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3tag.

Copyrights.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads and were available at the time of production of the podcast. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #011, 11 February 2006.

Brief playlist for Acecast #011.

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Sun, 12 Feb 2005.

Tue, 14 Feb 2006

Acecast #010. 28 December 2005.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast #010 Dec 2005 Acecast #010 Dec 2005 (MP3, 112Kbps, 28.5MB, 35m:29s).

Download the MP3 file using the link or icon above.

If you have an MP3 player you might want to use a “podcatching” application to subscribe to Acecast (RSS 2.0).

You can also subscribe to Acecast podcasts in iTunes (4.9 or later) — use “Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast” and in the pop-up window enter
http://www.acecast.com/index.rss20 .

Acecast and Marvin Suicide open some MP3s and port for yuletide.

lady sovereign mc
© MC Lady Sovereign,
Master of Yule-Ceremonies.

A midwinter treat this time from Marvin Suicide and Acecast DJ Hal. I tracked down a list of 30 or so tunes and Marvin cut the list down to Yule-size for the second Acecast hook-up with Maverick-Marvin. What more could you want for a late Christmas gift?

This first Acecast/Marvin Suicide Christmas spectacular contains strong language and fortified wine, burps, noise, electronic music, a new version of an old new-romantic track, folk and grime.

No stuffing, just a fine list of alternative crimbo-songs.

External credits.

T-Polar found via the hyperactive Gutterbreakz.

Production notes.

No idea what kit Marvin was using for the final mix; but my voice parts were recorded on my trusty MXL V67 condenser microphone via a Behringer UB802 mixer.

Copyrights.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads and were available at the time of production of the podcast. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #010, 28 December 2005.

Brief playlist for Acecast #010.

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Wed, 28 Dec 2005.

Thu, 29 Dec 2005

Acecast #009. 30 November 2005.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast #009 Nov 2005 Acecast #009 Nov 2005 (MP3, 112Kbps, 20.6MB, 25m:49s). You can download the MP3 file by clicking the podcast icon or link above. You can also use a podcasting application to subscribe to the Acecast RSS-feed. To subscribe to Acecast podcasts in iTunes (4.9 or later) use “Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast” and enter http://www.acecast.com/index.rss20 in the pop-up window.

Acecast goes a bit dreamy.

elizabeth fraser cocteau twins
Elizabeth Fraser
© Cocteau Twins.

Apologies for the lateness of these notes, but the combination of no broadband and changing jobs has kept me busy elsewhere.

This show contains strong language, nu-soul, electronica, noisy electronic music, two dreampop tracks, an old “reefer” tune, punk-blues, acoustic and a bit of phonography.

On the playlist an underrated nu-soul track from Sa-Ra (literally: Second Time Around is currently rated 2 of 5 — it’s 5 stars in my book), some fiery rock by The Hells (just found out that the late John Peel played this Hells track in 2003) and plasmatic electronica (Ecoplan). Noise merchant Steve Touchton (aka Snowsuit) comes around to Acecast for the second time courtesy of Warbler.

I’ve written earlier that I am no big fan of dreampop; categories aside - I am very pleased with the dreampop sequence on show nine. New band Phillip Eno (drum sound from the Martin Hannet school of production) gleaming and teaming nicely with the Cocteau Twins.

At the tail end of the show I play a 1927 blues recording you might recognise. I finish the show with a track from Jose Gonzalez (from his Veneer album, my fair podcasting CD for October 2005).

The background sounds on the show is a field recording by Planktone.

External credits.

Ecoplan found via the strong-going Marvin Suicide, Sa-Ra picked up by a Woebot recommendation and Jose Gonzalez via 3hive.

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3tag.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #009, 30 November 2005.

Brief playlist for Acecast #009.

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Wed, 30 Nov 2005.

Thu, 22 Dec 2005

Acecast #008. 31 October 2005.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast #008 Oct 2005 Acecast #008 Oct 2005 (MP3, 112Kbps, 24.2MB, 30m:11s). You can download the MP3 file by clicking the podcast icon or link above. You can also use a podcasting application to subscribe to the Acecast RSS-feed. To subscribe to Acecast podcasts in iTunes (4.9 or later) use “Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast” and enter http://www.acecast.com/index.rss20 in the pop-up window.

Show contains discographical error and phonography.

matthead on the decks
Mathhead removing getting Skyjacker ready.

Dance, bluegrass, dubstep, electronic and acoustic music — yes it is Acecast number eighth.

The electronics are provided by a couple of tunes from the nice Ghostbox label and by a dubstep track from Mathhead (picked up via the excellent Gutterbreakz FM).

The Scandinavian quota is filled by Annie, there’s some Canadian British-sounding slick rock from The Dears and some rough blues-punk from The Black Keys. The acoustics are made up by the late bluegrass artist Jimmy Martin and newer act Po’ Girl.

I also use a field recording (phonography) for this show, as does Po’ Girl on their City Song (the rain at the end).

One mistake to correct: No Cities Left is not the first album from The Dears as I say on the podcast, End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story was their debut.

The Annie track is via Eardrums mixtape #7.

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3tag.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #008, 10 October 2005.

Brief playlist for Acecast #008.

Previous Acecast podcasts.

Initial post: Mon, 31 Oct 2005.

Sat, 05 Nov 2005

Acecast #007. 10 October 2005. A Marvin Suicide/Acecast Spectacular.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast #007 Oct 2005 Acecast #007 Oct 2005 (MP3, 128Kbps, 28.9MB, 30m:04s). You can download the MP3 file by clicking the podcast icon or link above. You can also use a podcasting application to subscribe to the Acecast RSS-feed. To subscribe to Acecast podcasts in iTunes (4.9 or later) use “Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast” and enter http://www.acecast.com/index.rss20 in the pop-up window.

The first Marvin Suicide/Acecast show.

rose polenzani
Rose Polenzani
photo © Chris Yeager

Half Man Half Biscuit? Not quite, it’s Half Acecast Half MarvinSuicide, aka “the first Acecast/Marvin Suicide spectacular”. This is a show co-curated by Marvin and myself. Some 20 tracks were tracked down by me and then Marvin cut the playlist down to a lucky seven. Five superb electronic tracks from Lomov, ML, Daigoro, The Focus Group and Belbury Poly (the last two on the Ghostbox imprint). The synth-sounds are broken up by female voices from Sweden’s Hello Saferide (the Acecast Scandinavian quota) and American singer/songwriter Rose Polenzani.

Marvin does the presentation with various degrees of voice distortion (Hello Cher?) and he opens the show with I could swear at any time. Well Marvin could, but he doesn’t. This is unacceptable and I will bring back Marvin for some serious swearing on a later explicit show. But there is a bit of bickering on this podcast, thanks to a guest spot from “Ed and Ethel” from Chub Creek.

The background noises are courtesy of Marvin’s adventures in field recording.

A top-notch podcast featuring many voices, double-filtered electronica (as in tracks both quality controlled by Marvin and myself). Download now and enjoy it on your commute or on your computer.

The halvorsen.org post about Acecast number seven aka Marvin Suicide show 37.

Production notes.

None this time around since I have no idea what sort of kit Marvin is using. Here is Marvin’s listing for his show 37/my show seven.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast #007, 10 October 2005.

Brief playlist for Acecast #007.

Initial post: Sun, 16 Oct 2005.

Mon, 17 Oct 2005

Acecast Podcast Number 6. 16 September 2005.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast #006 Sep 2005 Acecast #006 Sep 2005 (MP3, 112Kbps, 26.6MB, 33m:11s). You can download the MP3 file by clicking the podcast icon or link above. You can also use a podcasting application to subscribe to the Acecast RSS-feed. To subscribe to Acecast podcasts in iTunes (4.9 or later) use “Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast” and enter http://www.acecast.com/index.rss20 in the pop-up window.

The Podcastcon 2005 issue.

There’s nothing like a deadline to get things done. I am going to Podcastcon 2005 tomorrow so I thought I would get some fresh Acecast content uploaded before I go.

The first track is from my fair podcasting” CD for August, Saul Williams’ self-titled second album. I play some snake-hipped rock’n’roll from The Rattlesnakes, some bad-ass-jazz from Acoustic Ladyland (sounding like Ian Dury’s Blockheads mixed with Morphine) and some grime from London’s Dizzee Rascal.

I have been poking around a bit on the Internet Archive (archive.org) for out-of-copyright music, so a Jimmie Rodgers tune (aka “The Father of Country”) from 1930 is featured. Jolie Holland gives us some more acoustic goodness with Old Fashion Morphine.

The Scandinavian quota is made up of a demo from Monomen (sounds like 1981 postpunk) and a dance track from Finland’s Viola (the suitably titled Sad Eyed Disco Dancers). Both tracks via the Eardrums blog.

There are a couple of noisy tracks from Snowsuit* (aka Steve Touchton). One tune is an MP3-download; the second track is from his Cred EP. A CD I bought directly from Steve after a seeing Snowsuit* warm up for Gin Palace (featured on Acecast #3). I asked Steve for permission to use a track from the EP and he agreed.

Stillman has the Afterword with the finest track from his debut EP (although the title track of his Weightless EP is a good Magnet-like pop-song).

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3tag.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast number 6, 16 September 2005.

Brief playlist for the sixth podcast.

Initial post: Fri, 16 Sep 2005.

Mon, 19 Sep 2005

Acecast podcast number 5. 12 July 2005.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast podcast #005 July 2005 Acecast podcast number five (MP3, 112Kbps, 24.9MB, 30m:57s). You can download the MP3 file by clicking the podcast icon or link above. You can also use a podcasting application to subscribe to the Acecast RSS-feed, and it is now possible to subscribe to Acecast podcasts in iTunes 4.9 by using “Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast” and entering http://www.acecast.com/index.rss20 in the pop-up window.

Five is for fine SXSW-festival music.

These are the results of the Norwegian jury … Well, sort of anyway. These are the results of listening to every single one of the 750+ South by Southwest 2005 showcase MP3s (free and legal MP3s as always here on Acecast). Around 40 tunes were found good enough to podcast, but in the end, I had to choose ten. Some of the missing tunes will probably be used in later podcasts. All my recommended tracks from the 2005 SXSW showcase will soon be listed with download links in a separate posting.

I open this podcast with the rockin’ swagger and raspy vocals of the Heartless Bastards. I also play The Bones from Sweden (the Scandinavian choice) — one of the better glam-punk bands in the showcase (The Boys ca 1978).

There is place for a couple of really good synth-pop tracks from Cubiky and Aero Wave (who sounds a bit like Martha and the Muffins).

I play a tune from the latest “fair podcasting” CD by The Grates, 50 seconds of flat out hardcore from Some Girls, and some fine English lounge-rock from the Nightingales.

Female atmospherics is provided by Liz Durrett and Tywanna Jo Baskette. I finish with an acoustic track from Keren Ann.

Normal service will resume with the next show.

Production notes.

Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3tag.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast number 5, 12 July 2005.

All tracks and links below point to the 2005 SXSW-festival artist showcase.

Brief playlist for the fifth podcast.

Initial post: Tue, 12 Jul 2005.

Thu, 14 Jul 2005

Acecast podcast number 4. 4 June 2005.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast podcast #004 June 2005 Acecast podcast number four (MP3, 128Kbps, 14.7MB, 16m:05s) (you can download the MP3 file using the podcast icon/link if you are not using a podcasting application).

Four is for sinister electronic music.

This is a show I have wanted to do for some time. After Acecast’s new signature tune and a short intro comes a 15 minute long mix of five dark electronic tracks. All tracks from Northern Europe: England, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Norway. A mix of well-known (and previously played) acts like Delia Derbyshire and Biosphere, and some lesser known (unless you are heavily into industrial music) artists as Lomov, Haare and TeKstomp. The tracks are mixed and cut some more than on a normal Acecast production (the show could probably have been double length if I played the complete tracks), but I think it works quite well.

The show is also the first Acecast to feature the Acecast signature tune, Wildspot by Belbury Poly (on the fine Ghostbox label).

Even if you are no big fan of electronic music give it a try with headphones on. Enjoy (?).

The next show will be my SXSW 2005 special, before I resume with a couple of “normal” podcasts.

Production notes.

This will move to its own page soon as the notes are the same from show to show now. Kit: MXL V67 condenser microphone, Behringer UB802 mixer, Hercules DJ Console sound card. Applications: Audacity, iTunes, MP3Gain, MP3tag.

Just the mix.

If you like the show, but would prefer to have the 15 minute mix of music only, you can download the MP3 mix only of Acecast #4. The “no voiceover/no intro” variants will only be available for “mix-shows” like this.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers. All tracks on this show are excerpts.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast number 4, 4 June 2005.

Brief playlist for the fourth podcast.

Initial post: Sun, 5 Jun 2005.

Mon, 06 Jun 2005

Acecast podcast number 3. 4 May 2005.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast podcast #003 May 2005 Acecast podcast number three (MP3, 128Kbps, 27.0MB, 29m:24s) (you can download the MP3 file using the podcast icon/link if you are not using a podcasting application).

Three is the magic number.

I play some blues-punk, a young Canadian MC/producer and some top-shelf electronica. There’s also space for everyone’s favourite Mormons, a bit of dance and Euro-decadence from Sweden, plus I include something which sounds like theme music from the ’70s. I finish the show with a fine acoustic track.

I saw Gin Palace live some weeks ago (after hearing them first online thanks to their free MP3s). I liked it — so I made Gin Palace’s Kicking On my “fair podcasting CD” for April 2005. I’ve also bought their limited edition (75 copies) Live at the Marquee CD. Seems like the live album is sold out, but Kicking On should be easy to get hold of (try Amazon). If you like the sound of punk-blues then the strong brew from Gin Palace is recommended. As is a trip to the pub for “a little one”.

The Biosphere track I play is quite short (and old), but Biosphere’s has a large MP3 section. Dawn at Vara is recommended, as is a purchase of Substrata and Patashnik.

I’ve seen Biosphere, Scanner, Throbbing Gristle and Gin Palace live and I own records from several of the artists on this podcast. This is often how I end up finding free MP3s — think of an artist and check their website (so far very few of the tracks I play have been mentioned on large sites like 3hive).

I last saw Robin Rimbaud (aka Scanner, since he uses a frequency-scanner to record conversations from mobile phones, police radio and the like) with Githead, Robin playing guitar. I had no idea Rimbaud could play guitar. He can play OK, but it does not look like Rimbaud can change strings (or tune a guitar?). One of his guitar-strings went during the gig at London’s South Bank some weeks ago and Robin had to whisper “Uncle” Colin Newman (ex-Wire) for some advice. Instead of changing strings, Robin got Colin’s guitar and Colin found another instrument and quickly tuned it. Githead were in all-black, apart from Robin’s red shoes …

The Cadence Weapon track is via MPC - Post Grimeist.

I like all tracks I play (or I wouldn’t play them), but I would like to mention the finishing track — Jeff Klein’s The Hustler. I am soon done with listening to the hundreds of South by Southwest’s free showcasing MP3s. There is a lot of acoustic acts out there. All nice and well-schooled. But for troubadour-type music to appeal to me there must be that little bit extra. And Jeff’s got it; clever production with a bit of texture, some extra noises in the soundscape, a distinct voice and some really nice steel-guitar going up and down with Jeff on The Hustler.

I had around 80 tracks to select from for this show - and (by accident?) I have chosen two from Sweden’s fine Bevlar label. It’s been a few months since I did the downloads (Rasmus and Lindeberg, the labels two first releases) and there are now further tracks for download (including a sampler album). All releases from Bevlar are free and if you want to burn a CD, there are nice covers to print (in PDF-format).

The poet Penny Broadhurst (heard on the previous podcast) kindly introduces this show.

Production notes.

I used an MXL V67 condenser microphone plugged through a Behringer UB802 mixer to do the voice track. Applications used were the same as previously (MP3Gain is a gem). The last two voiceovers was done at a different time than the others and sound slightly different (and metal-boxy, apologies) for some unknown reason. I do not treat the voice after the mixer; I know I could use a compressor or Audacity to compress to get more of a big “radio voice” — but it adds time and complexity.

All tracks played are free and legal downloads. All tracks are copyright the artists and their record labels/music publishers.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast number 3, 4 May 2005.

If you like the music in my little show (or prefer not to listen to it at all) use the links for each MP3. All MP3-links point to the artist’s own website or record label, unless listed otherwise. All tracks were available at the time when the podcast was recorded (early May 2005).

Brief playlist for the third podcast.

Initial post: Thu, 5 May 2005.

Fri, 06 May 2005

Acecast podcast number 2. 3 April 2005.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast podcast #002 April 2005 Acecast podcast number two (MP3, 128Kbps, 30.2MB, 32m:57s) (you can download the MP3 file using the podcast link if you are not using a podcasting application).

The second coming.

I play two artists who have emailed me over at halvorsen.org, some ’60s-style garage/surf, electronica, a handful of fine vocal songs and a spoken word track.

Mogwai’s Government Commissions is my “fair podcasting CD” for March 2005. Artists give us free MP3s so we can hear new music. Some do it in the hope that we might buy the music, others because they have no other outlet for their music. I will buy (at least) one CD a month from artists I play on my show. It’s not a lot, it will not make anyone rich — but at least it proves that free&legal MP3 tracks can lead to the purchase of a physical product (I still prefer to buy my music on CD or vinyl).

Finding free and legal UK grime/dubstep is a challenge. I played Kode 9 on the first show, on this podcast I include DJ Dynamat. Analogue is available from a site which requires registration; don’t despair use BugMeNot to find a user for registration sites. If you like Dynamat’s track and decide to download it, please vote for his music. Hopefully this will be the first and last time I use a track from a registration site.

Penny Broadhurst’s poetry is via Warren Ellis.

I did not find Sweet Billy Pilgrim and Largo02; they found me over at Halvorsen.

Largo02 is the alias of Fred Scellier (alias Ulric Cel? or is it the other way around?) from France. Ulric played in the new-wave band Newropeans, he plays jazz and also makes some good electronic music. The tracks available from his website are from the period 1998-2002, but recently remixed. Do also get Track 8 from Past and Hopes (mp3). Disconnected was recorded years ago, it reminds me of ShelleyDevoto’s Buzzkunst.

Sweet Billy Pilgrim is a British band. So British they record in a shed. Tim, Al and Anthony got some rave reviews for their remix of David Sylvian’s The Heart Knows Better, and their own music is also subtle. Don’t know if they are religious, but there is a God/Jesus-thing going on in their titles. Religious or not, you might as well download Ain’t No Jesus In Here (mp3). If you like Sweet Billy Pilgrim, try The Blue Nile’s A Walk Across The Rooftops. The Pilgrim also run a sweet blog.

Production notes.

The microphone situation has been sorted out, so I should be more audible from now on.

I finally got to use my MXL V67 condenser microphone. The mic was plugged through a small mixer (Behringer UB802) to do the voice track. Applications used were the same as the last time. The overall production should be an improvement from the initial podcast (I know I sound a bit tired at the end of the podcast. I was).

All tracks played are free and legal downloads.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast number 2, 3 April 2005.

If you like the music in my little show (or prefer not to listen to it at all) use the links for each MP3. All MP3-links point to the artist’s own website, unless listed otherwise. All tracks were available at the time when the podcast was recorded (early April 2005).

Brief playlist for the second podcast.

Initial post: Sun, 3 Apr 2005.

Mon, 04 Apr 2005

Acecast podcast number 1. 16 March 2005.

Download podcast MP3 file.

acecast podcast #001 March 2005 Acecast podcast number one (MP3, 128Kbps, 35.3MB, 38m:28s) (you can download the MP3 file using the podcast link if you are not using a podcasting application).

Hey ho, let’s go.

Finally, the first proper podcast from Acecast. Bring It On! Another show is planned before the end of March. I’ve been through some 500-600 tracks and about 10% have passed “quality control”. All tracks played are free and legal downloads.

Some of the individual artist websites are substandard (Flash-usage, bad layout, no updates etc) but on this site I have decided to let it be about the good music only. I’ll try to reserve my ranting for halvorsen.org

I have also decided against providing background information for each artist (like the fine people at 3hive sometimes do). It takes too much time, I’ve got dozens of more tracks I want to play. So I will focus on getting the shows out and getting the site right. If an artist deserves special mention (for ie use of legal MP3s) I might put up a short entry.

The initial Acecast is dedicated to the great John Peel, champion of good music. The Delia Derbyshire site has a fine John Peel mashup done for the Top Gear programme in 1969 and the Laura Cantrell track I play contains John’s voice at the end (you have to download the track to hear Peelie’s voice, it is not on the podcast. Since Peelie was God, would including his voice be blasphemy?).

Production notes.

I used a cheap dynamic microphone, the Hitachi HMP-606 (as tested), for this show. There is bit of hiss, but it will hopefully be less on the next show (for the next podcast I hope to have my condenser microphone and tube pre-amp working). I know a couple of my fades are not of the finest standard for the debut, but this will improve.

Applications used: Audacity for the main production, MP3tag for tagging the MP3 file and the very useful MP3Gain to do lossless normalization of each track before importing to Audacity. Listening tests were done, using iTunes and Windows Media player. Heavily field tested on my iPod and the old Rio 600. Thanks to my “beta-tester” Carl.

Extended tracklisting for Acecast number 1, 16 March 2005.

If you like the music in my little show (or prefer not to listen to it at all) use the links for each MP3. All MP3-links point to the artist’s own website, unless listed otherwise. All tracks were available at the time when the podcast was recorded (16 March 2005).

Brief playlist for first podcast.

Lydia Lunch’s Hangover Hotel was to feature, but the song has been removed from her site since I did the original tracklisting (and I haven’t had the time to listen to the three MP3s Lydia currently has available).

Initial post: Thu, 17 Mar 2005.

Mon, 21 Mar 2005

A tune from the London band GUB. A proper audio test.

The second “podcast” on Acecast.com. The South London band GUB playing some nice acoustic music and getting those harmonies going. One of the better tracks from their first CD. Proper article to follow. This is for testing purposes only, but feel free to download the track if you have discovered this site before Acecast has properly launched.

The track is licensed under Creative Commons NonCommercial Sampling Plus. You can sample, remix, mash-up or copy the track for non-commerical use as long GUB is credited.

Playlist for beta-test podcast.

i love the sunshine, gub, mp3 GUB, I Love the Sunshine (mp3,128Kbps,3.3MB).

Fri, 31 Dec 2004

Testing voice recording and enclosure support for RSS 2.0 feed.

The initial “podcast” on Acecast.com. Not much to shout about, but we all have to start somewhere. Mono recording, speaking in Norwegian dialect. A little bit of more indexing had to be done in .htaccess to get this to work (I store the audio files in a separate directory with no other content).

Adding the enclosure-tag to the code breaks XHTML validation, I should be able to fix this later.

Here is the five-second test file (mp3, 88K).

Playlist for alpha-test podcast.

Fri, 31 Dec 2004