Thursday, November 22, 2012

2LO Calling


Did you know that BBC Radio turned 90 last week?

You might have missed it, on account of all the other brouhaha.

This is the commemorative 'sound collage' Damon Albarn made for broadcast across the Beeb's global network after they asked him nicely and let him have a rummage through the radio archives. There are snippets too of 21st century children airing their hopes and fears for the next 90 years.

I really like it.

The little tune he puts around the pips in the last thirty seconds is, in particular, gorgeous.

Thinking of putting this into a mix thingy along with clips from the shipping forecast, and some Eno.

Damon Albarn - '2LO Calling' (2012)

15 comments:

  1. I just don't believe in Damon Albarn, but you're right, that last bit is lovely.

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  2. Oooh, Davy's going to do a sound collage. ;-)

    Please do, it sounds great.

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  3. Me Gone West one's still up, if you fancy a listen...

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  4. ..it's not a 'sound collage' though, it's just a wee mix.

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  5. Wasn't impressed by this at all.

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  6. Davy, it was broadcast at 17.30 one day last week, on all BBC stations around the world. I had heard about it in the morning on the way into work and looked forward to it all day. I was fortunate to be in a traffic queue at our teeny-weeny toll bridge when it aired on my way home. But I was rather non-plussed with most of it. Didnt really get the references apart from the obvious, also, way too many bongs for 90 secs worth surely? However, I dont know that anyone could really do justice to such a wide open brief?

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  7. It's pretty good, like the last bit as you say. Your Gone West mix is very good. I love Adlestrop.

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  8. I have a cassette of Richard Burton reading all sorts of things like that; it's absolutely bloody marvellous.

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  9. Davy (and others) you may be interested in these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station

    You may already know about them. If you want to listen to them here is the soundcloud page. There is a link on there to a download page. They are strangely hypnotic. I've spent many a morning on the train plugged into them.

    http://soundcloud.com/the-conet-project/sets/the-conet-project

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  10. I used to love moving back and forth on the shortwave dial of the Aged Ps big old Grundig gramophone when I was a kid...I realise now that some of the inexplicable things I'd hear there were these. Have given it no thought for all these years. There's something quite sinister about some of them, isn't there? Trawling the megahertz...

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  11. I realise also that one of them opens the terrific 'Jetstream' by Pacific

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  12. They are seriously spooky. I scared the wife in the car with them on the ipod! They've been sampled a few times I suspect, Wilco used one almost as is and ended up having to pay royalties on it..

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  13. The other thing you might want to check out, if you haven't already, is the Ghost Box label. Very much in the same ballpark, with some of the best sleeve designs of recent years.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Box_Music

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  14. i'm terrified at the mere thought..but will try brave exploring after a hard earned drop of something.
    x

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  15. Having a Dazzle Ships flashback here. I've got a telegraph....

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