Friday 30 May 2014

MD'S DIARY BLOG, MAY '14



Straight after my radio show on Saturday 3rd, I hit the long road north to Manchester for my latest appearance at the city's Aura nightclub. The place is run by long-time DJ/ promoter Eddie Down and his Brown Suga collective, and was previously known as Lounge 31. The event was an all-night affair running to 6am, but I'd requested a 1-3am slot as a 160-mile drive, followed by DJing, then a 160-mile drive home again is a pretty tall order for one night!  My set was fun, and a useful experience in keeping a young 'urban' crowd entertained by being creative and not having to opt for too many obvious hits.

The Sound Of Now is one of the two weekly radio shows I currently present. This is the 'normal' one, running on Oxford's Destiny 105FM. The timeslot is 6-8pm Saturday, which is pretty much perfect, as it marks the transition from whatever people have been doing Saturday daytime, into whatever they'll be getting up to on Saturday night. I continue to present new music that I'm personally feeling, but of a 'grown-up' variety with none of the homogenised toxic garbage that almost every other radio station now gets into. The selection spans garage, soulful and deep house, melodic D&B, and a fair amount of underground hip-hop and soulful grooves. For various testing reasons, getting a decent recording of each week's live outing has been a bit of a challenge, but I seem to have now settled on a method of being able to post each week's show on my Soundcloud page at the following link, from which you can listen back or download:


Here's the latest show:





Monday 5th was the first of two ludicrously distributed Bank Holidays in the UK; we get nothing for weeks, then three all at once, then nothing for another three months and I'd love to know how this insanity was decided upon. On the agenda for this one was a protest event in London to raise public awareness of the chemtrailing/ geo-engineering agenda, and to present a petition to the government with thousands of signatures demanding an end to this criminal insanity. Of course, no-one's naive enough to assume that the government will immediately cease all activity because of a petition, but the point is, this event was making a statement, as hundreds first assembled in Hyde Park, then marched through Central London to Downing Street, carrying banners and handing out flyers to members of the public. It was a great, highly-spirited day and a strong meeting of minds, made even better by warm sunny weather, and in the process, the UK became the second country in the world after Canada to officially oppose Chemtrailing. My hat goes off to Paul, Mona, Olga and everyone else involved in organising things. Great to have Bob Truther on his legendary disco bike blasting out conscious reggae tunes all the way too!  Afterwards, a few of us decamped for a bite to eat in Soho Square, while Danny Shine took to his megaphone to shout out a few home truths to some unsuspecting McDonalds eaters.



My other weekly radio show is the two-hour conscious music excursion I call The Sound Of Freedom. This one is now exclusive to my Soundcloud channel, and deals with mainly hip hop and reggae, with artists articulating so much of what's on critical thinkers' minds in these times. This is the go-to place for music of a type you won't hear anywhere else, and I'm loving the challenge of unearthing the good stuff from a wide variety of sources every week. I've grouped together all shows so far in the following set:



It was annual pilgrimage time on Friday 9th as I headed to the musical Mecca that is the Southport Weekender. Despite its naming after the Merseyside resort which made it famous, for the past few years it's been based in the sprawling Butlins complex in Minehead, Somerset. I handled the journey in just about three hours, linking up with Gloucester DJs and Back In The Day brand promoters John Mustoe and Martin 'In Full Swing' Rafferty, who was eagerly anticipating his inaugural Southport gig, alongside MC JNR. This was Southport's big 50th event, and the stunning line-up of live acts and DJs from across the black music spectrum certainly didn't disappoint. Over the course of the weekend I got to see Chaka Khan, Brand New Heavies, Omar, Archie Bell & The Drells, David Rodigan, EZ, Shortee Blitz, Mr. Thing, DJ Swerve, Ronnie Herel, Terry Hunter, Gilles Peterson, Carl Cox and Kenny Dope going back to their soul/ funk/ disco roots, and many, many more. I was there in press capacity for Black Sheep Magazine, and you can see my full review right here. 


In short, it's impossible to imagine a better line-up of talent and like-minded music fans all in one place at the same time!


My Good Vibrations podcast series added two new volumes this month. First off was Nexus Magazine UK publisher Marcus Allen talking about the moon landings hoax, always up there as one of the top five 'conspiracy theories' (cough, cough.) The other was all about the subject of words and language as magic used to cast 'spells', with lifelong student of the quirks of the English language, Laurel Airica. You can catch those two here:




A quick visit to Ireland was on the cards on Tuesday 20th, flying into Knock airport, with the 100-minute bus journey to Galway providing a good opportunity for sightseeing along the way. Every town and village was submerged with posters courting votes for a huge array of different political parties, many of them proclaiming 'get Ireland out of Europe'. There's evidently been much public discord since Ireland's adoption of the Euro and its harsh 'austerity' measures following the 2008 (manipulated) banking crash. I certainly noticed how expensive everything now is, even down to the 10 Euro 'development fee' that's forcibly extorted out of all passengers before they can exit Knock Airport. Anyway, it was an enjoyable overnight stop in a town I'd long wanted to visit.


May's second (grey and wet) Bank Holiday Monday saw me delivering the latest of my public talks on the Mind Control Manipulations of the Mainstream Music Industry. This was for the Leicester branch of Truth Juice at the city's Music Cafe, and my mate and fellow DJ Ritchie Paul came along for the ride. I've added some new content since my last talks, notably an extended section on the many occult elements of the Beatles and the strange 'Paul is Dead' theory', and some mindbending stuff involving numbers.

And that, (apart from the challenges of entertaining a three and five-year-old daily during Half Term week,) was May!


GOOD VIBRATIONS PODCAST, VOL. 40: LAUREL AIRICA

American poet, lifelong language student and creator of WordMagic Global Laurel Airica joins us to talk about etymology, and the idea that words carry magic power. With everything made up of light and sound energy resonating at different vibrations, we question the power that spoken words can have in manifesting reality. They literally create 'spells'. The English language is full of words with double meanings, Laurel notes, and this goes far beyond coincidence. Either the original architects of our language structured it this way, or other synchronistic forces beyond human input are at work. She suspects a little of both.


Laurel shares a couple of poems to make the point, and we observe the large number of terms in the legal profession that relate to speech, as well as the double-speak of Legalese in Maritime Law. We also talk about the components of the actual alphabet itself.

Laurel Airica Mark Devlin Good Vibrations podcast truth consciousness energy etymology word spells spirituality nature of reality

Sunday 25 May 2014

THE SOUND OF FREEDOM, SHOW 19. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS


THE SOUND OF FREEDOM. SHOW 19


Listen/ Download links:


Hour 1:



Hour 2:



MIZAN THE POET: THE FIRE RISES

NATE FEAT. CYCLONIOUS, LOWKEY & AMY TRUE: ONE WISH 

MEL BELL-GREY: YOU'RE NOT INVITED

YESHUA: NO MORE 

ALAIS CLAY: BABYLON FALLS

VICTORIA WILSON-JAMES: GOOD VIBRATIONS (THIRD EAR MIX)

KLEVAKEYS FEAT. DIAMONDANCER: RAISING VIBRATIONS

K-RINO: INDUSTRY SKIT

K-RINO: SOUL MERCHANTS

CORMEGA: INDUSTRY

TRUTH TRIP:
MAXI PRIEST: WILD WORLD (1988)

ZIGGY MARLEY & THE MELODY MAKERS: TOMORROW PEOPLE (1988)

BLOW MONKEYS: IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY (1986)

MIZAN THE POET: PARADISE

BRAND NUBIAN: THE GODZ 

DISL AUTOMATIC: HIP HOP 4 CHANGE 

DJ JEAN MARON FEAT. KRS ONE: TRUE SCHOOL

CORMEGA: INDUSTRY

CALE SAMPSON: CONSCIOUS REVOLUTION

ALAIS CLAY: RAINBOW WARRIORS

THE SOUND OF NOW. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 24/5/14


THE SOUND OF NOW, WITH MARK DEVLIN
DESTINY 105.1FM, OXFORD
PLAYLIST FOR SATURDAY 24TH MAY 2014


Listen/ Download links:

P1:


P2:



GORGON CITY: HERE FOR YOU (RONI SIZE REMIX)  

MARTIN CARR. SONG FOR YOU (JUNIOR UKG REMIX)

JUS NOW FEAT. BUNJI GARLIN & STYLO G: TUN UP (GOT SOME VOCAL REMIX) 

LITTLE NIKKI: RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES (DJ SKT VIP MIX)

RAHEEM BAKARE. PORTRAIT OF LOVE (DJ Q MIX) 

RASCALS: SO HIGH (ALL ABOUT SHE REMIX) 

ALAIS CLAY FEAT. PAYDAY MONSANTO: HEAVY KOOLAID

STREET BEAT OF THE WEEK:
CORMEGA. INDUSTRY

J RAWLS & MASTA ACE: BILLS

PAPOOSE: CURRENT EVENTS  

SMOKEY BUBBLIN B. LOGIC BLUES FOR YOU

CLEAN BANDIT. EXTRAORDINARY (DJ ZINC REMIX) 

IAN PLACE. MUST HAVE (HOUSE) 

TIME TAKERS FEAT. SARAH ESCAPE: YOU GOT ME

ISSAC CHRISTOPHER. FREAK OUT (TRIBUTE TO CHIC MIX)  

LENNY FONTANA: PAY THE PRICE (ORIGINAL MIX) 

NATHASSIA DEVINE: IN MY HEAD (SOULFUNKTION DEEPSOUL MIX) 

DANNY DARKO FEAT. CHRISTEN KWAME: WALK WITH ME 

JASON BYE: THE BEAT 

PETE ROCK: THE BASEMENT (DELTA GAME REMIX) 

THE ROOTS FEAT. RAHEEM DEVAUGHAN. TOMORROW 

MEL BELL-GREY: YOU'RE NOT INVITED

NAS FEAT. MARY J BLIGE: IF HEAVEN WAS A MILE AWAY  

DJ PREMIER FEAT. THE LADY OF RAGE: CHEMICAL BURN  

Friday 23 May 2014

CORMEGA: INDUSTRY (PRODUCED BY LARGE PROFESSOR)


Wow. Cormega comes with some lyrics that are absolutely on point about the manipulations of the record industry, over a beautiful beat courtesy of Large Professor. This is the truth!

Thursday 22 May 2014

MD AT TRAMPS, TENERIFE, WEDNESDAY 11TH JUNE




Back to Tenerife next month, bringing the sounds at Notorious/ Tramps alongside the legendary DJ Snoopy.

Wednesday 21 May 2014

MD AT TRUTH JUICE, LEICESTER, THIS BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY




Taking my talk on The Mind Control Manipulations of the Illuminati Music Industry up to Leiester this coming Bank Holiday Monday, for the Truth Juice event at The Music Cafe. Kicks off at 7.30pm.


Monday 19 May 2014

MARK DEVLIN MIXES FOR METRO FM, SA, MAY 2014


I'm back doing mixes for national Metro FM in South Africa after a gap of a few years. Here's the latest batch of four ten-minute mixes, all in a nice, chiiled organic soul and hip-hop style.

MARK DEVLIN MIXES FOR METRO FM, SA, MAY 2014



MIX 1

ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT FEAT. JILL SCOTT & PHAROAHE MONCH: CALLS (REMIX)
FUNDISHA: LIVE THE LIFE
TEEDRA MOSES: BE YOUR GIRL


MIX 2

ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT FEAT. COMMON & PATRICK STUMP: I STAND ALONE
JILL SCOTT: GIMME
GURU FEAT. N'DEA DAVENPORT: NO TIME TO PLAY


MIX 3

BRAND NEW HEAVIES FEAT. Q-TIP: SOMETIMES
NAS: IT AIN'T HARD TO TELL
RAHSAAN PATTERSON: WHERE YOU ARE


MIX 4

BISHOP NEHRU: YOU STRESSIN'
PHARCYDE: PASSING ME BY
MARY JANE GIRLS: ALL NIGHT LONG


Sunday 18 May 2014

THE SOUND OF NOW. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 17/5/14


THE SOUND OF NOW, WITH MARK DEVLIN
DESTINY 105.1FM, OXFORD
PLAYLIST FOR SATURDAY 17TH MAY 2014


Hour 1:


Hour 2:



LITTLE NIKKI: RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES (DJ SKT VIP MIX)

CLEAN BANDIT: EXTRAORDINARY (BONTAN REMIX) 

RASCALS: SO HIGH (ALL ABOUT SHE REMIX) (DUBBY GARAGE STYLE) 

NATHASSIA DEVINE: IN MY HEAD (SOULFUNKTION DEEPSOUL MIX) 

LENNY FONTANA: PAY THE PRICE (ORIGINAL MIX) 

KIDNEYZ VS. SOULEMOTION: YOU WILL SMILE

STREET BEAT OF THE WEEK:
GORGON CITY: HERE FOR YOU (RONI SIZE REMIX)  

BLAHZ MARTELL: BEST OF THE BEST  

J RAWLS & MASTA ACE: BILLS

PETE ROCK: THE BASEMENT (DELTA GAME REMIX) 

SHOWBIZ & AG: DIGGIN IN THE CRATES (DJ PREMIER REMIX) 

DANNY DARKO FEAT. CHRISTEN KWAME: WALK WITH ME (RADIO EDIT)

FUSE ODG: DANGEROUS LOVE (WOOKIE REMIX) 

TIME TAKERS: BASS TONE 

ZINC: SHOW ME (CLUB MIX) 

JASON BYE: THE BEAT 

LIGHT WORK: NUH GYAL TUNE

JUS NOW FEAT. BUNJI GARLIN & STYLO G: TUN UP (GOT SOME VOCAL REMIX) 

THE NEW ROYALES FEAT. JAY ELECTRONICA: MINUTES OF MOOG

MEL BELL-GREY: YOU'RE NOT INVITED

LOCKSMITH FEAT. LEAH TYSSE: HARDEST SONG EVER

PAPOOSE: CURRENT EVENTS  

NAS FEAT. MARY J BLIGE: IF HEAVEN WAS A MILE AWAY  

DJ PREMIER FEAT. THE LADY OF RAGE: CHEMICAL BURN  

SECOND CITY: I WANNA FEEL (ZED BIAS REMIX) 

MIKE DELINQUENT PROJECT FEAT. TERRI WALKER: TENSION (MDP VIP MIX) 



Saturday 17 May 2014

THE SOUND OF FREEDOM, SHOW 18. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS



THE SOUND OF FREEDOM. PROGRAMME 18.

The Sound Of Freedom conscious music showcast continues on!  Lets keep on making the world a better place with REAL music!

Hour 1:



PHAROAHE MONCH FEAT. DR. PETE: SIDE FX (SKIT)

LONG LASTIN FEAT. CHRIS PARADOX: THE MATRIX 

THE SYLLABLE VILLAIN FEAT. MERE: WHITE LINES (CHEMTRAIL AWARENESS ANTHEM) 

TERAWRIZT FEAT. FUNZO: THE REAL WORLD

IMANI HEKIMA: NOTHING'S WHAT IT SEEMS

RAS KASS: NATURE OF THE THREAT 

AMIN: VICTIM OF THE SYSTEM (TSOF REGGAE)

ONLY JOE: WICKED LAND (TSOF REGGAE)

BUSY SIGNAL: UNIFORM BAD BWOY (TSOF REGGAE)

PETER FINCH NETWORK SPEECH



Hour 2:


TRUTH TRIP:
PHILADELPHIA ALL STARS: LET'S CLEAN UP THE GHETTO

STEVIE WONDER: HIGHER GROUND

ISLEY BROTHERS: HARVEST FOR THE WORLD

URBAN SPECIES: SPIRITUAL LOVE

FREEDOM: ANGELS & MONKEYS

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: REVOLUTION

GUEST DJ MIX: LIGHT WORKERZ/ IAIN WHITE

Friday 16 May 2014

SOUTHPORT WEEKENDER 50/ BLACK SHEEP MAG REVIEW



Here's my review of last week's outstanding Southport Weekender, from http://www.blacksheepmag.com

Southport Weekender 50

Butlins Complex, Minehead, 9th-11th May 2014

Although long departed from the location which spawned its iconic name, the crew behind The Southport Weekender pulled out all the stops at their new home of Minehead to create a truly memorable 50th event. The amount of specially-constructed domes and other peripheral venues besides the main four arenas, became as expansive as the list of live acts and DJs themselves, giving several thousand committed punters a three-day experience that so many of them look forward to all year, and book a few days of recovery time off work for appropriately!

Heading up the live acts this year was Chaka Khan, who packed out the central concert area on Saturday evening, belting out powerhouse vocals, and both sounding and looking in complete defiance of her sixty-plus years. She was joined by Brit-funk legends Incognito for the occasion. Earlier in the day the crowd in the Connoissers Corner, (which had swapped places with The Beat Bar)  had been treated to a show from an act that goes back even further. Archie Bell, into his 70s, alongside his Drells showed they could still dance just as good as they walked, finishing their hour with a fondly received version of their 1968 'Tighten Up'. A couple of Southport favourites, meanwhile, gave solid performances on the Friday and Saturday night. The Brand New Heavies performed everything from 'Midnight At The Oasis' to a couple of cuts from their new LP 'Forward', while Omar, a man whose haircut has survived for as long as 'There's Nothing Like This', graced the same Funkbase stage that Dwele had a year earlier. The following night, it was home to a half-hour performance from Faith Evans, delivering all the expected singalong hits.

When it comes to DJ sets, The Funkbase is the natural home for us here at Black Sheep. This is the most diverse of the arenas, spanning everything from reggae and hip hop, to soul and disco classics, garage, jungle and D&B. Here, EZ absolutely murdered it with an afternoon garage set, blowing the crowd's minds with his spinback and chopping talents on the Pioneer CDJs, and making it feel more like 3am than 3pm. Equally spellbinding was Mr. Thing, cutting and flitting through hip-hop bangers with mad skills in a joyous two-hour excursion. On Saturday night, JP drifted into a similar sequence, pulling many a 90s boom-bap slammer out of the bag.

This paved the way for the man, the myth, the enigma that is David Rodigan, an absolute sensation at last year's event, and back to add the reggae dancehall element once again. In spite of his 63 years, Rodigan leapt about the stage like a man possessed, coaxing and gesticulating towards the crowd as he tore through a tightly prepared selection. Rodigan used to be an actor, and it showed. He controlled the stage like a Shakespearean thespian. Shortee Blitz took up the mantle straight afterwards with a sequence of furious mid-90s jungle. Southport first-timers E Double Dee and Martin In Full Swing with MC JNR did a marvellous job of getting the room bubbling on Friday and Saturday night respectively, and it just wouldn't be Southport without the familiar triple-act of Ronnie Herel, Bigger and Steve Wren dropping feel-good favourites like 'Happy People' and 'You Are My Starship'. An electric slide to Cameo's 'Candy' is equally mandatory.

Black Sheep did go wandering into the other DJ arenas, of course, catching Carl Cox and Kenny Dope going back to their roots with soul and disco crate diggers, and a host of names from Terry Hunter to Kerri Chandler handling the deep and soulful house business in the monumentally-sized Powerhouse.

For any enhusiast of black dance music in any of its forms, it's hard to imagine how the line-up, the family-feel camaraderie, or the stunningly spacious venue could ever be bettered. Southport achieved 'legendary' status long ago, and last weekend, a few thousand punters were reminded of just why.

Bookings are now being taken for next year's Weekender, running from 8th to 10th May 2015.

The Southport Weekender team also runs the Suncebeat open-air festival in Croatia from 23rd to 30th July 2014, at The Garden Tisno near Zadar.

There's also a Heritage Weekender back at the original home of Pontins in Southport, Merseyside, from 18th to 20th October.

Full details of all of the above are available at www.southportweekender.co.uk, or www.suncebeat.com





Thursday 15 May 2014

MD AT TRUTH JUICE, LEICESTER, THIS BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY



Taking my talk on The Mind Control Manipulations of the Illuminati Music Industry up to Leiester this coming Bank Holiday Monday, for the Truth Juice event at The Music Cafe.



GOOD VIBRATIONS PODCAST, VOL. 40: LAUREL AIRICA


American poet, lifelong language student and creator of WordMagic Global Laurel Airica joins us to talk about etymology, and the idea that words carry magic power. With everything made up of light and sound energy resonating at different vibrations, we question the power that spoken words can have in manifesting reality. They literally create 'spells'. The English language is full of words with double meanings, Laurel notes, and this goes far beyond coincidence. Either the original architects of our language structured it this way, or other synchronistic forces beyond human input are at work. She suspects a little of both.

Laurel shares a couple of poems to make the point, and we observe the large number of terms in the legal profession that relate to speech, as well as the double-speak of Legalese in Maritime Law. We also talk about the components of the actual alphabet itself.

Laurel Airica Mark Devlin Good Vibrations podcast truth consciousness energy etymology word spells spirituality nature of reality

Wednesday 14 May 2014

MD AT TRAMPS, TENERIFE, WEDNESDAY 11TH JUNE



Back to Tenerife next month, bringing the sounds at Notorious/ Tramps alongside the legendary DJ Snoopy.

Sunday 11 May 2014

THE SWING SHIFT, GALAXY 101. 24/5/96


Another early episode of my favourite radio show. A real product of its time, capturing a wonderful era in classic 90s soulful R&B and hip hop! 



80s & 90s REVIVAL MIXES


Southport has got me into a nostalgic musical zone, so thought I'd share these anew again. A couple of mixes I put together a while back. First off, some serious 80s grooves.


... and the 90s flaves!

DAVID RODIGAN DUPPIES THE SOUTHPORT WEEKENDER 50, MAY 2014


David 'Ram Jam' Rodigan murders The Funkbase at Southport's 50th, Minehead, Somerset, May 2014

DAVID RODIGAN DESTROYS THE SOUTHPORT WEEKENDER WITH 'INCREDIBLE', MAY 2014


Rodigan sends the Funkbase into a frenzy with General Levy's 'Incredible' at The Southport Weekender, May 2014.

CHAKA KHAN PERFORMS 'DESTINY' AT THE SOUTHPORT WEEKENDER, MAY 2014


Chaka Khan, backed by Incognito, does her thing in the main arena at Southport 50, May 2014.

THE SOUTHPORT WEEKENDER BIG 50TH



The Southport Weekender has just celebrated its big 50th event, (although confusingly, not in Southport at all, but in Minehead, Somerset,) and it's hard to imagine a more impressive array of black dance music entertainment all in one place over one weekend!  True props for the team for putting it all together for this one.

Friday night saw funky live sets last night from Brand New Heavies and Omar, (a man whose haircut has survived for as long as 'There's Nothing Like This',) and impressive Funkbase DJ sets from Swerve, Steve Wren, Schooly and Mistajam, JP dropping funky numbers, and Terry Hunter rocking the Powerhouse. 

Saturday afternoon saw Archie Bell & The Drells hauled out of retirement for a live show where they showed they still dance just as good as they walk, (well, Archie at least,) followed by Chaka Khan packing out the main arena and shaking it with a rivetting vocal performance. 

DJ-wise, EZ absolutely murdered it with an afternoon garage set, making it feel more like 3am than 3pm. JP pulled some 90s hip hop bangers out of the bag sending me into a nostalgia zone, paving the way for the man, the myth, the enigma that is David Rodigan, owning the stage like a Shakespearean actor between dropping bomb riddims to a ganja-smoke filled Funkbase. Shortee Blitz took over with some old school jungle. 

Later on, Carl Cox and Kenny Dope went back to their roots with soul and disco crate diggers. Sadly, I missed Faith Evans' live set due to the roadblock lock-out. A hugely outstanding bill for the big 50th, full of memories, old faces and the sort of music that reminds me why I became a DJ myself all those years ago. That's my raving and live music absorbing done for another year!