podcast #9 - www.danzz.es

danzz was a phenomenal success! the jazzcotech boys and girls did a sterling job in catalysing the dancefloor which allowed us to take things to a level that spain has never seen or heard before! i was able to drop tracks i've never evern dared drop in london AND EVERYONE DANCED LIKE CRAZY! anyway, if you can't wait until the next session on the 7th of january (get booking those flights!) you can make do with this special session featuring the mastermind behind danzz (javi bayo) and the other deejays putting the tracks down... have a great christmas and new year!

a fantastica orquestra de studio de cipo - caravan (imperial)
jonathan richman - egyptian reggea (jazzman)
salah ragar - eqyptian strut
morton and the uptights - montego (palette)
guido carnagy - free way exit (rbr)
chaquito - special project (fontana)
carlos lacerda - disintegracao (js discos)
helen merrill - why don't you do right (rca italia)
lee mason - the connection (chappell)
pege trio - baby car (hungaroton)
clarke boland big band - om mani padme hum (atlantic)
joanne grauer - see you later (mps)
steve & eydie - this could be the start of something big (abc)
cannonball aderley & sergio mendes - sanibop (emi)
mark murphy - milestones (rah)
ray terrace - you've been talking 'bout me baby (tower)
paul winter sextet - viaje a recife (cbs)
the leslie drayton orchestra featuring barbara morrison - when will you be mine? (esoteric records)
the james taylor quartet - it doesn't matter (polydor)
jon hendricks - reza (fontana)
jackie & roy - don't be blue (concord jazz)
teurmoso hino - samba de la cruz (flying disc)
dadisi komolafe - speak no evil (nimbus)
guida de palma - casa forte (club brasil)
dick morrissey quartet - don't fall over the bridge (mercury)
john suriman - dance (deram)
quintessence - samba de santa rosa (quintessence)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/heavyusker7.mp3

DANZZ this sunday

jazzcotech

this sunday we are going to be breaking some moulds in madrid! the first one is a nod to the legendary dingwalls in london, where gilles peterson and patrick forge rose to fame: we will be playing from 7pm to midnight. this may not seem a big deal, but in a city where there are clubs that go on until this time from saturday night, its filling an important gap in the clubbing calendar. the second mould-breaker is that javi bayo (soundclash) is bringing the incredible jazzcotech dancers (think fred astaire meets capoeira) to share the dancefloor. when i first started deejaying about 15 years ago i used to be bowled over by those moves, the kneedrops, the spins, the improvisation. danny freidman, if you are reading this please drop me a line! i am so excited that i've got the opportunity to be involved in this! check the movie and the flyer... as usual, hit me for the guest listage.

body pop-adum

if you haven't seen this before, check it out! its hilarious... michael jackson eat your heart out!

podcast #8 - long time no hear

i'm back! been travelling around far too much lately - at least, that's my excuse this time. still, i hope its worth the wait. i'm already itching to do another one. here's the tracklist:

the cure - the snakepit (fiction)
ben westbeach - beauty (brownswood) (not best wenbeach as i presented it!)
maxence cyrin - sueño latino (download)
massive attack - teardrop (wb)
chinchilla - don't kill your fantasy (hitop)
melba moore - the magic touch (musicor)
the bamboos - happy (tru thoughts)
platinum pied pipers - 50 ways to leave your lover (ubiquity)
hiroshi fukumara - hunt up wind (inner city)
the quartette très bien - charade (decca)
the indonesian all stars - burungkaka tua (verve)
dj catalyst - baltimore oriole (pr records)
tavus havasi - baba zula (double moon)
okay temiz - east breeze (wea)
shantel - mahalageasca (essay)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/heavyusker6.mp3

podcast #7 - blast from the past

the other day i listened again to the very first radio madrid show ever (when it was more of a mixtape and less of a show) and i thought, this is pretty good! so, continuing with the 5th anniversary spirit (and my general laziness to do a new show) i thought i'd post it here. new show sooooon i promise!!!

by the way, a nice example of things coming around full circle. i just got an email out of the blue from a guy promoting his latest album. the band was called "the trio très bien" (pictured) which made me look a bit closer... the "guy" turned out to be none other than jeter thompson, the pianist from the "quartette très bien" and the man who wrote "boss très bien", a tune which has rarely left my record box. wow, the internet is crazy.

al foster band - night of the wolf (jazz spectrum)
the adam ross reeds - silly savage(the grass is greener)
mr hermano - free as the morning sun (12")
caveril payne - when i open my eyes (jazz bizniz 2)
salena jones - right now (moment of truth)
the peddlers - tell the world we're not in (7")
jimmy caravan - little bird (look into the flower)
elsie bianchi - little bird (the sweetest sound)
dee felice trio - nightingale (jazz spectrum)
quartette tres bien - boss tres bien (boss tres bien)
jazztronik - dizzin (jazztronik)
balanco - metti una sera a cena (jazzanova remix)
onkel joe - catch up (glücklich)
mr gone - mosquito coast (12")
kenny clarke and francy boland - un graso de areia (latin kaleidoscope)
perez prado - james bond theme (lights! action! prado!)

http://www.heavyusker.com/radio.mp3

podcast #6 - bomgómez special!

i've been so busy lately that its been impossible to get down to the basement... as there was such a great response to the show i did with john "bongómez" gómez, i thought i would step aside and give the whole stage to the man. so this month we have an exclusive mix from john with no annoying banter from me over the top. we may even make this a regular online colaboration seeing as we have a monthly slot together at anymus (next date: 22nd july - put it in your diaries!). here's the tracklisting:

Soulphiction: Intro (Sonar Kollektiv)
Ramsey Lewis: Eternal Journey (Chess)
Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’77: Iemanjá (A&M)
Phoenix Black: Bling Bling (Burnt Progress)
Marc Mac: It’s Simple (BBE)
Don Byron: You Are # 6 (Blue Note)
Bobby Cole: A Change Of Scene (Concentric/P-Vine)
João Donato e Seu Trio: Tim Dom Dom (Polyfar)
Orquesta de Federico Ramírez: Voo Doo (Discos Corona)
Brubekk: Earthshaker (GAMM)
Gwen McCrae: Doin’ It (Atlantic)
Jorge Ben: Sou Da Pesada - 7 Samurai Afroraduno Remix (Dejavu)
Ira Sullivan: Nineveh (Atlantic)
Weldon Irvine: Soul Sisters (Nodlew)
Hajime Yoshizawa: Rise Me Up (Especial)
Motionlab feat. Reggie Watts: Anywhere (Kajmere)
Ramsey Lewis: Slick (CBS)
Andy Bey: River Man - live (12th Street)
Jaime e Nair: Sob o Mar (CID)

http://www.heavyusker.com/1 Bongomez.mp3

happy birthday

well, actually its not MY birthday but RADIO MADRID is 5 years old today!! it started off as an idea that i had on my honeymoon while lounging in a hammock in belize... i had recently moved to spain and i missed those "sessions" when friends would come round and listen to records and drink beer. it wasn't quite the same thing, but i thought i would start an internet radio station for my friends to listen to (see my webpage for the tracklisting history). as it turned out, few of my friends had the bandwidth to listen to it in those days and instead i started getting emails from all over the world from people i didn't know. i ended up doing mixes for milkaudio and soulstrut amongst others and a chap called gaspar got in touch as a result... that lead to the live radio sessions in el círculo de bellas artes (100.4 fm) which during the two years that i had the opportunity to broadcast, i progressed from nervously talking (and sweating) over the records in spanish to being reasonably confident. unfortunately as you know those sessions got canned earlier this year to make way for more flamenco and poetry. that's when i discovered the podcast! thanks to all those who have spurred me on along the way!

la copa mundial

i've been wondering who i should support in the world cup since i am english but i live in spain (and i don't fancy either of their chances of winning - sorry!). the choice has just been made easy for me... my sources in the UK tell me that the theme music that they have chosen for the televising of brazil matches is my remix of cesar mariano's "futebol de bar"!
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡GO ON BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!!

next saturday in organic (madrid)

john gómez and myself will be on the decks at the new dial soul venture "organic" @ anymus. i may be biased but organic is the nearest to a london club i have seen in spain, in the sense of there being such a good mix of people and the styling of the venue. some serious coctails on offer and there's a restaurant too... hit me for guest listage!

flyer and jingle

check these out...

http://www.heavyusker.com/mestizos.mp3

valencia rocked

the gig in valencia was great - especially "muchachito bombo infierno" who were brilliant... and then of course me... apart from a few teething problems with the sound (including inadvertently becoming "rob unplugged" temporarily) the crowd really got into the set. when it was time to shut up shop, a few of the more feisty ones tried to jump the fence to put on another track themselves. thanks to el caiman for treating me like a rock star (dressing room, bottle of whisky, etc). it looks like there'll be some more gigs to follow so i'd better start thinking up some eccentric demands for next time...

valencia here i come!!!

this saturday i will be deejaying at this event with an expected audience of 3,000 to 4,000 people! drop me a line if you are going to be in town!

new podcast!!!

yes! its been a little while but we've had an overdose of bank holidays here (4 since the last podcast - life is tough). so it's meant time away from my beloved vinyl, delays in records arriving and - most importantly - john gómez, my special guest has been away. but i think you will agree that the wait was worth it. he has pulled out a bag of absurdly good tunes that are making me seriously question whether i can match that kind of quality. anyway, without further ado, here is the tracklist. comments please!!

ray bryant - cubano chant (2s siders)
los fabulosos festivales - el mensaje (soundway)
manny corvado - chicken and booze (jazzman)
joe torres - latino con soul (world pacific)
sarah vaughn - the mystery of man (telmak)
nera leao - berimbau (elenco)
al hirt - harlem hindoo (rca)
jef gilson nonet - overture (saba)
gum drop feat zena edwards - now i rise (altered vibes)
tenorio junior - consolocao (rce)
bahamadia - good rap music
gary bartz - i've known rivers (prestige)
innerzone orchestra - people make the world go round (planet e)
ray haynes - dorian (prestige)
pete kuzme feat bilal - high and dry (bbe)
nino maschelle - if you believe (you will be strong) - ubiquity
omar - ghana emotion (ether)
rebtuz - to be in love (white)
the gotan project - diferente
los hermanos latinos - baria cumbia (black)
bill cosby and the bunions bradford funeral marching band - mouth of the fish (sussex)

http://www.heavyusker.com/heavyusker5.mp3

rob's top tips for buying (and selling) on ebay

(or confessions of an ebay addict)
as you can imagine, quite a few of my records were won in auctions on ebay. (by the way i have no affiliation whatsoever with ebay or any other business i mention here!) i've sold many fewer records (in fact i have only sold one record for a friend): as i say, you can never regret buying a record, but you can regret NOT buying one or, worse still, SELLING a record.

tips for buyers
1. ok, this one is a bit contraversial but i'll try to convince even those who have been "sniped" of the merits of sniping. we all want to get those records as cheap as possible, right? but who hasn't got in a bidding war? things are worth what someone else is willing to pay for them. so, if someone else outbids you, its is worth paying more for by definition! but then the same situation arises for the other bidder... my advice is to stick to a strict maximum which is what you would call a bargain. then, you use something like esnipe to automatically put your bid on at the last minute. that way, noone knows what you are bidding on and if the auction has no other bids, your bid will not atract others (like flies to...). the best thing is that you put it on and then forget about it. of course, you lose the auction but you keep trying until you eventually get it (maybe adjusting your maximum a little if you can't wait long enough).
2. so how do you know what records are worth? you can search past auctions to see what prices things ACTUALLY went for. (why do people get upset when a record goes for more than its "worth"?) but ebay only carries one month of data. this is where popsike come in. these guys keep a history of past record auctions going back years!!!
3. do as to others what they would do unto you. find out about records by searching through past and current auctions of people who compete for the same records as you.
4. search through seller's other auctions. maybe you can save postage.
5. here's a good one (but i'm sure i'm not the only one to have thought of it). suppose you are looking for that rare original by "mulatu". if you find it, then for sure you'll be up against some stiff competition and it will go for a small fortune. but what if the seller misspelt it? then hardly anyone else would find it. UNLESS they were warped enough to actually SEARCH for misspellings (e.g. "mulato" - although this may bring up more than you reckonned for!). desperate times call for desperate measures.

tips for sellers
1. as i say, i've only sold one record but i've been paying attention! of course you want to sell the record for as much as possible and you certainly don't want anyone to get it off you for less than you paid... but you'll never make money on ebay by just selling one item. you have to hedge you bets - some you win some you lose.
2. ok, so you 've got lots of items up for sale. each item is like a little advert for all the rest, so you start to bring in more and more potential bidders.
3. you should have some "loss leaders". think of this as advertising. don't think about the individual record but the whole lot. you put some on real cheap with the risk that they may go for too little (but they may end up surprising you!).
4. put the word out!

psp podcast

forget all this business about cracks and homebrew software for the psp. the firmware upgrades are worth it for the internet browser and the wireless internet radio alone! if you have the 2.60 firmware (or later) go to the browser and type in the following url: http://feeds.feedburner.com/radiomadrid. then follow the instructions, exit the browser and go to "rss channel" in the network menu and select radio madrid... from now on you can go straight to the rss channel to stream all the shows. you'll soon forget that the psp also plays games quite well.

google wracking

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podcast with miriam checa

i'm really on a roll now... finally, after literally years of promising miriam that i'd invite her as a guest on my radio show, we've done a show together. ok, it wasn't quite as glamorous a setting as the 5th floor of the círculo de bellas artes but the music was just as good, if not better... here's the tracklist so you can judge for yourselves.

scott bradford - essential horror (probe)
mustafa ökzentwe orkestrasi - dolana dolana
mahmoud ahmed - atawurulega léla
cannonball adderly - j's tune (mercury)
etta jones - almost like being in love
etta james - stormy weather
marco di marco - fontainebleu (ariston)
timo lassy - african rumble (ricky tick)
nathan davis - tragic magic (luv n haight)
marvin gaye - rockin after midnight
crown eights affair - use your body and soul
sugarhill gang - rapper's reprise
context - if i had a band (sonny b records)
the groove merchants - there's got to be someone for me (suemi)
mark ronson featuring alex greenwald - just (bbe)
mephis black soul club - hang em high (sonorama)
louise mccord - better get a move on
the isley brothers - that lady
jackie moore - if (strictly break records)
flowers - for real (resolution records)
lemuria - hunk of heaven (heaven records)

http://www.heavyusker.com/heavyusker4.mp3

not so heavy üsker

i'd forgotten all about this photo... this is my eldest son luca (he's now 3 and a half) sporting a t-shirt that was a present from josé ángel (dj jadd).

my studio

i just bought myself some boxes of tricks with loads of knobs to twiddle and lots of flashing lights. i'm not quite sure what they are all for yet but i'm getting there... seriously though, now the music "ducks" out of the way when i talk without me having to do anything and i also avoid "clipping" when i record to an unforgiving digital recorder (not like the good old days of cassettes). then finally i've got a "vinyl touch classic" which can timestretch in realtime to compensate for speeding up / slowing down the turntables. mmmm, interesting!! actually, this last piece of kit i picked up a number of years ago. it seems like the company (mix machines) has gone bust. i never understood why this gadget wasn't more popular: it wasn't too expensive and it works like a treat. just like a dj cd without the inconvenience of having to play cds.

dial soul

i've just got around to doing another podcast - i'm on a roll... i've even been interviewed in a local paper about the podcast. its in english so you can check it out here! the tracklist this time around is

ofra haza - im nin'ain
gene harris - losalamitos (latinfunklovesong) (bluenote)
howard roberts - dirty old bossa nova (capitol)
sound factory inc - house of the rising sun (drive in)
james reese and the progressions - let's go (it's summertime)
nancy sinatra - the boots are made for walking (rhino)
nanette natal - it's over
grupo jazz marac - sguardo (ariston)
maxence cyrin - jaguar (d/l)
luis arruda paes - upa neguinhio (odeon)
? - aquarius (supreme records)
los hermanos latinos - puerto rico (white)
burnout - homenage (freestyle)
lupo el fantástico - los angelitos negros (cotique)
captain planet - samba radiante (?)
bugs in the attic - sounds like (white)
swell session - speak (hospital records)
paddy roberts - the big deejay (decca 1959)

don't forget the competition!

http://www.heavyusker.com/heavyusker3.mp3

dial soul

well, the first podcast was so successful that i've been hitting my bandwidth limits. so if you get denied service, its not because its crap, its because its just too good... i may have to dig into my pockets to buy some more bandwidth if this keeps up! here's the tracklist - hope you enjoy the show

stanley myers - first suite (finder's keepers)
fat freddies' drop - cays crays (the drop)
kenny rankin - berimbau
edu lobo - even now (a&m)
the advancement - stone folk (philips)
bobby cole - a perfect day (ubiquity)
danser's inferno - sombre guitar
john wagner coalition- cold sweat (liquorice soul)
dennis coffey and the detroit guitar band - scorpio (sussex)
uniao black - na palma da mao (commonfolk)
patti jo - make me believe in you (black science re-edit) (089)
buddy rich - kilamanjaro (groove merchant)
sleepwalker - an-no-kawa (especial)
dj matsuoka - samba nexusia (typhoon)
nephews of phela - mulah 2 (white)
status iv - you ain't really down (jazzanova remix) (radar music)

http://www.heavyusker.com/heavyusker2.mp3

dial soul

unfortunately dial soul has had to stop broadcasting on live radio (100.4fm madrid) from the 5th floor of the círculo de bellas artes. for those of you who don't already know, every weekend a bunch of 35 deejays from dial soul would take over the studio and broadcast the best funk, jazz, house, hip hop with NO playlists and NO adverts... like a totally legal pirate radio based in the cultural centre of madrid. now we are looking into alternatives but, for the time being, we are getting the word out on the internet... here is my first session, recorded in my basement! feedback is most welcome (its what keeps me doing this...).

http://www.heavyusker.com/heavyusker1.mp3