Well, guess what? The last entry on this blog was, yep you guessed it, 2023’s year in review. I’m thinking that I may as well bite the bullet and admit that this is really just some kind of glorified yearbook or annual, like Shoot! But without the Paul Warhurst profiles. Anyway, in some attempt to make amends, this year I definitely, 100%, absolutely without question will try to post more often. This time, I promise.

Musically, the year was as diverse as it could be. The radio thing went in a few divergent ways. With the Voices show, I made the leap to full on digital and embraced the world of Rekordbox and all that entails. Still very much learning, so bear with, but maybe at the age of 46 it is possible to learn something new. After so long just buying and playing records, the back and the bank says it’s time to diversify. With the reviews, I am lucky enough to be on the receiving end of a lot of new promos, and these are largely digital so having that outlet for the more dance orientated music I was listening to made sense. The hour long slot also really focusses the mind on holding the attention but still getting across a bit of a story in the music. Trying to anyway – I’ll let you decide and if not you can just enjoy the moody pics of me on my way to work.

The community and togetherness at Vinyl Night Radio carried on, but in September I stepped away from doing my weekly show. It was a difficult decision after the best part of three years. While I still enjoyed putting the shows together it got harder to do them live and as time went on the feeling I wasn’t giving it the dedication it deserved grew. It was a tough decision as Morgan and Alain have been so encouraging and supportive over the years. Almost 150 shows is a lot, I mean I had nearly played all my records! Seriously though it was an honour and privilege to do that show and it taught me a lot about what is involved in building a show. I’m still very much learning, in fact largely making it up as I go, which is probably obvious, but those shows have been foundational for me. It’s not completely over, Saturdays in 2025 maybe looking a little different, watch out O’Leary I’m coming for you. In the meantime, the final instalment is below for a listen back, nostalgia and some emtion maybe involved.

Loose.fm marched on, December’s 4 hour end of year extravaganza marked three years on the station. Mark deserves huge props for keeping it going and putting so much work into the station. I think it’s been a tough year in many ways, but the new studio edges ever closer and despite some distance if the offer’s there I will be popping in to have a nosey once it’s operational. I tried to diversify it a bit more this year, so fading out my dulcet drone for some different voices.

The interviews from last year turned into a kind of label based ‘tunes and chat’ series. It was my absolute pleasure and honour to speak to some of the people behind labels I have loved for a long time. Miles from Wonderful Sounds was an absolute gent, sharing his backstory for the show. Then Enrico aka Volcov just was a lovely man, so many stories and a great depth of knowledge and passion for music. Finally Pete from On The Corner, another label that has done incredible things and will hopefully do so for many years to come. On top of that, mixes from Fairhurst and Jolyon Green made for incredible listening and certainly shaded my DJing skills by some distance. Both doing their thing in their own unique way. Huge thanks to all for their contributions, especially when it’s basically some random fella on Instagram tapping them up for their time.

Show links in the pics above and below.

In between the specials the show took a very much new music first direction. As I said, the Test Pressing gig means I am on the receiving end of a lot of new music that deserves whatever airing and support I can give. The shows hopefully reflect as much as possible the breadth of what is out there and I am constantly struggling to fit it all in. Bandcamp has become such an essential tool too in discovering new stuff, it can’t really be undersold. Saying that, the urge to subscribe to every label and artist that you come across can lead to some inbox congestion and time taken to plough through it was a little distracting.

It’s also harder than ever to be heard, the ominous Spotification of music was sad and just downright depressing. Full disclosure, I subscribe to Apple Music, is it any better? Is it really that people just want AI background rather than music made by real people? I know my daughter used to just say ‘Alexa, play some pop’ and was happy to let it do its thing. And it would appear the folks who run the show think this is how it should be. She is now asking for specific artists, and finding stuff in other ways (radio – remember!). So there’s hope yet.

This article was an honest case study in what grassroots music is up against now. If you do nothing else after reading this, switch off Spotify and buy some music. Use it or lose it. Another thing that grew for me this year was the focus also on finding tunes for the shows meant the immersive experience of albums wasn’t really there for me in the last 12 months, something to remedy in 2024 – play more albums in full. Buy more vinyl/cassettes/CDs and if nothing else, buy a download. Support artists, that is all you need to do.

On the Test Pressing front, things have fired on, reviews were the bulk of it, and hopefully they have made a difference and opened up some artists and music for people who didn’t know about it before. It did also made it very hard to pick end of year selections with the amount to choose from. Alain Briand (aka Shelter) and Payfone’s Phil Passera very kindly spoke to me for the site and meant for some fast learning on the editing front, getting their voices heard in the right way. Reviews-wise I tried to move away from just saying what music sounded like in terms of the artists a release was similar to, and get descriptive, going for the feel and sound, hopefully with a little humour and excitement of how good a certain release was chucked in. Not for me to judge on that but that was the intention anyway…

Photo Credits : Landry A – mydogispolite.com – @landry__

The TP family has grown a little over the year and Paul/Apiento continues to push the thing forward as only he can. I’m sure the new LA environs will add some new and interesting angles on all things musical. Meanwhile, I will add my two penneth from the rainy backside of Manchester, or Stockport to be more precise. It’s not the new Berlin but we like it. The site has become an institution to many many people, with the forum a vibrant talking shop of like and open minded music lovers. It’s still a daily go to for me on tips and discoveries. I still have to kind of pinch myself from time to time to check it’s not some odd fever dream to be part of it.

Gigs-wise probably the busiest yet. Various slots round and about playing vinyl tunes in their entirety with something resembling a blend between them. Does that count as a style? I enjoy it, people seem to like it. I think they’re the most important bits. Caravan, Side Street and Odioba pushed things on – 4, 5, 6 hours is a long time to play records for, but amazing fun and what to me DJing is about. Plus playing on the Isonoe was never to be sniffed at. The opportunity to share music and open a few ears along the way is something that never gets old for me. Having that time and space to go on, and I will use the dreaded ‘J’ word, journey is just a great feeling. The monthlies at Sureshot were different again. more collaborative and chilled, slotting into a roster of likeminded but hugely diverse tasting players was great. The comradery and passion for music just shining through. Alain needs to take huge credit again for carrying the station through another year, adding some great new faces to the roster and keeping the station moving forward, still with a dedication to the waxy stuff we all know and love.

The nightlife bandwidth was restricted with my own gigs filling the late night quota. That said, making the effort for Luke’s album launch at Cloudwater with a suitably cosmic doubling up finale courtesy of Ruf Dug made for some warm up to Nossa at Soup. Hannah and Isaac have created something really special and having Charlie Dark guest was just the icing on the cake. Dancefloor passion and power in equal measure. It’s not just them, Manchester’s underground is very much alive (see also Red Laser, Sprechen and Levy Downlow amongst many others), despite nightlife is taking a bit of a pummeling at the moment according to some. Just running the numbers on putting on nights, even just filling bars with a DJ is really tough. Especially if you are trying something new. But there is still the fire to do it, new places opening up and giving it a go, MO6 and Brukbank as well as Odioba just in my hometown are giving it a go, but need support to make it.

Well, that was my personal year round up waffle, what about the picks?

Radio of the Year

It’s almost like a broken record but NTS just continue to lead the pack. Mornings with Flo and Louise Chen made up for Zakia’s move to 6Music, although her Sunday night show became something of a must listen. Sofie K, Moxie, future PM Bradley Zero, Bill Bewster, John Gomez, Ruf Duf, Test Pressing of course, Chuggy, Ross Allen (still!)…. all unmissable shows. That said, I have to represent Voices of course. So many new and exciting…well voices. And a spring board and inspiration for people to go it alone, Sadiq Bello starting his Caviar Radio for one. Then the likes of Svara starting out too. Radio is in rude health. Also the aforementioned Loose.fm my home from home, of course moving to a day of programming made for a solid listen, end to end.

Radio DJ of the year – Macca (NTS) : Making Saturday mornings the best bit of the week, tune selections to die for and more than a little wit and just plain fun with none of the bullshit. One Glove!

Gigs of the Year

Live music was front and centre of my ‘plan’ for 2024. I wanted to get to a gig a month. Now, this may sound like a fairly conservative target but, life etc., made it it tricky at times. However, it was one new year’s resolution I managed. Glastonbury obviously notwithstanding, I feel like an uptick in the numbers for 2025 should be achievable. Speaking of the big one, popping G-cherry was, after 25+ years of festival going a massive highlight. It’s a cliche but there is literally so much there you can only ever scratch the surface. We nailed the big acts. Yes Coldplay, against my better judgement, was a lot of fun, Femi Kuti onstage balanced by the plain weirdness of Michael J Fox. LCD, Kiwanuka, Little Sims…yeah it was a good one. Some of the smaller things too, bouncing to Luke in a tiny tent followed by Apiento, Felix and Dave, Young Marco…I could go on but you had to be there. If you know you know etc. I have become that Glasto person. Apologies.

On the more local front, Beth Gibbons was immaculate, incredible band, incredible presence and joyous, completely blowing the high expectations out of the water. Then there was New Order, backed up by Johnny Marr, yes it was a full on Manc revival but yes, it was also moving, uplifting and life affirming and basically the best, to be listening to those songs live. They won’t be around forever so make the most of them.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Bill Ryder-Jones are not my usual go tos, but stunning both, didn’t know any of the songs but just consummate artists at the top of their game in venues with crowds that believed. There’s a lot to be said for going in cold and seeing what the night brings. Likewise Carwyn Ellis and Ibidio Sound, fun and joyful music played from the heart. And finally Laurie Anderson, that was a push but worth battling the December illness and fatigue to see something truly unique. Part biography, part state-of-the-world address, part art piece, hard to describe and rightly so. A one off showing why she is just that.

Gig of the Year: Beth Gibbons at Albert Hall: Having seen some serious heavy hitters this year the choice was tough but if the measure of a good concert is walking out in the street with a warm glow of having seen something truly special, then Beth and her band shade it.

Releases of the Year

This is a really tough one. With the focus on the radio, albums weren’t that front and centre of how I listened to music. That said, I loved the Lefto album and that was my pick of the year for TP, J-Walk along with Kirk Degiorgio, Jack J, Common and Pete Rock, Gosha Martynov & Natasha Sinyakova and Transmission Towers made proper LPs that were more than just a collection of songs. Last year’s pick, Cleo Sol dropped a new single that was as gorgeous as anything she’s previously released and of course the mighty Sault decided to launch a new album at the end of the year.

Singles was more where it was at. Nonna Fab’s ‘We still out here’ was massive. Fritz Wentink, Wallace, Orion Agassi, Cousin, Juan Ramos and the mega Shy One, Gyallis Spiral being another pick of the year for me, plus many more firing out whatever could be described as dance music. It’s remiss not to give a mention to Parkway, but Mark deserves a special mention. Always pushing his label’s sound. Then on the more soul side, Private Joy and D.D. Mirage making their own versions of classic sounds with panache not pastiche.

On the modern tip, Tyson and Fatima brought the soul for the 21st century. The return of Quiet Village, enough said. And yes, there was this fella called Alex Kassian who did something with E2-E4 helped out by the Mad Professor, if you haven’t checked it out yet, might be worth a listen. I also love the God Colony feat. Roy, Loss is not Infinite. A Christmas hymn for now if ever there was one.

The compilation game gets more competitive every year, where to go next? Luke Una’s Everything Above the Sky , was a truly magical release. Same for Andrew Thomson’s Early Doors comp, so much of their personality and passions compressed into the choices on these. Palms Trax was enticed into selecting for the latest edition of the Love International series to great effect, and no round up is complete without mention for Balearic Mike and Kelvin Andrews’ Down to the Sea and Back Vol.3.

Special mention also to the No-one’s Listening Anyway Post Punk selections from Jason Boardman and Compassion Crew’s Sins and Dollar Bins plus the ever reliable Mr Bongo with yet another essential Record Club offering, now on Vol.7 and no diminishing in quality. Finally, although there are no doubt many more I’ve missed, Rhythm Section were ten this year and released a beautiful six disc set. Following the label’s progression and looking to the future across the tracks.

Single of the Year – God Colony – Loss is not Infinite

Album of the Year – Lefto – Motherless Father

Compilation of the Year – No-one’s Listening Anyway

Labels of the Year

There’s obviously a very strong correlation between the records mentioned above and the labels that out them out. But some have gone above and beyond, creating an ethos, sound, visual style and just a feeling that stands out. Parkway yet again made the running with the first album on the label. A super coherent intro to the label. Mark Seven excelling. Then there was Spiritual World, another new one to me and making the year all the better for it along with Baroque Sunburst. Mr Bongo, as per with Jazz Room. Again difficult to pick a single release when they all come with joys to get lost in. And then Local Dish and Peckings for the JA sounds new and vintage.

Sound Metaphors again, just pushing boundaries with new music and rediscoveries. On that tip, Isle of Jura, still there, Kevin knows what he is doing and does it so well. Neroli too, Enrico bridging the gap from broken to house. Scenic Route also, not putting out the ordinary by any stretch of the imagination. Then taking music forward, labels like Love in the Endz and Burnin‘. Jason’s Before I Die project just kept pushing forward with the Klangkollector and Khartoumb albums. Like I said, too, too many special outfits championing music and bringing it to the world. And that’s kind of where the label of the year goes, veering ever nearer to world domination, it has to be Make A Dance. Pretty much doing exactly that, I’m yet to play a record on this label and not get a reaction. They are that good.

Label of the Year – Make A Dance

Shops of the Year

Carving out that time to just browse shouldn’t be hard. Another aim for 2025, it’s worth the effort and cleanses the soul. Foreign trips are now factoring in that time, Bilbao, Bordeaux and Angers this year provided some very ripe fruit. Closer to home SK1 and All Night Flight are as good as any shops in the country and on my doorstep so have to get mentions. Piccadilly, my old faithful friend, we see each other slightly less these days but you’ll always be there. Likewise King Bee, but maybe we need to get together a bit more regularly this coming year.

Online, Boomkat, Basso’s Growing Bin and Rubadub hit the wallet where it hurts but were worth the pain. And, despite the reworks and changes, and the very obvious scalping, there’s still treasure to be found on Discogs by searching for ‘dub mix’ and filtering on 1983.

Shop of the Year – SK1 (Stockport)

Summing Up

It’s been a bit of a funny year as I write this, it feels a little like a whirlwind, a lot going on, moving forward at quick pace. But it also feels like it’s been a long one. They say the days are fast but the weeks are slow, and in some ways it felt like that. Saying that I ticked off a fair few hit list items and met even more inspiring and passionate people. What life is about right? In some ways a stepping stone in others a line being drawn for something new. Either way, looking ahead is all we can do. And keep pushing.

P.S. I still love buying records and who doesn’t love some photos of records, so here’s some I’ve dug up this year….over and out.