189 - Sonic Solace For The Summer

 

All comments, questions, and general feedback can be sent to radiobsots@gmail.com.  Record a voice message and send it my way or leave one at the Speakpipe page!

Visit the BSOTS Linktree for all the podcast and social media platforms.

This episode's track list (title / artist / source / license):

1.  Kieron by Alphabets Heaven [WotNot] (CC-BY-NC-SA) (2018)

2.  Laces by Alphabets Heaven [WotNot] (CC-BY-NC-SA) (2018)

3.  Yellowish by Warik [Bandcamp] (CC-BY-NC-SA) (2025)

4.  LIFE IS A RHYTHM (feat. Cazeaux O.S.L.O) (Radio Mix 1) by Alexander Flood [Atjazz Record Co.] (CC-BY) (2024)

5.  DontLetGo by AMARAFLEUR [Bandcamp] (CC-BY-NC-SA) (2019)

6.  Energy by Cleveland Watkiss [Function Records UK] (CC-BY-SA) (2022)

7.  Peat by Rephazer [Kahvi Collective] (CC-BY-NC-ND) (2024)

8.  Rhapsody In Blue (1924 Recording) Part 1 by George Gershwin and the Paul Whiteman Orchestra [Internet Archive]  (Public Domain Mark 1.0)

More often than not, just thinking about social media engagement makes me exhausted, but I've found reasons to hang out on Mastodon more than other platforms.  It mainly has to do with an active and growing indie music community, including music makers, music lovers, and tech developers that are often a combination of the former two categories.  It's just nice to witness them all speak to each other, brainstorm in real time, and make things happen.  No social media platform is perfect, but what I'm learning on Mastodon gives me incentive to make return visits and engage with the community while I'm there.  It also makes sense to share what I'm learning there with the BSOTS listening audience, particularly if the information is related directly to music appreciation, sonic curation, and/or media preservation.  

There's an embrace of open source tools on Mastodon as well as Creative Commons licensed works, and I have stumbled upon a number of great CC music releases since I've been there.  Respect due to Ryno The Bearded for putting me on to Warik, an artist that reminds me of the beauty of well-crafted pop music.  The jangly guitars, catchy lyrics, and soulful bump of "Yellowish" have made it worthy of many rewinds on my player.  On the electronic side of things, there's Alphabets Heaven and their album Your Lifestyle, a gorgeous and sun-kissed psychedelic beat tape that straddles the fence between hip-hop and house.  Many of the songs on that release are brief, so I included two within this episode.  And I can't get over the crunchy programming of Rephazer's "Peat," full of foreboding bass tones and a lighter melody that floats right above the surface.

Half of the joy of searching through CC music websites is the discovery and surprise that happens along the way, but since you can't be everywhere at once, it's always helpful to tap into the tastes and preferences of other CC music fans.  I learned about AMARAFLEUR through watching one of her videos on the Friends Of CC Music YouTube channel.  Hailing from Johannesburg, South Africa, her left-of-center R&B displays a certain vulnerability that you can't turn away from.  "DontLetGo" benefits from Aule Whan's futuristic hip-hop styled production.  This is a head nod essential right here.  I also have been coming across some incredible drum and bass tunes lately, but I never thought I'd find a CC licensed joint featuring Cleveland Watkiss, arguably one of the most charismatic vocalists that the UK has given to the world.  "Energy" is a well orchestrated jazz stepper and a no-brainer to include within this episode.  

Live jazz for the dance floor is delivered in top form courtesy of Australia's Alexander Flood.  "Life Is A Rhythm" is a peak hour tune made with the house heads in mind.  The episode concludes with a rendition of "Rhapsody In Blue" that entered the public domain earlier this year.  It's rare that you get to hear a sound recording in the public domain from 90 years ago that represents the composer's original artistic intention, but this version of the composition actually features George Gershwin on piano.  It's amazing that this classic work is available for all of us to access and interact with now.  This is why I continue to crate dig within the CC music virtual bins:  you'd be amazed at the familiar names or few that you'll find.  Trust and believe that your curiosity for CC music discovery will always be rewarded.  With all of that said, here's hoping that you will enjoy the show and I thank you so much for listening.

Theme music edited by macedonia (originally produced by cy tru).  ID drop courtesy of Kahlee.  

Other key info:

Macedonia on Mastodon
Macedonia on Mixcloud
Radio BSOTS show no. 187 - Testing The Waters
Radio BSOTS show no. 188 - Netlabel Day Radio Takeover (2024)
Banjee Boombox presents All Things Audio
Netlabel Day
They Reminisce Over You
2 Clowns In A Closet
Remembering Radio Free Fedi
Radio Free Fedi Fest '25

Background music by SoulProdMusic from Pixabay.

Additional music by Coma-Media from Pixabay

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Shielded By Headphones: Thank You, Andrew

 

Track list:

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee - Make Me Stronger (Featuring Georgia Anne Muldrow)
Damon Aaron - Floating
Nitai Hershkovits - Sattelite Dish feat. Georgia Anne Muldrow
The Skull Eclipses - Take My
Jaubi - Time: The Donut Of The Heart
homeshake - Just Like My
RC & the Gritz - Good Day To You Sir
Cleo Sol - 23
SAULT - Foot on Necks
Leroy & The Drivers - The Sad Chicken
Saun & Starr - Look Closer (Can't You See The Signs?)
Radio Citizen - Everything
Vex Ruffin - I’m Still At It
Salami Rose Joe Louis - Sitting with Thoughts
Bullion - Loop The Loop
Nautic - Freedom of the Floor
Dina ögon - Tombola 94
Shawn Lee - Fade Up (Feat. The Superimposers)
Mizan K - Thru
Khruangbin - Evan Finds the Third Room
Scrimshire - Thru You feat. Georgia Anne Muldrow
fleet.dreams - EKG (Club Mix)
Panama - How We Feel
Nino Moschella - Something Like
Paper Tiger - Weight In Space feat. Shafiq Husayn (Radio Edit)
Little Simz - No More Wonderland
Reverend Sam Dixon - Anyway



The 30th of March came around and I couldn't sit by and continue to feel sorry for myself because I wasn't doing radio anymore.  That never stopped me from sharing music before.  And finding out that Andrew Jervis had been fired from his curatorial and hosting duties at Bandcamp was just the spark that I needed to finally set up shop and hit record.  This trial run is really just an excuse to say thank you to Andrew, to show love for all of the artists and music that he represented for proudly during his time at Bandcamp.  Not only that, but I figured I could also play some selections from the vast catalog of Ubiquity Records.  It's one of my favorite independent labels and also where I first came to learn of the discerning ear and impeccable taste of Mr. Jervis.

I only played a handful of Ubiquity selections during this session, but any time is a good time for the sounds of Shawn Lee, Radio Citizen, Bei Bei, and Nino Moschella.  "Floating" by Damon Aaron is a sleeper hit in the Ubiquity catalog:  dreamy, pastoral soul that's warm and heartfelt.  And that funk joint from Leroy & The Drivers is entirely too tough.  I lean heavy on the Bandcamp side of things and with good reason:  Jervis was the perfect host for Bandcamp Weekly, always putting the listeners on to new sounds and reminding us of choice selections from the past that still hold up today.  The list of artists that I discovered on that show is too long to mention, but this show is jam-packed with them.  Cuts from Cleo Sol, SAULT, Khruangbin, Little Simz, and Jaubi are just a few examples.  Then there are artists that I didn't see coming like Swedish sensation Dina ögon or the introverted R&B/pop song hybrid that is homeshake.  Andrew put me on to Salami Rose Joe Louis years prior to her signing to Brainfeeder Recordings.  And I'm always up for some leftfield gospel to add to my unconventional hymnal, so I had to close things out with Reverend Sam Dixon's "Anyway" (another Bandcamp Weekly jewel).

I can't say with certainty that I'll be back on a monthly basis to do this, but that is my heart's desire.  Then again, this life has a way of reminding me that my creative displays will be shared with the world when it's time and not a moment before then.

The first installment of Shielded By Headphones is here.  And for that, I am grateful.  Hope you enjoy it.

188 - Netlabel Day Radio Takeover (2024)

 

All comments, questions, and general feedback can be sent to radiobsots@gmail.com.  Record a voice message and send it my way or leave one at the Speakpipe page!

Visit the BSOTS Linktree for all the podcast and social media platforms.

**SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL TRACK LIST**

On July 14, 2024, I participated in a 51-hour marathon live stream on Netlabel Day Radio.  It was my first time hosting a live radio show since my final broadcast for Bondfire Radio back in late December of 2023, so this was a big deal to me.  Both Sides Of The Surface took over the stream for two hours representing for Creative Commons licensed music from various netlabels such as blocSonic, Mahorka, Silent Flow, Upitup, and Southern City's Lab.  The majority of the selections were found on Bandcamp and the Free Music Archive along with a pair of cuts from Jamendo.  Many of these artists have been played on the podcast before, but at least half of this playlist contains songs that are brand new to the show.  (There are a total of 31 tracks featured and I spent the entire month of March sharing these cuts on my Mastodon page, posting one track per day and occasionally playing catch up on any days that I missed.)



I do have to point out that "Noumenon" by Lovespirals was under a CC license at the time of the live stream, but was changed to "All rights reserved" shortly thereafter, so technically it's the only song on the playlist that's not a Creative Commons tune.  I can't be too upset about that, though:  it's Lovespirals, a duo whose music I've been championing for almost as long as this podcast has existed.  Everything else bears a CC license and ranges from hip-hop to soul to spoken word to electronic to experimental sound collages.  There are also a few live cuts as well, including moments from Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab performing at WFMU's Monty Hall and legendary hip-hop duo EPMD running through their hits as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival.  Other notable artists in the mix include the late, great Nikki Giovanni, Devin Morrison, Rah Digga, and Negativland, plus guest appearances from Oddisee and Del The Funky Homosapien.



There's a lot of variety here and I hope that there's something presented in the mix that you will enjoy.  Thank you so much for listening and a huge thank you to my man Omar Willey of Netlabel Day for letting a brother come through and share some tunes on his radio stream.

This episode's track list (title / artist / source / license):

1.  Meridian Sound (Part Three) (Live at WFMU) by Lushlife [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2012)

2.  Zo0o0o0p​!​!​! feat. Oddisee by Kidkanevil [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2010)

3.  Rose Joint by Shad + Datsunn [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2024)

4.  The Price by Scuare x sow [Bandcamp] (CC BY 3.0) (2022)

5.  Dark Step by 85 [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) (2012)

6.  Angela Davis (Produced by J-Pilot) by Rah Digga [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) (2018)

7.  Noumenon by Lovespirals [Bandcamp] (2024)

8.  Stars by BeatLove [Silent Flow] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2011)

9.  In Matacumbo by Cosmic Analog Ensemble [Upitup] (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) (2013)

10. No Map Territories by Cosmic Analog Ensemble [Upitup] (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) (2013)

11. No by Devin Morrison [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2019)

12. Propaganda by CM & Tha Silent Partner [blocSonic] (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (2014)

13. TimesUp feat. Tab by Anitek [Jamendo] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2023)

14. keep_it_real by lojii [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2021)

15. NO COMPASS by Yung Miss [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2021)

16. ONE OF THOSE DAYS by Yung Miss [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2021)

17. Please Listen To My Demo (Live at ATP 2008) by EPMD [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

18. Richter Scale (Live at ATP 2008) by EPMD [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

19. Don't Call Me [Alternate Version] by Ankhle Conscious [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) (2024)

20. 30:5 / moonshine ft. chadah-hadassah by Yashiyah [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2022)

21. In the Spirit of Martin by Nikki Giovanni [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) (2009)

22. Ridiculous Love by Niki J Crawford [Jamendo] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2016)

23. Check Your Math by DJ Spooky [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) (2013)

24. Proto Culture 2.0 (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien) by Mega Ran [Bandcamp] (CC BY 3.0) (2020)

25. Sailing by Cheese [blocSonic] (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (2018)

26. Turn The Channel, It's Another Commercial by The Bran Flakes [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC 3.0) (2010)

27. Richard Nixon Died Today by Negativland [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2008)

28. Eternal Recurrence by Moki McFly [Mahorka] (CC BY-NC 3.0) (2020)

29. Staring at Heaven's Gate by CLOUDWARMER [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2023)

30. Undying Love For Humanity (Live at Monty Hall) by Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2017)

31. Sleeping In The Yard by Artem Bemba [Southern City's Lab] (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (2017)
 

 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

One Year Ago: my FOCCM debut appearance

The Friends Of Creative Commons Music held their Constitutional Convention online yesterday over a period of ten hours.  There were a lot of topics on the agenda, including but not limited to community building, fundraising, live shows, branded electronic shows, bylaws, tax status, and more.  The sessions have been archived and are available for viewing on their YouTube channel.

I was barely visible for these sessions as I felt like I had little to give and not much of substance to suggest, but I've been feeling uninspired about a lot of things for a while now.  This is in stark contrast to the person that appeared in this FOCCM episode a year ago.  Last January, Doug Whitfield invited me on to talk about netlabels, my podcast, and my time at Bondfire Radio.  (Back in 2023, I had Doug on my show for a two-part episode just before Netlabel Day.)  In revisiting this appearance, I'm surprised at how upbeat and positive I am.  The thing that I have to remember is that it took place before the post-Bondfire depression set in, and I let it have its way with me for a good nine months of 2024.

(One of these days, I might get over my aversion to webcams, but don't ask me when that will be.  Seems like there will always be a part of me that wonders why seeing my face is so important and simply hearing my voice isn't enough.  I didn't even have an external webcam for this appearance, but I made it work with the laptop cam even though it didn't dawn on me to turn on a light as the sun started to set.)

Other topics briefly mentioned include black metal, potential Bandcamp alternatives, and how we really shouldn't beat ourselves up for not experiencing all the music that we want to hear within a year's time.  The fact of the matter is that you'll get to what you're meant to get to...and that's okay.  Stick around for videos by The Warhorse and Sole and DJ Pain 1 shared within this episode.

Sometimes you need to hear your former self share some perspectives that your present self has forgotten about.  For me, this is one of those times.  Gotta keep it moving.

(In thinking about some CC music that I would have been listening to around the time of this livestream, Moki McFly's Tabernacle Sanctuary Alligator Soufflé definitely comes to mind.  If anyone's in the mood for some drum and bass with touches of hip-hop here and there, check the blocSonic website to hear the album in full.)

187 - Testing The Waters

All comments, questions, and general feedback can be sent to radiobsots@gmail.com.  Record a voice message and send it my way or leave one at the Speakpipe page!

Visit the BSOTS Linktree for all the podcast and social media platforms.

This episode's track list (title / artist / source / license):

1.  Happy Birthday ccMixter by J.Lang featuring Snowflake [ccMixter] (CC-BY) (2024)

2.  Thanks For The Memories (Featuring Belle McNulty) by CM aka Creative [blocSonic] (CC-BY-NC-SA) (2024)

3.  drain the sun by niteffect [Bandcamp] (CC-BY-NC-ND) (2022)

4.  Over by Suhov [Free Music Archive] (CC-BY-NC-ND) (2008)

5.  Whenever You Wanna Call Me by Comfort Fit [Free Music Archive] (CC-BY-NC-ND) (2005)

6.  Out for a Shrink Pink Drink by Apes On Tapes [Free Music Archive] (CC-BY-NC) (2010)

7.  Configurate by Proviant Audio [Free Music Archive] (CC-BY-NC-ND) (2009)

8.  1000 Miles by Bluntspeakers [Bandcamp] (CC-BY-NC-ND) (2010)

9.  Soul Groove! (Patience) by !Mc'Lain! [Jamendo] (CC-BY-NC-ND) (2022)

10. The Holowaka Hides in the Shadow of the Sun by Fields Ohio [Bandcamp] (CC-BY-SA) (2024)

BSOTS BONUS TRACK:

11. Train Rides - In Praise of Black Men by Nikki Giovanni [Free Music Archive] (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0) (2009)

If you're reading this, it means that you made it out of 2024.  Happy New Year and welcome to Camp Lo-Fi.  I hope and pray that you will be able to experience peaceful moments and great music throughout this year.  I pulled this episode together as 2024 was coming to a close, making this the first sonic statement for Radio BSOTS in 2025.  To kick off a new year of the podcast, this episode and the next episode will focus on my participation in the Netlabel Day Radio live stream marathon that took place in July of last year.  I initially recorded a 30-minute test run for the stream and figured that I should share that with the listeners.  

I gathered together some Creative Commons tunes from indie labels that ended up releasing later works under full copyright as time went on, but they're still imprints that I hold in high regard (namely Tokyo Dawn, Budabeats, and Error Broadcast).  All cuts played during the test run can still be found online via Jamendo, Bandcamp, and the Free Music Archive.  This set of music leans heavy on the sounds of international beat culture, particularly that first decade of the early 2000s where the lines between electronic music and hip-hop production got blurry (and for the better, in my opinion).  Featured selections from Comfort Fit, Suhov, Bluntspeakers, and Apes On Tapes are probably the best examples of this.

Outside of the test run, the show opens with a selection in honor of ccMixter turning 20 years old (featuring the voice of Madam Snowflake - check out the video below for a snapshot of her artistic journey) and closes with an addictive, head-nodding joint from Fields Ohio.  I also get to share some listener feedback this time around.  As a bonus, I couldn't let the episode end without the words and voice of the late, great Nikki Giovanni.  As always, I welcome your interaction and hope that there are some selections within this installment of the podcast that grab your attention and increase your curiosity about other gems that can be found within the world of Creative Commons licensed music. 

Theme music by Cy Tru (edited by Macedonia).  Background music by Techniken Defunkus.  ID drops from Morganics and Jonny Sonic.

Other key info:
BSOTS show #178 - Creative Commons Gems From Public Enemy And Nikki Giovanni
BSOTS show #181 - Creative Commons Sightings Of Kool Keith And DJ Harrison
BSOTS show #186 - Download While You Can
Netlabel Archive
Funkwhale
Castopod
Tha Bloc Report

Background music by SoulProdMusic from Pixabay.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.