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Had I been more responsible this time around, this episode would have been shared with the world at least a month before Netlabel Day 2026 took place, not as the event is happening. Here's the inescapable fact about life, though...it just...keeps...lifing. At any rate, 90% of the show is comprised of Creative Commons licensed cuts, including a mini-documentary in support of the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, a Playstation-inspired drum and bass joint from MICROMECHA, and a collaboration between Devin Morrison and Moonchild's Amber Navran.
Give a brother 50 minutes, if you please. As always, I thank you for your time and your ears.
This episode's track list (title / artist / source / license):
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**SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL TRACK LIST**
Monday, July 14, 2025 marked my second time around hosting a takeover of the Netlabel Day Radio stream. For two hours, I got to share a bunch of Creative Commons licensed tracks live from my living room. I'm always thankful for opportunities like this and I gotta give a shoutout to my big brother and Netlabel Day facilitator Omar Willey for entrusting me with another 120 minutes to go live on the NLD Radio stream. Honestly, I'm grateful to share music with any and all that are willing to take the time to listen. I'm always amazed at what I'm able to find within the CC music virtual bins.
Among the featured netlabels are active imprints like blocSonic, Business Casual, Jumpsuit, Flowerpot, Dusted Wax Kingdom, and Monster Jinx. Thanks to the Internet Archive, I was also able to include works from netlabels that ended their run over 5, 10, or even 15 years ago like Melodica and Subwise. And whenever I can represent for labels that are indie staples like Stones Throw or Atjazz Record Co., I consider that a bonus. Other cuts were discovered on Bandcamp, Free Music Archive, and Jamendo. A little digging goes a long way, resulting in a freeform mix of hip-hop, soul, jazz, rock, and various forms of electronic music.
Some brief corrections: "Not Myself" by Lovespirals was listed as Creative Commons (some rights reserved) at the time of the broadcast, but now is under full copyright (all rights reserved). And I announced that "Drifting Dawn" by Abigail Press was released on Trippin' The Rift, which is incorrect. It was actually released on Melodica, a netlabel from years past that I stumbled upon on the Internet Archive. And about halfway through the episode, I mentioned Willam Maggos and his podcast Culture War Radio. Unfortunately, his show is no longer producing new episodes, but I shared part of his CC music manifesto from the podcast website during the livestream as it was a sentiment that I wholeheartedly agree with. His last post on the Democracy Of Reach website continues that line of thought and is well worth reading.
As this episode unfolds, keep your ears on the alert for verses from Chuck D of Public Enemy and Kool Keith of Ultramagnetic MCs and Dr. Octagon fame. There's a live cut by APB recorded at the WFMU studios and even a Latin jazz joint that dates back to 1968. A little something for many, and hopefully served up in a way that makes sonic sense. If you need an extended session for your next road trip or just some tunes to get you through your work day, I certainly hope that this episode provides what you're looking for.
This episode's track list (title / artist / source / license):
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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.
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.
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**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):
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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.
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Most of my waking moments are spent thinking about music appreciation, sonic curation, and media preservation: not only as separate concepts, but also regarding how they intersect. I recently came to the realization that it's awfully strange that I don't talk about these things more often on the show. And then some strange occurrences in the world of music, podcasting, and online archiving took place over the past month. Suddenly, I had the perfect excuse to express some observations and concerns about it all while sharing some Creative Commons selections with the listeners.
Spotify removing over 500 podcast episodes from their platform because of music isn't surprising, but the fact that the podsafe episodes weren't spared is what's annoying me to no end (particularly considering that this is happening while they continually devalue music and the artists that create it via payout pittances for single and album streams). There was also a story about hundreds of thousands of online hip-hop mixtapes disappearing almost overnight without explanation. If that weren't enough, a recent cyberattack knocked the Internet Archive offline in October, but staff have been providing weekly updates via their blog as services are restored slowly but surely. (For those that need the Cliff Notes version of what's been going on with the Internet Archive, check out the four-minute clip below from Fireship's YouTube channel.)
Seeing as how the Internet Archive is one of my go-to sources for Creative Commons licensed music, I had to incorporate a handful of CC cuts into the show to help move things along. "Evil" by Coldreavers is a hidden gem found while digging through the Archive, a brooding piece of downtempo that features a first-hand account from a jilted lover. Released through the Trippin' The Rift netlabel about 13 years ago, it sounds like it hasn't aged a day (and I really need to find out who's responsible for the vocals on this one). Meanwhile, "Invade Your Soul" is jazz-infused electronica from São Paulo, Brazil's Lavoura. The stuttered patterns of the programmed drums have a broken beat feel and I fell hard for this cut right away. Then there's the infectious pop of "Outer Dark" by Wizard Of Loneliness. Between the bright organ sounds, the punch of the snare pads, and the hazy vocals, it's a winner right out the gate. It's just one of many ridiculously catchy tunes being released by the Business Casual label this year and a great example of why I keep coming back to that label to hear more.
The combined forces of producer Uncle El and vocalist A. Billi Free are responsible for "Unfolding," one of those cuts that feels grounded and airborne at the same time. It's left-leaning hip-hop with a lyrical bend towards peeling back personal layers and allowing for growth and vulnerability. The show closes out with some ocean floor deep techno courtesy of master curator, producer and professor King Britt. "Spring" is a song that he recorded under his Scuba moniker for the Philly Time! compilation released on the Unfoundsound netlabel back in 2008.
This episode represents a slight departure from the usual order of things around these parts, but I feel really good about this one. It could be the start of a new structure for future episodes. By all means, please let me know your thoughts on this one and thank you so much for listening.
Theme music by Cy Tru (edited by Macedonia). ID drops from EJ Flavors and Thad Reid.
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August of 2024 marks 19 years of Both Sides Of The Surface. Under the circumstances, it seems appropriate for the podcast to take some time to get "buckwild." The essential nature of the "buckwild" experience hasn't changed since it was first introduced to Camp Lo-Fi on the show's third anniversary back in 2008. It's a primal scream for the BSOTS feed whenever it's deemed necessary. There are occasional outbursts from me, but I tend to let the music do the talking for me on these shows, which is often a mix of cuts for the party people and the politicially minded as well.
For those wondering about the title, The Changing Same is a term that's borrowed directly from the brilliant mind and pen of Amiri Baraka. He wrote an essay in the late 1960s examining the ways that Black music changed as Black people changed, how we referenced and reinterpreted the old to make it new again: "the changing same." My use of that phrase for an episode title is far more simplistic and merely as a reminder that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Personally speaking, the phrase brings to mind recent developments within the American political landscape over the last few months.
This episode was recorded between mid-June and late July. Way too much happened within a stateside election year during that period. While Tha Silent Partner's "Covfefe's Groove" references a nonsensical moment during Trump's term as President, Mikal Amin and Mista Mayday fire lyrical shots at the present day "G.O.P." In the midst of half of America's hysteria over the very idea of 45 becoming 47, some humor is desperately needed and the "buckwild" experience has some light-hearted tunes on deck, from 85's slick yet silly "Classy" to Columbo's Black one-verse interrogation of "Pro Black Crack Dealers" to some sound collage silliness from The Bran Flakes. DJ Ilya Monosov takes the experimental hip-hop route with "Alien Abduction," bringing along Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow along for the ride. Five Fingers Of Funk deliver the live hip-hop vibes to the show on "Kill Sound" while Mega Ran delivers a memorable boom bap ode to Black pro wrestlers with "I AM BLACK HISTORY." For the bright-colored, hands-in-the-air raver contribution to this episode, look no further than "too much house" by leumas. And EllaMaeFlossie concludes the "buckwild" experience in grand style with the hard-as-nails womanifesto that is "Ebony Stoned."
Humanity is taxing. Music is divine. I simply hope that this episode can bring a smile to your face and maybe even a moment of laughter, no matter how brief.
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!
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Continuing with the theme of Seven To Consider for any episodes featuring all Creative Commons music just feels right. Seven songs isn't an overwhelming number of tunes that are likely to be unfamiliar to most listeners. Hopefully, it's just enough to leave people wanting more. And as often as possible, I like to include selections that feature recognizable names. The Shad & Skratch Bastid cut that kicks off the show features a co-production credit from DJ Jazzy Jeff. Other hip-hop cuts within this episode include the uptempo electronic-enhanced "My Dreams" from Ultimate Fantastic (one could argue that it's slightly hip-house in its approach) and DJ Enki's "Ghost Of An Instant," which could be a favorite with fans of early work from DJ Shadow and RJD2.
Ohad Slavin's "Hide" is a midtempo hypnotic cut from the Digital Diamonds netlabel that straddles the line betweeen techno and house. "You Are Enough" by Niki J Crawford is uplifting motivational soul that the world can use right now. Tab's "Sake Bomb" is one of the highlights of this episode: a sultry and trippy downtempo song that calls for constant rewinds. And then there's the drum and bass banger "Regal Bounce" by Moki McFly. It comes from last year's blocSonic netlabel release Tabernacle Sanctuary Alligator Soufflé, which won the 2024 Creative Commons Community Music Award for Album Of The Year. If any of these tunes pique your interest about the artists or labels featured within this episode, then my work here is done.
Theme music by Cy Tru (edited by Macedonia). ID drops from Kahlief Adams and Herb Brooks.
