Ian Lawton

These are the 1BTN DJ recommendations for August 2020. Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page.   Roisin Murphy Something More (Skint Records) The Queen of the sultry groove joins forces with the queen of disco Amy Douglas for an emotive wonder that had us hooked from the first … read more

1BTN DJ selections for the month of July; all new releases or re-issues. Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page.   Sault Untitled (Black Is) (Forever Living Originals) The third release from UK based Sault is a timely and poignant soundtrack to a turbulent summer. Powerful vocals, incredible drums … read more

These are the 1BTN DJ recommendations for new music and reissues going into June 2020. There is a Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page.   L-Side & MC Fats Steppa Dub (V Recordings) Brazilian drum and bass don drops a heavy dubwise supersonic heater with legendary UK MC … read more

Roots Garden is a Brighton institution. A legendary midweek club night that ran for 14 years and span off a record label that has released over 150 tracks – including brilliant Nick Manasseh productions featuring the likes of Johnny Osbourne, Cornell Campbell and Johnny Clarke. Roots Garden is also a … read more

Well, these are tough times for the arts. Tough for professional creators, venues, promoters and everyone connected with the arts, financially at least. But the bright side of isolation and abundant spare time has been a flourishing of virtual or remote creative collaborations, online performances and a deluge of home … read more

There is no shortage of films about music from Mali. To accompany a piece about the MUSIC OF MALI, 1BTN DJs Jo Dressler and Ian Lawton offer some suggestions for lockdown viewing that will get you acquainted with the country’s rich variety of music and the socio-political problems faced by … read more

Here are the big quarantine tunes from the 1BTN massive going into the month of May 2020. Incomplete Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page.    Tornado Wallace Mundane Brain (Optimo Music) I could have chosen any of the five tracks on Tornado Wallace’s excellent Midnight Mania mini album … read more

Legendary drummer Tony Allen died on 30 April 2020 aged 79.  He was furiously creative and prolific until the end. 1BTN pays tribute to the great man by shining a light on 5 recordings from the last five years that indicate the breadth of his collaborations.   This week we … read more

Some quarantine listening for you. Here are the April recommendations for life under lockdown from our 1BTN DJs. Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page.   Murge Can’t Hurt Me Now (feat. Sierra Lundy) (Loci Records) Canadian producer Murge creates a slice of downtempo goodness with warm analog synths, … read more

The last ten years has seen an explosion of music documentaries – bigger budget docs like Amy, Chasing the Train or 20 Feet From Stardom, but also a whole slew of indie documentaries about underground bands, more or less obscure. The democratisation of the film production process, the rise of … read more