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
How you doing, Martin? I’m very well thank you very much thanks for having me on My Pleasure. Whereabouts in the world are you right now? I’m based in Derby. I’m in my studio at the minute preparing some live streaming stuff, just having a bit of … 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
Mali, the landlocked country of West Africa has a rich, long-lived and deeply embedded musical tradition and has given us numerous musical treasures, a few of which I would like to share with you, along with a brief look at the vibrant music culture which still thrives. At the end … read more
Steve KIW pays tribute to Florian Schneider and the mighty Kraftwerk It is impossible to overstate the importance of Kraftwerk. Consequently it’s pretty much impossible to describe the legacy of Florian Schneider, their co-founder who, on May 6, 2020, “passed away from a short cancer disease just a few … 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
Guilty musical pleasures – What are they? Why are they? And what’s to be guilty about!? Jo Dressler goes in search of the uncool … Being British comes hand in hand with being embarrassed; embarrassed to dance while sober, embarrassed to admit you find someone attractive, or not, embarrassed … read more
It is with deep sadness that we learn today of the death of another great of the electronic music scene. Detroit music icon Mike Huckaby passed away on Friday April 24th. Condolences and tributes are been shared across different social media timelines of his death and it is here that … read more
Most hip-hop fans know the story of DJ Kool Herc’s legendary back-to-school jam that contributed to the birth of a musical revolution in the West Bronx, New York City in 1973. But this origin story wouldn’t have been possible without Herc’s sister, who organised the iconic party as an end … read more