Well, 2021 was another unusual year that’s for sure. It started badly, then brightened up, gigs, festivals and clubs briefly blossoming, and ended in more uncertainty and question marks over…

These are the tunes, albums and reissues that are big with the 1BTN selectors going into December. There’s a Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page. Keep your eyes peeled…

Spring of this year saw the release of Third Attempt’s ‘Beats From The Quarantine’ LP. The album was well received and marked a notable debut for the talented Norwegian beatsmith….

Up and coming French producer Georges brings his animate, sweet sounds to Boogie Angst records with the juicy funk and disco sounds of new single “Sights”. This follows his remix…

We are delighted to welcome back the very fabulous Manchild Black + Monstah Black – AKA The Illustrious Blacks – to the 1BTN airwaves. Following their sterling show live from…

The most excellent Doc’n’Roll Film Festival is now in its 8th season and runs from 28th Oct to 14th Nov. Below, 1BTN selects a few highlights from the Brighton and…

Ian Lawton spoke to Colm Forde about the origins of Doc’n’Roll Film Festival which he co-founded with Vanessa Lobon. They chatted about blagging your way into cinemas, championing the underdog,…

The Zouk Combat EP pays homage to the Afrodisco sound of the 80s. Zouk is the disco sound from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.   Bosq   Crispy…

Joe Cornwell has decided to really show off his guitar chops on his latest single for Tangential and the song sparkles with confidence, and despite the song title, a real…

These are the big tracks and albums with the 1BTN massive going into October 2021. Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page.   Space Ghost Emotional Healer (Tartelet) Touch……

1BTN DJ selections for the month of August, new releases and reissues.   Martini Love is (Death On Wax) Finally getting a reissue after originally being a private press and only…

Berlin based Kid Simius is back on his home label Jarifa Records, with a deliciously fresh new EP entitled ‘Chicken Mango’. It’s a collection of four upbeat, dance floor- ready…

Effervescent nu-disco act Bad Business Club present their second supremely refined full-length album the deliciously sun-soaked and harmonically rich ‘Naked Neighbor’.     Following excellent releases on revered label, Midnight…

  The latest Chubby! Records release is certain to be a highlight of 2021 with a who’s who track list of some of the best names in house and techno….

Aggressive saxophone, hard hitting punky drums and deep electronic bass mark an impactful start to a new chapter in the musical development of Brighton based Leroy Horns. As his live…

    Relative newcomer Recut Music wasted no time generating serious measures of heat with their two previous disco-fuelled releases, and the latest four-track instalment, as expected, represents nothing less…

  Copenhagen-based musical adventurer Ground Plane Aerial returns with the latest instalment under his recently birthed moniker – this time launching his very own Theorama label project with a typically…

About a year after the drop of his latest studio effort Roses and Aliens on EMTY, Swedish producer Emotional Ty follows up with a new four-tracker, Purest Blue EP, due…

These are the go-to tracks, albums and reissues of the 1BTN massive as we head into the month of March. Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page.   Keith Mansfield…

1BTN are delighted to announce our annual all-day female takeover for International Women’s Day 2021 (IWD21) on Monday 8 March.   Running from midnight on Monday 8 March to 3am…

After a very busy year in which Astigmatic Records made its debut as a label looking for lost, never before released musical treasures (Renata Lewandowska, “Dotyk”), the time has come…

‘Poetic Justice’ is the new release from south-east London’s rising contemporary soul and funk purveyor Joel Culpepper produced by Tom Misch, taken from his forthcoming debut album ‘Sgt Culpepper’. The…

When you listen to 1BTN you are often listening to musicians playing the work of musicians. We have dozens of musicians on our roster, whose jobs are to play music,…

1BTN Spoke to the Manchester based trumpet player and composer whose Salute to the Sun album is one of the station’s top ten albums of the year.  (Pic: Emily Dennison)…

It would be no understatement to say that 2020 was, by and large, a bit shit, especially for jobbing musicians, live music venues, clubs, and music festivals. On the upside,…

Like all creative arts events Doc’n’Roll film festival suffered the effects of COVID in 2020, but still managed to operate a brilliant curated online programme. 1BTN did a lengthy interview…

Unearthing audio gold with reissue label Pressure Makes Diamonds The art of the reissue is a difficult one to grasp. There was a time not so long ago that any…

Wah Wah 45s are proud to present Eparapo Eparapo is something of an Afrobeat supergroup that came together during the unprecedented events of this year. Despite being a project born…

Fine Young Cannibals reissue w/ remixes from Derrick Carter, Dmitri From Paris and Seth Troxler Marking 35 years since its original release in December 1985, the Fine Young Cannibals eponymous…

For two decades Leftfoot has flown the flag for the best in club and live music events. A Leftfoot night is one where you can expect to hear everything from…

If there’s one good thing to come out of the Covid Lockdown it’s some fruitful musical collaborations and a little more time for extra projects that might never have materialised….

He was the acid house generation’s most inspiring DJ and producer, renowned for his work on Primal Scream’s epoch-defining ‘Screamadelica’ and his own bands Sabres Of Paradise and Two Lone…

Jo Dressler recommends 10 music films to keep you entertained in a still club-less pub-less world   A lot of my favourite films are music biopics, and if not biopics…

Born in West London in mid ‘90s, broken beat (bruk) has had a resurgence in recent years. Labels like 22a, Eglo, and Rhythm Section have ushered in a new generation…

Jalapeno Records, Celebrates 20th Anniversary w/ Two Decades of Funk Fire One of the UK’s leading funk and soul labels, Jalapeno Records, is to celebrate its 20th anniversary with the…

Our friends at Mr Bongo return with another wonderful edition of ‘Record Club’ and continue with one of the finest comp series any digger could wish to add to their…

The Diabolical Liberties released their album ‘High Protection & The Sportswear Mystics’ on 13th November 2020 via the boundary breaking On The Corner Records label, a bastion of oddball jazz…

Thanks for giving me a bit of your time, I know you boys are busy S: Nah it’s sound, it’s nice to finally talk to you as well. T: I…

The big tunes being broadcast from the 1BTN Bunker as we enter the month of November 2020, as selected by our DJs. Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page….

Jim Lister welcomed Leng Records’ main man Simon Purnell onto his VERSION show to chat through Simon’s 20+ years in the independent record label business, and to celebrate 10 years…

Find Your Happy Place The idea for The Tent came out of trying to build a community in lockdown that would usually exist in real life; it’s now about keeping…

There won’t be many people who haven’t felt the influence of pioneering Balearic DJ Jose Padilla, who died on Sunday, October 19. Born in Barcelona, Jose moved to Ibiza in…

“The essence of Orkney’s magic are the deep marvellous rhythms of sea and land, darkness and light” George Mackay Brown, 1921-1996   Over the last few years Erland Cooper has…

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…

1BTN’S Jo Dressler tells the story of women making their mark in contemporary music, from Muslim metal to Filipino dancehall.   INDONESIA All female, Muslim metal band (now there’s a few…

As one half of Brum based duo Original Rockers (later Rockers Hi-Fi) Glyn ‘Bigga’ Bush created the 90s progressive-house-dub classic Push Push, put out four great albums, contributed a cut…

In this instalment of Steve KIW’s story of the Balearic Beat the establishment takes fright, a lot of blissed out ravers jump in coaches and record collections begin to look…

Never leaning on the notion of a mould or convention, Colonel Red Is a phenomenon in the underground soul circuit, blending the segways between Rnb, Broken Beat, Hip Hop and…

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…

Our DJs use the word Balearic with abandon. So often in fact that it came as no surprise when a listener asked: Hola 1BTN, What, exactly, is ‘Balearic’?    Among…

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life is a charitable foundation creating fundraising initiatives for the electronic music industry & beyond in support of children in crisis. Founded in January…

How’s lockdown life on the west coast Adrian? Same as it is over there, boring! *laughs* I guess music is keeping you running through though, right? I guess so, trying…

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…

A few weeks back 1BTN’s Joel Essex caught up with the legendary DJ, promoter, and everyone’s favourite lockdown instagrammer, Luke ‘Unabomber’ Cowdrey for a good old natter. Here’s the conversation that…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

J-Felix’s brilliant sophomore album Whole Again Hooligan is a melting pot of musical influences. 1BTN Boogie head Kirollus Elyas asked him to tell us how he became a Boogie and…

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…

These are the albums and tracks that are big in the 1BTN Bunker this month! There is an incomplete version of this chart as a Spotify playlist (Link at bottom…

Legend, pioneer and musical hero to so many of us at 1BTN, Andrew Weatherall passed away on February 17, 2020.   Whether you know him from his work with Primal…

Mark Holis’ band Talk Talk transcended their synth-pop (and punk!) roots to become, retrospectively, one of the most admired bands to have recorded in the 20th century. The band recorded…

Jim Lister spoke to Kokoroko’s Onome Edgeworth (Percussion), Ayo Salawu (Drums) and Tobi Adenaike (Guitar) on his 1BTN show before their February gig at Concorde 2 in Brighton. Photo: Nina…

Fifty years ago David Mancuso  threw the first of his legendary Loft parties. Twenty years ago Nuphonic released two fantastic Mancuso compilations (The Loft 1999 and The Loft – Volume Two…

The biggest new tunes and reissues in the 1BTN bunker as we enter February 2020 with accompanying Spotify playlist (go to the bottom of the page for the link).  …

Step onto a dancefloor in a mainstream club today and you’d be forgiven for thinking that dance music is dominated by straight, male, so-called ‘EDM’ culture. House music is going…

1BTN spoke to the maverick Scottish composer ahead of her UK tour.   You’re playing Brighton on the 10th of February, the last date of your uk tour. Are you…

Hey, Jurgen! How you doing? Good. Good to talk to you! You too. Where are you in the world are you right now? I’m on the East Coast, in Savannah,…

1BTN’s Black Feather spoke to riotous Brighton two piece ARXX about their new EP fuelled by superfood smoothies and early nights, their origins and their recording process. Photo: Kaleido Shoots  …

How do, Dan? You good? I’m good man thanks for having me on. Pleasure. Where about are you at the moment? I’m up in Scotland, in my little studio i’ve…

Though the wave scene has been growing and evolving for some time now, with clear distinctions between different styles, artists and labels, its emergence into the mainstream has become more…

The biggest tunes buzzing around the 1BTN radio bunker entering November, selected by our DJs. Full playlist and reviews below and Spotify playlist.      Cruisic, Slowly Inspector Norse…

1BTN spoke to Laura Ducceschi, programmer of ACCA Digital which runs from 30 Sep to 18 Oct in partnership with Brighton Digital Festival and features Holly Herndon, Tim Hecker and…

Kate, How are you? I’m very well. How are you? I’m very well thanks, where are you this morning? I’m in a, kinda, radio, down the line studio in the…

How you doing, Pete? Very well, thank you. You’re bringing the Little Chill festival to East Sussex in July, as a fund raiser for your new project, which is very…

Hi, Sonny. How are you? Very well, thank you. So you are Leeds born and bred, Sonny? Huddersfield. Just down the road. I’ve travelled around a bit but I’m back…

1BTN in conjunction with Detroit Tourism and Metro Centre are proud to present, Detroit Day. You know Detroit, right? Famed for it’s legendary auto industry and for it’s music; it’s…

Ivan, how you doing? Fine, thank you my friend. Where are you in the World right now? I am in my house in Saquarema, which is about 2 hours from…

Sal, how’s it going? It’s good, Mickey, It’s good. Everything’s great at the moment, pretty busy and pretty manic. Releasing a record on your own label is pretty hard work…

An amazing amount of killer choonage this month as the 2019 release schedule gets into full swing. Here are the essential cuts at the beginning of March as selected by…

Let’s get straight to it: 2018 has been a bumper year for music. Here on 1BTN we are blessed to have an incredible array of DJs who are only too…

Kamaal Williams gig review. Words by Joel Essex, photo by Fred Lopez. It’s been just over two years since the seminal release of Black Focus, an album that brought to…

We talk to Gavin Sutherland, AKA Other Lands, from Firecracker Recordings Mac-Talla Nan Creag, about their soon to be released 2nd LP, “The Sorrow of Derdriu”. So Mac-Talla Nan Creag…

Aka ’The Dark Prince of Reggae’ aka ‘The Ghetto Dentist’ (he was qualified apparently), Keith Hudson cut his teeth (sorry) on the Jamaican music scene working for trombone legend Don…

For a short, but extremely frenzied few years, either side of the Millennium, the talents, minds and hearts of some of the finest drum and bass, house, jazz, electronic and…

Glaswegian label dons, Craigie Knowes, first made a dent in the UK’s dance music scene back in 2015 with their first annual fundraiser for the charity, War Child. The record…

Our man, Dan Storey, wanted to know more behind the lovely music being produced by, Denis Leonovitch AKA Alterleo, a talented sound man out of Moscow. He asked and here…

We speak to the prolific veteran Scottish producer about his 2 new albums, Via under his own name and a new alias, Quart. You are living in Amsterdam these days…

The Hubbabubbaklubb crew take time off from cruising on their Mopeds to talk about their debut LP. SO TELL ME ABOUT HUBBABUBBAKLUBB – HOW DID YOU ALL MEET? In kindergarten….

Ian Lawton spoke to Dave Howell of ground breaking FatCat subsidiary 130701. He filled us in about the history of the label, its ups and downs, its second wind, forthcoming…

In the mid-1960s, a new generation of young Turkish musicians combined Western pop music with traditional Anatolian folk to forge the home-grown phenomenon of Anadolu Pop. My book, The Turkish…

As a huge Italo-Disco fan, part of the appeal of collecting the records is definitely some of the mad cover art which adorns these cheesy pizza platters. I aim to…

Ian Lawton spoke to promoter Daniel Spicer about Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival which runs throughout October at various venues. What was the original motivation for setting up Brighton Alternative Jazz…

We recently added ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life foundation’ to our ever-evolving roster of presenters. With host, Dan Storey, along with an assorted array of special guest selectors ‘LNADJ’ will showcase their incredible knowledge of music from across the genres, whilst highlighting the importance of what they are set up to do… read more

1BTN DJ and presenter Kate Wildblood reflects on what LGBTQ Pride means to her on the eve of Brighton Pride 2018. Whether your first or your forty-first, nothing comes close…

Known for a series of albums exploring the cosmic end of jazz on the Pharaoh Sanders/John Coltrane axis, saxophonist Nat Birchall has released an LP of full dread roots reggae…