Ever since the day I purchased Soft Machine Volume 4, a personal musical turning point, my eclectic collection of LPs/tapes developed in all sorts of directions. After the arrival of my children and subsequent extension to the house, the budget no longer included the purchase of large amounts of new music as it traditionally had. I found myself in danger of musical stagnation. The local music library was OK but not exactly challenging, Radio 1 was a musical desert, apart from John Peel of course, although I even found a lot of what he played unpleasant.
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Then I discovered Mixing It, 10.15pm Friday evenings, BBC Radio 3, presented by journalist Robert Sandall (left) and composer Mark Russell (right). This is experimental music radio at its best. Featuring mainly new material the wide range of styles includes left-field areas of modern classical, dance, rock and world music. 75 minutes of genuinely interesting music cutting across all styles, just what I'd been looking for. I can't recommend it highly enough. I tape it and listen early in the morning when nobody is around, then compile tapes of the best bits. I don't usually play this sort of stuff in mixed company, some of it would frighten the average pop fan! |
There's some amazing stuff being produced, maybe one day when I have a bit more time to myself (families don't allow that sort of thing very often) I'll be able to listen at home behind locked doors! I must confess that without Mixing It I'd probably have completely lost track of any musical developments over the last few years. I often used to wonder if I'd like all this rock and experimental stuff when I reached 40, an age at which one is supposed to be grown up. Well having achieved that particular milestone a few years back I'm happy to report that I still do, and see no reason why the progression should not continue.