S.o.t.D. - 2808 – Nero

2808 – Nero

I don’t know if a song that’s just 1½ minutes long can be considered epic, but wow, does it ever sound epic.

S.o.t.D. - Dubskit – Phaeleh

Dubskit – Phaeleh

Showing why Phaeleh is such a consistently great producer. This was apparently just a cast off, not really meant to be a proper track. Warm, dubby bass.

Shooting Range

Chris, one of the tattooists at the shop, brought in a Red Ryder BB gun, and we promptly turned one half of the basement into a shooting range. :-) 

The beer can is strictly for shooting at. No way any of us would combine alcohol and firearms.

My view as I prepare to deliver copper projectiles down range at 180 metres per second.

Not bad.

Selection of targets.

Take that, zombie nazi!

Shaggy doing some training for the zombie apocalypse.

Bloody Remains

One of the office towers here in Hamilton, the BDC tower at Main and MacNab, several times this year now, I’ve walked past one particular spot below it and found the remains of the bloody work of the Peregrine falcons who hunt from the top of it.

I’m not sure whether they’re ripped off as they swoop in to grab their prey, or they lose them as they’re ripping them apart after. Either way, it amuses me that they always end up in the same spot. And I don’t even go by there that often. Wonder if this is only part of their detritus.

And something else I contemplate is how important they might be to an entire eco-system with this “discarded” food. Other animals, not as proficient a hunter, might well benefit from this fresh meat that they would drop below the cliffs they inhabit. Sharing the spoils so to speak.

Signage: Cottage 13

I haven’t been so active on here for a few reasons, one of which is that the tattoo shop has finally moved to its fancy new digs. Long delayed, but we are now in a fantastic new building, with a much better shop. For a good fortnight, I was working almost a full day to get the shop ready, in addition to my job. But, more than happy to do so.

One of the most exciting things about it is the new sign, done by the fantastic Brush Boys. I was already a fan, but after meeting them, I’m an even bigger fan. Scott and his son Matt are super nice guys and gifted artisans.

The centrepiece of the sign – literally.

Carved from an ultra high density polyurethane foam, and mounted on an aluminum plate.

Some closeups.

The foam portion (which has many coats of clear resin sealing it) dismounted from the aluminum backing plate.

The Boys hard at work. The installation was a very involved process. The rest of it was fairly straight forward, but the lotus was the challenge. It was designed with the idea that it would sit away from the rest of the sign, with the possibility of light behind it, radiating out from behind. Given how tough it was to get it on, and that replacing the bulbs would require that much again, the idea was quietly, albeit reluctantly, discarded. (The fact that the two days were blisteringly hot, didn’t help either.)

The first night of our completed sign being up.

The building, at the corner of James and Wilson.

Beauty!

S.o.t.D. - The Clock Ticks – Dub Phizix

The Clock Ticks – Dub Phizix

S.o.t.D. - Why They Wanna (Serum Remix) – David Boomah

Why They Wanna (Serum Remix) – David Boomah

Reggae vocals, with an ominous bass rumble that sadly comes in a bit late in the track.

S.o.t.D. - All Night (Etherwood Remix) – Camo & Krooked

All Night (Etherwood Remix) – Camo & Krooked

Propah jungle bizness!

S.o.t.D. – Afterglow (Cutline Remix) – Wilkinson

Afterglow (Cutline Remix) – Wilkinson

I like the start a lot more than the entirety of the song, but I can still concede it’s a pretty solid club banger.

Story Of My Life

Signage: Barbers & Men’s Hairstyling

 Front.

Back.
Mohawk and Upper Wellington area in Hamilton.

S.o.t.D. - Deep Jinx – Two Fingers

Deep Jinx – Two Fingers

Definitely need some more of this. Extra large sounds.

S.o.t.D. - Greece 2000 – Three Drives on Vinyl

Greece 2000 – Three Drives on Vinyl

Classic of the genre. Much of that genre is pretty insipid, but this one still sounds good to my ears.

S.o.t.D. - Good Life (Magic Juan Mix) – Inner City

Good Life (Magic Juan Mix) – Inner City

I thought at first Magic Juan might have been a guise of Juan Atkins, but apparently not.

An almost text book example of house. The disco influences, the clear vocals, high up in the mix, and the whole hands in the air, warehouse party vibe.

S.o.t.D. - Mathilde – Chris Geschwindner

Mathilde – Chris Geschwindner

Groovy.

S.o.t.D. - Stripe Rhythm – Two Fingers

Stripe Rhythm – Two Fingers

Boy, does this ever sound like a much harder and darker Amon Tobin, I thought.

Oh look, it is Amon Tobin!

S.o.t.D. - Meditation 5 – Melchior Productions Ltd.

Meditation 5 – Melchior Productions Ltd.

I think I’d want to dance to this more than meditate to it. Although, dancing can be meditative in its own way.

Dieppe

For several years I worked for the Aylmer Express. While it was a small town newspaper, it was also a commercial printer. (The division I worked for.) The newspaper was bought by Arthur Hueston, after he came home from the war, and was its publisher for many years and turned it into a thriving printing company. By the point I got there, his son had been running the company for many years, and he was just writing a weekly column, some of which touched on his experiences in WW2. He served with the Essex Scottish Regiment, as a platoon leader, at Dieppe. He was quite open about his experiences and once we sat and talked about it. 

He was on a landing craft with a Churchill tank, that ground to a halt on the potato sized stones on the beach, leaving it half in and half out of the craft. They were meant to follow it, but with no way around it, they had to go over the sides. With no one having come ashore before the landings to ascertain the unsuitability of the beach for tanks, no one had bothered to check that there was a deep drop right at the waters edge, not a gradual incline. His platoon dropped over the edge of the landing craft and he lost about a third to drowning, because they were so laden down or unable to swim. The ones that survived had to ditch most of their gear to come up again. On shore without weapons, ammo, etc. they couldn’t do much. With a whole bunch of men wounded or dead, his superiors yelled at him to get back on a boat and get out. No one would have though any less of him if he had, but he called back “No. I have wounded men I need to look after.” And with that, he languished for years in a POW camp, hungry and bored.

It was a good thing he needed a really powerful magnifying glass to read, so he couldn’t see me wiping away the tears. 

The Germans found documents after the raid, from the Canadians, stating that German prisoners were to be handcuffed until they got them back to England. As a reprisal against the Canadians they forced any that were captured at Dieppe to wear handcuffs all day. At morning roll call they were put on and at nighttime roll call they were removed. Of course, as soon as they got back to their barracks they quickly picked them and as long as they were inside, they went without them.

And the city I currently live in, one of its regiments, the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry suffered casualties at Dieppe as well. Of the 582 soldiers who landed that morning, 197 were killed, 174 were captured and 194 wounded (including 85 also captured). Only 102 were not among the casualties.

Never forget.

S.o.t.D. - Kinetic (Tom Middleton 2008 Remix) – Golden Girls

Kinetic (Tom Middleton 2008 Remix) – Golden Girls

Classic early 90’s track, reworked by the always fantastic Tom Middleton. Not entirely sure what the history of this song is. Originally by The Pied Piper, it was then remixed by Orbital....not sure beyond that. But this is just fantastic.

S.o.t.D. - Matters (Tom Middleton Remix) – Matthias Vogt (feat. Phil Fill)

Matters (Tom Middleton Remix) – Matthias Vogt (feat. Phil Fill)

Everything Tom Middleton does is just superb.

S.o.t.D. - First Woe – Øfdream

First Woe – Øfdream

Cemetery Sunset

S.o.t.D. - Durban Days – Sam Roberts Band

Durban Days – Sam Roberts Band

S.o.t.D. - Mess Around – Cage The Elephant

Mess Around – Cage The Elephant

S.o.t.D. - The Quiet (Rotersand Rework) – Harm Joy

The Quiet (Rotersand Rework) – Harm Joy

What current “electro / industrial-y” stuff I hear, usually leaves me cold, but I’m really digging this.

S.o.t.D. - Injustice – Sabre & Riya

Injustice – Sabre & Riya

I think there’s a sample from Budd & Eno in this?

S.o.t.D. - Joker And The Thief – Wolfmother

Joker And The Thief – Wolfmother

Whammy bars and Korg CX-3 organ. Love it.

S.o.t.D. - The Feeling – Project Pablo

The Feeling – Project Pablo

S.o.t.D. - People On The High Line (Hybrid Remix) – New Order

People On The High Line (Hybrid Remix) – New Order

Unbelievably good. New Order still has it. Or they have the good taste to find a really great remixer to rework their tracks.

S.o.t.D. - Input – Fierce & Nico

Input – Fierce & Nico

Uncompromising.

S.o.t.D. - The Value of Nothing – Flux

The Value of Nothing – Flux

The unmistakeable sound of Adrian Sherwood, and the members of African Head Charge and Dub Syndicate helping to flesh out his ideas.

S.o.t.D. - The Deep Blue – Motionfield

The Deep Blue – Motionfield

This is what I think of as “driving around late at night in the countryside” music.

S.o.t.D. - Try Harder – Nordstadt Union

Try Harder – Nordstadt Union

I’ve been trying to find this one for ages, but at this point I’m not sure what the artist name is. This is what I’ve known it as for 15 years.

S.o.t.D. - Sylph – Ochre

Sylph – Ochre

I recently discovered, and featured a bunch of tracks by Bola. Ochre is to my mind in the same camp. Incredibly sophisticated and evocative electronica.

S.o.t.D. - South of the Line (Bluetech’s Electroid Excursion) – Pitch Black

South of the Line (Bluetech’s Electroid Excursion) – Pitch Black

Without even knowing who it was, I could recognize Bluetech’s influence. I featured another remix he did for the same artist a few years back.

S.o.t.D. - Deep Down – Smote

Deep Down – Smote

Not his best track, but it’s still Smote.

S.o.t.D. - Night Time (Synkro Remix) – The XX

Night Time (Synkro Remix) – The XX

Oh Synkro, I love you so.