Showcase: other music output

As well as our more regular shows, Sound Vault has been home to a number of shows, which we would like to showcase below:

Discover Music with Plastic Dino:

Episode 1:

This was the first of two shows, hosted by Kitty, a dinosaur enthusiast on an adventure to seek out new, old and unique tunes to brighten your day.

The first show features tracks from Perfume, Kero Kero Bonito, Breakbot, Grimes, Superorganism and Daft Punk – so a decidedly electro-pop/indie-pop/synth-pop feel.

It was put together by one of our youngest recruits, 14 year old Kitty Sholl from Farnham.

Episode 2:

In this episode, Kitty showcases tunes recommended to her by other people.  Expect tracks from The Wombats, CSS, The Beatles, Yaeji, and Wednesday Campanella.

Sound effect at end:

“System Notifications” by ‘wertstahl‘, via Freesound, CC BY 3.0.

Let Me Take You There:

Episode 1: Mayor of Yateley, Tony Spencer

Let Me Take You There was where a different guest each episode picks and plays a selection of music based on a physical location or place it conjures up in their life, or an emotional state of mind in takes them to.

The guest in our first episode was the Mayor of Yateley, Cllr. Tony Spencer, who has been a big supporter of Sound Vault, and of the concept of community-driven radio.

His choices take us on a fascinating journey across the decades, with tracks from Donovan, The Nice (featuring Keith Emerson), Fairport Convention (featuring Sandy Denny), the Beach Boys, Harry Nilsson, and Leadbelly.

Episode 2: Paul Simpson

Episode 2 of ‘Let Me Take You There‘ features the founder of Sound Vault, Paul Simpson.  To illustrate the kind of choices we are looking for (tracks which conjure up a place in your life, or an emotional state of mind they take you to) – and because he probably likes the sound of his own voice (!), Paul has chosen twenty tracks, rather than the usual six.

Paul has had a thirty year career in public relations, ‘yo-yo-ing’ between politics and music entertainment, before spending ten years as a university lecturer.  This included five years at BBC Radio 1, where he became head of PR, and as a freelance consultant, he looked after PR for Kiss FM, music recognition app Shazam, and broadcaster Nicky Campbell.  He has since had to retire early due to a neurological condition called Chiari and resulting nerve damage.

The music choices are not a playlist of his favourite artists – but of music which evokes places, and emotional states of minds along the way in his life.

For example, although it isn’t of that era, “It’s Possible (Impossible Remix)” by the Shout Out Louds reminds him vividly of time spent on the South Downs at university in Sussex, in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

A track called “Typical” by Frazier Chorus pinpoints a precise moment in time in 1989 from when he first got involved in student politics, at the same time as Tim Farron.  He heard it on the radio, at the junction of the M25 and and M1 , played by Emma Freud on GLR.  She was among those who inspired him to want to work in public service broadcasting, eventually for her then boss, eventual Radio 1 Controller, Matthew Bannister; Farron encouraged him to get more active in politics, eventually working at the House of Commons, and later in the Civil Service.

Paul later spent 18 months or so living on the wild sand dunes of Winterton-on-Sea on the North Norfolk coast, just south of Cromer, and one of the tracks that helps captures the time spent up there with his then dog ‘Sparky’ is ‘Iceblink Luck‘ by the Cocteau Twins.

Pagham Harbour

Dunes at Winterton

And finally, when you hear the Eurythmics track ‘Heaven‘, you’ll understand why it evokes the place in time on the way home at Smashing, which as a club held in a basement called Eve’s on Regent Street, central London, once frequented by Christine Keeler (RIP) in the Sixties.  This photo captures vividly the aftermath of those nights in the early/mid 90s, in his flat off the Old Kent Road.  Look carefully, and you’ll also see a football he won on a competition Kevin Greening was running on his BBC Radio 1 show – in the time before got a sniff at working for the station.

Paul’s choices/places in full:-

– Eurythmics: ‘Heaven’; see above;

– Malcom McLaren: ‘Double Dutch’; reminds him of life growing up in Yateley, spending most of the time playing in the street;

– Julia Jacklin: ‘Don’t Let The Kids Win’; reminds him of today, back on the Surrey/Hampshire border which generations of his family have called ‘home’, having moved back to the area after having had to retire early;

– Shout Out Louds: ‘It’s Possible (Impossible Remix)’; reminds him of late summer evenings on the South Downs, as a student;

– Minnie Ripperton: ‘Les Fleurs’; reminds him of time lecturing in lecture halls at the Elephant and Castle, Greenwich and Kingston in particular, because of the singer’s link to the concept of reputation;

– Frazier Chorus: ‘Typical’; see above;

– Frankie Goes To Hollywood: ‘Two Tribes’; reminds him of cycling over to Fleet, to queue to buy this as his first 12 inch;

– Deacon Blue: ‘Riches’; reminds him of Waterloo train station;

– Elbow: ‘The Bones of You’; reminds him of Oaxaca, Mexico;

– Matt Monro: ‘We’re Gonna Change Your World’; reminds him of having his heart smashed at the 2010 General Election, and changed his politics for good;

– Pop Will Eat Itself: ‘Touched By The Hand of Ciccolina’; reminds him of The Crypt, which was a club at the University of Sussex;

– Cocteau Twins: ‘Iceblink Luck’; see above;

– Natalie Imbruglia: ‘Torn’; reminds him of Pimlico;

– Cashier Number 9: ‘Lost At Sea’; reminds him of Telegraph Hill, in South East London;

– Nina Simone: ‘Sign O’ the Times’; is a spiritual significance – how it makes him feel;

– Jolie Holland: ‘Wandering Angus’; see above;

– Damon Albarn: ‘Mr Tembo’; reminds him of any open, common, free, public space like the South Bank, Telegraph Hill, or Farnham Maltings – vitally important in an ever privatised world;

– Kiki Dee: ‘Amoureuse’; reminds him of the Old Radio 1 HQ on Great Portland Street – Yalding House;

– Candida: ‘Jingo’; reminds him of school discos back in the 1980s at Yateley School, in Hampshire.

Episode 3: Matthew Lacey (Box Office Manager, Farnham Maltings)

Matthew Lacey, the Box Office Manager at the Farnham Maltings is in the ‘hot-seat’ for Episode 3 of ‘Let Me Take You There‘.  It is the show where a guest makes a selection of music tracks which conjure up a physical location in their life, or an emotional state of mind which they take them to.

If you are a regular visitor to Farnham Maltings, Matthew’s face (and voice) will be very familiar to you, looking out from the box office/reception area as you first arrive in the building.  Matthew’s choices are:

• “Bitch” – Meredith Brooks;
• “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – Elton John and Kiki Dee;
• “Music for the Royal Fireworks HWV 351:7. Menuet II” – Handel;
• “Violin Concerto in D, Op.77:3” – Brahms (performed by Anne-Sophie Mutter);
• “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” – The Four Tops;
• “Perfect Ten” – The Beautiful South.

Listen to the show to find out exactly where each of the choices takes Matthew to!

Episode 4: Gavin Stride (Director, Farnham Maltings)

Gavin Stride (Director, Farnham Maltings) took the hot-seat for this final episode of Let Me Take You There, making a selection of tracks, and talking about where they take him to.

His choices are Pat Metheny, “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls”; Bola De Nieve, “Drume Negrita”; Pigbag, “Getting Up”; Robert Palmer, “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley”; Soukous Stars, “Ghana Success”; and Handel’s “Rinaldo HWV 7a/Act 2 Lascia ch’io pianga” (performed here by Elin Manahan Thomas.

Discover where the tracks take him to by listening to the full show above.

A big thank you to Gavin for taking the time to select his tracks – and for his passionate support throughout our project.

Breaking Lines:

Breaking Lines was a one-off mix-tape from Sound Vault’s Darren Mooney – a mix of psychedelia, electronica, experimental tracks, 60’s beats, soundtracks, jazz, acid rock, and space rook.

It’s quite a journey – we trust you enjoy your trip!

Sound Vault: Music

As Sound Vault started out on its voyage of discovery, Hannah Hargrave and Paul Simpson asked the students starting out at the freshers’ fair at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham – what were the big things on their minds, and what music they are listening to. It makes for an interesting snapshot of young lives starting out at university in 2017 – and a diverse playlist.

Sound Vault: Music is our strand of occasional or one-off music shows on the network.  “Starting Out” is the first show within the strand.  The full playlist for the show is:-

• “In The Middle” by Dodie;
• “Same Love” by Paradise Fears;
• “Breathe (In The Air) Edit by Pink Floyd;
• “When He Sees Me” by The Waitress Original Broadway Cast;
• “Deny” by King Woman;
• “This Is My Horse (Show Me Yours) by Professor Elemental;
• “Barcelona” by Ed Sheeran;
• “The Apprentice” by Gorillaz;
• “Theme from Midnight Cowboy” by John Barry;
• “Peace Train” by Cat Stevens;
• “April in Paris” by Count Basie;
• “Te Quiero Puta” by Rammstein;
• “Rain” by Bicep.