shows // The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart

show 26: i smell tar

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 24.05.12 // Show 26: I Smell Tar

Fuck, The Awkward Sons have missed you. We needed a break, we know, but that never stopped it hurting.

Days spent in our pants on the sofa, inexorably adding to the growing pile of tear-soaked ring-pulls on the floor didn't do anything for our self esteem. But we're over all that now. We've grown. We've matured. So it's time we came crawling back, begging for clemency.

But we couldn't come empty-handed. A peace offering for our weeks of neglect seemed like the decent thing to do. And what a fucking offering it is...

Strap your gigantic asses in for 60 minutes of primitive 1950s proto-techno, a brand new studio battering from Japan's greatest export (Fushitsusha, obviously!), some tour-only 7" action from Sublime Frequencies, skin-peeling acid psych from way back when, a bunch of home-made Australian instrument blurt and prime meat from the new Shackleton box set.

Hop in the shower, sweet thing. We'll be right over.

Posted at 18:23, 24th May 2012

show 25: adrian's echo - an on-u sound special

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 12.04.12 // Show 25: Adrian's Echo - An On-U Sound Special

Adrian Sherwood.

Those two words alone could be the write-up for this week's show.

But The Awkward Sons are wordsmiths - linguistic sculptors carving knowledge shapes into the rocks of incomprehension.

Plus I've got loads of time to kill in work. Nice.

This week is all about On-U Sound, possibly the greatest record label the UK has ever seen. Well, in their '80s heyday, anyway. Back then, they were absolutely fucking untouchable. One listen to Mark Stewart's skull-shaving dub/industrial/funk/noise/post-punk (I know...!) masterpiece, Learning To Cope With Cowardice, is proof enough for any unbeliever.

Sherwood was the mastermind producer behind the label, turning ubiquitously incredible song-writing into head-scratching sonic perfection with the flick of an echo switch. For my money, he's up there with Tubby and Perry as one of the most important desk-wreckers in the history of modern music.

So, tonight is 60 minutes of Sherwood gold. Pretty much everything was either released by On-U Sound or features that incredible ahead-of-the-pack production. But in keeping with the label's continued irreverence for all things 'correct', there's the odd rinser that has no connection to the theme whatsoever, other than a loose historical connection with the label. I'm sure you'll cope admirably, though.

For lung-rupturing experimental dub with a huge post-punk/industrial low-end kick, you won't find anything else that even comes close.

Start writing those apology letters now - your neighbours are going to be fucking raging.

Posted at 12:44, 11th April 2012

show 24: tdk c60 - a tascam tribute

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 05.04.12 // Show 24: TDK C60 - A Tascam Tribute

After last week’s 7” special, this week is all about the tapes.

From the post-punk cassette culture explosion in the late 70s, through to a pretty huge format revival in the early/mid 2000s (largely spurred on by the US noise underground), tapes have always been a favourite format for cash-strapped counter-cultures.

They’re cheap to buy, cheap to copy, and with a huge DIY distribution network at your fingertips, you can get seriously fucking creative with everything from the actual sonics through to the artwork (my favourite being a used condom wrapped in tissue – thanks, A Band!)

So, no worries about whether Walmart are going to stock it and how you’re going to front the green for that Ross Robinson production.

Much like 7” singles, this is where you find the weirdest, most off-the-map shit going.

Tonight, we’re casting the net wide, so expect heart-breaking psychedelic folk from Thailand, 10-year-old dead baby blues from Human Skab, a quick dip into the Mississippi Records tape archive, Robbie Basho’s last album before his chiropractor broke his neck, absurdist a capella sex noise from Dylan Nyoukis, Arthur Brown getting it on with Suicide’s producer, and a whole bunch of post-industrial pant-stretchers.

REWIND!

Posted at 14:15, 5th April 2012

show 23: seven awkward inches

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 29.03.12 // Show 23: Seven Awkward Inches

So I've spent ages trying to think of something funny to write about 7"s. And the cock jokes just won't cut it.

Anyway, no dice. Moving on...

Tonight, it's nothing but 7" singles. Everyone fucking loves them, right?

OK, getting up every 3-4 minutes to change a record is nobody's idea of a go-to good-time, but you're pretty much guaranteed a rinse.

You either cut straight to the meat, getting the best shit from the full-length, or you get landed with the weird shit that wouldn't fit on the album in the first place. Either way, sorted.

Then there's the one-offs, the bands that just disappeared after about 6 minutes of speaker time. They're pretty much always great, eh?

All that, plus keeping it concise usually ups the fat-trimming ante - no room for any floppy thighs here. And they're cheap. All in all, pretty much the perfect format.

So expect tour-only gold from former Harry Pussy amp-burner Bill Orcutt, a wild oud and synth duo from Keith Fullerton Whitman, a Flemish cover of Fever from DDV (of Club Moral fame), raw as balls droning African folk with harmonies pulled straight from the fucking heavens and a whole load of obscure psych, garage, no wave and post punk.

Tool up, sweet thing. Shit is kicking off.

Posted at 11:29, 29th March 2012

show 22: hair-lip frenching

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 22.03.12 // Show 22: Hair-Lip Frenching

So, it's been another week of hefty wax hauls round at chez Awkward. A weekend shopping in Berlin probably had something to do with it.

(That plus a wreckless disregard for personal finances and a terrifying inability to plan for the future, eh? Let's not kid ourselves!)

But who needs a nest egg when you're faced with a stash like this?

* Early 70s pre-punk proto-doom euphorics, heavy on the fuzz and light on the smarts. Expect two rare cuts from the amazing new Bonehead Crushers compilation on Belter Records (brilliantly named), prime meat for anyone who lost it over the Jerusalem and Flying Wedge tunes from last week.

* Post-techno/fucked hip-hop action from NHK's side of the new NHK/SND split. The "bashful noise" tag suits NHK brilliantly - imagine a funk-focussed Autechre playing with Pan Sonic distortion and trying not to wake the neighbours. Monster!

* Raw, reverb-heavy gospel from Waymon Jones' Gusman Records. Gusman put out some of the most haunting, aching religious music ever to come out of America, with vocal harmonies to fucking die for, and this one's going to have you crying for Christ in no time. On your knees!

* Abrasive, primal minimal wave from 80s Belgium, made by two teenagers with no concern for fidelity or convention. With mind-blowing song-writing and a tense, drug-fucked atmosphere to boot, this is some of the best post-industrial dread I've heard since Veronica's last show.

Luckily, we've done all the work (and ignored all the bills), so all you have to do is push the button, as the Brothers Chemical so eloquently put it.

Game face!

Posted at 12:02, 22nd March 2012