This might be my shortest episode yet at under thirty minutes, in fact it almost only reaches 25. Go me for brevity; for once. The sounds on this one almost traverse my entire time on this planet, give a year or two. It also contains some big commercial hitters from Grandaddy and Badly Drawn Boy alongside underground DIY gems from Sue Ann Harkey and Todd W Emmert. This is one for late spring, those warmer evenings when one might venture outside and sink a beer or two as the sun sets. A mix of folk tinged music with a foot stuck in the mud of old radios, tape decks and cracked impromptu listening. This is somewhat of a palette cleanser to next month’s epic, which will see me delve into the aftermath of the Vietnam war and the plight of civil rights and rising tensions in the late 60s and early 70s.
Our opening track is from an incredible cassette from 1985 that I found via John Olsen (Wolf Eyes). He posted a celebration of this cassette on social media and I found a copy and I’ve been in love ever since. It sets the tone nicely for the bedroom recording, free folk feeling I wanted to evoke. She reminds me of Angus McLise, if you need a comparison, but totally her own unique and wonderful artist. Do go check out all her work.
So the tape flips and we shift forward forty years and 8000 miles to Melbourne and one of my favourite DIY outfits, Red Wine and Sugar, which lives somewhere between Louis Johnstone and Dylan Nyoukis. It’s like picking up a C90 from a skip and finding the best music laid down by the evicted squatters from across the road. Then we shift to a godfather of experimental music in the form of Paul DeMarinis. This particular track is a bit scary, like something cued up for a Conjuring movie. It’s a wax cylinder recording of Mary has a little lamb but sounds like Penny Wise is jamming in the sewer. It may seem odd in the context of this mix but I love how it supplants itself into one’s psyche.
The next song is from one of my most listened to records and although it’s from a big 00’s indie chart topper it has something incredibly sad and beautiful to it. This, and Mercury Rev’s ‘Frittering’ are my favourite songs from the 90s Dave Fridmann inflected marvels. Stunning. This perfectly bleeds into a very good record from David Curington who deserves a much bigger fan base. His music is wonderful, emotional and always exciting. I think this is a digital only release but would sound so good on cassette. Someone pick it up!
Matteah Baim’s record is lost in time but such a wonder from a period steeped in top class lo-fi indie and folk magic. A time that saw the rise of Wooden Wand, Joanna Newsome, Coco Rosie et al. This doesn’t showcase her wonderful voice and stunning covers so I implore you to go find them. The next track is from a record that sold almost half a million copies in the UK. It might seem odd being on this list but I feel this track captures Badly Drawn Boy’s busking roots. It also has some incredible production and reminds me of the band Fantastic Magic, who I remember Brad Rose being a big fan of. The album that this is taken from is one of my all time favourites. It hit me at such an important time in my life and has never left me. I vividly remember the Christmas when my Granddad bought it for me and when his girlfriend hated the fact I liked this music over US country stables.
The penultimate track is another one from Chocolate Monk, the greatest DIY label of all time and the best thing to come out of Brighton since fish and chips and gays. Todd W Emmert is a stalwart of the US underground folk songwriter canon and has been at it since the 90s. His music is dreamy and perfectly odd, sitting in the same plane as Julian Lynch and James Toth.
And then we end on one of the biggest players of the indie folk scene, Will Oldham. His Get on Jolly record with Mick Turner is one of the greatest records ever made. The live CD is just a work of art. I managed to secure the digital recordings on this mix when I ripped a CD owned by the founder of Fat Cat Records when I worked for him in Brighton as an intern and he let me crash at his flat. Thanks Dave, you were so kind.
Necessitarianism 1
Mandolin Duet
Sue Ann Harkey
I Tell You Everything, Just Not Out Loud
Cassette on CNLF
1985
Necessitarianism 2
Weak Content and Slow Jamming’
Red Wine and Sugar
Turkish Coffee and Twice Baked Potatoes
Cdr on Chocolate Monk
2024
Necessitarianism 3
Mary (Wax Cylinder)
Paul DeMarinis
The Edison Effect
CD on Apollo Records
1995
Necessitarianism 4
Away Birdies with Special Sounds
Grandaddy
The Broken Down Comforter Collection
CD on Big Cat
1999
Necessitarianism 5
Do Your Liverwurst
David Curington
Screen Time
DL on Eustress Tapes
2024
Necessitarianism 6
The Whistler
Matteah Baim
The Laughing Boy
CD on Dicristina Stair Builders
2009
Necessitarianism 7
Epitaph
Badly Drawn Boy
The Hour of the Bewilderbeast
CD on Twisted Nerve
2000
Necessitarianism 8
October’s Distance
Todd W Emmert
The Key to the Seven Gates of Heaven is Love
Cdr on Chocolate Monk
2024
Necessitarianism 9
LXXXI
Bonny Billy and Marquis de Tren
Get the Fuck On Jolly live
CD on Monitor Records
2001
Inside No. 9 is an attempt to share unique narratives through the mixing of 9 songs. Every episode will showcase a new theme, opening up new tributaries of discovery. Inside No. 9 is presented by Peter Taylor, a former features writer for Foxy Digitalis from back in the late 2000s. Peter is a visual artist and musician and has been creating music as MAbH since 2008.
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