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hey guys and gals doing a new thing on my blue room show looking for budding blueroomites who wanna play us 15 minutes of their fave tunes blended together in a mellow style..kinda like annie macs mini mi but longer and less frantic..

if u wanna enter just send me a cd to radio 1, yalding house, clipstone street, w1n 4dj...

;)

hopefully youve been listenin to the shows lately and heard our extended NOT SO SECRET NOW SECRET on underground festivals... well heres a little recap for ya! starting this weekend on me birthday of all days!!

JUNE

Aldeburgh Festival – Faster Than Sound – SAT 24th JUNE
Cutting-edge sound artists and composers get together on a remote airbase in Suffolk to create a massive One Off Soundscape
Mira Calix, Andrea Parker, Shitmat and Venetian Snares all taking part
E-mail fasterthansound@aldeburgh.co.uk for info

Here Comes The Knight – Tapestry Goes West – JUNE 30/ JULY 1
Last year it was a cowboy themed party, this year it takes place in a medieval village at Margam Park in South Wales
Field Music, The Early Years, The Hazey Janes, Archi Bronson Outfit, Rod Stern, Hot Puppies & Misty’s Big Adventure all playing

The Beat-Herder Festival June 30 - July 2nd 2006
Ìý
AÌýweekend of beats and barminess in sunny lancashire.
With Dreadzone, eatstatic, plus loads of mad artistry and thespians.
Ìý
JULY

Dour Festival
Running from July 13th-16th, the Dour Festival, Belgium encompasses seemingly every genre in the world, inviting the best artists, DJs and performers from each to one 4-day festival, all totalling £50.

Thursday 13 July
Art Brut, Maxïmo Park, Primal Scream, , Jackson and his Computer Band Ellen Allien, Modeselektor, Miss Kittin dj set, Pendulum live, Nathan Fake, 65daysofstatic

Friday 14 July 2006, Nebula, , Mercury Rev, Fischerspooner live dj3000, Plastician
Saturday 15 July 2006
Mudhoney, Desmond Dekker & The Aces, T.Raumschmiere live, Derrick May, , Arab Strap,
Sunday 16 July 2006
The Gossip The Datsuns, The Dandy Warhols, Animal Collective, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Adam Green, Matthew Herbert live

Find out more at www.dourfestival.be/en , where you'll also find great deals for getting there and getting in.

AUGUST

Roots Rock Cymru – SATURDAY 26 AUGUST at the Coal Exchange in Cardiff

Reggae Celebration
Culture, Misty in Roots, Llwbyr llaethog and Guto Price from the Super Furry Animals doing a Trojan records set
Only 18 pounds! A bargain

SEPTEMBER

ABC charity festival, near Marlow on 2nd / 3rd September

live:
Hexstatic (audio visual dance music)
Bussetti (jazz/funk/hip hop)
Invertebrakes (breaks)
Groovenik (funk)

DJ: Gilles Peterson

Hola atcha...

A sad day today, with the news that Top of the Pops is coming to an end. Last one will be on telly in July. I know because I heard it on the news. Expect nostalgic features in all music magazines, broadsheets and, erm, here. My favourite Top of the Pops moments are;

Flaming Lips with Justin Timberlake dressed as an animal of the sea...
Super Furry Animals performing on it for the first time...
Divine Comedy onstage with lots of big summer flowers...
Mark and Lard and Harry Hill as presenters - now you're talking:)...
All those old clips from yesteryear with John Peel and Janice Long, Noel Edmonds and Jimmy Saville hosting the show - it was all so simple back then etc etc...

Back from Sonar and a short break with my girlfiend after it (I actually went in the sea yesterday, a sigh to behold I can assure you) and had a lovely time. Listen in tonight for an hour of Live music highlights from the 13th Sonar Festival, with Kapital Band 1, Mwessle and loads more. bought a fair few records yesterday too in the winding streets of Barcelona, so expect some Chinese Dub and Bass, a few grimy Catalonian messed up bits and a band called I'm From Barcelona...

see youse tonight, 11pm!

Art and Music go hand in hand at Sonar, and I saw the exhibition all about Chernobyl today. The photography was incredible, the story eery and close to home, leaving you wondering how something so horrific as a nuclear explosion could ever be let to happen.

The Most Pleasant Music Surprise of the day is Tucker from Japan, kind of a cross between DJ Scotch Egg and Mike Oldfield, jumping over the stage and making the most poundingly crazy music of the weekend.
Modified Toy Orchestra mess around with kids toys to create music, and is best heard on their new toygopop album, but is entertaining live (they're playing SuperSonic soon in Birmingham).

Fat Freddy's Drop are incredibly smooth and suit the end of the afternoon well, as do the Kindred Spirits Soundsytem crew playing loads of great dub records. Spain's Mweslee is excellent, getting the whole SonarDome to bounce to his laptop-led electronic hip hop...

You don't know what you're going to get at Sonar. The day and night events are held at fantastic locations, with every little detail from the beer vouchers to the art, the location and timetable to the totally eclectic line-up well done. Its impossible to see everything and everyone of course, but you might as well try. It's the randomness of catching the end of someone you've never heard of before's set, getting a bit tipsy in the afternoon or meeting folk that makes it really special...

Nice one Sonar...

Huw Stephens would like to add that he didn't really get tipsy in the afternoon at all. Much.

Hello gang! Hope you're all well and dandy!

I currently find myself sweating my pants off in Ibiza, the home of ancient old ladies standing around in olive groves watching their goats climb trees and on the other hand hordes of beefed up ravers storming the niteries of the white island.

If you've never been it's nowhere near as horrific as stories tell, in fact it's tricky to find any bad things about it unless you hang around outside brit abroad pubs at chucking out time wearing the wrong football top.

I'm over here for my first date of new residency at Flower Power, a hippy night started in 1965... yes 1965, nearly a whole decade before da bank was even an itch in papa da Bank's troosers. Anyway one guy, Piti, DJs all night playing the Beatles, Stones, psychedelia and weird stuff... and it's the busiest night on the island just about!

I feel very honoured to be asked to host the second room. The idea is I bring back some balearic flavour so I've invited DJs like Alfredo and Jon Sa Trincha to join me playing anything from Grace Jones to Grateful Dead, Prince to Arethra Franklin and lots of unearthed oddities too...

Comin' back to blighty for the show naturally and can't wait to see what's a waiting in the da bank post sack.

Keep those festival details coming in to onemusic and your unsigneds too!

adios amigos, Roberto del Banco

When you register for Sonar, you do so knowing that not only you get ace music for three days and nights, but also a very nice bag made specifically for the festival goers by a well known bag maker. Some wear bags from yesteryear and get instant cool points, of course.

Apparently DJ Stainboy from Spain sounds good, but I start the day with White Diet from the UK, who actually turn out to be Scissor Sisters from the US. In the mid afternoon scorching sun, SS go down a treat, letting us know they formed originally after Sonar five years ago, and playing new tunes as well as the hits. Also on the open air SonarVillage stage, Bus with MC Soom-T from Denmark play one of the best sets of the weekend. Senor Coconut and his Orchestra entertain and .Tape played a really good weird, looped electro set indoors....

There's time for some record shopping where the man working is continuing his night out, and I picked up some Chinese Dub and Bass, a few Grime records and some pure electro. Sorted!

I went to Sonar By Night too, at a different location to the day events, a huge multi enormo-roomed building with a great line-up. For the time we were there I caught the legendary Chic playing hits Le Freak and a million songs with Dance in the title, a storming set by DJ Krush, every little detail picked up on the screens, and the magic Laurent Garnier. Halfway through his set I realised we weren't actually in a huge room, but actually outside in the open air. Amazing...

Another attraction - the dodgems. There's nothing quite like crashing into someone else's dogem at 1am on a Friday night while Chic finish their set. Smash!

Touchdown in Barcelona, Catalunya after an incredibly early flight and head on over to Las Ramblas, the bustling street where street entertainers, breakdancers, tourists and vendors hang out. Sonar is just off the street, and this is its 13th year. Me, Louise the producer and Paul from the One World show, who's Djd at the festival in the past, cue up for about an hour to get our passes for the weekend, before realising we're in the wrong cue....

Beatmaster G from Spain is ontsage, doing his beatboxing thing in the glorious heat, and gets a good reaction. The cue for Sweden's The Knife is crazy, with both entrances to the Escenario Hall heaving. I heard a bit of them through the walls though, their cold, rhythmic, strange beats sounding ace...

The Sonar Complex, a big tent with a long bar next to it, played host to Marina Yanagisawa and Kanta Horio from Japan, each making long, droney music that freaked us all out a bit, while Tunng brought the extended folkey good vibes to the festival with songs about woodcats and hens and swings...

Sonar is ace... and we ain't seen nothing yet!

"You join us on the OneMusic weblog blog thang, here in the Radio 1 offices. Over there in the far left corner of the office, Lousie the producer has her headphones on, tirelessly working through the unsigned tracks for forthcoming shows. Having been for a farewell Thai meal with Princess Amy, who is now off to pastures new, leaving the OneMusic nest, upstairs in a a near-by pub, the team is nourished and ready for a night of broadcasting.
There's new member to the team Natasha over there by the coputer monitor, searching for the elusive Volcano! cd for inclusion in tonights programme. Huw the presenter strokes his beard thoughtfully while deliberating that now Jo Whiley's played Get Cape.Wear Cape. Fly, should he be in tonights running order. Course he frickin should.
Paul from the One World show is eating a rice based supper, while the Brazil Croatia game is on the television.
The team are looking forward to a new session tonight by master producer Daedelus with Welsh hip hop crew Diwygiad. Until that time, they rest, lying, waiting....

Hello one and all!

The weekend I'd put aside to listening to the cds I hadn't yet gotten around to listen to went well, in that I listened to prett much everything I needed to listen to! There was a lot of ace new music in there, which will be played on future OneMusic shows.
The fact that is was a lush weekend in Cardiff didn't put me off either, and it helped that the shop over the road had a fine selection of ice creams to keep me going. I did some gardening (ie - looked at the two plants I own for a bit), enjoyed a few mighty fine barbeques, watched some Family Guy (how come it's only now I'm latching on to this?), sorted my vinyl out and moved my desk around a bit.

Looking froward to the Sonar festival in Barcelona this weekend loads - the line-up looks amazing. More on the electronic music fest later in the week!

Just had a chat with my neighbours too. Turns out one of them is in a band. Gonna check them out now!

I think Tuesday's show went with a certain bang. So many amazing records in there - the Beyond the Wizards Sleeve compilation is really good, I need to investigate more. Some lovely Bat For Lashes too, new dub from Richie Phoe, two corking unsigned tracks from Scouting For Girls and Flies Are Spies From Hell and so much more!

Today I went to Maida Vale where Daedelus was recording his session for next weeks show. It sounded amazing with Welsh rappers Diwygiad (Reformation) collaborating on the tracks. On the down side, their car was first fined and then clamped and towed away while they were recording the session. Good name for a hip hop album though - Fined and Clamped... in stores now!

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Back from Belgium on the old Eurostar to a sunny London. Had a spare hour so headed down to buy some records at Rough Trade - listening to them now, and a few might well end up in the show tonight.

Also tonight on the OneMusic show, a new session from the Broken Family Band - can't wait!
If you've heard their album Balls recently, or their earlier work for that matter, you'll know they're an ace country-pop band. I dunno - Juanita Family Band one week, these the next - will it be Garth Brooks next week?

'No' is the answer to that.

also tonight, a Midnight Moment, two new unsigned tracks, and plenty more other treats that you probably haven't heard before.

ps - I'm DJing at the Tired and Lonesome night at the Social off Great Portland St in London tomorrow night, from about 8.30pm - should be fun!

'Ahh the little cutie' say all the girls when they see da Bank junior (well what did they expect as the fruit of my loins!?).

Well come over at 6am every morning ladies when he's screaming the house down til I get up looking like wurzel gummidge and walk him round the house showing him the sights and sounds for the umpteenth time... Anyway he's started smiling gummily and I'm sure he said hello the other day, or it could have been pass the ketchup!

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Last minute stuff is the best kind of stuff. Had I not spotted the poster on the wall in Brussels on Friday, I wouldn't have known about The Flaming Lips gig in Ghent on Sunday. So me and Sara the missus got on a train and booked into a medieval b&b...

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Parisian pop band Phoenix should, of course, be bigger than they actually are. But who cares about 'big' when their songs have style and a certain special sharpness. I saw them for the third time on Wednesday night, and although the balcony blocked the view and sound, although I'd lost my tickets and got in using producer Louise's tickets, although I bought an XL sized t shirt from the merchandise stall and it still wouldn't fit, and although although, I still enjoyed it.

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Thanks to the good people of Newcastle who came to see us DJ on sunday... You never know what to expect from a da Bank set 'cos I dont normally remember what records I've packed! But seemed to do the trick!

Tonight it's all about festivals - we've got live(ish) music from ATP from The Black Keys, the nutters Lightning Bolt and Electrelane plus a Not So Secret Now Secret on underground festivals happening this year... So if you know of one or are running on email me at onemusic@bbc.co.uk and we'll include you in our mini guide!

This weekend on the Blue Room I'm doing a transcendental meditation soundtrack for anyone feeling a bit jaded as we reach the halfway point of the year... Don't listen to it while driving a combine harvester or using a drill - I wont be responsible for you dozing off on the job.

Listen in my good people and see you on the other side...