Sources of Uncertainty is 6
My little radio show is growing up, or at least growing laterally.
Yesterday, the 80th episode of Sources of Uncertainty went out on ddr. I’ve been doing it since 2018, a long time, but feels like no time, six years is the perfect amount of time for such a phenomenon.
You can listen to the latest show here, and have a look at the tracklist.
https://www.mixcloud.com/DublinDigitalRadio/sources-of-uncertainty-ep-80-220824/
Forest Management - Chrono High
Slacking - The Eye
Sawn Half - Dissolution
Catastrophe - White Rainbow
Michiko Ogawa - REHBERGE, BERLIN - SUMMER 2023
Jo Montgomerie - route
Oishi - Part III
Ocean Floor - Return
For this one, I’ve leaned into the noisier side of things, that’s very true to my listening habits of the last while, a few things included I had just read about in the latest Rocker (thanks Dave Krim Kram for the Irish distribution), and thanks to Jamie of Germsville for the Slacking tip on his recent mix.
In terms of noise, part of the increased listening is working on Glottal Stop, which I gigged for the first time at the start of the month, supporting Ryosuke Kiyasu. I have an album, maybe more, worth of recordings too, which I’ll try do as a ‘quick’ release, realistically that probably means by the end of the year. But I’d rather it be good than prompt so we’ll see.
I’ve enjoyed marking the anniversary of the ddr show, it’s been a very positive thing being able to make an hour long mix once a month for that long. I have little rules for myself on what I play and it’s fun putting it together, not always easy, as I try and keep it fresh, but it’s never been a slog. I have a big archive of shows here, all with tracklists added, I sometimes listen back to random episodes and always enjoy them, that’s the nice thig about playing other people’s music.
You can find the whole archive here.
I’ve gotten some people in to do guest mixes including:
Joseph Kielthy (ROY SPLEEN)
Lighght (including an audio interview)
Amanda Feery (she’s done a few, this and this also)
Dave Murphy (Krim Kram)
Irene Buckley
Sean Clancy, who also did an interview with me
Phil Maguire
I always like having a guest show, I have plans for more soon.
Over the time I’ve been doing it, different people have told me they like the show, I’m never sure if it’s politeness (‘great set man’ for the radio world) or genuine interest, but it’s very enjoyable to put something out in the world like that, and never really track who engages with it actively. The music I play is niche enough, but I don’t ever feel there’s anything too off putting about the shows. Being the one making them, I wouldn’t really have any perspective there though.
I have many opinions that flit in and out of my head about DIY, experimental music, electronic music and the whole world of things I try and represent on the show, and I’m not really interested in naysaying (in relative public at least, a recreational saying of nay is a fine pastime), but I do like to think there’s a capacity to be a critical presence by pushing out what you believe in. With that, what I don’t believe in is the need to ‘promote’ or push music, engagement happens through interest, and that, even when it’s a slog, is part of the beauty of DIY, of niche scenes, of being a bit weird and embracing that. So I don’t really care about putting everything somewhat within the remit of the show on, but I like to keep it honest. Not because I consider myself a tastemaker, but the opposite, I’m a tasteshower and I intend being accurate with how I show that.
Having said that, the sentiment always exists, and I embrace it, that if you like something, go buy it or support whoever made it however you can. I’m my entire adult life engaged in DIY music and I still like how few degrees of separation there can be between the person who made some music and the listener, it’s nice to practice that closeness, and I’d argue, crucial. Digital engagement with music is fine but a follow-up of genuine engagement and not just making lists and giving thumbs up to things feels a whole lot better than a newsfeed based engagement with music. I don’t really mean buy every physical media you can, I probably just mean it’s good to be talking to each other.
At the start of the year, I recreated the photo I use for the show, and other places, like this substack, to represent the backyard of the house I now live in. See below to track how I am aging. Doing better than the washing line at least.
That’s it, thanks for listening if you do, likewise for reading.