Minimix 18: Dj Rosko

This weeks mini-mix comes from Dj Rosko AKA Dubliner and Event Junkies founder Ross Killeen. After a disaster involving some 1’s and 0’s Ross was brought ever closer to the age old custom that started this process in the first place. Better to let him explain . Take it away…

About a year ago my hard drive died. All my mp3’s were on it. I didn’t have them backed up. They’re gone.

For a few days I was upset but then realised that I had absolutely no affinity or connection with any of it. Just a bunch of files on a disk. No memories of acquisition, no recollections of artwork or stories of discovery. No value.

This short mix is all about the connection you have with your music, the joy of seeking out and finding music you love and the memories associated with particular tracks.

Big thanks to the Synth crew for hosting.

Enjoy!

Track 1
Aretha Franklin – Rocksteady (taken from the 2nd Rosko show)
Buenos Aires, Argentina 2004
Emperor Rosko was a radio jock from the 60’s. He had a show on Radio Caroline and now has the world’s first 3D website – no messing, really.. http://www.emperorrosko.co.uk/. He also invented the mobile disco which might go some way to explaining how he ended up in a crate in Buenos Aires. This was Volume 2 in a series of soul compilations he put together.
It’s not often that you come across a record with your name on it so when you do, you have got to buy it.

Track 2
Fleetwood Mac – Brown Eyes
Wolverhampton, UK 2000

One of the delights of record shopping is coming across the original version of a sample. That smug feeling never fails to elicit a satisfied grin I tell thee. This track was sampled by DJ Shadow for Lost and Found on Mo Wax
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWY8_Zuu1zM (spot the other sample). It was discovered in a half-hardware, half-record shop in Wolverhampton. A year spent in Wolves was often dull but never in this place.

Track 3
Ken Boothe – Drum Song
Blackberry Fair, Rathmines, Dublin 2002

There used to be a market in Rathmines every Sunday. Old Commodore 64’s, grubby armchairs and terrible paintings were lost and found. Most of the traders were just there for the buzz though and not too bothered if they made any money or not. There was a guy who used to come down with a box of 45’s that he’d constantly be refreshing, going back to his stash every week to replenish his stock. He sold me this classic from Ken Boothe.

Track 4
The Clash – Equaliser
Final Vinyl, Camden St, Dublin 2002

After coming home from Wolverhampton I got a job working for the boss from hell. Days spent in his presence were cheerless and unrewarding. Luckily my lunch-breaks spent in Final Vinyl on Camden St (now a T-Shirt shop?) were the complete opposite. The Clash’s Triple album “Sandinista” either captured them at their creative peak or indulgent cliff but whatever way you look at it there were moments of greatness on there…

Track 5
West African Cosmos – Sumasanone
Sydney, Australia 2008

I was in Sydney. I’d decided on a $100 budget. I had $200 worth of records I wanted in front of me. I was working out the permutations of what I could fit into that allowance. If you leave a record behind you may never see it again. It’s important you get this decision right. Consequences were considered, a deal was struck and this album was thrown in for free. Sweet deal…

Track 6
Pharoah Saunders – The Gathering
Freebird Records, Eden Quay, Dublin 2000
Anyone who ever shopped in Freebird on Eden Quay will remember the guy who used to work there. Tutting, sneering and frowning were his default position on records being handled incorrectly or attempting the mortal sin of trying to bring more than three records to the listening post. Thankfully he wasn’t working the day I walked in to hear this stunning music playing the shop. I asked the guy who it was, he told me it was Pharoah Saunders. I walked out with it under my arm – a contented patron.

Track 7
Gilberto Gil – Bat Macumba
On the Street, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2004

I lived in a hostel in Rio for a year. Rio is a great city for digging and most of my spare cash went on rummaging around the many stores in the city. Days were spent knee deep in Brazilian pressings of old U2, Smiths and Cure records. There were street vendors everywhere as well who just laid out their collection on the street and I bought this beauty from one of them.

Track 8
Lemon D – Urban Style Music
Outlaw Records, Middle Abbey St., Dublin 1997

One of the first record shops I ever went into was Outlaw Records. Located on Middle Abbey St near where the Twisted Pepper is now, it was the spot to head to on Friday afternoon with the fresh wage packet. The routine was always the same. Go in, ask what was new, listen to the records they’d pull out, talk about them in between listens, select your 3 or 4 favourites, buy them, head home on the bus eagerly fingering the sleeve. This tunes represents those days.

Track 9
Ice Cube – It was a Good Day
On the street, Manhattan, New York City 2001

Hard to believe but at one stage, hip hop wasn’t all that popular in Dublin. As a result, it was really hard to find on vinyl. So when you found yourself in New York you were duty bound to stock up. Walking through Alphabet City one day, there was a guy selling records on the street as they do. Flicking through the first few and I quickly realised that this was a prize haul. Every second record was something I’d had on a mix-tape growing up and had since wanted to own. Fifty dollars and a handshake later and I’m walking home with a bag of 90’s hip hop gold. It was a good day..

If you would like to listen to other mixes in the series. Click here.
If you hate streaming you can download here.