Blogariddims 2

A busier than usual schedule prevented me from posting much this week, so I haven't made an 'official' announcement. Blogariddims restarted on Monday with an episode from Nick Guttabreakz and an almost sublime mix of dubstep, techno and grime which echoes Paul Autonomics Moving South mix with which we concluded the first year of casts.

There can be little doubt that, from an innovatory angle, Electronic Dance Music is currently stuck in one of it's occasional fallow periods, with no radically new options on the agenda. Although 'stasis' might be too strong a term, then certainly it is a time of Consolidation: to paraphrase Simon Reynolds, the delicate balance between Rootical and Futuroid is firmly tipped towards the former. Bar the odd maverick sound-chemist (For techno see Villalobos, for dubstep check Shackleton) dance music is slowly eating itself, gorging on it's past glories. So what're you gonna do? Sit around moaning because you're not getting your regular 'Shock of the New' fix? Start listening to barely-listenable transmissions from the experimental fringes or, god forbid, the Arctic Monkeys instead? Me, I'm perfectly happy with the situation right now. It's given me a bit of breathing space to really delve back into much-loved sound worlds that I'd left behind years ago.

It's an excellent mix, highly listenable, with Nick's always articulate commentary providing an educational accompaniment. All in all, a great start to a new year of casts.

As for future plans? I'm going to stick with tradition and not reveal the schedule for the next 12 months, but we've tried to keep it as eclectic as ever - there's a few familiar faces in there, a few relatively unknown (but obscenely talented) contributors, and a few (I hope) big surprises. As always you can subscribe here, or download individual episodes (and the back catalogue) without subscribing here.