"Indie" type tune remix's

I recently asked on the DJH forum for recommendations for remix's of "indie" (oh how I hate that word) tunes. Of all the great suggestions these two were the stand out ones for me and now get "played out" regularly.

Late Of The Pier - The Bears Are Coming-Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Remix - wonderfully bonkers, listen out for the sound of Sweep (Sooty's pal) get buggered towards the end ...



and Moon Song (The Gospel According To Mung 2012 Live At The Hacienda Version) by They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - that's just a sample. The full thing is 12 minutes of riotous, joyful, danceable fun and I love it. You can buy it here - This Is Not A Shop

Bad Bernie

I've been after a copy of this song for ages. I think I first heard it in a Lost Vagueness tent somewhere and was reminded of it again in the Trailer Trash tent at Beat-Herder a few weeks ago. I don't know anything about the band - Load - but I finally managed to find the track on a Lost Vagueness compilation.
Vamp it up in your best sleazy style to ...

One of my all time favorite songs

A sublime meeting of classic Shangrilas' style teen ballad and finger-in-the-ear, Arran sweater wearing folk music.

Fish Pie

1 cod fillet – about 300g
1 smoked haddock fillet (preferably undyed) – about 200g
250cc milk
500g spinach thoroughly cleaned
150g good strong cheddar cheese, grated
1kg potatoes (preferably Maris Piper)
25g butter
20g corn flour
250ml milk
Some chopped flat leaf parsley
salt freshly ground pepper

Extra milk and butter for the mash

Depending on how long your oven takes to reach 200c turn it on at sometime during the proceedings so it's ready to put the pie in when it's assembled.
First prepare the seperate bits:

Scrub the spuds then cut them into 5cm chunks with peeling them. Boil in lightly salted water for about 15 mins til soft. Leave them til they're cool enough to handle and then peel the skin off with your fingers. Mash or put through a ricer with a knob of butter and a splash of milk.
Cut both bits of fish in to 4. While the spuds are cooking gently poach the fish in the milk either over a low light on the hob or ping it in the microwave. Either way it should only take 5 mins or so and should be slightly under cooked.
Steam the spinnach for about 7 or 8 minutes then squeeze it dry and chop it up finely.
Melt the 25g of butter over a low heat in a non enamel saucepan add the corn flour and stir with a wooden spoon getting rid of any lumps, cook gently for a minute or 2 then pour in the milk from the fish stirring constantly. Keep stirring it and watch til it thickens then turn the heat right down and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Keep stirring or it'll burn. It should be the consistency of thin cream – add some more milk if it looks too thick. Take off the heat and stir in the parsley and the cheese saving a bit to go on top later. Taste it and add some salt if it needs it (it might not because of the fish and the cheese) and planty of freshly ground pepper.
You've got all the bits now you need to assemble the pie:
In a buttered oven proof dish put the spinnach in a layer on the bottom. Arrange the pieces of fish on top (you can add prawns or cooked shell fish of your choice if you want at this stage). Pour the cheese sauce over the top. Spoon the mashed spuds over the top of that and even it out and makes pretty patterns with a fork, Sprinkle some of the grtated cheese over the top. Put it in the oven for 25 to 35 mins til it's brown. The sauce can bubble over so it's a good idea to put a tray underneath to catch and drips and save then burning on to your oven.

Here's some of the artwork for fliers for the occasional Dig That Crazy Beat night at Nelson's Wine Bar in Hebden Bridge











Obviously images purloined from film posters and record sleeves.

I've put together some big posters and backdrops using Rasterbator - which is one of the best, most useful graphicsy things ever! And also Andrea Mosaic - which is equally cool.

A combination of the two meant I could make 2 meter square poster, pieced together from A4 sheets, made up of images of about 400 CD covers that, when viewed from a distance, looked like a giant vinyl album.
Not exactly great art but it look good on the night. The great art comes next .... I'm working on it.

Zarzuela

My version of the classic Spanish fish stew.


Olive oil for frying
1 glass white wine
½ glass sherry
2 bay leaves
dozen or so clams and the same of mussels
1 medium Spanish onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 or 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
smoked paprika
small dried chili chopped or the equivelant in dried chili flakes
150g hake
150g monk fish
1 medium sized squid
4 langoustine
4 big raw prawns
corn flour
½ glass of pernod or similar
a handful of fresh chopped parsley

Put wine, sherry and bay leaves in a large pan and bring to boil – add the clams and mussels and cook gently with the lid on for a few minutes until they open (chuck away any that don't open). Remove them from the pan, strain the liguid and put to one side.
Gently fry onion and garlic 'til just going transparent (don't brown). Add the tomatoes and cook squishing them about til soft. Add a big pinch of paprika and the chili and continue cooking 'til it's nice and thick.
Cut the fish and squid into chunks and dust with the flour then gently fry in a big casserole - start with the firmest fish first - 'til golden. Add pernod and boil off the alcohol or have some fun and set light to it! Add the tomato sauce and the liquid the clams and mussels were cooked in and enough water to just cover the fish (if needed), give it a stir and simmer for 10 - 15 mins. Stir in parsley and season to taste.
Serve with fresh, crusty bread.