Tales From A Disappearing City
Hosted from a South London tower block by Neil Keating aka Controlled Weirdness. Tales from a Disappearing City is a chance for Neil to tell some untold subcultural stories from past and present, joined by friends from his lifelong journey through subterranean London. Neil is a veteran producer and DJ and has been at the front line of all aspects of club and sound system culture since the early 80’s. His musical CV includes playing everywhere from plush clubs to dirty warehouses as well as mixing tunes on a variety of iconic London pirate radio stations. He has released music on numerous underground record labels and was responsible for promoting and playing at a series of legendary early raves in the USA at the start of the 90’s. He still DJ's in the UK and throughout Europe and beyond and has an eclectic and seriously deep collection of music built up over time that reflects an appreciation of all elements of the London groove. Neil currently runs Presence Unknown, a vinyl and digital label dedicated to releasing music influenced by his love of Electro, Acid House and Rave. He also does a monthly show on Threads radio where his aim as always is to play you some amazing music that you have never heard before.
Tales From A Disappearing City
Episode 22 - Early influences: Skating, Breakbeats and Pirate Radio - special guest - Jerome Hill
Join me for part one of my two-part conversation with Jerome Hill, a DJ and producer renowned for his top-notch skills behind the turntables. Since his first gig back in 1990, Jerome has been mixing and scratching up an eclectic storm, always armed with a selection guaranteed to rock any party. Jerome also runs a diverse range of record labels across multiple genres and styles. These include:
- Don't for fucked up party techno
- Super Rhythm Trax for acid, bleeps, and house grooves
- Hornsey Hardcore for raved up beats
- Fat Hop for cut-up hip-hop inspired mash-ups
In this first episode, we talk about our shared love for the underground electronic and hip-hop music scenes in the UK in the late 80s and early 90s, sharing stories and reminiscing about formative musical experiences from that era. Some topics discussed are:
- Jerome's roots in West London, exploring how skateboarding and graffiti culture shaped his early years
- The musical legacy passed down by his father, a session musician who introduced Jerome to the foundations of rock and roll and R&B
- The late 1980s pirate radio scene, with Jerome sharing his experiences listening to stations like CLR and Fantasy FM and legendary DJs like Hype who were blending house, techno, and early breakbeat
- The diverse early 90s UK electronic music scene, including discussion of some classic tunes and record shops
- Early UK hip-hop crews such as Criminal Minds, Hijack, Hardnoise, and Gunshot and how they influenced rave culture
Part Two coming soon.
https://www.youtube.com/@ControlledWeirdness
https://open.spotify.com/artist/20nC7cQni8ZrvRC2REZjOI
https://www.instagram.com/controlledweirdness/
https://controlledweirdness.bandcamp.com/
Theme song is Controlled Weirdness - Drifting in the Streets
https://open.spotify.com/track/7GJfmYy4RjMyLIg9nffukt
Hosted from a South London tower block by Neil Keating aka Controlled Weirdness. Tales from a Disappearing City is a chance for Neil to tell some untold subcultural stories from past and present, joined by friends from his lifelong journey through subterranean London. Neil is a veteran producer and DJ and has been at the front line of all aspects of club and sound system culture since the mid 80’s when he first began to go to nightclubs, gigs, and illegal parties. His musical CV includes playing everywhere from plush clubs to dirty warehouses as well as mixing tunes on a variety of iconic London pirate radio stations. He has released music on numerous underground record labels and was responsible for promoting and playing at a series of legendary early raves in the USA at the start of the 90’s. He still DJ's in the UK and throu...
