released April 4, 2023

Album compiled by Adrian Bell and Sharpella the Sheffield Peregrine Falcon; she can be found here most days - peregrine.group.shef.ac.uk

1. Blackmail Blues by Extra Life from the album Secular Works (2008), written by Charlie Looker. Saw them live at Café OTO in Jan 2023, and trust me, they were about as good as it is possible to get. extralife.bandcamp.com

2. Rose Parkington, They Would Not Let You Leave by Regal Worm from the album Pig Views (2016), written by Jarrod Gosling, who had the good sense to be born into a Sheffield United-supporting family, the location of his studio giving rise to the album title, thus ostracising a few thousand people in the Steel City, who, if they had any sense would overlook this in view of his incredible musicianship. regalworm.bandcamp.com

3. Dogs by ARMY of MOTHS from The Canine Trilogy EP (2021), written by da MOFFS themselves, probably on all-fours, but let's not go into that. In many ways they could be considered the house band of The Progressive Alternative, especially as only an ultra-PROG band would do a concept trilogy. I once mixed this song up with Dogs by Pink Floyd and upset some Roger Waters fans. armyofmoths.bandcamp.com

4. Pagus by Venus Loon aka Peter Lawson, from the new album 10 of Swords (2023, obviously), written by the man himself. He's a talented chap, you know, and it just proves how far you can go by cheekily emailing me to say, "I think you'll like my music," even if it takes me several months to reply. peterlawson.bandcamp.com

5. Learning by PsychoYogi, music and lyrics by Chris Ramsing, with whom the copyright remains, as well as giving me permission to use this one and track 11. When you see them play live you will wonder how they make such quirky complexity seem so catchy and smooth. Clever! psychoyogi.bandcamp.com

6. Progg Is A Five Letter Word by Sproingg, from the album Clam (2020), all music written/improvised by Sproingg, Germany's finest. Erik Feder, who drums with Sproingg, has been listening to the show since episode 1, which really shows dedication. They were also the first band to send me an album for free in my then-new capacity as a radio presenter. They've got a new album coming out in May 2023, and it has a track on it which tips the wink to my nickname. Chuffed to bits! sproingg.bandcamp.com/album/hirnk-se

7. This Is Not A Fire (Lockdown Version) by Thumpermonkey, from their compilation album A Short Guide To... (2022), one of those "does what it says on the tin" album titles. Written by Thumpermonkey, but did I ever mention that they played at the launch party for my Cardiacs book? No, well, let me tell you (drones on for several hours). thumpermonkey.bandcamp.com

8. Toledo (The Imperial City) by La Luna E Le Stelle, from the EP Toledo (2021), Mike Hewetson is quite possibly the world's most prolific musician - rarely does a month go by when my Bandcamp notifications aren't pinging away with a new release by Manikin Timeshark or La Luna... I chose this piece particularly because it became the soundtrack to my niece, Vanessa's, wedding in September 2022 which took place in, you guessed it, Toledo in Spain, a quite breath-taking city.
lalunaelestelle.bandcamp.com

9. Danny Jones by Bending Shapes, previously unreleased but recorded during the sessions that spawned the album Uncomfortable Songs About Life, which was my Album Of The Year for 2021. I'm trusting the credits are the same as those for the album, namely: Music & production - Neil Spragg; Lyrics & vocal - Libbertine Vale. bendingshapes.bandcamp.com

10. Managed Decline On The Orford Ness by Craig Fortnam, from the album Ark (2021), the first solo album from the man behind North Sea Radio Orchestra and Arch Garrison. He's a Cardiacs fan to boot, and indeed, him and his mates once gave me a lift the last 200 yards to Keele University when I was hitchhiking to a Cardiacs gig in 1988. Happy days. craigfortnam.bandcamp.com/music

11. Magnate Caper by PsychoYogi, lyrics and music, permission and copyright, all provided by Chris Ramsing, who also tells me that both the songs on this compilation were recorded for an album called Delusions of Grandeur, recorded in 2009 but never actually released. Catchiness like this deserves to be released. Here's their Discogs page: www.discogs.com/artist/5417829-Psychoyogi

12. Transmission by Emme Phyzema from the album A Series of Related Dreams (2020). Emme is from the US of A, and she is one crazy lady, especially musically. If she didn't send me such nice emails, she would probably scare me a bit. emmephyzema.bandcamp.com/music

13. The Levitant by Michael Woodman, from the album Psithurism (2021); Thumpermonkey's Mr Woodman is responsible for quadrupling my vocabulary through his lyrics, even though I have no idea what any of the words mean, and as with this album title, I'm even less likely to be able to pronounce it correctly. michaelwoodman.bandcamp.com/album/psithurism

14. Head Up by Franz Yuzef from his self-titled album (2021), the vinyl of which (2022) took quite some time to arrive on these shores from Israel, but it was worth the wait, especially as he'd signed it (albeit the sleeves got mixed up somewhere over land and sea). Loves his Cardiacs, loves his football - there's everything to love here! yuzef.bandcamp.com/music

15. Fly Me Back To Suspended Animation by This Heel was a single released in 2020 that appeared on a compilation called The 2020 Singles, written and performed by Martin Månsson Sjöstrand. Alternative music is at it's very best when it's catchy pop tunes. thisheel1.bandcamp.com

16. Artificial Guitar by Emmett Elvin from the album Being of Sound Mind (2022), written by the man himself one assumes, who, when he's not getting bonkers noises from his keyboards in Knifeworld and Guapo, he's releasing solo albums via Bad Elephant Music, one of the best record labels in the universe. emmettelvin.bandcamp.com/music

17. The Carot Space Cake Drone by Volker Lankow, previously unreleased. Volker Lankow is my go-to guy for an ambient drone to end a show, so it seemed only right to end this sampler album with the very same. volkerlankow.bandcamp.com

All the artists, artistes, and whatnot gave their permission for these pieces of music to appear, and copyright remains with the writer/artist, of course.

Big thanks to David Elliott of Bad Elephant Music for sound advice. Big love to the Beautiful Sonia from Brackley.

Sheffield United, Sheffield Peregrine Falcons - it's unconditional.

Brooklands Radio in Weybridge, Surrey, deserve a medal as big as a bin-lid for letting me do a show.

Mind Matters Surrey - fellas, don't ever be afraid to speak to this lot.