Moonbeam Levels

Hello sunshine! Agh, this London furnace is all-consuming. Is the world still burning where you are? Walking feels like a major achievement at the moment, never mind scouring the world day and night for music to write about and play to you. My eyeballs are stuck to my lids (out to the blepharitis crew), my body is turning a cold shower warm in seconds and food just don’t hit like it used to. A man...

Hello pod people, How’s it all going? Summer is almost here in the UK, as is another political circus and a World Cup. What a time. So … I’ve been thinking about the hip-hop instrumental and 2000s’ beat culture, in particular. The spark being Flying Lotus first album 1983 , which was released exactly two decades ago. That’s mad. I remember picking up the record on my first trip to NYC and thinking...

Hello, How are you feeling? As I write this little covering note, Lewisham is bathing in sunshine and the plants are about to bloom. My dog can roam in the park without his snood and I don’t have to whine (as much) about the daily clean-up, particularly those ears that swipe up all the street gunk like extra-large flannels. Finchy is a loveable rogue but he is work. The tracksuit bottoms are about...

KWES – Orange Blue [Warp] I consider one-time Lewisham resident Kwes a singer-songwriter at the root, because that’s how I first met him in 2009 with the track ‘Tissues’ . On more recent Warp releases he’s been experimenting with an ever-widening palette of noises, creating these little idiosyncratic universes of sound, tuff but sweet. ‘LGOYH’, last heard on his Rye Lane Soundtrack a few years ago...

After easing into the new year with a home-based episode of Moonbeam Levels , the plan was to come to the Sister Midnight FM studio with a special guest in tow for February. One of Lewisham’s greatest success stories who has ventured far and wide in his pursuit of a sound to call his own. But it wasn’t to be, so I had to pivot at the last minute. I’ve been listening to a lot of Jill Scott recently...

Ello! One twelfth of 2026 has already gone 🤯 How’s it been for you? January is always what I would call hard yards. Slowly thawing from Christmas, chasing the light and straining to act on all those resolutions – though rituals are far more important, ok. Getting back to basics is my way of trying to ease in. Part of that is renewing my commitment to these monthly radio sessions. The gradual proc...

Season’s greetings! As I was climbing a mountain in Wales last weekend with my doggie (more on that soon), I had to miss studio day at Sister Midnight FM . Short of time and eager to offer something to counter the winter chill, I thought, why not release volume five of Singers, Songs & Strings ? This is a series I started in 2010 to celebrate the bare beauty and sacred mystery of songwriting. Most...

Last Tuesday was heavy. Already in the quicksand of loss, I had a very physical response to the news that D’Angelo had left us. I stood in the kitchen for almost half an hour, winded, pacing around… Freshly chopped onions and garlic left to dry out as a chilling air suddenly enveloped the night and swiped my appetite. This wasn’t some melodramatic reaction to the end of a parasocial relationship....

Ello you, How’s things? I am still chasing my dog’s tail while dealing with death admin and the grief of it all. Meanwhile, Winter is coming in fast and there I am being yanked around a soggy London park at 7.30am in shorts and sodden shoes. A man at odds with the world and out of season. On Friday, I returned to Dad’s place to continue the clearout and was overwhelmed by an avalanche of food tubs...

Hello friends, It’s almost knitwear season in the UK. Let’s look to the positives, eh. Can I play you some music? This was partly recorded live in the SE London studios of Sister Midnight FM , before my pup cut the broadcast. Naughty boy. But ‘mixtape’ is part of the ML concept, so we pivoted in the aftermath. Please let me know what you’re into! ✌🏾 MAL WALDRON – Candy Girl [Strut] Those familiar...

When an old friend offers to speak to you about their first novel before anyone else, you grab the chance with both hands. Stef Macbeth and I used to work at the same agency, writing words for clients and trying to make them meaningful. But really, our greatest thing in common is music, specifically [small ‘c’] club culture. A respect for the craft of DJ’ing and remixing as genuine forms of creati...

Hiya 👋🏾 Well, what can I say? It’s been a heavy few months with the unexpected passing of my father and the cumulative effect of daily puppy trials. Everything feels like a chore. All I could manage was to blend a selection that made an impression in the dark fog of my mind. See what you think. Float from ambient and experimental spaces to more upbeat and energising rhythms, before reaching for...

I am drawn to the elusive ones. Artists who dwell in those in-between spaces — liminal, amorphous, ephemeral – particularly musicians who are often pigeonholed and pegged to genres. That’s why Ghanaian-born, Peckham-raised Sam Akpro stood out from the jump. There’s almost constant motion in his music, where a song might take us from a grungey raw riposte to a hazy soundscape in a few minutes. Noct...

Greetings! I managed to fend off my possessed new Basset Hound puppy for a few hours to bring you the next episode. He is adorable … sometimes 😈 But will I ever focus again? 🤔 As always, feedback is oxygen. So please write back, either below or on socials @amarofpatel. Which artists caught your ear? Which gigs have you been to? Who is Moonbeam Levels material? How do you get a hound to stop snif...

Eh up! Presenting my world in sound over the past four months or so. My end-of-year, on-the-eve gift to you. Minimal chat – just mega minutes of brilliance across time and space. Music to hibernate with, reflect on or have a little kitchen bop to with loved ones over the holidays. Thoughts and feedback to [at] amarofpatel on socials or you can write to me in the comments. Please support the artist...

Probably your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper, Daniel Dumile has had many aliases and alter egos in his career as an MC and producer. Zev Love X (with KMD), MF DOOM, Metal Face, Metal Fingers, Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah or just DOOM. Hip-hop has never known anyone like him. An enigmatic figure with a mindblowing and often comedic command of language, DOOM was the monotone master of multisyll...

Compiled and blended by AmAr Patel @amarofpatel ANJA NGOZI – Sunnyside LLOYD MILLER – Mello Cello [FountainAVM] RAJI RAGS – Enchanté (featuring Raven Rush) PREFUSE 73 – Onboard, Overboard [Lex] SESSA – Gostar do Mundo (Demo) [Mexican Summer] NX WORRIES – MoveOn [Stones Throw] OHIO PLAYERS – Summertime [Charly] LARHONDA LEGETTE – Thou Art With Me [Numero] ANKANUM – Song of The Motherland [Native Re...

Eh up, people! An expanded edition from London Town on a style and period of music that’s very close to my body and soul. When most people think of 80’s music with synths and drum machines, the usual electro-pop suspects come to mind: Kraftwerk, Moroder, Depeche Mode, Human League, Gary Numan, maybe Patrick Cowley. What we should be talking about is how black musicians quietly – ok, maybe not so q...

– click on each track to purchase – IASOS – The Angels of Comfort [Numero] LAUREL HALO – Belleville [Awe] (Laurel Halo live at Jazz Cafe, London – 5 June) SUN RA – Love in Outer Space (solo live @Haverford College, 1980) BOJAN DROBEŽ – Krog Na Vodi [NTS] GANAVYA – I walk again, eyes towards the Sky [Native Rebel Recordings] ROLAND P YOUNG – Estimationism [EM Records] SC SHARMA – Dance Music 1 [Sta...

Amp Fiddler – Grandma’s Radio (featuring Soundboy) [Ampliphonic]  https://ampfiddler.bandcamp.com/album/amp-dog-knights?from=embed Amp Fiddler – Too High (live on the Ralph Armstrong Show 2011)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwwPx0usQKY Amp Fiddler – Superficial (Amp’s Soul Special) [Camp Amp Studios] https://www.discogs.com/master/1173843-Amp-Fiddler-Rare-And-Unreleased Amp Fiddler – Heaven [St...

Moonbeam Levels 012 – November 2023Compiled and blended by AmAr Patel @amarofpatel www.imakesense.org ANDRÉ 3000 – I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A "Rap" Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time [Epic] https://shop.amyriadofpyramids.com/ https://tinyurl.com/andre3000-finds-himself CARLOS NINO & FRIENDS – Boom Bap Spiritual (featuring Surya Botofasina) [International Anthem]...