|
This is the Athletica Newsletter - a bi-weekly mail out curated by a new artist every volume, with a Spotify playlist, a BuyMusicClub list to buy those tracks on Bandcamp, and a section for curators to write whatever they want!
It also includes a link to a Bla(c)k Lives Matter resource, updated regularly (see up top).
This volume is curated by Johnny Lieu.
|
Johnny Lieu is a DJ, co-host of one of FBi Radio's longest running club shows, Spin The Bottle, and a Sydney dance floor main stay.
Equally as comfortable among techno heads as he is pop connoisseurs, Johnny's sound has morphed and shifted over the years. It currently rests in a niche of regional US club, percussive UK sounds, and local cuts from the underground - a potent blend for our imaginary nights out.
If it wasn't for COVID Johnny would've played Athletica alongside Core Self, Munasib, and Monako earlier in the year, but *shakes fist at pandemic* it was not to be. Instead, you can get acquainted with him via his many mixes on Soundcloud, including his latest for Triple J's Mix Up.
|
|
Music Johnny Lieu Likes...
|
|
|
A who's who of Baltimore and Jersey club, with some UKG and juke thrown in for good measure. Ideal soundtrack for a socially distanced summer hang or sitting in a patch of lock-down sun.
|
|
|
There are a couple of the above tracks available on Bandcamp, but the real stand outs on this list are the cuts Johnny has selected just for BuyMusicClub. Special mention to Bapari's Mariah flip which is b e g g i n g to be played on a sound system, and Sevy x Bayang's new, brooding EP, notfromhere, produced by Utility with a hefty dose of West Syd excellence.
|
|
|
Before I start talking about myself, I wanted to shout out Radio Skid Row’s fundraiser which you can donate to here (they also have really cool merch!!). Community radio is so important for fostering emerging voices, and RSR are particularly focused on BIPOC programming, representing more than 70 percent of their schedule.
Inexplicably, RSR has lost all their operational funding and are now looking to become independent, which obviously costs a lot of money. So if you have a couple of bucks spare, please consider chipping in!
|
|
|
For myself, and I’m sure for many of you, I miss the mental and physical release of being at the club. Admittedly it’s been nice to take a break from it all given the pandemic, and rethink what it means to have a sense of balance in terms of being less busy, and also my overall health.
In particular, it’s been really nice to rediscover how much I enjoy playing sports with friends, which now is my ideal form of self-care. This year, I joined a mixed soccer team -- despite not having played properly in more than 11 years! It was definitely a difficult battle when it came to my fitness, but I don’t regret it one bit. I think I’d probably keep playing and go out less when things return to normal, tbh.
I also regularly play tennis with my Spin The Bottle co-host Ry at the Marrickville Hardcourt Tennis Club, which is a hidden gem (they also have pretty cheap beers for the area). It’s great because I don’t enjoy running, but I also have something to look forward to when you’ve been stuck at home and haven’t had much human contact all day long.
|
|
|
My other release from the day-to-day is doing Ry and I’s show on FBi Radio. It’s been tricky during the pandemic, trying to get guests to send in mixes when usually we’d have them live in the studio, or pre-recording half of the show from home at the height of the pandemic when only one of us was allowed in the studio. It was a learning curve figuring out how to edit interviews in Ableton given most of my experience is doing these live (I now use Hindenburg, which is a great tool if you’re newer to podcasting or editing like I am).
On the flipside, it’s meant that we’ve been able to field guest mixes from around the country and the world. We’ve had peeps like DJ Noir from Juke Bounce Werk, davOmakesbeats, DJ Nativesun, kāmna from Naarm, to name a few.
|
|
|
Other than that I have nothing really exciting to add, and that’s fine for 2020 I reckon. Oh, I did find this Twitter account called @ringtonebangers that posts the best ringtones from old mobile phones. It’s fun.
|
|
|
|
|
