Vandezine!

And what a year it has been. Here at Vandelay Radio, we’ve probably had what must be our most exciting year yet. Our 4th year existence, we’ve emerged from lockdown and grown up a bit. A lot of things didn’t exist in 2021, including this publication you are currently reading. We weren’t doing live shows, our roster was half the size it currently is, and we weren’t having have as much fun as we’re currently having.

None of this was planned. We try our hardest to not take anything seriously, including operating as an online radio station, but we’ve learnt that with growth comes responsibility. Responsibility not to let our roster down, which from time to time we have. Responsibility to let our partners down, which again we have. Most importantly, responsibility not to let ourselves down. I mean I say “We” but really, it’s just me.

Yes, behind the keyboard, speaking to you currently through the words you’re currently reading is the elusive dare balogun, DJ, producer, writer and provocateur. For those unfamiliar, in 2015, myself and my dear friend Oliie Gordon started Vandelay Radio in a student house in Swansea, Wales. Not a lot of people know how we started, because no one seems to ask, or we tend to lie loads when we are asked. So here it is.

Before you read any further, be warned. The following is a not story, but an accurate recording of the origins of Vandelay Radio. A tale of struggle, strife and spite. What you read may shock you, aggravate you, and shake you to your core. I recommend you read this to music, specifically the soft soothing voice of Al Green in How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.

I’ve always loved music. If life is a movie, then music is the soundtrack. Most of my stand-out memories of the experiences I’ve had in life have a song attached to them - feeling the first flutters of love as an angsty teen in Cornwall (Theme From King Heroin - The J.B’s), getting lost in Vondelpark during a dramatic visit to Amsterdam (Arrival - Sun Kil Moon), moving to a boarding school in Lagos (No Place Like Home - S.E Rogie), losing a loved for the first time (It’ll All Be Over - Supreme Jubilees) - I could go on and on.

This is what drew me to producing, DJ’ing and radio, the idea of sharing what I love with others, trying to persuade people to listen to music I enjoy in the hope that they enjoy it too. My first experience with radio was a week working at BBC Radio Cornwall when I was 17 for work experience, where I shadowed a producer. I had no idea what he was doing, but I admired how he spent his whole day being around music.

When I got to university, I joined the Swansea’s student radio, Xtreme Radio. It was full of, for a lack of a better word, losers, much like myself who wanted to broadcast what they thought was good music to a handful of other losers. It was great to be in a studio for the first time, and say to people I’ve got a radio show.

I spent the entirety of my first and second year committed to Xtreme Radio, getting guests on my show, travelling to Bristol to review bands and DJing at the Student Union events. By my third and final year, I had gotten my chops - produced and signed my first EP, started playing out a bit more regularly on the Swansea circuit, and was even throwing parties with my dear pals. Quick pause while I reminisce on truly golden times.

I decided to run for Head of Specialist Music for Xtreme Radio, a spot on the committee to represent the DJs and more alternative shows - it was just really a title but I liked the idea of being the one that appeared to make decisions. I had no doubts I would win the election, but to make sure, I asked friends to join the station as well and vote for me. It was a lock - a guaranteed win. Imagine my surprise when I found out that my opponent in the election won - purely because I had been accused of stealing headphones in a previous fiasco.

I was sad. I wanted my final year to be the best year yet, and I felt betrayed by those I looked at as peers. That’s when I approached Ollie with the idea to start a radio station. We say now that our goal as a station is to provide a platform for DJs, producers and anyone interested in music to have their sounds and thoughts shared to a global audience, regardless of where they are and most importantly, who they are - but really when it was first started, it was out of a spite - a f*** you to those losers who said I couldn’t have a such a stupid title like head of specialist music because I may have stole some shitty Sony headphones.

I like to think I’ve moved on but I think it’s better for me to say it - damn all of you, I bet none of you weirdos don’t even do radio anymore - continue to look in envy as I continue to create something you could never do with your little student radio station, your tunes were dead anyway and majority of you dressed like shit, I was embarrassed to be associated with you. Sorry.

In the next year, we have so much planned. In 2023, we turn 5 years old. 5 years of building something bigger than just me and Ollie, building a community of people who care more about the music itself, rather than how it makes them appear to people. From our inception, I think we’ve made it clear that we don’t want to be with people that want to be a DJ because they think DJs are cool (ew!), but rather passion for the music should always be the primary driver.

There are a lot of terrible people in this fake idea of a scene, but we’ve been fortunate to meet some fantastic ones in our journey, people that continue to validate us and let us know that we’re not crazy for hating people for posting random DMs from strangers saying" “sick set last night” on their Instagram story. People that ask a mate to make sure they are recording them before playing some pre-prepared shite to a crowd of people don’t care what they are hearing because they are too inebriated to care.

The biggest turn off has always been seeing people gain perceived success through this social gesturing, reinforcing the notion that to be good at playing music to people, skill and passion is secondary - you just have to be a good attention-seeker. Whether it’s posting memes, silly selfies, gossip or using identity politics to avoid criticism - 2022 has been full of a lot of quite terrifying behaviour - people putting themselves first over the music, chasing fame, and using the community buzzword to pretend like they aren’t selling themselves.

We truly believe one of the biggest barriers to music being fun is people’s egos. Ego tends to be the root of a lot of nasty stuff in music, with people abusing perceived positions of power and entrenching their biases as the norm - we’ve witnessed constant examples of this in 2022.

This is why we will always continue to never take anything too seriously, as we enjoy ourselves a lot more when we don’t. The goal is to contribute to a future for music that isn’t just free and fair, but fun as well. We’ve got our birthday celebrations incoming, some exciting partnerships, a new roster and couple surprises in store.

So thank you, for listening, for playing, for engaging, for coming to our shows, for telling your friends, for everything. Without you, the listener, there wouldn’t be a point.

See you in 2023

Dare Balogun.
Captain

Real updates about the happenings and goings of Vandelay Radio.

BROADCAST RESUMES: Our new roster is primed and ready to begin broadcast - we’ll be resuming regular programming on the 2nd of January. Some familiar faces, some new ones - but all killer DJs and producers in their own right, outputting shows and mixes to thirsty listeners from Milan to Minsk.

GOOD MUSIC CLUB: The first Good Music Club of 2023 will be at Grow, Hackney on January 6th as part of Grow’s Join-In January. We’ll be playing usual stylings all night long alongside delicious food and drink from Grow’s kitchen - reserve a ticket here.

Tube music. Bike music. Walk music. Going to work music. Thinking about how we’ve all agreed to wage slavery music. Distract music. Dance music. Cry music. Do whatever you want music. It doesn’t matter music. Not even music. Gym music. Run music. Cooking music. Impressing music. Love music...

Kilo - psycho’n’odds, Tru Comers, Nativ, Buds

It turns out that French (and Swiss German) is just as romantic over 90’s inspired hip-hop beats, demonstrated in the killer track Swiss duo psycho’n’odds 9/10

Nowhere To Run (Instrumental South Side Mix) - Ashaye

When people start playing house music again, I pray I hear this on the dancefloor. 10/10

I Like It (I Wanna Be Where You Are) - Grand Puba

I have such an unhealthy obsession with 90’s hip-hop, demonstrated by how much I’ve listened to this track this year. Grand Puba flows skilfully on one of the most relaxing beats of all time. 10/10

M for Magic - Lomelda

Not a lot of tracks make you feel. M for Magic definitely does. 11/10

Bocón (Orestes Gomez Remix) - Raúl Monsalve y los Forajidos, Luzmira Zerpa

Orestes Gomez adds further groove to a wonderful combination of Ancestral Afro-Venezuelan, futuristic Latin jazz, raw funk and Afrobeat. 10/10

The Left Bank - Ryuichi Sakamoto, Robin Scott

In 1982, Ryuichi Sakamoto collaborated with Robin Scott to create something truly special - not quite synth-pop but something more. It sounds like not only like the end of an era, but the beginning of one as well. 11/10

Igbesi Aiye - Solomon Ilori

13 minutes of percussion by Nigerian drummer Solomon Ilori, with the added bonus of the super special Donald Byrd on trumpet. A real gem. 11/10

All these songs and more can be listened on our Spotify playlist and even better music and be enjoyed by tuning in to the station.

What’s going on? Updates from the murky streets of dance music.

ASQUITH WAS BAD, BUT WHAT ABOUT HIS FRIENDS? - Is the question that no one seems to want to ask because we’re all hypocrites. The same DJs who exploited real issues for the sake of social currency by constantly gesturing online have been put in a real pickle when challenged with the fact they were proudly affiliating with Jimmy Asquith. How do they explain that they were quick to cancel others but have remained silent on this particular issue without owning up to the fact that they are a hypocrite and have enabled individuals to do horrible things to people?

YOU ARE POOR, LET RA HELP - It’s all going wrong, isn’t it? It’s more expensive to live than ever. We say this as if living is a luxury. Have we lost our minds? Energy bills at record prices. More people pushed into poverty. Don’t fret! RA have published a helpful guide as to what do in a recession with fun tips like unionisation, merchandising and budgeting. Ideas like encouraging promoters to pay fairly, established DJs to use their privilege and uplift minorities, or more radical options such as paying reparations to exploited communities fail to appear.

YOU’RE NOT GOOD UNLESS PEOPLE TO TELL YOU - A DJ was reportedly in Berlin last night in the same club they played in the previous day and a couple approached them and said thank you for changing their life and went down to the floor and started kissing their feet and chanting their name. They then begged them to take all their money and said they would name their first born child after the said DJ. They allegedly even said that they listen to the said DJ while lovemaking and have become even more sexually compatible because of their music - the DJ was reportedly deeply touched.

Not a patty, nor a pasty and definitely not an empanada, these parcels of joy were introduced during British colonial rule but are truly Nigerian - a combination of spiced meat, veg and flaky buttery pastry, courtesy of the Vandelay Radio Test Kitchen. Bake more than you need, trust us.

Ingredients (makes 12):

For the pastry*

• 500 grams of plain flour (do not substitute with self-raising)

• 200g butter, cubed (the better the quality, the flakier the crust)

• 3 eggs

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

• 1/4 cup of super cold water

For the filling**

• 500g of minced beef

• 1 carrot

• 1 potato

• 1 large onion

• 1 cup of beef stock

• 1 teaspoon of Lion curry powder (nothing else compares)

• 1 teaspoon of thyme

• 1 x beef stock cube (Knorr perferably)

• Salt and pepper to taste

Shortcrust Pastry

1. In a bowl, sieve in the flour, salt and baking powder and whisk to combine. Ensure everything is as cold as possible and rub your holds in cold water before mixing the cubed butter until combined and crumbly.

2. Mix in the 2 eggs with the cold water and add it to the flour and butter mixture until a dough is formed - don’t over mix it here please! Once formed, wrap in cling film and keep in fridge until ready for use (at least 30 mins).

Meaty Filling

1. Dice and sauté your onion on medium-high heat until translucent, before adding diced carrots - continue to cook till soft before seasoning with salt and pepper.

2. Add your beef and continue to cook with onions and carrots till no longer pink. Dice your potatoes to super tiny cubes (about 1cm) and add to pan before pouring in beef stock. Leave to simmer for about 30 minutes.

3. Once stock is reduced, take off heat and add spices and mix thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and allow to cool completely. The filling should resemble a meaty sludge.

Assembly time!

1. Preheat oven to 175C (350F).

2. Get your dough out on a floured surface and portion into 12 equal-sized balls. Using a rolling pin roll out each ball into a circle about half a centimetre thick - use flour to prevent sticking.

3. Place about 2 tablespoons of the meaty filling in the bottom of half of each dough circle, leaving a border along the edge.

4. Fold the top half over the filling to form a semicircle, then press down gently around the edge to seal.

5. Poke the now formed pies with a fork to create a steam outlet (they will explode if you don’t), brush with a beaten egg and freshly ground pepper for aesthetic and taste.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Look in joy as you reminisce about your childhood - patiently wait till they cool unless you’ll burn your mouth. Share with love and feel free to store them, they’ll last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

*Feel free to buy pre-made shortcrust pastry but accept you will be judged and it won’t be as good.

**Remove the beef, double the veggies and swap beef stock with veg for a vegetarian version. Can also replace the beef for meat alternative such as Quorn.

The Vandelay Radio Test Kitchen is always on the look for talented cooks, chefs and dishwashers. Get in touch.

Next Door Records for allowing us to do Good Music Club in what has to be one of the best spaces for people to listen and enjoy music in London, putting with up with our terrible behaviour. Sorry for redlining, playing jungle while people are trying to enjoy their drink and saying horrible things on the mic after a few too many of your delicious wines.

The entire team at Peckham Audio including the wonderful Tom who took a chance and gave our first and second Live From club nights in London (both sold out!) and has continued to support us, while sharing a mutual appreciation for non-gentrified Jungle.

Platforms - you guys rock so so so much! From being residents on Vandelay from when we first started, inviting to us do a night together at Corsica Studios, and playing at all the shows we’ve done in London, there’s nothing but deep-seated love and affection for what you do, the music you play, and the people that you are.

Did you enjoy Vandezine! to the point that you would like to contribute? We’re always looking for like-minded individuals to join our roster, get in touch.