Thesis tunes

Balmorhea - Clamor (Prefuse 73 Remix)

Telepathic Fish co-founder DJ Food, aka one part of Openmind, takes us on a trip into the world of 90s chill out.

Strictly Kev likes the company of plants whilst working on music so that's handy for us isn't it?! We're assuming he's talking about a beautiful Calathea sitting in the corner for inspiration, tho his dream plant setup - a conservatory packed with Romanesco broccoli, trippy Caladiums, and Persian Shields - is something we'd be well on board with too.

Enough of the plant talk for a second and back to the music, ambient music to be clear. For those that weren't squatting in South London back in the early 90s, Openmind were the four-piece behind the mighty Telepathic Fish - the legendary ambient afterparty that transformed chill-out rooms from dub-playing afterthoughts into proper destinations.

Kev, along with Chantal Passamonte (Mira Calix, RIP), David Vallade, and Mario Aguera, started in a shared house above a shop with no neighbours to complain/bash the door down. What began as art school parties quickly grew into Sunday afternoon sessions in squatted venues - a former dole office in Brixton and even the derelict Roundhouse on New Year's Day. They hosted everyone from Aphex Twin to Mixmaster Morris among wall-to-wall mattresses, UV installations, and  Coldcut's Matt Black with his boundary pushing video projections.

The idea was simple: recreate that post-clubbing comedown vibe but on a massive scale, as an "aural and visual blanket" for club-rattled minds. They even published a fanzine called Mindfood and worked at the scene's hub, Ambient Soho record shop, helping shape what Simon Reynolds called a "wombeldelic sound-and-light bath" in contrast to the current trend of hardcore and it's relentless assault.

Thirty years on, that spirit's having a comeback. Events like London's A Loose Ting are bringing back the bedding and the hushed reverence, while Berlin's Overflow is going full sensory overload with vibrating mattresses, fountains, and harpists. New York's Planetarium gatherings have people mostly horizontal, inspired by psychedelic therapy sessions. There's even and ambient sauna in South London you might have come across via the wonder of Music To Watch Seeds Grow By's recent takeover.  Our very own Watching Trees dabbled in said chill out space this year, pairing the abstract and the ambient with projected dappled sunlight visuals from the mighty Jamie House. Turns out people still need those little havens away from the madness, especially in this day and age!

Also handily 30 years on the Openmind crew have just compiled the first-ever Telepathic Fish retrospective for Fundamental Frequencies - a double vinyl love letter to those hazy early-90s mornings when the music finally slowed down.

For this Seeds Mix, Kev has leaned into his love of minimalism and systems music - repetition built from layers of loops offset against each other to form subtle polyrhythms. There's a deliberate avoidance of drum machines here in favour of organic percussion, and around the eight-minute mark, a section from Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia that captures the feeling of being deep in the forest, phone abandoned, discovering that paradise was just a forage away.

Full interview here: https://www.theransomnote.com/music/mixes/seeds-mix-005-openminds-leave-your-phone-at-home-discover-paradise-after-a-forage-in-the-forest/

@strictly

INTERVIEW

Seeds Mix 005: Openmind's Leave your phone at home & discover paradise after a forage in the forest

Ben Cardew spoke to Kevin Foakes - aka Strictly Kev aka DJ Food about Telepathic Fish: Trawling The Early 90s Ambient Underground - a new compilation album tracing the history of South London’s premier ambient party. They spoke about the dreaded “chill out” term, the influence of The Orb, chatting to Aphex, the spirit of London and people dancing to ambient DJs. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra.

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Balmorhea - Clamor (Prefuse 73 Remix)

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