Justin Robertson- The ‘Manifold Mysteries’ Ransom Note Mix

The gifts from this week's Guest Editor Justin Robertson just keep on coming. Following on from all the other goodies, Justin has put together an hour-long mix for all of you to enjoy and it's filled with all manner of musical mysteries. Settle yourself in for the next hour and enjoy what this week's guest boss has to offer as we give him a quizzing;

Please introduce yourself…
Who are you, where are you and what are you?

Justin Robertson, Solitary Cyclist studios, occasional Flaneur.

Who's speaking at the beginning of the mix?

Hunter S Thompson.

What sort of music did you grow up around?

Space rock, Roots reggae and droning Euro synths.

If you could travel in time…where in time would you go? Why? 

1000 years hence, see how it all worked out… If its gone to heck I’ll ping back to Georgian England and help Turner clean his brushes.

What was the first electronic record you heard and how did it make you feel?

Phaedra by Tangerine Dream, I felt hypnotised and transported off world.

How does your brain work when making music? How does it work when you aren’t?

I try to focus the noise in my head, take the turbulence and turn it into tones. When I’m not making music I feed the turbulence with more information.

Do you ever dream of music?

My dreams are more like Keystone Cops slapstick movies.

What inspired you to start producing music?

Mainly the shoes.

Who would you consider your main three influences?

Never the same 3, really depends on how I’m feeling, 1. Jonas Munk 2. Abraham Maslow 3.Hieronymus Bosch are this week's touchstones.

What's your favourite song at the moment?

Elijah Rock by Camille Doughty.

Are there any unknown artists or songs/mixes you've discovered that you think are worth a listen?

I never know whats unknown these days, you think you are super cool and cutting edge then you find all your chums have been into it for months and have a cottage industry in commemorative t-shirts or ltd edition 7’’ dinner plates with the artist's first album sleeve art work on it, so instead I’m going to say I got a delightful record by Beybonlar called Gelim Aysem, made in Turkey in 1969, they had a 12 year old drummer, also a cracking bit of funky heavy rock by Raw Meat called ‘’Stand By Girl’’, oh, and the second Cosmic Ground album is top.

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen one?

Yes, I believe in the transcendence of consciousness so why not? I’m sure I’ve seen one, but a cheeky poltergeist keeps chucking my bathrobe on the floor.

Nobody seems to know this one. Can you solve the mystery: How long is a piece of string?

As long as you want it to be, it has no length in of itself.

If you're eating a packet of crisps whilst watching TV, do you turn the volume up?

I don’t like crisps, nuts have a much lower tone hence minimising interference with the tv.

Onto the mix…

Where was the mix recorded?

In my studio.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Recreation zone on some kind of future solar probe.

What should we be wearing?

Flared towelling jump suit.

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

The wall of death.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

I like them all, impossible to say, that Relatively Clean Rivers number is cool, and the version of ‘’This Must Be The Place’’ by Iron & Wine and Ben Bridwell is beautiful, some cool Francis Bebey too.

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

I don’t really like that idea to be honest, I’d much rather listen and dance along, some mid '60s sound clash Downbeat the ruler!

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

Two music centres and a tape deck, mixing via turning up the volume on one and down on the other… Now it's two record players and two usb CDJ affairs.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

My Friend the journalist Richard Hector-Jones tells a good tale from our days in Eastern Bloc records: a rather spangled raver came in and asked for ‘’that record they played at the Hacienda’’… ‘’Which one we enquired?’’… ‘’They only played one didn’t they? Wasn’t it the same song all night?''

What were the first and last records you bought?

Oliver’s Army by Elvis Costello, and Different Forces by Phantom Horse.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

Salted Caramel.

If it was an animal what would it be?

Monty my dog, actually he hates music, so maybe not.

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything?

Most of them.

Upcoming in the world of Justin Robertson?

Just preparing a new art exhibition with accompanying book, so that's all very exciting.

Justin Robertson's album Everything Is Turbulence is out now via Skint Records.