Welcome to Captain Swing's Compilations. Genre-busting, rib-tickling, eclectic sonic cathedrals. They were designed as cd mixes then cut into individual tracks and labelled. Covers and sometimes sleevenotes accompany the music. They are ready to burn as cds, and hopefully contain some tracks you know, but plenty that you do not.

Big Tunes from Space

All sorts of things from all over the place and all over the when.

01. 01 Basil Brush.mp3 [840KB] 
02. 02 Calexico & Iron and Wine - Red Dust.mp3 [3MB] 
03. 03 Rolling Stones - Country Tonk.mp3 [5MB] 
04. 04 LWT ident.mp3 [186KB] 
05. 05 Jamie Lidell - Little Bit of Feel Good.mp3 [5MB] 
06. 06 Thief - Hold On, Hold On.mp3 [4MB] 
07. 07 Brand Nubian - Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down.mp3 [5MB] 
08. 08 HTV ident.mp3 [160KB] 
09. 09 Alfred E. Neuman - It's A Gas.mp3 [3MB] 
10. 10 - Jason Mraz - The Dynamo Of Volition.mp3 [4MB] 
11. 11 Caesars - Boo Boo Goo Goo.mp3 [4MB] 
12. 12 Carbon Silicon - The News (edit).mp3 [4MB] 
13. 13 The Sonics - Strychnine.mp3 [3MB] 
14. 14 Cage The Elephant - Aint No Rest For The Wicked.mp3 [4MB] 
15. 15 ACDC - Big Jack.mp3 [5MB] 
16. 16 UFO theme.mp3 [1MB] 
17. 17 Seu Jorge - Só no Chat.mp3 [6MB] 
18. 18 Amos Milburn - Chicken Shack.mp3 [3MB] 
19. 19 Roland Alphonso - Moongazer.mp3 [10MB] 
20. 20 Monty Python - BBC rude warning.mp3 [240KB] 
21. 21 Max Romeo - Play with your pussy.mp3 [3MB] 
22. 22 Shantel feat. Boban markovic Orkestar - Disko.mp3 [7MB] 
23. 23 Lucho Bermudez - Fiesta de Negritos.mp3 [5MB] 
24. 24 Cerrone - Not too shabby (Jamie Lewis mix).mp3 [9MB] 
25. 25 Tone 7 - Dub Dub.mp3 [7MB] 
26. 26 The Magic Roundabout - Time for Bed.mp3 [188KB] 
27. big tunes from space cover.doc [615KB] 
28. big tunes sleevenotes.doc [257KB] 


Inspiration

I have been doing this sort of thing for years – first on mixtapes, then as a dj, and more recently on cds. This series has been compiled from a deluge of torrents in an attempt to make sense of it all. Feedback from my friends was good, so now I offer them to you to see what the world at large makes of them. 

My inspiration comes from the likes of John Peel, whose healthy disrespect of genre is a lesson to us all; and Bob Dylan's radio shows, which combine humour and “other audio” with a respect and knowledge of the music. 

The process

Source material is varied. The process starts with hours of listening and playlisting with MediaMonkey to find the most likely tracks. These are then listed roughly in tempo order. Sometimes a theme may be apparent, and other samples put in the mix. The standouts are mixed in Audacity, where volumes can be levelled, simple effects added, and finally, the track can be split back into individual tracks ready for burning onto cd. I use MediaMonkey to rename the tracks. Knock up a cover, and Bob's your Uncle. They are encoded in mp3 at about 200 whassnames per thingy.

The Result

What you get is a cd-length mix that generally starts downtempo/acoustic and builds up to a disco/rock/house climax before ending up with something funny/lame/unexpected. The journey will lead you through a variety of genres and decades that may only be linked in my fevered imagination. What is important for you to know is that this is a labour of  Love, that the cds were made for myself and my friends, and that I am hoping to inform and entertain. Please assume that the cds are not entirely child-friendly. I hope that you enjoy them, and if you dislike a track, another entirely different one will be along in a couple of minutes. Mixing is of the minimal variety, and effects are used sparingly. Let the Tunes speak for themselves. 

Let the Lamers and Flamers die of boredom in their sad little mid-western towns. These are compilations for the musically aware and curious. Enjoy, share and seed.

Other mixes available - I will put links in comments below.

Peace, Love and Music !!!