Today was feed the kitchen day. That is, if you are going to build a kitchen in an archive/studio/hang you need a cooker, a fridge, dishwasher, washing machine, microwave, so Olivia scoured Facebook Marketplace Porto yesterday and found them all, but we had to get them and we have no Ariel, if there was ever a time we need Ariel, it’s now. So first, if anyone has any ideas about finding a Nissan Vanette 1993 engine LD20 or cylinder head somewhere in the UK or anywhere in Europe, please let us know, we want Ariel to survive. One of the items we secured was being brought to our current place, another to our new place and two of the items we had to go and pick up. Luckily we found a Bolt driver (like Uber) who was willing to go get a fridge and a dishwasher and wait around and help carry them in and out of his car. Welcome to Portugal.

We went on a short walk and quickly stumbled across a second-hand furniture store. As most of our belongings are in storage in England and we are in a furnished flat at the moment, we need to find a kitchen table, chairs and something to put the stereo on. Also, we have no heating in the space and although Portugal is bearable under a blanket, this space might need some help, so we bought two old, cool-looking radiators, two armchairs and a bench, something for the Space Echos to sit on, something for the stereo and believe it or not some baffles which will be most useful for isolating studio sounds, amps especially. We bought a small lamp that didn’t work (can’t be much wrong with it). We’re hoping to get the water on by Friday but no info yet on the electricity. The day we have to leave this flat is getting closer.

We got a note today that the T-shirts had arrived at Boydie’s house, we have to sell them to pay for them, haha, so we hope you like them. Thanks to sessioneer Mike Norton in Chicago for great artwork and design. On today’s sessioneer front, there was a sesh with Rohan in Sydney, hearing his cool work, Tony’s Arktik Lake final mixes have been sent to Stephen at my label to see if it’s something for Schoolkids Records. Sessioneer Indiana Brian has final mixes for me to hear for his project with his collaborator Nathan in Oz and last but not least today is sessioneer Minneapolis Fred’s birthday, wish him all the best if you can.

On the upcoming tour, we have had some changes for the Liverpool date which now seems to have settled on the Nomad Café in Smithdown Road. We also have the Thornton Hough date in the area which is my teenage Wirral hood, very close to where I grew up.

Last but not least, I’m not sure if everyone got to hear the interview that Salim and I did in Dallas with Johnny Goudie on his podcast, you can find it here:

Music today has been Nada Surf’s last album Never Not Together (2020), quality, always from this band, great melodic songs, songwriting and singing. If you don’t know them, check them out.

Music Of The Daze