Yule Runnings on the BBC

A festive mix and the return of The Long Player...

Hello!

I hope you’re well - just getting in touch with a couple of bits of news before I switch off my laptop for a week or two. For the last three years I've put together mixes collating some of my favourite Christmas tracks that maybe don't get as much shine as they should.

These Yule Runnings mixes have always been hosted on my Mixcloud page, but this year I've switched it up a little as I was lucky enough to be asked to create a seasonal Block Party mix for Huey Morgan. This will be broadcast on BBC 6 Music this Saturday (23rd Dec) at 12.30pm.

It's a bit of an amalgam of the previous three volumes with a few new bits thrown in for good measure. 27 minutes of soul, funk, hip hop, reggae, jazz and soca. And David Frost. Every single track is a bonafide Christmas cracker, all killer, no stocking-filler. This is Yule Runnings, Block Party Style!

Tune in to get yourself in the festive spirit - or catch it on BBC Sounds if you're still deep in last minute gift buying.

---

In other news, the Long Player is back! Last year I compiled some of my digital scribblings about the albums I listened to in 2021 into a physical zine. I’ve always had a love of magazines - my volumes of Grand Royal, The Face, Wax Poetics and Straight No Chaser are some of my most prized possessions. Having my own modest offering sitting alongside them is a real thrill, and despite not being able to write as much as I’d like this year I still felt there was enough material in the vaults to warrant a second volume which you can grab just here.

I know that some of you who picked up last year’s edition use it as a reference point or inspiration for what to listen to when the algorithm runs out of juice. Hopefully this volume will provide a gateway to artists and records you weren’t familiar with, and a reminder of those that you had forgotten about over the years. To that end I've tweaked the format: last time the posts were in chronological order, this year I have themed them by genre.

All profits from the zine will be donated to War Child, an organisation I’ve admired since the ‘Help’ album was released back in 1995. In the last couple of years I’ve worked with them (in a minor way) on their ‘The Right To Dance’ project, and the energy they put into helping those who need their assistance is remarkable. Their work is vital, as the events of the last couple of months have shown us all too clearly. For more information about what they do see their website: www.warchild.org.uk

---

Finally, yesterday we dropped our annual free compilation on First Word. It’s now twenty years since I compiled 'Two Syllables Volume One' with my FW co-founder Andy H. We released it on March 1st 2004, and in the years since have racked up almost 300 releases on our little imprint. Next year we’ll be celebrating this milestone anniversary in the only way we know: by releasing music that we believe in from artists that we love.

Putting this together makes me excited for what’s to come next year - the schedule already has 8 artist albums, 2 compilations and numerous EPs lined up. And knowing the musical family that we’ve built I’m sure there’ll be more in the works; it’s going to be a fruitful year.

You can pick up your free copy of the comp just here.

Wishing you all a merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Much love,
Gilla x