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Shannon Curtis Live!

Woweee, that was quite the spectacular.

The penultimate gig of the ‘Good To Me’ tour, which has been wowing crowds across the United States over the last few months, came live from their very own basement.

Streamed via the Radio Free Fedi video platform this was an opportunity not to be missed for us Fedizens who live overseas or too far away to get to any of the shows.

Many of us who follow Shannon and Jamie on Mastodon have been getting updates of their state-hopping tour and lamenting the fact we are unable to be a part of it, until now. And judging from the live chat there were A LOT of us at the gig, yet we could all share the best seat in the house.

Despite not being connected to any audience feedback during the show, Shannon took time between songs to talk with us, sharing the stories behind them.

The Good to Me album was written in 2021 while Shannon was experiencing near-paralysing anxiety from the fraught state of the world. Namely the pandemic we were locked down in overlapping climate collapse and the rise of fascism.

She turned to her journal to write out her worries and work out ways to summon some power to heal herself, her communities, and the planet. Her quest for self-healing with a world on fire took her through failed coping mechanisms; making peace via radical acceptance; learning to trust her inner truth; and reconnecting to serenity and power.

The Good to Me album is the manifestation of those writings. It and the tour give us listeners inspiration to embark upon our own personal healing. We all face difficulties in different forms. Overcoming them, or at least coping with them, comes from within and Shannon has found a way to share the wisdom to do so thanks to banger after banger of nostalgia-driven, synth-heavy, electro pop.

With master of all things synth, her husband and collaborator Jamie Hill on keys, combined with Shannon’s truly incredible range of voice, plus a lovely light show to boot, this was a real treat served up as a beautiful demonstration of the incredible music scene we have in The Fediverse.

It’s a strong and burgeoning community thanks to the high calibre of artists and a genuinely enthusiastic audience and it feels really exciting to be part of.

Closing out with a couple of covers of 80s classics (which feature on the upcoming 80’s Kids album) Shannon and Jamie bid us farewell after a sublime, emotionally-driven performance. It must be truly breathtaking to be actually present in the arena and part of a live show.

And don’t get me wrong, I still love being in a sweaty crowd and will continue to take opportunity to be part of them, but to be able to just roll straight in to bed after a late gig on a school night was an added bonus. I woke up this morning still buzzing and wondering if it was all just a beautiful dream.

Fortunately it wasn’t and the great news is that the Radio Free Fedi live events scene has plenty more on the horizon.

Having already streamed various events sporadically throughout 2024 (including sknob unplugged and bgm live) there is a bumper roster of live events that will be streamed via @owncast on party.radiofreefedi.net. -Streaming the Radio Free Fedi Comfy Channel when there are no live events, on the bottom of that page you can see a list of upcoming events. I’m reliably informed there are plenty more hangouts, parties and live events set to be added for November too.

Thank you so much to @shannoncurtis, @hilljam and @radiofreefedi.

Be sure to visit shannoncurtis.net to listen to Good to Me as well as previous (and upcoming!) albums, and hopefully I’ll see you soon at another Radio Free Fedi event!

Necromantic Halloween Aural Mummies – NHAM Mixtape 5

Oh yes, we’re going ghoulishly gothic for a Halloween mixtape this October. 🧟‍♂️👻🎃💀🧙

Songs and artist details with links below the mixtape.



Ether DiverPsychedelic Ghost Story
An early visit from Ian Curtis before he’s quickly swept aside by the psychedelic ghosts of the ether? There’s a good chance you’re here because you love discovering indy music in The Fediverse. Well click through to Ether Diver’s profile to get amazing weekly fixes of new music from the Fediverse curated by him.
@etherdiver

Doctor Deathray – Bloody Bones
Described by the Doctor as “very fun”, and a paraphrased version of a story her mum told her as a kid, even though she has no recollection of it! …’Fun’ so long as you do listen and don’t fall victim of Bloody Bones! SPOT!
@DoctorDeathray

bgmWilliam’s Face
bgm’s very own Murder Ballad. A beautifully sung, perfectly played, horrific tail!
@bgm

Fit and the ConniptionsOld Blue Witch
It’s funny. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t think of this specific witch as a murderous, barbaric totem of evil, and yet she rules over us for so long.
@conniptions

Six UmbrellasZombie Disco
You can’t have a Halloween mixtape without a zombie disco. Suspend those limp-wristed limbs. Now dance.
@sixumbrellas

4TRIKSDEATH LOOP  
Now you’re on the dance floor of doom and there’s no turning back!
@4triks

she hacked youGhost Dance
she hacked you identifies as a paradoxically lucid glitch witch, apparent in this apparition shuffle.
@ekis

Sgrowout-of-body-like 
Be gone the witch, remain the glitch.
@lislegaard

John WrightBlood  
This man must complete the holy trinity of electro Johns. Talabot, Hopkins and Wright.
@thgirwnhoj

AllflowersWhere The Witches Live
Incredibly atmospheric sounds from the French rockers.
@allflowers

Desolation Park Night Dweller
Super rhythmic.
@desolationpark

UltranautsGhosts & Angels 
There may have been no Thriller in this mix but it’s safe to say this one is all Killers. Pretty fitting.
@endlessblue

If you made it through alive well done. If not, well you’re just a ghost like the rest of us. 👻

NHAM 4: Track 12

Vince Nevers – Event Horizon (@vincenevers)
Oh! In our never ending pursuit of more we’ve come too far. Like Icarus on a universal scale we’ve reached the Event Horizon. Couldn’t think of a much better way to end it though. This has been quite the voyage. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have.

https://nham.co.uk/2024/09/nebula-horizon-ambient-movements-nham-mixtape-4

@music

NHAM 4: Track 9

exodrifter – Home at a Star (@exodrifter)
We’ve found a Home at a Star. Perhaps we’re a bit nostalgic for our previous life, yet we also feel calm, if slightly lonely and melancholic in our new surroundings. From the album Back to the Void.

https://nham.co.uk/2024/09/nebula-horizon-ambient-movements-nham-mixtape-4

@music

NHAM 4: Track 8

Default Media Transmitter – Solemnity (@defaultmediatransmitter)
Ok, now we’re experiencing some turbulence. Solemnity comes from an EP called Two Space Tunes which you can check out on Mirlo. It feels like we’re going through places we’ve not comprehended before. There’s no turning back now.

https://nham.co.uk/2024/09/nebula-horizon-ambient-movements-nham-mixtape-4

@music

NHAM 4: Track 7

Doctor Popular – Dazzler (@docpop)
Doctor Popular has a weekly video series called The Fediverse Files in which he extols the virtues of the Fediverse. With a different guest each week he makes simple and fun explainer videos for those not yet in the know, telling of why The Fediverse is the future. Not content with being a brilliant mouthpiece for our beautiful online home, he also makes some wonderful sounds, including Dazzler, for which there are a few versions floating about. This is the album version. Docpop, you know exactly who you are: A star.

https://nham.co.uk/2024/09/nebula-horizon-ambient-movements-nham-mixtape-4

@music

NHAM 4: Track 6

Futzle – Written in the Stars (@futzle)
As we travel between them we’re beginning to realise that everything happening back on Earth was written in these stars. Deborah aka Futzle was just 17 when she wrote this in 1990 but it remained unearthed for 30 years until this 2020 recording was published. “Quetzalcoatl (“Feathered Serpent”) was one of the gods of Mesoamerica. His brother and rival, Tezcatlipoca (“Night Wind”) got him intoxicated and banished for drunken incest. (Yikes!) Quetzalcoatl’s associated year in the Aztec calendar was Ce Acatl (“One Reed”), which correlates to the year 1519, a very bad year for the Aztecs because that’s when Cortés landed and triggered the fall of their empire.”

https://nham.co.uk/2024/09/nebula-horizon-ambient-movements-nham-mixtape-4

@music

NHAM 4: Track 4

KNova – UFOhs (@knova)
And then up and away we go, like a UFO. UFOhs was inspired by Mac DeMarco, which is really apparent in the beat, bassline and distorted single-strum chords. KNova is Keith in Colorado who says Star Trek is frequently playing in his house.

https://nham.co.uk/2024/09/nebula-horizon-ambient-movements-nham-mixtape-4

@music

NHAM 4: Track 3

Sakti – Sound of Stars (@Sakti)
As the light reflects down on us from the moon, and the comets come and go all becomes still and we begin to go deep, hearing the Sound of Stars. I’ve already used Sakti in a previous mixtape (and quite frankly could do so in every one, with so many great compositions to choose from) but with a cosmic themed mix this time I couldn’t leave out Sound of Stars. If this is what they sound like then it’s no wonder we’ve decided to make this one way mission to get closer to them.

https://nham.co.uk/2024/09/nebula-horizon-ambient-movements-nham-mixtape-4

@music

NHAM 4: Track 2

gribbles – Comets (@gribbles)
gribbles says Comets is an ‘attempt at real music’. It’s a hugely successful attempt. From sublime to sinister and back again, befitting our impending journey into space. Originally visualised as a pastoral piece with complexities of storms followed by clear skies and birds on the wing, gribbles realised it was becoming overworked so cut back the complexity and was left with this. Much like when we cut back the complexities of our life on earth and are left with the awe-inspiring simplicity of vast open space.

https://nham.co.uk/2024/09/nebula-horizon-ambient-movements-nham-mixtape-4

@music