John Tree profile picture

John Tree

One world...and buttered scones for tea.

About Me


I never said it was going to be easy. After years of observing from the sidelines, it’s time to make a move. The world is a big place. The people are fragmented, which is both a weakness and a strength. There is a rich diversity on our crowded planet, and I would like to celebrate that. Just one world, cherish it
AHEM.
PERCUSSIONIST’S FEZ
Obsessed by music from childhood, and drumming since the age of eighteen...Currently percussionist for POCO LOCO Blackpool Samba Band...and BLOWJANGLES: Blackburn based all-brass-and-percussion street band...and just joined Avant Noise combo HEFALUMP TRAP.
A serial jammer, I’m resident percussionist at FUSION FRIDAYS in Blackpool. I will also shortly be resident percussionist at the CUBA NIGHTS in Blackpool with DJ Jon Baugh. Randomly played percussion with Omar Puente, illustrious Cuban Jazz violinist based in Leeds, and Jan Kopinski, Free Jazz saxophonist, from Nottingham. Shared the stage many times with Bacup’s ubiquitous Mrs. Cakehead and Darwen roots band Gone Begging. Played percussion on most of the tracks on the latest Ceramic Hobs album ’Al Al Who’.
DJ’S BERET
Resident DJ at FUSION FRIDAYS in Blackpool, and THE RECOVERY ROOM at Beatherder. Shared the decks on numerous occasions with Fenny from Radio Lancashire’s ’On The Wire’ and recently played alongside Earthdoctor from the Welsh Dragon Collective. Played at diverse events, festivals and parties all over the North West. Had a couple of shows on Manchester’s local radio station City Centre Life.
Been booked to play the Chillout Room at the lovely Free Rotation weekender at Baskerville Hall, Hay on Wye

http://www.freerotation.com/
for more details.
Also booked to host the Smoky Tentacles’ Shisha Lounge on Friday at this year’s Beatherder...expect a few surprise guests!
Since 1989 produced a short-run annual limited edition ’Mystery Mix’, firstly on cassette, then on CDR. Titles included:
The Mystery Tape
The Chrystery Tape
Radio Bongo
Broadcast from the Planet Bongo
The Night Train
Junk Food Of Love
Revenge of Bongo
2001 a Space Bongo
Time Flies!
Dial a Llama
Elevation
Dunravin’
Liquidation
Space Cake Break
Blummin Eck...It’s Fusion Fridays!
Recently released the eclectic ’Seriously Out There’ compilation CD... a collection of unsigned artists from the Preston area.
PROMOTER’S YASHMAK
Over many years, involved in organising a number of successful parties in the Northwest including ’A Midsummer Nights Do’ Over Wyre for the past 7 years, ’Fusion Fridays’ ’Recovery Room’ private parties etc.
FUSION FRIDAYS: where worlds and cultures collide. First Friday of every month at Gurkhas Champagne Bar, back Church St, Blackpool (down the side of Scruffy Murphy’s)...starting with eclectic laid back world and Latin beats..and live percussion...and raising the temperature later. One for dancers, armchair groovers and closet bongo players alike. In cahoots with DJ Buzz.
THE RECOVERY ROOM: Chiiled, quirky, eclectic lucky bag of tunes for those delicate afternoons after the night before. in collaboration with DJ Phil Beard.
(www.myspace.com/schpongled)
...watch out for RAISE THE GALLEON...coming soon...remember the Galleon? Watch this space! (www.myspace.com/raisethegalleon)
PRODUCER’S WIMPLE
Been writing tunes since 2001...Ave a listen to the player here for a taster...
has been featured in four compilation albums ’Godspunk’...volumes 3,4,5 & 6 on PUMF records (www.pumf.net)...under the names ’The Time Flies!’ and ’Pilzin Sox’, as well as John Tree.
DISCOGRAPHY/RECORDING HISTORY
2000
Thinking Out Loud
[Album by Bodies Talking]: Percussion
2001
Mr. Jeffrey Martin Lichtmann
2002
Spiritual Fornication
2003
Poco Loco (eponymous debut album): Percussion
2005
March Groove
Sea Shanty
Stir It Up
2006
Alice Floats Away
Summer
March Groove
I Could Have Been A Master Baker
[Album by Blowjangles]: Drums
2007
Night of the Sambadrummer
Fen Rap (Zen Radio Version)
Not Any More (Total Remix)
Funky Thing
Al Al Who [Album by Ceramic Hobs]: Percussion
Brahms Thriller
Killing Me Softly (With his Cuban Lounge Arrangement)
timorous [The Haddenham One]: percussion
Racist Professor (Hindu Horror Mashup)
2008
Planet DysFunktion
The Frankenstein Project (soundscape)**
Water Wings [with Buzz Bury] (soundscape)**
**Commissioned by Blackpool Council in 2008 for inclusion in The Great Promenade Show (to be played by the art installations of the same name).
BPM (Blackpool Promoting Music)
Is a new organisation set up by Buzz and myself with the mission statement of bringing more diverse music to the area, with an emphsis on divergance, tolerance and community rather than strict commerciality...watch out for the logo showing up around the place.
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By the way...does anyone know the exact date that pitiful refugees became loathsome asylum seekers?
Plain MySpace Layouts by Iron Spider

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 4/9/2006
Band Members: Fusion Fridays is back and atcha. We have a lovely new venue: Ghurkas Champagne Bar, Back Church St. Blackpool... it's tucked away on the side street by Scruffy Murphys...nice place owned by Kim, who is Nepalese...truly a Fusion venue. Reasonable bar prices too. Looking forward to seeing you down there

NEXT EVENT: FRIDAY 2nd MAY...It's our first anniversary...and Buzz:ed's Birthday! :P

Influences: Rob Da Bank meets Richard Dawkins on the way to WOMAD, both are (surprisingly) travelling by Llama. Then they notice they are both listening to a Future World Funk mix on headphones, which makes them laugh. The Cheeky Girls look on jealously from the bushes. The sun shines, it is a beautiful day.
Sounds Like: DRUMMING: Latin and African based music...we like to move it

DJ SETS:
Sets can include any, all, or none of the following:
13th Floor Elevators, A Man Called Adam, The Abyssinians, Adrian Sherwood, Africanism, Afro Cuban All Stars, Aim, Air, Ali Farka Toure, Althea & Donna, Amba, Amon Tobin, Amy Winehouse, Andy Capp, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Aphex Twin, ASHA BHOSLE, Augustus Pablo, Azymuth, The Avalanches, Baba Brooks, Badly Drawn Boy, Badmarsh & Shri, Banco de Gaia,

BARBATUQUES: Brazilian human acapella beat boxes.

BASIC CHANNEL, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Beanfield, Beck, Bedrock Records, Belle & Sebastian, Beth Orton, Blowjangles,Blue Note Records, Billie Holiday, Black Star Liner, Bjork, Bjorn, Blame, Blu Mar Ten, Blue States, Boards of Canada, Bob Marley, Bob Sinclar, Bongo Herman, Bonobo, Booker T & the MG's, Bootsy Collins, Boozoo Bajou, Bud, Buena Vista Social Club, Burning Spear, Buscemi, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Captain Beefheart, Carl Cox, Cass / Slide, Celia Cruz,

CELSO PINA Cumbia meets Hip Hop... ho ho!

Ceramic Hobs, Charlie Mingus, Charlie Parker, The Chemical Brothers, The Chiffons, Chris Coco, Cinematic Orchestra, Circulation, Club des Belugas, Club do Balanco, Cocteau Twins, Coldcut, Compay Segundo, Courtney Pine, The Crystalites, The Crystals, The Cure, Curtis Mayfield, Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Dan Robbins, Danny Howells, Dave Clarke, David Bowie, Dawn Penn, De La Soul, Dennis Brown, Desmond Decker, The Dining Rooms, DJ Food, DJ Shadow, Don Drummond, Donovan, Dreadzone, Dr. John, Drumagick, Dub Syndicate, Dusty Springfield, Eddie Palmieri, The Electric Prunes, The Electric Six, Emiliana Torini, The Ethiopians, ETIENNE DE CRECY, Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti, Freak Power, Free, Funki Porcini, Future Sound of London, Georgie Fame, Gladys Knight, GOL, Gotan Project, The Happy Mondays, Hardfloor, Hawkwind, The Heptones, Herbaliser, Hexstatic, High Contrast, Higher Intelligence Agency, The Hippy Boys, Hopeton Lewis, Hospital Records, Howl In The Typewriter, Hugh Masakela, iMonster, I Roy, I:Cube, The Isley Brothers, Ivor Cutler, Jackie Mittoo,

JAMES BROWN shows some fancy footwork

Jawbone, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Cliff, Jimmy Smith, John B, John Coltrane, John Martyn, John Peel, Joi, Jon Carter, Jorge Ben, Josh Wink, Julie Driscoll, Junior Murvin, Junior Walker, K-Scope, Keith Hudson, Keith Jarrett, Ken Booth, Kid Koala, Killer Loop, King Tubby, The Kinks, Kraftwerk, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Layo & Bushwacka!, LEE 'SCRATCH' PERRY, LEMON JELLY, The Limp Twins, Link Wray, London Elektricity (in spite of them being crap live), Lou Reed, Tim 'Love' Lee, Lovin' Spoonful, LTJ Bukem, Luke Vibert, Manu Chao, Manu Dibango, Marlena Shaw, Marschmellows, Martha Reeves, Martin Solveig, Marvin Gaye, Massive Attack, Masters At Work, Maurizio, Max Dennehy, Max Romeo, Max Sedgley, The Maytones, The Meters, Miles Davis, Mo Horizons, Mr. C,

MR. SCRUFF ...does animation get any better than this?...

Mrs. Cakehead (Bacup's answer to Lee Perry), Mungos HiFi, Mustapha Tettey Addy, Negativland, Nelly Furtado, Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Nicola Conte, NIGHTMARES ON WAX, Niney, Ninja Tune Records, Nirvana, Nosepicking (not really, just checking if you are still with us ... OK I admit it...I do pick my nose a bit), The Observers, Ojos de Brujo, Omni Trio, On U Sound, The Orb, Orchestra Baobab, Paul Weller, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Photek, POB, Poco Loco, Pole, Pole Folder, Phluff, Portishead, Primal Scream, Prince Buster, Prince Jammy, Procol Harum, QUANTIC, QUANTIC SOUL ORCHESTRA , Quincy Jones, Radiohead, Ramsey Lewis, RICHIE HAWTIN, Rico Rodrigues, Roland Alphonso, Roni Size, Ruben Gonzales, RY COODER, Schema Records, Scion, The Seeds, Sender Berlin, Senor Coconut, Serge Gainsbourgh, The Shangri La's, Sir Lord Comic, THE SKATALITES, Sly Stone, The Small Faces, The Smiths, Snowboy, Soel, Soul Jazz Records, Sound Dimension, Spencer Davis, Spirit, St. Germain, S-Tone Inc., Stoned Asia Records, The Stone Roses, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Subjekt, The Supremes, Swag, Tanto Faz, the taurus board, T Rex, The Temptations, Tenor Saw, Thelonius Monk, Them, Thievery Corporation, Tinariwen,Tony Allen, Tony Thomas, Toots & The Maytals, Tosca, Toy, Traffic, Transglobal Underground, Tresor Records. Trojan Records, Two Lone Swordsmen,

THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN (Play Nirvana)

U Roy, Underworld, The Upsetters, The Velvet Underground,The Viceroys, War, Working Week,

Benjamin Zephania

Zero 7, Zero dB, Zorch....the longer you're around, the more baggage you accumulate

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DJ's: Rob Da Bank, PEEL (the first and only time I wept at the death of a stranger), Mr. Scruff, DJ Derek, Russ Jones, Qool Marv, Gilles Peterson, Patife, Soul Jazz Sound System, The Shrine, Todd Terry, Dave Clarke
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LABELS Trojan, Tresor, Tru Thoughts, Basic Channel, Soul Jazz, K7, Ninja Tune, Audiopharm, Schema, Fania, PUMF

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DIDIMENTIONART? Grayson Perry for his honesty, Tracy Emin for her openness, Pablo Picasso for his genius, the old goat. Jasper Johns for showing so beautifully the meaning of painterly, Roy Lichtenstein for 'Whaam!', Anthony Gormley for...erm... being Anthony Gormley. Banksy for his feral sense of humour.
JOKE:
Q: How does Damiam Hirst change a lightbulb?
A: By calling it art

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FESTIVALS
WOMAD, for putting the size of the world in perspective, Beatherder, for being a lovely local event, The Big Chill, because of the lineups and the stunning setting of Eastnor castle. Free Rotation in Hay on Wye for the location and the tuneage.

Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Noisy Heffalump Trap

Got invited to a rehearsal of Heffalump trap a few weeks back. They are comprised of a good measure of The Ceramic Hobs, plus Phil Beard and Nigel Joseph. I have to admit, the brief description from P...
Posted by John Tree on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:07:00 PST

Fusion Fridays are back...next gig, 4th April ..........FAQs

Yes at last, back by popular demand...we have finally found a fitting venue...in Blackpool this time. It’s Gurkhas Champagne Bar, on Back Church St...not a minute’s shimmy from the Grand, ...
Posted by John Tree on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 05:59:00 PST

False memory syndrome

Well I don't know, the show wasn't as bad as I remember.There was a whole sentence I don't even remember saying.Still, it was hardly on a par with The Sex Pistols being interviewed by Bill Grundy...
Posted by John Tree on Sun, 20 Jan 2008 05:01:00 PST

Peelophobia-the morbid fear of speaking on the radio.

Don't know what it is, but I just can't speak on the radio. The fear of making an utter prat of myself causes a freeze of Howard Moon proportions to come over me.I was down at Radio Lancs last night, ...
Posted by John Tree on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:29:00 PST

New tune: Fen Rap (Zen Radio version)

Phil beard gave me a copy of one of his rap tunes bloody ages ago, asking me to have a crack at a remix... and I have only just got round to doing it...but he seems pleased with it. More ambient noise...
Posted by John Tree on Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:40:00 PST

Beatherder shines through the mud.

In spite of everything the weather could throw at it, Beatherder still shone through as a lovely festy. They had at least five venues for DJs and bands... the most atmospheric was the Toiltrees site, ...
Posted by John Tree on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 11:22:00 PST

Fusion Fridays Finally Fizz

Well it took four weeks, but last night we finally got a decent number of people through the door... and we had a WICKED party! Thanks to everyone who came... couldn't have done it without you. I had ...
Posted by John Tree on Sat, 26 May 2007 03:14:00 PST

New tune (Not Any More)

Just done a rough mix of a new tune which is a remix of local band. KBCTurned an indie tune into an ambient one...discarded the drums, bass, guitars (apart from a snippet)...just kept half the main v...
Posted by John Tree on Sun, 06 May 2007 03:31:00 PST

The Recovery Room returns!

Those select few who are aware of The Recovery Room will be pleased to know that it will be returning. Beatherder festival have very kindly given over their bijou chillout dome to Phil Beard and mysel...
Posted by John Tree on Tue, 01 May 2007 06:35:00 PST

Fusion Fridays @ Filipinos

Starting a new (hopefully) regular night in Poulton on Fridays starting on the 4th May. It will be upstairs at Filipinos in Poulton. Relaxed world beats presented by DJ Buzz and myself. We were fed up...
Posted by John Tree on Sun, 22 Apr 2007 05:39:00 PST