We didn't write anything down because it was on unusually chaotic evening just one week after our smooth Monday debut. Got to BASE at 5 to 8. Talked to An and Gemma (Jemma?) who were on before us about their music-related jobs etc. Nick was meant to be first today, but he didn't show. Unusual. So I went on instead. Said bye to An and Gemma. Played some heavy Tubby dubs on 7" version and then some 50s R&B including Dorothy Ellis's Drill Daddy Drill, Coldcut with Roots Manuva on a Tru Skool remix. Manaia Toa (AKA Splash), visiting AKL from Welli, appeared a few minutes later with his friend Nikki 'Niche'. Don't ask me about DJ names. I'm glad I don't have one. Splash and Nikki had been catching up that afternoon with some libations so were in rambunctious mood, she in particular taking the piss out of my 'old school' musical choices and surprised to see me play 7" inches. Everything from the 20th century is now deemed 'old skool', one of the most imprecise periodizations. Nick called to let us know that his car battery was dead, so Splash picked him up. Once Nick arrived he took to the decks. Splash told me animatedly what he wrote about in his postmodern art essay at Massey. Most of the art students sounded like shoegazers. Nikki gave me an account of Congo Natty style Junglist DJs in Auckland circa 1993-96. I enjoyed hearing about the intensity of this micro scene in AKL and Christchurch. There's an oral history of DJ culture to be written and BASE is one epicentre. Manaia Toa is a bit of a trickster when it comes to other people's shows so he had some fun pitchshifting and fingering our vinyl on the decks. Yes, the bullhorn and screaming woman sound bites were in full effect. I went with the flow. Nick was assured with the musical choices, but must have been discombobulated because he didn't write anything down. It's usually me who has to reconstruct my 30 minute sets afterwards. Splash took Nikki home about 9:15. In my second set, I did play some langorous Shackleton remixes and my favourite record of the moment which is Theo Parrish's When I'm Gone, one side of a 12" in Rick Wilhite's series. Spoken word about Africa and Black America, slavery, the blues, samples Bobby Bland I think, and then goes into this slowly evolving polyphony. About four minutes in, it kicks into the sub bass which is usually distorted on Theo's records on his own Sound Signature label. However, the bass was loud and clear and true on this Dutch pressing. Thank you Cian at Conch Records of Ponsonby Road for putting me on to this disc. I'd been a bit down lately about missing out on that limited Sun Ra triple 7" set when it came out in May. I finished about 9.30 and almost exactly the same time, got a text to the studio from Shuchi who said she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go to the A & E. So I packed up my stuff and went home to pick her up. A & E units in central/western Auckland have winter hours now, shutting shop by 8 pm; we had two fruitless trips to St Lukes and Ponsonby. Went home rather than Auckland hospital to see if Shuchi's swollen throat might be relieved without having to sit and wait for hours and then spend another few hours of blood tests and measurements and maybe a night in the institution. Hot water with lime, some light medication and a warm bed assuaged the situation. Go placidly amidst the noise and haste...