Reading can be cool... especially if the books are AMAZING

Following on from the theme of things being a touch quiet for me here, I have decided to continue to furnish your eye with my words about the creative influences that help me sail along in my life. Strangely enough, recently I have not been reading all that much. I have found that I glean much more pleasure from writing and researching bits and pieces instead. I would NEVER have guessed that that would be the case.

THIS part is going to be a little bit out of left field. Hold on to your hats... BOOKS. Along the way, I have read some books but there are three that stand out as direct influences for the current path my life has taken. Ready? Steady... GO! Papillion – Henri Charriere, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seaton and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

 Papillon – a book about escape, adventure, desperation, emotional and physical strength all under the umbrella of injustice. Oh and it’s based on a true story. Don’t get me wrong, I know I am not the first person to have ever read this book but it is an inspiration to me so if you read it you MIGHT understand a little bit more ABOUT me. When life hits you round the face with a 10 pound trout, don’t get upset that you have trout juice on your face, escape from prison in French Guyana, build a raft and sail to freedom. That is the basic theme of Charriere’s story with fewer mentions of trout though. He tells his story in a brutally frank and pragmatic tone of voice which, considering the story’s content is an achievement in itself. He is a hero. One of MY heroes. Bravo Henri, you are a great man.

Old Man and the Sea is a slightly different bag of words. It is still set in the tropics but this time, despite the tale of bravery on the seas, there is a far more introspective tinge to the story and its protagonist – The Old Man. Plus, Hemingway loved rum, I love rum... we’re basically the same person! We will all face tests along our journey of life, some we will surpass and others might get the better of us but it is not the outcome that is always important. More often than not it is how we deal with these occurrences as they arise and what we learn from them and most importantly whether we make the same mistake again. This (short) story takes the reader on a trip through adversity, anger, despair, desperation through to pride and humility. If there was a little of The Old Man’s moral fibre in all of us, the world would be better place.

Seton was a pioneer naturalist, a founder of the Boys Scouts and an influence on Sir David Attenborough. As if that isn’t enough, he was an excellent illustrative writer. Wild Animals I Have Known is a series of short stories about the animals he had known and the nuances he observed. Firstly, I love (almost all) animals unconditionally and unequivocally so it is with shear and superficial delight that I love reading and re-reading this book. His ability to depict the uniquely individual characters of each animal that he has known not only makes you wish you had known the man himself but the animals he talks of. He would definitely be one of my ultimate dinner party guests.

The last book is slightly out of left field so bear with me. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a tremendous short story which shows the social development of Charlie – a slightly awkward, introspective teen - in his first years at High School in Pittsburgh. Chbosky use various references to the media of the time to help build his characters and give a rich backdrop to the overall story most notably the music listed. There are many moments in life where you doubt yourself so it can be a relief to learn that you are not the only one. I have never read a book that is so heart-wrenchingly honest in describing the confusions, frustrations and glorious triumphs that come from trying to understand people. This book is not for everyone but I would recommend you give it a go and you will be pleasantly surprised. It is a insta-recommendation from me whenever someone asks.

Here lies some of the inspiration for my desires to see, live in and experience lands far away. I have minimal desires to embellish further.

For now good people, happy reading.

In a bit,

BeardFace esq.

(Some of) The Music that inspires me to be here

It has been a quieter week for me this week. This does not mean less happened BUT it does mean that I MIGHT wander off-subject even more than normal. It got me a’thinking about the whats and the wheres. I know, I always say something like this so as to gently drift into a faux-philosophical ‘closing thought.’ I am aware of this so please do not hold it against me, I have never pretended to be a great writer neither have I ever alluded to being anything but a fella with a beard. Read on or not, it’s your choice.

I thought that instead of drip feeding you bits and pieces of inspiration, I would give you a creative foundation of influences upon which I have build my mental state. Some areas, such as music, are much more fluid and change daily/hourly/minutely(??) but other areas mainly books and films are fairly rigid and hard to impregnate. In this musical sojourn , I have concentrated more on songs with home as their main theme for no other reason than home is often on my mind in a good way.

Edward Sharpe – Home. This is a song that has amazingly mixed feelings for me. It is a wonderful example of how to exemplify loving sentiments with happy noises. I love it. Sadly, it is tied up in a web of memories that I would rather forget - it’s all very soap opera-ish. Home. It’s where you lay your hat. It’s where your heart is. It’s where you get fed, cleaned and watered. It’s is where you are happy enough to make a sound of utter utopian content similar to that which the girls makes at 3:42. The warm, happy jangly feel to this track makes my head think of the messes that you made and grew to love in your room when you were younger. It’s like building a blanket fort for the soul. Trust me, I have built a LOT of blanket forts.

Welcome Home by Radical Face. This conjures COMPLETELY different set of memories and emotions. It reminds me of a wonderful period in time that I spent with Jimmy McSparron - Trekkingnut in the village of Pa’ Umor in the Kelabit Highlands in Sarawak, Borneo. Despite its central theme of going/arriving home, the minute the chorus starts the build, I have a strong sense that I NEED to head out into the world and see it. It’s pretty much an irrepressible compulsion but I think that has more to do with the grand, crescendo-ing, soaring vocals and major key than the lyrical content. I I’d be curious to hear what you think.

I know wrote about him but a few weeks ago BUT Michael Kiwanuka’s Home Again still features heavily in my daily mental playlist and it also fits quite nicely with this theme. His heart-achingly raw, longingly sorrowful voice adds a wonderful depth to the intensity of this song. There is a strong sense of regret and desperate hope that he'll feel home again, in this case it seems like home is wherever SHE might be. Broken hearts, we’ve all had them, we’ve all dealt with them differently we’ve all (hopefully) bounced back stronger from them. I know that the cognitive re-visiting of such memories can have a detrimental effect but the whatever-doesn’t-kill-you-makes-you-stronger principle works with great effect here. If I weren’t for the heartbreak and anguish of 2010, I doubt I would be as happy as I am now.

It is not all about the umm-tiss umm-tiss of modern music y’know. Ave Maria sung by Maria Callas – the song that played as my Grandfather – Api – was cremated shall forever hold an intensely strong fire in my belly that makes my heart swell with pride. This was a man who talked himself and family out of many MANY difficult situations during the Magyar Revolution in the 1950. I do not think that many people know, mainly because I have never told them, that I see a great deal of Api in me. From what I know and remember, he was a proud and courageous man who held honesty and humility as important virtues. He spirit has definitely been passed down through the generations.

Lastly Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat major. Firstly it is hard to find a picture to represent this so I added one of my own.My friend Mike and I would often listen to this in the evenings in the jungles of Sarawak and drift off to our respective cerebral havens. Just so’s you know, neither Mike nor I are Beethoven. I don’t have a lot to say about this. It is glorious. It is beautiful, magnificent and reminds me why I am so happy to be alive. Give it a go.

You have to understand that these are a tiny weeny snapshot of the music that really presses my buttons and has a direct correlation to what I am thinking. If you are curious enough to see where else my audio wanderings go then have a look at my hypemachine playlist. I admit that I have not updated it recently but that is mainly because my internet connection cannot sustain the streaming music. Aaaaaaaaaah the joys of living in the third world... One day, if you are lucky I will have finished my life story and I am sure music will feature heavily there.

For now, happy listening.

Be well good people.

Love, WonderBear(d) x

Life - it's worth thinking about

It feels like a long time since I first wrote but let’s be honest with eachother, sometimes life gets busy. Yeah, I know what you are thinking but I DO do things quite often. I have daily chores and responsibilities

Firstly, I’ll give you a brief rundown of what else has been happening. Juilette and Laura are deeply entrenched in their DiveMaster training while Suzi finished hers INCLUDING the snorkel test. That’s her. The one in the pictures. PLUS a new DMT – Belinda – arrived. Hurroo!

Before

After

We have been diving at Siquijor and Sumilon a fair amount recently. I understand that I talk of these magical, mystical places full of curiosity and wonderment but why? Why?! If you’ll allow me to indulge my love of the analogy then I shall explain. If you imagine my head office – Liquid HQ – is where I work, there is the conference room (the bar); breakout rooms (the classroom and dive shop) and the training facilities (the pool). We also have a few satellite offices, partner companies and preferred suppliers – dive sites. These are the Dauin Coast, Apo Island, Siquijor, Sumilon and Oslob each of which gives us something slightly different but all equally important to us. Gotta love the corporate schpeil.

This is mainly another excuse to put a photo of myself up
BUT Siquijor is in the background

I look at Siquijor every day. I am fairly sure we all do because it is on the other side of the strait from us (it’s the island in the background there). I have been here for a while and wanted to dive over there pretty much ever since I arrived so when I was presented with the opportunity I bit off everyone’s arms.

I was doing two specialities – Deep Dive and Nitrox – so not only was I on a day trip, I was a student again. It appears I really like learning about things I like. Siquijor was dive 1 of my Deep Speciality and dive 1 of Nitrox. To make things better, Our Old Friend was my instructor. What are these specialties I speak of? Well, they are basically extensions of your certifications that allow you more options when it comes to diving and dive planning. Having the deep speciality allows me to dive to 40metres which is not necessarily important but interesting. Nitrox speciality is actually quite geeky and very cool. Basically it certifies you to dive with a different blend of compressed gas. A normal tank is filled with standard compresses air which is roughly 79% Nitrogen and 21% Oxygen whereas Nitrox is usually a higher percentage Oxygen. This does not mean you can go deeper BUT it does mean you can stay at a depth for longer as I diminishes the risk and prevalence of decompression sickness.

The day started wonderfully well with the sun shining, the seas were amazingly calm and Sundancer was ready. We were a small group and spirits were high. Once we were in the water, which was a chilly 26°C (no sarcasm – it was COLD) Our Old Friend and I descended over the edge of the wall to our target depth of 36metres did some exercises and then slowly swam along the front of the wall gradually increasing out depth exploring caves and crevices along the way. I know I keep saying depth isn’t everything and it isn’t BUT it is a weird thought to be 12 stories UNDER the water. Dive two was my first Nitrox dive and it was fun. We were able to stay deeper than the rest of the group for the same time that they dived which in this case was a technicality but being deeper can often be useful if you are diving on a wreck or looking for something in particular at a given depth.

As if this wasn’t enough the NEXT day we were heading to Sumilon to finish my Deep and, just as a sweetener, we were going to hopefully go snorkelling with the local celebrities – whale sharks. Our Old Friend was in attendance and disco Phil one of our new managers. It is very rare for the three of us to head out together so, that day was a real treat. I was going to write a fair amount about my feelings of the whale shark trip and what goes on there but I think our fearless leader – Zoe – wrote a really great article on them already. HERE. Basically, there were 2 or 3 whale sharks one of which was around 12metres. I named him Humphrey. It was kinda cool for me because I was swimming back to the boat and I saw a turtle in mid-water so I stopped to look at him for a while. THEN Humphrey swam right up behind me and said hello. So at least I got to see him on my own without all the other people there. Perfect. The dives were great. I am certified to 40metres now. The company was even better. Thanks guys.

Me with Alan (in Blue) and Roy. Captions on a postcard please

It sounds silly but these days for me are made SO much better for me by hanging out with the boat crew despite not always understanding each other, the banter always flows. PLUS I get to indulge me love for music in poignant situations. Picture the scene. It’s a glorious day (in paradise). You’re on a boat with good good people. You have some of your favourite music in your ears. (this is the clincher) and you are lying on the very front of the bow of the boat. BLISS. There were many moments over these two days where I was struck by an overwhelming sense of euphoria. It’s an ALMOST indescribably perfect ethereal feeling that I have felt few times before and I doubt I will feel with such strength in the future. It takes me back to mantra I used to utter to myself a few years back when I was going through a tough time. FIND SOMETHING. GET INVOLVED. I still live and die by that. It can be something you connect deeply and emotionally with or something that fuels the fire in your belly but whatever it is and wherever it takes you, make sure have SOMETHING that fulfils your passions and get involved in it. Right now, I have travel, diving, adventure, my beard and the wonderful people I have left behind as well as those I am now surrounded by.  I am no genius, but please. Think on it. Feed your passions. They are important.

As I have already mentioned, music is a hugely significant part of my life. Recently, the song Biko by Bloc Party has been a focus. The lyrics plead ”if I could eat you cancer I would” because “you’re not doing… this alone”. Somehow the track feels uplifting and empowering while being gently punctuated by heart-wrenchingly thought provoking sentiments.  Last year I lost two very dear people to cancer. They were both awesome. They each shared an adventurous spirit with a noble, chivalrous and kind outlook on life. They were great friends to me. I like to indulge myself while listening to this song, the memories it helps to conjure and the warmth they fill me with. Peter and Mo. You truly were an inspiration. You are missed but your spirits live on!!

Jamiroqui – Blue Skies (Flux pavilion remix) – this might be for the younger folk out there. It is exactly what is says in the title. It is the audio representation of blue skies. Y’know, that soaring, timeless and ageless sensation you get when you see that gorgeous spectrum of blue that the sky has the unique ability to show-off. Thanks sky. You rock.

I hope this finds you well. I hope you are winning in whatever it is you need to win at. Most importantly, those people in life you care about know that you care.

Until the next time good people, take it easy.

Much love, Ads (beardface)

I love it when a plan comes together

I sit here as Juilette plays guitar, I sink further and further, deeper and deeper into and smug warmth that is almost comparable to a euphoric sense of content. Why would a man use such hyperbole with such little regard for those words not considered to be worthy of the term superlative? As Our Old Friend said to me today (as a joke as I took a slightly different path back from the beach) – “the last thing Liquid needs is a maverick Ads”. Well basically, I am coming off the back of an indescribably wonderful series of days. Admittedly, I said indescribable BUT, as you can guess, I am going to describe them now.

Let me set the scene. If you have been lucky enough to read some of my words before, then you will know how beautiful Liquid Dumaguete is. Let me go a little less mainstream in my description now. My name is Adam WonderBear Detre. You know this. I am called many things by many people BUT, those out there who know me best/closest they call me Ads or Bear. I don’t know whether it is something from childhood or whether it is the comfort of feeling close to someone purely by what/how they call you, regardless, I like being called by a familiar name. It was hard leaving the UK this time around so when I came back and my friends and family here called me Ads, it made the transition a little bit easier to the point of filling my heart with a little bit of joy. The people here managers, staff and guests alike are AWESOME.

I digress. Diving. That is what I do and that is why I have my alarm set earlier here than back home in the UK for my former office job. It has been a tremendous few weeks of day trips to Apo Island, Siquijor and Sumilon Island; on top of all this there have been a multitude of coastal dives and of course, a massive number of PADI certifications. My personal highlights include diving at Apo with Sandra. Much as she was a lovely lady, it was more what happened than with who. Gui and I were working together which is something I always enjoy and we had decided on trying the Coconut Point drift dive. A drift is when you drop in on a site that has a known current and you ‘ride’ it, much like skydiving sideways… underwater… This particular dive definitely got the adrenaline pumping as we hit medium-strong horizontal AND down currents gently sending us over a variety of Apo’s famously exquisite corals. Not only this, but in one of the few current shadows, we stumbled across a HUGE (bold, caps, underline and italics intended) fish called a Jack. I estimated it to be around 2-2.5metres long and maybe a 1metres tall. Let me put it this way, it put Morris the resident BIG Grouper (found at Publacion) to shame.

Earnie the Eel

Having worn the guests/students out a tiny bit, Gui and I decided to have a nice relaxing shallow dive to finish the day. Sandra and I wandered off around the shallows at Katu Panan – one of my favourite dive sites in the area – and we immediately blessed with the gift of a turtle feeding on some soft coral. He seemed pretty chilled out and very comfortable with us being there so we stayed for five minutes always respecting his space and not busying up his area too much. This is something I strongly believe in. We, as divers, are VISITORS to the underwater worlds so we should ALL leave stuff ALONE. Mini-rant done. We continued to wander around at around 7metres deep (it’s not all about depth y’know) and once again, lucky us, we stumbled across a fluorescent green hermit crab the name of which we have not been able to determine yet. Awesome. Quite content with having found these two I felt like my work there was done. Oh no. As if by magic, I was staring blankly at a rock trying to centre and focus my thoughts, during which and to my amazement, I found myself eyeballing an octopus poking his head out of a crack in said rock. Double-awesome. Ok, so at the risk of showing off, it does not stop there. Sandra had been asking to see a sea snake all day, so I was pretty keen to pander to her desires. It was as if I had set everything up so that while hovering at 5metres for our safety stop, I looked down to see an iridescent snake eel gliding through the corals. I nonchalantly tapped her on the shoulder to point it out and right on cue, she squealed with delight.

a tiny TINY crab

All this sounds fairly unimportant BUT as a DM (oh yeah, I passed all my exams) part of your role is to not only guide dives but also point out local wildlife. Anyone can spot a fish because there are loads but spotting a rare fish or a tiny organism or downright weird something-or-other is a bit of an art form. That afternoon was one of the first where I felt I was able to accomplish this to a creditable level. I have a LOT to learn from Alfred who has telescope eyes while being a bastion of aquatic knowledge.

Our Old Friend has recently started on the road to his dream diving job. He has started his Tec Diver training courses which will take him towards becoming a Tec Diving Instructor. What is Tec Diving? Isn’t diving diving? ‘Fraid not. There is recreational diving which is generally run by the associations you have heard of – most notably PADI and sends people down to 40metres (having passed a Speciality Deep Dive Certification). Tec Diving is more like what you imagine hardcore diving to be like - lots of tanks that look like jetpacks. Plus, from what I can glean, lots of clips and extra gear that sounds cool and does amazing things with minimal margins for error. There is an extraordinary amount of theory that accompanies the practical side of things and THIS in itself is worth looking it to. It covers everything from manufacturing principles and servicing through to human physiology and psychology. It is the closest manifestation of diving that I know of that takes it from being an activity to way of life. There is no limit or end to the learning and development involved. Plus it gives Our Old Friend and excuse to indulge his favourite activity – talking about, playing with and buying new dive gear.

This week has gently been soundtracked by The Stornoways – We are the Battery Humans. AND Bright Eyes – First day of my life. I could write for HOURS about this song. It is easily one of the greatest songs of my lifetime. Listen to it and create your own memories. You will not regret it I promise.

I have talked a lot today and I have not even mentioned the important bits that I was going to write about. I would have put exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence but I have the voice of my old English teacher shouting at me not to so please imagine that the last sentence was accented by three exclamation marks. I will try and give a brief photographic run down of what else has happened:

We celebrated the 30th year of Gui being born

The Liquid Dumatini was created

Eva had her snorkel test

I had MY snorkel test - Branston Pickle included

From all of us here - G'BYE FOR NOW!!  

Back into the (DiveMaster) thick of it

WOW, has it been that long already. You have to understand that I have no idea what day of the week it is. Sometimes, I wake up and I am scared that it is the day after tomorrow, then I realise/hope that someone would have come to check I was alive. (The photo? Yeah, that’s me… in the tropics… Yeah, I know. My hair looks great. THANKS!)

I have indulged myself over the last few missives mainly by spouting my internal flim-flam and mental wonderings but it appears that it was at the detriment of actual CONTENT. People like to read about actual things. So this time, I am making a conscious effort to have a focus. Let’s try talking about diving. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin.

My days are orientated by whether I am diving or not and if it I am assisting on a course. This week has been all about assisting for me and all the other DiverMaster Trainees (DMTs)… yeah, I know, there are more of us now. There is Eva who was here when I arrived back. From what I have seen and been told, she can hold her own in the bar and definitely in the ocean. Suzi/Suzanne loved being in the water and no matter what time of day, I turn around and she is in the pool. Me OBVIOUSLY – ‘the first’ and original zero to hero Liquid DiveMaster. Laura is here doing her rescue and this time next week she will be working towards her DM. AND FINALLY, Juilette arrived with wide eyes and calm, understated excitement. Alfred the resort’s official DiveMaster continues to be an inspiration and then there are our instructors - Gui ‘le beurre’ and then is our old friend who is wandering about in the depths of the blue surrounding Malapascua. Basically, there are LOADS of new people. Oh how could I forget, Phil and Elin are here now under the guise of Management and all round badasses. So far, they had a wonderful impact on the place LONG may it continue.

The staff have taken been given the chance to do their Open Water and so the pool has been filled with excited Filippinos and (slightly) frantic DMTs trying to stop them floating away, drinking the water out of their snorkels and generally keeping everything in control. The role of a DMT while assisting is basically to make sure everything that the instructor needs in on hand, while also looking after students and perhaps helping them through the trickier skills. Personally, I LOVE assisting on courses because you get to see people happy shock and growing awe at how easy it is to breath underwater and THEN there are the fish. EVERYWHERE. I get a properly euphoric feeling when diving with newbies because it reminds me of why I am here and invigorates me even on the slowest of days. Gui and I are becoming a better and better team which is gently solidifying a friendship for many years to come. It’s not all rainbows and butterflies. While assisting in the open water we basically end up riding the student’s tank ‘like a little pony’ (my words) to make sure they do not ascend too quickly.

Daily life is hotting up both literally (the sun is back… and this time it want revenge) and metaphorically. The life of a DiveMaster and the training that precedes it is fairly all encompassing. Of an average day, I can expect to be welcoming new guests *INSERT HOLLYWOOD WINK AND GUN*, cleaning and servicing equipment, mapping new dive sites or errrrr, DIVING. More accurately, I could be guiding, briefing procedures for, buddy-ing up with guests or assisting Gui on certifications. This week Suzi, Eva and I have been refining our skills to “demonstration quality”. What are these skills you talk of? Witchcraft? Shamanism? Baking? Nope. I am talking about displaying diving techniques. These vary greatly from clearing your mask of water, removing and replacing your weight-belt while underwater or air depletion scenarios. What is this demonstration quality malarkey and why is it necessary for a DiveMaster? Ultimately if I am assisting on a course it may be the case that need to help a student if they are having problems with a skills so demonstration quality basically means slow, grand gestures with plenty of “remember, don’t put your mask on upside down” using only hand signals. It’s like training to be an aquatic Marcel Marceau.

Fear not good people, most of the times in between these strenuous and hectic days, I am found reclining in my favourite corner of the chill out area or propping up the bar. Both important parts of my personal life training. It was with sheer delight that a good friend from my previous life in London – Gav - was out here whence I returned. He is the reason I ended up in this corner of paradise because he put me in touch with Zoe last April. April 10th to be precise. I think that day will be forever etched into my life as a turning point. Thanks Gav, it was properly wonderful to see you here even overlapped for only a few days. Gav and I worked together and shared MANY a night in the pub, so bringing him, Zoe (a childhood friend since the age of 3), me and everyone else at liquid together… on a night out… could only end in carnage. It is here that I will use a direct quotation from Gav himself:

“Well last night went like this - 4 dinners between 3, jugs of cocktails, Philippine Reggae band, 9 people on a tricycle, random club, dice based drinking game, accidental punch on the nose, French love triangle, drunken man from Lincoln, disgruntled prostitutes, fun with static electricity and a bear, 4 people sleeping in a tricycle, a torchlit walk home and a persistent ladyboy called Stephen then some excellent star gazing from a volcanic beach. Pretty average Wednesday night really”

I don’t think I need to elaborate.

I thought I would leave you with MY favourite underwater creature that I have found and fortunately for me, they are along the coast. It is a flambouyant cuttle fish. They are about 1-2 inches long. If you wave your hand near them, first they go into hover mode THEN, they go crazy displaying white and purple stripes. I am not sure if you have ever seen a cuttle fish BUT they are able to change colour to blend with their surroundings. They display these colours to confuse and put-off any predators. Have a look HERE for a video taken my John one of our former guests.

I have a listen to Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again. Don’t get me wrong, I am not homesick BUT I love my home, my friends and my family both here and in the UK. This song fills me with a warmth that could only be emulated by having all these people in one place. One beautiful place.

Take it easy people.

Until the next time, Ads

2011 - music happened during it

Turns out I’ve been away for most of this year but I still saw it as my civil duty to write about the music that made this year go with such a wonderful fizz and bubble (with the occasional bout of leishmaniasis).

When I Grow Up by First Aid Kit A band I am fairly sure that have featured before and often talk about is the Swedish folk-pop duo First Aid Kit . If you got a praaalem wid dis then you gonna have to deal with it. Their uncanny ability to create power through evocative  two part harmonies backed by simple acoustic arrangement showcases their talented pragmaticism - a sentence that does not come easily. Not only do they repeatedly create beautiful music beyond comprehension they also have an uncanny knack of covering the perfect song in a manner that induces emotions seldom seen/felt/heard. Here I would like to cite Fever Ray - When I Grow Up. This is easily one of my tracks of the year/life. My love of these two is easily replicated in the shape of Ane Brun. I don’t know a whole lot about her apart from the fact she shares her name with a friend of a friend and Humming One of Your Songs was a huge part of my year. She is worthy of far more than a sentence but time presses.

You have to remember that I have been in the third world for most of this year, usually without internet access, let alone access to my usual musical outlets. SO, I was first alerted to Beth Jeans Houghton (a name I would consider for my future offspring) after her BBC 6Music session whereupon sheperformed Dodechedron. Not only was this a wonderful moment. It was an brilliant version of an already excellent song. I had been waiting for almost two years for the single/album. I had seen her perform at Glastonbury, I had heard on the radio since; posted and re-posted about her. My only gripe (a word I really like these days) is how the beginning of Dodecahedron has a weird, scary baby crying. It freaks me and every else out EVERY time the song comes on.

It’s hard to know where to start when talking about Mastodon. Their 2011 release The Hunter is not everyone’s cup of prog-metal tea. Having been a long term fan of Tool and Maynard James Keenan, I was easily convinced when recommended Crack the Skye by an old metallier – it’s like a sermellier but for metal - friend whose opinion I value. The Hunter was another LP that was not an instant ear-pleaser BUT, I was expecting this. I gave it a few listens, usually on a boat heading to a tropical island I have been frequenting for the latter quarter of this year. A stranger juxtaposition of images, I don’t know one, an even stranger intermingling of memories, not found one yet. Together - the journey and The Hunter – they pumped me into a feverously introspective mood that I have rarely felt before and I wonder how I would replicate again in the future. Listen to this set of jagged, fiery audio ramblings and I have no doubt you will find yourself in a headspace that you are not immediately familiar with. I double-dare you no returns.

Clichéd Lifetime achievement award: System of a Down. Much as I feel I have no right to gift any band with this pointless of all pointlessnesses, I do want to find a way of mentioning System of A Down. A band who opened my eyes to heavy beyond heavy guitars with a lyricist who was at least possessed and more acurately deranged (in a good way).

Dispatch will forever hold a fond place in my heart having first heard them in the year 2011 on a veranda overlooking the province of Bario in the Kelabit Highlands of Borneo. It was at this moment, as the sun was setting and the night was warming up to be one to go down in my history, The General came on. Simply put, it was a great acoustic rock song which told an excellent story which is a rarity these days. Then I heard Out Loud while in a bar in the Philippines – my home – and I was struck dumb. Quiet. Almost acappella. Heart-wrenching content. This missive could not have gone out without a mention of this or them.

DISPATCH - The General by foundations

SBTRKT – A tenuous non-sequitor à I do not particularly like Little Dragon. I saw them headlining a small gig in Highbury a few years ago (I was there to see Stateless) and found them to be a little boring BUT definitely headlining a growing adolescent generation of music. Having said this their vocalist lends her voice box to Wildfire – the track that made me stop and re-think about this random-letter generated name’s offerings. It was an instant contender for favourite track of the year. I have no idea if this is old news. So, Aaron Jerome aka SBTRKTEIVNASDUI has manage to fuse some favourites, and so clearly the best, elements of electronic music. There is lovely fudgey, dupsteppy bass coupled with exciting futuristic blip-blop noises, various synths with simple and immersive lyrics. All in all, a strong contender for album of the year for me. If you are able to get past the name, you will massively appreciate the excitement that will fuel in your belly. As a little side thought though, I love the audacity of the just-too-long-to-be-comfortable pause in Right Thing to Do.The number of times I thought my iPod had randomly stopped...

It feels like a day/week cannot go past where I or someone near me does not wax lyrical about Adele. It is even stranger for me when people assume that 21 is the hit album. Personally, 19 is one of the best albums I own so for her follow-up to hold as strong a part in my cerebral hard disk is quite a statement de-void of ANY hyperbole. Buy it. Buy them both. Listen to them BOTH. A LOT. Interesting seguey. Jamie XX was responsible for the best remix of the year with his metamorphosis of Rolling in the Deep. I love this track but sadly it has fallen foul to its own hype and is now over played, over-covered and mentioned all too often. BUT. As I said. I like the Jamie XX mix before it was cool. Honourable mention to his remixes of Gill Scott Heron. I am a tiny bit ashamed that that was how I was introduced to the late NYC acid jazz hero.

Adele - Rolling In The Deep (Jamie xx Shuffle) by hotfortheencore

Ali BeatnikOnline Raymond. There I’ve said it. This fella and his blog are a mutual friend and my go to for all musics urban and peri-urban. It was on a very indulgent day towards the beginning of this year that I stumbled across Justin Uzomba aka. Mikill Pane. To be more accurate I stumbled across “The Return of Mister Pane... the lanky n****r with purple frames.”. The video was cool, set in various scenes throughout the Brick Lane area but it was his turn of phrase and intrinsic sneerish humour that I LOVED. Fearful that this was a one off I YouTube’d his name whereupon I discovered a collaboration with this semi-unknown – Ed Sheeran – on a track called Little Lady. THIS is my track of the year. Ed, an urban folkser or a folkish getto rudeboy succeeds in using an angelic (he is very ginger, not sure why that is relevant here) vocals over ska/dub acoustic guitars and grand sounding production to create beautiful all encompassing songs. Little Lady, which is a re-work of the Sheeran’s original The A Team, on the other hand is possibly one of the most intricate and wonderful pieces of wordsmanship. Messrs Sheeran and Pane/Uzomba play their parts with Ed providing the melancholic hook and backing tracks while Mr Pane gives the world a thought provoking, macabre and hollistically dark story delivered in a fittingly monotone narrative. It’s one of those where people renew their faith that music is amazing.

With genuine wonderful circluarity of things the very same album of collaborations that gave us Little Lady also introduced me to Devlin. At first I was slightly non-plussed then, while in the jungles of Borneo, I was listening to a friends iPod an Devlin’s Community Outcast came on. After a few listens, I realised it was the classic strings/synths coupled with standard hip-hopish beats and, in this case fast, proper London inflcition that was gripping me. He paints a picture of sadder side of the Great British community and the shortcomings that “Brown told us to live with”. Surprisingly (for me at least) it became one of my top 10 most played from 2012. Give it a go and I am sure you’ll also be pleasantly surprised.

This year has definitely and maybe obviously been the year that dubstep ‘went mainstream’. Flux Pavillion in my opinion (which this whole thing is) is the top of the class. His tracks should come with some form of health warning stating something along the lines of PEOPLE WITH HEART CONDITIONS SHOULD SEEK ADVICE BEFORE INDULGING. The best part is that his mixes are also heart murmringly good. Freestylers – Cracks (Flux Pavillion Remix) = one of the best songs to sweat to. Jamoriqui - Blue Skies (Flux Pavillion remix) = euphorically bright even on the darkest of winter days. MIA – Internest Connection (Flux Pavillion remix) = my favourite song my MIA about the internet. System malfunction à wobbly base noise. Plus. Flux Pavillion. It’s a cool name.

I feel like I shouldn’t bother writing about Tune-Yards because everyone else is. I am in no way claiming to be massively original or unique but I doubt I could say much that someone else hasn’t already said more directly. A great album that could be the younger, female cousin of Vampire Weekend. It has a similar African-ish influence or perhaps it’s a general tribal (in finger quotes) feel PLUS, the vocals provided by Merrill Garbus are excellent to sing along to especially in busy communter trains and buses. Try it. I challenge you not to have at least the seat next to you cleared within 25 seconds. The album is great, sunny and slightly unqiue but you might need to give it a chance or two. Bizness and Powa were the two tracks that hooked me.

Having been a long term fan of Dan le sac vs. Scroobius Pip, I was curious to see who this Sage Francis was. He is always listed in the same sentence as Pip and supported some legs of their recent tour. Then, out of no-where, the same friend who showed me Devlin text me – I was in Borneo and he was back home by this point – with the words The Best of Times – Sage Francis. I downloaded it. It instantly captured me. Since then, Li(f)e as been a constant. He delivers his words in the street poet, slam style with a pronoused meter and rhythm within the words themselves. As his name states, he is very wise, often insightful but always rational(ish). Little Houdini was another standout on Li(f)e which was released earlier this year. The backing to his words varies greatly so, rather than ponficate I will just urge you to try it on for yourself. Which is the complete antithesis to...

...one thing that I HAVE noticed. The current trends of sub-popluar music - wishy washy, minimal, vocal style that seems to be prevalent and start committing to the noises, sounds and music that leads our way. I am a little disappointed considering this time last year I might have been talking about Seight Bells for example. Is say let’s teabag the flimflam, smash through the mashmallowly mediocracy and prouldy squat a-top the golden retriever of empowerment safe in the knowledge that we are not ecouraging the production of recessio-pop^*.

Until next year.

^*This is possibly the greatest sentence ever written. There is no way I can follow that up. I think I can retire now.

Philippines - Papa's a-coming

2012. It’s been a funny year already but mainly in a good positive, good-foundation-on-which-to start-a-year kinda way. I left London and my family and friends at 7:30pm on the 31^st December only to wake up in Riyadh at 4:30am (I think) to the constant sound of mobile phone ringing. The sound of a phone ringing is no longer noteworthy but it seemed like the world I had woken up in was suddenly sponsored by the Nokia ringtone you know the one – diddle-dee-dee-dee-dee-DEEEE diddle-dee-dee-dee-dee-DEEEE - including  the airport tannoy.

I went home, back to London town, for Christmas and I have to admit that is was not relaxing but nor was I expecting or intending it to be. It was a maelstrom of social jitterbug of flitting and shimmying making sure I spent time with the people I wanted to while also crowbarring in those who make my life the wonderous joy that it is. I feel/felt the need to state my love for London and the UK because I do often as a retort to a remark like “I don’t blame you for leaving this hellhole”. I am proud to be English and swell with pride while wondering the street of my London town.

I have been ‘working hard’ (I add the inverted commas because I can imagine Dad laughing at the fact that I am calling it 1) working and 2) hard) while I was home and I am now a product/user tester for a few outdoorsy products. At the risk of sounding like I am kissing arse (ass for our American cousins) a bit, I have to say I am extremely impressed with what I have been given.

·         DD hammocks have given me a new sleeping system to test and so far I am very pleased to say that their new Travel Hammock/Biviis excellent. I cannot wait to go out Mount Talinis now.

·         Pelican cases have also given me an iPod case which is crush proof, watertight (but not submersible) and extremely light considering what it is able to do

·         Paramo have provide me with a pair of their Men's Maui Cotton+ Cargo Trousers. Anyone that has been following me for a little while will know that my jungle trousers from last year got obliterated so I set a few companies the challenge of providing me a decent pair and Paramo were the only ones to step up. Not only that but their use a very ethical supply chain (kind of like fair trade but for trousers) that starts in Bogota, Colombia. All else aside, these are a wonderfully well made and very light weight pair of cotton/polyester blend trousers. I already highly recommend them.

I am really quite unfashionably excited for my near and far futures. I know that any time spend at Liquid will be treasured for the rest of my life. There is a 99% chance that I am going to spend the second half of this year in Madagascar with an organisation called Frontier which would be a boyhood dream come true so you’ll have to keep an eye out for that.

It took me over 57hours to get from Heathrow to Dumaguete. I can hear everyone questions as to WHY OH WHY it takes me that long BUT I took a long way round and it was fairly cheap too. Manila NAIA Airport Terminate 3, an airport terminal I know intimately down to where the only power socket situated next to a chair is and the wireless password to three of the closed networks, was kind to me as usual. This time, I invested my time wisely by watching two parts of the Lords of the Rings trilogy (extended versions OBVIOUSLY) as well as a fair few episodes of The Wire. “Omar’s comin’ y’all”. I am tired but so happily excited to be getting back to the country/island/town/resort I call my home away from home. What should I do first when I return. Eat? Sleep? Dive? LIVE?!? Probably all of the above plus maybe a drink or two. I also need a hair cut but I think that that can wait. I am keen to meet Eva who is a new DiveMaster Trainee as well as all the many others imminently arriving over the coming weeks. (Gui has been busy).

I have bought a sack (disguised as an ASDA back for life) of treats for my co-habitants which got me thinking. What would I miss from the UK that I can’t easily get in Negros? I can access Ribena here which is something that makes me feel at home when I am away from the UK, I do not miss chocolate so much. Cooking-wise, Ricki and Peddi are able to turn their hand to anything so, my favourite at home which is chicken in breadcrumbs is available then necessary and then it dawned on me. I definitely miss my cat Li’l (short for little... because she is little). I also think I miss Hungarian Salami - something I was bought up on. I am not the most Magyar-ish of the Magyars although there are definitely Detre/Frankl traits that are beginning to shine through – mainly blagging and charming. This was bought to my attention when explaining my favourite Jedi mind trick to my extended family which goes along something like this. If I am faced with a situation which is likely to put a spanner in my works then I explain, regardless of my experience of the situation, that “It’s fine, it’ll be ok”. This is most useful when dealing with airports, aeroplanes or the staff that man these entities. I have not paid excess baggage since I first arrived in Asia and apparently I am able to use the staff facilities in both Saudi Arabian and Filippino airports mainly because “it’ll be ok.”

I have to admit that this entry of my life feels a lot like the gentle mental meanderings of a sleep deprived diving junglist without any mention of diving or jungling. I admit also that were it not for the sleep deprivation, the mental meanderings would probably be slightly more erratic. If you have a problem with that then you should probably have stopped reading a while ago. I ALSO think the jungle can be made into a verb. One CAN jungle.

Wild Child – Pillow Talk; Daughter – Candles and SBTRKT –Right Thing to Do were the main songs that highlighted and sountracked my sojourn back to the UK. I heartily encourage you to give them all a listen.

I could have summed this 1,092 words up in a couple of sentences:

Friends, family and London - I love you and I’ll see you again soonish. Liquid, my family there and Dauin – I love you too and Papa’s home!