Kraftweek 3 – Kraftwerk Kover Kollection 8

Volume 8 already (with enough saved for vol. 9 too)! This hour long mix has a bit of an angle over previous ones as I saved a lot of jazz, acoustic and piano versions for this and left out most of the electronic side.

Save for some timely skits that comment on the ticketing fiascos surrounding recent gigs, most of the music here is more organic than synthetic but shows how easily adaptable the songs are across genres. A Bollywood version ofMan Machine’, ‘The Model’ played on church bells, sung by a choir and covered by comedian Adrian Edmondson are just some of the delights in this edition.


I probably say this every time but this is one of my favourite mixes, it was a bugger to put together but some of the versions are just incredible. ‘Neon Lights’ played on a music box, the jazz versions of ‘Spacelab’, ‘Man Machine’ and ‘The Telephone Call’ by Mensch Maschine and the insane piano version of ‘Electric Café’. Whilst adapting the cover art I did a number of designs and thought it would be fun to see what ‘retro’ and ‘updated’ versions would be like so here’s a Kover cover that conforms to ‘Der Katalog’ too.

Posted in Kraftwerk, Solid Steel. | 5 Comments |

Coldcut meets The Orb – The Return Trip

Late last year DK and I were chatting on the phone about potential guests for Solid Steel’s 25th anniversary year in 2013. We were aiming high and had decided to ask any prospective guests for themed mixes or collections of tracks outside of their usual comfort zone. The idea of collaborations came up, maybe Fourtet and Caribou could team up or Aphex and Vibert? What and who would make people sit up and say, “holy shit, I HAVE to check that out?”. Suddenly the thought bubbled up, why don’t we get a rematch between Coldcut and the Orb? It’s no secret that their original New Year mash up from the end of 1991 is very high up on my list of greatest mixes ever and the thought of a new sound clash 21 years later was very appealing indeed.

We put it to Matt and Jon, who loved the idea, and promptly contacted Alex Paterson and Youth. Convening at the latter’s Butterfly studio on the anniversary of JFK‘s assassination the four of them, along with Coldcut studio accomplice Dor Wand, got down to it. The resulting session produced over 3 hours worth of material, Matt excitedly collaring me a few days later to rave about what a blast it had been.

He wanted an independent opinion on the results and I immediately volunteered to take on the edit job to sculpt it into the shape needed for a Solid Steel mix. Luckily they had recorded everything to multi-track and just before Xmas I sat down to construct a 2 hour show from the chinese puzzle in front of me. After sifting, editing, compressing and discarding over a 3 to 4 week period I finally had something to send the guys. Matt came over to the studio to run through some finishing touches with fresh ears and we now present 133 minutes of mind-melting madness.

In a time now saturated with mixes by everyone from the famous to the unknown to your mate’s mum it’s sometimes hard to grab people’s attention. This year we start off with something that we don’t normally do, we’re giving the entire show over to four artists to present one mix. To say that I’m pleased with the result is an understatement, not my contribution to the edit so much as what we now have because of a fanciful suggestion I made a few months ago. It’s a very different beast to their first excursion, how could it not be? 21 years is a long time and the whole mix is rooted in dub of all permutations, layer upon layer of sonics to pick apart including many unreleased tracks, versions or remixes by all participants. Lee Perry, Killing Joke, Sun Ra, William Burroughs, Teebs, Ry Cooder, Actress, Prince Jammy, Iggy Pop, Monty Python and Hank Williams are all in there plus probably a hundred more, some submerged, others strutting their stuff, you can have fun trying to guess who played what and who is who hiding behind a pseudonym. We haven’t included all the spoken word samples in the track listing because it would just get way too confusing but you’ll hear John F Kennedy, Hal 9000, William Burroughs and more swimming around in there.

We will continue celebrating a quarter of a century of ‘the broadest beats’ every week throughout the year with exclusive mixes from: Four Tet, J Rocc, Skream, Kirk DeGiorgio, Trevor Jackson, Chris Carter from Throbbing Gristle, Toddla T, Benji B, Photek, Andy Votel, Z-Trip, Tom Middleton, Richard Dorfmeister, Greg Wilson, DJ Kentaro, James Lavelle, Giles Peterson, Don Letts, Jack Dangers, Future Sound of London, Kid Koala, Luke Vibert, Laurent Garnier, Congo Natty, Gaslamp Killer, Andrew Weatherall, Francois Kevorkian, Fink, Ross Allen, Mixmaster Morris, Manasseh and the first guest to appear on Solid Steel back in 1988, Juan Atkins (and that’s not even all of them…).

25 Years of Solid Steel in 2013

I can’t quite believe it’s been a quarter of a century since Matt Black and Jonathan More combined their Mastermix Dance Party and Meltdown Party shows to form the Coldcut Solid Steel show on the pirate station Kiss FM in London.

Both had separate shows on a Friday afternoon on the station, Matt’s at midday and John’s at 4pm with Danny Ramplin(g) sandwiched in between and Judge JulesFamily Funktion, Bobby & Steve’s Zoo Experience and Jazzie B‘s Soul II Soul shows following. Check out this amazing line up from an old Kiss 94 FM newsletter (94 was the frequency it was on before it went legal in 1990 and switched to 100).

No sooner than they had joined forces – we think sometime in the latter half of ’88, no one is quite sure – Kiss went off the air at New Years Eve. In an attempt to gain a legal license they had to stop broadcasting for 6 months as a show of faith to the DTI. As it turned out they didn’t get the license until Spring 1990 as they lost out to Jazz FM in ’89 which is why there are no shows from that year floating round on the web.

DK has raided the Coldcut tape cupboard to put together a show comprised of snippets of both Matt and Jon’s separate shows in the first hour and a later Solid Steel on the legal Kiss 100 FM in the second. Spot the signposts in Coldcut’s early career, hear now classic tracks played in their heyday and vintage adverts for gigs now a distant memory.

New shows arrive on Fridays, you can listen to the show every week on Soundcloud and also subscribe and receive the podcast through iTunes. We have some very special mixes coming up throughout the year from big guests both new and old that we’ve asked specially to contribute.

We’re looking back in a different way this time, no more archive shows but guests who we’ve admired and played the music of over the last 25 years have been asked to do something special for Solid Steel in 2013. More announcements next week and a whole show devoted to a totally new return trip from Coldcut and The Orb

Also for anyone wanting to know more about the Kiss FM story there’s a great documentary on Vimeo that tells the tale.

New DJ Food mix of Israeli esoterica and radiophonica

On a recent trip to Tel Aviv I was given a huge amount of music, both new and old, from Israel and was knocked out by the quality of it. These form the bulk of a new mix for Solid Steel and you can see a heavy bias towards the Mordy Laye and the Group Modular record I posted about the other week which is now out on vinyl and download.
Hear and buy the album in full here or hop over to group member Markey Funk’s Mixcloud page to digest one of his great Modular mixes. He, along with group partner Mule Driver, will be putting together a special Solid Steel guest mix soon…

Solid Steel – residency at the Blind Tiger Club, Brighton

Starting this month we have a brand new residency in Brighton for Solid Steel at the Blind Tiger Club. Each monthly gig will feature one Solid Steel DJ and support from locals Banks and 2econd Class Citizen.

DK kicks it off in on Nov 16th, then Cheeba in Dec and myself in Jan 2013, hopefully we can make the cold, wet winter months a little warmer. We’re keeping the door price low and the content high, 3rd Friday of each month is a date for the diary.

It’ll be nice to have something regular in Brighton again, it’s been a while now and next year we celebrate 25 years of broadcasting. We’re planning several different things for next year but those will be revealed in good time.

Posted in Gigs, Solid Steel. | 1 Comment |

Mr Armtone AV mix, DJ Food & Ill Chemist on Solid Steel

Mr Armtone – Time Machine from Solid Steel on Vimeo.

St. Petersburg’s Mr Armtone returns to Solid Steel this week, with an AV mix no less, full of great material and up to our usual high standard both musically and visually. The overall theme is Time Machines so watch and listen out for various references cropping up throughout.
The second hour features both my recent DJ Shadow mixes and the guest mix debut of NYC’s Ill Chemist aka Alan Friedman, friend of Steinski and one time Break Beatle. His mix is a stunning gallop through all music styles from BeBop to Hip Hop, Jazz takes on the classics and a whole lot more, could this be the show with the most tracks squeezed into it?

“I wanna say a little something that’s long overdue…”

A great big THANK YOU to everyone who’s listened to the remake of The Beastie Boys‘Paul’s Boutique’ album that Cheeba, Moneyshot and I debuted 10 days ago. It’s been blogged and linked to from all over the world by magazines like Urb, Fact and Spin plus sites like EgoTrip, Comic Book Resource and Dangerous Minds, and this weekend the LA Times ran a news piece on it.

On Friday we broke the record for the most listens to one mix ever on our Solid Steel show (33,000 for Bonobo) and are currently heading towards the 40,000 listens mark on the Ninja Tune/Solid Steel Soundcloud. Sadly we received the news that Strongroom Alive – the radio station that hosts us in London every Thursday – was no more last week but their memory lives on in the live version currently on Mixcloud which has garnered another 10,000 plays.

Big thanks to Erik Batternberg who sent me the LA Times photo and for all of you who blogged it, shared it, retweeted it, let us know your thoughts and hipped us to others who have done the same.

Now that the mix has had it’s week on Solid Steel I’ve uploaded it to my own Soundcloud and you can access it quickly via the image on the right or the download page. We are all blown away with the reception this has received and will be working on something special as a follow up for next year.

‘Paul’s Boutique’ remade by Cheeba, Moneyshot & Food

3 years in the making, 3 DJs working with over 150 tracks to recreate one of the seminal sampling albums of all time, at last Cheeba, Moneyshot and I can reveal ‘Caught In The Middle Of A 3-Way Mix’. Our tribute to the classic Beastie Boys album ‘Paul’s Boutique’ remixed and re-imagined from all the original samples plus a cappellas, period interviews and the Beasties’ own audio commentary from the reissued release.

Add to this a custom illustration from Paul’s Boutique super-fan and all-round great guy Jim Mahfood, taking time out from recent art duties on Tank Girl, and you have an alternate version of the album. The mix was over half way finished when we heard the tragic news of Adam Yauch‘s passing this May so this is also our nod to his memory, RIP MCA.

Big respect to Cheeba and Moneyshot for all their hard work and for the latter for inspiring the project with his classic mix of their ‘Check Your Head’ three years ago. Obviously massive respect goes out to The Beasties, The Dust Brothers, Mario C. and all involved in the making of the original album.

The mix debuted on Solid Steel via Strongroom Alive and above is the whole show with commentary and additional mix action from Coldcut and PC and the one below without chat and a download option.


Also here’s the full tracklist:

Caught In The Middle of A 3-Way Mix – a tribute to The Beastie Boys‘Paul’s Boutique’ album

DJ Cheeba section:

To All The Girls:
Mike D – Pauls Boutique Audio Commentary (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Idris Mohammed – Loran’s Dance – Kudu
Beastie Boys – Triple Trouble (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Beastie Boys – Paul Revere – (DIY a cappella)
Fatboy Slim – The Weekend Starts Here – Skint Records
Beastie Boys – 3 MCs and 1 DJ (a cappella) – Capitol Records
LL Cool J – Rock The Bells – Def Jam  Recordings
Beastie Boys – Ch Ch Ch Check It Out (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Beastie Boys – Shake Your Rump (a cappella) – Capitol Records
David Berman – Pauls Boutique Release Party (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip

Shake Your Rump:
Alphonze Mouzon – Funky Snakefoot – Blue Note
Beastie Boys – Shake Your Rump (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Rose Royce – 6 O’Clock DJ (Let’s Rock) – MCA Records
Rose Royce – Born To Love You – MCA Records
John King – The History of The Dust Brothers (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Mike D – Pauls Boutique Release Party (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Diana Ross & The Supremes – No Matter What Sign You Are – Tamla Motown
The Sugar Hill Gang – 8th Wonder – Sugar Hill Records
Rose Royce – Daddy Rich – MCA Records
Alan Moorhouse – Soul Skimmer – KPM Music
Afrika Bambaataa & James Brown – Unity Part 2 (a cappella) – Polydor
Funky 4+1 – That’s The Joint – Sugar Hill Records
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Could You Be Loved – Island Records
Rose Royce – Yo Yo – MCA Records
Mike D – Pauls Boutique Release Party (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Black Oak Arkansas – Hot and Nasty – ATCO Records
Paul Humphrey – Super Mellow – Inner City Records
Harvey Scales – Dancing Room Only – Casablanca Records
Ronnie Laws – Tell me Something Good – Blue Note

Johnny Ryall:
Kurtis Blow – AJ Skratch – Mercury
Paul McCartney – Momma Miss America – Apple Records
Beastie Boys – Johnny Ryall (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Jean Knight – Mr Big Stuff – Stax
Chris Stein – Military Breakbeat – 360 Records
Pink Floyd – One Of These Days – Harvest
Donny Hathaway – Magnificent Sanctuary Band – ATCO Records
MCA – Pauls Boutique Audio Commentary (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
David Bromberg – Sharon – Columbia
LL Cool J – Discusses the Beastie Boys (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Mike D – Pauls Boutique Release Party (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip

Egg Man:
Lightnin’ Rod – Sport – United Artists Records
WYFF News – Which Came First…? (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Beastie Boys – Egg Man – (DIY a cappella)
Curtis Mayfield – Superfly – Buddah Records
Tower of Power – Drop It In The Slot – Warner Bros. Records
Elvis Costello – Pump it Up – Radar Records
John Williams – The Theme From Jaws – MCA Records
Public Enemy – You’re Gonna Get Yours – Def Jam Recordings
Bernard Herrmann – Suite For Strings – Sony Classical
Mike D & MCA – Pauls Boutique Audio Commentary (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Sly and The Family Stone – Dance To The Music – Epic
The Commodores – I’m Ready – Tamla Motown
Public Enemy – Bring The Noise – Def Jam Recordings

High Plains Drifter:
Interview with The Eagles introduction (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
The Eagles – Those Shoes – Asylum Records
The Fatback Band – Put Your Love (In My Tender Care) – Polydor

DJ Moneyshot Outro

DJ Moneyshot section:
DJ Moneyshot – “Can’t Stand DJ Cheeba Intro” – mp3

Sounds Of Science:
The Beatles – The End – Apple Records
Beastie Boys – Sounds of Science (DIY a cappella) – Capitol Records
James Brown – Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved – Polydor
Paul’s Boutique – Audio Commentary – Capitol Records
Beastie Boys – Sounds of Science – Capitol Records
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) – Capitol Records
BDP – My Philosophy – Jive
The Beatles – When I’m 64 – Capitol Records
Issac Hayes – Walk From Regio’s – Polydor

3 Minute Rule:
Paul’s Boutique – Audio Commentary – Capitol Records
Beastie Boys – 3 Minute Rule – Capitol Records
Fancy – Feel Good – Big Tree Records
Sly & The Family Stone – Brave And Strong – Epic
Beastie Boys – 3 Minute Rule (DIY a cappella) – Capitol Records
Sly & The Family Stone – Poet – Epic
Loggins & Messina – Your Mama Don’t Dance – CBS

Hey Ladies:
Kool & The Gang – Jungle Boogie – De-Lite Records
Disco Dave & The Force Of the Five MC’s – High Powered Rap – Mixmaster Mike and Disco Dave Records
Afrika Bambaataa – Jazzy Sensation – Tommy Boy Music
Jeanette Lady Day – Come Let Me Love You – Prelude Records
Beastie Boys – Hey Ladies (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Cameo – Shake Your Pants – Chocolate City
The Bar-Kays – Holy Ghost – Stax
Kurtis Blow – Party Time – Mercury
Zapp – Dancefloor – Warner Bros. Records
James Brown – Funky President – Polydor
The P-Funk Allstars – Pumpin’ It Up – Epic
The Commodores – Machine Gun – Motown
The Sweet – Ballroom Blitz – Capitol Records

5 Piece Chicken Dinner:
Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell – Shuckin’ The Corn – Warner Bros. Records
DJ Moneyshot – Rinse Out Jungle ish – mp3

Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun:
Tougher Than Leather dialogue sample – New Line Cinema
Ocean – Put Your Hand In The Hand – Kama Sutra
Paul’s Boutique – Audio Commentary – Capitol Records (dialogue)
Beastie Boys – Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Pink Floyd – Time – Harvest
Mountain – Mississippi Queen – Stateside
Incredible Bongo Band – Last Bongo In Belgium – Pride
Beastie Boys – Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun – Capitol Records
YouTube Audio – MTV 1998 Beastie Boys Biography – MTV (dialogue)

DJ Food section:
Car Thief:
Funk Factory – Rien Ne Va Plus (ATCO Records)
Boogie Down Productions – The Bridge Is Over (Instr.) (B-Boy Records)
Trouble Funk – Drop The Bomb (Jamtu Records)
Beastie Boys – Car Thief (a cappella) (Capitol)
The Jackson 5 – I’ll Bet You (Motown)
Max Yasgur – Speech at Woodstock (dialogue)
Donovan – Hurdy Gurdy Man (Pye Records)
Led Zeppelin – Moby Dick (Atlantic)

What Comes Around:
Gene Harris – Put On Train (Blue Note)
Alice Cooper – It’s Hot Tonight (Warner Bros. Records)

Shadrach:
Sly & The Family Stone – Loose Booty (Epic)
Funky 4+1 – That’s The Joint (Sugar Hill Records)
Rose Royce – Do Your Dance (Whitfield Records)
The Riddler – Batman TV soundtrack (dialogue)
The Sugar Hill Gang – Sugar Gill Groove (Sugar Hill Records)
Trouble Funk – Say What? (D.E.T.T. Records)
Ballin’ Jack – Never Let ‘Em Say (Columbia)
The Fatback Band – King Tim III (Personality Jock) (Spring Records)
James Brown – Funky Drummer (King Records/Polydor)

Ask For Janice:
Paul’s Boutique radio ad (cassette) (dialogue)

B-Boy Bouillabaisse –
59 Christie Street:
Burundi Black – Burundi Black (Barclay)
Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced? (Polydor)
Run DMC – Here We Go (Live At The Funhouse) (Profile)
Cerrone – Rocket In The Pocket (Live) (CBS)
Malcolm McLaren & The World Famous Supreme Team – Buffalo Gals (Charisma)
Boogie Down Productions – My Philosophy (Jive) Fab 5 Freddy – Change Le Beat (Celluloid)
Stop That Train:
Southside Movement – Save The World (20th Century Records)
Beastie Boys – Stop That Train (a cappella) (Capitol)
Scotty – Draw Your Brakes (Trojan Records)
A Year And A Day:
Tower Of Power – Ebony Jam (Warner Bros. Records)
The Isley Brothers – That Lady (Epic)
Led Zeppelin – When The Levee Breaks (on 45 rpm) (Atlantic)
Disco Dave & the Force of the Five MC’s – High Powered Rap (Mixmaster Mike and Disco Dave Records)
Hello Brooklyn:
Led Zeppelin – When The Levee Breaks (on 33rpm) (Atlantic)
Beastie Boys – Hello Brooklyn (demo version)
Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues (CBS/Columbia)
Dropping Names:
The Meters – Hey Pocky A Way (Reprise Records)
Stephen King’s It / Andy Griffiths show – He thrusts his fists… (dialogue)
The Sweet – Into the Night (RCA Victor)
The Crusaders – The Well’s Gone Dry (Blue Thumb / ABC Records)
Bob Marley interview with the BBC (dialogue)
Lay It On Me:
Kool & The Gang – Let The Music Take Your Mind (De-lite)
Jim James – No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn lyrics (dialogue)
Mike On The Mic:
Love Bug Starski – Starski, Live At The Disco Fever (Fever Records)
A.W.O.L.:
Chic – Good Times (Atlantic)
Beastie Boys – A.W.O.L. (Capitol)
Trouble Funk – Good To Go (4th & Broadway)
Idris Muhammed – Loran’s Dance (Kudu)
Rise – MCA tribute (dialogue)
Beastie Boys – Sureshot (a cappella) (Capitol/Grand Royal)
Rakim – Dedication (mp3) (dialogue)

 

On the menu…

So many Food-related things to look forward to this Autumn / Winter:

‘Caught In The Middle of a 3-Way Mix‘ – a tribute to the Beastie Boys’ ‘Paul’s Boutique’ album in mix form by DJ’s Cheeba, Moneyshot and Food with artwork by Jim Mahfood tomorrow night on Solid Steel via Strongroom Alive.

Debut of my remix of Kilah’s ‘Krzesany’ at the Sacrum Profanum festival, Poland on Sept 15th

A night of DJ Shadow mixes on XFM to support the ‘Reconstructed‘ comp with two by yours truly on Sept 21st

‘The Search Engine’ quadruple vinyl gatefold repress edition and return to the SAT in Montreal this Sept/Oct

A John Rydgren compilation on Omni Recording Corporation curated by David Thrussell with audio and images supplied from my archive.

‘The Search Engine’ fulldome performance at the Leicester Space Centre, UK on November 16th

DJ Food news…

I’ve got some big gigs coming up in the next few months, see the above film for something very special at the Sacrum Profanum festival in Krakow on Sept 15th alongside other Ninja artists past and present, Grasscut, King Cannibal, Skalpel and DJ Vadim. I’ll be remixing a piece by Polish composer Wojciech Kilar and presenting that live, very excited about this one as it will look and sound amazing. The big gig in October is at the Forum – the first time I’ve ever played there – alongside Belleruche, DJ Cam, Chris Read and headliners The Herbaliser who will be using it as the release party for their album, ‘There Were Seven’.

Before both of those though I can finally reveal a very special project that I’ve had in the pipeline for several years now that has finally come to fruition. DJ Cheeba, DJ Moneyshot and myself had the idea of collaborating on a version of the Beastie Boys‘Paul’s Boutique’ album shortly after Moneyshot aired his mix of their ‘Check Your Head’ made entirely from the original sample sources. It was one of my favourite mixes that year (or any year) and we decided we should get together to try and tackle ‘Paul’s Boutique’ as it was a far bigger task being that it has at least twice as many samples.

The result is ‘Caught In The Middle Of A 3-Way Mix’ – a tribute to The Beastie Boys’ ‘Paul’s Boutique’ album, and it will make its debut on Solid Steel on August 30th. Each of us have taken a third of the album each to work on and combined our efforts into a mix that lasts just over an hour, if you’re a fan of the record then be prepared to hear it in a new way. Aside from the original sample sources we’ve included commentary from the Beasties, vintage interviews, demo versions and much more, if you thought the original was multi-layered then this adds even more.

The mix was over half way completed when we heard the tragic news of MCA‘s death in May so the impetus to finish it was instantly doubled and new meaning given to the project. It goes without saying that this is also a tribute to Adam Yauch and the legacy he left behind and we hope it will be embraced by Beastie fans around the globe when it drops, we’re just putting the finishing touches to it this weekend.

Win Memory 9 & Falty DL music on Solid Steel tonight


Memory 9
‘s new 12″ packaging and disc, plus the new Falty DL release in retro Ninja house bag. Win both of these tonight on Solid Steel between 7-9pm GMT on Strongroom Alive. I’ll be in the studio with Jon More from Coldcut and Memory 9 is supplying the guest mix.
My mix has a lot of killer new Hip Hop including an exclusive first play from the new Herbaliser album plus DJ Format, 2econd Class Citizen, Mister Jason, Cut Chemist, Soundsci and an unreleased mix of ‘The Illectrik Hoax’ by The Amorphous Androgynous.
And here’s the show:

Solid Steel Record Store Day round up

Last night I did a Record Store Day round up on Solid Steel on Strongroom Alive radio, you can listen again here

or, if you prefer less chat, catch the non-vocal version with no RSD section here later on today.

I thought I’d put up some pictures of the releases I was chatting about so here you go. Wicker Man 7″ photos nicked from Stuart Ford‘s blog. More on the Vinylmania film here.

 

Posted in DJ Food, Radio, Solid Steel. | 1 Comment |

Amorphous Androgynous mix on Solid Steel


On tonight’s Solid Steel show on Strongroom Alive radio we have an exclusive 30 minute Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble mix by The Amorphous Androgynous in the guest slot. It includes a couple of exclusives as well as part of their remix of ‘The Illectrik Hoax’ which is out this coming Saturday for Record Store Day.

Sadly, I won’t be there as I’m playing in Switzerland with The Herbaliser but DK will be joined in the studio by PC and there’ll be a competition to win a copy of the 12″ in all it’s multi-coloured glory. Listen again now via Strongroom Alive’s site or Solid Steel.

Posted in Radio, Solid Steel. | No Comments |

Solid Steel – Yppah 1981 & DJ Food KKK7 preview

Mine and Yppah‘s mix from last night’s Solid Steel – without chat, you can listen to me and Jon fluff our lines over on StrongroomAlive if you want. Yppah’s mix contains tracks all released in 1981, and, coincidentally, ends with Kraftwerk’s ‘Computer World’ before we get a taste of half of the Kraftwerk Kover Kollection vol.7 which debuts here tomorrow in full.

DJ Format vs DJ Food – Solid Steel mix


Last nights’ Solid Steel mix from Strongroom Alive, sans speech, DJ Format provides an exclusive 30 minute mix and I finish the hour with the same. Tracklist:
DJ Format

Natural Yogurt Band _ Pot Head _ Now Again
Beta Hector feat. Shane Hunter _ Oracle Bones _ Tru Thoughts
Edan _ Rap Beautician _ Humble Mag
SPOX-PHD _ Brilliance _ Correct Technique
Hero No.7 _ Roots Of A Hero _ Hero Records
DJ Soul Shock _ Wild Beats(edit) _ Solid
Nino Nardini _ Malaysia _ Crea Sound LTD
Mr Chop _ Monolith Voodoo Vibes _ Jazz & Milk
The Jon Bartel Thing _ Freak Show _ Capitol
Them _ I Keep Singing _ Happy Tiger

DJ Food

The Stepkids _ Suburban Dream _ Stones Throw
Steinski _ Some Dreams Are Meant To Happen _ mp3
DJ Shadow _ Border Crossing _ Island
Pepe Deluxé _ The Storm _ Catskills
Eagles Of Death Metal _ I Only Want You _ Ant Acid Audio
C-Mon & Kypski – More Is Less (DJ Food re-edit) (unknown)
Tom & Jules – Version Galore Solid Steel jingle (mp3)
A-Ko _ dfuuu _ mp3
Jacky Chalard _ Superman, Supercool _ Cache Cache
David Vangel _ Sandpaper Script _ Equinox
The Creatures _ Mad-Eyed Screamer _ Polydor
A-Ko _ brake _ mp3
DJ Format _ Spaceship Earth feat. Edan _ Project Blue Book

30 minute Solid Steel mix from last week

I forgot to post this last week as lots was happening, the first half is from DJ Shepdog but I take over at the 30 minute mark for some dark electronica. This is also sans the chat that’s on the Strongroom Alive broadcast version that’s also kicking around the web but which also features a live mix from PC, my old DJ Food sparring partner.

There’s some as yet unreleased The The, a nice little mash up of Boards of Canada and Kraftwerk and some of the new Trunk Records release ‘The Seasons’.

Solid Steel Radio Show 17/2/2012 Part 3 + 4 – Shepdog + DJ Food by Ninja Tune

Tracklist:

Ronald Duncan & David Cain – August (from The Seasons) (Trunk)
Paul Giovanni – The Anointing (from The Wicker Man) (Trunk)
Jon Brooks – Zukunft Als Konzept (Reconstruction) (Cafe Kaput)
Bonobo – Black Sands (Duke Dumont’s ‘Grains Of Sand’ Reconstruction) (Ninja Tune)
Boards of Canada – Olsen (Midland re-edit) (mp3)
Kraftwerk – Neon Lights (EMI)
Jon Brooks – Zukunft Als Konzept (Reconstruction) (Cafe Kaput)
Bonobo – Black Sands (Duke Dumont’s ‘Grains Of Sand’ Reconstruction) (Ninja Tune)
Ronald Duncan & David Cain – February (Trunk)
The The – Electric Moonlight (Cinéola)
Arnaud Rebotini – The Choir of Dead Lovers (Black Strobe/K7!)
Demdike Stare – Regolith (Modern Love)

In the last few days I’ve been asked to do a promo mix for one of my heroes, curate a compilation of someone else who I’ve helped bring to the public conscious in the last few years, designed a pitch brochure for a prominent TV production company and started on ideas for the artwork for The Herbaliser‘s seventh album. I’m also in the middle of two video edits and artwork for my record store day release, I haven’t slept much…

Posted in DJ Food, Solid Steel. | 2 Comments |

Pepe Deluxé ‘Queen of the Wave’ album launch

In addition to the prep for the Pure Evil gallery exhibition I was playing at the Pepe Deluxe album launch party at the London Aquarium on Monday night, mixing water, sea and surf inspired music before and after their ‘Queen of the Wave’ LP play back. Out came everything from Jaws, James Bond and The Deep soundtracks to Led Zep’s ‘The Ocean’ and Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke On The Water’. The gig was held in the Ship Wreck Room which has a whole wall of glass looking into a giant fish tank populated by all manner of sharks, fish and three huge Easter Island heads. It was fun to play to an audience who didn’t make requests and gently bobbed their heads to even the most obscure surf soundtracks.

.
I finally met Jari and Paul too (Pepe Deluxé) and they gave out mini books containing all the album companions they’d been posting on their site a well as nice little lunch boxes for the post-work crowd to chew on.


Not only is their new album, ‘Queen of the Wave’, (finally) out today but they have a new mix on this week’s Solid Steel too which you can listen to and preview some of the album right now. Buy it here (physical) and here (digital)

There’s also a great grindhouse-esque trailer for the record to give you some sound AND vision – seriously, you need to hear this album, it’s going to be a love it or hate it affair but if you love it you’re going to LOVE it. If you liked ‘Spare Time Machine’ then this is a worthy successor but also even deeper in detail, it takes a fair few listens but will have you humming tunes out of the blue before you know it.
In case you hadn’t already guessed, I love this band and record.