Show #13, a Baker’s Dozen is how I’m finishing this first run on ROVR Radio. There’s a lot of instrumental downtempo beats in this episode courtesy of the Legacy Echo label run by Chilla Ninja in Manchester, thanks for the records guys. More Monastry, a couple of old Linkwood tracks from the now defunt Firecracker label and a vintage megamix in the form of a 1987 Trax selection from a promo tape I found last summer. For some modern reconstructions of old classics check out Disco Police‘s stunning recreation of Tom Browne‘s ‘Funkin’ For Jamaica’, Magic Source‘s cover of ‘Voodoo Ray’ and my own deconstruction of Roy Ayers‘ ‘We Live In Brooklyn Baby’ – RIP Roy.

Listen back via the archive here

It’s been a year since I started this and this is my last show for ROVR for the moment. I will be carrying on under my own steam each month but the show will take on a slightly different form, I doubt it’ll be two hours each month for one thing. I loved being asked by ROVR to do a monthly show but when I signed up it was on the provision that it would be a test for a year. My main worry was the way the shows were constructed for the station which involves uploading the individual tracks directly to a back end area where you order your show selection, adding metadata etc. so that tracks can be indentified online once playing. Once the two hour limit has been filled you then choose an option that auto-blends the start and end points of the songs for a seamless transition, not beat matching, just fading. This was hit and miss for me and not the way I make mixes, being more of a mix DJ who layers tracks and samples up. I was assured that they were working on a DAW for this that would give DJs more control over how they blended tracks together, unfortunatley this hasn’t materialised after a year and I don’t feel I’m doing good work here as a result. I also had no way of knowing listening figures for either my shows or the station in general so I have no idea what sort of audience I was getting. But no bridges have been burnt, if the DAW materialises and works well then I may be back.

But, the year is up and I’m keen to construct things in my studio as I always have and hopefully provide listeners with a better show as a result, getting back to mixing, away from the digital playlist format whilst hopefully being more creative. I’ll upload to Mixcloud and that will allow listening figures and comments as well as a trackmarked playlist. It won’t be behind a paywall like the archive uploads I’ve been doing so everyone can listen and it will be easier to share and embed into websites after it’s published. The Electrik Collage shows have all been about getting back to doing radio with an empahsis on current music like Solid Steel used to be (I estimate at least 75% of each EC show is contemporary releases from the last year or so) but I also want to experiment with the format too. What that will entail I’m not sure but we’ll see next month, until then, enjoy the new show.

DJ Food – Electrik Collage #1
Linkwood Family – Piece of Mind
Monastry – Respite
Linkwood – Hear The Sun
Disco Police – Jamaica (Sir Dancealot Deconstructed Regroove)
Chop – Monolith
Magic Source – Voodoo Ray (Radio Edit)
Various Artists – Trax Megamix 1987
DJ Food – Electrik Collage #15
Deadchannel9000 – Concrete Science
2S.Beatz Productions – L.Y.W.B.
Kristian Gjerstad – Drops, Slops & Chops
Chop – Psycho Bubble
Chilla Ninja – Good Time All The Time
Atoribeats – Whoz Da Mann!?
Funkychild – Iguazu
Jon Fu – Revival
Champagne Dub – Thuggin
DJ Food – Electrik Collage #10
The In-Sect – Brooklyn (DJ Food Restructure)
Hot Chocolate – Sugar Daddy
Mandrake Handshake – Emonzaemon
The Psyclops Trees – Oscars Groove Part 2 (Alt. take)
Space Drum Meditation – Water Sirens
Djrum – Frekm pt. 2
Monastry – Destination
Kosmologic Research Society – Rift
D.K. – Untitled Pt.6