*Apologies – I’ve been away on holiday and thought I’d posted this on Thursday night last week

An Alien Sphinx or sometimes Solid Sphinx was a 2 hour, ad-free show where we dispensed with any chat and just went heads down into the mix. I’m not sure why there were no ads (maybe advertising was lacking that week and you’d get less coverage at 1am in the morning?) but this seemed to happen a couple of times a year at KISS FM. Here’s my section from a 2 hour ‘rub’ as Matt would call it, where the four of us were present in the studio; Matt going first, then me, PC and Jon last I think – I can usually tell by the song selections or playing style. While one of us was playing the others would be slurping spoken word or ambient sounds over the top to pad out the mix, hence the busy nature of the sound field.

Kraftwerk spring out of the end of Air Liquide from Matt’s set to being mine and then into Coldcut’s own ‘Beats & Pieces’ B-side, ‘More Beats’ which gets a speed switch half way to up the tempo. Motorbass’ Ritchie Hawtin/Plastikman slow-burn remix slides in before the second Kraftwerk outing of ‘Home Computer’ which then has its own tempo switch in the second half. Drome’s ‘Hoax! What Did You Got?’ from the slept on Ninja album is riding that early drum and bass sound but with classical Indian overtones. Actually this was released on Ninja TONE, but confusion made the label retitle it Ntone – a sub-label for more electronic fair. Bedouin Ascent’s astonishing ‘Manganese In Deep Violet III’ from the Pavillion of the New Spirit EP is somehow mixed in by the skin of its teeth, one of the hardest tracks to mix ever. There’s a snatch of an unknown ambient dub cut, some War of the Worlds dialogue and then we finish with Mantonix’ ‘Get Stupid Pt.3’ which samples Art of Noise and Billy Cobham’s ‘Spectrum’ three years before Massive Attack would make it their own on ‘Safe From Harm’.

Track list:
Kraftwerk – Boing Boom Tschak
Coldcut – More Beats
La Funk Mob -Motor Bass Get Phunked Up (Electrofunk remix)
Kraftwerk – Home Computer
Drone – Hoax! What Did You Got?
Bedouin Ascent – Manganese In Deep Violet III
Unknown – unknown
Mantronix – Get Stupid (Pt.III)

My first monthly Electrik Collage radio show from April 12th is also now archived on ROVR radio, download the app to get archive access. APPLE or ANDROID

Show #1 April 2024 track list:

Coast Contra – Breathe + Stop Freestyle (DJ Food Edit)
Valentine Unlimited Orchestra – Take You Back
Resident Alien – It’s The Resident Alien
Your Old Droog & MF DOOM – Dropout Boogie
Resident Alien – Are You Ready
Tuff Crew – Soul Food
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul – Ceci n’est pas un cliché
Edan – Real Bad Promo
Itsu Uno – Noise of the B-Boy
DJ Format – Beyond Disco
Edrix Puzzle – Lapetus
Jlin – Nyakinyua Rise
Rei Mitsui – Rekodoten Disuko
ScanOne – Serious Rhythm
Rei Mitsui – Kotozuke/Owaru
Clesse – Gehm
Raj Pannu – Elements
Beans – Pendulum
The Stone Roses – Begging You (Lakota Mix DJ Food Edit)
Emperors New Clothes – Boogie Electric
Planet Battagon – Endeavour Tugg Luke
Raj Pannu – The Heat
Prefuse 73 – Forever Chase (Scene One)
Patrick Carpenter – 27 Degrees of Sagittarius
Markey Funk – Five Minutes
Nevermen – Treat ‘Em Right (Boards Of Canada Remix – Instrumental + chorus re-edit)
The Luvmenauts – ’71 Shuttle
DJ Fingers – Pelham