This has been under wraps for a while but I can finally reveal…
Three 45 minute sets (due to limited spaces in the Planetarium) of a specially reconstructed version of the album including exclusive material. I’m currently working with the astronomers at the Observatory, building a bespoke show for their 360 degree hemispherical screen. Tickets are very limited, only 82 for each show, so be quick if you want to see this http://ninjatune.net/shop/tickets
And here it is! After at least 18 months since I supplied a quote to Noah Uman for his reissue of ‘The Medium Is The Massage’ celebrating 100 years of McLuhan‘s record of the book, it finally dropped through the letterbox this morning. It’s gorgeous, full deluxe mini LP style CD sleeve, 40 pg booklet and all in the style of the original (check my copies of the LP and books below).
I’m sharing page space with some pretty esteemed commentators too: Warhol, Woody Allen, Steinski, Don Joyce, Jello Biafra, DJ Spooky… The CD is out on Five Day Weekend (who also have releases from Edan, Mr Chop and the ’80 Blocks From Tiffanys’ DVD) on December the 12th. Well worth it, a unique record, history, literature, social commentary, cut and paste and comedy all rolled into one.
Noah Uman put me up on this when I visited him in NYC at the radio station WFMU. I knew about the album as it’s a favourite but not the 45 promo with excepts and lock grooved B side. Noah has been hard at work reissuing the original album and kindly asked me to write a quote about it for the liner notes.
I’m very proud to announce a new first for Solid Steel, we made No.1 in the iTunes Music Video podcast charts this week with DJ Cheeba‘s new mix after the previous best of Hexstatic‘s at No.3 a few weeks back. 
In the 90’s the idea of an eclectic mix show with minimal presenting and lashings of spoken word was pretty unique thing, today it’s par for the course. I’m glad to say we’re still pushing the envelope but this time with extremely high quality video mixes – check out any one of them on our Vimeo channel.
I never saw this before but was made aware of it by Nabil over at 3 Nipples Music (yes you read that right). It’s the Criterion issue of the Monkees‘ classic ‘Head’, unfortunately it only seems to be available as part of the America: Lost and Found box set and not as a standalone disc. My own ‘Head’ rescore is still online over at Internet Archive but who knows how long that will stay up.
That’s my kind of house, plucked from the ever-random King Megatrip blog.
Remi / Rough has just done the cover for the Scraffer yearbook (those nice people who do the DJ Food x Henry Flint posters) which has interviews and photos with lots of artists including D*Face, Invader, Luke Insect, Pure Evil, Toasters as well as Remi himself. It’s an A5 book which has been randomly signed by some of the artists who were all asked to sum up 2011 in their own words. Even better is the fact that all proceeds from the £10 price tag go to the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Snap one up here. 
Remi’s also just finished the cover for another project closer to home that I’ll be able to reveal soon but before that he’s off to Miami to take part in the Art Basel show for Graffuturism.
Just found this picture of PC and I somewhere in the US on tour many moons ago. Love the way even back in the 90’s the shop was saying “we STILL sell vinyl”, wonder if it’s still there?
The Motors ’Tenement Steps’ LP in custom-shaped sleeve, Virgin Records, 1980, bargain bin find.
Remember that Shok 1 painting in China that the authorities didn’t take to and were going to censor? Here’s the unfortunate result: instead of painting over it they’ve got someone to add kissing fish to it and turn the noose into hooks (!?)
I don’t get it, are they saying, “we love to catch fish”? Whatever the sentiment, the starkness of the original is immediately compromised by the new additions and the bastardisation of the original is a shame (also notice Shok’s tag painted out).
Shok says, “A friend sent me a photo of what the Chinese government actually did to my painting. They said they were going to paint it out. For me, this is far worse.”
As the promo machine grinds into gear for my EP and album releases there are various pieces of press appearing. A nice 4 page article in the December issue of Computer Music just got published as well as an interview on the Alt. Sounds website.
More incredible sculptures – this time by Stéphane Halleux – whose work I discovered when I was intrigued by a flyer for his current exhibition at Maison d’Ailleurs, Pl. Pestalozzi 14, Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.
The boys and I had a little spacecraft build-off the other day – each person has to make a ship out of the parts contained in one tray of Lego.
No cheating and dibbing into other boxes for parts and it’s first come first served on who gets what, you go until you’ve finished your ship or all the parts are used up.
I came upon these amazing creations the other week via something else I don’t remember. These mechanical animals are the creation of Japanese artist and sculptor Michihiro Matsuoka and he has an exhibition on at the Artishox Gallery in Hasselt, Belgium until the end of November .
The Audio Janitor ’Composition 11 – audio roulette for three turntables’, triple vinyl and insert in plastic folder, Liquid Sky Music, 1999, record store find, London.
The set contains three copies of the same record, a compilation of sounds, beats, spoken word and atmospheres, to be played simultaneously with effects by dropping the needle anywhere on any side for 10-20 minutes. The Audio Janitor is a pseudonym of DJ Olive and this is no.3 of 333 copies.
Kraftwerk ‘The Robots’ / ‘Spacelab’, UK tri-fold paper cover 7″, Capitol Records, 1978, record shop find, London.
Last night I saw Kid Koala‘s new show ‘Space Cadet’ and it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen with a DJ at the helm before. Part gig, part story, part stand up comedy and a lot of audience participation, it was not your usual gig. I took my family and there was a moment when we thought the kids wouldn’t get in even though we went to the 7pm show but it was fine. Everyone sat down and there was no PA – only headphones for everyone.
Eric sat down for most of the show and chatted as much as he played, featuring musical excerpts from his new book and CD – ‘Space Cadet’, the forthcoming blues album on Ninja Tune, his Yo Gabba Gabba routine (where he donned his Koala suit) and the always awesome ‘Moon River’ routine. Members of the audience were invited to play bells, music boxes and Asteroids (destroying pre-photographed faces of themselves),whirl tubes to the music and thumb wrestle!
As well as this there was a collection of original art and a table full of 3D plants featured in the book, games, space echo and turntable recorder to play with and cookies to decorate. Go and ‘experience’ it if you can, you’ll not see anything like it for a long time again.
Nice package of art from Henry Flint for our joint exhibition at the Pure Evil Gallery next January. There will be original art from elements of the artwork for my album plus drawings from his book ‘Broadcast’ as well as limited full colour prints, photos, a sound installation and other treats I’m working on. I might break out some of my original comic art collection too…
Well this is a turn up, 10 vintage Plug tracks from 1997, rescued from the vaults of Luke Vibert aka Wagon Christ. For all those who loved the Plug EPs, the ‘Drum n Bass For Papa’ LP and the ‘Extreme Possibilities’ remix of 2 Player from back in the day – you won’t be disappointed. These are not just some so-so offcuts, best left in the cupboard, some of this is better than some of the material from the 90’s IMO. CD and vinyl in January on Ninja Tune.
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I’d missed these previously but there have been 6 different B-Music podcasts in the last 18 months floating on the Finders Keepers Soundcloud page. I can recommend the Andy Votel, Benjamin Hatton and Alfonso’s mixes plus you get preview tracks from recent Vannier and Bollywood releases.