Following on from the last post, I never tire of listening to Boards of Canada and Skywave Systems recently posted an excellent mix of their work. It’s very well put together with some rareties, as well as original sample sources, in amongst the tunes that will delight even the most hardcore BOC fans.
Nice artwork on the site too…
Just arrived at the door, what a lovely package, congratulations to all involved and Happy 20th Warp. My only gripe is that I could have been part of the package as they asked me to do the mix last year but I simply didn’t have the time so I passed them on to Osymyso. Looking forward to digesting it all.
Just received a bumper package from my man Jim Mahfood aka Food One in LA. We did a swap of goodies and he really outdid me with the contents of his box. Aside from the comic books, T-shirt, stickers, cards and mix CD he also signed the inner covers of all 3 Mixtape collections AND included the limited edition Paul’s Boutique comic he did about the Beastie Boys’ classic album. Yep, I’m gloating here…
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I just finished Bill Drummond‘s book 17 at the weekend, it affected me quite a bit and opened up a can of worms I think will be a running theme for some time. The third DJ Food EP – ‘Finyl : The Death of Vinyl’ – was already going to deal with some of these thoughts but I feel it will become much bigger than that.
This will be the next DJ Food EP in the trilogy, released Dec 7th as a 12″ with poster cover and download with 3 bonus remixes.
Side A
1. Sentinel (Shadow Guard) – DJ Food & DK, mixed by King Cannibal
2. extract from Stolen Moments too – variations on a theme
3. Brother John – featuring the voice of John Rydgren, a tribute of sorts
Side B
1. GIANT (instrumental) This is a cover of the The The classic, there will be a vocal version on the album next year by Matt Johnson himself
2. Sentinel (Lunar Defence) – a reprise / reversion of the main track
8 track Download + pdf booklet
All Covered In Darkness (Mr P remix suite) 3 remixes by PC totalling 13 minutes.
Artwork is again by Henry Flint on the inks and me on the colours, here’s the main cover / poster image.
getting there…
My friends Sarah and Leigh at Factory Road sent some lovely custom 45 adapters down the other week. After years of buying up old stocks from US factories they’ve made their own, improved from existing versions and de-bossed with their logo. They also offer a custom service with your own name or wording on the dinks if you need something special or want some for promo. Contact Leigh at [email protected] if you want more info – they also make records, prints and T-shirts and are lovely people.
We’ve been having a clear out of the kid’s things and I’m sad to say that these have to be consigned to the bin (although my wife is probably very relieved). Built from toilet rolls, pizza bases, cereal packets and lots of gaffa tape, they form the near pinnacle of my model making with the boys. I say near pinnacle because there’s still a giant robot in mid-construction…
The Millenium Falcon has seen better days, having been flown (read: thrown) around the house on many occasions. likewise the AT-AT has had several falls as Duplo Snow-Speeders ensnare it’s legs.
Got sent these the other day by Sean Vinylement who also works for Finder’s Keepers Records. On the left is a rather fine mix of Jean-Claude Vannier compositions by Andy Votel – limited to 69 copies apparently. Alongside it is Sean’s new album ‘Symbiosis’ by his alter ego Demdike Stare, a very deep electronic record that reminds me of Basic Channel and Murcof simultaneously but with something far darker lurking under the surface.
Took the bus, train, cab, ferry and bus down to Bestival on Saturday morning, left at 11am, was on site by 3.30. The weather was fantastic and one of the first things I saw on arrival was Lily Allen backstage, looking stunning in an open-backed Barbarella-esque outfit with glitter across her eyes. She looked like the kind of girl the word ‘minx’ was created for. I stopped dribbling and got my wristband.
The theme this year was outer space and this is one festival that exists for fancy dress. Every, and I mean every, permutation of space character, hero or villain, minor or major was represented. From the usual Darth’s, Stormtroopers, Boba’s, Leia’s and even a Millenium Falcon to Daleks, Thunderbirds, Trekkies and Transformers. People had gone to town and there was enough silver and baking foil to make a thousand spaceships. Amongst the less obvious characters were the Yip Yip aliens from Sesame Street, the Black Oblisk and Hal from 2001, the 3-eyed aliens from Toy Story, Clangers aplenty and quite a few Flash Gordon’s (the 80’s version though*).
I was playing in the Bollywood tent, sandwiched between Ross Allen and Appleblim. When I arrived Ross has a posse of Stormtroopers getting down but the crowd were a difficult one and it was mid afternoon with the sun blazing outside. I went for a walk and immediately got pushed aside as a parade of costumed space cadets marched through the site. My favourties were a guy and his girlfriend dressed as a Scout Walker and Princess Leia respectively, some girls on amazing space bikes in the parade and a couple dressed as Roland TB-303’s made from foam – definitely the most original and creative I saw.
Back in the tent for my set I decided to throw the usual one out the window and start with some funky bits before quickly winding into some stompy 4/4 electro/techno. Then into dubstep and breaks and finally a touch of drum n bass for the last 20 minutes. After a slow start with people standing and watching it worked a treat and I was surprised to see Diplo pop his head around the booth to say hello at one point.
After a quick drink and chat with Ross it was back on the bus, ferry, cab, train and bus to London, arriving home at midnight. I’m currently in the middle of Bill Drummond’s book ’17’ which is gripping me with his mania like all his books do. I can relate to some of what he says – the main jist of the book is that music has run it’s course – but that’s a blog for another day.
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*I have a particular affection for this version of Flash Gordon, my dad was bought up on the original and I was 10 when they did the remake so he took me to see it and I loved it. The soundtrack (on cassette) was the first album I ever bought with my own money, definitely seduced by the film connection and the great logo on the cover rather than any love of Queen. I liked some of their music but could only get into the faster guitar-driven tracks rather than the incidental, slow-paced stuff, although I’ve come to appreciate these over time.
What I also liked was that there was loads of dialogue from the film mixed into the music and the record ran in sequence with the events in the film. Freddie Mercury was sporting a Flash T-shirt on the inside cover and I wanted one so badly for years but those sort of merchandise spin-offs were the things of promo only back in those days. Years later I watched it round a mate’s house with the sound down and some terrible Mike Oldfield album as the soundtrack whilst coming down off acid. At one point some bagpipes kicked in and it ruined the whole thing, I had to get him to change the record.
I have to hand it to one of my sons, Alex, he’s already caught the toy customising bug. He and his brother have a Spiderman figure each but Alex likes Venom more and this morning he announced he wanted to paint his Spiderman black so he resembled Venom more. So out came the acrylic paint and brushes and 5 minutes later he had a customised Spidey / Venom (I made sure the eyes stayed white).
Alex is nearly 4 – that’s my boy. 
My original Les McCann ‘Layers’ LP fell off the record shelf and is now splintered across the first track on both sides.
This was given to me by Bundy K Brown years ago. Luckily I also have a copy of the reissue which he wrote the sleeve notes for – weird.
Wow! Well done Speech and all at Big Dada and Ninja – what a result!
Below: Peter Quicke (Ninja Tune) Jamie Collinson and Will Ashon (Big Dada) Speech (somewhere on the right)
I saw these in the supermarket today and had to take a picture. How cool is that cereal packet? Chocolate Stars too – arf!
Been a bit quiet recently mostly on account of being on holiday with the family and knuckling down on the music.
The next EP is nearly in the bag, featuring a collaboration with DK – mixed by King Cannibal no less, a remix of ‘All Covered In Darkness’ by PC, a cover version and more artwork by the excellent Henry Flint. Mixdowns take place next week, mastering the week after, release should be Oct / Nov.
Kid Koala just sent me the new record he did with Dynomite D – ‘The Slew’ and it is stunning, a mix of rock, blues and scratching, you won’t have heard much like this before. Download it for free here – don’t worry, I’m not into music piracy, this link comes direct from Kid Koala himself with the message “Feel free to pass it on to anyone you think would enjoy this noise. ;)”
DJ Moneyshot’s September Solid Steel mix is floating around on the web already, it’s a collection of all the tracks the Beastie Boys sampled on their ‘Check Your Head’ album and has been on constant rotation here since I got it.
I’ve raved about him before but I just finished ‘Totally Wired’ by Simon Reynolds, the companion to one of my books of the year in 2007 – ‘Rip It Up And Start Again’. Essentially a series of interviews made during research for the first book, it is fascinating reading for anyone interested in music circa ’78-84.
Ashley Wood has some great new robots out, just a shame I’m broke after the taxman reared his annual head.
This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages, Finnish guitarist StStanders strips the track’s audio and inserts his own, complete with off key music and silly lyrics.
Just back from holiday where one of my sons managed to spill orange juice into the back of my laptop! Managed to recover the hard drive with all the important content, going to access the damage at Apple tomorrow…
DK and I just returned from the Astropolis festival in Brest, France – what a great festival! Located in the grounds of what looked like and old stately home with chapel it housed several tents and a smart selection of stalls with the grounds dressed up to add spice to the experience. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a ‘sex stall’ at a festival too – funny hat?, check, joss sticks?, check, herbal concoctions? check, dildo?, check. Maybe some people use them as glow sticks?
Anyway, we were looked after by the lovely Pauline, had a great bowl of Moules et Frites in a nearby restaurant and did a live interview for Radio Nova who should have broadcast some of the set too. The set was put back a bit as the Scratch Perverts didn’t make it (not sure why) so we had a better slot and we smashed it even if I say so myself. People were so out of it a few tried to climb up the tent pole in the middle of the tent, one guy making it to the top, maybe 30 feet up! You can just see one guy hanging on here, he’s more of a silhouette unfortunately because the camera on my phone is shite.
Saw Roni Size, Erol Alkan and Kid 606 at the airport on the way back who all commented favourably on our video set which was nice. Got a week of tying up loose ends and researching the Ninja book ahead, going into the warehouse to take some pictures tomorrow and I’ve been going through the archive to find stuff so more design section updates soon.
PC just dropped round his remix of ‘All Covered In Darkness’ – a real treat! Don’t know what release it’s going to be on yet but it’s awesome and changes the tone of the original a lot whilst still keeping some of the key elements. Well pleased Currently speeding towards Manchester to play at Moho Live tonight…
“As we leave you now…”
Back on the road again, suffering from a cold and I can think of worse places to go than the South of France. First off was Nice where I was playing at the Cross Over festival at Le Grand Cafe Des Arts next to the museum of Contemporary Art. 2 Many DJs, Miss Kitten and Brian Auger had already played on previous days and apparently Auger was at my gig later that night with his son. My brief stay was made all the more pleasant by the press officer Virginie and her friend Ollie who interviewed me for his webzine and took me sight seeing the next day. He picked me up at the Hi Hotel – a ‘concept hotel’ – which means it looks great and very ‘designer’ but sometimes form defeats function.
We went down to the Riviera on his scooter, hung out with his cousin at the beach, met Virginie for coffee and picked from the mind-boggling selection of ice creams in one of the squares. This is the first time I’ve ever seen rhubarb, beer, pesto, sun-dried tomato, coca cola and avocado ice cream flavours. Then it was off to Marseille on the TGV which is heaven – big seats that recline, leg room aplenty and a power point for the laptop. I was met by Alexandre at the station and found out that the gig was actually at a small bar terrace on the beach with food and an amazing sunset as we arrived.
The atmosphere was vastly different to the usual club-based gigs I do as most people were seated and quietly enjoying an evening of socialising with a background soundtrack of classic funk and hip hop. There wouldn’t be much call for drum n bass or dubstep tonight which was refreshing as I got a chance to play a lot of downtempo things I hadn’t spun in ages. Over two and a half hours I slowly sped things up and the crowd got to their feet, pushed tables and chairs aside and were crammed into the corner space near the decks by the time the music got to the 120 bpm mark. The party was a great success with one particularly rabid Solid Steel fan hollering his head off mercilessly by the end and many pleading for it to continue after I’d been told it was time for the last song. The next day, before I departed for Montpelier and the Electromind festival, Alexandre took me up to the church on the hill high above Marseille to see the view over his city. It was breathtaking to say the least and a nice diversion before another train ride.
Cut to midnight – as I type I’m supposed to be finishing up my set and handing over to Hexstatic on the Amazon stage but am actually back in the hotel, damp and demoralised. Earlier in the day, whilst soundchecking there were some high winds which had half unlatched the video screen on stage and some ominous clouds were gathering despite the baking hot sun. Around 10pm the first spatterings of rain started as I watched Afrika Bambaataa pay homage to Michael Jackson on the main stage. I had met his tour manager earlier by chance and been surprised when he said that Bam wanted to ask me about a record and could we meet up later? What? Me? A white boy from Surrey? Bambaataa is one of my original DJ inspirations – alongside Flash and D St. – and the antithesis of what Hip Hop DJing originally meant. His ethos of playing the good parts of all music together forms the foundation of how I play and have always played. I wish I could post a picture of us backstage with Bam throwing a Zulu Nation sign next to my pasty features but I was actually too nervous to turn up and introduce myself. Plus there was the rain.
I convinced myself that I really shouldn’t be ligging backstage when I had less than half an hour to get set up and the light drizzle was making me nervous. Using my laptop and mixer onstage, I really didn’t want them getting wet and there was no cover provided as they hadn’t expected rain, being that this was summer in the South of France. When I got to the stage there were technicians running about throwing tarpaulins over the DJ’s equipment and making mini makeshift tents onstage to house computers and decks. Mine had a cover thrown over them but not one I could have DJed with so I set about trying to construct something that would at least shelter the laptop, mixer and turntables. It was a thankless task as the rain got harder and the mess of wires onstage prevented anything easily standing upright to support a canopy. The tarpaulins were leaking here and there and pools of water were forming as we tried in vain to erect something that would keep the hardware dry. As the other DJs finished a CD was put on whilst we tried to switch everything round to accommodate my gear but it was hopeless and, fearing a waterlogged computer, mixer or even electrocution, I made my escape to shelter without played a note.
The crowd, amazingly, stayed put and chanted, sung and booed, mainly because there was music playing and for them it was the beginning of a long night (the festival was supposed to go on until 6am). Robin from Hexstatic turned up, laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, and we watched from the under the canopy the VJs had had the foresight to erect backstage. The rain got worse, the crowd got even rowdier and the technicians tried to cover as much as possible before word came through that the organisers had made a decision to stop the festival. By now everything was so waterlogged, it was too dangerous. I went to rescue my mixer, which was still onstage, albeit under cover but when I pulled it free water trickled out of one corner!
We trudged back to the main site office noticing that the crowd was getting increasingly rowdy. A large pack had clustered around the main bar in the middle of the site and were beating on anything they could find, making a frustrated cacophony of metallic sound – later we heard that they smashed it up. We waited anxiously with the Ed Banger crew for a ride back to the hotel as the sounds of the crowd got steadily more unnerving and people tried to get through fences to the backstage areas. Finally a ride turned up out of the confusion and we sped off, relieved that we hadn’t got caught up in anything but sorry for the promoters who had to sort out several thousand people geared up for the night.
For anyone reading who was there, I’m sorry that it ended as it did and I’ve never refused to play in this kind of situation before but it really was an accident waiting to happen and I’d rather not play a set with the risk of electrocution. I understand the festival promoters thinking that a storm was unlikely being the location but there were no provisions made for such an event and, at an open air festival, that is a big oversight. I’m just hoping my mixer still works when I turn it on next…
