DJ Food ‘Music On A Shoestring’ mix [Psychonavigation 2000 – 2015]

MusicOnAShoetringHere’s the details for the Psychonavigation Records 2000-2015 mix CD I’ve just finished: 23 tracks from the 45 track ‘Music On A Shoestring’ digital compilation, mixed by yours truly into a 74 minute head trip. Here’s an online stream of the mix in full, see what you think…

If ambient electronica, deep space dub, classical piano and acoustic pieces are your thing then this is for you.
Some names you might recognise from the line up: The Future Sound of London, Autechre, Brian Eno, Alex Paterson, Thomas Fehlmann, Dr Atmo, Spacetime Continuum
It was very hard to fit all the tracks I wanted onto one disc as the hit rate on the compilation is so high, my original wishlist was 35 of the 45 tracks. You can pre-order the mix CD here or buy the full digital compilation for only €10(!), selected by label boss Keith Downey from the last 15 years of releases. I can’t convey how many beautiful tracks are on this comp and all for €10 is an absolute steal, some of them are available to preview on the Bandcamp page right now.

Sun Ra ‘Space is the Place’ poster by Kilian Eng

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Swedish illustrator Kilian Eng celebrates Sun Ra with this awesome “Space is the Place” poster for the Nottingham Contemporary Museum which is currently holding an Alien Encounters exhibition featuring him.

The 100x70cm, 7-colour print is in an edition of only 125, priced at £65 and will go on sale from the Black Dragon Press website this Wednesday 28 October 2015 at 3pm GMT. These will go fast!

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Electric Love Blueprint – A Brief History of Electronic Music

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A brief history of electronic music mapped out to the circuit board of a theremin, which is widely regarded as one of the first electronic musical instruments, is available at Dorothy.

The Electric Love Blueprint celebrates over 200 inventors, innovators, composers and musicians who have been pivotal to the evolution of electronic music from the invention of the earliest known sound recording device in 1857 to the present day. Key pioneers featured include Léon Theremin, Bob Moog, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, John Cage, New Order and Aphex Twin.

The 60 x 80cm metallic silver screen print includes areas dedicated to specific genres such as the electroacoustic Musique Concrète, Krautrock, Synth Pop, Acid House and Electronica. There are also references to the experimental BBC Radiophonic Workshop and innovating record labels Mute and WarpBuy here:

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Echo’s Magical Garden

Echo’s Magical Garden is a brand of children’s clothing that aims to excite the imagination of child and parent alike. Taking its inspiration from the dreamlike wonder of folklore, myths and legends, Echo’s Magical Garden is about playfulness, adventure and fantasy.”
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A new venture by Simon James (The Simonsound / Black Channels) and his wife, it aims to provide non-gender specific, affordable clothing for kids “imbued with childlike wonder; unusual, magical designs with their own stories to spark the imagination”
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Illustrations are the work of Kirsten Ulve and inspiration taken from the incredible array of work collected on the Echo’s Magical Garden Pinterest board. Simon has provided music to two short stories about creatures in the garden, written by Neil Cargill and read by Graham Duff that flesh out the garden’s inhabitants.

Markey Funk ‘Instinct’ album

instinct-front-webFinally – for fans of horror soundtracks, library music, hauntology and dark psychedelia – Markey Funk‘s new album is up for pre-order at Bandcamp. Markey has been flying the freak flag for years in Jerusalem and has a wealth of knowledge and record collection to match where out-there music and film is concerned.

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I was honoured to be asked to write the sleeve notes for this album, a classic blend of all the genres mentioned above and more, a soundtrack just waiting for a film to attach itself to. Available on LP or DL with extra mixtape or debut album bundles, here are the first images of the finished vinyl. Anyone who enjoyed the Mordy Laye & The Group Modular album, the Ghost Box catalogue or Italian horror soundtracks will love this record.

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Posted in Design, Music, Records. | 1 Comment | Tags: ,

The Comet Is Coming

Absolutely loving this new signing on the Leaf label (second mention of them this week? must be doing something right). I played ‘Neon Baby’ out in Pisa last night and it tore the place up. Definite shades of other Leaf signing Melt Yourself Down and that’s only a good thing in my book, bet they’re all over festivals next summer.

TCICcoverTheir debut EP , ‘Prophecy’, is up for pre-order now – out next week – and they support Squarepusher alongside 808 State and Metalheadz at the Troxy in a couple of weeks as well as a solo gig at The Shacklewell Arms the day after. Who wouldn’t want to hear a trio named Danalogue The Conqueror, Betamax Killer and King Shabaka?

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45 Live Radio Show on Dublab.com starts Nov 2015

45 Live Radio ShowWe’re excited to announce a brand new radio show broadcasting live out of Los Angeles CA, on Friday 6th November, 8pm US PST (4am UK GMT) on the legendary Dublab.com featuring the entire 45 Live Crew!

‘The 45 Live Radio Show’ will be on air bi-monthly which will fall on the first and third Friday of each month. Your host will be soul, funk & gospel connoisseur DJ Greg Belson, and it’ll feature a guest on a rotational basis from the 45 Live elite (full roster here if you want to know who will be featured).

303OClock twitter takeover

This weekend just gone I guested on @303OClock‘s twitter feed with a selection of my favourite Acid tracks. The twitter account posts two Acid tracks a day, at 3.03 am and pm, with weekends given over to guest curators. Couldn’t be simpler – give them a follow if you fancy some Acid, twice-daily. Here are my three picks:

DJ Food – Guest Pick 1. Paul Rutherford‘Get Real’ (Hardcore). A recent discovery, a 9.5 min unlabelled 3rd 12″ promo remix. Check the run out groove matrix no’s. (NB: this was produced by ABC back in 1988!)

DJ Food – Guest Pick 2. Sulphuric – The Acid Chamber. Kris Needs & Pete Smith – the B side of their only 12″ on Bandulu‘s Infonet label. Absolute killer of a tune

DJ Food – Guest Pick 3. Aphex Twin – Green Calx. Beautiful, classic Richard D James with a 303 sound that I can only describe as ‘dripping’ at the start.

… guests are also invited to choose one of their own tracks:

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Dan Lish & The Universal Zulu Nation Anniversary

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Above: 4 Hero & Goldie (Top) / Eric B & Rakim
It’s been a while since I’ve featured Dan’s work but there’s reason to look at it again to play a bit of catch up and to point out that you will be able to see some of these in the flesh at The Universal Zulu Nation Anniversary – OPENING NIGHT in London on November 6th.
Below: Public Enemy & the S1Ws (colour & B&W) / Robert Glasper & Dilla (colour) / Biggie / Gil Scott Heron / Jay Z / Grandmixer D St. & Herbie Hancock / Ultramagnetic MCs.

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Radioland: Radio-Activity Revisited by Matthew Bourne

Radioland Earlier this year I headed to Village Underground to experience Radioland‘s Radio-Activity Revisited gig, accompanied by Matt Johnson. The trio of Matthew Bourne, Franck Vigroux and visual artist Antoine Schmitt were reinterpreting Kraftwerk‘s classic album in a mix of stark analogue electronics and monochrome graphics. From the previews I’d seen online I was really looking forward to it and, drinks in hand, we congregated near the front of the crowd awaiting the performance.

The sound that greeted us was so loud that after one number I suggested to an equally uncomfortable Matt that maybe we should move further back. By the end of the second number we were right at the back of the room and bumped in Leaf label boss Tony Morley who had seen them perform the night before and cleverly invested in some ear plugs for the occasion. As the volume seemed to increase with each track we decided to make an early exit which is why I’m relieved to see that Leaf are now releasing an album of the rework so that I can finally hear the full thing in the comfort of my own home with the volume level set to ‘wuss’.

Available on LP, CD in 20pg hardback book or DL, with sleeve notes by David Stubbs, no earplugs needed.

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Black Channels – Two Knocks For Yes release and live event

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Simon James (Black Channels/The Simonsound) will be performing Two Knocks For Yes at Saint Andrews Church, Waterloo St. Brighton (UK) on the 23rd of October. Shrouded in secrecy, Two Knocks For Yes will incorporate talks, music, theatre and photography. Get tickets here.

You may remember me posting the Two Knocks For Yes mix last Halloween, now the “Radiophonic investigation into the poltergeist phenomenon gets a limited cassette release on Castles in Space, just in time for Halloween. The Buchla 200e Electric Music Box is used to haunting effect providing otherworldly tones, presences and vibrations. The B side features instrumental incidentals for ghost stories. Available mid October. Pre-order here.”

2 knocks cassette

 

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DJ Food featured in the PHONO+GRAPHIC exhibition, Kendal

Food_Flintx4My last album cover (The Search Engine, 4-panel vinyl edition) that I collaborated on with Henry Flint is the first cover you see in an exhibition of record sleeves by comic artists entitled PHONO+GRAPHIC, curated by artist Sean Phillips.

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This is a bit of a dream come true for me, to be one of 60 sleeves displayed alongside artists like Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Brett Ewins, Hunt Emerson and Moebius!

IMG_2004 It opens next week at the Kendal Museum and will be on until the 20th October, including the weekend of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Many thanks to Sean for selecting the cover completely unbeknownst to me until he’d announced the exhibit and framing it so nicely.

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Photos taken from Sean’s blog and here’s more info

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Divine Styler ‘Def Mask remixed’ and more…

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As if I’ve not been banging on about Divine Styler and Gamma Proforma enough this year, here’s another reason but this time I’m involved in the release. I was asked to remix a track from his last album, Def Mask and chose ‘Pandorum’ which will sit alongside other guests like EVAC (Touchin Bass), Mophono (Liquid Amber), GFQ, Audiosyncracy, Monkphat, Co-Pilot, Auxilary Phoenix, Third Shock & Methodblack. It’s due out Jan 2016 but you can pre-order it here and comes with a Will Barras cover and print. Here’s a preview


Another upcoming Gamma event sounds very promising, this was tweeted today…
“10th Dec 2015, London. Rammellzee – Cosmic Flush Exhibition Ft. Futura, Doze Green, Delta, Ian Kuali’i and more.” Make a note in the diary.
Also don’t forget the 4th part of the 7-release Rammellzee Cosmic Flush album is available to order here featuring a Doze Green cover and a remix from Edan.
Doze Green Ramm 12"

The Dark Outside – September 26th – 27th, 2015

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What is The Dark Outside?

24 Hours of Music nobody has heard before in a place where nobody might be listening.

Who is taking part?
There are quite a lot of contributors, you’d best scroll down the list here.
I’ve contributed an unreleased remix but it’s hidden in the line up.

When?
Sept 26th-27th, 2015

Where?
Murrays Monument, Talnotry, The Galloway Forest Dark Skies Park, Scotland. More explicit directions are here

What’s the catch?
You need travel to one of the darkest places in the UK and bring a radio.

Can anyone contribute?
Yes! Send material to [email protected]

Where can I find more info?
http://www.darkoutside.co.uk/

What’s this?
TheDark Outsidelocation
The location that The Dark Outside will be broadcasting from (in the day of course)

PS. What is the Stolen Library?
Ah, that is something possibly even more wonderful

Posted in Event, Music. | 1 Comment | Tags:

DJ Food meets Ambigraph – Dune AV mix

Last Saturday (Sept 12th) I played an hour long set after a showing of ‘Jodorowsky’s Dune’ documentary at one of the FEAST film nights in West Norwood’s Portico Gallery. During the mix the audience were greeted with a film of the slowly evolving, geometric designs of Ambigraph aka Ameet Hindocha.
Night co-ordinator Pete Williams recorded the mix and Ameet has reworked his visuals to accompany it in an hour long, meditative soundscape where all tracks are sourced from releases connected with Frank Herbert‘s most famous novel. *I recommend viewing in HD, probably late at night with the lights off.

Dune Screening
Over the decades many artists have been inspired by this work and there are many concept albums built around themes from his books. As well as Toto‘s score for David Lynch‘s big screen adaptation there’s also music from the forthcoming soundtrack to the documentary I mentioned and tunes from Bernard Szajner‘s ‘Visions of Dune’ release among others.

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Ghost Box ‘In A Moment’ compilation

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I was very pleased when one of these popped through the letterbox the other day – a present from one of my consistently favourite labels. Ghost Box records are 10 and what does any self-respecting label do when they reach that anniversary? They compile some of the best bits and that’s exactly what ‘In A Moment’ showcases.

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Nestling in the credits as well… that’s very serious company to be keeping. The comp is out on 9th October on double vinyl, CD and DL with sleeve notes by Simon ‘Hauntology’ Reynolds.

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Posted in Design, Music, Packaging, Records. | 1 Comment | Tags:

Jodorowsky’s ‘Dune’ soundtrack artwork by Signalstarr

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Beautiful artwork by Nick Stewart Hoyle aka Signalstarr for the soundtrack release of ‘Jodorowsky’s Dune’. Pre-order is up now via One Way Static for European customers, who have an exclusive variant. For US customers, order via Light In The Attic. It comes as a double LP with coloured swirl vinyl, silver foil embossing, gatefold sleeve and a poster version of this cover.

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“Building upon director Frank Pavich’s idea for a score with a “Tangerine Dream-type feel,” Stenzel lays out a cosmic arsenal of analog synthesizers that would make any collector green at the gills: among other gems are a rare Moog Source, CZ-101s, and a Roland Juno 6, as well as unorthodox instruments like a toy Concertmate organ and a Nintendo DS. “I also played guitar and did vocals,” says Stenzel, “some chanting… and some screaming, which comes naturally to me.” The score also features narration by Jodorowsky himself. As Stenzel notes, “Jodo’s voice is actually the soundtrack’s main musical instrument–listening to him was almost like hypnosis, like going to the guru every night.”

My DJ set from Saturday, performed after the showing of the doc. at the FEAST night in West Norwood, is almost ready to post and contains several cuts from this album alongside all manner of other Dune-centric material.

Signal Starr poster

The Delaware Road

This is slowly creeping up on us, a new release and launch party from Buried Treasure whose recent compilation of John Baker cuts, The Vendetta Tapes, I loved.

“London. 1968. Two pioneering musicians compose electronic themes for television & radio. They discover a recording that leads to a startling revelation about their employer. Fascinated by the occult nature of the tape they conduct a studio ritual that will alter their lives forever.”

Delaware Rd

The Delaware Road is a psychological thriller & an audio-visual treat for fans of archived electronica, far out jazz & haunted folk grooves. Conceived & written by Alan Gubby. Additional material by David Yates. Compere: Dolly Dolly

Debut performance on Sat 14th Nov 2015 @ South Street Arts Centre, Reading, Berks.
Tickets here:

Live performances by: Howlround, The Dandelion Set, Ian Helliwell, The Rowan Amber Mill, Robin Lee, Loose Capacitor, Tim Hill, The Twelve Hour Foundation & Revbjelde.

DJs: Jonny Trunk & The Séance (feat. Pete Wiggs from Saint Etienne)

Tickets: £15 advance, £13 concession; £16 on the door.
Price includes free poster & advance download code for ‘The Delaware Road’ compilation album on Buried Treasure Records. All tickets are inclusive of booking fee