What a weekend part 2 – Record Store Day

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Saturday was Record Store Day 2017 and dragging myself out of bed and down to Rat Records in Camberwell was well worth missing a lie in for. The shop was heaving when I got there after 10.30am with one punter reportedly spending £1,400 already!! The bulk of a huge collection from a Scottish indie collector was making its debut in the shop and there were multiple copies of some sought after items flying out the store. I spotted the 10″ Rephlex 4×10″ Radiophonic Workshop compilation on the wall, a couple of copies of the JAMMs ‘1987′ LP and multiple 45s of The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’. I ended up spending far too much and all of it secondhand, no official RSD releases at all. Sadly I don’t have any photos of that but it was a blast and it’s always a pleasure to chat to Philippe, Pete and a rare sighting of owner, Tom.

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After a quick lunch break it was over to West Norwood to The Book & Record Bar to score some new releases and play a set in store after Alex Paterson, Andy Higgs, Mr Parker, Dave Laine and Pete Williams. I decided to play something quite ‘up’ and plowed through a pile of beaty hip hop and classic house/acid/rave 7″s to a bustling shop. I also managed to score all my wants and start going through a small collection of German 45s that had just come into the shop before giving way to Oliver Sudden on the decks.

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All in all a fantastic day, not chasing crazy limited editions up in town but staying local and going to the record shops and hanging out in them which is what we should be doing first and foremost. People buying and selling records on the web are missing the point of RSD, it’s called Record STORE Day, go and support yours on more than one day a year. Shops like the ones above are hubs for people to come together and connect, form alliances and get creative, I’ve met so many good people through them, long may they flourish.

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What a weekend part 1 – The Orb at the RFH

OrbscreenRFH Friday saw myself and Pete Williams as part of the bill for the Orb‘s extravaganza at the Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank, doing a test run for our Further event on May 6th. Upon being asked to play on the 5th floor balcony area by Alex Paterson, we decided to use a load of our equipment to projection all along the roof of the outside area overlooking the Thames. We got in around 1pm and were just about set up by 7pm when Michael from The Book & Record Bar and DJ Dadaist aka George Holt arrived. Teething trouble with getting the lights turned off or down so that we could see the projections were dealt with as were security who suddenly roped off the public space and would only let ticket holders for the gig in the main auditorium in. As the daylight faded and the projections along the balcony pointing across the ceiling appeared, everything clicked into place.

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Tons of friends turned up and we managed to get a lot of great photos and footage before the 11.30pm curfew. I even managed to see a bit of The Orb with Youth painting a huge canvas live onstage, walking in just as one of my favourite tracks, O.O.B.E. was playing. Strip down of the equipment took two hours by the time we were loaded out, then driving back to unload and retiring to our beds saw that it was 3am by the time I hit the sack. All worth it though, a very memorable night and a success in terms of what we wanted to achieve.
(Many thanks for the photos above: Martin Le Santo-Smith, and below: Mike Oscar)

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Further at the Portico Gallery trailer

Here’s a trailer for what to expect at Further on May 6th at the Portico Gallery

DJ Food & Pete Williams present a new, irregular evening by creating an audio visual space to enjoy. Films, slides, oil projections, food, drink and plenty of seating form the environment to soak up the sights and sounds.

Programme:
7.30 – 8.30: Doors, there will be a record stall with stock picked to compliment the evening by Micheal from the nearby Book & Record Bar and delicious food from local café Pinterdera served alongside the fully licensed Portico bar with beers & ales

8.30 – 10.00: Ghost Box Records in the form of Jim Jupp (Belbury Poly) and Julian House (The Focus Group) will be playing an audio visual DJ set.

10.00 – 10.3: Howlround will perform a live score to ‘A Creak in Time’, a film by Steve McInerney (Psyche´-Tropes), via tape loops and reel to reel machines.

10.30 – 12.00: DJ Food & Pete Williams will open and close the evening with their multi-projection Light & Sound Designs.

Location: Portico Gallery, 23B Knight’s Hill, London, SE27 0HS, UK

Tickets here: (limited cheaper early bird price nearly gone)
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/further-at-the-portico-gallery-tickets-32880361045

Travel:
Train: West Norwood overground station (1 min walk)
Buses: 2, 68, 196, 315, 322, 432, 468, 690

Announcing Further at the Portico Gallery

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Announcing a new venture put together by myself and old friend Pete Williams (Eikon / Out Of The Wood) – a collision of Light, Sound and Design… Further.

An irregular event held in different places, it’s not a club night, it’s not monthly, there’s no dance floor. It has got all the things we love in it though: experimental music and film, food and drink, socialising and a bit of record hunting.
The first event is on May 6th at The Portico Gallery, a hidden treasure in the heart of West Norwood and a venue very dear to us that offers an extremely adaptable space to project, perform and present our guests in.

We have Jim Jupp (Belbury Poly) and Julian House (The Focus Group) from Ghost Box Records playing an audio visual set and Howlround sound tracking Steven McInerney’s short film, ‘A Creak In Time’.
Pete and I will be pulling all manner of projections, films, slides and FX out to illuminate the gallery at the beginning and end of the evening to compliment our DJ sets.

There will be food on sale from local café Pintadera, a fully licensed bar and plenty of seating. Michael from the nearby Book & Record Bar will also have a stall selling hand-picked stock for the event.

Venue: The Portico Gallery, 23 Knights Hill, West Norwood, London, SE27 0HS
Doors: 7.30 and we’re all done by midnight. Let’s go Further…

V. limited early bird tickets are on sale now through Eventbrite

Facebook event page here

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Dust & Grooves Weekly Grooves giveaway

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The #WeeklyGroove Series & #Giveaway Week 5: Strictly Kev (DJ Food)

This week Dust & Grooves have made me the subject of their Weekly Groove giveaway series

By end of week, they will give a fine-art print from their photo archives, signed by @eilonpaz and a signed, quadruple 12” version of my album ‘The Search Engine’.

To participate in the giveaway, tag a friend on the #WeeklyGroove posts on @dustandgrooves Instagram account ONLY.
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Bigmouth podcast guest appearance

I was very pleased to be asked to guest on one of my favourite podcasts: Bigmouth, talking about 2000AD’s 40th anniversary, the new Magnetic Fields album and the first part of new BBC drama SS-GB alongside guest Matt Allen and regular hosts Andrew Harrison and Matt Hall. Also hear which track of the week I chose and what closing time chatter gem I dredged up.
UPDATE: Annoyingly I go the date of the Orbital Comics closing party gig wrong at the end, it’s March 10th, not 9th.

The Delaware Road At Kelvedon Hatch Audio Apocalypse Survival Kit on OST

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(Mark, Robin, Dan, Chris, me, Ian – out of shot Zoe, Hannah and Alan – who was taking the photo)

On Saturday I was invited to be a guest on the OST show on Resonance FM – this time with Robin The Fog ably sitting in for an absent Jonny Trunk (away on Basil Kirchin business in Hull). Joining us in the studio were Alan Gubby (Buried Treasure), Mark Pilkington (Strange Attractor Press), Dan Wilson (Radionics), Hannah Brown (Kvist), Ian Helliwell (Tape Leaders book and so much more), Chris Sharp (Concretism) and Zoe ‘Lucky Cat’ Baxter who stayed on after her show beforehand.

The reason was twofold – to try and present a sonic picture of all the artists who would be contributing / playing at The Delaware Road event at Kelvedon Hatch Nuclear Bunker on July 28th. If you’re not up to speed on exactly what The Delaware Road is then please go here.

The gathering was also to highlight a very special prize bundle assembled from all who’d be taking part that’s being auctioned off in aid of Resonance FM’s annual funding drive. Here’s a photo of most of the items to be included:

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Here’s a link to The Delaware Road At Kelvedon Hatch Audio Apocalypse Survival Kit auction in aid of ResonanceFM

Here’s a link to buy tickets for The Delaware Road gig on July 28th

and here’s a link to the 2 hour show featuring music from a lot of the prizes featured above.

Selected Aphex Works 1 & 2 mixes


Seeing as it’s 25 years since Aphex Twin’s ‘Selected Ambient Works 1’ was released and exactly 2 years to the day that my first ‘Selected Aphex Works’ mix was aired on Solid Steel, I thought I’d repost both the first mix and the lesser heard follow up I created for GCASFM.com about a year later. Due to multiple requests in the comments I’ve put up a very limited download of the 2nd mix here and in the Mixcloud comments.
There’s still enough for at least a third volume from the enormous Soundcloud upload he made back in 2015 but if you’re fiending for more then I’ll be premiering a special AFX AV set at Archspace in London on Feb 25th.

An Ambient Evening with the Orb and friends

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I’m very pleased to announce that I’ll be part of The Orb‘s ‘An Ambient Evening…’ at the Royal Festival Hall on April 21st alongside The Orb (of course) Youth, Roger Eno, Metamono, Gaudi, George Holt (Cakelab), Micheal Johnson (The Book & Record Bar) and more. As part of the ever-growing local South London crew that have gravitated to the West Norwood Broadcasting Company (WNBC) operating out of The Book & Record Bar, Alex Paterson invited us to be a part of the evening to showcase some of the people within this community. Tickets are on sale now .

Not only that, Pete W (Out Of The Wood radio/WNBC) and myself will be unveiling the first outing of our new venture into sight and sound: Further.

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We’ve been kicking this idea around since last summer, wanting to create a space where music and visuals come together in different social settings to form an environment with as much emphasis on the visual as the musical. We’ve gathered an arsenal of analogue kit to make this happen, multiple slide and oil projectors, 3″ cassette effects and all manner of antique controllers to trigger them, with the aim of going back to some of the pre-digital practices that are being lost as we advance into a virtual world. It’s also a chance to showcase the kind of music we’ve been playing in the record shop, on the radio show and in venues like Spiritland over the past year or more – a willfully obscure blend of anything goes from the deepest, unexplored corners of our record collections.
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The idea is to install Further into different places, working with different layouts to make each one different and fresh. Musical and visuals guests will be invited and given space to do their thing and and we’ll provide the environment for them to fit into. Think the 60s UFO club meets a 70s Arts Lab meets the 90s Land of Oz nights with a leftfield audio/visual agenda. We’re currently talking to various different people about the possibilities of staging one of these events in their venue so if you think this could work for you then please get in touch: [email protected]

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What is The Delaware Road?

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The Delaware Road currently exists in several forms; an actual road in London where the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop was originally situated, a compilation released in 2015 by the Buried Treasure label and a multi-faceted performance piece based around a story created by the label’s founder, Alan Gubby and David Yates aka Dolly Dolly. The Radiophonic connection is no coincidence, being that the piece that ties the music contained on the album and play together is loosely based on two key figures working at the BBC Workshop at the height of its powers. Gubby describes it as, “…a work of fiction based on actual events & some unusual anecdotes gathered whilst researching for archived electronic tape music albums released in recent years”.

The story is situated in London, the possibilities of technology and tape are being stretched by inquiring minds and the swinging sixties are upon us. “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.” Add in dashes of psychedelics, orgies, spirits summoned via stone tape theories and the relentless march of progress and you have the ingredients for a wild ride through the middle of 20th century London, from analogue to digital as the 80s approach and new ways replace old.

The live staged version of the concept album is narrated by the incredible Dolly Dolly, sitting stage right at his desk throughout the performance, suit and tie in place, illuminated by a single anglepoise lamp. His earnest delivery ties the acts together that sonically illustrate the different chapters in the piece, his speeches becoming more animated as the story progresses, enhanced by oil and video projections. The first performance was held at the South Street Arts Centre in Reading and featured a host of acts using tape manipulation, analogue synths, ancient percussion and home-made electronic devices, each in roughly chronological order as the years played out. There was even some jazz on the menu and the whole thing was book-ended by Jonny Trunk and Pete Wiggs playing suitably-themed tunes for the occasion, I covered the night for Shindig! magazine at the time and you can read my review here.

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The album suffered distribution problems upon initial release, as did other Buried Treasure output, but a new deal should mean greater availability and a re-release is planned, there’s even talk of some kind of illustrated version too with various artists being commissioned to bring scenes to life. I can’t recommend the record enough as it perfectly soundtracks the piece put together to showcase it and there’s nary a bad tune in its 20 tracks. Listen to it and buy via Bandcamp.

Which brings me to the reason I’m writing this now as a second performance will be taking place on July 28th, this time at the Kelvedon Hatch Nuclear Bunker site in Essex. Tickets are on sale now but places are limited, there’s even a chance to book a place on a double-decker bus that will take you to the venue from the nearby Brentwood station and discounts for groups of four people. I’m also delighted to reveal that I will be opening and closing the event in a DJ capacity too! I’ll be bringing visuals and delving into my collection for a suitable selection to mark the occasion.
Follow the event and the bands playing it on Facebook, this is going to be a very special evening.
The line up so far is: DOLLY DOLLY, HOWLROUND, TELEPLASMISTE (Mark O Pilkington & Michael J York), RADIONICS RADIO, IAN HELLIWELL, GLITCH, SAUNDERS & HILL, CONCRETISM, SIMON JAMES (The Simonsound), THE TWELVE HOUR FOUNDATION, LOOSE CAPACITOR, DJ FOOD.

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FourFromFoodFridays 17.1

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Four From Food Fridays – a weekly look at four things that have been doing it for me. They can be new or old, any style so long as it’s been getting some rotation in the studio. From top left:
Brian Eno – Reflection (Warp) LP
Coldcut – 6 Music New Year takeover (BBC6Music) Radioshow
The KLF – The Sound Of Mu(sic) (Mixcloud) DJ Food / Mr Trick Fan Mix
Depeche Mode – Big Muff (K_Master Remix) (Soundcloud) Fan Remix

Remastered Spiritland set from 11.12.16 + track list

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My set from Spiritland on Dec 11th was uploaded to Mixcloud but was so quiet you could barely hear it. I got to work on the file and remastered it whilst compiling the track list for the full 5 hours. Photo by Karla Davis

DJ Food – Spiritland 11/12/16 track list…

The Heliocentrics w. Melvin Van Peebles – Prologue (Now Again)
Bernard Szajner – The Fremen (Cache Cache)
Voyager – Arrival (excerpt) (Union City Recordings)
Basement Jaxx – Stanley (Sunday Best Records)
unknown – Blue (CDR)
DJ Shadow – I’ve Been Trying (Third World Orchestra’s Folkumbia Remix – DJ Food edit) (https://soundcloud.com/punk-cho)
DJ Shadow – Come On Ride (Through The Cosmos) (Secret 7s / Island)
DJ Shadow – Dark Days (Spoken For Mix) (MCA)
Andre Previn – Executive Party Dance (UA)
The Dragons – Peace Garden (Rural)
Kool & The Gang – Summer Madness (De-Lite)
Stan Getz – Bonjour Tristesse (MGM)
Fourtet – I’m On Fire (part 2) (Text)
Lalo Schifrin – Joy To The World (Lo Recordings)
Warner Jepson – Deck The Halls (Shinkoko.com)
The Soulful Strings – Little Drummer Boy (Cadet Records)
Warner Jepson – Silent Night (Shinkoko.com)
J. P. Massiera – Silent Night (Finders Keepers)
Warner Jepson – Good King Wenceslas (Shinkoko.com)
Vincent Geminiani – Ophis Le Serpentaire (Jazzman)
Paul Schutze – Doubts About Waking (edit) (Extreme)
Alice Coltrane – A Love Supreme (Impulse)
Arnaud Robotini – The Choir Of The Dead Lovers (Blackstrobe Records)
Brain Machine – Massive Dying Stars Vibrating Like Giant Speakers (Tinae)
Chapterhouse – Beta Phase (Global Communication remix) (Dedicated)
Voyager – Arrival (excerpt) (Union City Recordings)
Howlround – OH feat. abandoned playground (The Fog Signals)
Sheila Chandra – One (Indipop)
Eurhythmics – The City Never Sleeps (Capitol)
Annabel (lee) – (1849) (IF Music/Ninja Tune)
Beautify Junkyards – Constant Flux (Ghost Box)
Cavern of Anti-Matter – Zone Null (Duophonic UHF Discs)
Stepkids – La La (Stones Throw)
Broadcast & The Focus Group – The Be Colony (Warp)
Vanishing Twin – Floating Heart (Soundway)
Stereolab – Miss Modular (Duphonic UHF Discs)
Sirconical – Moondance (Twisted Nerve)
The Twelve Hour Foundation – Sun and Air (Part 2) (Bandcamp/Environmental Studies)
Voyager – Arrival (excerpt) (Union City Recordings)
The Orb – A Huge 54 Minute Mix Mk.2 (excerpt 1) (CDR)
Grace Jones – Don’t Cry, It’s Only The Rhythm (ZTT)
Grace Jones – Rough Slave (Better Days version) (unreleased)
Flying White Dots – Slave To The Grid (soundcloud.com/flyingwhitedots)
Grace Jones – The Crossing (Ooh The Action) (ZTT)
The Orb – A Huge 54 Minute Mix Mk.2 (excerpt 2) (CDR)
Szuletet – Domino (Bandcamp) https://afxtribute.bandcamp.com/releases
David Sylvian – Home (Virgin)
Paul Schutze – Doubts About Waking (edit) (Extreme)
Sheila Chandra – Nada Brahma (Indipop)
Camille – Ta Douleur (EMI)
The Beastie Boys – Something’s Got To Give (Live) (Grand Royal)
NT – Distances By Air (RCA)
Annis le Neve – Stories (Apeman)
Grandmagneto – Night Fever (Big Single)
The Karminsky Experience Inc. – The Fifth Peg (Patterns of Behaviour)
The Hellers – Take 46 (Command)
The Karminsky Experience Inc. – Through A Prism Backwards (Patterns of Behaviour)
The Karminsky Experience Inc. – The House Band Takes A Break (Patterns of Behaviour)
The Casuals On The Square – Moonbound (Trans International Airlines)
Nino Nardini – Tropicola (Jazzman)
Vincent Geminiani – Ophis Le Serpentaire (Jazzman)
Jacky Chalard & Dynastie Crisis – Les Scandales (Fat City)
Bomb The Bass – One To One Religion (Skankapella) (Stoned Heights)
Scarper – Lacuna (Jani R Remix) (Plexus)
Drog – Curtains (Bandcamp) https://afxtribute.bandcamp.com/releases
The Shamen – Possible Worlds (Reverse) (One Little Indian)
Nico Motte – Morning Mist (Antinote)
As One – Where Did He Go… And Why? (De:tuned)
Steve Hauschildt – Same River Twice (Kranky)
Queen – In The Space Capsule / Ming’s Theme (EMI)
As One – Where Did He Go… And Why? (Heinrich Mueller Lamb Shift Model) (De:tuned)
Nico Motte – Necroville (Antinote)
The Emperor Machine – Introduction To Outer Space (part 1) (DC Recordings)
E.A.R. – Interlude (Earworm)
V.I.V.E.K. – Mantra (System Music)
E.A.R. – Transistor Music (Earworm)
Boards of Canada – Satellite Anthem Icarus (Warp)

FourFromFoodFridays 16

FourFromFoodFridays17Four From Food Fridays – a weekly look at four things that have been doing it for me. They can be new or old, any style so long as it’s been getting some rotation in the studio. From top left:
Trevor Jackson meets Trevor Horn (NTS) Interview
Clocolan – Nothing Left To Abandon (Enpeg) LP
Manuel Gottsching – E2:E4 (MG.ART) LP
DJ Food – Live at Spiritland 11.12.16 (Mixcloud) DJ set

DJ Food at Spiritland 11.12.16

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Sunday night saw my second set at Spiritland, this time for a 5 hr slot instead of 4. The chance to spread out and play a non dance floor selection in public is always welcome and the sound system there is particularly good with highly polished electronic music and deep bass tones I’m finding. In the mix you’ll find a short Xmas medley and part of an exclusive 54 Minute fan mix of The Orb’s ‘A Huge, Ever Growing, Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre of the Ultraworld’ interspersed with some special mixes of Grace Jones‘Slave To The Rhythm’ that I compiled. Some of the photos below are by Karla Davis and Arthur Arkin.
(The mix is a bit quiet, you need to turn it up) I’ve remastered the file now for maximum volume.

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The vinyl reissues we actually want this Black Friday

8Slightly late as I had a crazy weekend but still relevant as the consumer chaos and pressing plant queues will testify. I canvassed opinion from various DJs, collectors, sellers and artists as to what their top reissues/represses would be come the next Record Store Day and presented them to The Vinyl Factory.

You can see and read our choices HERE