Mixes/Solid Steel

Solid Steel 25 – Food, The Light Surgeons & Jack Dangers

The Solid Steel 25th anniversary continues and this week I’m in the first slot with a mix of /4 electronica both new and old. Modular experiments, deep house grooves, classic electro and a touch of acid. Ninja & Big Dada artists Falty DL and Dobie feature, oldies from Air, Eon and Hashim appear and a fantastic new track from Natural Self features near the end that I just can’t stop playing. His album, ‘Neon Hurts My Eyes’, drops next week on Tru Thoughts and it’s quite a departure being all-vocal led, most of it sung by the man himself including a great cover of Laurie Anderson‘s ‘O, Superman’.

In hour 2 we have The Light Surgeons with a very different mix taken in part from their new show ‘SuperEverything*’, a narrative about cross cultural identity. They tour in the UK in March and play a London show in April. The last half hour has a mix from Meat Beat Manifesto‘s Jack Dangers, showcasing his collection of electronic record made by children in schools, see some of the sleeves below and be prepared for something different.

Posted in Mixes/Solid Steel, Solid Steel. | 1 Comment |

Coldcut meets The Orb – The Return Trip

Late last year DK and I were chatting on the phone about potential guests for Solid Steel’s 25th anniversary year in 2013. We were aiming high and had decided to ask any prospective guests for themed mixes or collections of tracks outside of their usual comfort zone. The idea of collaborations came up, maybe Fourtet and Caribou could team up or Aphex and Vibert? What and who would make people sit up and say, “holy shit, I HAVE to check that out?”. Suddenly the thought bubbled up, why don’t we get a rematch between Coldcut and the Orb? It’s no secret that their original New Year mash up from the end of 1991 is very high up on my list of greatest mixes ever and the thought of a new sound clash 21 years later was very appealing indeed.

We put it to Matt and Jon, who loved the idea, and promptly contacted Alex Paterson and Youth. Convening at the latter’s Butterfly studio on the anniversary of JFK‘s assassination the four of them, along with Coldcut studio accomplice Dor Wand, got down to it. The resulting session produced over 3 hours worth of material, Matt excitedly collaring me a few days later to rave about what a blast it had been.

He wanted an independent opinion on the results and I immediately volunteered to take on the edit job to sculpt it into the shape needed for a Solid Steel mix. Luckily they had recorded everything to multi-track and just before Xmas I sat down to construct a 2 hour show from the chinese puzzle in front of me. After sifting, editing, compressing and discarding over a 3 to 4 week period I finally had something to send the guys. Matt came over to the studio to run through some finishing touches with fresh ears and we now present 133 minutes of mind-melting madness.

In a time now saturated with mixes by everyone from the famous to the unknown to your mate’s mum it’s sometimes hard to grab people’s attention. This year we start off with something that we don’t normally do, we’re giving the entire show over to four artists to present one mix. To say that I’m pleased with the result is an understatement, not my contribution to the edit so much as what we now have because of a fanciful suggestion I made a few months ago. It’s a very different beast to their first excursion, how could it not be? 21 years is a long time and the whole mix is rooted in dub of all permutations, layer upon layer of sonics to pick apart including many unreleased tracks, versions or remixes by all participants. Lee Perry, Killing Joke, Sun Ra, William Burroughs, Teebs, Ry Cooder, Actress, Prince Jammy, Iggy Pop, Monty Python and Hank Williams are all in there plus probably a hundred more, some submerged, others strutting their stuff, you can have fun trying to guess who played what and who is who hiding behind a pseudonym. We haven’t included all the spoken word samples in the track listing because it would just get way too confusing but you’ll hear John F Kennedy, Hal 9000, William Burroughs and more swimming around in there.

We will continue celebrating a quarter of a century of ‘the broadest beats’ every week throughout the year with exclusive mixes from: Four Tet, J Rocc, Skream, Kirk DeGiorgio, Trevor Jackson, Chris Carter from Throbbing Gristle, Toddla T, Benji B, Photek, Andy Votel, Z-Trip, Tom Middleton, Richard Dorfmeister, Greg Wilson, DJ Kentaro, James Lavelle, Giles Peterson, Don Letts, Jack Dangers, Future Sound of London, Kid Koala, Luke Vibert, Laurent Garnier, Congo Natty, Gaslamp Killer, Andrew Weatherall, Francois Kevorkian, Fink, Ross Allen, Mixmaster Morris, Manasseh and the first guest to appear on Solid Steel back in 1988, Juan Atkins (and that’s not even all of them…).

Posted in Mixes/Solid Steel, Solid Steel. | 9 Comments |

Terminal Radio Transmission: FSOL 2 hr tribute mixes

A new mix series called Terminal Radio has just launched by fans and musicians from the FSOL online message boards. Members from around the globe were asked to make a 15 minute mix each and eight of these were collected and mixed together into a 2 hour trip.

Each volume will feature eight more alternate universes converging into one super quadaural meta-brain: (says Craig who has organised all this). If you’re a fan of the Future Sound of London there’s a lot here that will be right up you’re street.

Transmission 1:

Transmission 2:

Posted in Mixes/Solid Steel, Music. | 1 Comment |

25 Years of Solid Steel in 2013

I can’t quite believe it’s been a quarter of a century since Matt Black and Jonathan More combined their Mastermix Dance Party and Meltdown Party shows to form the Coldcut Solid Steel show on the pirate station Kiss FM in London.

Both had separate shows on a Friday afternoon on the station, Matt’s at midday and John’s at 4pm with Danny Ramplin(g) sandwiched in between and Judge Jules‘ Family Funktion, Bobby & Steve’s Zoo Experience and Jazzie B‘s Soul II Soul shows following. Check out this amazing line up from an old Kiss 94 FM newsletter (94 was the frequency it was on before it went legal in 1990 and switched to 100).

No sooner than they had joined forces – we think sometime in the latter half of ’88, no one is quite sure – Kiss went off the air at New Years Eve. In an attempt to gain a legal license they had to stop broadcasting for 6 months as a show of faith to the DTI. As it turned out they didn’t get the license until Spring 1990 as they lost out to Jazz FM in ’89 which is why there are no shows from that year floating round on the web.

DK has raided the Coldcut tape cupboard to put together a show comprised of snippets of both Matt and Jon’s separate shows in the first hour and a later Solid Steel on the legal Kiss 100 FM in the second. Spot the signposts in Coldcut’s early career, hear now classic tracks played in their heyday and vintage adverts for gigs now a distant memory.

New shows arrive on Fridays, you can listen to the show every week on Soundcloud and also subscribe and receive the podcast through iTunes. We have some very special mixes coming up throughout the year from big guests both new and old that we’ve asked specially to contribute.

We’re looking back in a different way this time, no more archive shows but guests who we’ve admired and played the music of over the last 25 years have been asked to do something special for Solid Steel in 2013. More announcements next week and a whole show devoted to a totally new return trip from Coldcut and The Orb…

Also for anyone wanting to know more about the Kiss FM story there’s a great documentary on Vimeo that tells the tale.

Posted in Mixes/Solid Steel, Solid Steel. | 5 Comments |

New DJ Food mix of Israeli esoterica and radiophonica

On a recent trip to Tel Aviv I was given a huge amount of music, both new and old, from Israel and was knocked out by the quality of it. These form the bulk of a new mix for Solid Steel and you can see a heavy bias towards the Mordy Laye and the Group Modular record I posted about the other week which is now out on vinyl and download.
Hear and buy the album in full here or hop over to group member Markey Funk’s Mixcloud page to digest one of his great Modular mixes. He, along with group partner Mule Driver, will be putting together a special Solid Steel guest mix soon…

Posted in Mixes/Solid Steel, Solid Steel. | 1 Comment |

Mr Armtone AV mix, DJ Food & Ill Chemist on Solid Steel

Mr Armtone – Time Machine from Solid Steel on Vimeo.

St. Petersburg’s Mr Armtone returns to Solid Steel this week, with an AV mix no less, full of great material and up to our usual high standard both musically and visually. The overall theme is Time Machines so watch and listen out for various references cropping up throughout.
The second hour features both my recent DJ Shadow mixes and the guest mix debut of NYC’s Ill Chemist aka Alan Friedman, friend of Steinski and one time Break Beatle. His mix is a stunning gallop through all music styles from BeBop to Hip Hop, Jazz takes on the classics and a whole lot more, could this be the show with the most tracks squeezed into it?

Posted in Film, Mixes/Solid Steel, Solid Steel. | 2 Comments |

DJ Shadow ‘Flashback’ and ‘Trip Out’ mixes for XFM

Way back in March I was asked by Eddy Temple-Morris if I would be interested in putting together a short mix offering my take on the work of DJ Shadow. This was to form part of a marathon special on his XFM show celebrating Josh’s career and tying into a compilation of some sort which has since evolved into the ‘Reconstruction’ release and deluxe box set.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big Shadow fan so this was a thrilling opportunity and also a daunting task. The mix had to be between 17 and 20 minutes long according to Eddy, how on earth to fit so many great tracks into that length of time? No idea but best get down to it and see what develops. Going through my extensive collection threw up over 80 potential tracks, skits, remixes, co-productions and original samples which totaled over 6 hours of music if I remember correctly. How to do this so that it wouldn’t be just another Shadow mix? How to present the ubiquitous but essential ‘Organ Donor’ in an exciting way? Have a listen…

Well, I couldn’t get it down to to 17 minutes, or 20, but squeezed it all into 23 which Eddy graciously let me get away with. I decided to go for the essence of a lot of tracks rather than letting everything play out, trying to edit sympathetically to each track’s progressions so it wouldn’t seem too brutal. I used a lesser-known compilation track (from ‘Turntables On The Hudson’) called ‘Flashback’ as a theme to title the mix as it’s such a blur of sonic information sometimes that it seems like it might be just that. Having not listened back since I made it nearly 6 months ago I find it’s quite an exhilarating ride if a bit relentless, which I quite like but it you might have to be in the mood for it. The solution to ‘Organ Donor’, probably his most well known creation, was to put it at the end, the big bang after a big build, mixing in the original Giorgio Moroder ‘Tears’ sample that forms the main melody as well as a newer production to show that he’s still got it.

But after all that, I still had material left over, specifically large chunks of ambient sound beds that formed a big part of his earlier releases, which is something I love about his music and that stood out as both original and uncompromising at the time. I wanted to put these together as some sort of collage without the usual beats and vocals, maybe it could be used as a bed to talk over on the radio? It was all here, might as well see what could be done with it, I doubted anyone else would go down this route too. The result is the short but sweet ‘Trip Out’ mix…

I was thinking of the KLF‘s classic ‘Chill Out’ album here, hence the pastiche of the cover and the title – also an allusion to hallucination of course but also a knowing wink to the Trip Hop genre tag that has dogged Shadow since the start of his career. I actually think this concept could have been taken further with a bit more production to extend and rearrange sections but time constraints didn’t permit. Anyway, now I had over 30 minutes of mix for Eddy when he only wanted half that. Props to him that he played both and you can hear the whole thing, along with mixes by IRN MNKY, Bare Noize, Stereo:Type and Culprit One online at XFM for the next week. If you’re abroad and you need to enter a postcode to make it think you’re listening from the UK then try W1A 1AA.

Posted in DJ Food, Mixes/Solid Steel, Radio. | 7 Comments |

“I wanna say a little something that’s long overdue…”

A great big THANK YOU to everyone who’s listened to the remake of The Beastie Boys‘ ‘Paul’s Boutique’ album that Cheeba, Moneyshot and I debuted 10 days ago. It’s been blogged and linked to from all over the world by magazines like Urb, Fact and Spin plus sites like EgoTrip, Comic Book Resource and Dangerous Minds, and this weekend the LA Times ran a news piece on it.

On Friday we broke the record for the most listens to one mix ever on our Solid Steel show (33,000 for Bonobo) and are currently heading towards the 40,000 listens mark on the Ninja Tune/Solid Steel Soundcloud. Sadly we received the news that Strongroom Alive – the radio station that hosts us in London every Thursday – was no more last week but their memory lives on in the live version currently on Mixcloud which has garnered another 10,000 plays.

Big thanks to Erik Batternberg who sent me the LA Times photo and for all of you who blogged it, shared it, retweeted it, let us know your thoughts and hipped us to others who have done the same.

Now that the mix has had it’s week on Solid Steel I’ve uploaded it to my own Soundcloud and you can access it quickly via the image on the right or the download page. We are all blown away with the reception this has received and will be working on something special as a follow up for next year.

Posted in DJ Food, Mixes/Solid Steel, Solid Steel. | 1 Comment |

‘Paul’s Boutique’ remade by Cheeba, Moneyshot & Food

3 years in the making, 3 DJs working with over 150 tracks to recreate one of the seminal sampling albums of all time, at last Cheeba, Moneyshot and I can reveal ‘Caught In The Middle Of A 3-Way Mix’. Our tribute to the classic Beastie Boys album ‘Paul’s Boutique’ remixed and re-imagined from all the original samples plus a cappellas, period interviews and the Beasties’ own audio commentary from the reissued release.

Add to this a custom illustration from Paul’s Boutique super-fan and all-round great guy Jim Mahfood, taking time out from recent art duties on Tank Girl, and you have an alternate version of the album. The mix was over half way finished when we heard the tragic news of Adam Yauch‘s passing this May so this is also our nod to his memory, RIP MCA.

Big respect to Cheeba and Moneyshot for all their hard work and for the latter for inspiring the project with his classic mix of their ‘Check Your Head’ three years ago. Obviously massive respect goes out to The Beasties, The Dust Brothers, Mario C. and all involved in the making of the original album.

The mix debuted on Solid Steel via Strongroom Alive and above is the whole show with commentary and additional mix action from Coldcut and PC and the one below without chat and a download option.


Also here’s the full tracklist:

Caught In The Middle of A 3-Way Mix – a tribute to The Beastie Boys‘ ‘Paul’s Boutique’ album

DJ Cheeba section:

To All The Girls:
Mike D – Pauls Boutique Audio Commentary (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Idris Mohammed – Loran’s Dance – Kudu
Beastie Boys – Triple Trouble (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Beastie Boys – Paul Revere – (DIY a cappella)
Fatboy Slim – The Weekend Starts Here – Skint Records
Beastie Boys – 3 MCs and 1 DJ (a cappella) – Capitol Records
LL Cool J – Rock The Bells – Def Jam  Recordings
Beastie Boys – Ch Ch Ch Check It Out (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Beastie Boys – Shake Your Rump (a cappella) – Capitol Records
David Berman – Pauls Boutique Release Party (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip

Shake Your Rump:
Alphonze Mouzon – Funky Snakefoot – Blue Note
Beastie Boys – Shake Your Rump (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Rose Royce – 6 O’Clock DJ (Let’s Rock) – MCA Records
Rose Royce – Born To Love You – MCA Records
John King – The History of The Dust Brothers (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Mike D – Pauls Boutique Release Party (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Diana Ross & The Supremes – No Matter What Sign You Are – Tamla Motown
The Sugar Hill Gang – 8th Wonder – Sugar Hill Records
Rose Royce – Daddy Rich – MCA Records
Alan Moorhouse – Soul Skimmer – KPM Music
Afrika Bambaataa & James Brown – Unity Part 2 (a cappella) – Polydor
Funky 4+1 – That’s The Joint – Sugar Hill Records
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Could You Be Loved – Island Records
Rose Royce – Yo Yo – MCA Records
Mike D – Pauls Boutique Release Party (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Black Oak Arkansas – Hot and Nasty – ATCO Records
Paul Humphrey – Super Mellow – Inner City Records
Harvey Scales – Dancing Room Only – Casablanca Records
Ronnie Laws – Tell me Something Good – Blue Note

Johnny Ryall:
Kurtis Blow – AJ Skratch – Mercury
Paul McCartney – Momma Miss America – Apple Records
Beastie Boys – Johnny Ryall (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Jean Knight – Mr Big Stuff – Stax
Chris Stein – Military Breakbeat – 360 Records
Pink Floyd – One Of These Days – Harvest
Donny Hathaway – Magnificent Sanctuary Band – ATCO Records
MCA – Pauls Boutique Audio Commentary (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
David Bromberg – Sharon – Columbia
LL Cool J – Discusses the Beastie Boys (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Mike D – Pauls Boutique Release Party (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip

Egg Man:
Lightnin’ Rod – Sport – United Artists Records
WYFF News – Which Came First…? (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Beastie Boys – Egg Man – (DIY a cappella)
Curtis Mayfield – Superfly – Buddah Records
Tower of Power – Drop It In The Slot – Warner Bros. Records
Elvis Costello – Pump it Up – Radar Records
John Williams – The Theme From Jaws – MCA Records
Public Enemy – You’re Gonna Get Yours – Def Jam Recordings
Bernard Herrmann – Suite For Strings – Sony Classical
Mike D & MCA – Pauls Boutique Audio Commentary (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
Sly and The Family Stone – Dance To The Music – Epic
The Commodores – I’m Ready – Tamla Motown
Public Enemy – Bring The Noise – Def Jam Recordings

High Plains Drifter:
Interview with The Eagles introduction (Dialogue) – YouTube Rip
The Eagles – Those Shoes – Asylum Records
The Fatback Band – Put Your Love (In My Tender Care) – Polydor

DJ Moneyshot Outro

DJ Moneyshot section:
DJ Moneyshot – “Can’t Stand DJ Cheeba Intro” – mp3

Sounds Of Science:
The Beatles – The End – Apple Records
Beastie Boys – Sounds of Science (DIY a cappella) – Capitol Records
James Brown – Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved – Polydor
Paul’s Boutique – Audio Commentary – Capitol Records
Beastie Boys – Sounds of Science – Capitol Records
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) – Capitol Records
BDP – My Philosophy – Jive
The Beatles – When I’m 64 – Capitol Records
Issac Hayes – Walk From Regio’s – Polydor

3 Minute Rule:
Paul’s Boutique – Audio Commentary – Capitol Records
Beastie Boys – 3 Minute Rule – Capitol Records
Fancy – Feel Good – Big Tree Records
Sly & The Family Stone – Brave And Strong – Epic
Beastie Boys – 3 Minute Rule (DIY a cappella) – Capitol Records
Sly & The Family Stone – Poet – Epic
Loggins & Messina – Your Mama Don’t Dance – CBS

Hey Ladies:
Kool & The Gang – Jungle Boogie – De-Lite Records
Disco Dave & The Force Of the Five MC’s – High Powered Rap – Mixmaster Mike and Disco Dave Records
Afrika Bambaataa – Jazzy Sensation – Tommy Boy Music
Jeanette Lady Day – Come Let Me Love You – Prelude Records
Beastie Boys – Hey Ladies (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Cameo – Shake Your Pants – Chocolate City
The Bar-Kays – Holy Ghost – Stax
Kurtis Blow – Party Time – Mercury
Zapp – Dancefloor – Warner Bros. Records
James Brown – Funky President – Polydor
The P-Funk Allstars – Pumpin’ It Up – Epic
The Commodores – Machine Gun – Motown
The Sweet – Ballroom Blitz – Capitol Records

5 Piece Chicken Dinner:
Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell – Shuckin’ The Corn – Warner Bros. Records
DJ Moneyshot – Rinse Out Jungle ish – mp3

Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun:
Tougher Than Leather dialogue sample – New Line Cinema
Ocean – Put Your Hand In The Hand – Kama Sutra
Paul’s Boutique – Audio Commentary – Capitol Records (dialogue)
Beastie Boys – Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun (a cappella) – Capitol Records
Pink Floyd – Time – Harvest
Mountain – Mississippi Queen – Stateside
Incredible Bongo Band – Last Bongo In Belgium – Pride
Beastie Boys – Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun – Capitol Records
YouTube Audio – MTV 1998 Beastie Boys Biography – MTV (dialogue)

DJ Food section:
Car Thief:
Funk Factory – Rien Ne Va Plus (ATCO Records)
Boogie Down Productions – The Bridge Is Over (Instr.) (B-Boy Records)
Trouble Funk – Drop The Bomb (Jamtu Records)
Beastie Boys – Car Thief (a cappella) (Capitol)
The Jackson 5 – I’ll Bet You (Motown)
Max Yasgur – Speech at Woodstock (dialogue)
Donovan – Hurdy Gurdy Man (Pye Records)
Led Zeppelin – Moby Dick (Atlantic)

What Comes Around:
Gene Harris – Put On Train (Blue Note)
Alice Cooper – It’s Hot Tonight (Warner Bros. Records)

Shadrach:
Sly & The Family Stone – Loose Booty (Epic)
Funky 4+1 – That’s The Joint (Sugar Hill Records)
Rose Royce – Do Your Dance (Whitfield Records)
The Riddler – Batman TV soundtrack (dialogue)
The Sugar Hill Gang – Sugar Gill Groove (Sugar Hill Records)
Trouble Funk – Say What? (D.E.T.T. Records)
Ballin’ Jack – Never Let ‘Em Say (Columbia)
The Fatback Band – King Tim III (Personality Jock) (Spring Records)
James Brown – Funky Drummer (King Records/Polydor)

Ask For Janice:
Paul’s Boutique radio ad (cassette) (dialogue)

B-Boy Bouillabaisse –
59 Christie Street:
Burundi Black – Burundi Black (Barclay)
Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced? (Polydor)
Run DMC – Here We Go (Live At The Funhouse) (Profile)
Cerrone – Rocket In The Pocket (Live) (CBS)
Malcolm McLaren & The World Famous Supreme Team – Buffalo Gals (Charisma)
Boogie Down Productions – My Philosophy (Jive) Fab 5 Freddy – Change Le Beat (Celluloid)
Stop That Train:
Southside Movement – Save The World (20th Century Records)
Beastie Boys – Stop That Train (a cappella) (Capitol)
Scotty – Draw Your Brakes (Trojan Records)
A Year And A Day:
Tower Of Power – Ebony Jam (Warner Bros. Records)
The Isley Brothers – That Lady (Epic)
Led Zeppelin – When The Levee Breaks (on 45 rpm) (Atlantic)
Disco Dave & the Force of the Five MC’s – High Powered Rap (Mixmaster Mike and Disco Dave Records)
Hello Brooklyn:
Led Zeppelin – When The Levee Breaks (on 33rpm) (Atlantic)
Beastie Boys – Hello Brooklyn (demo version)
Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues (CBS/Columbia)
Dropping Names:
The Meters – Hey Pocky A Way (Reprise Records)
Stephen King’s It / Andy Griffiths show – He thrusts his fists… (dialogue)
The Sweet – Into the Night (RCA Victor)
The Crusaders – The Well’s Gone Dry (Blue Thumb / ABC Records)
Bob Marley interview with the BBC (dialogue)
Lay It On Me:
Kool & The Gang – Let The Music Take Your Mind (De-lite)
Jim James – No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn lyrics (dialogue)
Mike On The Mic:
Love Bug Starski – Starski, Live At The Disco Fever (Fever Records)
A.W.O.L.:
Chic – Good Times (Atlantic)
Beastie Boys – A.W.O.L. (Capitol)
Trouble Funk – Good To Go (4th & Broadway)
Idris Muhammed – Loran’s Dance (Kudu)
Rise – MCA tribute (dialogue)
Beastie Boys – Sureshot (a cappella) (Capitol/Grand Royal)
Rakim – Dedication (mp3) (dialogue)

 

Posted in DJ Food, Mixes/Solid Steel, Solid Steel. | 58 Comments |

On the menu…

So many Food-related things to look forward to this Autumn / Winter:

‘Caught In The Middle of a 3-Way Mix‘ – a tribute to the Beastie Boys’ ‘Paul’s Boutique’ album in mix form by DJ’s Cheeba, Moneyshot and Food with artwork by Jim Mahfood tomorrow night on Solid Steel via Strongroom Alive.

Debut of my remix of Kilah’s ‘Krzesany’ at the Sacrum Profanum festival, Poland on Sept 15th

A night of DJ Shadow mixes on XFM to support the ‘Reconstructed‘ comp with two by yours truly on Sept 21st

‘The Search Engine’ quadruple vinyl gatefold repress edition and return to the SAT in Montreal this Sept/Oct

A John Rydgren compilation on Omni Recording Corporation curated by David Thrussell with audio and images supplied from my archive.

‘The Search Engine’ fulldome performance at the Leicester Space Centre, UK on November 16th

Posted in DJ Food, Event, Film, Gigs, Mixes/Solid Steel, Solid Steel. | 3 Comments |

2econd Class Citizen album preview megamix

May I present for your delectation: a personally mixed, sliced and diced preview of 2econd Class Citizen‘s forthcoming album – ‘The Small Minority’.

I’ve been lucky enough to hear it in progress over the last 2 years and it’s changed and developed to a point where it really all holds together as a complete album rather than a collection of separate tracks.

This is definitely up there alongside DJ Format and Pepe Deluxé as one of my albums of 2012 already. It will get compared to DJ Shadow‘s older work but the folk stylings and Aaron’s violin playing set it apart. If you enjoyed 2009’s ‘A World Without’ album – available to listen to in full here – then this is the logical progression.

This mix is available to download from Bandcamp but it’s only streaming via Soundcloud at the moment. It was a real labour of love and I think I managed to get elements from all the tracks in there at some point including a remix of the single ‘Outside Your Doorway’ – see if you can untangle it all when you listen to the LP.

The full album is available on Equinox Records on May 25th, on CD and double vinyl with a gatefold sleeve plus digital download (Juno will have it a week early). The artwork you can see below is by label boss Gunter Stoppel, the man responsible for the overall look of the label as well as the day to day running of it.

 

Posted in DJ Food, Mixes/Solid Steel, Music. | 1 Comment |

Solid Steel – Yppah 1981 & DJ Food KKK7 preview

Mine and Yppah‘s mix from last night’s Solid Steel – without chat, you can listen to me and Jon fluff our lines over on StrongroomAlive if you want. Yppah’s mix contains tracks all released in 1981, and, coincidentally, ends with Kraftwerk’s ‘Computer World’ before we get a taste of half of the Kraftwerk Kover Kollection vol.7 which debuts here tomorrow in full.

Posted in DJ Food, Kraftwerk, Mixes/Solid Steel, Ninja Tune, Radio, Solid Steel. | No Comments |

DJ Format vs DJ Food – Solid Steel mix


Last nights’ Solid Steel mix from Strongroom Alive, sans speech, DJ Format provides an exclusive 30 minute mix and I finish the hour with the same. Tracklist:
– DJ Format

Natural Yogurt Band _ Pot Head _ Now Again
Beta Hector feat. Shane Hunter _ Oracle Bones _ Tru Thoughts
Edan _ Rap Beautician _ Humble Mag
SPOX-PHD _ Brilliance _ Correct Technique
Hero No.7 _ Roots Of A Hero _ Hero Records
DJ Soul Shock _ Wild Beats(edit) _ Solid
Nino Nardini _ Malaysia _ Crea Sound LTD
Mr Chop _ Monolith Voodoo Vibes _ Jazz & Milk
The Jon Bartel Thing _ Freak Show _ Capitol
Them _ I Keep Singing _ Happy Tiger

– DJ Food

The Stepkids _ Suburban Dream _ Stones Throw
Steinski _ Some Dreams Are Meant To Happen _ mp3
DJ Shadow _ Border Crossing _ Island
Pepe Deluxé _ The Storm _ Catskills
Eagles Of Death Metal _ I Only Want You _ Ant Acid Audio
C-Mon & Kypski – More Is Less (DJ Food re-edit) (unknown)
Tom & Jules – Version Galore Solid Steel jingle (mp3)
A-Ko _ dfuuu _ mp3
Jacky Chalard _ Superman, Supercool _ Cache Cache
David Vangel _ Sandpaper Script _ Equinox
The Creatures _ Mad-Eyed Screamer _ Polydor
A-Ko _ brake _ mp3
DJ Format _ Spaceship Earth feat. Edan _ Project Blue Book

Posted in DJ Food, Mixes/Solid Steel, Radio, Solid Steel. | 2 Comments |

Kraftwerk month on DJFood.org #1

I’ve decided to make March ‘Kraftwerk month’ on the site, which means I’ll be posting something Kraftwerk-related every day at least. This had been bought on by the recent news of the 8 night residency at MOMA in New York and the subsequent fact that no one I know has managed to get a ticket.

Volume 7 of my on-going Kraftwerk Kover Kollection mix series is way overdue so I plan to have that done by the time the group play their back catalogue (I should attempt vol.8 as well but back in the real world…). Volumes 5 and 6 are already on the web but, due to my old host site BosBos.net no longer being active, I thought I’d put the first four up here as well, one a week, starting with volume …1.

The one that kicked it all off in April 2004, some quite obvious choices here when you start to think of cover versions, don’t worry, they get more obscure as the mixes progress. I’m always on the look out for new versions so please send suggestions but don’t be offended if I don’t include them in future mixes as for every one that makes it, four or five won’t as I’m looking for the odd and left of center rather than the multitude of straight electro / techno covers that are also out there. Also included here is the original artwork I did for the mix: front/back and CD on-body.

Posted in Kraftwerk, Mixes/Solid Steel. | 8 Comments |

British Council ‘The Selector’ radio mix now online

The 30 minute mix* I did for The Selector is now on Soundcloud featuring a section of the forthcoming Amorphous Androgynous remix of ‘The Illectrik Hoax’ plus a new unreleased 2econd Class Citizen track amongst others
Show 547 – DJ Food in the mix by British Council

Tracklist:

Neil Norman – Re-Entry
DJ Food Vs The Amorphous Androgynous – The Electric Images In My Mind (Never Die)
DJ Food – Prey feat. JG Thirlwell
2econd Class Citizen – Stop 2 Wonder
Jane Weaver – The Fallen By Watchbird
Plug – Mind Bending
Fracture & Neptune – Trapped In Time

*This is actually only half of the mix, the full, hour-long mix will go online in two weeks

Posted in DJ Food, Mixes/Solid Steel, Radio, Uncategorized. | 1 Comment |

Japanese ‘Solid Psyche’ mix CD in the Ninjashop

There are limited quantities of the Japanese exclusive mix CD, ‘Solid Psyche’ available in the Ninjashop right now. I did this as a freebie for independent stores alongside the domestic CD version of ‘The Search Engine’ for Japan. The tracks are all taken from Ninja, Big Dada, Counter & Brainfeeder releases and Ninja have a limited amount for sale so don’t hang around.

You might also notice a little digital release called ‘The Good Food Guide’ in the link too. This is a 23 track retrospective compilation spanning the DJ Food canon from 1990-2001, sort of a catch up for people jumping on at the new album.

Posted in DJ Food, Mixes/Solid Steel, Music, Ninja Tune. | 1 Comment |

365breaks with free Steinski download

Marcin Cichy from Skalpel and plug audio mastering had been running a project posting a break a day for the whole of 2011, to give loops for free to let producers sample and create with. As we’re on the last day of the year he has a very special treat for everyone – a downloadable track by Steinski, made from some of the breaks on the site.

All loops will be available to download in 2012 so go and check them out and grab your free Steinski track in the process.

Posted in Mixes/Solid Steel, Music. | No Comments |