Music

New DJ Food track and video – ‘Sunspot’

Here’s something I did last month in conjunction with Carling Zest, a new drink being promoted this summer. The idea was to take three producers, myself, DJ Yoda and Jaguar Skills, and give everyone sights and sounds of summer to incorporate into a track that had the feeling of summer to it. I called mine ‘Sunspot’, after one of my favourite Vaughn Bodé strips, and used some of my home made phenakistoscopes as elements for the video in conjunction with the footage Carling supplied.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”375″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_8Nx1TmC1o&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

I was left to my own devices and incorporated a lot of my own melodies into the track, using their bee sounds and lots of percussive elements to form the basic beat of the piece. Making a track that evokes a ‘summer’ feeling is a lot harder than making something dark and moody, especially without stepping into cheesy territory but I’m really pleased with the outcome.

During the process I was filmed going through samples in my studio and generally talking about records I thought bought out the summer feeling in me. This quickly degenerated into what seemed like a massive advert for Boards of Canada‘s back catalogue :) with other shouts to the Orb (Little Fluffy Clouds) and The The (This Is The Day). The film crew, who were great fun to work with, shot for a whole day and then crammed it all into 2 minutes, so, if the editing seems a little fragmented here and there, you’ll know why. Big thank you to Ash for getting the shots and Tom for doing a great job on helping me with the last touches on the video edit.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”375″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQFCJtD7S1w&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

Wish they hadn’t put that ice cream bit in :) Spot the ‘Rave Wars’ 7″s and 3A robots everywhere :) There’ll be an online competition to remix this track and win tickets to the V festival and other goodies coming up on May 23rd so I’ll post about that when it’s online.

Posted in DJ Food, Film, Music. | 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 |

Perfecting Sound Forever – Greg Milner

I heartily recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of recording. No, no, don’t all run away, it’s actually very good and I say this as someone who literally falls asleep reading any sort of manual.

Starting with the Big Bang and progressing through Edison’s cylinders and tone tests Greg Milner knows his stuff and the stuff he doesn’t he’s gone out and researched. Histories of the birth of vinyl, cassettes, laser discs, synclaviers and fairlights, the New York radio amplification battles and the loudness wars are all covered.

The uneasy birth of the CD and the industries’ initial refusal to accept the medium features along with a step by step guide to what the air particles where doing when John Bonham hit his drums in a stairwell for ‘The Crunge’.

The analogue vs digital debate is also covered but with an even hand rather than the usual ‘vinyl is warmer’ stance adopted by most.

Posted in Books, Music. | 1 Comment |

Lone ‘Galaxy Garden’ LP trailer

[vimeo width=”640″ height=”370″]http://vimeo.com/38646066[/vimeo]

Lone – Galaxy Garden album on double LP (also includes CD inside) and limited edition art print. The art print is printed full colour on 265gsm pro photo gloss paper, and signed and numbered by Konx-om-Pax.

Out Monday on R&S Records

Posted in Film, Music. | No Comments |

The Electric Images In My Mind #14

When we commissioned The Amorphous Androgynous to remix ‘The Illectrik Hoax’ little did we know what we had let ourselves in for. Not only did they produce a 17 minute, 3 part remix, a 30 minute mix for Solid Steel (airing this Thursday night on Strongroom Alive) and another ‘basement jam’ work in progress mix, but also  – this priceless artifact accompanied the remix when it was delivered.

Several people have been asking about a DJ Food release entitled ‘Post Mash Analysis’, but I’m sorry to say, it’s a reference to this text, which we sent out as part of the press release, and some shops have listed as the title. The remix 12″ and download will be available this coming Saturday, April 21st, as part of Record Store Day, and afterwards via the Ninjashop and FSOLDigital online stores. The release page on the Ninja site is taking a bit longer than expected, partly because the titles are too long for the site to cope with (arf) and we’re still trying to find out the position on posting pre-order info before the actual day with RSD, only 5 days to go now though.

 

Posted in DJ Food, Music, Ninja Tune. | 5 Comments |

DJ Shadow Archival Project: MPC Era ’92-’96

A major new archival release exposing Shadow’s early production on the Akai MPC. Containing entirely unreleased material spanning from 1992 to 1996, the project is entitled, “Total Breakdown: Hidden Transmissions From The MPC Era, 1992-1996”. Included among the highlights are instrumental tracks from an aborted 1994 EP planned with The Gift Of Gab, which includes the original demo of what would eventually become “Six Days.”

The new collection of “MPC Era” tracks follows on from the much-loved “4-Track Era” releases from 2008 and 2009, and establishes a pattern which should be familiar to Shadow fans. “I like to follow up new material (such as the recent ‘The Less You Know, The Better’ LP) with a tastefully-done archival project,” Shadow explains. “As long as the old stuff is given a context and doesn’t overshadow the new, I think it’s a healthy exercise for me, and one that re-calibrates me for whatever new musical path lies ahead. I think it’s important to revisit where you’ve been occasionally so that you can determine where to go.”
“Total Breakdown: Hidden Transmissions From The MPC Era, 1992-1996” will be available on CD, double-vinyl, and download, with exclusive content available at DJShadow.com. This project has been in the works for a LONG TIME, more details about release dates and other specifics forthcoming. In the meantime, enjoy the free track to whet your appetite.

Track List, CD/Vinyl Version:
1. Intropy (Original Version)
2. Vee In Detroit
3. Dreams Of A Piece
4. The Not-So-Quiet Storm
5. Fast Rap Fanfare
6. Intensely Hitting
7. Mystical With Solo
8. Alright
9. Don’t Try It
10. From The Old School
11. Freddi’s Popcorn
12. Quickstep
13. Movin’ On (Gab Demo 1)
14. Falling Up
15. Mellow But Chunky
16. Total Breakdown (Gab Demo 2)
17. Heavy Mood
18. Affectations
19. Perilous Journey (Gab Demo 3)
20. Aye
21. Brittle But Magic
22. Atmospheric Disturbances
23. Swimming Upstream (Gab Demo 4)
24. Up For Grabs (Outro)

DJShadow.com Bonus Tracks:
25. Give Up The Drums
26. Slow Poke
27. Vortex

All tracks are previously unreleased. Other digital release partners and bonus tracks to be announced soon…

Posted in Music. | 1 Comment |

Davy Jones RIP

Sad news about Davy Jones today, time for a few Monkees-related posts from the past:

 

http://www.djfood.org/heads-up

(fictional ‘Head’ comic cover)

 

http://www.djfood.org/head-shots

(ultra nerdy dissection of a trailer for ‘Head’)

 

http://www.djfood.org/discography/mixes/head-dj-food-re-score

(something I did around a decade ago)

 

image adapted from the Big Glee website – Jack Davis draws Davy Jones for a book of fan letters written to the Monkees. He also posted a great Japanese tour brochure from 1968 only yesterday – spooky timing!

Posted in Comics, Event, Music. | 3 Comments |

The The – Moonbug soundtrack

Here’s the cover to the new release by The The aka Matt Johnson who I collaborated with on my new album, covering one of his old songs in the process. This release – the soundtrack to the Nicola Bruce film ‘Moonbug’ – is all new music, although the keen-eared will have heard snatches of it via the monthly Cinéola podcasts in 2010.

The 17 tracks accompany the journey of photographer Steve Pyke, whose mission was to photograph every man who ever walked on the moon. I saw the film back in the Autumn of 2011 and it’s a fascinating documentary and Steve’s stunning photos capture the different men’s ageing faces and bring to mind the surface of the moon on occasion. These are included in the booklet that comes bound into the hardback CD book of the soundtrack along with an interview, conducted by Matt, about the journey.

The CD is available from the freshly revamped TheThe.com website from March 1st as an exclusive for 3 months before regular retail shops get it. It’s no.2 in an ongoing series of book-bound CDs covering soundtracks, archive material, cover versions and more to come, at least one of which will feature my ‘Deep Space’ mix of ‘GIANT’.

moonbug-covermoonbug-inside-1moonbug-inside-2moonbug-inside-3moonbug-inside-4moonbug-inside-5moonbug-inside-6moonbug-back
Posted in Film, Music. | 1 Comment |

DJ Format featuring Edan ‘Spaceship Earth’ video

I have several rules in my AV sets when I play out: no breaking videos, no endless graffii, no bad cgi dancing people on a loop and no skateboarding videos. I’ll make an exception for this one…

[youtube width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYJtqzwF8wg[/youtube]

One of the best Rap tracks released in years, DJ Format with Edan – ‘Spaceship Earth’, this is taken from Format’s new album ‘Statement of Intent’ which was released on Monday on Project Blue Book.

It features collaborations with Mr Lif, Phill Most Chill, Sureshot La Rock, The Nostalgia 77 Quintet, and The Simonsound. He’s touring the album with The Simonsound beginning in his home town of Brighton this Friday at the Concorde II – more dates on his blog.

Posted in Film, Music. | No Comments |

Lone – Crystal Caverns 1991


I have to listen to this several times a day at the moment, absolutely love it, everything I like about a good techno record as well a nice dollop of nostalgia from my own raving days in both the sound and the label it’s on. There is a new Lone album on the horizon called ‘Galaxy Garden’ out on May 7th and ‘Crystal Caverns 1991’ in out as the first single on March 26th.

Posted in Music. | 5 Comments |

2econd Class Citizen – Perception/Identity (Postcard Set)

My good friend Aaron Thomason aka 2econd Class Citizen will release his 2nd album in early May this year, I’m lucky enough to have heard it in many stages of production and he’s outdone himself this time. To head off the promotion and campaign, Equinox Records have cooked up a treat for 25 lucky people.

“Perception / Identity”, the second postcard package on the label, includes two beautiful vinyl postcards – designed by the American illustrator toobz – and features two new exclusive songs which will give you a preview of what you can expect to hear on his album “The Small Minority”. The set goes on sale tomorrow (Friday Feb 24th) from the Equinox shop – be quick!

Posted in Design, Music, Packaging. | No Comments |

Trevor Jackson presents Metal Dance on Strut

Strut release a 2xCD and 2xLP compilation of 80’s electronic oddities and rarities curated by Trevor Jackson. As ever, he doesn’t go straight for the obvious but we get a unique compilation with a lot of less familiar names or lesser known tracks from the bands you have heard of. The CDs boast 25 tracks with the double vinyl showcasing half of these. The album launch party includes a live performance by 23 Skidoo and a DJ set from Trevor at Electrowerks on March 24th. Check out a little sampling of tracks on his Soundcloud and an interview about the compilation below.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcEMyNeKpQg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Posted in Gigs, Music. | No Comments |