Joe Clay interviewed Coldcut, PC and myself back in January for a 20th anniversary piece about the making of ‘Seventy Minutes of Madness’, Coldcut‘s contribution to the Journeys By DJ series back in 1995. It seems crazy that this was two decades ago now but time flies when you’re having fun. It’s a pretty extensive delve into the circumstances and techniques involved in the creation of what they’re calling ‘the greatest DJ mix album of all time’ *blushes*.
This piece also reveals why Coldcut never made a follow up but highlights the logical successor to the mix and kicks off a series on the Quietus where writers pick their favourite mixes. Incidentally the photo above was taken in Japan around 1996/7, back stage with DJ Takemura before a gig. If you’ve never heard the mix before or fancy a refresher after reading then someone called GarethisOnit has put it up on Soundcloud as part of a Classic Mix CD Series he’s creating.
Great to read about the techniques and thought processes – still remember the first time I heard it in a mates flat in Goldhawk Road in ’95. Happy Days. Good heads-up on the 2 Hours Of Sanity mix too – had spotted it last year but it got lost in the new baby drama and I didn’t get round to checking it. Listening now!
Thanks Jan, that’s a lot of mentions there
It is indeed amazing how timeless that mix is, and I loved to read this article on how it came about. The right mixture between spontaneous and conceptual, the right group of people at the right time. Curious to hear from others, what are your all time favorite dj mixes? Here is my top 5:
4 AM Eternal – Osymyso
70 Minutes of Madness – Coldcut
Blech II – DJ Food & PC
LateNight Tales – The Cinematic Orchestra
Now, Listen! – DJ Food & DK
(Yes, that’s a lot of DJ Food, and Raiding the 20th Century should and could actually be on there)
good read!