Star Wars toy documentary ‘Plastic Galaxy’ trailer

I have a bit of a rep for being a Star Wars fan, yeah, I like it (‘it’ being the original trilogy), it was part of my childhood and always will be, but it doesn’t consume me. My studio isn’t littered with original SW toys preserved in boxes and I don’t own replica outfits for cosplay events. The newer films are worthless to me although I do enjoy a bit of the Clone Wars cartoons with the kids and the Star Wars Lego sets are great fun.

What I don’t need to see is things like Star Wars Kinect, themed Burlesque shows and R2 D2 leotards, Star Wars is for kids and the things that still move me about it are those steeped in nostalgia. The Retro Star Wars blog is a good example, the fantastic design and iconography of the films that seeps into fan made posters and graphics or the toy side of things. Where music and toys collide, in projects like the Rave Wars 7″s, I can appreciate this as a fun crossover and this new documentary – Plastic Galaxy –  ticks both the toy and nostalgia boxes.

Posted in Film, Star Wars. | 2 Comments |

Rat Records instore for RSD this Saturday

I’m playing at Rat Records in Camberwell between 12-2pm this Saturday for Record Store Day, alongside Andy Smith and others. This is my local record shop, selling used vinyl and CDs and they have a regular weekly turnover of goodies at affordable prices. Even though they won’t be stacked to the gills with all the other RSD releases I’ve got a box of my DJ Food vs The Amorphous Androgynous 12″s to sell there, possibly even some limited copies of ‘The Search Engine’ with the flexi disc too.

So, if you can’t make it into town or don’t want to battle the masses for the 1 copy of the release that the shop decided to order and just want to browse in a fully stocked used store, listening to great music, then come on down. The nearest tubes are Oval or Elephant & Castle and then it’s a bus to Camberwell Green and you can see it from the main crossroads.

Posted in DJ Food, Records. | 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 |

Scottish dates in May postponed

It’s with great regret that the dates at The Reading Rooms in Dundee and Chambre 69 in Glasgow that I was to undertake with DK have been postponed. This is due to a run of bad luck the gig organiser has experienced recently and the dates will hopefully be rescheduled soon. Hopefully any ticket purchasers can contact the venue and get their money back.

Posted in DJ Food, Gigs. | 1 Comment |

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 |

The Muppets do Ken Nordine

The Muppets vs Ken Nordine? This is a sketch from a pre-muppets show called Sam & Friends (1955-61), this character was called Yorick and ate everything, kind of an early Cookie Monster. They (Jim Henson & friends) decided to use a Ken Nordine Word Jazz sketch – ‘Hunger Is From’ – as the basis of the sketch.

[youtube width=”305″ height=”240″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO2JmArTOSM&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube width=”305″ height=”240″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUWQKwrbcvA[/youtube]

This one is even better, ‘Visual Thinking’, great stuff, so early as well.

Posted in Film. | No Comments |

JG Thirlwell pays an Easter visit

It’s been a fun Easter holiday, back in the UK after gigs in France over the weekend. Lots of chocolate and hanging out with the family, then Lauren Laverne decided to play the new single with The Amorphous Androgynous AGAIN this morning after dropping it on Friday on her 6Music show. This time I was at home and had a bit of a moment dancing with the kids while it blasted out, one to remember there.

A lot of people have been asking when they can get it, I’m assured that the pre-order page will be up on the Ninja Tune site this week, there will be 1500 copies on 12″ vinyl for Record Store Day on April 21st plus it’ll all be available as a download with an extra exclusive remix by 2econd Class Citizen. Ninja have kept 200 copies back for their online shop so that those who don’t make it out on RSD don’t go without. Please don’t feed the flippers on eBay if you don’t find one on the 21st, this will be repressed if stocks run out.

To add to that, Jim Thirlwell is in town to play the Union Chapel Bar on Thursday 12th with his Manorexia band and called to see if I was up for a visit. Even though we met over a decade ago and have worked together it’s still surreal to be making tea for him and relaxing in my studio. The teenage fan me, back in the 80’s, wouldn’t have ever believed it. Greatest Bank Holiday Monday ever.

Posted in Event. | 2 Comments |

Moebius record sleeve for Guy Beart

I just spent the weekend gigging in France and found this in one of the record shops in Montpelier – from 1977, a gatefold LP cover by Moebius. According to those who I showed it to, Guy Beart was a very cheesy singer who played guitar and was the kind of un-hip singer your parents’ liked (if they were very un-hip) and they were surprised such a record existed.
Well he must have had a late flowering moment of inspiration for this release with what looks and sounds like a concept album based on a future civilisation, no doubt cashing in on the craze for all things sci-fi in 1977 once Star Wars opened. The music has its moments, there’s plenty of synth and space noises in there amongst the whimsical songs but the gem here is the cover, click for a larger version.

Posted in Art, Comics, Records. | 4 Comments |

The Electric Images In My Mind #13


In the in-box today: a 30 minute ‘Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble’ mix for Solid Steel by The Amorphous Androgynous including a reworking of a Gil Scott Heron track. This will be broadcast live on Solid Steel on April 19th via Strongroom Alive and then out on the web the day after via the usual Solid Steel channels. On the 19th there will be a chance to win a copy of one of these beauties too so tune in: 7-9pm. Also in the mail was an unreleased ‘basement jam’ version of ‘The Illectrik Hoax’, an abandoned version of the remix before they went in the direction you’ll hear on this disc.

Posted in DJ Food, Ninja Tune, Openmind designs, Records. | 7 Comments |

Interview on Contemporary Talks

I did a rather long and in depth interview with Elinros from Contemporary Talks the other week about pretty much everything really, music and design of course but we also ventured into motives, methods of creation, my childhood and how things ended up the way they did.

If you want to know what a Telepathic Fish is, if I’ve ever touched a sound or what I consider my best work then head over here, maybe have more than 5 minutes to spare though.

Posted in DJ Food. | No Comments |

Kraftwerk month #31 Kover Kollection 7

To finish the month off here’s something that’s been in the pipeline for over a year – KKK vol.7. This took far too long to do and I completely redid the start three times before I was happy with it.
I already have over three and a half hours worth of tracks mapped out for vol.8, which will concentrate more on piano and jazz versions but I’ll let the dust settle for a bit as you can have too much of something. Thanks for all the suggestions and links to tracks or versions, some of them even made it onto this mix.


A quick word on the multitude of cover versions – the images below are just a few of the whole albums dedicated to Kraftwerk covers available, let alone all the single tracks scattered about various artists’ discographies. Every time I do a Kover Kollection, and use the web to research the tracks I’ve used, I find even more out there.

As with all covers, there are more misses than hits, although the Senor Coconut album does deserve singling out as a work of genius. Another that I recently acquired is the Mencshmachine ‘Hand Werk’ CD from Germany, an excellent album of jazz-based covers with a twist in the tail. Unlisted on the CD, and hidden after 10 minutes of silence once the last track has finished, is one of the most sublime covers I’ve yet to hear – the track ‘Spacelab’ from the ‘Man Machine’ album. It’s not on the web that I can find but the band have several tracks on their soundcloud page and I’ll be putting more of their music into the KKK8 mix, which will be better suited to their sound, more acoustic than electronic.

Before I sign off I’d like to thank everyone who’s logged on, checked out the daily content and listened to the mixes. It seems it all went a bit viral around the third week and made Metafilter, with volume 3 clocking up over 50,000 plays!

Posted in Kraftwerk. | 5 Comments |

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 |

Record Store Dude #5 & 8

[youtube width=”640″ height=”450″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFEm4R8Ac4g&feature=BFa&list=PL3F8822D16A24AAE2&lf=plcp[/youtube]

[youtube width=”640″ height=”450″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWazkdpt8j4&feature=share[/youtube]

Posted in Records. | No Comments |