These are stunning, beautiful Penguin Galaxy series of hardback sci-fi classics from Penguin Random House with design by @AlexTrochut – The back of the edition of ‘Dune‘ is genius. Buy individually or as a 6 volume set. More info here.
The Future Sound of London dropped the sixth installment of their Environments series on Friday, not just the sixth but also a 6.5 edition too. Available now from their FSOLDigital online shop – Six (17 tracks on vinyl / 23 tracks on CD/digital) and 6.5 (18 tracks on vinyl / 23 tracks on CD/digital) combine to form a double album of 46 tracks (you get the digital download content with the vinyl).
The CD double pack comes with an exclusive sleeve and there’s a very cool release of a physical 2017 calendar plus an optional digital music package version where a new digital track is delivered monthly from FSOLdigital starting in January 2017, creating an exclusive new album. There’s a couple of previews below and more floating around on their Facebook page.
A peek into my studio in this little trailer for the Funk & Beyond gig in Moscow on Oct 29th – great little trailer posted by Anatoly Ice who I’ll be dropped 45s with at his night at The Powerhouse.
A brand new mix – all 7″, all acid, this took a long time to get together, being that Pete Isaac and I have rinsed a lot of the classic acid cut to 45s over the years in our previous mixes. The search continues though and I’ve still to acquire my acid 45 holy grail of Bam Bam‘s ‘Where’s Your Child’... Thanks to Greg Belson as ever for running such a tight ship out of LA with the show, his selection is up first with mine at about the 30 min mark.
Four From Food Fridays – a weekly look at four music releases 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:
Yves Hayat – ‘Le Chemin de L’ascension’ – from ‘Conversation Between The East & The West’ LP (Music de Wolfe)
Radiohead – ‘The Numbers’ – from ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ LP (XL Recordings)
David Morley – ‘The Origin Of Storms’ 12″+10″ (De:Tuned)
Chris Carter – ‘The Man-Machine’ – from ‘Electronic Sound Covers Collection 2’ (free with Electronic Sound magazine #22)
I just found this whilst going through the archive, a remix I did of Polish composer Kilar’s ‘Krzesany’ for the 2012 Sacrum Profanum event in a steel works in Krakow, Poland – never released. Has its moments… photo above of me performing it at the concert by Wojciech Wandzel, more info and photos here www.djfood.org/sacrum-profanum-2012-krakow-poland/
For my second featured mix on the 45 Live radio show, hosted by Greg Belson on Dublab, I’ve put together a second hour’s worth of Acid House 45s. My first was for Posthuman‘s radio show and Pete Isaac put together one for his last mix on the show too. It goes out this Friday at 8pm US PST or 4am UK GMT but I’ll post a link once it’s on Mixcloud.
Here’s an oddity I picked up in a South London charity recently, a one-sided 7″ invite to a club called Vinyl‘s first birthday party. I don’t remember the club personally but it appears to have had a home at The Dogstar in Brixton. Unlike several invites to parties I’ve found on vinyl over the years (old random 7″s with new labels pasted on) this one actually has music pressed on one side and the track isn’t bad. A vocodered voice gives details of the date, DJs and aural delights to be expected with an opening line cribbed from an Orb song title.
Oddly the date has been pasted over on the label, underneath it says the 14th and on the front of the sleeve was a post-it note exclaiming, “Check with Joan if any phogs(?) we know are going”. Maybe ‘phogs’ is short for photographers and this was sent to a music magazine who may have wanted to cover it?
UPDATE: – Turns out it was an old college friend, Jem Panufnik with Martin Moveya...
Jem: “Yes indeed! Can’t remember what order it all happened but of course this became our first Soul of Man track and first Finger Lickin‘ release a few months later, I guess we’d just finished it and used it for this party invite celebrating a year of Bar Vinyl with Vinyl Addiction record shop downstairs (where of course Mr Moveya was selector extraordinaire). I guess we got the date wrong on the artwork! Martin – was this party in a very sweaty low ceiling basement in Kentish Town? The Dogstar connection was our Finger Lickin ‘ nights we did every Thursday a year or so later. Don’t know who’s notes about phogs are, I know it went to a lot of music mags. Think we did 250 so not many around…”
Four From Food Fridays – a weekly look at four music releases 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:
DJ Supreme – R.I.P. featuring Son of Noise 7″ (Backbone Records)
Om Unit – Torchlight vol.3 12″ (Cosmic Bridge)
Cosmic Ground – Cosmic Ground III LP (Adansonia Records / Bandcamp)
Brain Machine – S/T LP (This Is Not An Exit / Bandcamp)
Great line up at one of my local venues this Saturday when Mike Ladd, Strange U, Juice Aleem and Mongrels (Kid Acne & Benjamin) rock up in support of Scotty Hard, the legendary producer currently partially paralysed and facing huge medical bills in the US. Loving that Battle of the Planets-referencing flyer there.
I’ve been meaning to post about Mongrels’ recent ‘Attack The Monolith’ album – the limited vinyl of which is a thing of beauty and still available here. It comes in one of 3 alternative colourways (Gold, Silver or Bronze) hand-pulled screen printed sleeves + risograph insert, inner sleeves plus embossed and numbered on the back. The album features multiple appearances of Sebash from New Kingdom who is now an honourary member. Back in July, on the 20thh anniversary of NK’s 2nd album, ‘Paradise Don’t Come Cheap’, Mongrels made a special celebratory mix
2000AD Prog (issue) 2000 lands today, that’s a lot of comics in nearly 40 years and only serves to strengthen what has become a British institution up there with The Eagle, The Beano, The Dandy and Viz in UK comic publishing.
Wrapped in one of three different covers, including a free poster and featuring many of the greats who made its name over 30 years ago returning for the party, it’s a perfect celebration of what makes it the galaxy’s greatest.
They’re not afraid to poke fun at their misjudgements either and it’s not just a nostalgia-fest, new strip, Counterfeit Girl, by Peter Milligan and Rufus Dayglo holds its own with the rest.
Raygun Comics in Richmond, London have a special 2000ad day this Saturday Oct 1st to celebrate Prog 2000, they’ll be giving away back issues and the winner of their Judge Dredd colouring competition will get a copy of Prog 1. Also they have a copy of Prog 2 still with unused stickers! Never seen those before, an eye-watering £350 though…
After the audio version on Friday’s Solid Steel, here’s the video version, a collection of retro-futuristic sounds from the past and present that premiered at the recent Videocrash night in London. A host of specially edited videos assembled from my visual archive with interjections from ‘This Is Marshall McLuhan’ and ‘Magic Trip’ among others. Spot the difference between this and the audio version…
Due to various streaming problems we’ve put it on two different platforms, if one doesn’t work for you try the other
I do love a good series of records. From Luke Insect’s Instagram: “A new project I’ve been working on for @tannenrecords in Italy – rare 60’s/70’s Library Records remastered and repackaged. First 5 out today from tannenrecords.com“
The pre-order for Cosmic Ground‘s ‘Cosmic Ground III’ just went live, there’s CD and digital available via their Bandcamp page but if you want the vinyl version you have to order if via Adansonia Records‘ website which is mostly in German. A tip for those wanting to order in the UK, the country to select in the drop down menu is “Vereinigte Königreich” = United Kingdom apparently! The vinyl comes in black or marbled blue as well. You’ll be able to hear for yourself on the Bandcamp page but this doesn’t break with the mould of the previous two, four near-20 minute synth workouts that recall Tangerine Dream‘s best moments.
My latest Freaky Formats piece for The Vinyl Factory just went up – this time it’s about handmade sleeves, above and below are a couple of shots that didn’t make the cut.
Here’s my latest mix for Solid Steel – the third installment of my Future Shock series, largely culled from the performance I created for last month’s Videocrash night in London, it’s a mixture of old and new with an emphasis on the trippy analogue side. There’s a video version coming too…
Four From Food Fridays – a weekly look at four music releases 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:
Videodrones – Mondo Ferox LP (El Paraiso Records)
The Gaslamp Killer – Instrumentalepathy LP (Cuss Records)
Peter Thomas & Mocambo Astronautic Sound System Orchestra – Space Patrol / Picciacto In Heaven 7″ (Mocambo Records)
The National Curriculum – The Best Fertiliser Is The Gardener’s Shadow LP (TNC)
I’m still trying to digest the output from Manchester group, The Natural Curriculum after DJ Format put them in touch with me last month. For the new initiate there’s a lot to take in, just check out their Bandcamp page for releases going back five years now. Their take on hip hop is well left of centre with deep layers of lyricism and untrodden sampling paths whilst staying true to the spirit of the classic rap blueprint.
Rather than being reverential to the past they’re pushing it forward, even their new album title, ‘The Best Fertiliser Is The Gardener’s Shadow’, recalls the absurdity of early De La productions and the cover image (above) isn’t something that immediately jumps out as signalling a hip hop record. With their videos you can also see tongues firmly embedded in cheeks, not afraid to send themselves or anyone else up, again, not your standard hip hop fodder. They have a super limited vinyl pressing of the new album out right now… be quick!
on Solid Steel…