DJ Food (PC & Strictly Kev): Solid Steel 97-99

DK’s choice this time round and he sums up these selections thus: “These are probably my favourite Solid Steel mixes, early days in the show for me and some great ‘moments’ in them….” He obviously liked them because as well as appearing on the 19/10/97, 06/06/99 and 27/06/99 shows they also popped up in his best of the year and best of the millenium (??!!) round ups at the end of ‘99. In the first hour PC flirts with breaks, beats and boom bap before switching to bass, bleeps and bushflange (such a great name). Using his delay pedal to great effect he tears the beats apart and breaks it down to a dub workout at one point after some 3 deck mixing. I start out all downtempo and sombre before taking things double time for a quick rush of drum n bass/acid. Then it’s back into Hip Hop territory before some electronic polyrhythmic niceness as only Gescom know how.

Remember this was back in the KISS FM days and everything was one take and on the fly, if the decks wobbled they didn’t fall down. The Blue Note (the club where Ninja had their Stealth residency) was winding down after pressure from local residents but the 333 across the square had been refitted and was now the new Hoxton destination of choice. Although it would never scale the giddy heights of the Blue Note it hosted a few memorable events when Ninja set up their ‘Kungfusion’ night there in ‘98. The layout of the place never quite made it the classic venue it could have been, visuals were a nightmare and it always seemed to be a bit dirty or in need of a paint (even after they’d had it refitted a second time). The music here is largely the music of that time, people were just starting to discover that Moog and Library music had a wealth of untapped sample potential and the first compilations were being issued. Drum and Bass was getting darker (and more formulaic) and UK Hip Hop was at last finding it feet and it’s voice.

The second half of this selection was part of a GLR show with Coldcut sitting in for Ross Allen (you can even hear the jingles!) with PC and I providing two mixes to accompany. Patrick’s is all jazz and funk, then turns into a drum n bass n 2 Tone affair. Mine is more sober, playing downtempo hip hop against ambience and electronics. In places you can hear us gearing up for 2001’s ‘Now, Listen’ Solid Steel release (it was actually scheduled for 2000 for the tenth anniversary). The ‘Mirror In The Bathroom/Square Off’ duet appears as does Jeru’s ‘Come Clean’ before that evergreen Steel regular ‘Aquarius’ by Boards of Canada hovers into view.

Finally, the images here are two of my favourite of our 4 deck DJ excursions, the top one was shot at one of the first Stealth nights at the Blue Note by Martin Le Santo Smith. He was running a small fanzine called Phasis and he squeezed between the decks and the back wall of the club and fired off this lone shot. It perfectly captures the way the club was laid out and in front you can see none other than Benji B who was doing work experience at Ninja at the time but later went on to work with Giles Peterson before fronting his own radio show. The second image was shot in Ottawa, Canada on the first US/Canadian tour in ‘96 and I seem to remember it was a pretty good show as well. The promoter of the club shot it, again from behind the decks, and sent it to us after the show, signing it Scallen.

Strictly Kev

Part 1
Podcast: Available via Solid Steel Podcast (24/10/2008 show)

PC (TX: 19/10/97)

  1. A Tribe Called Quest - If The Papes Come (Jive)
  2. Les Baxter - Hogin’ Machine (Dusty Fingers)
  3. Jackson 5 - It’s Great To Be Here (Motown)
  4. Eric B & Rakim - Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em (MCA)
  5. LFO - Them (Warp)
  6. Up, Bustle & Out - Aqui No Mas (Ninja Tune)
  7. Slowly - On The Loose (Autechre Remix) (Chill Out label)
  8. Bushflange - Redokov (Hard Hands)
  9. Hardhouse - Yo Chuck (Warlock)
  10. David Holmes - Gritty Shaker (Go Beat)

Strictly Kev (TX: 17/05/98)

  1. Sam Spence - Sunken Ship version 2 (BBE)
  2. The Senators - Psychedelic Senate (Tower)
  3. Wolfgang Dauner - Tuning Spread (MPS)
  4. Dynamic Syncopation - Stealth (Ninja Tune)
  5. Peshay - Miles From Home (Underdog remix) (Mo wax)
  6. Caustic Visions - Unknown (Caustic Visions)
  7. Mark B & Blade - Use Your Head (instr.) (Jazz Fudge)
  8. DJ Shadow vs Depeche Mode - Painkiller (Mo Wax)
  9. Just Ice - Turbo Charged (Fresh/Sleeping Bag)
  10. Dick Hyman - Kolumbo (Command)
  11. Push Button Objects - Non-Existant (Keyed In By Gescom) (Chocolate Industries)

Part 2
Download: Part 2 (56mins, 76MB)

PC (TX: 27/06/99)

  1. The Galactic Force Band - Spacedust (Springboard International)
  2. Roy Ayers - Brother Green (Polydor)
  3. Trouble Funk - The Beat (TF Records)
  4. Jungle Brothers - Beyond This World (Warner Bros)
  5. Red Snapper - The Last One (DJ Food Remix) (Warp)
  6. Courtney Pine - Tryin’ Times (Talkin’ Loud)
  7. Ace ‘N Action - Letter To The Better (Prism)
  8. The Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom (Go Feet)
  9. Mask - Square Off (Dope Dragon)
  10. Overseer - Signing On (Soundclash)
  11. The Specials - Do Nothing (2 Tone)

Strictly Kev (TX: 06/06/99)

  1. E.A.R. -Sputnik (Via Satellite)
  2. Yussef Lateef - Lowland Lullaby (Atlantic)
  3. Jeru the Damaja - Come Clean (Payday)
  4. Mark B - Underworld Connection (Jazz Fudge)
  5. This Mortal Coil - Andialu (4AD)
  6. Stetsasonic -On Fire (Tommy Boy)
  7. Amon Tobin - Like Regular Chickens (Ninja Tune)
  8. Boards of Canada - Aquarius (Warp)
  9. Skylab - Bite This! (Eye Q)
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