The Mµ Wave compiles some hefty tunes from Planet Mu’s output over 2009, giving a chance for newer artists to show off their wares next to the more established likes of Boxcutter, who was once the new boy but now commands critical acclaim after a pile of excellent longplayers and EPs for Mu. What does 2010 hold for Planet Mu? Who knows (other than Mike P)… but one thing’s for sure – it’s going to be pretty interesting finding out.

Download

BosBos – The Mµ Wave (51mins, 117MB)

Tracklisting

1. Syntheme – Mimtro
2. Brackles – Sutorîto Faitâ
3. Starkey – Miracles (Jamie Vex’d Remix)
4. Terror Danjah – Zumpi Hunter (Swindle Remix)
5. Gemmy – Rainbow Rd.
6. Boxcutter – Sidereal Day
7. Pinch – Teleportation (Original Mix)
8. Ital Tek – Massive Error
9. Raffertie – Wobble Horror!
10. Jamie Vex’d – Radiant Industry
11. Floating Points – K&G Beat
12. Hudson Mohawke – Spotted
13. Tranqill – Payroll (Paul White’s Clean Dub)

Download

BosBos – NiteDrive (50mins, 128MB)

Tracklisting

1. 2562 – Redux
2. Distance – My Demons
3. Peverelist – Die Brücke
4. Ital Tek – Archaic
5. Pinch – One Blood, One Source
6. Burial – Etched Headplate
7. Rod Modell – Body Sonic
8. Model 500 – Starlight (Soultek Remix)
9. Andy Stott – Long Drive
10. Claro Intelecto – Operation
11. Baiyon – 637 Volpe
12. Echospace – Abraxas

DJ Food Vs DJ Vadim TX: 14/07/96: I remember this set well because it was the first show I was given sole responsibility for as neither Jon, Matt or PC could make it that week. So, with two hours to fill, I called on DJ Vadim -  freshly signed to Ninja Tune – to help me out and he arrived at the studio with several of his crew in tow including Jazz Fudge label manager Simon Rose. For some reason the show was to be recorded on videotape and the machine decided it was going to be difficult that week, sporadically stopping within ten minutes of starting. This meant I had to restart the show three times until it decided to behave which was a bit embarrassing but we got there in the end.

It was recorded in the heyday of ‘The Blue Note years’ as I like to think of them, the days when Hoxton was still a new haunt for club kids and tourists in the know, pre-333, Cargo, Herbal, White Cube and all the others that came after. This was the year it was all really swinging at the Blue Note, Ninja, Mo Wax, Wall of Sound, Anohka, Bloodsugar (Weatherall), Far Out and of course, Metalheadz all had nights regularly and the music being released was out of this world.

We were in our element as everyone was keen to mix things up both literally and stylistically, something Solid Steel had been doing for years. This set is no exception with a drum n bass section comprising Squarepusher, Photek and Funki Porcini which seemed totally normal at the time. Vadim was deep into his Music Concrete and the re-emerging independent Hip Hop scene as well as having a wealth of his own material to play with a large chunk coming from the Jazz Fudge ‘Organised Sound’ compilation. I think he sporadically played samples and jingles of his own over my set, especially at the beginning and liked layering sounds up to create atmospheres before breaking them down again and letting the beats take over.

The make-up of this show was a little odd because we had to work with ad breaks every twenty minutes so the show broke down like this: me, me, Vadim, Vadim, me. For the sake of musical continuity this time around I’ve edited my parts together and left Vadim on his own, save for a short section at the end where he backtracks some of the tunes he has just played over my last mix. If you notice the odd edit here and there it’s because I’ve cut out mic chat where I say things like “next we have Vadim on the mix etc etc” when you blatantly won’t hear him next. Also there is no master tape for this show as it has been lost and this recording was kindly provided by longtime Solid Steel collector and champion Marcus Maarck aka The Vinylizer, host of Hamburg’s Back To The Basics radio show. This is one of the oldest shows in his collection up until a few years ago and he has been an invaluable resource in getting hold of old playlists from the late 90′s. Go to his site for tracklistings of all the great mixes he has had on his show.

PS. The photos that illustrate this post were taken on a Ninja tour of Germany in 1996 by Mareike Föecking from Dusseldorf. She shot some great images at a gig in Cologne and we kept in touch afterwards whereby she sent me copies of her pictures.

Strictly Kev

Download: DJ Food Vs DJ Vadim (1996) (Part 2) (1hr, 87MB)

Tracklisting

Part 1 – DJ Food (Strictly Kev)

1. DJ Vadim – 007 Intro (CDR)
2. Percussion De Strasbourg (Phillips)
3. *Unknown Ambience & Vadim Sound Samples*
4. New Jack Hustlers – Unknown
5. Earth Leakage Trip – The Awakening (Rising High)
6. Cheech & Chong – Dink Winkerson
7. The Wiseguys – The Gemini IV Incident (Wall Of Sound)
8. Tortoise – Unknown (Thrill Jockey)
9. Buchanan & Goodman – Flying Saucer Part 1 (Mr Jaws)
10. DJ Krush – Mesio (Remix) (Mo Wax)
11. The Runaways – Finders Kreepers (Ultimate Dilemma)
12. S.E.T.I. – Knowledge (Ash International)
13. Tom Jenkinson – Happy Little Wilberforce (Worm Interface)
14. DJ Reedoo – Straight (Smokin’ Drum Recordings)
15. Photek – KJZ (Science)
16. Funki Porcini – Surge (Ninja Tune)
17. Black Dog – Edgar Allen (Warp)
18. Irresistible Force – Mountain High (Live) (Rising High)
19. Unknown
20. As One – Epic (Clear)

Part 2 – DJ Vadim

1. Pierre Henry – Variations Pour Une Porte Et Un Soupir – Fievre (Phillips)
2. DJ Vadim – Live From Paris Intro (Jazz Fudge)
3. DJ Vadim – Nocturnal Thought (Jazz Fudge)
4. Dr. Octagon – Waiting List (Mo Wax)
5. Unknown Beat (Peanut Butter Wolf?)
6. Ivo Malec – Opera Singer + Preacher
7. Unknown Beat
8. Eric B & Rakim – My Melody (4th & B’way)
9. Mark B With M.C.M. & Lewis Parker – Certain Special Skill (Underdog Remix) (Jazz Fudge)
10. Rae & Christian – Baseball Fury (Grand Central)
11. DJ Greenpeace – Progressive Agenda (Jazz Fudge)
12. Ice vs Palace – More Brother Dub (Jazz Fudge)
13. DJ Vadim – My Radio (Ninja Tune)
14. DJ Vadim – Relax With Pep (Part 6) (Ninja Tune)
15. The Automator – Unknown Beat
16. Unknown Saxophone/Beat
17. Unknown (Female Vocal)
18. Unknown (Marianne Brown?)
19. Pierre Henry – Machine Danse (Phillips)
20. Unknown Synth/Drum Track
21. Synthesonic Sounds – Superfly (Pye)
22. Unknown Synth Track
23. Jacques Loussier – Secousse (CBS)
24. Todd Dockstader – Unknown
25. Naomi Na2 – Amoureuse (Jazz Fudge)
26. Irrestistible Force – Mountain High (With Tracks & Shouts Over It) (Rising High)

One of the first things we turned up in the archives were two boxes containing 23 volumes of these mixes, comped by Jon More years earlier from the original ADAT tapes they were made on. Each mix is roughly 15 minutes long and were made each week, if time would allow, to be a part of the show that was a bit more than live blends of the latest releases. Some of these mini classics turn up repeatedly in mixes across the years, sometimes in truncated form, always overlaid with different spoken word samples. Most were mixed by Coldcut and, later on, PC, and each have individual titles like ‘Gameboy Jazz’, ’126 and Counting’ and ‘Constant Electronic Bombardment’ that give a feel for the content of each mix. There were over hundred made and we have all of them with the exception of K Mixes 29-35 because volume 7, which is presumed to contain these, is missing.

The first part of this weeks selection is the first hour from a show dated 13/12/90 which was itself a collection of great K Mixes, some of which we had earmarked to feature anyway. We start with K Mix #6 – ‘Once Upon A Time’, recorded in October or November 1990, a breakneck blend of old school hip hop and funk in a Lesson stylee and one of Matt Black’s personal favourites. Next is K Mix #9 – ‘London Bass Jam 1′ from 26/10/90 which is basically a Public Enemy megamix complete with original JBs samples inserted and blends across PE tracks that sample themselves. K Mix #11 – ‘Run DMC mix’ from 11/09/90 speaks for itself and dives back and forth throughout their career whilst K Mix #7 ‘Do Your Own Thing’ from mid November 1990 mixes classic hip hop with acid jazz beats. We round up the first hour with a special bonus, an audio invite to a Steinski party that was nestling on an early DAT from around the same era. These were sent out on cassette to selected friends and gave all the details for various parties he would hold in NYC and several were played on the show over the years.

For the second hour we’ve selected a batch of K Mixes and compiled a fictional show that would date from ’91 and ’92. We kick things off with K Mix #69 – ‘Beyond This World’ from 1992 with PC at the controls mixing golden era Hip Hop as only he can. K Mix #62 – ‘Kingtronix’ is next and is a tribute to all things Mantronix, followed by K MIx #67 – ‘Teknical Dub’ which starts off all dubby and ends with, you guessed it, Techno. Finally K Mix #42 – ‘God of Rockers’ from 1991 shows us that Coldcut also loved their rave back in the day as Matt Black gets hard on the mixer for this storming finale. Full shows from around this time hardly exist in complete form save for a clutch of video tapes that have several radio broadcasts recorded on them as audio. From the beginning of 1992 this changed and many complete shows are archived on DAT tape and all this weeks selections are sourced from pre-broadcast DATs with no studio chat or adverts.

Strictly Kev

Download: Coldcut – Best Of The K Mixes Pt.1 (2nd Hour) (1hr, 82.6MB)

Tracklisting

‘Beyond This World’ (K Mix #69) (1992)

1. House of Pain – Jump Around
2. Mark the 45 King – 900 Number
3. Eric B & Rakim – I Know You Got Soul (Acappella)
4. Pete Rock & CL Smooth – The Creator
5. Jungle Brothers – Beyond This World (Acappella)

‘Kingtronix’ (K Mix #62) (1992)

1. Mantonix – Bassline
2. Mantonix – King of the Beats
3. Mantonix – Scream
4. Mantonix – Who is It?
5. Mantonix – Join Me Please
6. Mantonix – Listen to The Bass (Get Stupid Fresh)

‘Teknical Dub’ (K Mix #67) (1992)

1. Coldcut (Feat. Lisa Stansfield) – People Hold On (Acappella)
2. Moody Boys – Free

‘God of Rockers’ (K Mix #42) (1991)

1. Unknown – Rockers Lead The Way
2. The Prodigy – Charlie Sez
3. M.N.O. – God of Abraham