DJ Food – Solid Steel/Search Engine interview

just ahead of the release of his new album, The Search Engine, DJ Food (a solo Strictly Kev this time round) has been interviewed for Solid Steel Radio to give some insights into the making of his album (which you can hear in the background), the collaborators involved (The The’s Matt Johnson, J.G. ‘Foetus’ Thirlwell, 2econd Class Citizen, DK and Natural Self) and the artwork created by Henry Flint and Strictly Kev himself. he also discusses his own work as a designer (possibly his most famous piece being the iconic Ninja Tune logo) and you can hear a few of the tracks that have influenced him over the years which range from Adam & the Ants to Boards of Canada

also, the limited CD album itself (i received mine this morning having ordered early but it’ll be generally available from Monday) is a truly beautifully packaged item. a gorgeous, full colour, 48 page comic sized booklet packed with artwork, photos and more to hold the disc itself and inside that you’ll find an extra tack housed on a truly scrumptious flexi disc (you may well need to be over 40 to know what one of those is). the loveliest piece of plastic i’ve seen in a long time, a clear 7″ single with a high shine silver ‘label’ on the front side that is gold on the reverse. and you can buy that right here

also, check out this exhibition in London if you can

follow @3nipples

Mark E. Smith by Krent Able

krentable.blogspot.com

follow @3nipples

DJ Food – The Search Engine: limited book/CD & flexi disc

regular readers of this blog will realise i’m quite the fan of DJ Food, so the news of a new and long awaited album in January, The Search Engine,  has been very welcome. what’s more, Food (currently a lone act of Strictly Kev, though with collaborators in tow), has put together a lovely little package of the CD version that comes with a comic-size 48 page booklet and a 7″ flexi disc of a bonus track. it’s available to pre-order at a bargain early bird price for a limited time from here

the booklet features artwork by 2000AD artist Henry Flint, Openmind, photography by Will Cooper-Mitchell, lyrics and more. the flexi disc will only be available with this package

there will also be a regular 12 track version on CD with gatefold card cover and 20 page booklet, downloadable versions in mp3 and WAV formats with pdf booklet, and an expanded and extended 17 track release in 24 bit WAV that also comes with the pdf booklet

the track below is Prey feat. J.G. Thirlwell (aka Foetus, Clint Ruin etc) and is taken from DJ Food’s latest EP Magpies, Maps & Moons as well as the forthcoming album

follow @3nipples

Kid Koala — Space Cadet: Original Still Picture Score

Space Cadet is a 132-page graphic novel drawn on etchboards, accompanied by a “still picture score” composed and recorded by Kid Koala. this charming story of an adventurous space cadet and her guardian robot touches on the relationship between technology and isolation, celebrating the idea of connectivity through family, and the cycles that build generations

if this tickles your fancy then go here to buy it

additionally, here’s Kid Koala and Jonathan NG present Floor Kids : B-Boy O-Live vs. B-Boy Nugs

DJ Food – Magpies, Maps & Moons (promo)

where the hell can i get a copy!?!?!? according to Strictly Kev, “Not for general sale but I bet there will be a few out there as journalists hear it, go ‘WTF?’ and sell them to their local record store. The 12″ should be at the label later this week, full photos when I get it. This is the final of 3 EPs and is released on 12″ and download on Nov 7th. ‘The Search Engine’ album will be out Jan 16th, 2012 and features versions of 12 tracks taken from the EPs, plus some exclusive bits.”

here’s the finished and quite beautiful art work for The Search Engine album. inks by Henry Flint, colours and other stuff by Strictly Kev. the photo below that was taken by Will Cooper-Mitchell and  is of Strictly Kev dresses as a cosmonaut

now, as for something to listen to, here’s A Weird World Reader by DJ Food, which is, “A trip through the DJ Food EP ‘One Man’s Weird Is Another Man’s World’ featuring tracks, samples and influences that make it what it is“. it features, amongsts others, The Black Keys, The Broken Keys, Mr Chop, Grace Jones, Paul Weller, The The and Ken Nordine

David Bowie’s Space Oddity illustrated book

this is wonderful. Andrew Kolb has illustrated David Bowie‘s  classic single Space Oddity as a children’s book. if you go to the Comic Alliance site you can play the song and read the book lyric by lyric

unfortunately he’s been sent some sort of cease and desist by the song owners and has had to take the book off his own site for fear of a law suit

and here’s the man himself with that classic

the art of Krent Able

Krent Able

Krent Able will be familiar to the readers of The Stool Pigeon, a free. bi-monthly, and rather decent music newspaper. i pick it up in various independent record shops around London, though i believe it’s available throughout much of the UK

Krent Able is a comic writer/artist and his work adorns the most recent cover of The Stool Pigeon and regularly the middle, comics section, and it’s also dotted throughout. below are a few examples of what he does, including three comic strips that feature Nick Cave, Goldfrapp and Amy Winehouse. i’ll post a link to his blog at the end. any text beneath the pictures in italics is taken from that blog. his work is definitely what some fuckwits might call sick or tasteless or whatever, but since they are fuckwits i shouldn’t even be mentioning them really. since i have, i wonder if that makes me a fuckwit? i suppose it’s good to question yourself, though if anyone calls me a fuckwit, i’ll curl one out on their face

you probably don’t need telling, but click on the pics to enlarge them

Thanks to Phil and Mickey at The Stool Pigeon for letting me loose on the cover – the only proviso was that I couldn’t do a big picture of James Brown’s anus.

My third Doctor Cave story, featuring the first glimpses of the Cavemobile and The Cheese Factory Hillbillies. This one was inspired by Nick Cave’s increasingly sex-obsessed output (his ‘Bunny Monroe’ novel, ‘No Pussy Blues’ etc.). I figured a man with that much spare sperm could probably start his own cheese factory. I know I did.

This cheeky little tale is from the April 2011 edition of The Stool Pigeon

Hot Dog and Terror Cone. One day these guys are going to MASSIVE, like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon.

Lady Gaga, Based on Manet’s ‘Olympia’. Pretty highbrow, eh?

From The Stool Pigeon, Sept ’09. In the original version of Goldilocks and the 3 bears from the 1830′s, Goldilocks was an ‘angry old woman’ and the 3 bears tried to kill her by burning, drowning and impalement on a church steeple

to check out much more of Krent Able’s work, click here

the art of DocVek

DJ Cheeba posted a photo on his Facebook page, of a label designed for him by DocVek (left), which i commented on, saying, simply, “beautiful“

Cheeba was kind enough to point me in the direction of more work by DocVek (aka Keiran Sandal from Maidenhead, UK), and i felt compelled to share some of that work. here are a few favourites, plus a link to his online gallery

also, to watch Cheeba’s superb Revenge Of The Nerd audio/visual mix, go to the bottom of this post, then sit back and enjoy over an hours worth of treats for the ears and eyes

click on the pics to make them embiggen (where did i hear that word? ’tis silly and made up. i like it)

“This is part of an illustration i finished recently for a flyer in Bristol, UK. Solid Steel feat Dj Kentaro”

“My old friend Dj Cheeba (Solid Steel/Ninja Tune) was given a Rane TTM 57SL (a top turntablist mixer) by Rane itself. I got asked if I wanted to design the faceplate for the mixer, which included adding typefaces, illustrations, the whole shabang . . .”

“double page illustration i made for Computer Arts Projects, the article is about paper stock, which is why there are many references to ‘paper’ within”

“A street scene for a poster”

“Ninja Tune/Solid Steel AV showcase”

check out more of DocVeks stuff here docvek.co.uk

and now, as promised, here is DJ Cheeba’s a/v mix Revenge Of The Nerd (i’ve posted once here before but what the hell)

and here’s a link to Cheeba’s website where you’ll find plenty to nose through djcheeba.com

Dig for Fire: an Exhibition of Art inspired by the Pixies

suddenly, i feel the need to be in California next month . . .

C.A.V.E Gallery (1108 Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice, CA 90291, USA) in conjunction with Thinkspace Gallery present
Dig for Fire: Art inspired by the Pixies
Sept. 9th – Oct. 8th 2011

www.cavegallery.net

click on the pics to enlarge

Monkey Gone To Heaven by Craww

Bailey's Walk by Chris Sickels

Dig for Fire by Macsorro

Velouria by Chris Cole

Velouria is a kinetic sculpture with a guitar amp hidden in its base. the sculpture is hand cranked, and as you crank it, ports open and close muffling or distorting the sound from the amp

Velouria (detail 1) by Chris Cole

Velouria (detail 2) by Chris Cole

Velouria (detail 3) by Chris Cole

as this exhibition is broadening the visual world of the Pixies, here’s something that broadens their audio world. it’s a damn fine remix of their classic single Monkey Gone To Heaven, remixed by KRUSHA (it’s also free to download. just click on the down arrow)

Amon Tobin & Tessa Farmer Present ISAM: Control Over Nature

Amon Tobin has come together with highly respected Saatchi Collection artist Tessa Farmer on a collaborative installation

Control Over Nature will combine Amon Tobin’s sound design and elements of the recently released ISAM album, alongside Farmer’s trademark sculptures, which are constructed from bits of organic material, such as roots, dead insects and bones

according to Tobin, “There is common ground between Tessa and I, we’re both re-arranging and augmenting natural elements to make something imagined but tangible. We are both exploring new uses for familiar materials, or in Tessa’s case familiar creatures. I’m trying to take an objective approach to all my source material, whether it’s field recording or synthesis based or a mixture of the two. I’m treating it all as musically/creatively relevant and useful.“

Control Over Nature will run at The Crypt Gallery, St Pancras Church, Euston Road, London from Thursday 26th May until Sunday 5th June 2011. there will be a limited number of signed prints on sale

listen to ISAM in full here