Solid Food

The ‘Solid Steel’ radio show has been host to many of the world’s greatest DJ’s. Its reputation as one of the more continuously quality controlled DJ shows means that we’ve heard some of the best work of many of the DJ’s featured on the show.

Its success led its creators, DJ Food, to entice Ninjatune to release a regular Solid Steel mix comp. The world jumped to joy with the release of DJ Food’s mix album, the first solid steel mix cd, entitled, 'Now, Listen'. DJ Food broke new ground with their blend of the old and the new, the obscure and the popular, and they caused people to, not just question the track listing, but become enthralled more by the mixes themselves. It was released 3 years before 2 Many DJ’s popularized the mash-up genre with their DJ mix “As heard on Radio Soulwax pt.2". Yet DJ Food mix album 'Now, Listen' although not nearly as schizophrenic as the 2 Many DJ's album, paved the way for a new focus on the mix of the DJ, not just for a club environment, but a mix album that was appreciated at home, with closer expectation.

In my opinion no mix album has come close to DJ Food’s 'Now, Listen' in the 6 years that have passed since it’s release, except maybe Optimo’s, Kill the DJ (Part 2). Solid Steel itself has released over 6 other mix albums on the ‘Solid Steel’ series, of which, the Amon Tobin (recorded in our own city of Melbourne at the Prince of Wales) and Hexstatic release’s were brilliant, the Bonobo and Mr Scruff releases enjoyable and the DJ Kentaro and Herbaliser disappointing.

DJ Food are back. They’ve announced that they are releasing the sequel to 'Now, Listen', titled imaginatively 'Now, Listen Again!'. Not only that, only a few hours ago they confirmed the track listing and have announced it for the world to stare at and wait in anticipation for theses tracks to be served to our ears mixed by the consistent DJ Food team.

DJ Food – 'Now, Listen Again!' – Track Listing – Due out April

MVP - Rock Your Body (instrumental)
Z-Trip feat Soup - Listen To The DJ
Timbaland feat Missy Elliot & Magoo - Cop That Shit
Eric B & Rakim - I Know You Got Soul (accapella)
The Human League - Being Boiled
Area Code 615 - Stone Fox Chase
Cut Chemist - A Peek In Time
Pepe Deluxe - Salami Fever
Cozy Powell - Dance With The Devil
DJ Format - You Hear That?
Ram Jam - Black Betty
Jonny Jones & The King Casuals - Purple Haze
Primal Scream - Revenge of the Hammond Connection
Bomb The Bass feat Merlin - Megablast (acapella)
DJ Shadow - Right Thing (Z-TripÕs ÔGet The Party OffÕ remix parts 2&3)
Gorgio Moroder - Tears
AC Lewis feat Ndidi Cascade - Tickles
Aphex Twin - Nannou
The Irresistible Force - Underground (Ambient mix)
New Order - The Beach
Part 2 feat Fallacy - One Of Dem Days (remix)
Freestylers feat Pendulum & Sirreal - Painkiller (Ed Solo & Skool of Thought remix)
5 Deez - Funky (acapella)
TTC - Dans Le Club (instrumental)
Reggie Steppa - Drum Pan Sound
DJ Zinc - Reach Out (remix)
Roots Manuva - Swords In The Dirt (Qemists 03 remix)
Pendulum & Fresh feat Spyda & Tenor Fly - Tarantula
Roots Manuva - Witness (Walworth Road Rockers Dub rework by Steinski)
Jo Ann Garret - It's No Secret
Ronnie Hazelhurst - Are You Being Served? (Film version)
The Dragons - Food For My Soul

Visit Solid Steel’s webpage for radio streams of their show and details on all their releases.

Grime from the Floor Up

I’m not sure if Grime is due for a second renaissance or is at the end of the road.

Dubstep's rise in popularity has somewhat superseded Grime; hijacking their dirty bass driven beats, yet regulating the MC to a supporting role.

Before Grime's MC's enters the history section of Wikipedia, they have mounted various assualts helping to re-energise the genre. Grime crew, Dubbledge, offer us ‘Lips to da Floor’. ‘Lips to da Floor’ may very well be taking the piss out of a genre that already takes the piss out of itself, but no Grime tune has quite done it this well.

Visit Dubbledge’s Myspace here.

Lips to Da Floor - Dubbledge


AfrikanBoy also offered us a brilliant Grime influenced track titled ‘Lidl’. The film clip’s not much; the song however is a delightful laugh.

Visit AfrikanBoy’s Myspace here.

Lidl - AfrikanBoy

Mr Me Too

Always an amusing source for reviews, Pitchfork delivers today by catching up on the laid-back soul reworking of Clipse's 'Drop It Like It's Hot' clone 'Mr Me Too' from Z.A.K., dropping Clipse's vocals over 'Honey Dove'.

'The juxtaposition of the gently strummed guitar, laid-back horns, and slow-motion strings of Field's track makes Pharrell's verses even more irrelevant, as Z.A.K. perfectly distills the flaunted prosperity of the song's lyrics into a mood that permeates the entire track. This is yacht rap...'
read more

Get it here

Or how bout mashed with the Flaming Lips"Flaming Clipse"

Clipse Featuring Pharrell - Mr. Me Too


Snoop Dogg Featuring Pharrell - Drop It Like It's Hot


If that's not enough Pharrell action for your day - build and dress your own Pharrell doll here

The Bees/Saul Williams reviews

The Bees @ the Corner 04/01/07

On a night so hot that belts were pointless because the sweat clamped your jeans to your legs, Melbourne’s tireless punters lifted themselves from sticky couches and ventured to the Corner Hotel. Why? Well, a cold beer on a hot night and the added bonus of hearing the British six-piece The Bees finally hitting Australian shores in advance of their upcoming third album, The Octopus. With a debut album called Sunshine Hit Me, perhaps it was no surprise that when The Bees came to Melbourne we had to brave sweltering heat to hear them play.

Read more

myspace to hear more including a Madlib remix of their hit 'Chicken Payback'

Saul Williams - Saul Williams

He’ll smack you in the head with weights of history and politics, and leave you grinning for more. Without his humour this album would feel like a violent, bitter tirade from an outsider raised on stray pages of the Black Panthers handbook. But Saul manages to blend a twisted sense of humour with a Black Power stance that makes Chuck D seem like Michael Jackson.

Read more

Africa’s Bouncing Back

Ghislain Poirier, a producer who resides in Montreal is doing his best to be the new ‘hardest working man in show business’, already he's produced 5 albums, enough remixes to fill another five albums, and started his own label - Rebondir Records.

Ghislain is also a great promoter of free music on the internet, backing his words up with plenty of freebies for the ever hungry ears of today’s Hip Hop listeners.

Ghislain has just offered the world another freebie, this time, a quality controlled selection of Africa’s latest Hip Hop beats and rhymes.

Explore Ghislain Poirier's myspace or his homepage, for more information.

Ghislain Poirier – Africa Hip Hop Mix

1. 37mph - All In The Name Of Fun ( South Africa )
2. Tuks – Clap ( South Africa )
3. Xplastaz - Msimu Kwa Msimu (Tanzania)
4. Peter Miles - Owango RMX ( Uganda )
5. Awadi - Stoppez les criminels feat. Tiken Jah Fakoli ( Senegal )
6. 994 Crew - Bad Boy ( Mauritania )
7. Unathi - Sgubhu Sam' ( South Africa )
8. Abass - Zibi zibi zaba ( Senegal )

Dry Your Eyes Mate

‘The Living is Easy’ is so much more than just a radio show blog. For this one post it has become a shoulder to cry on, a shoulder more specifically for our readers who have recently experienced the pain of a relationship breakdown. (WARNING: Tom and Marty have had no professional training in relationship counselling, so continue reading at your own risk.)

Although Tom and I try our best to keep the mood upbeat, this mix, Melancholy Flowers 2, by Bobby Corridor is so damn good that I couldn’t stop myself from posting it for our listeners to enjoy. Maybe ‘enjoy’ is the wrong word, ‘cry’ would be more appropriate.

Take one look at the track listing and you’ll see that this is a mix for the broken-hearted, if you are presently in the early days of being in love, avoid at all costs, however if over an hour of some of the most melancholy tunes mixed to perfection, sprinkled with bitter spoken word fables, sounds like your thing, then download now.

Bobby Corridor - Melancholy Flowers 2

Alan Watts- Divine Madness
Talk Talk- I Believe In You
Helios- Paper Tiger
Dub Tractor- Faster
Buck 65- Food (inst)
Bob Dylan- Don’t Fall Apart On Me
Stendec- Raine
Marc Almond- Ends In Tears
Manyfingers- Some Shield
Fila Brazilia- Return Of The Red Hot Brethren
Veda Brown- Living A Life Without Love
Eliot Lipp- Real Tragic
Tom Robinson Band- Long Hot Summer
Van Morrison- Warm Love
Sketchie- Suffragist Down
Andre Gurov- Relevation Of Wrath
James and Boby Purify- I’m Your Puppet
Lord Finesse- Yes You May (remix inst)
Lhasa- My Name
Johnny Osbourne- Give A Little Love
Scientist- Give A Little Love Dub
Barry Adamson- Hollywood Sunset
Clem Snide- Find Love
Scritti Politti- Petrococadollar
Billy Childish- The Humility Of Love
Jacob Golden- Dirty Snow
Arab Strap- Phone Me Tonight
Alias & Ehren- Lillian
Esmerine- While She Swallows Bullets and Stones
Hans Appelqvist- Grammofonnummer
Sufjan Stevens- That Dress Looks Nice On You
Savath & Savalas- Two Blues For Marion Brown
Caural- Sipping Snake Blood Wine (Savath & Savalas Mix)
Art Of Noise- Moments In Love
Zane Trow- Thirtithri
Silicon Scally- Toneworks
Brendon Anderegg- They’re Still Here
Jeff Klein- Nobody’s Favourite Girl
Ammoncontact- Barbeque Plate (Telefon Tel Aviv’s Last Supper remix)
John Martyn- Hurt In Your Heart
Bernard Purdie- Summer Melody
George Russell- You Are My Sunshine
Fat Jon- Romantic Misery
Tindersticks- My Oblivion
Aoki Takamasa- Fly Variation
Souad Massi- There’s Worse
2 Tall- Shifting Tides
Mark Eitzel- Anything
Bill Near- Drumin

Click here for cover art.
After enjoying this, you may want to go back to the begining, click here, the first Melancholy Flowers Mix.

Radio Playlist 07/01

Ebony Rhythm Band - Light My Fire
Poets of Rhythm - More Mess on My Thing
Maceo and All the Kings Men - Funky Women
James Brown - Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved
Breakestra - Gotta Let You Know
Manu Dibango - African Battle
Bamboos feat. Alice Russell - Step It Up
Betty Everett - Hound Dog
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Dirtbombs - Natural Man (Lou Rawls Cover)
Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe/Sunshine of Your Love (Live at the BBC)
Focus Three - 10 000 Years Behind My Mind
Goodie Mob feat OutKast - Black Ice
Lupe Fiasco - American Terrorist
Plant Life - Luv 4 the World (Why They Gotta Hate?)
Nelly Futardo - Promiscious (Hint Remix)
M.I.A - Bucky Done Gun (Hint Remix)
Mayday - Groundhog Day
Bonobo feat. Bajka - Days to Come
Radio Citizen feat. Bajka - The Hop
Lifeforce Trio - Coliseum
Chemical Brothers - Electronic Battle Weapon 8

Links to mp3s, videos, artist sites. Check out all our goodies

Don't forget to listen to Tom and Marty host 'Living is Easy' on Melbourne's SYN 90.7 between 8 and 10 each Sunday night...

Sons of Soul

Lou Rawls Son, Lou Rawls Jr, is suing Marvin Gaye's adopted son, Marvin Gaye III, after he was attacked by four dogs at Gaye's Hollywood home.

Those soul stars really went all out when thinking of names for their sons.

Rawls Jr claims that he was bitten, lost blood, had torn flesh from the multiple bites and fears catching a disease.

In further bizarreness here's a clip of Lou Rawls - who died on the January 6 last year - singing and performing a colonoscopy on Damon Waynes