Olympic Bike Tour

Hello All!!!

I'll be doing a tour up to the Olympic site in Hackney Wick this Tuesday and Thursday evenings, it's kind of a test run on Tuesday but you're welcome to come along on either occasion if you want. All you need is a bicycle and my phone number.

A bicycle because the tour will be on bicycles.

And my phone number to text me and find out when it starts.

The tour will be going from Druid Cycles at the South Side of Tower Bridge, then heading up to East London and the Olympic Site before heading back through Hackney and Spitalfields.

Join us!

Law of Sod

Sod's law applied to DJing:

You plug in your minidisc player, get it working and start recording, your mixing goes to pot.....

The minidisc player runs out of space and your DJing skills suddenly shoot through the roof!!!

Either way I have posted the recording of the first half of my set at 93 Feet East last Friday. Some of the mixing is good, some of the mixing is not so good. All the tracks are brilliant though.

enjoy here!

Tracklisting:

Jack Penate - Tonights Today (TLGB remix)

Simian Mobile Disco - Love (Beyond the Wizards Sleeve re-animation)

Nathan Fake - The Sky Was Pink (James Holden remix)

Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Sancho Panza remix)

Toby Tobias - The Feeling (Vinyl Version)

Tensnake - Congolal

Shit Robot - Chasm

Simian Mobile Disco - Sleep Deprivation

Crookers - We Love Animals (Soulwax remix)

Zombie Nation - Kern Kraft 400

Beastie Boys - Intergalactic (Tom Neville remix)

John Starlight - Shadowbreaker (Boys Noize remix no. 1)

A relic from the modern times.

See that!!!

That is a minidisc recorder. Yeah! Remember them?

So the minidisc, brought to the world in 1992, in my memory seemed to reach their height of popularity when I was in Year 10 at school... 1999/2000 ??? I think. Then they seemed to disappear along with the introduction of the iPod.

I however have just bought one, an ebay special for £16. I will be using this bad boy to record my DJ sets from here on in, and then hopefully putting these online for your listening pleasure. I figure this will be easier than lumping my laptop along with all of my cds to various venues across London.

The last time I had a minidisc player at my disposal was back in those heady days of year 10 at school, that minidisc player lasted me until I went to South America when it mysteriously disappeared from a hotel room in Sao Paulo. When my previous one was swiped they took just the player, no discs, no charger or anything else, I've often wondered what they did with it. I never once saw a minidisc player in South America, so I imagine they never took off there and imagine that it would have been pretty difficult to get all the bits and bobs. Possibly when they first took it, pressed play and heard whatever music it was that was in it they probably thought it was a brilliant steal, when the battery died I doubt they ever got it working again!

Anyways I digress, this minidisc player gets me harking back to the days when I had my first one. One of the albums I fell in love with on my first player was Radiohead - Kid A, I distinctly remember Everything in Its Right Place sent shivers down my spine when I was staying in Longleat Forest on a family holiday. I hold this album responsible for getting me into dance music too (along with the likes of the Prodigy, Aphex Twin, The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim) and it's likely that dance music will be what you'll mostly be hearing on my recorded mixes in the future.

So anyways here's a dance remix of Everything in its Right Place for you to reward you for me banging on about the past.

Radiohead - Everything in its Right Place (Gigamesh / DiscoTech Remix)

Also if you'd like to see me try and use this minidisc recorder then you should come to 93 Feet East this Friday it's free entry and I'll be DJing for your aural pleasure. Flyer Here

I built Ivan's bicycle!

Last week I built a bicycle from spares and parts rescued from this bicycle mountain.

And then this guy bought it!!!

Look at him all happy on his shiny new red bicycle. If you want me to make you a Royal Mail bicycle, speak to me.

Album of the decade so far

A couple of weeks ago the 'album of the decade so far' landed on my doormat, now 'album of the decade so far' may not sound like much of a statement at this point but I imagine myself and a fair few others will still be talking about this album in months/years/decades-ish to come.

It's Four Tet - There is Love in You, it's absolutely brilliant and probably makes up for the 'worst album (that I've bought) of the decade so far' which would have to be the Knife's - Tomorrow in a Year. To be fair to the Knife I should have probably read the blurb before buying it, it's an opera concept album, it is terrifying to listen to, I didn't make it the whole way through and I doubt it'll be going anywhere near my stereo again. Kieren Hebden's effort 'There is Love in You' is marvellous though, I fully urge you to consider buying it. I bumped into Mr Four Tet himself on Regent Street around this time last year and he told me that he was working on a new album, more like his first few before teaming up with Steve Reid, and I failed miserably in trying to hide my excitement that he was going back to the old style! He told me to come to Plastic People where he was trying out his new stuff, I did, and good 'ol knees up was had by all!

So 'There is Love in You' is the product of a year's work and it's full of absolute bangers, 'Love Cry' is a nine minute masterpiece, 'Pablo's Heart' subtly twists your body to the beats, 'Plastic People' somehow makes a garage/2-step-ish beat an acceptable pleasure and 'She Just Likes to Fight' is just a brilliantly named song! So there, buy it, it'll be good for the soul.

Now I'm asking myself which track should I play when I DJ at 93 Feet East next?

So on other things... If you like Italo you should check out my friends at Noise Ban, Ceefax B has knocked together a delicious cosmic mix for you, it's well worth a listen. I'm also salivating at the thought of Noise Ban putting a night together somewhere in East London and will be sure to let you know when that is.

Here's the mp3 of Four Tet - Love Cry

Buy the album here

Stepney Queens

A short while ago Tyrone started to set up a blog called Stepney Bitch HQ, but then he got a job, it hasn't progressed since. I was hoping to contribute to that blog but as it hasn't materialised now is the time to start one here.

Every now and then, normally whilst walking back from the angry shop, I have a few musings and think I should share them. This time whilst walking back from the angry shop I decided the time was nigh. So here is the Stepney Queens blog.