People, people, prepare to be aflummoxed and unbuttoned. Prepare to be larger than you previously were. Prepare. Prepare.

You see, everyone does mix albums these days and it doesn't seem all that interesting but oh, but oh, Solid Steel do it properly. This is not a mix to listen to while you eat Twiglets and pretend to be holidaying in Ibiza or Agia Napa or Perry Como's asshole. This is not a Wear-Purple-Spandex-While-Listening mix. This is a mix to listen to when you want to hear a superb range of music put together by skilled DJs in an interesting and perhaps even (ooh) provocative manner. Baby.

Solid Steel is a weekly radio show presented by Jonathan More and Matt Black (aka Coldcut). The show has been running since 1988, debuting on Kiss back when it was a pirate and anyone down there actually gave a fuck. With a good claim to be the first show to throw just about every genre of music into the
continuous mix, Solid Steel has innovated, shocked and, on occasion, annoyed (which is what the best radio is all about). Over its run the family has expanded. Since 1993, Strictly Kev and PC (who went on to take over the mantle of DJ Food) have been regular contributors and for the last few years DK (Darren Knott) has been heavily involved and now produces the show…

It's fitting, then, that these three youngsters should be behind the mix which kicks off this series. With a nod and a wink to Coldcut's classic Journeys By DJ mix of 1995 (voted Best Compilation CD Ever in Jockey Slut), Food and DK have cooked up a mix which actually rewards repeated listening. Drawing on a huge range of (mainly non-Ninja) music, obscure bits of spoken word, exclusively made sections and a whole panoply of derringdo and often seamlessly playing two, even three completely different records at once (check out Jeru Da Damaja versus Cinematic Orchestra, and Neotropic for proof…), these fellows have treated making a mix album like making any other album, so that the difference between the DJ and the producer is finally erased. Or something like that - it's a
blind billy of a bouncing baby of a record whether you want to get theoretical or not.

And this is just the start - both Mr Scruff (Keep it Solid Steel) and Kid Koala are racing to finish off their mixes for volumes 2 and 3 and Amon Tobin is on the cards for 2002. You never know...Coldcut may deliver us a 14th birthday treat…

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY - 7th OCT 2001 - ****

A witty, accessible, unique and utterly brilliant hour of music.

TIME OUT - 26th SEPT-3rd OCT

Dance Compilation Of The Year

All the essential Ninja Tune trademarks shine here: deft, witty mixing, screwy spoken word and ace juxtaposition .There's enough flash and sparkle in evidence to keep this on or near your stereo for months to come. Very exciting.

Q - NOV 2001 - ****

Compilations Of The Year

pretty incredible….. flat-out, mind-mangling fun.

DJ - 15 December 2001 - 11 January 2002

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

DJ Food and DK cut and paste one of the year's most diverse selections yet. The future starts here.

DAZED & CONFUSED - OCT 2001

MIX OF THE MONTH

This is the inaugural instalment of a new DJ mix series that the tireless bods at Ninja Tune hope will run and run. And based on this selection, we hope they will too.

7 Magazine

COMPILATION OF THE YEAR

DJ Food & DK have put an amazing amount of thought into getting this together. It's constructed in a way that totally makes sense. Once you've hear it, you'll be blown away. A wondrous collection that sounds like your radio is permanently stuck between the coolest two stations on the dial. Oh, just go and buy it…

JOCKEY SLUT - 10th OCT - *****

COMPILATION OF THE MONTH

The spontaneous dancefloor combustion they achieve sounds remarkably natural and unforced.

HIP-HOP CONNECTION - NOV 2001 - ****

This is a condensed course in the joys of eclecticism - and it doesn't miss a single beat!

STRAIGHT NO CHASER - AUTUMN 2001

This sumptuous, multi-layered mix encompasses a typically vast range of music and stands up exceptionally well with eagerly awaited future releases to come.


NME - 3rd NOV - 7/10

Eclectic but never esoteric, 'Now, Listen!' makes for enchanting ear candy.

MUSIC WEEK - 22nd SEPT

DJ Food and DK serve up a spellbinding display of turntablism. This is a lesson in the art of putting together DJ mix albums.

METRO - 9th Oct 2001 - *****

As the first mix LP from Ninja Tune's Solid Steel radio show, it combines Ninja artists' tracks with everything from The Commodores and Herbie Hancock to Art Of Noise and Peshay, with spaced-out spoken-word clips threaded through them, and the boys don't put a hand wrong.

DAILY EXPRESS - 21st SEPT - ****

Delicious.


THE BIG ISSUE - 1-7 OCT - ****

This inaugural release from Coldcut's long-running radio sow will make such pretenders hang their heads in shame. Mixing all manner of breakbeat business with style, wit and the occasional breathtaking party trick.


MUZIK - NOV 2001 - ****

As you'd expect with DJ Food there's something for everyone here, the skills are sometimes breathtaking, this is a series to watch.

LOADED - NOV 2001 - 8/10

Barmy beatdown from Strictly Kev and PC (DJ Food) and DK. Sixty-odd minutes of mixing and production pyromania involving several turntable loads of hip-hop, drum 'n' bass, vintage soundtracks and anything else they fancy.

KNOWLEDGE - OCT 2001

Something a bit different to your normal mix album bursting with triple deck antics, screwball transmissions, dope acapellas, funky beats, warped sounds, obscure spoken word, and all this welded together with an organic, and seamless flow. This is the kind of album you will want to sit down with and devote some quality time to. Go on: pour yourself a cuppa… or something.

BIG CHEESE? - NOV/DEC 2001 - ****

It's all good music mixed inventively and bravely. A learning process for aspiring DJs and punters alike.