DJ Food - The Search Engine
(CD/Digital) Ninja Tune ZENCD176/ZENDNL176, 2012-01-23

Eleven years after the last DJ Food album release (Kaleidoscope), Strictly Kev and various friends, associates and like-minded collaborators return with a new full-length. The Search Engine distills the best parts from three EP’s worth of material into a continuous 56 minute album of unbridled creativity and laser-sharp focus. Collaborations abound in the form of vocal appearances from Natural Self (aka Nathaniel Pearn), JG Thirlwell (Foetus, Steroid Maximus etc.) and The The's Matt Johnson. The latter reprises his vocal on a cover of his own track GIANT, nearly thirty years after its first release. Musical hook-ups include 2econd Class Citizen, who trades sample-attacks with Strictly for the suite of nine tracks that make up the 11 minute Magpie Music. Dr Rubberfunk lends his drumming skills to the opening track and old DJ Food partner PC and Solid Steel's DK add their own ingredients to the mix. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all to those who associate the DJ Food name with the early 90s Jazz Brakes records is just how heavy The Search Engine is. Styled as a kind of psychedelic rock album made with samplers, Strictly Kev has not been afraid the frug the fuck out, with thundering drum work and fuzz bass perhaps the central muscial signature of the work.

Loka - Sam Star / Temporary External
(Digital Single) Ninja Tune ZENDNLS293, 2011-11-21

Loka, Ninja Tune's cult psychedelicists, purveyors of cinematic music that disturbs and troubles and intrigues rather than comforts, return with a new album, Passing Place and, to build up to it, The Daily Bread, an exclusive Paris DJs mix, and the Sam Star EP, which sounds like Broadcast after munching an acid blotter and staring at a Boyle Family light show. Temporary External features vocals by Lido Pimienta and Brass layers by the welsh brass band Seindorf Beaumaris Band, comes on like the soundtrack to an anticipatory biopic of Robert Wyatt, made while he was still a school boy and. The 2econd Class Citizen remix of album track The Sound Stars Make allows the original's atmosphere of hazy menace to build for three minutes before hardening up the beats and building to a rhythm-led crescendo. Loka is an ever evolving band, drawing on influences from jazz to classical to BBC radiophonic to 60's psychedelia and much more. With a career on Ninja Tune that dates back to the year 2000 but has resulted in only one album (2006's critically acclamied Fire Shepherds) the band continues its compelling and innovative journey at its own stately pace. The eagerly awaited second album Passing Place, due for release in November 2011, is beautifully dark and disorientating with haunting vocals and brass interludes.

DJ Food - Magpies, Maps & Moons
(12"/Digital/promo CD) Ninja Tune ZEN12299/ZENDNLS299/ZENCDS299, 2011-11-07

Finishing the trilogy of EPs started in 2009 with One Man's Weird Is Another Man's World and The Shape of Things That Hum, comes Magpies, Maps & Moons. Another five track 12", wrapped in a poster cover by 2000ad comic artist Henry Flint, and featuring more collaborations to add to the growing Food roster. In vocal form we have JG Thirlwell - aka Foetus, Steroid Maximus and Manorexia amongst many others - providing a vocal for the lead track, Prey. Having been a fan of JG's work since the late 80's this was a dream come true for Strictly Kev who remixed a Foetus track for free, alongside Amon Tobin on 2002's Blow album for Thirlwell, on the provision that they collaborate in the future. The other collaboration comes from London resident Aaron Thomason aka 2econd Class Citizen on the 11 minute plus audio montage, Magpie Music. The two met up earlier this year after Kev had raved about Aaron's debut LP A World Without on Germany's Equinox label. Rather than sit down and work on a single song the pair decided to swap samples and create short pieces in isolation before comparing and critiquing them, then remixing and working them into a long form piece. All this, with various tracks from the previous EPs, will add up to the album, The Search Engine, released in Jan 2012, which cherry picks the best 10 tracks, remixing or editing them along the way, and adds a final collaboration to boot.

Ninja Tune XX - 20 Years Of Beats 'n' Pieces - The twelve inches

Those who bought the incredible Ninja Tune XX boxset and registered their promo code on the Ninja Tune XX site were sent two exclusive Ninja Tune 12 inches. Four more 12 inches have just been released. Here's the lowdown on which tracks are exclusive to those vinyls and which are taken from the boxset CDs...

Grant Phabao & Djouls - Ninja Tune - 20 Years of Remixes & Re-interpretations (MP3 Podcast on www.ParisDJs.com) 2010-08-10 Lots of stuff are happening for the celebration of the last 20 years of musical activism from the english label Ninja Tune. A huge boxset is on its way for september, with LOTS of new music. There are parties coming up everywhere, and french magazine Trax has just released a special (Ninja Tune 20 Ans...), for which I've been asked to write 3 articles. The first one is about 20 of the rarest pieces of wax released by the label. The second is a selection of 20...

DJ Food - The Shape Of Things That Hum
(12"/Download) Ninja Tune ZEN12252/ZENDNLS252, 2009-12-14

DJ Food aka Strictly Kev - one of Ninja Tune's true veterans and powerhouses - returns with the next installment from his forthcoming, long-awaited album, Stolen Moments. And while the personnel of "DJ Food" has changed over the years, as has the musical vision, the name is always a guarantee of the utmost quality.

DJ Food - One Man's Weird Is Another Man's World
(12"/Download) Ninja Tune ZEN12232/ZENDNLS232, 2009-07-06

"First of 3 EPs over the next year with an album this time next year on CD and download only. Vinyl will be the EPs only but versions on the CD album will be different as well and some tracks will not be included with extra new ones on the album etc. The first EP will have between 4 and 6 tracks, depending on how many I can fit on a disc. If they don't all fit on i'll either keep some for the album or have them as extra downloads." (Source : Strictly Kev, via e-mail)

Various - Solid Steel 20th Anniversary DVD
Ninja Tune, release date tba

Various - You Don't Know - Ninja Cuts DJ Food's 1000 Mask Mix
(promo CD/CD/Download) Ninja Tune ZENCD150MIX/ZENCD150X/ZENDNL150RX, 2008-03-24

Tracklisting :
01. Kid Koala - Slew Test 2
02. The Death Set - Around the World
03. DJ Kentaro - Enter The Newground
04. The Qemists Feat. I.D - Drop Audio
05. Roots Manuva Feat. Ricky Ranking - Seat Yourself
06. DJ Shadow - Bring Madlib Up
07. Sixtoo - Part 10
08. King Geedorah - Next Levels
09. Ammoncontact - Infinity Of Rhythm Instrumental
10. RJD2 - True Confessions
11. Diplo - Epistemology Suite 1: Don't Fall
12. The Bug - Poison Dart
13. Coldcut - Just for the Kick (Original Version)
14. Hexstatic Feat. Juice Aleem - Distorted Minds (Zero dB Vox Remix)
15. Ghislain Poirier - Blazin' (Modeselector Remix)
16. Two Fingers Feat. Durrty Goodz - Have It Like That
17. Wiley - No Qualms (Re-vox Featuring Chipmunk, JME & Skepta)
18. Coldcut - Atomic Moog 2006 (The Qemists Remix)
19. Daedelus - Fairweather Friends
20. Roots Manuva Feat. Ricky Ranking - Chin High (Manuvadelics Version)
21. Bonobo - Nitelite (Zero dB Vox Remix)
22. Ammoncontact - Infinity Of Rhythm Instrumental
23. Loka - Beginingless
24. Fink - Pretty Little Thing
25. Pop Levi - Dita Dimoné
26. The Heavy - Coleen
27. The Cinematic Orchestra - Rites of Spring (Live at the Barbican)
28. Bigg Jus - Say Goodbye
29. Yppah - Again With The Subtitles
30. Ty - Wait A Minute (Dwele Remix)
31. Cadence Weapon - In Search Of The Youth Crew
32. TTC - Travailler (Orgasmic Remix)
33. Spank Rock - Bump (Switch Remix)
34. Pest - Pat Pong (Switch Remix)
35. Coldcut - Walk a Mile in my Shoes (Tiga Remix)
36. Homelife - Seedpod
37. Jaga - Swedenborgske Rom
38. The Cinematic Orchestra - Breathe (Susumu Yokota Remix)
39. Amon Tobin - Bloodstone

Links :
djfood.org
myspace.com/strictlykev
ninjatune.net/ninja/release.php?id=1351

DJ Food & DK - Now Listen Again
(CD) Ninja Tune ZENCD123, 2007-04-02

Want to hear Rakim dueting on the mic with Phil Oakey from the Human League? Rock drummer Cozy Powell trading beats with DJ Format? Maybe the funky film version of 'Are You Being Served' is more to your taste or some West Coast surf-psych in the form of The Dragons' rarity 'Food For My Soul'? Resisting all the food puns we can think of (we know you'll be doing it for us) Solid Steel presents DJ Food & DK with "Now, Listen Again" - the sequel to the mix that kicked off the series in 2001.