Solid Steel is bastard pop!

>> Ninja Tune's long-running radio show takes the music to the people

by SCOTT C

Since 1988, the nocturnal emissions of U.K.-based radio show Solid Steel have been entertaining and educating attentive listeners of the U.K. and, more recently, the world. Originally manned by Ninja Tune pioneers Coldcut (Jonathan More and Matt Black), Strictly Kev and PC (DJ Food) took things over in 1993, with logistical mastermind DK producing the show and handling worldwide syndication. Now on tour promoting a rambunctious Vol.1 of Solid Steel's new CD series mixed by himself and Kev, DK spoke to the Mirror, live from London.



Mirror: This show has been around for quite a while. Hard to believe that what you do today was once illegal.

DK: That's right, we used to be on KISS when it was still an illegal setup, but then of course KISS went legal.

M: Is a pirate station going legal the "kiss of death?"

DK: Not really. I mean there is of course that sort of underground feel, but the station didn't change that much when it went legal. It just meant that they didn't have to run around hiding the transmitter every weekend. More people knew about the station as well. But KISS was sold to a more commercial owner and that changed everything.

M: Mass appeal...

DK: Exactly. So we actually left KISS at that stage to start a show at BBC London. Now we pretty much pre-produce the mixes and the music, but I hope that the quality has gone up over the years.

M: Is it possible to describe the musical tone of the radio show in one sentence?

DK: Ummm... it's a wide variety of styles mixed together, and I mean literally mixed.

M: Not dropped tune for tune...

DK: We're trying to do something a bit different and push it as far as we can go.

M: I know you have the Solid Steel Mixed CD series on its way, based on the vibe of the radio show. Are the mixes on the CD geared towards the dancefloor?

DK: On the CD they don't have to be because it's more of a representation of the stuff we do every week on the air, but the live show is a more club-friendly re-creation of the CD. There are some songs on there that could easily clear the dancefloor (laughs).

M: Any music in particular that's come lately that's doing it for you?

DK: Not really. I can't think of anything that's flooring me right now. I don't know if you're getting it over there but over here there's this mini-phenomenon called "bastard pop." It's like a craze sweeping the music industry. Just two displaced pop records mixed together--

M: Ohhhh! Like that Eminem a cappella over a Michael Jackson instrumental?

DK: Exactly! It's just gone full steam over here. The last one I heard was 10cc's "Dreadlock Holiday" over Destiny's Child. It's crazy! :

Mr. Scruff, DJ Food, DK and Bonobo at Jingxi on Thursday, Nov. 22, 10pm, $10