Various: Solid Steel Presents DJ Food & DK
“Now, Listen”
Ninja Tune, 2001
For some reason, there are few great mix CDs. Thankfully, the Ninja Tune crew have provided a number of exceptions, like Cold Krush Cuts and Journeys by DJ: Coldcut. In the tradition of Coldcut’s Solid Steel radio show, Now Listen combines music from a variety of genres and samples from a wide-range of sources. Make no bones about it, this is a studio mix (which was apparently plagued by licensing issues), but it is obviously inspired by live DJing. A frenzied cut-and-paste collage style keeps the energy up as twenty-three tracks fly by in just over an hour. A capella raps are mixed with the most unlikely beats, and for extra geek points, Leonard Nimoy even makes an appearance. There’s no way DJ Food can live up to Coldcut’s copyright-bending JDJ masterpiece, but Now Listen is a great party mix nonetheless. It’s pure bubble-gum fun—an unpretentious dance-your-ears-off CD which ought to inspire crate-diggers and club-hoppers alike.
