Everywhere you go these days you'll find yourself listening to, watching or downloading a DJ mix by anyone from random fourteen year olds in their bedrooms to the most famous of superstar DJs. But before this proliferation, before the Essential Mix, 6Mix, and the hundred and one other channels - there was Solid Steel.
Started all the way back in 1988 as a weekly 2 hour show on the then pirate radio station Kiss FM, "Solid Steel" is the longest running mix show in the world, but it's more than that, too. At a time when most DJs were playing one specialist genre of music, Coldcut's remit was more far-ranging, leading to the show's tagline: 'The Broadest Beats'. The continuous mix (then known as 'the mastermix') was a regular feature of the show because of the duo's immersion in the thriving club culture of the late 80's, but they never stuck to one style or genre, leading to a show which, over the next twenty five years, has always embraced new musical styles as they evolve, whilst celebrating the past. It's this mix that has formed the foundation of the show for quarter of a century.
Of course the format has developed over time. New members DJ Food and DK joined the ranks in the '90s and in 1996 the show won a Sony Radio Award. 1999 saw the show leave Kiss FM and expand globally with international syndications and online streaming. Following a period at the BBC, the show diversified further into a mix CD series, numerous club nights and a podcast via iTunes. In 2008 they added hour long video mixes as a part of the online show, regularly topping the iTunes podcast chart.
It's a history of which the team behind the show are rightly proud, and one which they intend to celebrate over the coming year. To mark such a momentous anniversary, Solid Steel have commissioned exclusive mixes from iconic artists and DJs from around the world, both old and new.
We start this week with 'Coldcut meets The Orb - The Return Trip' - twenty one years after seeing in the 1992 New Year together on London's Kiss FM - Coldcut & The Orb meet again. Recorded at Youth's Butterfly studio and edited by DJ Food, it's 130 minutes of sonic secrets to melt your mind.
We will continue throughout the year with exclusive mixes from Four Tet, J Rocc, Skream, The Gaslamp Killer, Kirk DeGiorgio, Trevor Jackson, Chris Carter from Throbbing Gristle, Toddla T, Benji B, Photek, Andy Votel, Z-Trip, Tom Middleton, Richard Dorfmeister, Greg Wilson, DJ Kentaro, James Lavelle, Gilles Peterson, Don Letts, Jack Dangers, Future Sound of London, Kid Koala, Luke Vibert, Laurent Garnier, Congo Natty, Andrew Weatherall, Francois Kevorkian, Fink, Ross Allen, Mixmaster Morris, Manasseh and the first guest to appear on Solid Steel back in 1988, Juan Atkins, plus many more to be announced.
Solid Steel represents where the DJ mix came from - and where it's going.
