Solid Steel Radio Show 31/5/2013 Part 3 + 4

In Hour 2 Robin Hexstatic is in the mix celebrating 25 Years Of Solid Steel and a mix inspired by Clink Street in London. "Why?" you ask,.. Robin explains.,.."1988, 25 years ago, and the 'Summer Of Love' in London, little did I know how much this street would come to mean to me. An explosion of new music, new headspace, new ideas. The birth of Solid Steel on Kiss FM. It is highly coincidental that driving from the suburbs up to the infamous Clink street raves for the first time we were listening to that exact show on the radio. To Borough, and down a side street,… at the time nobody went to this area. You could park your car on a double yellow all weekend and not get a ticket. And so into Clink Street, the RIP nights, run by Mr C and his merry cohorts. The sound here was always a bit 'darker', heavier beats, stripped down music and decor, the strobe and smoke. This place was definitely about the dance,..you couldn't really hear anything but music and see anything but your hands in front of your face :) Evil Eddie and Kid Batchelor were my favourite DJ's at the time and I'm pretty sure Coldcut played there too? Little did I know. The Jungle Brothers even came down once to do a PA of 'I'll House You'. They looked pretty bemused. There's a video of it on Youtube somewhere, with Mark Moore jacking at the end. Skip forward nearly a decade of dance and I'm back in Clink street, Winchester Wharf, a few feet opposite Clink prison, at Ninja Tune HQ, talking to Matt Black about animations for their forthcoming album. Who'd have thought it. I spend a fantastic few years there and later teamed up with Stuart as Hexstatic, we hire our own studio in the building and embark on the task of making an AV album with a couple of pocket calculators. The building was great, full of music and arts people coming in and out all the time, (David Byrne and Jean-Jaques Perrey just dropped in once!) I was signed to a label, travelling and working with people who I greatly admired. I go past now and again. It's luxury flats and a bloody Starbucks now :( "

To the music. We start with Nitro Deluxe and a track that bridged the gap between eclectic clubs like the Opera House and the start of Acid House, a few years old but was still getting played years later on the scene. Cultural Vibe's 'Ma Foom Bey' had such a heavy slow sound, coupled with the African chanting it was the first time I'd heard a mix like this,..early Tony Humphries on the cut. Next up Sueno Latino, the first 'Balearic' track I came across, it would always send the floors into a trance wherever it was played. 'Voodoo Ray' was arguably the first UK 'Acid House' record, it sounded so fresh when it came out, fusing an almost 'electro' sound with the 303, people would always dance a certain way to that record, freaky like. Another UK record and Baby Ford’s 'Oochy Koochy', this was the straight up sound of the early scene to be sure. Next, one of several from Todd 'The God' Terry in his 'Black Riot' moniker. I loved this record so much I danced to it in a car park in Kingston once. 'Big Fun' was termed 'techno' on release,..seems funny now,..but it was also a big hit in the UK, Inner City even shot the video in London to capture the vibe of the time. Fallout's 'The Morning After' had that lovely, slightly melancholic vibe that always felt refreshing, especially early in the morning. Think Tank and WestBam, were those freaky records that would spin everyone out,..turning to a friend with a massive grin and gesturing,.."what the hell is this?!". Jungle Brothers get their 'House' in order next and then into more Todd product with a reworking of the classic 'Weekend'. Next, the all time hands in the air anthem of anthems, 'Let The Music Use You' just brought a super smiley, almost spiritual vibe to dance floors,..I think most DJ's tried to judge the 'peak' moment to drop it,..matey :) Next up, probably my favourite proper 'acid' track of all time, Bam Bam's 'Give It To Me',.. 25 years later I still can't decide if it's pure genius or complete rubbish, followed by two more ‘Acid Trax’ classics from Charles B and the mighty Adonis. Stakker next and the video game sampling 'Humanoid', another track with that distinctive UK sound, fusing break beats with acid and crazy samples that later spawned FSOL. KC Flightt bringing a hip hop vibe to house without the cheesy 'Hip-House' tag and into another mix of 'UK centric' elements with the Afro Acid mix of Mory Kante's 'Yeke Yeke',...and we finish on the upbeat sound of Longsy D and the reggae acid of 'This Is Ska',..yes mate.

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PART 3 + 4 - Hexstatic twitter.com/hexstatic

Nitro Deluxe _ Lets Get Brutal _ Cutting Recs
Cultural Vibe _ Ma Foom Bey _ Easy Street
Sueno Latino _ Sueno Latino _ DFC
A Guy Called Gerald _ Voodoo Ray _ Rham
Baby Ford _ Oochy Coochy _ Ford Trax
Black Riot _ A Day In The Life _ Champion
Inner City _ Big Fun _ BMG
Fallout _ The Morning After _ Azuli
Think Tank _ Hack One _ Glow
Westbam _ Monkey Say Monkey Do _ Low Spirit
Jungle Brothers _ I'll House You _ FFRR
Todd Terry Project _ Weekend _ Champion
The Nightwriters _ Let The Music Use You _ Jack Trac
Bam Bam _ Give It To Me _ Serious
Charles B _ Lack Of Love _ Desire
Adonis _ No Way Back _ Trax
Stakker _ Humanoid _ Jumpin and Pumpin
KC Flightt _ Planet E (House Mix) _ RCA
Mory Kante _ Yeke Yeke _ London
Longsy D _ This Is Ska _ Big One