Coldcut first started Solid Steel back in 1988 on the London pirate station Kiss FM. Jonathan More had been involved with the station since it’s inception in 1985 hosting the Meltdown parties. Matt Black joined in early 1987 with his Mixmaster Dance Party. As Coldcut, they joined forces to present the fledgling Solid Steel. It soon became a regular event as listeners tuned in religiously to tape their weekly fix of audio madness. Coldcut ran Solid Steel on Kiss FM right up until spring 1999, winning a 1996 Sony Award for Specialist Show along the way From its inception Solid Steel presented arguably the finest and most diverse selection of music to be heard on one radio show. The emphasis is on mixing many styles seemlessly, from jazz to electronic oddities, from hip hop to poetry. There are no records or styles deemed unnacceptable, even a children’s story has featured in one particularly wigged out show. Another unique element is the way 100’s of spoken word samples are used to tie the music together, a style often imitated but never bettered elsewhere on radio. Each mix becomes a mini masterpiece. |Solid Steel has innovated, shocked and, on occasion, annoyed (which is what the best radio is all about). Guests have included Jean Jacques Perry, De La Soul, Tortoise, DJ Shadow, David Axelrod, Squarepusher, Company Flow and Alec Empire (and people still get dewy-eyed over the historic Coldcut versus The Orb special from back in 1992). It’s popularity and uniqueness has also led to radio syndications all around the world. The show is currently broadcast in over 20 countries from Slovakia to New Zealand, from America to Poland, and syndicated on the Student Broadcast Network across the UK. The show is also available on the internet and there is a lively trade on the Ninja forum and of course the scene, swapping tapes of shows from all eras of the programme and even websites devoted solely to solidifying steel. It is a beautiful and edifying thing. “SS is kinda like the big brother you want to get you into cool music before your friends hear about it!” - Alan Cain (Listener) |
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