Virgil Abloh Gets Busy for Solid Steel

While Virgil Abloh has been known for being everything from one of Kanye West's creative partners to being the genius behind Off-White, he's also been on his DJ grind as of late. That persistence has ended up with the Louis Vuitton Creative Director of Menswear getting an hour's worth of time for his exclusive Solid Steel mix, which he recorded in London.

"DJing in London is always a great time," Abloh says, "because I like to create a contemporary dialogue with the audience but also root it in vast history of the many sub-genres that makes London super unique."

This set features an interesting selection of tunes; everyone from Pearson Sound and Donae'o to Roy Davis Jr. and Boddika get some shine. Stream and download ASAP, and peep the tracklist below.

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Jon1st Mixes Down His Favorite Tunes of 2017 For Solid Steel

Like Solid Steel always does around this time, they've invited Jon1st back for his annual "best of" mix, throwing down ~60 minutes of his favorites from the year that was. He's keen with the turntablism, and we share some of the same vibes when it comes to music, so these are always a treat.

"This is the 2017 of my annual megamix series that I've been putting together since 2010," Jon1st says, "blending together some of my favorite records of the last 12 months" There's a lot going on in these mixes, traditionally, so you have to have a keen ear to catch all of the transitions and such.

Included in this mix is material from Om Unit, Sam Binga, Sinjin Hawke, Syd, Ivy Lab, Spectrasoul, Sinistarr, Mono/Poly, Zed Bias, and many, many more. Download and stream to your heart's delight.

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Trackstar the DJ's Solid Steel Mix Features His "Rare Appetite In Rap"

Those of you who've been rocking with us for the longest should be up on Trackstar the DJ. He's gone from an internets phenom to being named the official tour DJ for Run the Jewels, including being the DJ behind the WRTJ shows on Apple Music.

This week, he contributed one awesome hour-long mix for Solid Steel, and it's amazing. No, seriously, it's the truth, but let him tell it, he had a totally different idea for the mix.

"Originally I had other plans for a more conceptual mix," he starts, "but as I was telling The Gaslamp Killer about my ideas on our tour date in Belgium, he told me not to bother with any of them and instead do a mix displaying what he called "My Rare Appetite In Rap". I trust The Gaslamp Killer (as you should, too), so I immediately switched gears and started putting together a playlist of songs from the last half-decade or so that I love that many rap fans may have missed. It features some names you'll recognize as well as some that you may not… Hopefully you enjoy these tunes as much as I do, and maybe pick up a new favorite artist or two."

Featured artists include Killer Mike, Rockwell Knuckles, A$AP Twelvyy, Tef Poe, Vince Staples, and more. Stream and download the full mix, and check out the full tracklist down below.

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MJ Cole Drops a Stunning Mix of "Not Dance Music" For Solid Steel

While DJ mixes are some of the best ways to discover the sounds of dance music, that doesn't mean dance music DJs only want to play dance music. Case in point, UK garage legend MJ Cole. For his new Solid Steel set, he went left: "I weaved and meandered through my collection of not Dance Music," he told them, "and bound it together to form and hour of pianos, textures, voices and audio nuggets which together make my Solid Steel mix."

Featured in this set is material from Lapalux, Floating Points, Radiohead, Bonobo, and Cole himself. Stream, download, and chill out below.

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King Geedorah Unleashes His "Snake Charmer" Mix on Solid Steel

If you love mixes and radio shows like I do, you need to be keeping it locked to Solid Steel. It has always been the place for the Broadest Beats, and this week—as per usual—they highlight just how important this radio / mix series truly is.

In hour one, MF Doom's King Geedorah moniker steps up to the decks. If you remember, it was Ninja Tune's Big Dada imprint that released Geedorah's dynamic Take Me to Your Leader album in 2003; that project recently got re-issued, so Geedorah dropped this rare, exclusive set on them. There are a number of unreleased tracks on here, including new Paul Barman, JJ DOOM, and even a flip of DJ Khaled's "I Got the Keys." So slick.

Don't leave just yet, though. Jon1st returns for his 2016 best-of mix; for those who remember, he did a similar one back in 2015. His set features over 60 tracks that got dropped in 2016, including personal favorites from Zed Bias, Diemantle, Sinistarr, Ivy Lab, Alix Perez, and more. With Jon1st being a true DJ's DJ, don't expect this to just be drop fi drop; he really gets things going in this set.

You can stream Geedorah's mix right here, and check out Jon1st's set down below.

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Coldcut and Adrian Sherwood Inna Dub Meltdown

I don't know if I've said it before, but I'll damn sure say it again: if it wasn't for the work Coldcut has put in over the years, I'm not sure if I'd be as well-versed in the sounds of the world as I have been. These two DJs have been doing it for decades, finding a way to go from being the cut-up masters to exposing the world to numerous sounds; everything from hip-hop to jazz to jungle to reggae has fallen under their razors, being sliced, diced, and ultimately dissected by lovers of sound like myself.

To celebrate the release of their new EP Only Heaven (which features the likes of Roses Gabor, Roots Manuva, and the mighty Switch), these two decided to hit the weekly Solid Steel radio show with a reggae-fied, dub-wise hour of a mix, featuring cuts from Lee "Scratch" Perry, King Tubby, The Upsetters, and many more. Not to leave anyone else out, they aligned with the legend Adrian Sherwood, who runs On-U Sound and has worked with Coldcut, Pinch, and others, helping put his stamp on the UK dub/reggae scene. Adrian took over Hour 2 with "a selection of unreleased ,forthcoming and relatively unknown and difficult to find On-U Sound productions / co-productions and a taster of the Coldcut/Onu collaboration , plus a Dub Plate from Ireland's finest, RiRa."

You can stream and download both mixes after the jump

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Mighty Atom Recreates DJ Shadow's 'Endtroucing' With His Tribute Mix

One of the most important albums in my personal musical journey was DJ Shadow's Endtroducing, which was release 20 years ago. I remember getting it that year for Christmas and being enamored by the way he weaved his sample-based sound in this way. I'd not felt that way since Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation..., and have held this album in high regard ever since.

To celebrate its release, Mighty Atom does the same thing he did for De La Soul, Beck, and The Beastie Boys and recreated Endtroducing track by track, sample by sample, on some real destroy and rebuild shit. It's an intriguing way to revisit this album, especially when you realize that sometimes it's just a quick line or sound from a song that I'd never heard before. Mighty Atom should be applauded for this, but truthfully, it's amazing to see how deep Shadow went in making this album.

You can stream and download the mix below, and for a dope throwback, here's an episode of Solid Steel circa 2000 where Coldcut interviewed Shadow and the Quannum crew.

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DJ Food Debuts Third "Future Shock" Mix on Solid Steel

Back in 2014, DJ Food kicked off his "Future Shock" mix series, which combined a grip of retro-y electronic/sci-fi tracks in a style he cleverly described as "Music from the Future you remember from your Past." The second mix hit in March of 2015, and this week, he dropped the third edition on Solid Steel.

Loads of ill sounds on here, including bits from Gil Scott Heron, Boards of Canada, The Human League, and even "The Imperial March." Get right to this.

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EPROM's Solid Steel Mix Might Murder Your Bassbins

Just so we're clear, EPROM is one of my favorite producers doing it right now. There's something about the fuzzy, gut-wrenching bass he puts on his tunes that gets me every time. Dude's great as a solo artist, but also has a project with Alix Perez (SHADES) that has been doing it for me as well (keep it locked for their forthcoming EP on Alix's 1985 Music imprint).

For this new mix from EPROM, he not only drops a host of material from his recently-released Samurai EP, but he drops new SHADES material, some of his older remixes, and even a bunch of unreleased solo productions. This is one to bang out to, trust.

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Moneyshot and Cheeba Pay Tribute to Beck's 'Odelay' With This Stunning Mixtape

The last time we posted a mix from Moneyshot and Cheeba was roughly six months ago, and it was their last Solid Steel set, paying tribute to the Golden Era of hip-hop. This week, in tribute to Beck's dynamic album Odelay (which turned 20 years old on June 18), Moneyshot and Cheeba did a SUPER deep dive into Beck's material around that time, culling "samples, remixes, influences and references involved in the LP, with exclusive narration from Dust Brother, Mike Simpson."

It's an impressive hour, and something you need in your weekend playlist. Even better, the dynamic duo will be taking this show on the road in the audio-visual adaptation they're calling "Four Turntable and a Microphone."

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Ivy Lab Turn It Up For Solid Steel

Ivy Lab, aka the trio known as Sabre, Stray, and Halogenix, have been doing the damn thing for a minute, bridging the gap between the drum & bass that they got known for originally/individually and the heavyweight, bass-driven downtempo amazingness they've created as a unit. One of my favorite sounds right now, and I'm loving that they got to flex for Solid Steel.

There's a LOT going on in this mix, with the lofi sound being mixed with more raw jungle/footwork tings. They even included Mr. Carmack's "lonelyfuckingsamurai" and their rework of Cam'ron's "Oh Boy." You NEED this mix.

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Terror Danjah Showcases the Strength of the Grime Scene in New Solid Steel Mix

Trying to understand how powerful the grime scene is in 2016? Interested in how it compares to the dancehall riddim scene? Listen to the first four minutes of Terror Danjah's new set for Solid Steel. Dope to hear heads going in on that "Juicy Patty" riddim, and after that it's just tune fi tune fi tune. Slew dem, then cop Terror Danjah's new single; it's well wicked.

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Cheeba & Moneyshot Release a Golden Era Hip-Hop Mix for Solid Steel

Every week, Solid Steel intrigues me with their DJ selection. This week is no different, as Cheeba and Moneyshot link up for an hour of bangers dedicated to the Golden Era of Hip-Hop. What's even iller is that they made sure to blend up acapellas and instrumentals from different cuts.

Word is this mirrors their "Return To The Boom Bap" tour, which found the DJ duo repping on four A/V decks, mixing up vintage rap videos. Pretty impressive.

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Slackk - Solid Steel (1/16/2015)

In the mood for some instrumental UK grime? I'd recommend checking out Slackk, who recently went in the mix for Solid Steel with a huge batch of dubs.

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Solid Steel (12/06/2013)

DK for hour 1, Mr. Scruff for hour two. If you want to learn more about this fabulous show and mix series, check out Joe Muggs' expansive piece for FACT.

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Solid Steel (3/08/2013)

DK and J Rocc on the same show?! Happy Friday, indeed! Tracklist after the jump.

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The Herbaliser On Solid Steel (10/26/2012)

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Caught In The Middle of A 3-Way Mix: DJ Cheeba, DJ Moneyshot & DJ Food

DJ Cheeba, DJ Moneyshot and DJ Food did something magical for this week's Solid Steel show: "Solid Steel in association with Serato (31st August) 3 years ago Solid Steel DJs Cheeba, Moneyshot and Food had the idea of collaborating on a version of the Beastie Boys‘ ‘Paul’s Boutique’ album made entirely from the original sample sources, shortly after Moneyshot aired his mix of their ‘Check Your Head’ album in the same way.

Finally the result is here, titled ‘Caught In The Middle Of A 3-Way Mix’ - each of them have taken a third of the album to work on and combined their efforts into a mix that will make you hear it in a new way. Aside from the original sample sources they’ve included commentary from the Beasties, vintage interviews, demo versions and much more.

The mix was over half way completed when they heard the tragic news of MCA‘s death in May so the impetus to finish it was instantly doubled and new meaning given to the project. It goes without saying that this is also a tribute to Adam Yauch and the legacy he left behind and we hope it will be embraced by Beastie fans around the globe."

DOWNLOAD | STREAM

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Four Tet - Solid Steel Radio Show (8/17/2012)

What you see in that picture is the vinyl used in Four Tet's mix for Solid Steel this week. I believe he's not been on the program since 2001, so it makes sense for him to go in something special. No full tracklist, but he definitely drops some Herbie Hancock, Don Cherry, Stanley Clarke and much more.

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Solid Steel (2/03/2012)

Turn the sound off the Super Bowl and let this be the soundtrack. Seriously. Coldcut provides parts 1-3, with Slugabed guesting for Part 4.

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