DJ Food Kaleidoscope Companion

The pandemic and subsequent lockdown has been a time for us all to rustle through our belongings and archives, often with the sole intention of throwing things away. In the case of DJ Food (AKA Kevin Foakes), it was a time to explore old and familiar recordings from the turn of the century with collaborator PC (AKA Patrick Carpenter). Using the 2000 Ninja Tune release Kaleidoscope as a reference point, DJ Food (now just Foakes) discovered a treasure trove of forgotten mixes and tracks that were excluded from the original album.

Now coming out as an impressive four-coloured vinyl release as well as digital, it contains the lost originals alongside hidden reinterpretations. Starting with the Kosmische sounds of ‘The Ents Go To War’, the swirling electronic sounds are a long way from the original jazzy funk breaks of the original DJ Food sound when Coldcut made the group into a quartet. This is one of those albums that sounds like it was created for a film that doesn’t exist, and given Carpenter and Foakes’ cinematic influences and visual ways of working, it's obvious that a massive melting pot of influences were the undercurrent for both when working on this project.

‘The Crow’ is eerily beautiful, with a sound from outer space that just seems utterly timeless, while you can imagine ‘See Saw’ soundtracking a 1960s Harry Palmer espionage thriller. ‘Boohoo’ continues that cinematic theme with a John Barry-esque piece that’s flawless in atmosphere and composition. In terms of a pandemic ‘sort out’ the pair found more than they bargained for – thankfully we get to share those spoils.