On January 18th, 2004, Strictly Kev (aka DJ Food) premiered a masterpiece mix of music taken from the latter half of the 20th century. Titled 'Raiding the 20th Century - A History of the Cut-up', it aired on XFM in London and was a 40-minute mix-and-mash from all corners of the aural landscape. It became so popular that the demand for it caused a complete server crash at boomselection.info when they hosted a copy of it after airing.

It's an amazing piece of work, more than just a mix, more than just a mash-up... sometimes with several layers all working together. Will Smith on top of The Who, with a dash of Black Sabbath makes for a tasty sonic dish! And just when you think it's all music and mixes, it slows down, takes a breath and lets us listen to interviews and stories before ramping back up into mania.

After the release, Strictly Kev read 'Words & Music' by Paul Morley and was surprised to see how the book mirrored many sections of 'Raiding'. Not to mention that Morley had coined the phrase 'Raiding the 20th Century' nearly two decades ago for a future Art of Noise project.

What was left to do but collaborate with Morley and make the definitive document on the history of the cut-up? And thus, 'Raiding the 20th Century Redux' was born. The new version was re-mixed, re-arranged and expanded to a full hour with passages from Morley's book read by the author and more in-depth interviews from prominent 20th century music-makers. Exactly one year after the original version aired on XFM, the redux became available to the public. It has a lot more of a documentary feel, but is no less energetic or engaging.

I hope you enjoy them both, they're much-loved staples of my music collection. They're long pieces, but think of them as a sonic journey where you sit back and enjoy the scenery.

(Background information on both pieces gathered from ubuweb:sound)