In this episode I look back on producing The Beat Oracle for 20 years. The mix includes 20 songs chronologically placed from each of those years. I’ve included show notes below describing each song’s selection and placement in the history of the show.
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08/25/2019
DJ Food – Nocturne (Sleep Dyad 1) – 2000
DJ Food’s Strictly Kev was a primary creative force behind Coldcut & Ninja Tune’s Solid Steel Radio by the year 2000. That show lived up to its tagline, “The Broadest Beats.” It was one of the first radio shows that I streamed online from the UK that opened my mind to a whole world of underground music. On any given week Solid Steel featured hip-hop, electronic, dub, ambient, soul, funk, and everything in between. They had a lot of guest DJs, but I got most excited when DJ Food would step up to the decks. Kaleidoscope, released in 2000, showed off an extraordinarily deep library of musical inspiration through use of samples across many genres to create something distinct and complete.
I jumped at the chance to produce my own future music show when I got the chance to take the reins of an already long-standing hip-hop and electronic show at my college radio station (ACRN) in 2000. So, I began my two decades working on The Beat Oracle.
Lali Puna – Bi-Pet – 2001
I discovered Lali Puna in 1999, which led to a longstanding obsession the many artists aligned with the Morr Music label out of Berlin. Joseph produced a great episode in May celebrating this sound. Their combination of shoegaze production, pop songwriting, and electronic sensibilities had an impact on future music around the world. Lali Puna was one of the leaders of this charge. Their 2001 sophomore album Scary World Theory is nothing short of monumental. Totally affecting stuff.
Boards of Canada – Julie and Candy – 2002
Boards of Canada’s sound is wholly creative and unique. There have been many imitators since, but every time the duo releases new music you are guaranteed to be in for a classic. This was certainly true when their sophomore full-length for Warp Records, Geogaddi, was released in 2002. A beautiful and colorful gatefold heavy triple-vinyl package signaled the inner psychedelia that’s found on this essential record, but it didn’t prepare us for how dark and deep the inside of these songs would go.
By the end of 2002 Ruckus Roboticus and DJ Barticus joined our weekly radio operation at ACRN.
Broadcast – Before We Begin – 2003
Broadcast is another group whose sound belongs to their own creative minds. Haha Sound is a perfect record from start to finish. Trish Kennan’s lyrics and delivery offer balance to the distorted 60’s musical vibes with a steady layer of analog synthesizers. Timeless music.
Madvillain – Accordian – 2004
Madvillain is a project bringing together Madlib’s dusty productions and MF DOOM’s sublime rhymes. Their debut collaborative LP Madvillainy is one of the best hip-hop albums of all time and embodies a sound that we gravitate towards at The Beat Oracle.
2004 marked the show’s first move, from ACRN to KCSB in Southern California. Madlib hailed from nearby Ventura, and the KCSB stacks always had early access to his new music coming out of Stones Throw Records.
Magnétophone – Kel’s Vintage Thought – 2005
The music from Magnétophone’s two 4AD albums I Guess Sometimes I Need to Be Reminded of How Much You Love Me (2000) and The Man Who Ate the Man (2005) were in constant rotation in the early 2000s at The Beat Oracle. This duo’s releases immediately take me back to sitting in the KCSB studios late at night with my co-host Noah in our 3-6am shifts. The Beat Oracle launched its online podcast in the Spring of 2015. That summer, Apple released a new version of iTunes with podcast support and included The Beat Oracle as one of the only shows in the “Music” category of their podcast directory, bringing the show to a global audience far beyond the SoCal FM airwaves.
Juana Molina – Un Beso Llega – 2006
2006[...]