Tales From A Disappearing City
Hosted from a South London tower block by Neil Keating aka Controlled Weirdness. Tales from a Disappearing City is a chance for Neil to tell some untold subcultural stories from past and present, joined by friends from his lifelong journey through subterranean London. Neil is a veteran producer and DJ and has been at the front line of all aspects of club and sound system culture since the early 80’s. His musical CV includes playing everywhere from plush clubs to dirty warehouses as well as mixing tunes on a variety of iconic London pirate radio stations. He has released music on numerous underground record labels and was responsible for promoting and playing at a series of legendary early raves in the USA at the start of the 90’s. He still DJ's in the UK and throughout Europe and beyond and has an eclectic and seriously deep collection of music built up over time that reflects an appreciation of all elements of the London groove. Neil currently runs Presence Unknown, a vinyl and digital label dedicated to releasing music influenced by his love of Electro, Acid House and Rave. He also does a fortnightly radio show live from Planet Wax record store in New Cross where his aim as always is to play you some amazing music that you have never heard before.
Tales From A Disappearing City
Episode 31 - Strictly Kev & DJ Food - special guest - Kevin Foakes
In this episode, Neil sits down with Kevin Foakes (aka Strictly Kev and DJ Food) - legendary DJ, graphic artist, and archivist of UK counterculture - for a deep dive into four decades of music, raves, graffiti, and psychedelic experimentation.
Kevin's journey is a masterclass in underground creativity, spanning from Adam and the Ants fandom to hip-hop graffiti, from acid house squats to Ninja Tune's golden era. After discovering hip-hop through the legendary Subway Art book, he traces his path into graffiti culture, documenting pieces in Westbourne Park and Ladbroke Grove, and recalls the pivotal Freestyle '85 hip-hop jam.
The conversation shifts to the rave and acid house years, where Kevin recounts his experiences raving at squats, founding the influential Telepathic Fish chill-out parties, and crossing paths with scene legends like Mixmaster Morris and Coldcut's Matt Black. He reflects on his design work for Ninja Tune, co-hosting the iconic Solid Steel radio show, and the label's legendary Stealth nights at Hoxton's Blue Note.
Along the way, Kevin shares vivid anecdotes about Megatripolis' psychedelic chaos, the record shop culture of Ambient Soho, and his current projects—including a Telepathic Fish compilation released in September 2024 and his forthcoming book on psychedelic light shows.
https://www.youtube.com/@ControlledWeirdness
https://open.spotify.com/artist/20nC7cQni8ZrvRC2REZjOI
https://www.instagram.com/controlledweirdness/
https://controlledweirdness.bandcamp.com/
Theme song is Controlled Weirdness - Drifting in the Streets
https://open.spotify.com/track/7GJfmYy4RjMyLIg9nffukt
Hosted from a South London tower block by Neil Keating aka Controlled Weirdness. Tales from a Disappearing City is a chance for Neil to tell some untold subcultural stories from past and present, joined by friends from his lifelong journey through subterranean London. Neil is a veteran producer and DJ and has been at the front line of all aspects of club and sound system culture since the mid 80’s when he first began to go to nightclubs, gigs, and illegal parties. His musical CV includes playing everywhere from plush clubs to dirty warehouses as well as mixing tunes on a variety of iconic London pirate radio stations. He has released music on numerous underground record labels and was responsible for promoting and playing at a series of legendary early raves in the USA at the start of the 90’s. He still DJ's in the UK and throu...
