The Search Engine

This article is about a studio album by DJ Food. For other uses, see Search engine (disambiguation).

The Search Engine
Studio album by
DJ Food
Released23 January 2012 (2012-01-23)
GenreElectronic
Length55:24
LabelNinja Tune
DJ Food chronology
Kaleidoscope
(2000) 		The Search Engine
(2012)

The Search Engine is a studio album by DJ Food, a music project of Kevin Foakes who is also known as Strictly Kev. It was released on Ninja Tune on 23 January 2012.[1] It is DJ Food's first studio album since Kaleidoscope (2000).[2] It includes contributions from The The vocalist Matt Johnson and Foetus' JG Thirlwell.[2]

Background

The album's cover art is an illustration by the comic book artist Henry Flint.[3] Kevin Foakes asked him to draw "a cosmonaut, hanging in space, strapped into an unfeasibly large backpack, the kind you could only wear in zero gravity."[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Clash5/10[6]
MusicOMH[7]
PopMatters6/10[8]
Record Collector[9]
The Skinny[10]
Spin4/10[11]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, The Search Engine received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 69 out of 100 from 7 critic scores.[4]

John Bergstrom of PopMatters stated, "If you have enjoyed previous DJ Food or Ninja Tune releases, The Search Engine has plenty of elements that will sound comfortingly familiar, if not exactly fresh at this stage."[8] Alan Ranta of Exclaim! commented that "The style is mature, intensely smoky and cinematic, recalling trip-hop, gamelan, vintage propaganda, film noir, sci-fi and stag films."[12] Phil Freeman of AllMusic stated, "Surprising as it may be, coming from masters of the quick-cut DJ collage, The Search Engine is a journey worth taking from beginning to end, uninterrupted."[5] Meanwhile, Will Salmon of Clash called it "a tired, conservative and weirdly insular album."[6]

Track listing

The Search Engine track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."All Covered in Darkness Pt. 1"
  • K. Foakes
  • K. Nordine
  • D. Dragon
4:23
2."Giant" (featuring Matt Johnson)M. Johnson8:30
3."Intermission: A New Language"P. Carpenter0:59
4."The Illectrik Hoax" (featuring Natural Self)
  • K. Foakes
  • N. Pearn
  • Ashton
  • Stansfield
  • Kaffinetti
  • Gould
3:42
5."Sentinel (Shadow Guard)" (featuring DK)
  • K. Foakes
  • D. Knott
3:26
6."Prey" (featuring JG Thirlwell)
  • K. Foakes
  • JG Thirlwell
4:04
7."In Orbit Every Monday"K. Foakes2:57
8."Outermission: Sheer Fiction"K. Foakes0:52
9."Percussion Map Pt. 1"K. Foakes3:18
10."Magpie Music" (featuring 2econd Class Citizen)
  • K. Foakes
  • A. Thomason
11:18
11."A Trick of the Ear"K. Foakes9:02
12."Colours Beyond Colours"K. Foakes2:53
Total length:55:24

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.[13]

  • Strictly Kev – music, mixing (7, 10)
  • Dr Rubberfunk – drums (1)
  • Jeff Knowler – remixing (1, 4), mixing (2, 5, 6, 9, 10), slide guitar (2)
  • Mike Pelanconi – remixing (1, 4)
  • Matt Johnson – guest appearance (2)
  • Mr. P – remixing (3)
  • Natural Self – guest appearance (4)
  • DK – guest appearance (5)
  • King Cannibal – mixing (5)
  • JG Thirlwell – guest appearance (6)
  • 2econd Class Citizen – guest appearance (10), mixing (10)
  • Bundy K. Brown – mixing (11)
  • Jon Reynolds – mixing (12)
  • Kevin Metcalfe – mastering
  • Openmind – design
  • Henry Flint – illustration
  • Will Cooper-Mitchell – photography

References

  1. ^ "The Final Frontier - DJ Food Interview". Clash. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b Lynch, Will (3 November 2011). "DJ Food compiles full-length for Ninja Tune". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b Montgomery, Angus (12 January 2012). "Comics, illustrations and music". Design Week. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b "The Search Engine by DJ Food". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b Freeman, Phil. "The Search Engine - DJ Food". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b Salmon, Will (18 January 2012). "DJ Food – The Search Engine". Clash. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  7. ^ Walsh, Fintan (23 January 2012). "DJ Food – The Search Engine". MusicOMH. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b Bergstrom, John (4 April 2012). "DJ Food: The Search Engine". PopMatters. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  9. ^ Needs, Kris (21 January 2012). "The Search Engine | DJ Food". Record Collector. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  10. ^ Wiseman, Sam (3 January 2012). "DJ Food – The Search Engine". The Skinny. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  11. ^ Sherburne, Philip (6 March 2012). "DJ Food, 'The Search Engine' (Ninja Tune)". Spin. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  12. ^ Ranta, Alan (7 February 2012). "DJ Food - The Search Engine". Exclaim!. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  13. ^ DJ Food (2012). The Search Engine (CD booklet). Ninja Tune.