Blog (2008-2018)

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We are living in a material world. Here are two fruits of Beyond Digital, a gorgeous CD and a cassette, available for purchase here.

The debut CD of Imanaren is a lovely thing. We re-released this digitally on Dutty Artz, but here, exclusive and for the first time, is a very limited edition of the original physical CD, produced in Morocco by Hassan Wargui. (These CDs don’t play well with all drives, so purchase comes with a download link to the Dutty Artz digital version; you can burn up a lossless CD if yours doesn’t play well.)

For an introduction to Imanaren, read (the amazing) Nina Power’s review in The Wire or check out this video — a brief interview with Wargui followed by the album’s first track.

I’ve also got a few copies of the Palm Wine – Dreamachine / Beyond Digital mix cassette. This is great project initiated by artist Simone Bertuzzi. One side features his field recordings from northern Morocco including excerpts from the Master Musicians of Joujouka Festival. (For in-depth observations on the Jajouka/Joujouka phenomenon, try my essay for The National, “Past Masters.”) The tape’s flip side contains a b2b selection Maga Bo & I assembled while traveling on trains across Morocco. Our contribution is unmixed (it’s like an old school cassette you may have made for friends way back when…). Simone has a detailed writeup about the entire project here. My side starts off with the magical Luzmilla Carpio, and this is a 2-minute excerpt from Side A, Simone’s Dreamachine field recordings:
Palm Wine “Dreamachine mix” [2 min. excerpt] by Palm Wine

Please note: if you’d live outside of the U.S. and would like to order the Palm Wine cassette, please do it directly from the Palm Wine blog. This order form allows for U.S. purchases of the Imanaren + Palm Wine, and rest-of-world purchases of the Imanaren.

Make sure you use the dropdown form to select which item(s) you want and whether your location is US or rest-of-world. Shukran.


prices include shipping




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First off, friends at El Proyecto Sonidero have just released a free book on Mexican ‘sonidero’ sound system culture. Go get it!

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This Wednesday at 8pm on WFMU, USC professor Josh Kun will join me on Mudd Up!, to discuss the current wave of hyperviolent Mexican drug ballads (largely produced in L.A., it turns out) and to examine the question ‘why aren’t other songs being sung?’ Kun is a rare academic who manages to do inspirational work both in & out of the academy — such as TED-talking with Ozomatli, curating the Grammy Museum’s current exhibition Trouble in Paradise: Music and Los Angeles 1945-1975, and doing smart, passionate writing about Tijuana & the complex membrane that is the US-Mexico border. His knowledge of Mexican music goes deep… So tune in! Wednesday night, 8-9pm WFMU 91.1FM, streaming at wfmu.org.

If you are unfamiliar with contemporary Mexican corridos in light of the drug war, Kun’s recent essay on what he’s termed ‘necrocorridos,’ is a good place to start. As is this video from Movimiento Alterado, where catchy and lush horn production sparkles alongside bejeweled bulletproof vests as the ‘Sanguinarios del M1’ sing from the assassin’s bloody viewpoint and proudly name the narcos they work for.

And check out the first few minutes of the Kun-Ozomatli “Edge of Urban Identity” TED talk jam! Josh on the mic, talking about the new gospel of the monkey (“One of the 20 figures on the ancient ritual Mexican calendar, the monkey sported an ear-ring and wore a crew cut. He was a shapeshifter, a transformer, a changeling…”) It’s great:

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Spank Rock, Hypnotic Brass, Hudson Mohawk, Novalima, Aidonia, Jahdan Blakkamoore, Popcaan, STS, Scuba, Brenmar, new Shabazz, Astral Social Club, and more – leading up to the voice I can’t get out of my head, Horace Andy. In other words: we went in deep during last night’s Mudd Up! radio.
And we’ll get even deeper next week with guest Josh Kun – more on that in a minute. Until then:

tracklist after the jump
(more…)

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PopGun Presents…

Sat, February 11th @ The Glasslands Gallery

$7 ADV, $7 DOS
TICKETS AT: http://ticketf.ly/xSnTkw

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CLICKS & WHISTLES
http://soundcloud.com/clicksandwhistles

Rx
http://www.rxbass.com/

LAMIN FOFANA
http://soundcloud.com/laminfofana

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21+, Doors at 11:30pm

$7 ADV, $7 DOS
TICKETS AT: http://ticketf.ly/xSnTkw

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/events/152928728154430/

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It’s been over a year since Jeremy Harding called the one they call Di Genius to set up an interview for me. Stephen McGregor is, of course, the son of famed artiste Freddy McGregor, but he built his own lane producing some of the most innovative dancehall of this millennium, taking over his fathers Big Ship studio and turning it into a hit factory. His style melded perfectly with upandcomer Mavado – whose “Weh Dem A Do“- made me start checking compulsively for Stephen’s productions around 05/06. I have great video of him and his crew going off to unreleased Shadetek riddims and talking about why he keeps an open bible on his mixing desk- but until I get around to editing that shit- enjoy the interview tracked out by question below and stay locked for interviews with Ward21, Natalie Storm + more.

When your working on new projects – do you distinguish between what will be big in the Jamaican market vs the foreign market?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_Question-1.mp3|titles=DiGenius_Question 1]

Wa Dem A Do- which is the first riddim you built that I heard in NY- has this crazy cinematic density- but since then it seems like you have been hitting on all bases- why move away from the sound you built?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_DiGenius_Question-2edit.mp3|titles=DiGenius_Question 2]

Who are contemporary producers that you look up to? I hear neptunes and early timbaland, but who else are you checking for?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q3.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q3]

Are there young producers or other producers that you work with, or is it just vocalists that you keep in your camp?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q4.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q4]  

Whats the deal with the Island Pop sound that is dominating the radio right now in JA?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q5.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q5]

What do you think about the fact that anyone with a computer can download a cracked copy of Fruity Loops and start building riddims ?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q6.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q6]

How much do you think radio payolla affects what tunes get big or make it onto rotation?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q7.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q7]

You’ve pretty consistently had your riddims on the charts for the last couple years- how many riddims are you building a week, and how many of those ever get voiced?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q8.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q8]

Can you describe the process from building a riddim to finishing a riddim pack goes?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q9.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q9]

Is there anything outside of hip-hop and dancehall that you check for? Are you listening to trance and house directly or just hearing their influence through rap?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q10.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q10]

Do you think your work ethic seperates you from other producers, or young musicians?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q11.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q11]

Some artists claim not to listen to the radio or other media- but you say you like to keep up with whatevers new?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q12.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q12]

What’s your process when you start to build a new riddim?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q13.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q13]

Besides Jeremy (who manages Stephen)- whose the team at bigship and Di Genuis recordings?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q14.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q14]

Given your success as a producer- why push to voice more of your own riddims?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q15.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q15]

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Originally posted on Mudd Up

This Wednesday, with the all-volunteer help of Spectacle Theater’s Akiva, Cassie D, and Zoe S, and WFMU’s Mike A, Bill B, and Dave E, we were able to continue our strange and occasionally bumpy journey down the path of live radio built from video clips & staged before an audience.

It’s an uncanny performance mode, talking to a roomful of bodies seated before Spectacle’s screen but knowing that many many more are listening at home, and attempting to create a path that works for both. Feels ‘experimental’ in the word’s basic sense: something for which the process and its possible outcomes aren’t yet established.

For the first of these radio-Spectacle nights, I screened Khaled & Cheb Mami rai comedy 100% Arabica, then in December it was Nass El Ghiwane documentary Transes.

And this Wednesday, on the first day of Black Mystery Month, I teamed up with Lamin Fofana, Chief Boima, and Old Money to host AFRO-SPECTACLE, two hours of live radio constructed entirely from DVDs & VCDs purchased in African-run stores in New York City, followed by a screening of Nollywood-NYC film God’s Own Country.

You can stream the broadcast portion of the evening here. Kola nuts, beer, and a crowd of friends are recommended to help recreate the in-room experience at Spectacle:

Are here are two selections from the evening: a jam Lamin & I have been into forever, a perfect song basically, based on an international collaboration between Sékouba Bambino & Kandia Kouyaté.(Lamin’s Brooklyn-purchased video version had much higher quality that this youtubery, alas.)

And my contribution to AFRO-SPECTACLE, a Don Cornelius homage in the form of David Bowie performing ‘Fame’ on Soul Train.

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You’ve got three days left to support the BEST MUSIC WRITING book series as it makes the leap into independent publishing – via a smart Kickstarter project. As much as I love tweeting and torrenting and blogs and “post-scarcity” blahblah and the tumblr-sprawl, I also really love seeing readers and writers and music lovers come together to build something substantial, which is what series editor Daphne Carr has done time & time again with BMW.

For me, one of the real pleasures of BMW lies in experiencing the sheer variety of people’s takes on music contained in each one; reading BMW always expands the way I think about musical worlds and reacting to them with language. (Full disclosure, I’ve been included twice – EVEN MORE REASON TO GIVE THESE FINE PEOPLE MONEY). So. Let’s keep those books burning!

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Last night’s radio show provided a particularly serpentine path through the fields of decentertainment, although sometimes things feel stranger than they actually are. Maybe always. End of show went elegy for Greek director Theo Angeloupolos, airing several selections from his long-time collaborator, Eleni Karaindrou. Streaming now:


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Brian DeGraw generously took the time to listen back and reconstruct his set list from the January 18th show. GGD’s BGD was really working with the mixer and FX (I brought my Pioneer DJM-800 for the occasion); here are the raw ingredients:

the KLF- Dream Time in Lake Jackson
Luciano- Los Ninos de Fuera
Lift Boys- Anarchy Village
Ku-Bo- Dingo Riddim
Joker- U Been Beta(demo version)
D Double E- Streetfighter Riddim
Javier Estrada- Crazy Indian
Nyamwezi (tribe)- Manyanga 2
Sonny Sharrock- Black Woman
Drumline Soundtrack
Paper Route Gangstaz- Woodgrain
Zomby- Digital Fauna
Debruit- Nigeria What?
Onipa Nua- I Feel Alright
Eski Instrumental
the KLF- Dream Time in Lake Jackson

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This February edition of Sweat Lodge we’ve got a special guest for Sweat Lodge all the way from Colombia by way of London.  Isa GT has been a friend of the DA crew for a while now and making and releasing some awesome music. I first met her a few years ago at SXSW when she decided to jump on the mic and MC a little during my set at the Peligrosa / Tormenta Tropical party. It was outside on a patio and I played between Dubble Dutch and NguzuNguzu (before I knew DD!) and it was the first time I heard El Bebe Ambiente by NguzuNguzu. Suffice to say it was awesome and in the process Isa made a big impression on me with her personality. Actually here’s a picture, w/ everyone I mentioned plus Peligrosa madman and homie Orion. My arm looks like a weird snake but really that’s some historic shit right there. I’m happy to say we’ve connected the dots and here she is in NYC!
>> FACEBOOK RSVP <<

Isa GT at Dutty Artz Sweat Lodge February 2012

Here’s a flavor of what she does, she’s going to do some performing and some DJing at the party.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONS0zpHhSlE&list=UUqzHtldOq7kjQukobhou0aw&index=12&feature=plcp[/youtube]

˙∆ INFOS ∆˙

DUTTY ARTZ SWEAT LODGE

 

Isa GT *LIVE/DJ* from Colombia via UK

DJs:

DJ /Rupture

Geko Jones

Matt Shadetek

 

Friday Feb. 10th 10PM-4AM

$$ FREE $$ ADMISSION

at The Cove, 108 N. 6th St, Brooklyn NY.  Take the L train to Bedford or G to Lorimer and walk.