Blog (2008-2018)

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first posted at Mudd Up!

Today I’m going to host WNYC’s Soundcheck from 2-3pm on 93.9FM, then at night – tonight, Wednesday June 23rd – I’ll switch into my DJ /rupture costume and shake up the Que Bajo party.

Tropical enthusiasts will not be disappointed: humid city, rich old cumbias, synthed-up new beats, we got you covered. Geko Jones and I trading off all evening. Santos Party House, $5, 11pm. Village Voice writeup.

para empezar: a nice ‘Cumbia de la Playa’ version, group unknown:

[audio:http://negrophonic.com/mp3/Cumbia_de_la_Playa.mp3]

? – Cumbia

and a 6-minute medley from Ecuadorean genius, Polibio Mayorga. Mayorga’s telltale bounce goes through subtle musical shifts as shouts of encouragement animate a real or imaginary dancefloor. The guy who gave me this CD was worried that, back home, it was old people’s music – but, he said, it would get them dancing every time. There’s little bass in the original; you need to boost the low-end to get an idea of how it’s supposed to sound. “Bass weight”, in dubstep parlance…

I have a wonderful life-affirming Polibio Mayorga / soundsystem hoarding story from Mexico City, will share soon.

[audio:http://negrophonic.com/mp3/Polibio_Mayorga-medley .mp3]

Polibio Mayorga – medley

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cross-posted to Mudd Up!
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I’m pleased to announce that I will be guest-hosting a few episodes of WNYC’s Soundcheck this week! WNYC is New York’s flagship public radio/NPR station, and Soundcheck is the daily talk show about music. I’ve been on twice as a guest – once with Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein discussing myth & mystery in music in relation to our inclusion in the Best Music Writing 2009 book, and once for a live performance (which got bungled by the head of the label who put out Uproot, alas).

This Wednesday and Thursday, however, I’ll be hosting the show while regular presenter John Schaefer escapes NYC’s current heatwave on vacation somewhere undoubtedly nicer. You can tune into the live broadcast on 93.9 FM from 2-3pm, or catch the various incarnations as online stream, podcast, 10pm rebroadcast, etc.

Check Soundcheck’s site for information on the guests and live performers I’ll be speaking with. (Hint: undead Paul McCartney).

The following infographic should answer any additional inquiries you might have:

radconf01

Radio – freely available music & talk about music delivered locally to anyone with access to a cheap FM receiver – played a huge role in my musical upbringing (I’m remembering high school evenings spent taping shows beamed out from Boston’s college stations); it’s an honor and a pleasure to participate with the Soundcheck team.

Further left on the dial, you’ll find WFMU 91.1 FM entering its summer season, where my weekly show maintains the 7pm Monday night slot. Tonight’s episode was fun…

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Dutty Artz own mr_blakkamoore is ramping up for the release of his new album Babylon Nightmare coming soon on Lustre Kings and brings us this excellent podcast mixtape for a teaser: Global Warning (click here to download). Me and Liondub, who I produced ‘The General’ with contributed a remix of Jahdan’s ‘Songs of Love’ the first single for the new album.  There’s a bunch of great stuff on here including some exclusives from Digital Ancient aka Andrew Moon Bain and a feature from Baja of Dry Eye Crew and Delie from Noble Society.  Check out the post over at Largeup.com for a little bio of Jahdan and enjoy the mix.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgeyVE3NHJM[/youtube]

Check 1:40 for the real moment(s) of clarity here.

Dutty Artz is a book club. You might have thought we were a record label- given that we’re releasing tracks every month and constantly feeding the internet with audio files- but it goes a lot deeper then that. If you want to be part of the club, you should read Octavia Butler’s Parable of The Sower. If you’re not in the Northern Hemisphere- you might want to wait until Summer, caus this one is dark, and if read before bed, almost guaranteed to induce the vivid nightmares that lodge in your psyche for days before revealing themselves as dreams and not memories.

We’re scrambling just like everyone else right now- trying to figure out what it means to be a record label in an era where recorded digital media has no value- and the only people making money are slicing off pounds of flesh to get branded. You’ll see us move in that direction too. It’s inevitable. Hopefully we can do it without losing too much respect. Until then you can find me steady dreaming of new distribution paradigms as we pass each other printed relics.

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[cross-posted to Mudd Up!]

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[???? – Cleveland Museum of Art calendar screenshot]

Regrettably, I can’t understand or link to anything particularly useful on the Cleveland Museum of Art’s calendar/CMS/blog, but I am happy to say that I’ll be DJing a midnight set at this Saturday’s summer solstice party (whose pricing system resists simple understanding), taking an increasingly crunk crowd into darkness on the longest night of the year. I play til close so we’ll have time to sink deep. Also on the bill, Javelin, Phenomenal Handclap Band, Omar Souleyman, etc.

Omar Souleyman plays dabke, and if you like his SubFreq-filtered brand of Syrian wedding folk-techno you should get yrself to a nearby Arabic Music Shop, because dabke is a hugely popular genre in several countries, and you’ll find gems like this 14-minute flute-float party number, here chopped off midway because I’m saving the best half for my Arabic mixtape, which will be coming “soon”.

I love all languages countries and people that have words or phrases for different denominations of ‘now’ and subtle variations of ‘soon’, like in Mexican Spanish with its ahora and ahorita.

Where where we? Brooklyn. Andy Moor bought this CD in Bay Ridge. It’s either Palestinian or Syrian. The cellphone/music store has either sold or removed the ceramic black Sambo figurines it had on sale.

[audio:http://negrophonic.com/mp3/MuddUpUnknown-lovely_flute.mp3]

Mudd Unknown – lovely flute

& here’s another song I might play. Latin fight song! A 128bpm banger from Papi Sanchez, Dominican in Miami, complete with ragga English language intro courtesy of Shabakan. Drop this at the right time & place and you will be rewarded. Or bottled. Maybe both.

00-va-promo only tropical latin february-2010-front

[audio:http://negrophonic.com/mp3/papi_sanchez_ft._shabakan-guayamo_o_peliamo.mp3]

Papi Sanchez feat. Shabakan – Guayamo’ o Peliamo’

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So how else was I supposed to up two weeks with my man Chief Boima at Que Bajo?! than by bringing the king of the Afrobeat meets 80’s freestyle. Live set from the band plus one of Brooklyn’s best kept secret DJ’s Reaganomics is gonna make it rain on ya, tropical monsoon style.

WEDS JUNE 16th

Santos Party House

Doors @ 11pm

$5 before Midnight $10 After

Shout Outs to Erik Marika-Rich for the best GIF Flyer ever.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG_MZJeWy9Y[/youtube]

New hotness from New York homies Cubic Zirconia feat. our boy in South Afrika Mr. Ghost Bones himself Spoek Mathambo.  I’ve known lead singer Tiombe Lockhart for a while now ever since me and Zack released a track of hers on Shadetek Records (back when that was still a going concern) and always loved her singing.

Now she’s teamed up with Nick Hook and the rest of the Cubic Zirconia fam to form this band project and they are killing it a lot.  I got to play with them and hang with them at SXSW this year and they put on a killer show.  Sort of house music with a band (for lack of a better term) really fun live and Tiombe is a super charismatic front-woman.

The video is on some ill Orson Welles one-shot auteur film making shit directed by Khalil Joseph and looks like a million bucks although knowing that Cubic are on a similar DIY go-for-self vibe as we are and releasing on their label I’m guessing it didn’t cost that.  Download this minimix from their new Black and Blue EP and vote with your dollars to support good independent music on Tuesday June 15th when it drops.

Their release party is this Tuesday June 15th at Damon Dash Gallery (?!) with an art opening to boot.  Flier:

This, their previous video ‘Josephine’ is crazy too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VKxzO-tRY8[/youtube]

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My new solo instrumental album Flowers is out!  YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

It took me a while to get this out, longer than I’d like considering it’s on my own label but now it’s out and it feels GOOD!  I love completing projects.  But it’s not done!  Now I have to actually sell some copies!  If you or your grandma or your friends on the internet would like to support the Dutty Artz movement and contribute to the cause of me buying diapers, catfood and continuing my lavish lifestyle for me and my young family that would be great!  There are many places to buy it.  Here is a list:

BUY MATT SHADETEK – FLOWERS:

Boomkat:
This is probably a good option if you want FLAC or any of those non-mp3 formats.
BUY ALBUM FROM BOOMKAT
iTunes (USA):
If you buy here please write me a lavish review and give me five stars!  I deserve it!  If you’re browsing the store from your phone or whatever I am featured in front of the Electronic category in the USA store.
Juno:

FREE DOWNLOADS:
AND if you missed them you can get some free downloads including two songs from the album and a podcast DJ mix I did for XLR8R:

Download ‘Funny Cats’ from The FADER

Download ‘iHop’ from XLR8R

Download the podcast mix from XLR8R

Stream ‘Funny Cats’ from Soundcloud:

Funny Cats by mattshadetek

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For those of you who missed my relentless Twitter assault promoting this mix here you go.  This is a 60 minute mix I did for the very excellent XLR8R podcast series.  I had a lot of fun recording it in the bassment of Dubspot on decks and Serato (no ableton or synch buttons on this one, it’s actual live djing and you can hear it).

It’s got a lot of new exclusives in it from me and my friends including some forthcoming stuff from Dutty Artistz Rita Indiana and Mosholu Park up front.

Download it here

Tracklist:

01 Mosholu Park “Dance In Your Blood” (Dutty Artz)
02 Rita Indiana “Los Poderes” (Dutty Artz)
03 DJ Cleo “Phase 4” (Will of Steel)
04 Sticky feat. Natalie Storm “Look Pon Me” (Mixpak)
05 Matt Shadetek “Wonton Garden” (Dutty Artz)
06 Mavado “So Blessed (De Tropix Soca Remix)” (Mad Decent)
07 Chief Boima “Shake Dem Dreads” (Dutty Artz)
08 Matt Shadetek “Light Falling” (Dutty Artz)
09 Cero39 “KZ Stereo (Merengon)”
10 Contakt & Mayster “Korak”
11 NGUZUNGUZU “El Bebe Ambiente” (Shade Business)
12 Chief Boima “Techno Rumba (Uproot Andy Remix)” (Dutty Artz)
13 Lil Silva “Night Skanker” (Night Slugs)
14 Contakt “Not Forgotten”
15 Maxwell D “Walked Away”
16 Cero39 “Pa Las Leas”
17 Mosca “Nike (Club Edit)” (Night Slugs)
18 DRT “Rising Sun (Boogaloo Crew Remix)”
19 DJ /rupture & Matt Shadetek “Horchata” (Dutty Artz)
20 Ultravid “Clan of Wow (Kingdom Remix)” (Silverback)
21 Zomby “Rumours & Revolutions” (Brainmath)
22 Matt Shadetek “Church Avenue” (Dutty Artz)
23 Matt Shadetek “iHop” (Dutty Artz)
24 Timeblind “Coltan & Cassiterite” (The Agriculture)
25 Matt Shadetek “Moving Reflections” (Dutty Artz)
26 Marcus Visionary “St. Vincent” (Liondub International)
27 Matt Shadetek “Spirits” (Dutty Artz)
28 Jahdan Blakkamoore “Never Gonna Stop” (Dutty Artz)

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This week Konkrete Jungle has NYC culturalists Dutty Artz touching down in advance of Matt Shadetek’s forthcoming solo album Flowers. He and Moshulu Park (aka Lamin Fofana) will be turning out their homegrown sounds, funky steps and bass heavy wares alongside Hipstep master I-Cue and KJ soldiers Krunchy and Junglez. Human? and Lifeline will be making sure there’s plenty of dutty to go around at the bar while Goldenchild and I-Cue bring you the real art of mixology. Follow Man Like Mac http://twitter.com/konkretejungle for the Holla For A Dolla and $5 all night passwords Dont Sleep!


(more…)

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Friend of Dutty Artz Moon from Lustre Kings invited us to participate in this party to celebrate the screening of ‘Wah Do Dem’ a new film set in Jamaica that’s been generating a nice buzz.  I’m excited to participate along with a lot of my favorite  people, it’s a family affair.  Brooklyn outdoor summer vibes!

Facebook event here.

Date:
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Time:
2:00pm – 6:00pm
Location:
BAM, Downtown Brooklyn, corner of Fulton and Lafayette

WAH DO DEM movie premier block party!

featuring performances by Jahdan Blakkamoore, Matt Shadetek & Geko Jones(Dutty Artz), DJ Gravy (Rice & Peas), Jah One Soundsystem, Cool Places Sound, Lustre Kings Productions and SPECIAL GUESTS!

This is a BAMcinemaFEST and FABfest event.

COME OUTSIDE AND ENJOY DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN WITH US AT THIS VERY SPECIAL EVENT!

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what up Dutty familia? Summer’s starting but we put on our Santa hats here and decided to release a new jam by Matt Shadetek + I. Enjoy – spread it like hot sauce!
[display_podcast]
Matt sez: “Tacos Matamoros is a wonderful restaurant in sunset park Brooklyn where for a time most of the da crew lived. Rupture and I still eat there pretty much every time we meet to produce. The food is fresh, delicious and cheap. It’s mexican mexican food, not to be confused with culinary chineras like tex-mexican or chinese-mexican, both of which are very available in nyc. To my taste buds its the best taqueria in Brooklyn (prove me wrong! Please!) This track was made post- lunch one day and after struggling for a title for a while we decided to give our favorite restaurant a shout-out.”

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“iHop” excels as a futuristic dubstep number with its focus on strong shuffling rhythms, thick bass melodies, and soulful, pitch-shifted vocal sampling on par with UK funky’s finest” – Patric Fallon, XLR8R

“excellent throughout… It’s always possible that he just went so deep into Detroit that he arrived in Africa by mistake.” – Eddie Stats, The Fader

[audio:http://media.xlr8r.com/files/downloads/mp3s/iHop_0.mp3]
Matt Shadetek – iHop

Earlier this afternoon, the good folks over at XLR8R liberated a track “iHop” from Flowers, Matt Shadetek’s first solo instrumental album which drops June 8th – just a couple of weeks from now. This will be the first time we announce the album on this blog! We’re all excited about Flowers, which is Matt’s most beautiful and light-hearted work to date.  Read Patric Fallon’s review and download the tune at XLR8R.

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“A raspy-voiced and diminutive queer rapper in throwback-eighties-chic screams overtly sexual call-and-response commands. A special-ed teacher with the authoritative demeanor of an army TAC officer instructs you to “Walk it like a dog” and “Do the Jubilee All”, a middle-aged mother yells fighting words at a rival. All of this over frantic, break-neck beats sampled from a small smattering of funk and hip-hop oldies. This is the sound of New Orleans Bounce.  From darkened clubs to tricked-out cars, high school dances to neighborhood bars, family reunions, barbecues and birthday parties, New Orleans locals of all ages have been bouncing to “Dat Beat” since the early nineties, incorporating the rhythms and vocal styling of second-line street parades, undulating Caribbean and African dance moves, and stolen hooks ranging from Beyonce to Bill Haley. It’s the sound on the street in the City that Care Forgot,, the booty-shaking cousin to Miami Bass, Detroit Ghettotech, Baltimore Club, but with the chaos and audacity of punk, a spirit that reflects the chaos and audacity of the Crescent City that birthed Bounce music.


Disasster Prone [27:44 – 320Kbps]

A native Dirty Southerner and long-time New Orleans resident, Deejay Karo offers up this mix as a taste of Bounce from the last several years. These tracks were recorded off of burnt cd’s, traded back and forth by local dj’s, producers and performers and  bought out of car trunks beneath the live oaks of uptown or in beauty supply store parking lots. Because of this, making a track listing would be next to impossible, but here are the names of some of the performers and producers in the mix:
Blaq N Mild, Peacachoo, J Rock, Showbiz CJ, Big Freedia, Sissy Nobby,Magnolia Shorty, 10thWard Buck, Gotti Boi Chris, Katey Red, Smitty Out Da City, Monsta wit da Fade… Respect and Love to everyone featured and deepest apologies those we didn’t rep in this list”

And y’all know why it’s called Disaster Prone, y’heard?
Deejay Karo and DJ Beesknees
Stinging Caterpillar Sound System