I’ve been traveling to Colombia at regular intervals to present a new sound fusing folkloric Afro-Colombian rhythms with modern day electronic music production techniques that harmonize into a synthetic club sound rooted in tradition. Via the internet, the birthplace of Cumbia has become a source of inspiration to a number producers worldwide. Recently, we invited some of the top names in the scene to a bandcamp in Colombia and a filmmaker to document it. We want to provide an insider view of the impact this music is having on the local scene and how a small network of globally minded producers are defying conventional standards of Latin club music.
We have a couple weeks to get this production costs for completing this project funded. To hear more about how you can help please visit http://www.indiegogo.com/Pico-de-Gallos
Proper visual for the first single off HAVEN, the forthcoming debut album from Copenhagen-based producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and homie CHLLNGR. We’ve been looking forward to this for a while! Slow, unhurried rhythms, subs whirring beautifully, and smart, astral synth stabs slow danced in a magical forest hours outside the Danish kapital.
Filmed in a Danish forest two hours outside of Copenhagen, Ask for is the first single released for the debut album HAVEN due out in July on Green Owl. Bjorn Stig Hansen and Steven Jess Borth II had only one bright light and one camera to make this happen in a period of two summer nights.
Next Friday (the 13th! hope you’re not a superstitious partier!) at Sweat Lodge we’ll be celebrating the release of new DuttyArtizt Atropolis debut self-titled album. Â Atropolis will be joined live by Uruguayan singer Noelia Fernandez (who appears on the album) and her comparsa and Nabin Shanti will MC for his set. Â On hand will be myself Matt Shadetek, Geko Jones, Chief Boima and DJ /Rupture. Â So far these parties have been nothing short of amazing and we aim to continue the trend. Â This time we’ll also have some exclusive Dutty Artz stuff for sale including CDs of the Atropolis album, new Dutty Artz hats and hopefully t-shirts too if the boxes arrive in time. Â This will be the first time any of this stuff is available for sale anywhere. The party itself is FREE cuz we’re nice like that.
DUTTY ARTZ SWEAT LODGE
Atropolis Album Release feat. Atropolis w/ special guests Noelia Fernandez & her comparsa and Nabin Shanti
DJs:
DJ /Rupture
Matt Shadetek
Chief Boima
Geko Jones
The Cove 108 N. 6th St. Brooklyn, NY. Â L train to Bedford Ave.
Not really a lot of commentary about this besides the fact that I just listened to it like 19 times in a row. This is, how you say, my shit. Sweet and low rnb en espanol by World Hood out of Sacramento with Peligrosa crew’s own Sonora coming in hard body on the remix. Big tune, and it’s downloadable via the soundcloud page, so get to it.
Que Bajo?! returns to NYC after touring Miami, Medellin, Barranquilla, Bogota, Cali, and SXSW… come hear exclusive new remixes from myself, Uproot Andy, DJ Orion, Toy Selectah, Isa GT and more and check out our guest DJ’s Venus X of the Ghe20 Gothik Party who just rocked the shit out of the fader fort at SXSW and Panchitron from the Peligrosa All Stars crew down in Texas. Pancho’s mixtape stayed in heavy rotation last month for Que Bajo?! fans
Thursday March 31
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleeker St
11pm -$10
Over on Alt1040, Geraldine Juárez asks me smart questions about the ideas behind Beyond Digital: Morocco. I do my best to answer. En espanol para que los güeros aprendan!
ALT1040 – ¿Es el espacio post-digital el extremo fÃsico del internet? ¿Como defines post-digital?
DJ Rupture: Es importante pensar en tiempo post-digital o post-internet. Y para mi este tiempo es lento lento… todo lo opuesto a un meme (#sheen, #egypt etc… ) El tiempo y/o la velocidad del internet, creo que es una velocidad/tiempo muy rápida, muy capitalista; no solamente es hoy sino ahora mismo, fast-food al máximo. Y yo estoy bien metido en el matrix, ya sabes…
Quizás lo post-digital tiene que ver con mirar al internet y el mundo digital desde una perspectiva de escasez y precariedad, donde no tienes el lujo de no pensar en su infraestructura.
your cel phone and portable electronics probably have minerals mined in the Congo and illegally trafficked. watch the other related videos if you are unaware of this.
please support legislation to keep mining transparent and stop thugs in the congo from profiting from the misery of their fellow countrymen. DRC should be known for its amazing musicians, not for more misery like this.
So this Thursday, January 27th, Chief Boima and yours truly, along some good friends from Garbon, Ivory Coast, and Madgascar will kick off a new party in the southeastern part of Manhattan Island (a neighborhood commonly referred to as the Lower East Side of Manhattan borough) at Gallery Bar (art gallery by day, and lounge/party space when its dark.) We’ll be joined by very special guest, founder of Akwaaba Music and DJ, BBrave. Facebook RSVP.
Going Africa and Beyond. Though I won’t be popping champagne like my Ghanaian brothers Ruff-N-Smooth (they have all the money and the honeys!) I will be playing their music.
I’m in the near south with family and friends observing yet another fucked up and annoying holiday – this one associated with the genocide of indigenous Americans. While unpacking my bags after the journey, and thinking about stuffing and delicious chocolate and pecan pies, I turned on a new mix from a trio of young, Afrocentric DJs – Crowdkrushers, from the south of Germany – a town called Tübingen. The mix was commissioned by Akwaaba Music to celebrate the netlabel’s second anniversary. It’s been two years already! Although I have lost count of the releases, Akwaaba remains consistent and continues to exposed us to some amazing music. So enjoy this mix, containing a healthy dose of fine Akwaaba Music.
A word from Crowdcrushers – “So this is our exclusive mix for Akwaaba Music. It‘s not so much all new and exclusive bangers but rather our impression of African music and its big influences on other musical territories (with one or two stylistic exceptions in the mix). We also kinda tried to give an idea of what we do in our club sets, not paying too much attention to tempo or style while keeping it funky and a wee bit humorous… Featuring Akwaaba artists Appietus, Ruff‘n‘Smooth, Kedjevara, Onyenze, Killamu, Dred Man-Gi and Arc Djebe. Hope you enjoy!â€
Fader just upped my LuÃsa Maita “Lero Lero†remix. You can grab it here.
“The song stays sweet, he just kicks it along, quadrupling the drums, sneaking in garage bass wobble. You think it’s one thing then it reverbs out, guitars aren’t guitars anymore, chimes rain in and you burned the broccoli. We suck at cooking, she’s good at singing, he’s good at beats.â€
LuÃsa performs tonight at SOB’s in Manhattan. You can’t sleep on voices this gorgeous.
If I had more time I would of recorded street traffic and added it as a bonus cut “BK 4’33” on the new iphone friendly .m4r ring tone version of New York Tropical. Which now happens to be coming out on Nov. 9 – so push back your calendar a week and call it a date.
I’m in a S. American time warp. Everything in Rio happens slow, filtered through the humidity. No one is in a rush. Everyone wears sandals. Last night I finally made it to a baile funk. I showed up around 3 to Favela do Vidigal- in the South Zone of the city, with my friend Gabi who is researching technology + production and distribution in the Funk scene.
I felt the bass when we got out of our cab- but we still needed a five minute moto taxi up the hill, past anti-police roadblocks, to the party. The soundsystem stretched across the entirety of a T intersection- blacklights hung everywhere and the subs were mounted at head level- ensuring that chest-rattling bass could be felt even in the way back of the crowd. The blacklights accentuated the whites and neon yellows of the futbol apparel that men were rocking. Even with the hazy compressed sodium street lights- everything was glowing- it felt like a cavernous club interior. Armed men walked casually through the crowd, navigating crews of dancers bouncing to the floor and back to commands that translate to “drop it on my dick and fuck.”
What startled me most wasn’t seeing all of the tropes of baile sensationalism before me- ASS, GUNS, BASS!- but how much it reminded me of my favorite parties anywhere. Dancers who loved dancing, cute gay boys twerking it like pros, poppers battling near the speakers, footwerkers taking off their sandals and braving the cobblestone to go double time on already frenetic beats, and music that was ethereal and present, infused with all the sweet/sweat synthsations of my favorite RnB coupled with a low end urgency that has kept with funk since the latin freestyle and miami bass days. The DJ was a middle aged man in a dark grey tee and a brown zip up hoodie, he didnt sing or dance along, just looked out on the crowd with a knowing look of stoic contentment, this is his work, and he is absolutely killing it- at one point, from behind the platform that hes standing on alone about 30 yards back from the system- i glanced up at t his acer netbook and only saw Winamp running. There are no monitors, no headphones. I was already too drunk to need anything from the bars that served endless variations on fresh squeezed juices, liquor and redbull. I danced until it started to pour, the dj put a backpack on top of his laptop, a weathered tarp covered the speakers, the music kept going, but we decided to walk down the hill. Half way down the power cut out, everything went dark.
I’m still trying to get my head around the music- because it sounded different then most of the funk I had heard before. Vaguely: more European club music then 2-Live -Crew. It reminded me of NguzuNguzu- whose production I adore primarily because I have absolutely know idea what to do with it. It’s almost always too Ravey for me to want to play it out- but at the same time there is something seditious and dark beneath all the glistening synths- and that darkness and space is what keeps drawing me back. I honestly think they could of wrecked this party last night. The first track of theirs I heard was Kingdom’s remix of Hate 2 Wait- which to this day is one of my favorites to drop when its time for a radical new direction in my sets. Dutty Artz extended family Khalif MihajiLeif just killed a voicing of the original instrumental that wraps up to perfection with some Linzy-esque crooning. When homeboy graduates from college I give it two years tops until he’s a household name for 20 somethings worldwide.
NguzuNguzu have a new E.P. dropping on Silverback records early October – they did up a promo mix for it- that you can grab over at Scattermusic– (i would re-up it for u- but my internet run real slow down here)
If you already know (you know) Mariana “Meteoro” Camberos art, it’s likely through her work for ZZK. She is one of the artist’s responsible for codyfing the visual vocabulary of Zizek/ZZK branding; which is how I first became familiar with her. But that’s just one mirror-facet of her diverse output, or as she put’s it, “someone once said my work was very Zizek…. but I said, Im not zizek… zizek is all the artists.”
Meteoro Painting
Her neuva-tropical psychedelic day-glo works and styling jobs are right on the palm frond edge of the tropical communities (does that exist… maybe it does.) collective unconscious. Seriously fresh-2-death designs evoking modern day icons like Carrie Mundane, early MIA styling, NYstreet style Keith Harring/ Basquit iconography pushing up against sacred ayuwasca geometries and jungle fractals. Her custom hand painted tees, hoodies, and zapatos are being rocked by some of the dopest kids outs (check the aviary shirt she did for Uproot Andy next time you see him), and her styling and 2-d work is equally stunning. Over a couple days of endless tea, empanadas, and tasty chino delight- we discussed inane visa regulations, liminal space, our shared love of cumbia sung by little girls and a party called drum&boxx that put young contenders (rocking her custom fur-lined robes) boxing on the floor in a ring made of jungle-stepping ravers. (The interview that followz is the first of a series I’ll be upping and posting, along with photos, flipcam and musings- while I travel as a Watson fellow… it took me a while to finish this post- im now in Rio)
Fresh Shipment of Meteoro's shoes ready to go to Paris
T: Your palette is focusing alot on day-glo/neon vibes- ur using all of these crazy brazillian fabric paints…. but day-glo has been moving onto clothes since the 1930’s– so what exactly is there left to say using this palette?
M: PUES ES FLUORECENTE Y FLUORESCENTE SIGNIFICA ILUMINADO POR DENTRO ESTO YA ME LLAMA MUCHO LA ATENCION
LA COSA DE BRILLAR CON LUZ NEGRA Y EN MEXICO SE DICEN QUE SON COLORES QUE CHINGANÂ (JODEN) LA PUPILA Y AMO ESO
T: you push a psychadelic vibe- but from a distinctly latin american approach…. im seeing these sorts of fractal designs all over your apartment- but with none of the new agey shit that kills alot of western hippy psychadelic stuff- where do you see the convergence of european /american and latin approaches to these forms.
M: MMM ES INTUITIVO Y NO ES ALGO QUE VEA SALE SIMPLEMENTE SON LAS COSAS QUE ME LLAMAN LA ATENCION Y ADENTRO HAGO UNA SINTESIS, SON COSAS EN LAS QUE CREO Y OTRAS QUE ME VIENEN SOLAS COMO MUSAS.
T: youve been in Argentina for 5 years- what has it done for your work- why here- what wasnt working for you in mexicO- or why did you have to come here.
M:DESDE SIEMPRE QUISE ESTUDIARR FUERA DE MI PAIS PARA TENER OTRA PERSPECTIVA Y COMO PRETEXTO DE VIAJE, Y ARGENTINA POR QUE ALGUIEN ME CONVENCIO QUE ERA UNA BUENA OPCION Y MUY AJUSTABLE A MI PRESUPUESTO
Y ASI LO HICE.. ME DEJE LLEVAR .. AL PRINCIPIO SEGUIA SIN ENTENDER POR QUE ACA PERO LAS COSAS Y LA GENTE QUE HE CONOCIDO ME CONFIRMAN QUE ASI DEBIA SER.
T: what does tropical mean to you?
M:TOPICAL SIGNIFICA BUENA VIDA YO VIVI EN UN LUGAR TROPICAL Y ERA PURA ABUNDANCIA SOL FRUTAS MUSICA MAR ESO ES LO QUE LLEVO DENTRO Y LO QUE ME MUEVET
T:where do you see the visual intersecting with music? whats to be gained by understanding this relationship
M: POR QUE LA MUSICA NO SOLO ES UN DJ ES SU IMAGEN, LOS VISUALES EL STAGE Y LA ESCENA EN GRAL. ASI QUE UNÂ BUEN VESTUARIO ES INDISPENSABLE PARA TERMINAR DE CONCRETAR LA IDEAÂ DE LO QUE SE ESTA MOSTRANDO LO QUE SE QUIERE DECIR Y EXPRESAR. ES LLEVAR ESE RITMO A TODOS LOS NIVELES ESTETICOS Y ESCENICOS
Fresh Tour Shirt(s) for Cumbia Duo Frikstailers
T: your selling these dope handpainted shoes- but i know you really want a whole fashion and arts line/house….is there a master plan at all?
M: YEAH DO ALOT OF METEORO LUCHY CHARMS STUF LIKE OBJECTS TOYS CLOTHES,.. MORE KIND OF SHOES.. UN MURAL QUIZASÂ Y COSAS PARA GENTE QUE LO NECESITA
T: ok- top literature influences, top musical influences, top artist influences, top designer influences…
M: KANDINSKY, CHARLES BUKOWSKI, JODOROVSKY, cLOUDDEAD, M.I.A, BRAZILIAN GIRLS, ALL CUMBIA, YMA SUMAC, matt w moore, AJ Fosik, HIHO AOSHIMA, YOSHITOMO NARA, MOTOMICHI, walter van beirendonck, TSUMORI CHISATO, Vivienne Westwood.
T: i know you love chocolate, can you recomend any of your favorite chocolates?
M:CARDUBY DE YOGURTH, Y UNOS COLOMBIANOS QUE TIENEN TUCANES EN EL EMPAQUE, Y.. UNOS ALEMANES QUE TIENEN MEZCLA DE FRUTAS TROPICLAES CON PICANTE ESOS SON INCREIBLES!
T: anyything else u want a bunch of blog readers to know about?
M: SERIA QUE HAY QUE PONER MAS ATENCION A LA FUSION ENTRE MUSICOS Y DESE;ADORES POR JUNTOS PODEMOS DAR UN GRAN MESAJE
NO SUBESTIMAR LO QUE LLEVAS PUESTO YA QUE POR MAS SIMPLE QUE SEA ESTA DICIENDO ALGO Y QUIERES QUE DIGA LO QUE SEAÂ O PONERLE TU TU PROPIO MENSAJE DE BUENA ONDA
So the music of Abidjan’s CIAfrica crew does sound a bit like a grimey, glitchy elephant staring you down as angular new-money architecture burns or smolders or looms in the background and the sky’s color stumbles from white to black with a few lasers for good measure, because we’re not living in the future, they are.
Sometime last year the visionary ringleader, Amadou aka Green Dog (RZA to their Wu) gave me access to their deep hard drives — packed with singing, rapping & fwd-thinking beats. Thrilling material. I pulled out my favorite 17 songs for a CD which will be released later this month, DJ Rupture presents CIAFRICA. This coincides with CIAfrica, Nettle, and myself performing at Gotenburg’s Sweden Way Out West festival next Friday, August 13th. I’ll be DJing separately from them, in a party with Sleigh Bells and Fool’s Gold (the band). It’s a 3-day affair, with folks like Wu-Tang, M.I.A., Jay Electronica, The xx, etc performing, so if yr in Scandinavia, might be worth the trip… & I’ve found that drunk Swedes tend to still be really nice, at least in Gotenburg.
It will be the first time the CIAfrica MCs and vocalists perform outside their Côte d’Ivoire/Ivory Coast home base! They have this awesome Pam Grier video for one of their female MCs, Nasty, but it keeps getting censored by YouTube. So here’s a vid from one of the guys coming over, Manusa:
Ghostleg, our VJ friend in Australia re-ups the visual remix of some United Fruit Company propaganda he started on for New York Tropical, this time with Uproot Andy‘s Vale La Pena remix.
