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Ebola has been weighing heavily on my mind. From it hitting Ashoka, a friend who I met in Liberia in 2011 (and who’s attended Dutty Artz parties), to worrying about friends and family on the ground in both Sierra Leone and Liberia, I feel sort of stuck and unable to help while being in Brazil. However in the face of a seeming panic in the U.S. about the disease invading the country, and rehashed African stereotypes in the mainstream media, I find I can contribute something by writing… (more…)

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It has been declared by decree that the Changing of The Mood from this point forth will be an event held quarterly unless otherwise decided upon by the powers that be. For the first incarnation of said gathering of revelers, we were able to raise a bushel of American monetary units and throw a (beyond the) block party that found itself in the Park of the Sunset in the year 2012 of the Christian God. The follow up manifestation will make sure the world knows that Africans are indeed real, by pulling them out of the realm of myths, and pushing them deep into your ear canals, penetrating the furthest stretches of your ancestral souls.

Excitingly, the lineup for said gathering features: a Kenyan superstar scribe making his way down from the upper reaches of the Hudson river, a DJ from Africa of the South who in the current era is able to sell 30,000 physical units of House mix CDs from out the back of his carriage, four Salone borbors including a village chief, a blind genius virtuoso musician, a house music maestro, and His Imperial Majesty Lamin Fofana I. Also appearing in the pageant will be wordsmiths Old Money and beatsmith Matt Shadetek whom both represent the colony once belonging to a great people of the North, but at the current juncture remains under the reign of Emperor Bloomberg of York (the new one).

Join us on Saturday to Change The Mood!

October 13th at Public Assembly, Brooklyn. 21+. $10. 9pm.
tickets available: http://www.publicassemblynyc.com/?wtpage=event&id=4340

for more information, contact: family@duttyartz.com

Babylon System

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 Drexciya x Aminata Diabate x Lamin Fofana – Unknown Journey II by lamin fofana | cover by talacha

I made this edit while working on this mix.

The main track is an original tune by Drexciya and it’s titled “Unknown Journey I”. I’m not doing very much to it.  It was recently released on the compilation album Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller I which is out now on Clone. The voice is Malian singer Aminata Diabate. She is singing a classic West African Mandinka song “Autorail”. The voice is very beautiful. I apply some effects – a lot of delay and reverb – and I felt guilty so I let it play, nearly completely w/out any fx, for about a minute at the end. It’s from a Sublime Frequencies release titled Bush Taxi Mali: Field Recordings From Mali. Our friends at Weird Magic and Okayafrica have it up on their sites too.
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photograph by John Carluccio

I was quiet for most of 2011 when it comes to releasing original music. To be honest, I was a bit hard on myself. I’m finally getting out of that muck, and feeling ready now. I’m planning to put out several releases this year, on Dutty Artz as well as branching out to other labels.

Please find details for my first release of 2012 below. Titled Dubious Prey, it comes out on limited vinyl January 30th, then a digital release with additional remixes shortly follows. London label Sticks N Stones is releasing it… SNS a small new label owned and operated by my friend Aramac, and distributed by ST Holdings. Artwork, tracklisting, YouTube and SoundCloud previews – all below.

artist: Lamin Fofana
title: Dubious Prey
label: Sticks N Stones Recordings (Distributed by S.T. Holdings, UK)
date: 30th January for vinyl / 27th February for digital

Vinyl
A – Brokedown City
A2 – Dubious Prey
B – Brokedown City (Aramac Remix)

Lamin Fofana ‘Dubious Prey’ EP 12″ Vinyl Preview – Out  January 30 by Sticks “N” Stones

Digital
1. Dubious Prey
2. Brokedown City
3. Brokedown City (Aramac Remix)
4. Brokedown City (Svpreme Fiend Mix)
5. Brokedown City (Mayster & Contakt Rebuild)
6. Brokedown City (La Ola Criminal Remix)

Yesterday, XLR8R premiered the first cut from Dubious Prey, “Brokedown City”

NYC-via-Sierra Leone DJ/producer and Dutty Artz affiliate Lamin Fofana is set to release a new EP, Dubious Prey, the follow-up to his 2010 debut EP, What Elijah Said. The new EP features two originals, including this one, “Brokedown City,” a dark but still active piece of techno with a steady four-on-the-floor. The song’s notably tropical percussion is buffeted by potent synth lines, which bleed in and out of the song, and a barely audible vocal sample that occasionally slips into the mix…

[audio:http://media.xlr8r.com/files/downloads/mp3s/Brokedown%20City.mp3]
Head over there for the DOWNLOAD.

[youtube width=”525″ height=”355″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwoAJIGoTgI[/youtube]

 

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I’m on a bus right now heading to Boston! Monday night Beat Research party with residents/kind hosts wayne&wax and DJ Flack, guests John Barera and me! Yep, this is my Boston debut! Do come out and say hi!

Enormous Room
567 Mass Ave
Central Square
Cambridge
9pm-1am
FREE!

In some DUTTY BIZNESS, XLR8R unleashed a track by Matthew Shadetek + Lamina Fofana. Matt works fast! He has three tracks on our recently released New York Tropical compilation. The man is a production wizard.

[audio:http://media.xlr8r.com/files/downloads/mp3s/Matt%20Shadetek_%2B%20Lamin_Fofana%20-Sunshine_City_NEW_YORK_TROPICAL.mp3]

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Dutty Artz will release Lamin Fofana‘s debut EP What Elijah Said on September 21. Lamin has been steadily working on beats for the past few years, and he’s about to make a public birth.

When we asked him to describe the music, Lamin sent us this sentence: “Yet, he would refer to the Mother Plane, a mysterious space ship with superior beings, giant black gods or something like that, that patrolled the universe, keeping an eye on the devil and ready to rescue Black Muslims from Armageddon.” Sounds like sci-fi, but turns out it’s from the New York Times 1975 obituary (!) for Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad.

Everything is not what it seems, and this music’s mark of greatness is the way it so effortlessly calls for repeat listens.

What Elijah Said EP:

01 Happy 2010 // Dark Days Are Coming
02 “I will admonish you and give you absolution”
03 What Elijah Said // Eye on the Devil
04 Dance In Yr Blood

Artwork: Boy holding fluorescent bulb,  photo by Brendan Bannon, Dandora Dumpsite, Nairobi. 8/29/2006.   Hundreds of trash pickers scavenge the dump for food, plastic, glass, and metal. Areas of the dump smolder from a slow burn of plastics and detritus just under the surface. Local activist have attempted to close the site due to pollution concerns.

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Lamin Fofana  was born in the West African country of Guinea. When the political situation got bumpy, he moved to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where his routine involved listening to Goodie Mob and Organized Konfusion as well as attending Quranic schools/mosques. In 1997 Lamin’s family had to flee worsening conditions in Sierra Leone – losing friends, belongings, documents, a home. They spent several days crossing roads and bridges destroyed by rebels to prevent people from escaping. At the end of the year, Fofana found a new home in Harlem, New York, where he lives today.