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!
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
Join us at Vaudeville Park, 26 Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn, on Saturday January 28th 9pm-late… we’ll play good music and drink delicious drinks. Dutty hombre Taliesin will be there. Long time internet/blog friend Dave Quam, now producing music for Kingdom’s Fade To Mind label as Massacooramaan will also DJ.
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 <<
Here’s a flavor of what she does, she’s going to do some performing and some DJing at the party.
˙∆ 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.
This is one of those posts where I just blatantly jack Timeblind :
“I’ve been listening to chicago trax, dance mania, ghetto tech all that for 15 years or so. Rashad is taking it up a level and reaching escape velocity, its more like Jungle in the way it floats. Really this stuff is practically Jungle but its totally Chicago. Juke has arrived” – Timeblind via Google+
He said it, I don’t have much to add expect that this shit is fuckin dope. The drop at around 2:03 really proves his point. I get that warm fuzzy I’m back in my jungle-raving-youth feeling. I saw Rashad on new year’s eve here in Brooklyn and he killed it. A really fun set. Overall a fun party actually, grimy warehouse illegal vibes in Bushwick. Shout out to Mike Q, Lit City, Whore House and Cunt Mafia for that. I danced my ass off.
If ten dollars seems like a lot of money to go see a bunch of people who constantly lace the internet with some of the best music and lulz around…… remember real is a feeling so get out get up and get something.
FRIDAY JAN 27TH | SANTOS PARTY HOUSE | 96 LAYFAYETTE ST | 10PM-4AM
#HYPNOTICA
*A WORLD CLASS QUANTUM PHYSICIST WILL BE GIVING A QUIK 15 MINUTE TALK ON THE EXPONENTIAL EXCITEMENT OF THE FUTURE AND THE TRULY UNEXPLAINABLE OCCULT MAGIC OF THE QUANTUM COMPUTER.*
We are kicking off (B)Lack History Month in style:
On Wednesday February 1st, at 7pm, DJ Rupture and Lamin Fofana will host a special 2-hour live radio show from south Williambsburg’s Spectacle Theater, with Chief Boima (new jams on the way!), Old Money, and a our favorite African video shopowner.
Following the live WFMU broadcast — built primarily from African music videos purchased in the cornerstores of NYC — we will screen God’s Own Country by director Femi Agbayewa. GOC presents the story of a young Nigeria lawyer who immigrates to NYC to discover that life in America is not like he hoped… As Boima explains, “It’s firmly in the Nollywood tradition. The story line is a New York story, and I think it’s the perfect context for the non-Nollywood initiated to get introduced to the industry. . . it is also referencing the tradition of the American hood gangster flick like Belly. Almost an amalgamation of the two.”
Palm wine and kola nuts are included with the $5 admission. Space is limited, so come early!
Death/Traitors is the work of Alex Heir and it is fucking sick. I went to his spot on Delphi last week to get inside the mind of the genius behind my favorite New York brand.
T: You grew up in Jersey going to Punk shows and talk about how you see band shirts as this kind of holy grail of authenticity for design- how did band shirts inform your work with D T.
A: My initial interest in wanting to learn screen print and make shirts was born from my love of record and t-shirt art, and I think my idea of what makes a good shirt design is still largely based off that. A good band shirt is not just a random t-shirt with an image on it, it shows your musical taste and interest in a larger subculture, almost like wearing gang colors.
T: Whether it’s Japanese/Kanji characters that say Fuck Pigs, or your iconic Endless War Posters- you seem to hit an angle that’s 50/50 gothic vibes and anti-authoritarian anarchy. Is there any particular message that defines the brand?
A: I guess, as you said, “anti-authoritarian” sums it up pretty well. I’m not trying to spread a political message or anything, but I feel pretty angry about the state of the country and the world right now, and that works it’s way into my designs. I use the Anarchy symbol in the same way I use 666, I’m not a card carrying Anarchist or Satanist, but their symbols are a way to show what I am not.
T: While the 80 dollar t-shirt kids are gonna be happy to cop your gear at Mishka- you don’t go to trade shows or play the street-wear game- who’s your ideal audience for this stuff?
A: An army of leather clad rockers wandering the wasteland in search of food and water.
T: Do you have any fashion inspiration in terms of brands? What music or other design is most inspiring?
A: Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren had a store in London in the 70s called a variety of things..Let It Rock/Sex/Seditionaries. They designed a lot of the clothes the first wave UK punks wore and it was the biggest influence to me when I first thought about designing clothing. Alexander McQueen, who’s work I also really admire, definitely took a lot from them.
Nowadays I get a lot of inspiration from old occult and religious art, Japanese woodcuts, horror movies posters. I saw a show of old CRASS zines and flyers from their personal collection a few months ago…that was really inspiring and contributed a lot to the way the most recent designs have looked.
T: Can you talk about your process a little bit- your screen are everywhere around the house and most of your gear is there well- can you talk about hand printing all of your own work.
A: Once I finish a design and am ready to release it, I will shoot the screen and print a few samples to shoot on a model for the website. I keep a stock of screens of all my current available designs, and for the most part custom print every order as I get it.
T: Since images can move so easily between mediums- from stickers, to shirts, to bags, to textiles to whatever- how do you think about not overwhelming your customers.
A: I design the graphics specifically for each piece…An image might look great on a shirt, but not necessarily work as a patch or sticker. I re use a lot of the same imagery…skulls, kanji, swords, etc…but will do a different composition depending on what I’m going to print on. Less is more very often…I prefer to only release a handful of shirts and a few other items every season The artwork is very personal to me, so I would rather have a smaller amount of consistent, quality work then a ton of mediocre items.
T: you started doing these amazing varsity jackets- can you talk about your more indepth approach on that process.
A: I was lucky enough to link up with a tailor here in NYC that helping me through the process of of getting these jackets made. I initially was getting them from China, but once I stumbled upon this opportunity to have the jackets made here I leaped on it. I get to choose all the materials myself, from the wool and sleeve fabric to the lining and snaps, and the overall quality is much higher. Of course the costs to produce the jackets is much more than if I had them made in China, but I think people will appreciate the quality and the fact that they are made in the USA.
T: Beyond the clothing line, can you talk about the label a little bit and your other screen printing work and how you manage the balance.
A: Besides Death/Traitors, I do commercial screen printing for other people under the name Funbot Press. The nice thing about working for yourself is you get to set your own hours and make your own schedule, but it also means you never really stop working. Unless I’m at a show or hanging out with friends outside my apartment, I’m always working on SOME thing, be it printing, designing for D/T, or making other artwork or music. Every day is different, but it usually is a combination of everything. I love what I do, at least most aspects of it, and I enjoy being constantly busy.
T: Anything else you want to include?
A: I will be showing some new pieces in a group art show entitled Input/Output opening Sat, Jan. 28 at Booklyn, 37 Greenpoint Avenue 4th Floor. booklyn.org And I will be showing more work at the Mishka Store, 350 Broadway, BK, on Friday, April 6.
Boima is set to drop his dope refix and remix collection “African In New York” on February 21st- and the highlight for me is his amazing version of Kondi’s “Without Money, No Family.” Getting Kondi to SXSW is THE FIRST PART of what hopes to be an ongoing series of collaborations with Kondi. I just got payed on Wednesday and hit them with $50 and if your in a spot do the same, do it! If you’re hard up right now- just do us a favor and share the campaign out on your twitter or facebook or whatever other platform you prefer
This Wednesday, Gang Gang Dance’s Brian DeGraw stopped by my WFMU show to drop a deep hourlong DJ set. Brian does electronics in GGD and is deadly on the decks, too. Open ears will be rewarded. Now only that, but during the interview we learn that lately Brian has been feeling the tribal guarachero from Mexico! The radio show is now streaming:
Be sure to check out Brian’s visual art as well; he thinks across stylistic & formal boundaries, with consistently fresh results.
I started the Mudd Up Book Clubb as a celebration of books, readers, libraries, IRL meetups, and all the hot people who love slow media. But the biggest thanks of all goes to the writers themselves. Keep us burning! We see you and salute your work. Furthering that end, here is a gift straight from my muddy heart –
Hand-drawn portraits of all the authors we’ve read so far by artist Rocio Rodriguez Salceda, fitted into digitals for maximum spreadability. Each drawing measures 600 x 800 pixels — formatted for Kindle screensavers, but they work well in a variety of situations: say, an iPhone background, a regular screensaver, or a razor & octopus ink tattoo.
