A couple years ago our friend Filastine was in town and I remember not being able to join him on some crazy boat ride on a trash barge that had been re-purposed as an art installation. There was talk of some armada of these vessels. Like minded people are bringing you a really fun event tomorrow.
Last weekend the naval gangs of New York assembled to Battle for Mau Mau Island (See photos here). Come see the fallen soldiers, harvested booty, and glorious victors at a new two-story space in Bed-Stuy.Mau Mau gangs, gladiator raft jousting, cocktail catacombs, clothing optional watergun fight, underground casino & film screenings of eerily beautiful movies set on the water, slide show and videos of the battle, and an awards presentation for the victors. Wet & wild all night long.
Saturday, July 30, 9:30- late80 Vernon Ave, between Marcy & Tompkins
(G train to Myrtle/Willoughby 1 block away; or J,M,Z to Myrtle)
Ice cold beer and watermelon vodka open bar 9:30-10:30
$5 for gangs in matching costumes, Mau Mau vets, or before 11pm, $10 otherwise; 21+
All proceeds go directly to the Swimming Cities India project. www.weareswimmingcities.org
I’m very excited to present this video. It’s a short Behind The Scenes look at our Beyond Digital: Morocco art project. You can also check out my series of Fader posts, and the BD website itself, but this video is by far the best summary and explanation of what we were up to in June, and in so doing it provides glimpses of what’s to come: an incredible photo series by John Francis Peters; poignant video essays by Maggie Schmitt and Juan Alcon Duran; my free Max4Live audio tools suite, Sufi Plug-Ins; Maghrebi percussion sample pack & music by Maga Bo; and more… We’ll also be doing an event in Tangier on September 9th, more info next week.
Auto-tune lovers take note: the video previews a snippet from the best auto-tune interview ever, when we spoke with Moroccan pop star Adil El Miloudi in his home.
Adil El Miloudi: “Autotune gives you a ‘me’ that is better.”
Let’s party! Next Sweat Lodge we’ve got some old and new friends joining us. 2Melo, who is part of Atropolis Cumba Mela crew has been heating up Brooklyn’s warehouses, boats and other strange places for the past few years and I’ve had a blast every time that I’ve played with him. It was actually through a couple of gigs around Brooklyn with Cumba Mela that I got to know Atropolis and his music which lead to his release on DA. Lamin Fofana needs no re-introduction to readers of these pages and will be re-joining us after a hiatus. I understand he’s been working on a new set including some of his own new productions so I’m very excited to hear that. Finally Uproot Andy who was a resident at Sweat Lodge’s big sister New York Tropical and is fresh off his recent tour of Europe and Summer Stage appearance will be returning to rock with us, so it’s a family reunion of sorts. I’ll be there too, of course but taking the early warm up this time to make room for our guests.
Angola meets meets Atlanta in this mix by DJ Eridson. One for the Fruityloops Hall of Fame indeed. This track is 3 years old but Eridson has new music up on soundcloud, including this Coupé-Décalé track he upped yesterday:
TIM, nice flag sponsorship, but your cellphone coverage is still awful in Rocinha
A week ago as I walked besides the still-not-entirely-closed off sewer stream in Rocinha, the favela where I’ve been living in Rio de Janeiro, a truck approached. Bamboo stalks and palm fronds filled the bed of the truck. Several young boys and pre-teens with their faces streaked with black paint jumped off the truck as it slowed to a halt. They tumbled on the ground or ran wildly, crying out. I asked my friend what was happening. He answered simply, “Festa caipira,” “country party.”
That weekend and the next this area of Rocinha, Valão, would throw its Festa Junina, a party which no one seems to be able to explain very well to me. In the rural Northeast of Brazil, this celebration trumps Carnival in popularity. Although called Festas Juninas, June Parties, the parties don’t start happening until June 24th and only happen in a big way in July. São João and São Antonio, whose saints’ days come in late June, are the main saints involved. “Junina” supposedly–I’ve never heard this, only read it–derives from Joãoina, from São João. Children eat candied apples, dress up like country bumpkins, brides and grooms, or aristocrats and dance in quadrilhas to forro and other Brazilian folk music. Pyrotechnic explosions have replaced the “traditional” bonfires which people dance around. During the day, dogs bark and I try not to jump (like a gringa) after every boom of firecrackers.
In many communities in Rio, Festas Juninas have died out. But in Rocinha, home of many Northeastern migrants, each neighborhood seems to throw its own outdoor “June” party Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Last Friday I spent almost eight hours at two different festas juninas in Rocinha. At the second one, boys and girls—whose costumes were specially sponsored and more sparkly than most—danced quadrilhas from about 2 to nearly 4am. Rural roots were reenacted and the past re-sounded in a multiply-displaced, secretly pagan celebration of the summer solstice in the middle of (still tropical) winter.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
John Roberts (not John Storm Roberts) remixing George Fitzgerald kicked off last night’s radio show. I hope that those are stage names and not their real names (the way my friend named Vincent is really named Alex), but either way the music is magic. The hour was lively (how had I not heard the Fuckbuttons Fever Ray remix before? Imagine if every Aaliyah track had a beat-a-pella version? How much more Brooklyn R&B will we get this year?) as was the comments section. You can stream it now:
tracklist:
George Fitzgerald Silhouette – John Roberts remix Silhouette Ep Aus Music Caribou Found Out Swim Merge
Aaliyah If Your Girl Only Know (Beat A Pella) If Your Girl Only Knew Atlantic
Downliners Sekt All I Can Hear Now Meet the Decline Disboot NEXT WEEK’S SPECIAL GUESTS!! http://www.negrophonic.com/2011/downliners-sekt-to-speak/
Fever Ray If I Had A Heart (Fuckbuttons remix) If I Had A Heart Mute “F(CC) Buttons”
Wiley Intro Creating A Buzz free mixtape hosted by DJ Whoo Kid. pretty sure this is it: http://www.zshare.net/download/923025814a312f94/
Wiley To Be Continued Creating A Buzz
Spoek Mathambo Mshini Wam (Canblaster remix) Mshini Wam / Gwababa (Don’t Be Scared) BBE
John Roberts Interlude (Telephone) Glass Eights Dial
Shabazz Palaces Toooonniiiiggggght Sub Pop free download somewhere, live version of album cut
Clipse Hello New World Hell Hath No Fury Star Trak
Yobi Painful War ft. Maino BROOKLYN ARE AND BEE
Hamdouia Mnin Ana O Mnin Nta
Dahi Katma Dahi Katma more lovely music with fragmentary metadata. all, the great data-melt! postGoogle
[Downliners Sekt - Picture by Fric Lopez / Postproduction by Gerard Franquesa]
A week from today, tune into Mudd Up at 8pm EST to catch a special show, recorded on-location with the mysterious Barcelona-based duo Downliners Sekt, who make “soul-filled gospel hymns for a technological apocalypse.” We will learn new myths about Portbou , enter the world of gypsies who sell fake gold teeth, and hear some unreleased Sekt material… Their past several releases have been availalble on vinyl and as free downloads. See you down the line…
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Do you have an old boombox? The rectangular kind that is big, boxy, held together with real screws? With large dials and analog push-buttons? If YES, then I’m interested in it & will pay (non “vintage” prices) for it. If you’d like to donate your crappy old boombox to a very good cause (more on this later, I promise you will not be disappointed) well, that’s cool too.
Dutty Artz newcomer Sam is based in NYC and will help scoop it up, and if you live outside of NYC then we can talk about shipping it.
give us a shout: boombox @ duttyartz dot com
On behalf of myself, my crew, anyone who has ever sported a high-top fade, and the entirety of the 1980s & early 90s, I salute you.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Both tracks from Kendrick’s new album Section.80 out now on Top Dawg Entertainment, and it has been in heavy rotation for the couple of weeks. If you’re into rappidy rapps and don’t know who Kendrick Lamar is, please get familiar! Can’t believe this is his third album. He’s performing somewhere in the five boroughs this weekend!
In celebration of that and the amazing couple weeks that I’ve just had playing Central Park Summer Stage with Dutty Artz sistren Rita Indiana and Colombia’s Choquibtown, Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night’s Swing with Lisandro Mesa and Que Bajo?! with Bogota’s El Freaky Crew I’m feeling like sharing is caring.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
NPR premiered this track a few days ago but here it is for download to the world. Built with my long time homie DJ Reaganomics this is a summer banger you can finish out the year with. I should note that I have been looking for a track ID on the vocalist so anyone that can give me a hard confirmation on any of the leads I have its appreciated.
Liquid is the new solid. last week former Mudd Up! guest NGUZUNGUZU released their new Timesup Ep on Dutty Artz fam Kingdom‘s new label Fade To Mind. Needless to say this release is next level, the water trapped in time theme is resonating with me particularly right now because I spend most of my day staring at a pool(its not that weird I’m a lifeguard). They’ve been smashing the internet with mixes recently, one for Dublab, and one for XLR8R, in which they’ve been bigging up Dubbel Dutch(White Label on Dutty Artz in stores!). I also had the pleasure of seeing them play at the first Fade To Mind Party a couple weeks ago, which if you haven’t done yet you’re slipping (it’s hard to tell from the XLR8R mix but the edit of this track DID WERK on the dance floor, spin back and all that). Go support the future of American Club music and cop dat.
Cardo has been DA family ever since we didn’t release his amazing “Green Disorder” and I had to break into his Barcelona apartment complex at 5 AM to sleep on his porch. He absolutely killed his remix for our last release from Kalup Linzy AND he has a fantastic new mix out last week for 1000 Dragones. If you’re in Accra come over and we can listen to it together.
[screenshot from the June Mudd Up Book Clubb's Ustream]
The Mudd Up Book Clubb continues! Every six weeks or so we gather (preferably on a rooftop) to talk about a good muddy book, stream the conversation so The Internet can participate, then eat delicious food. The Clubb is meant to be a realtime feast-for-the-senses thing, but I’ve started a low-activity Mudd Up Book Clubb mailing list, which will mostly be used to remind folks about the dates and give out location info. For the inaugural Casablanca edition we read Maureen McHugh’s Nekropolis, a novel set in 22nd century Morocco. For the second edition, the Clubb will meet in on a Madrid rooftop on August 10th or 11th (date to be confirmed soon), to discuss César Aira’s Cómo Me Hice Monja, a novel translated into English as How I Became A Nun. Este edición del Clubb va a ser bilingüe.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Argentine novelist Cesar Aira, I suggest that you simply read the book. No spoilers! It’s short and deliciously strange. Aira has published over 80 novels in Spanish, often scattered across small presses. The act of simply finding his work has a magical easter-egg hunt quality to it. How I Became A Nun is his most popular book, and a decent entrance. All Aira’s novels are quite brief. I’ve read around fifteen of them. I keep reading him. Some are terrible. But even the bad ones have special moments filled with an uncanny freshness and surprise and moments of aphoristic clarity.
I first learned about Aira from this comment on my blog:
I’m sort of obsessed with Cesar Aira, Argentinian, ridiculously prolific, starts from a premise and then writes forward, throwing up all these absurd obstacles and traps and pitfalls that he has to write himself out of, like some kind of perfromer trapped on stage who has to keep on improvising tricks and art out of nowhere and without knowing why, until for a second you glimpse a pattern in the chaos – and the whole theatre collapses.
There is nobody else writing like Aira, yet his writing isn’t at all “difficult.” Even at their weirdest, Aira’s books are syntactically uncomplicated; the big picture might be bizarre but he doesn’t clutter his prose with a lot of adjectives or challenging vocabulary — so he’s perfect for a non-native Spanish speaker like myself to read in the original. If you’d like to give it a shot, this website appears to have the entire text of Cómo Me Hice Monja.
[the lovely Madrid rooftop where we're gonna meet!]
“Pero no hay situación que se eternice. Siempre pasa algo más.”
