LOVE, THIEF/MORITZ TALK

[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/TonyAllen-OleMoritzVonOswaldRemix.mp3]

Tony Allen – Ole (Moritz Von Oswald Remix)

There is a lot going on here – a world shrinking and expanding, traditional Yoruba ceremonial drums and chants being laced with spacious/spacey (digital?) synth-pads, you can feel the continents drifting closer and apart as the sounds unfold, combine, and mingle, the relationship between Africa and Europe in the 21st century.

I started listening to Rhythm & Sound and Basic Channel around 2004.  They, Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, struck me as complex, disciplined, sophisticated musicians.  In the video below from sometime late last year, Moritz answers questions, explains his/their history, economic philosophy, work ethic, etc., at length as the audience and the interviewer sip Red Bull and doze off, and vibe to the music.  It’s great to hear/see him talk, but you have to brave the aggressive marketing overkill for Red Bull.  I would like to read or watch an extensive interview with him conducted in a different environment, but this one is alright for now, I guess –it’s relaxed, and he appears to be comfortable.

As I listened to Moritz’s German accent, I thought about one of Rupture’s point in an interview with Plan B magazine – “the internet contributes to the spread of English-language hegemony.”  I also thought about my African/Sierra Leonean accent, which is not very strong but it’s there –a constant reminder that I am speaking other peoples’ language rather than my own. What if the interview was done in German and translated or transcribed for English and other speakers? That would be too much trouble, an unnecessary struggle, right? Red Bull Music Academy is an annual international affair hosted in cities around the world, features guest lecturers and participants, and almost everyone who spoke, had some form of accent (including British.)

1 Comment

  1. “almost everyone who spoke, had some form of accent”

    Right there is why the interviews are not conducted in 10 different languages. If there isn’t a standard, information gets lost by third party translators, it makes the discussion move slower and people may ultimately lose interest. If I remember correctly, the U.N. standard right now is French? not %100 positive on that. I think to Ruptures point, the internet can’t help contribute to “english language hegemony”. Especially considering the orgins of the internet, or even personal computing and programing itself.

    // appends copies of the characters in the range [inpIt1,
    // inpIt2] to s; returns s
    string::iterator inpIt1 = str.begin()+6;
    //start from ‘ is’
    string::iterator inpIt2 = str.end();

    some C++, that’s a tough translation to any language

    (end comment for eggheads)

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