Friday 25 April 2008

Musicalia Festival

Musicalia magazine from La Palma are presenting a festival with La Kinky Beat from Barcelona, local ragga-drum n´ bass outfit Tropico28, and music workshops with Tenerife´s favourite percussionist, Nani. Saturday 24 May in La Laguna.
The lastest issue of Musicalia is out now and features articles on Afel Boucoum, Rachid Taha and an interview with myself. The interviewer did say that some of the things i said could prevent me from getting certain gigs in the future. We´ll let the powers that be decide that then shall we? Much thanks to the Musicalia team; Estrella, Pino, Presidente Nacho, Urena, Dani SV.

Thursday 24 April 2008

No cockblocking please....


No cockblocking please.....eh?
Cockblocking is a term that refers to ´hindering a male as he attempts to get it on with a female´.
In my instance it refers to someone hindering my attempts to get some work. Fuck sakes, last week I had a little rant about some promoters being dickheads for not properly compensating DJ´s for their work...now I got fellow DJ´s giving attitude over sharing the decks, like they own the fucking club or something. No wonder things don´t progress in this motherfucker....and to think i was went into the situation with open arms with thoughts of trying to build something here with other DJ´s. Fuck it, just gotta get on with it, and try and rise above the bullshit which seems to be at an all-time high.

Back in the real world, an investigative report revealed the how TV military analysts have a vested economic interest in selling the Bush adminstrations happy talk about Iraq. In the summer of 2005, the Bush administration confronted a fresh wave of criticism overGuantánamo Bay. The detention center had just been branded “the gulag of our times” by Amnesty International, there were new allegations of abuse from United Nations human rights experts and calls were mounting for its closure. So the Bush administration went into overdrive, a damage control exercise that got together ´experts´ to hit the TV airwaves to defend their state of action...."Yep, let´s push forward this war agenda while making mad loot." This world is fucking insane, and what am i doing, playing records on a weekly basis, like it´s gonna do somethin´? I apologize.

Last week several men in the UK were found guilty of financially aiding and inciting terrorism, and sentenced to between two and four and a half years in prison. Eh, inciting terrorism? Everybody knows who encourages terrorism, and who is helping to swell the ranks of Al-Qaeda etc, but do they face the judge and jury? People who have incited an illegal and immoral war are suggested to be presidents of Europe and receive very well paying jobs while the common man has to take it whole, even if it doesn´t fit and tears the sides and leaves him bleeding....motherfuckers.

This weeks program featured some new joints to my ears even if they be released years ago. David Byrne´s excellent Luaka Bop continues to give joy, as i came across Asia Classics 1, Vijaya Anand....a man whose name means "victory" and "ecstacy". His music, mainly composed for films is the stuff that will keep ya going aaaaaaallllllll night long, jazzy brass, synths, hypnotic vocals, off-key quirks, the whole nine.
The well-loved El Guincho is here this weekend for the Ecos festival, his first show in the Canaries, the place of his birth, so it´s very timely that his remix of Like it or Not, by Architecture in Helsinki, was made available via mp3 this week. I have the pleasure of doing a set ahead of him...thanks to Javi at the Culture Dept. in La Laguna for arranging this event. Also on the bill, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Mistake.

The first time I heard Squarepusher it threw my mind into a frenzied state....it was ´Conumber´, then i was lucky to see him play at a Ninja Tune night in Hoxton Square in London...him, his bass and a drum machine. Hot as a pig on a spit! Ah, the good ole days....are set to continue.

See you at Ecos 08 then, like i´ve said before, it´s free, so ya got no excuse....action begins around 8.30, and i´ll be doing two sets, one before Echo and The Bunnymen, and the other after them.

Ear Conditioning Playlist 22.04
King L Man · Dear God - The Aziz Mian Visitation (Ear Conditioning)
Kode 9 · Konfusion Dub (Hyperdub)
The Bug featuring FlowDan / Loefah remix (NinjaTune)
Burial · South London Boroughs (Hyperdub)
Paradox · A Black Sun (Archive)
Ghislain Poirier featuring Radioactive · Propaganda (Rebondir)
Vijaye Anand · Desire Soars Up High (Luaka Bop)
Jepp · Superglue Low (Hut)
Architecture in Helsinki · Like It or Not / El Guincho remix (Mistletone mp3)
Mikey Dread · Saturday Night Style
Supacat & WuTang · Scalp Dem / Congo Natty remix?
Squarepusher · Conumber (Spymania)
Radar · Antimatter (Ohm)
Buckwheat Zydeco · Hey Joe (Charisma)
Emiliana Torrini · Dead Things (One Little Indian)

Ear Conditioning is broadcast via Radio Norte 89.4FM Tenerife, every Tuesday at 20h00, and repeated Saturday 21h00. www.radionorte.com

Thursday 17 April 2008

Promoters and Farts


Here in Tenerife, the idea that one´s only job is that of a musician / dj is something beyond comprehension.
"No, what is your real job?"
"That´s what is do."
It appears that most dj´s here do it as a hobby, and so many promoters/venues pay them as such.
"Come and play for fun."
Fun don´t pay the bills homie.
"Come and play for four hours and i´ll give you 30€"

I recently met a man who owns an Indian restaurant in Santa Cruz, and he waxed un-interuppted on for over half an hour about money, money, money, and how his brother recently bought a flat/apartment that used to belong to Paul McCartney. (Yes, he did tear up the floorboards hoping to find an old manuscript.) But I digress...."So, could you dj in my restaurant?" he asked.
That wouldn´t be a problem, I responded.
"What´s your fee?"
"200€ minimum normally, but i´m flexible, we can negogiate"
"Uh.... do you know how much I pay my normal dj"
"Yes, I can imagine"

Another dj/promoter recently asked if i would play his party. Sure, no problem, this is my fee.
He never bothered to reply to my email, which is weird cos he recently did an interview where he said dj´s should stick together, and not play for less than 200€, so promoters would respect us, and not take us for granted. Seems my man has a bad case of amnesia. There is an expression here for people that talk more than they should....His farts are bigger than their ass. Fitting.

Oh yeah, the postcard that´s at the top...well, picked that up on a visit to Belgrade a few years back. Found it recently, and put it up on myspace, where it lasted about 24 hours before they removed it, said it violated their terms, as it was either obscene, sexually explicit or violent.
I´m still trying to figure out which. The image refers to Serbian sentiments that they have been fucked over by the US in some way. It was explained to me that before NATO went in, there were laws that gave Serbian workers x amount of percentage and say in the companies they worked for. When NATO went in, these rules went out, and also they all of a sudden became recipients of foreign loans which they did not require, but were forced upon them, hence they now had a foreign debt which was something new to them. Before the Yank/Nato incursion they did not have a foreign debut, didn´t owe a single bean to the IMF etc. Kinda like Iraq, and how Paul Bremmer changed Iraqi rules and opened the gates to foreign corporate takeover. Fuckin´cuntz.

Yep, and now sports....I´ll be spinning at the ECOS 08 event, which is bringing Echo & The Bunnymen and El Guincho to town next week. Also on the bill is The Mistake, and I´ll be sharing the decks with the legendary Pili Txola. It´s free, so all you in the Tenerife zone, venga!
All the action is taking place at the University of La Laguna campus.

Ear Conditioning 15.04 / Radio Norte

The Roots · Da Lesson / Instrumental (Geffen)
High & Mighty feat. Mos Def & Mad Skillz / accapella (Rawkus)
J-Star vs. Mutamassik
Prince Fatty · Fe Fi Fo Fum (Anvil)
Rustrillos · Pendejo (Producciones PYP)
Red Snapper feat. MC Det · The Sleepless /Shut Up and Dance refix (Warp)
Malcolm McLaren & The World Famous Supreme Team Show / Would Ya Like More Scratchin?
Taking of Pelham 123 Soundtrack · Blue Green Money
Malcolm X · Taxes
Atmosphere · They All Get Mad (Rhymesayers)
Fugazi · Waiting Room (Dischord)
Pixies · Crackity Jones (4AD)
Pixies · La La Love You (4AD)
Poison Idea · We Got The Beat (American Leather/Vinyl Solution)
Bong Ra · Murder You
Shut Up & Dance / The Green Man (Shut Up & Dance)
Kode 9 · Find My Way (Hyperdub)
Kode 9 · Find My Way /Quantum Edit feat. SpaceApe (Hyperdub)
Kode 9 + The Space Ape · Konfusion (Hyperdub)
Cauto · Bona Vida (Dutty Artz)