Lord, help the poor and needy

Nice one Fidel, you made a lot of people proud of themselves by standing up to the man, and taking him on fair and square. An inspiration to millions in the Caribbean, South America, hell, the world over, much more of an inspiration than the Washington boys, no doubt! I just don´t get it with anti-Fidelistas....they go on about Cuba´s lack of this and lack of that, but never once question the so-called democracy that is supposed to exist in the land mass that is but 90 miles from Cuba. They never ever think that for 500 years, Cuba had never been allowed to run it´s own coarse. For 500 years, the French, Spanish, and Yanks ruled the roost and laid down the law. For the first time in 500 years, a Cuban, free of outside influence was at the head of the country. Think about it, your home being run by someone else for all that time. Think about it, then we´ll talk. The last track in today´s program is coincidentally very appropriate.

Fuckin´pussy ´oles! Who? The fucking Metropolitan Police Force of London, that´s who!
According to documents seen by the BBC, the police refused to arrest an Israeli general on a war crimes warrant because they feared an armed confrontation with Israeli security that were on the airplane that brought major general Doran Almog to the UK. Lawyers acting for Palestinian campaigners lobbied the Met Police to acto over allegations he had ordered the destruction in 2002 of more than 50 Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip.

This is the same police force that had no problem engaging their weapons against an unarmed man by the name of Jean Charles de Menezes or the countless people they have killed while in police custody.

The film Injustice looks at some of the families of people being killed at the hands of the police, and the families struggle to receive some kind of justice on behalf of their deceased brother, father, mother, sister, cousin. Whenever the director and producer of the film has tried to arrange screenings for the film in the UK, the venue, cinema has been threated with a court order by the Police.....something to do with libel.....fuckin´pussy´oles!

Now sports....we got all kinda tings going on in this weeks edition of Radio Freedom, newness from Cat Power, hardcore bass from Stereotyp, tag-team action from Mickey Hart and Zakir Hussein, percussion concussions from Nána Vasconcelos, a dash of cumbia, some of dat Radiohead thing, as well as Belgium´s best musical export, Think of One, who have a new album out very soon via Crammed. Kicking off the program.....a cut from The Best Belly Dance Album in the World 2!

Farrok Salama / Dalah (EMI Arabia)
Beat Conductor / Freeze (StonesThrow)
Think of One / Marrakesh II
Nána Vasconcelos / Balanca Rede (Island)
Lito Barrientes y su Orquesta / Cumbia en dos menor (Soundway)
Argonort / The Argonort
El-P / Truancy (Def Jux)
Stereotyp / My Sound (G-Stone)
The Bug / Poison Dart · Stereotyp Remix (Ninja Tune)
Company Flow / Lenorcism (Dummy Snacks)
Elixir & Endemic Void / Chronono (Eves/Language)
Madvillian / Raid (StonesThrow)
Radiohead / Jigsaw (XL)
Global Drum Project featuring Mickey Hart and Zakir Hussein / Funky Zena (Shout)
Cat Power / Lord Help the Poor and Needy (Matador)


Ear Conditioning, every Tuesday 20h00 at Radio Norte 89.4FM, repeated Saturday´s at 21h00

Special Brew / Ear Conditioning 12 Feb. 2008

I came across DJ Negro via hispace, and he has been kind and generous enough to send me seven tracks to share amongst the listeners. His style....cumbia, dub, dancehaul. Everybody that has Diplo and the Mad Decent crew on their radar knows of the sixteen year old RyeRye....well i think they do, and so should you. Speaking of Diplo, while The Bug was visiting us here, he gave me a blast of Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape of M.I.A. that Diplo produced. I was able to record the session note for note in my head and re-record it for you here..."Yeah right, you copied it ya bastid!"
Lined up for tonight´s program is a new joint from Erykah Badu, getting a kinda dubstep-inspired treatment from Mr. Moody, Tony Thorpe. One of the main men at Universal Records was back home in NewZealand and heard his remix of Amy Whinehouse, and was moved to ask "Who did dat?" and "Can he do something with Ms. Badu?" This one is for the ladies. We continue to follow the links....from Badu to Jay Electronica....yes, him again. His flow is so different i´m hooked like the fish we had for lunch.

This past weekend, the group Tropico28 and myself headed to the mainland for a couple concerts in Alcazar de San Juan and Madrid. During one session, Aitor, the Tropico programmer asked "What is that track you just played that had the heavy pounding drums, that opened my mind?" I responded "Oh, you mean The Bug remix of Thom Yorke."

Tropico, as with a lot of heads here in Tenerife, are really into their drum an´ bass. Posters for ´Old Skool´ events stand tall all over the place. So with that it mind, i dug out, what for me is one of the best....Source Direct. For the uninitiated, they were associates of the one known as Photek. It was Rupert/Photek that brought them to the attention of Steve Brown, AnR man for the Science label, which was part of Virgin Records, back when it rocked. Steve signed them.....but before their releases on Virgin, there was "The Crane", which they released on their own imprint. Very atmospheric in a Blade Runner way, punishing drums, sword manoeuvres and a 12" full of tension.

The Special Brew / Ear Conditioning 12 Feb. 2008

DJ Negro · Danza Extrerrestre (DJ Negro)
DJ Negro · Mash Up Andres Landero VS. Rookie (DJ Negro)
DJ Blaqstarr & Rye Rye · Shake It (Mad Decent)
M.I.A. / Cutty Ranks · from Piracy Funds Terrorism mixed by Diplo
Bunny General · Kill a Drumpan Sound (Sweet Music)
77Klash feat. Johnny Osbourne · Mad Again (Dutty Artz)
Ghislain Porier · Blazin (Ninja Tune)
Erykah Badu VS. The Moody Boyz (Universal)
Jay Electronica · Departureandareyouwatching
Thom Yorke · Harrowdown Hill · The Bug Remix (XL)
The Bug · Skeng · Kode 9 Remix (Hyperdub)
Cauto · Bona Vida (Dutty Artz)
US Soldier at Abu Ghraib talks about CIA techniques and the pimping of a 15 year old Iraqi girl.
Source Direct · The Crane (Source Direct)

This is something off the hook, people making a scene. Just stop for a minute.....or five.
Until next time....peace out.

Carnaval en Tenerife

A major component of the carnival aqui en Tenerife es las Murgas. Murgas are a group of singers, lots of singers....we are talking at least 50, armed with kazoo´s, costumes, and painted faces, that take a popular song and change the lyrics to reflect with humour, the current local political or social scene. This year as the scandal regarding the mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Miguel Zerolo and the Las Teresitas development continues, one of the most popular Murgas, Los Bambones, took the opportunity to express themselves proper. During the carnival the murgas compete in competition and the rumours floating state that it´s best to avoid the politics, hence there was a lot of pressure on the judges not to give Los Bambones the top award...the politicos couldn´t handle their fierce critics being rewarded for their insolence. Being part of a Murga outfit costs a lot of money....rental of the rehearsal space, costumes, paint/make-up for over fifty persons, transport etc. Winning the competition helps with the costs, so you see the problem....it´s becoming Murga-lite, but Los Bambones aren´t taking the easy route, no sir! In the clip below, Los Bambones refer to the lottery, which is how Zerolo says he came across quite a bit of money that was found in his bank account...."I won the lottery three times." Oh yeah Miguel, sure you did. What are the chances of winning a lottery once, never mind three fucking times. Oh, i get it, when he says he won the lottery, he wasn´t joking. I applaud Los Bambones for sticking to their guns, just not sure about the wigs though....


Last year when we went to Carnaval, i got really pissed off with seeing countless people dressed in Blackface, then coming up to me and dropping "Hey brother!" I left after snapping and hitting the 10th psuedo-bro in his mug. Many folks are ignorrrrant of what dressing in Blackface means to us that are insulted by it, no idea what so efffing ever.....then you´ve got jerks like those that taunted Lewis Hamilton at the Madrid practice track this past weekend. They definitely knew the connotations of getting ´blacked-up´ and riling the brother. Okay, so they didn´t like what went on between the British F1 McLaren team, Hamilton and the Spanish flag-bearer Alonso, but why drag it into a racial issue? Easy way out guys, lame. Really, some white people need to have their %ucking skin peeled off them while they are still alive and have it force-fed to them....no, better yet, their daughter or son should fall in love with the darkest of brothers or sisters from this planet and they get it on like rabbits, producing ´nuff grandchildren for the grandparents to feel completely fucking stupid.

Yesterday a friend asked "What does ´Nigger´ mean?" When that word came out of her mouth, it hit me like a rock, quite a surprise it was, i didn´t see it coming at all. So we engaged in a conversation, and cleared up the matter. Many white folks here, they don´t know it´s history, yet they hear it in music or in films and think it´s cool or okay, ´specially if they hear a black person using it. There are a few people at fault here, besides the obvious, what about the record companies that promote the shit, and run looking for excuses when they are brought to book. I stand accused.....i love Richard Pryor, and he had me and millions of my generation in tears when he did his thing, but now, like when i do my radio program, i clean the tracks that contain n.....r because when i hear other programs here, like the rap program on Radio3 (RNE) throwing it about, especially here in a country where English is not widely understood, it hurts too mucking fuch! One of the best known producer/DJ in these parts, Real El Canario, who is now based in Amsterdam, maybe a great dj....witness him spinning 100 hip hop tracks in fifteen minutes, however i don´t think he can claim ignorance with the ´Trankilo my Niger´ (Easy my Niger) tag on his myspace page....then again, maybe he´s not a good speller, or i totally missed the point and he was talking about the country...uh, i don´t think so.
Thanks to the field-negro for his writings which i find very on-point. Every home should have a field-negro.

Photo courtesy of the field-negro.
Oh shit, speaking of n····r, this just hit the net, the trailer for N####rTheMovie. It sets out to examine and analyze the origin and contradictions of the N-word. What constitutes one as a "n····r"; is it a racial slur; a term of endearment? The film examines the many cultural perspectives to understand teh meaning, contect and power of the term "n····r".

No radio program today for some stupid reason that i´ll not bother going into....but i had some new cumbia joints from DJ Negro, from Buenos Aires, who sent ´nuff tuneage; a rewind of Jay Electronica-the illest rapper-producer i´ve heard i´ve heard in ages; the fresh (so fresh, it´s still warm from the oven) remix by the Moody Boyz of Erykah Badu, some more El Guincho....who it turns out is playing the same day, same town (Madrid) as myself and Tropico28.....sorry Trop´, i may have to miss your set and head over for some of that ElectroTropicana business. Madrid town-folk can catch us as Sala Silikona on Saturday, and at The Kings Electro Bar in Alcázar de San Juan, Ciudad Real on the Friday night. The planned program can wait until next week. Happy Carnaval or whatever you do.

Hank Shocklee / Still Bombin´

A good friend was talking to me recently about Hank Shocklee, and how he´s really feeling dubstep, then today i came across the following clip via Digital Bombing...

Ear Conditioning Radio 29.01.08

Job read about him somewhere; he told Javi; Javi told me. I listened, so I´mma telling you.
El Guincho. Originally from Gran Canaria, now a Barcelona resident, who may well be spending more time in airport terminals and foreign clubs soon enough....he´s got plenty love from a lot of people, the initial pressing of his album Alegranza has sold da fuck out, there ain´t even any promo copies left. A tropical breeze flows when El Guincho productions are connected to the speakers. Sample-based tunes that set the party alight. He´s got Canarian folkloric music in there in there, Brazilian vibes on a Naña Vasconcelos tip, doo-wop, Afrobeat guitar licks, Baul-esque rhythms, steel-pan sounds and more driving underneath his not-so-clear-vocals (that ain´t a dis....maybe my ears aren´t tuned into his pronounciation). He´s playing in Madrid the same day (Feb.9) myself and Tropico28 step to Madrid for a gig ourselves.....ahhhhh, piss me off! Pinchar aqui for an short interview Pablo/El Guincho did in English.




As previously mentioned here, DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadatek have formed an alliance under the name Dutty Artz, and the /r was courteous to provide some tasters of what is instore....77Klash with the legendary Johnny Osbourne, Cauto putting Barcelonian dubstep on the map with ´Bona Vida´.

Jay Electronica
"He´d ask the craziest questions."
"He´s one of the few artists that are willing to go all the way to the left."
"He´s a....I wouldn´t call him a person, ´cos he´s a weird looking cat...like an alien but in a beautiful way."

The above are quotes by Just Blaze and Erykah Badu taken from the Eternal Sunshine mix Mr. Electronica did that The Bug pointed out to me. Moody Boy Thorpe was talking about him too, so with those two telling me something, it´s gotta be check´d. The mix contains no beats, just heart-felt meloncholic chords, words and a few samples from films or TV programs that ring a bell but i can´t nail down.


Ear Conditioning / 29 January

• El Guincho / Palmito Park (Discoteca Océana)
  
• King L Man / Arando (Ear Con)
• The Roots VS. Lata Mageshkar / In the Music (Ear Con Mix)
• Elixir / Trapdoor to Another Life (Quatermass)
• Unknown Artist / Ahl Al Aqil · Folk and Pop Sounds from Iraq (Sublime Frequencies)
• 77 Klash feat. Johnny Osbourne / Mad Again (Dutty Artz)
• Cauto / Bona Vida (Dutty Artz)
• Buju Banton / People Kill People
• The Bug / Poison Dart · DJ Baku refit (Ninja Tune)
• Cotti / I Don´t Give A Dub (White)
• Jeb Loy& The Oil Wells / Things that made the US (On-U Sounds)

• Jay Electronica / Eternal Sunshine / The Pledge (mp-free)

1. Foreward by Erykah Badu & Just Blaze
2. Eternal Sunshine
3. Because He Broke the Rules
4. Voodoo Man
5. Fyi

• Mighty Zulu Nation vs. DMZ (Ear Con)

As for Suharto, good riddance you bastard!

Why bother? Play the music man! / Ear Conditioning 22.1.08

In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, experts warned Tony B.Liar that occupying the country and trying to impose a western-style democracy was doomed to failure. The Guardian´s Jonathan Steele has written a behind-the-scenes account of what happened when people with the knowledge briefed the former Downing Street occupant, not that he actually listened to what they had to say...

Wait, i must be looking at this from totally the wrong perspective. It´s not like anybody really gives two pence what the Iraqi´s think. The Iraqi Provisional Authority headed by Paul Bremer got what it wanted....or I should say, the US with Paul Bremer as head of the Provisional Authority, got what it wanted...as in carving up the country and giving slices of it´s businesses to foreign control, and privatizing war...see Blackwater, Haliburton, SAIC, et al.

Before the invasion, Iraq's non-oil-related economy had been dominated by 200 state-owned companies, which produced everything from cement to paper to washing machines. In June, Bremer flew to an economic summit in Jordan and announced that these firms would be privatized immediately. "Getting inefficient state enterprises into private hands," he said, "is essential for Iraq's economic recovery."
Naomi Klein/Harpers Magazine Sept. 2004


Meanwhile to take my mind off this shit....I was listening to Ethiopia´s great Mahmoud Ahmed, and instantly decided that the willing ears here in Tenerife needed a dash of his glorious tone.

Helping maintain the stereotype that us black folks are well-endowed down there, is Big Bamboo by Lord Creator. Being the one fly in the milk in this town, there is one shameless old woman who, whenever we pass in the street asks if it´s big, i tell her it´s small. I am tempted to be rude next time and tell her that it could bus´ her up, but i refrain....over-sexed natives eh?!

I´ve been asked to do a remix for TraceElements. Chris (z) of said group sent a CD of another one of his groups, Zodiac Project, which features former FDM bandmates, rapper Scalper, and Wajid, the sonic noise merchant also known as 2nd Gen. Some of the frequencies that make up Organic Drift are top-end frighteners, that is scary, could fuck-up speaker type sonics.

Dodo....what can i say? Got a sense of humour that i dig...."I don´t need a guy, I´ve got my gun." Electric Love´s kitchsy-´lectro-pop sensibilities hooked me from the off! Get the 7" vinyl through Freshly Squeezed Records...don´t be shy, she doesn´t bite. The last time i was in Ldn, she roped me in to do vocals for a multiplication times table CD that she made for kids, made me impersonate a dog, can you believe it?!



Elsewhere, i ´jacked the mix that Filastine did for Blentwell....he´s crammed so many disks into 30 minutes, i´ve had to get a sick note, won´t be in for work tomorrow.

Ear Conditioning at Radio Norte 22.01.08

Grim Dubs Vol.1 (Grim Dubs)
Guadi & Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Six Degrees)
Mahmoud Ahmed / Sidetegnash Negn/Samiraye (Crammed)
Lord Creator / Big Bamboo (Dynamic Sounds)


Filastine Unleashed (Blentwell mp-free)

• Filastine - La Muerte (track in development)
• "Cycheouts Ghost"- Simtek
• Ellen Allien & Apparat - Metric
• The Bug (featuring Flowdan) - Jah War
• Horsepower Productions - Synbad
• Dam - Da Dam
• Dj C - Body Work
• Filastine remixes unlabeled maghrebi cassette, we'll call it- Berber Sex Hat
• Filastine remixes Maga Bo's - Nakhil - featuring K-Libre
• Immortal Technique - The 4th Branch
• Electromeca - Outromeca
• Fairuz - Baatilak
• Filastine - Blung rithm
• Ojos de Brujo- Todo Tiende
• Actitud Maria María Marta - Hijo Mio
• Filastine - Quémalo rithum, Nuestros Suenos version featuring...
• Rabah (MBS) & Beni (La7ma)
• TTC - Paris
• Filastine - Batalla rithm featuring...
• Alesh acapella by Jawad/Maga Bo for unreleased Sonar Calibrado track
• Fawzy Hafez - Suffara & Nay Solos
• Saian Supa Crew - Blow
• Sonar Calibrado - E daí (unreleased)
• Morris Brown Drumline / Demetrius Hubert - X-Factor
• Shystie- Get Loose
• Filastine - untitled & unreleased, with...
• Dead Prez - Hell Yeah
• RDB featuring Elephant Man - Ishq Naag
• Shyam Brass Band - Choli ke Peechhe

Danny Elfman & Steve Bartek / Prelude, from the film Psycho (Virgin)
Dodo / Electric Love (Freshly Squeezed)
Zodiac Project / Organic Drift (Urgence Disk)
Sandra Bernhard / Time of the Season (Enigma)
Barry Adamson / Under Wraps (Mute)
Barry Adamson / Epilogue (Mute)

Ear Conditioning at Radio Norte, Tuesday 21h00 89.4FM
Repeated Saturday 21h00

This is Freestyle,
But this style is not free,
It´s expensive....Roots Manuva

Enviromental Impact Study

The Bug vs. D.WattsRiot Soundclash

There seems to be no shame in the way the power structure goes about it´s business.
Tony Blair is being touted as the new president of the EU.
Former Indonesian dictator, Suharto is reportedly close to death. Him, responsible with the likes of the US government during Gerald Ford´s term invaded East Timor in 1975, and killed a third of the population. With oil fields in the proximity, Austrailia turned it´s back on East Timor and the idea of human rights, even as Indonisian soldiers mutilated several members of the Australian media, and sucked on the tit of Texas Tea...oil that is, with Indonesia. Suharto reportedly skimmed between 15-35Billion dollars during his reign. As he lies in a hospital with machines running his system, even human rights groups are sending flowers to his bedside. It´s the fact that these %unts never have to account for their behaviour, never, no wonder our regards for politricians is at an all time low.....the ratings for Frat Boy, as the field-negro blog call GW is at 24%. Fuck ´im, and the whole cabal.

Onto the goodness, as mentioned a couple weeks back, when Kevin Martian came to visit, it was like old times in London, shooting the breeze over some ice-cream, cakes...and yes, tuneage. So today´s Ear Conditioning program (15.01.2008) was made up of selections from both our craniums, shelves, ipods and computa´s. One hell of an action-packed sixty minutes!

The repeat of the program goes out tonight at 9pm local time...89.4FM

Aziz Mian / Allahi Jane Kaun
DJ Krush & Mr. Lif / Nosferatu (Sony)
Cult of the 13^th Hour / Wickedness (Soul Jazz)
Kode 9 / Stung (Soul Jazz)
DMZ / Thief in the Night (Soul Jazz)
Pinch / Chamber Dub (Soul Jazz)
The Bug / Jah War · Loefah Remix (Ninja Tune)
Baaba Mal / Call to Prayer
Burial / Archangel (Hyperdub)
Vangelis / Blade Runner (mp3)
Mr. Scratch / Live (mp3)
Dutty Goodz / Take (mp3)
Dizzee Rascal / PussyOle (XL)
Ghislain Poirier meets Roots Manuva and The Clipse (mp3)
Roots Manuva / Witness the Fitness (Big Dada)
Hopha / Cake B (Immortal)
Caspa / DubWarz (Dub Police)
Thom Yorke / Harrowdown Hill · The Bug Remix (XL)
Sofa Surfers feat. DJ Collage / Passin´ (Klein)
The Moody Boyz / Dubland (Moody CD-r)
DigiDub feat. Helen McDonald / Obruumankwaa (Digidub CD-r)