Ear Conditioning / For use in subhuman primates

I was over at the Field yesterday or this morning and he's got a post on racism. He writes how some call him a " 'racialist' 'cos he always on about racism". Then a little while ago, I found this. A story about a Navy Officer who went to work to find a 'Vote Mugabe' poster on the wall behind his desk. We really hate having to go down this road, we really do.

Some think we get up in the morning, have Coon Flakes (yes, that's what one of the guys in our group at school used to say for awhile) and look forward to another day of racist tirades with a watermelon grin on our faces. Whitey please!

Carnaval nah done!

Never in my wildest dreams would I think Groove Armada would do anything that would pleasently stroke my ear lobes. The folks at Mad Decent made it possible with a right calypsoul breakout remix. GA have linked up with a rum producer that ain't Havana Club, to harvest the power of the internet.

S'pose it worked since the promo company working this project sent me the audio file via the 'nets.

Back to the carnaval theme, Ghislain Poirier has been busy busy and the result is Soca Sound System. Did ya eyeball the video in previous post?

Earlier today Zomby dropped a response to Simon Reynolds' article in The Guardian (UK Press) about the relationship between his music and Ketamine. That's him told good an' proper. Got Zomby's ten-minute mix for Radio 1, in the program again. Arpeggiated synthax and cold beats holding court.

Also a return visit to the works of Dub1 out of Virginia, USA

The legendary Lee 'Scratch' Perry gets a reworking by The Moody Boy with Rootical Mr. Manuva along on the mic.

For Spanish speakers and loudspeakers, here is an interview with Filastine that was on RNE last week.

Also a couple slices from the Ghana Soundz Vol.1 album from the tasty Soundways label. That would be a great place to work.

Ear Conditioning - For Use in Subhuman Primates and Cats only

http://earconditioning.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-03-11T04_30_58-07_00

• Filastine / Singularities (Soot/Jarring Effects)
• Ghislain Poirier / Immigrant Visa (NinjaTune)
• Groove Armada/ Crank it Up Mad Decent Remix
• Ashmahan / Naoueit (Club Arabe)
• Zeza Barkak Melbeka / Fatma Ben Meddah from Sprigs of Time (Honest Jons)
• Dub1 / No Weapons (DreadTek)
• Zomby / Mix Session (Hyperdub)
• Pest / Heard ya bird moved in (NinjaTune)
• Lee 'Scratch' Perry / Give Me a Call Mate -Moody Boyz Remix feat. Roots Manuva (On-U Sound)
• 3rd Generation Band /Because of Money - Ghana Soundz Vol.1 (Soundway)
• Oscar Sully & The Uhuru Dance Band /Bukom Mashie - Ghana Soundz Vol. 1 (Soundway)
• Welcome to Jamrock Daddy G Mix
• J-Star meets Ms. Dynamite / Never Fall in Love (J-Star)
• Alan Freed Outro Goodnight and thanks for the use of your speakers.

Ear Conditioning Radio 27.01.09

Going out tonight via the airwaves of Radio Norte/Tenerife....Newness from DJ/rupture's  Soot label.  They have two albums ready to go, 'Dirty Bomb' from Filastine, and an album from Argentina's El Hijo de la Cumbia.  Filastine has a new blog which holds words and pix from his travels and how this new album came into shape. If skewwed up maghreb-bass heavy-political as fuck sonic reflections are your thing, seek no more.  

On a side note, last week, or maybe the week before, Robert/3D of  Massive Attack posted on the Hoping Foundation, which assists Palestinian children.  One of their myspace 'friends' felt that "musicians should stay out of politics".  Get a grip guy.  

Should we leave politics to politicians?  

If so, why do we vote for them?  

I think our man has forgotten that they are our representatives.  

Okay, he isn't the only one that has forgotten this fact. 

We are all guilty of such, and have let politicians run amok.  

Anar-fucking-chy...or something different than this non-participatory couch potato politics.

Right, back to sports....

Emilliano Gómez is Hijo de la Cumbia, which translates as 'cumbia's son'.  Smile-generating upsteppin' movimientos estas aqui hombre....muy guapo.

The third contribution in today's program that has Dj/rupture's hand on it in some way is the mix from Spoek Mathambo of Sweat X.  Via his negrophonic blog, he posted a link to the mix.

Electro, hip hop, 4/4, dubstep and swathes of Detroit techno embrace each other in this mix.

From the Studio Rockers label  is The Widdler, outta New Jersey.

So there you have it for this week's radio blast.

Two further stations here in Tenerife (Sunhole.net and PlanetRadio) have got in touch this week regarding carrying the program, so finally we should have a decent internet/podcast facility happening as well as island-wide coverage through the traditional airwave/broadcast method.  More news on that as it happens.

For the moment, Ear Conditioning is available via Radio Norte 89.4FM Tenerife Norte

20h30 - 21h30 

• El Hijo de la Cumbia / Intro (Soot)
  
• El Hijo de la Cumbia / Soy (Soot)
  
• The Widdler / Sensi Samurai (Studio Rockers)
  
• Artist & Title Unknown dubstep thing
  
• Jazz Steppa / Taylor Rain (Studio Rockers)
  
• Spoek Mathambo - H.I.V.I.P. mix Dezemba Liazonz featuring Geeneus, Sidelele, Izinja, Durban Funk, DJ Skhokho
• Filastine / Bitrate Sneers (Soot/Jarring Effects)

Favourites of 2008 / Looking to 2009

Our man, Dub Gabriel has a new blog up and running, and he's asked some of his friends to contribute with their favourite things of the year just past....

I'm not sure if I was too late with my list, as we've had the house in a state of construction, meaning a mountain of dust everywhere, and also have had visitors from afar, therefore been doing the tour guide thing.

I won't bore you do death with over-analysis of 2008, there's plenty of that going on in the blogsphere.

Fav's of 2000-ate

The Bug / London Zoo LP (NinjaTune)

El-P / We Are All Going To Burn In Hell MeggaMixx 2 (DefJux)

Flying Lotus / L.A. EP 2 x 3 (Warp)

Banda Los Hijos de la Nina Luz (Soundways)

Songs of the Broken Hearted / Baghdad 1925-1929 (Honest Jons)

Kotchy / Sing What You Want - MRK1 Remix (Civil)

Zed Bias / The Cauldon featuring Jay Electronica and Ghost 1 (Sidestepper)

Orchestre Poly-Rhthmo de Cotonou / The Vodoun Effect (Analog Africa)

Gurzuf / Non-existent Cinema (Gurzuf)

King Midas Sound / One Ting - Dabrye Remix (Hyperdub)

DJ/rupture / Uproot (The Agriculture)

Akoya Afrobeat / B.F.B.F. [Panama]  (Afrobomb)

Womad Las Palmas 2008, which gave us Speed Caravan, Ba Cissoko, Paprika Balkanicus, Femi Kuti & The Positive Force, Tony Allen, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, DJ Mr. Benn.

Another new blog to check is from Filastine....Observations of the Beginning of the End of the World.  It's the place to keep tabs on his new album, Dirty Bomb, coming out on Soot.

More as it happens, wishing you the best beats for 2000 and nine.

Thanks to all singers, players, promoters, producers, dj's, radio personnel that do it for the love.  Also big shout to the folks that drop by Txola in La Laguna for a bi-weekly dose of the goodness.  

15th Century behaviour

Last weekend was the Clandestino Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden. Elements within the Swedish government are very keen to promote themselves as being friends of Africa. Trade, cultural exchanges, financial assistance etc. are pinned on their chests to say "aren´t we good?" When it came to issuing Konono No.1 visas for their appearance at Clandestino, the western superiority complex reared it´s ugly head, and visas were denied. They weren´t convinced Konono No.1 were a legitimate group, and the chances of members of this group would most probably not return home and would live off Swedish benefits ´til their dying days.

Unfortunatley another no show was El Guincho, he was hospitalized and was in no condition to perform.

On the positive, DJ Mutamassik´s set got Aleksander Motturi, the head of Clandestino, breakdancin´and poppin´.
With the controls set at full steam, leading up to the release in two weeks of the new album, London Zoo, The Bug and Warrior Queen turned up the heat with a set of blistering EQ-riding dancehall business, and Ghislain Poirier dropped a special Swedish language mash-up on the audience that was a welcome surprise. I love it when artists deliver something that is close to the hearts and minds of the local audience, it shows thought and dedication to one´s craft.

My dj-set was a fight against the Sweden vs. Spain Euro2008 football match. The stage became sandwiched between a giant TV screen around the corner and another screen inside the venue. I thought I was on the losing side, but there were enough people there to enjoy the nu-whirl sounds and daytime bass-line movements. Much thanks to Amir Sulaiman, Karin, Cecilia and the countless others that dropped by with dance movements, inspiration, smiles and comments.

A big shit to Alby, the booker for the AguaViva Festival who ignored my phone calls when it came time to get paid. Alby knew damn well I was heading to Sweden immediately after the AguaViva set and we had agreed I would be paid as soon as I finished. It seems that artists based in the Canary Islands are always the last to get paid. Hey Alby, was Jamiroquai okay with you paying them later? Hell no, you ass-wipe, you paid them upfront!

I had to change planes in Copenhagen to get to Gothenburg, so checked out the well stocked bookshop at CPH and bought Bad Men; Guantanamo Bay and The Secret Prisons by Clive Stafford Smith. This is the 21st century, somebody best tell those motherfuckers in Washington and Whitehall, ´cos what they advocate belongs back in the Middle Ages. Men having their penis repeatedly slashed with razor blades, being hung by their arms for hours on end, dislocating their shoulders, not being allowed to sleep, constant bright light throughout the night. The beatings continue while I read that British Foreign Minister, David Miliband thinks the civilized world should do something about Robert Mugabe. True, David, true, and while your at it.....
It´s good to see Massive Attack using the Meltdown platform they have to highlight the plight of the Guantánamo detainee´s.

Speaking of activism+politricks etc., the latest addition to the Guevara Convention is now up.
Filastine has given us La Muerte, inspired by the work and unfortunate death of Brad Will. Brad
was in Oaxaca, Mexico videotaping the teachers' strike when gunmen opened fire. Will was shot twice and died while he was being carried away from the area. Along with Will, two protesters – Esteban Zurita López and teacher Emilio Alonso Fabián – were also killed. The snare sound in the track is one of the shots fired at Brad just before he was killed.

Next week´s program will feature music from Amir, The Bug, The Roots, Flying Lotus and whatever else I picked up last week. You know where to find me. Have a safe week, and we will catch up after the jump....or if you make down to Txola, La Laguna tonight, I´ll be there from midnight to three.
Peace.

Ear Conditioning Playlist 17 June2008

Artist Unknown · Oh mother, the handsome man tortures me / From Choubi Choubi, folk and pop from Iraq (Sublime Frequencies)
Sadum Jabir · Ashhad Biannak Hilou aka I admit you are beautiful / From Choubi Choubi, folk and pop from Iraq(Sublime Frequencies)
Fathay Salama · Maqsoon featuring live cuts by DJ Mutamassik
Freeform Arkestra · Freeform Theme (Straight Ahead)
Seji · Second Nature (Bitasweet)
Afronaught featuring Tittla · Work It (Apollo)
Cutty Ranks · Who Seh Me Dun / Wake de Man (TVT)
London Elektricity · Rewind (Hospital)
Bo Diddley · Powerhouse (Checker)
Parliament · Moonshine Heather (Invictus)
Funkadelic · Hardcore Jollies (Warner Brothers)
The Black Dog · Psit-Cosyin (Warp)

The Ear Conditioning radio thing goes out on Radio Norte, Tenerife 89.4FM Tuesday 20h - 21h

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