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.

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

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)

The Good Reverend

The Good Doctor Reverend J. Wright.
Every time i think "Pfft, pah religion", i think of the time i went to a ´Black´church in New York when i was about 13 years old. It was on! Whenever i think "Pfft, religion!" I think of gospel music, and it kinda sets me straight, if even for a minute or two.
When i heard The Good Doctor Reverend speak, i was raised, he hit the nail on the head, he makes people believe that there is something better for man, and ain´t that the point of religion? Dealing with the issues at hand, is one way to attempt to make things better, and i think what he´s been saying is along those lines, deal with your business properly, and you won´t get hurt. See for yourself, the video that Faux News and other mainstream media AIN´T playing. He´s just saying a truth that people want to ignore.

Other ´ignored news´ of the week, Iraq Veterans Against the War held an event last week called Winter Soldier. Veterans spoke frankly giving accounts of their experiences in Iraq. Not a pretty picture, no wonder the US mainsteam media has donated zero coverage time to this event.
Mike Hoffman, founder of IVAW said “Everyone wants this to be a good war so they can sleep at night. But guys like me know it’s not a good war. There’s no such thing as a good war.” More of Mike Hoffman and IVAW, here , courtesy of MotherJones magazine.

I´ve been listening to a lot of Aziz Mian this week. I´ve posted before about him as i´ve previously played his music on the radio program. Dropped one of his tunes during the dj set at Txola this past weekend, so i have to put up some links should anybody that was at the Txola be lookin´. Think of Aziz Mian as a rapper with gospel….an awesone poet.

Ay Allah, waiz ki bandagi hai jahannum ke khauf se
Maine gunah kiye tujhe ghaffar samajh kar

The preacher is pious only because he’s terrified of hell, Lord.
Whereas me, I sinned freely, trusting in your mercy
(from Hashr Ke Roz Main Poochhunga)

One of my best experiences was seeing Aziz perform in a small town in Pakistan. Before my eyes i saw people become so entranced by Aziz´performance that only the quick thinking and actions of audience members saved the physical self of the entranced from crashing to the ground. The entranced were gone, their spirits residing on a different level than their physical self.

Kicked off the program this week with Singers and Players featuring Mikey (Dread at the Control) Dread, who passed away last week from a brain tumor, he was only 54 years old. I had the good fortune to be at an On-U Sound recording session when Mikey passed by, real friendly and no trace of ego at all. May his family be consoled by the knowledge that he is at peace now.

I dug out Grooverider, he´s serving four years in a Dubai jail because he had two spliffs worth in his pocket when he went there to DJ at the end of last year.

Thanks to Dani/El Shiva Azul for the cumbia contributions, including the mash-ups of cumbia versus Busta Rhymes and The Beasties.

Where the fuck is Imhotep? He was/is part of the legendary French rap group I AM. He released a Mahgreb inspired solo album Blue Print ages ago, and i was hoping for a follow-up, but it never happened.

Ear Conditioning 25.03 2008

Singers and Players featuring Ashanti Roy and Mikey Dread · Autobiography (On-U Sound)
Dennis Alcapone · DJ´s Choice (Trojan)
Prince Far I · Deck of Cards (Trojan)
Dub Syndicate · Shout It Out (On-U Sound)
Circus Klezmer · Freitog nokh´n tsimes (9é circ d´hivern)
Imhotep · Marble Mine (Source)
Institute of Dubology feat. Tuffhead & Squidly · Nova (Taste/Livestock)
Reverend Wright speaking the Truth
African Scream Contest Mix · Analog Africa
Lucas Luizao · Princess Gold (mp3)
Negromoreno · La Danza de Busta (mp3)
Mixter Pan · Beastie vs. Crucet (mp3)
Chain Gang Song (Folkways)
Grooverider · Where´s Jack the Ripper (HigherGround)
Iraq Veterans Against the War · Winter Soldier
Aziz Mian · Allah Hi Jane
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan · Sari Sari Raat Teri Yaad
Burial · Title unknown

This program will be transmitted tomorrow via Radio Norte, 89.4FM Tenerife 20h00, and repeated on Saturday 29.03 at 21h00.

Analog Africa

With a title like this, African Scream Contest, you know it has to be checked, immediately too, no time for messing around!
This is a little something to wash away the GW. Bush "everything thing is okay in Iraq, trust me!" blues.
´70´s raw psychedelic licks step forward and dominate the arena, a breeding ground of nasty funk, Africaaaan-style! The co-ordinator of this compilation has also put together a little mix for our pleasure, check out his Analog Africa blog page here. I really wish i had a copy for tonight´s session at Txola pub in La Laguna, but in due coarse. Expect me to drop the mix on next Tuesday´s radio program though. All the beats.

Oh, one other thing that´s been on my mind....this China/Tibet thing. The Chinese have admitted to using weapons against the demonstrators, " in self-defense." But their opponents are Buddhists for fuck sakes, they don´t even harm ants!

Eliot (Mess) Spitzer

Been knocked out for the last couple weeks with pneumonia....damn i didn´t know if i was coming or going for awhile.

So, what´s been going on....five years of mess in Iraq, Eliot (Mess) Spitzer, governor of NY has been found out to be spending his hard-earned ca$h with prostitutes, and the US government has bailed out predator mortgage lenders to the tune of $200 Billion dollars, and the whole world may do into a depression because we are so tied into the US economy! What fuckery eh?! Now, Greg Palast has a something to say about this whole Eliot Mess thing, and it´s definitely worth checking out. Palast was the one that broke the story about the voting irregularities in Florida in that infamous election that brought GWB onto the world stage...he knows his shit. I think he maybe the last investigative reporter in the US, hopefully not. Now follow this and make up your own mind.....but ask yourself "How come I didn´t hear anything about this?"

This Friday and Saturday i will be spinning at Txola in La Laguna....it´s more of a fumeria (a place to smoke) than a place to dance or what-have-you, but they went out and bought some decks so i can play the vinyl...isn´t that nice? I believe i´ll be hitting the decks from around midnight, so if yer in the area, and fancy a tune to go with your favourite brand of cancer stick, come on down.

Ear Conditioning Playlist 18.03.2008
Silbo Gomero
La Kemia · Aie from Bacelona Raval Sessions (K Industria)
Moondog · Oo debut (Astralwerks)
DJ/Rupture & DJ Collage · Rude Boy Talk (ShockOut)
Ghislain Poirier & Seba · L´Art de la Fellation (ShockOut)
Zed Bias & Jay Electronica · The Cauldron (mp3)
Charizma & Peanut Buter Wolf · My World Premiere (Stones Throw)
Lee ´Scratch´Perry Vs. The Moody Boyz (OnU Sound)
Vecchio · Megaton
Barry Adamson · Dead Heat (Mute)
Tech Level 2 & Wayne Lonesome (ShockOut)
Sofa Surfers & Mark Stewart · Home Truths (Klein/Leaf)
Seigen Ono · Look for an Afternoon (Virgin)

Ear Conditioning · Radio Norte/89.4FM Tenerife
Tuesdays 20h00, Repeated Saturday 21h00

Gaza

The headlines today
Gunmen kills 7 at Jerusalem school;
Gunman kills 8 at Jerusalem school, ...."it was like a slaughterhouse."

Well, can you blame the gunman?
Yeah, but to shoot up a school, that´s not right!
Neither is bombing civilians, turning off their water and electricity, or killing their children.
Somebody somewhere does not want peace to become a reality.
Above artwork by Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff