For the posse of women that hollered "More dubstep, more bass!" as I finished my set last week at Encuentro Boreal in Los Silos (pictured above)....following is Mr. Goodman aka Kode 9 talks his inspiration, motivation and friction. Congratulations are in order for his Hyperdub label as the Burial album has been shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize. It´s just some different shit....out on his own, like El Guincho.
My next session at Txola will be 1 August, sharing the decks and mixer with Charlie Faber, presenter of the Sateli3 program / Radio Nacional España (RNE)
The first time i saw Charlie Faber spin, I felt like a pain in the ass, not giving the guy a chance to drink his drink, smoke his ciggie, select his nex´ tune...I was constantly asking
"What tune is this?"
"Who is this?"
"And this one?"
He has got a huge trunk of funk, rock n´ roll, good ole party music. He is a bad motherfucker.
The above video courtesy of Loquepasatenerife.
I don´t give a toss if they i.D. Banksy. His art is important, not his image.
The Bug: the London Zoo album is getting great reviews in the UK music press. The Observer Music Monthly review comes with "But it's in daring to ask the big questions like 'How did we get here, and where do we go now?' that this record's rage-filled exuberance evokes the spirit of such classic state-of-the-world addresses as Specials, Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Black Flag's Damaged." Yeah, i´d say impressive.
A couple week-ends ago was the Eolica Festival. The issue surrounding Eolica is the environment. As we entered the scenario we received a little portable ashtray, and I thought, ´cool, good idea´, that scores points. The location is on a wind turbine site in the south of the island, and the power generated by the turbines runs the stages, sound etc. Well, I thought it was, until I saw a generator pumping out the usual diesel fumes...oops, losing points already?
I played on the first night, an"improved" (their words) , Asian Dub Foundation headlined, previewing tracks from their new album Punkara as well as serving up classic material. They did sound better with their new vocalists, more mature than the previous two, one of which was an arrogant shit....i know from personal experience, when they came as a sound system a few years back.
Morodo, a reaggae outfit from Barcelona, I think, over-played their set as if they was the gigamegadon, driving people away with boredom plastered to their faces. All this after being in Madrid, when he shoulda been in Tenerife for his soundcheck. The first band hit the stage three hours behind schedule. One thing really missing from festivals in Tenerife, is a stage manager, one that knows what the job entails and how to do it.
"Stage manager? ask for Maria" pseudoym
Asked for Maria, "You the stage manager?"
"Uh....uh...I am half stage manager. Want do you want? "
Methinks, "Half?"
Asked for a beer, and a chair for the records.....didn´t see her again.
I eventually got behind the decks a bit after five am, and heaped spoonfuls of Iraqi choubi, Maghrebi, darabooka, tabla solo, nu-whirl breakbeat business before the clock struck six.
Curfew, no one said anything about a curfew!
What do you mean 10 minutes?, I´ve only just started! (40 minutes earlier)
I ain´t been able to bring out the futuredubstep bass jewellry yet!
We need to hear that shit coming through this massive system ya got!
Aguaviva Festival...pffft!
My bird-watching man and avid nature-lover friend Juan Jo (see below also) turned Ayoze of the the AguaViva festival people onto me to dj next to the NGO tent. Ayoze called me up, set up dates, then i got passed onto the booker, Alby.
He and I made an agreement that I would be paid after my second set.
When the time came, was he anywhere to be found? Nope!
Would he answer his mobile? Nope!
Knowing that I had a flight to Sweden immediately after my set, Alby ignored my calls and texts until I sent him a third text asking him if he treated all his artists like this? Fuckin´hell, that got his attention, as he replied "Have some respect!" Yes, Alby, you are one to talk. You paid Jamiriaqua (spell check ain´t working) in advance and you can´t even pay me my little monies as agreed.
Thanks to Ayoze from the production company, and Walter, they went all out to help me get paid.
Via magazine (Tenerife) has refused to run a review of the AguaViva Festival proper - not the NGO tent event - penned by Javi Jiminez because he lambasted the festival organization and of course, the magazine can´t bite the hand that serves up ca$h, so that´s it, my man has quit the magazine. Real shame, although it was kinda trendy hi-brow, glam, it had good photography, class images, interesting articles, bi-lingual to a degree, and it was good that Javi was able to contribute to their music coverage. He avoided the obvious stuff that it covered day in day out. I came across the magazine at the airport, and inside was a positive review of a Little Axe album. I was glad to see that somebody down this way had cottoned on to what Skip was doing with Little Axe. I met Javi about eighteen months later. He´s the one that brought El Guincho to town a few months back. Oh, El Guinch´t....he´s had to pull out of his summer dates in North America due to exhaustion. The few months have been full on for him. Hope your reading Future Music in bed Pablo.
Fun-da-mental played the 1st Internationalist Youth Resistance Festival in Greece last weekend. I went out a day early, and good thing too, Ojos de Brujo Sound System were also on the bill, so we hooked up at the studio of Iman Baildi for a little refreshment, (it was 33 degrees) and recording of ODB claps and me abusing the ears of the engineer, shouting into the mic.
The festival was organized by the communist brothers and sisters of KOE. Discussions, debates, events featuring people from Nepal, Bolivia, Haiti, Greece, Venezuela. Leila Khaled was supposed to be there, but the Israeli government prevented her from travelling, so a direct phone link was arranged as an alternative.
It was also the first festival whose portaloo´s were illuminated at night. Normally you wouldn´t want a light in there anyway, but this was real clean, hence no rim-ridding stinking mass was present to be highlighted.
Back home, full moon Friday was an event presented by the Fundacion Global Nature, that the aforementioned JuanJo is involved with. That guy has my back for sure, no? This week was the unveiling of a whale skeleton reconstructed with metal work support. I was told there are only five skeletons of this species, and not all of them are open to the public either, so if ya get the chance, the coast of Los Silos should be on your mind.
2 MC´s and 1 DJ under the name Demencia Lírica provided the old´skool flow & beats to a sparse crowd but appreciative crowd, bless ´em.
After I was done, a female voice, "..more dubstep, something with bass!"
It was true, it was one of the very few events where they had a system that could handle weight.
Been slack on the playlist front, if you´ve read this far you´ll understand why...
The program for this Tuesday is looking like this:
Radio Norte 89.4FM Online here could it be true?
Nubian Mindz · Urban Beats (Archive) / Trippy filtered slow moving
Max Roach · Absolutions (Atlantic) I don´t possess the vocabulary to express myself about this
Humbucker · Cincinnati Hawks (Klein) / 70´s NYC funk. Stuck right up your nostrils.
Boom Bip · Enjoy eating the diane musson´s hand (MUSH) Great use of Marvin Gaye music
Boom Bip · Doo doo science - Once again, great use of a sample, this time of the great purple one.
The Clash · Death is a Star (CBS) Delicate and sincere.
Sabu Martinez and his Jazz-espagnole · The Oracle - What was it like when you first heard him?
Gaby Novak · Caravan (Cosmic Sounds London) - Great jazz recordings saved from the rubbish.
Big Band RTS · Ne ga se prodavaj (Cosmic Sounds London) - As above, saved, and we are lucky.
Cymande · Crawshay (Sequel) I don´t play them enough!
Fourth World · Serra Do Relogio · London Elektricity remix (Melt)
Fourth World · Trip to the Fourth World · 4Hero remix (Melt) No let up from the Dollis Hill crew
Fourth World · Terra Mae · Nation World Service remix (Melt) When asked to do a remix that is also gonna feature IG Culture, BT, Herbalizer and the above, London Elek´ and 4Hero...your shit has got to be tight! We did it Rich!
Ear Conditioning · Jazz Absolutions
July 22 20h - 21h
Radio Norte 89.4FM Online here could it be true?
It´s been a lot of work, sweat, sleepless nights, having to deal with 60 year-old junkies shooting up outside the studio door, human excrement by the lift....fitting I suppose for an album titled London Zoo.
If your going to be in London at the beginning of August, and you like your beats hard like two day old shit, and lyrics flowing like the Amazon, head over to the album launch party at Brixton´s Mass venue. Also on the bill, Flying Lotus, Kode 9, Spaceape, Warrior Queen, Ricky Ranking and Tippa Irie. That´s a line-up that just makes ya piss don´t it?!
Last week´s program included five tracks from the album, plus a joint and a beat from the latest effort from The Roots, a fav´ of the BugMan.
Started the program with KRS-One´s classic, Sound of the Police. We´ll ya would if like me, you were heading to work then got pulled over by the men in military-blue. The first one told me to take the keys out and put them on the dashboard, all this with his hand on his gun. Another one stood in the middle of the street with shotgun in hand.
Where do they think they are? This ain´t Killadelphia, this is La Laguna, Tenerife for fucksakes!
Okay, so over to the pavement we go. Asked to get everything out my pockets, cool, I gotta get to work, so let´s get this over done quickly, so I can get to the club.
While checking out my id, I speak to myself, "What kinda manner is this they got going on?" Over comes 6" 3" steroid maximus cop, also fingering his weapon ("Skeng!"), nose to mine, "You are not permitted to speak English" or words to that effect.
So ya now know, it´s illegal to quietly speak to one´s self in English when being searched / harassed by the Spanish pigs.
In compliance with steroid maximus´ arrogance, I closed my mouth and put my hands in my pockets....may as well play some pocket-pool while waiting. Even that, a passive wank brought the steroid-hungry animal over again, all up in my face, trying to provoke me so he would have an excuse to beat me to a fucking pulp. No mate, I´m not playing your fucking game.
It´s people like this steroid junkie that put me off from joining the police force when I was in Toronto. I was actually naive enough to think that I would be able to make a change in police attitudes, fool me!
In the end they gave me a ticket / warning for having a knife in the car.....yep, the knife that we bought the day before when we went to the beach, so we could make sandwiches...yeah, you know, to cut the bread, tomatoes etc.
The lesson to be learned? Throw away any item that could be a weapon immediately after use, or better still, don´t buy it, leave it in the shop, and use yer teeth like you was in the Stone Age.
Don´t speak English, and don´t play pocket pool as it could unleash a wrath upon you like you have never seen.
The clip below is from last years demonstration against the Unipol (Intervention police unit in Santa Cruz Tenerife) after some of them beat the living shit outta a teenager. The pork-unit said he fell off his scooter while trying to evade a spot-check. The kid musta had one of them scooters fitted with a Harley-turbo engine, ´cos his face coulda been used as an airship for those above the stadium shots during the Euro2008 football championships. I really think that coulda so easily been me.
Ear Conditioning Playlist 24 June
KRS-One · Sound of the Police (Jive)
NWA · Express Yourself (4th & Broadway)
SuperCat · Scalp Dem / Wu-Tang Remix featuring Method Man (Columbia)
Public Enemy · 98 Posse (DefJam)
The Roots · @15 (DefJam)
The Bug featuring FlowDan & Killa P · Skeng
Keith LeBlanc: Technology Works
The Bug featuring Tippa Irie · Angry
The Bug featuring Ricky Ranking · Too Much Pain
Lenny Bruce: Gee, all you people can tap-dance
The Bug featuring Spaceape · Fuckaz
The Bug featuring Roger Robinson · You & Me
Filastine · La Muerte (Soot)
Cauto · Bona Vida (Dutty Artz)
Skream & Cluekid · Sandsnake (Disfigured Dubs)
Negitiveland: Helter Stupid
Mala· Left Leg Out (DMZ)
Pixies · Planet of Sound (4AD)
Tubby T · "Title ? / Photek Remix
John Cusack: "If your not going to become politically active in 2008, I don´t know when your are going to!"
Miles Davis · The Pan Piper (CBS)
Burial · Ghost Hardware (Hyperdub)
Altered Beats featuring DJ Rob Swift & Liu Sola · Ancient Style (Palm Pictures)
Man dear, did this ever make me temporarily forget about the dickhead cops that I had to deal with on the way to work last Friday.
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
Miss America / From Ralph Bakshi´s Coonskin.
Now who did i lend the video to?
Gotta a friend here who doesn´t lend any books, dvd/video/cd´s to nobody, never, ever, final.
Don´t blame her.
