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Håkan Lidbo TED talk

I think we can all agree Håkan Lidbo is a very strange person - although he often produces very high-quality techno and some excellent records, this talk sees him discussing some very complex ideas of music as a language. He asks whether music could be used to communicate with other civilisations, both human and otherwise. And monkeys playing synthesisers. Just because.

In two minds...

One the one hand;


 
Biosphere - The Shield from Geir Jenssen / Biosphere on Vimeo.


But then...


 

Happy Birthday, High Life!

High Life are opening early tonight, 9pm, and they have Cut Hands playing. There'll be cake for the first folk in, and dancing for everybody.

Hold Me Close Now, Tiny Trancer

Jack Death has been a hero of mine ever since my too-young mind was exposed to 'Trancers' by the scifi and fantasy obsessed uncle who used to supply me with kick ass video tapes, from the A-Team to Star Trek, cartoons to cult movies most people haven't even heard of now, and sometimes even the odd book. Thank you Alan. You probably shouldn't have, but thank fuck you did.

He also got me into 'The Sword and The Sorcerer', another gleaming gem of my childhood. The crucifixion banquet scene has stayed with me my whole life, informing my sense of heroism and the masochistic pursuit of revenge. Plus the bit when he pulls the nails out is fuckin' awesome.




But I'm getting distracted... What did Jack Deth, the peerless, hardboiled trancer-hunter teach me? Well, he taught me that Whistler had a mother, for one thing.

You know, actually, that might have been it.

Still, it had Helen Hunt in it. So there's that.

Okay, so my shameless love of an 80s anti-classic is likely be based on an 8 year old's warm reception for all things kick ass, but it's a very real emotion, and I'm happy with it.

Given my uncritical acceptance of same, you can imagine my joy when Seth over at Bang the Bore sent me a link to this:



I'm not sure if any of this rambling nostalgia trip has a point to it, but Black Stepdad's video pushes a lot of my buttons, and not sharing it is not really an option.

An hour and a half of synthesisers, trancers,  grainy VHS and some really terrible physical acting. What's not to love?

Lowkey Has Quit Music...

...for now or forever? Well, story is he wants to focus on his studies, so hopefully just for now. Fuck, he better come back.





Check the Grime Report for more.

DâM Funk, trying something new

This just got posted on his twitter feed, and he's looking for feedback. And why not? I met him when I saw him play a while back for Optimo; it was great, he was lovely. If this is a sign of a new direction, I think the next time might even better.

Hope you're well, Mr F.

Lyken Love

We have a backdrop by one of our favourite artists this morning, as part of an ongoing series showcasing visual art we dig. Meet Mark Lyken, Glasgow producer and painter.

Voodoo Christmas

Further to our long-overdue Stephen Grasso lovefest Monday morning,  I thought I might direct your attention to a mix he recorded a couple of weeks back.
Entitled 'A Voodoo Christmas In South Norwood', it's a welcome alternative to all the jingle-sell crap that will no doubt be assailing your ears when you next hit town during daylight hours.

Mull some rum, and remember to pour some for Legba.

I tried very hard to think of a reason.

*insert journalistic angle for posting an old Demdike Stare video*





I fucking love Demdike Stare.

Black Kisses by Kick to Kill

Kick to Kill are launching this single in PivoPivo. Shit kicks off at 8, and you'll get a chance to grab an advance copy, maybe even get it signed.   All the shit you need to know is on the Kick to Kill facebook, and I imagine so are you. Check it!

Juggalos = Gang Threat

Brilliant.

It's getting spun out of proportion a little bit, but there is truth to the story that Insane Clown Posse fans, Juggalos, have been included in the F.B.I.'s annual Gang Threat Assesment. Rolling Stone has the story here.

I'm fairly certain that the ICP don't need a great deal of introduction, so to sum up briefly; sex-and-violence-spewing clown-masked rappers, who's love of Dark Carnival imagery, professional wrestling, high-sugar soda and extremely black humour makes them equally adored and reviled by the mainstream press, and beloved of teenage boys everywhere. Last year, they admitted to being devout Christians. Their fans call themselves Juggalos, and if you need any more information, just google a few images - it will tell you all you need to know.

And now their fanbase are classified as being responsible for gang-related activities in the states of Arizona, California, Pennsylvania and Utah. The thought of them in any way cohesing stoned teenagers into active gangs is about as daft as the whole Judas Priest 'suicide messages' fiasco. The only difference is that we're slightly less knee-jerk than we were in the 80s, and Rob Halford could actually sing. Hell, if anything, kids listening to ICP are less likely to get involved in gangs - they're far too busy hepping themselves up on Faygo, hitting mosh pits and scrawling rude slogans on their school books. ICP offer all the fun parts of childhood in one go, plus a few cluster F-Bombs along the way to make it edgier. For about six weeks in 2001, they were all I needed.

Voltergesit RMX of DJ Krust

One of my favourite producers, Voltergeist of Microrave records, has remixed DJ KRUST for an online remix competition.




Listen to it and vote for it here!

Pumajaw - Mask

Pumajaw, ex-Fence Collective folk-not-folksters physically release their new single Mask on the 25th of April, but are kindly giving it away as a free download from their website. Taking in aspects of psychedelics, electronica, offbeat folk and ambient, the two-piece layer up loops of guitars, concertina, synths and more to create a deep and powerful type of post-electronica that feels like the Beta Band on some hefty downers.

Pumajaw play King Tuts on the 25th of April, and Doune the Rabbit Hole festival in June. I'll be at the latter.

Download Mask here

A Little Song About Authority

Motherfucking DISRUPT, Motherfucker

This weekend, in case you hadn't noticed...

Buy yourself a ticket or eternally regret your folly.

Afro-Futurism

They didn't have the record I was after in the shop. It's on order, and it won't be in till next week. Thwarted, I had a listen to some African electronic music I fond lying on top of the techno 12"s. Which record it was isn't really the point. Suffice to say it was a pretty shit record, denying me the impulse buy transfer.

So I came home jonesing, and found this on Different Waters, from the usually excellent reboot.fm:

Dj Zhao - Radio Ngoma 6 Afro-Futurism by reboot.fm


No, it's still not the record I was after. It is making me feel better, though.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Round And Round"

Directed by Wayne Coyne - oh Wayne you so crazy! Srsly tho, this video must have cost about a fiver, and looks and feels great. It was filmed on a phone, and apparently the after effects don't come out in full cos of the Youtube bitrate. Cosmic!

Trent Reznor Update!

Trent broadcast a streaming interview the other night. I picked it up from the MetaFilter thread about it, which opens with some MegaUpload links to the stream, bootlegged in both audio and video.

If you can't be arsed wading through the whole hour and a bunch of footage, you could always look to the blogs for a summary.