This upcoming Monday, I will be sitting on a panel in New York called “Meet the Afropolitians.” It’s part of a larger global event called Social Media Week, and we’ll talk about representing Africa and collaborating with peers through social media and the Internet.
Check us out on Monday. RSVP early to attend because I’m told it will fill up! If you can’t make it in person, livestream it here!
DJ Ripley has arrived in NY for good, and she’s throwing a party to celebrate!
February 3rd at Public Assembly.
This will be the first in a series of events trying to bring together revolutionary thought, practice, and music in once space. The Williamsburg version of a Jamaican street dance, perhaps?
Join us! Facebook.
I wanted to take a moment to point to a series of dispatches I did around my trip to West Africa this summer for The Cluster Mag, and cross-posted at This is Africa.
My first installment takes a brief glance at the Ghanian scene (which is currently “blowing up” in the U.K.), and then the following two go more in depth about the scene in Liberia, and my own experience in putting together a compilation of Liberian music with Akwaaba music for international distribution.
Read them here: Dispatch #1 Ghana, Dispatch #2 Liberia, Dispatch #3 Liberia
Also check out two radio interviews I did, one with Jake Heller from Colombia’s Journalism school and Klaus Frederking at Radio Globo in Hamburg.
I’ll be sharing my ideas for positive change this Saturday as part of the two day Africa Gathering conference this weekend in Washington D.C.
I’m still putting my talk together, but it should be something about the history of the “Othering” Africa through music consumption in the West. Looking forward to my first ever speaking gig!
I just uploaded a new mix to Ghetto Bassquake and Akwaaba Music. I also made a commentary on the political and economic context this music was made in at Africa is a Country, and Cluster Mag (If you’ve been missing my posts over at Cluster Mag, I’m doing a series on my travels in West Africa this summer. I already touched on Ghana and Liberia, and will end with my reflections on my return visit to Sierra Leone.)
This mix is the sound of Liberia today, detailed track list available on Ghetto Bassquake and Akwaaba Music websites. A fully licensed compilation will be out in about 2 weeks!
While I was in Liberia this summer, I received a message from my friend DJ Ripley, that she was looking to put together a panel on collaborative music practices across international borders for SXSW, and wanted me to participate. She wants explore from different perspectives various notions of fairness in this hyper-speed global communication age, especially at a time when people are having to find new ways of making money. Seeing as I was in the midst of collaborating internationally with some Liberian artists at the time, and international exposure was one of the main things they were concerned about, I thought it would be a great thing to participate in and share my experience back to folks in the States.
With a little help from the panel crew, we put together the proposal, and it’s currently up for consideration by the SXSW committee. In order to get in 30% of our judgement comes from audience polls, so we need your help!
Vote for us both in the Music and Interactive portions of the SXSW music conference. And those who make the yearly trip down to Austin, see you in Texas!
Vamanos and I have moved from DJing parties and blogging to writing articles together. A natural progression. Check out our first writing collaboration for the Portland Mercury, an article introducing Oregonians to Syrian Dabke king Omar Souleyman:
Made in Africa is tomorrow once again and we’ll be featuring DJ Sirak from the NY based Africology crew. We’ve had to switch locations again, and it looks like we’re going to be a nomadic party for now.
This will be my last time playing until September as I’ll be off to West Africa for the summer (rainy season), but we have some great guests lined up.
Also, just published today on This is Africa is an article I wrote about Uchenna Ikonne’s Comb and Razor Sound Label, and his first release Brand New Wayo. I’m going to be doing some sporadic contributions there now as well.
Here’s the party info via Mr. Lamin Fofana:
FRIDAY APRIL 6TH
10PM – 4AM
MADE IN AFRICA
featuring DJ SIRAK of AFRICOLOGY
MIA residente’s CHIEF BOIMA + LAMIN FOFANA
CAFE NUNEZ – 240 W. 35th St. (Between 7 & 8th Ave.) NEW YORK, NY
Facebook Page
Cover $10
Special $5 well drink till 12
Complimentary cocktails for 1st 20 ladies…
couPe decAle zouK house hipHop r&B danceHall Raï kwaiTo zouGlou kaPouka genGe maRRabenta kiZomba KuDuro pandZa soUKous nDombolo hipLife mBalaX salSa… cot damn! whatevEr uLTra afriKaNess pluS pluS!
Sean Jacobs and I invited some friends down to the New School this Wednesday to have a Conversation about Music and Politics.
Brian Jackson, Carolina Gonzalez, Eddie Stats, Wills Glasspiegel, Masauko Chipembere will be on the panel, and Megan Bandle will be moderating, but come and join in on the conversation from the audience! Should be a good discussion.
Also, Eddie Stats and I will be DJing at Cayenne at 10:00pm the same night as a kind of unofficial Sierra Leone 50th Independence party. The perfect way to bring music and politics together in a positive way!
This past couple of weeks I’ve been interviewed twice, and while I miss posting these things at times, I keep a log on my bio page… if you’re interested in what comes out of my mouth (or typing fingers)
A longer one about my musical background just went up at Mixpak Records’ website.
And a shorter one focused on the phenomenon variously known as “Global” “Tropical” “Bass” music in the San Francisco Bay Guardian Online.
Thanks to Michael and Suze.
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