I was pretty much beside myself when I read on Wayne&Wax that Mutamassik had a new (”not to be bought or sold”) album out - download it. I, like Wayne, am a huge fan of her work. Although we have many friends (and even releases on the same label - Soot Records) and colleagues in common, I’ve never actually met her…..I’ve only heard things like, “oh, she left NYC…she’s in Cairo now. or Dubai. Or she said, fuck all of this, I’m not working in this business anymore.” I suppose part of that, at least, is true. According to her website, she has indeed, left Brooklyn and ventured off to Cairo and now to a cave in Tuscany.
I’ve been hugely inspired by her visceral organic sounds that are cut up and manipulated like only digital audio can be. Cut up and reconstructed, respectful to the source, but utterly destroying it at the same time. Einstuerzende Neubauten. Collapsing new buildings. Destroy to create again. Rhythms that trick you into thinking that you understand it and can predict it and then just totally flips it on you. Thick yet minimal textures describing new and unknown (or not so unkown) sonic spaces. This is not the latest “yebo” track from Jozi or Lagos Town or wherever. There is no remix competition. Nor does it have anything to do with being a heavy dance-floor slammer or big, bad banger. Sit up. This is some seriously fucking heavy Transnational Bass.
and she also does art too….
ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY G.LOLI AKA MUTAMASSIK:
Pissing Money and Shitting Bullets (Americans still are)
New Filastine mix - “We Are Experiencing Turbulence”
Mr. Grey Filastine, one of the hardest working dudes in the bidness, comes correct. again. with a killer mix. Everything flipped and twisted. get it here. or via the DUTTY ARTZ podcast series.
Infernal Noise Brigade- live in Mexico at street protest
Jazzsteppa- ??
Filastine/Cardopusher – Discontinuities (Singularities remixed- from the EP Extra Dirty Bomb)
Fnaire- Lalla Mennana
Filastine/Jahcoozi- Opium Den (Desordenador remixed- from the EP Extra Dirty Bomb)
Beats Antique- Oriental Uno (feat. Fanafara Kalashikov)
Oro 11- El Cangrejo
Arena & Etian acapella- Voces RebeldesXXXXX
Filastine/Ill Gates- Pharma Sutra (Fitnah remixed- from the EP Extra Dirty Bomb)
Filastine/Maga Bo- Batalha Cotidiana (B’talla remixed- from the EP Extra Dirty Bomb)
Chancha Via Circuito- Calzada
Foxdye- Foxdyechek Collision
Frikstailers- Sudaka Invasor
Tego Calderon- Diento de Oro cameo
Sonik Omi- Ye Jawani Hai Mera Jaan
Simbad- Airport Beat 1008
Modeselektor feat. Matt Shadetek- Beirut
Amir Sulaiman- Danger
Sunship feat. Warrior Queen/ Sinden(remix)- Quits
Filastine/Deep Throat X- Con Las Manos En La Masa (remix, from the EP Extra Dirty Bomb)
Madera Limpia- La Lenta (Schlachthofbronx remix)
Bassnectar- Cozza Frenzy
Venetian Snares- Sabbath Dubs
Kray Twinz feat. Twista- What We Do
Suckafish P. Jones- Caribbean Nightmare Agent
Dubchild- Can’t Keep Me Down
Caving- Slimthug
Dog Murras (feat. Propria Lixa)- Vai Levar Galheta
Brasil 96- Batucada
Lightning Bolt- On Fire
Rhythm Collision featuring- Indian Street Music #3 / Sein Sah Thin / Tabuh Winangun Marga / Venetian Snares / Filastine / Drumcorps
Filastine- Como Fugitivos (instrumental version)
with words lifted from:
UK newscasters
Carl Sagan dubbed into castilian spanish
ANC Radio Freedom Broadcast, South Africa, 1969
a US Military Commander
Waking Life
The Century of Self
Spectres of the Spectrum
Slavoj Zizek
and more sources of lost origin
Okay. 1-speed Fukin’ Bike is one of my mostest favoritest artists. Not just because he has bike in his name (or that he’s modest enough to ride a bike with only one speed and call your fukin attention to it), but because he makes songs like, “We Trade You Sting For A Toyota Pick-Up Filled With Weed,” and “I Wipe My Ass With Your Yellow Ribbon.” He lives somewhere outside of Montreal in a plantation of maple trees. he passes the winters making syrup, chopping fire wood and wading through snow that’s too deep for me to even imagine.
He just doesn’t give a flying flip about what anybody thinks - he has arrived to express what’s going on in his head. Period. And, what’s going on in his head is a fantastic riot of information and speed of light association that’s equally as wisely insightful as it is just silly and stupid funny.
On the flip side, his beats are made with the same throwing caution to the wind vibe. anything goes, choruses and verses are far from sacred inventions. He plays drums and distortion pedals and anything electronic mayhem.
He wrote to me and said,
“hello mr maga bo
how are you?
im just hiding out in the woods trying to raise a baby right…
its a good life…
la petite vie i think they call it…
hey i made a record about afghanistan and canada.”
The record is called “Pashto Translator Needed” and it’s free and you should go there right now and download it…..because “Take The Red Out Of The Canadian Flag And You Get Surrender.”
100% Maga Bo production with help from some very special friends - Jahdan Blakkamoore (Brooklyn), BNegão (Rio de Janeiro), Ghislain Poirier (Montreal), Filastine (Barcelona), Pacheko (Caracas), Fletcher (Cape Town), Dr. Das (London), Matona (Zanzibar), Abena Koomson (NYC), Teba (Cape Town), Xuman (Dakar), Speed Freaks (Rio de Janeiro) and too many more to try and list (you haven’t been forgotten!!!)…..
MAGA BO - Outras Terras Mixtape
1. “Ê Boi (Maga Bo Remix)” Coco Raízes de Arcoverde (Unreleased)
Traditional coco meets dancehall. An unlabeled mp3 that I fell in love with - “…Eu vou morar em outras terras.”
2. “E Daí feat. Speed Freaks” Sonar Calibrado (Maga Bo and Filastine) (12″ Shockout)
Dancehall made with the samples of car alarms, cut up saharan blues guitar and the stream of conscious rhymes of the Niteroiense rapper, Speed Freaks.
3. “B’tallah (Maga Bo Remix)” Filastine (12″ Post World Industries - forthcoming)
Trilingual rhymes by Barcelona-based Algerian rapper Rabah (of MBS) float over ragga with trills of breakcore and cell phone speaker interference.
4. “Alesh feat. Jawad” Sonar Calibrado (Filastine and Maga Bo) (12″ Shockout)
Recorded in Meknes, Morocco with garage security guard/rapper Jawad, who speaks about difficulties being respected while washing cars over a mutilated coco ragga track.
5. “Longa Nahawand feat. Mohammed Issa Matona” Maga Bo (Soot Records)
A traditional arabic song re-interpreted in ragga dub fashion. Recorded in Zanzibar with multi-instrumentalist and star of Akhwan Safaa Musical Club, Mohammed issa Matona.
6. “Se Liga feat. Mario Z” Sonar Calibrado (Maga and Filastine) (12″ Shockout)
Cut up moroccan rhaitas, live cello, a dubbed out ragga groove provide the base for Mario Z’s admonition to pay attention (”Se liga”).
7. “Boucan (Maga Bo Remix of Dr. Das Bhajni Ragga Remix))” Pitcho (Unreleased)
A remix of a remix….dub hip hop ragga - Belgian rapper, Pitcho’s urgent lyrics on top of an implacavel bass line from Asian Dub Foundation founder, Dr. Das.
8. “Aunty Adoley (Maga Bo vs. Sabo Remix)” X-Pensive Nframa (Akwaaba - forthcoming)
Ghanaian melodic hip hop (sung in Twi) on top of hyped up pure percussion. Sung in Twi, the lyrics praise the beauty and power of a woman, while the beat is aimed straight for the dance floor.
9. “Maga Traz a Lenha feat. Jahdan Blakkamoore” Maga Bo (Unreleased)
A hybrid Brazilian rhythm inspired by the Sergio Mendes track, “Magalenha,” this track features live percussion by João Hermeto and vocals by Guyanese Brooklynite Jahdan Blakkamoore.
10. “El Critica (Maga Bo Remix)” Petrona Martinez (Unreleased)
Traditional Afro-Colombian tune pumped up with a deep bass, kicks and electronic trills tweaks.
11. “Kizomba; A Festa das Raças feat. BNegão” Maga Bo (Unreleased)
A samba enredo from Beija Flor sung by BNegão over a kuduro beat with live percussion by João Hermeto.
12. “Alleyways” Fletcher Meets Maga Bo feat. Neon Don (African Dope Records)
Cape Town rapper Neon Don espousing on the realities of the Cape Flats over a thick dub crunk track. Essential material for any South African dubstep party.
13. “Ransom (Pacheko Remix)” Maga Bo (Senseless Records - forthcoming)
Live masinqo recorded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia over a dark dubstep track, mixed in Rio de Janeiro and remixed in Caracas, Venezuela. And now it’s in your hands….
14. “Earthshaking” Jahdan Blakkamoore (Produced by Maga Bo) (Duty Artz/Gold Dust)
Jahdan rocking his distinctive sing jay ragga flow on top of an Earthshaking cumbia dub (step) track. Produced for his recently released debut album.
15. “Nqayi feat. Teba” Maga Bo (Soot Records/African Dope Records)
Recorded in Cape Town with Gugulethu born and bred singer Teba over a slowed down ragga bounce. Sung in Xhosa, the chorus lambasts fake rastas and is highlighted by the distinctive and percussive ‘xh’ click sound.
16. “Wha La La Leng feat. Face-T (Maga Bo Remix) Poirier (Ninja Tune - forthcoming)
Live percussion based samba reggae built for the club and mashed up with Face-T’s melodic ragga danehall.
17. “La Paix feat. Xuman” Maga Bo (Unreleased)
Dubbed out live kora and provocative political lyrics by Gunman Xuman from Pee Froiss over a triplet african bounce groove punctuated by bursts of tama and sabar drums. Recorded in Dakar, Senegal.
18. “Rise Again feat. Abena Koomson” Jahdan Blakkamoore (Produced by Maga Bo) (Dutty Artz/Gold Dust)
Sweet melodic strings, nostalgic lyrics on an 808 bouncy dub beat featuring Jahdan Blakkamoore and Abena Koomson from the Broadway musical Fela!. Recorded in Brooklyn, NY.
New release! ……this, just in from our man in Caracas, Pacheko:
“Hello everybody.
So my friend Pocz & I just released an album independently.
Its a CD mixtape with 23 tracks by ourselves and some collabs with Cardopusher (Shockout, True Tiger, BCN-VE), Emmerson (Disboot, Chorizo Show, BCN-VE), Mr Gasparov (Steakhouse, BCN-Portugal), Dj 100 Mado and Ena (Murder Channel, Japan), Tranquera (tranquera.org, Brazil) and Maga Bo (Soot, Brazil)…
“Always use the word ‘Africa’ or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title. Subtitles may include the words ‘Zanzibar’, ‘Masai’, ‘Zulu’, ‘Zambezi’, ‘Congo’, ‘Nile’, ‘Big’, ‘Sky’, ‘Shadow’, ‘Drum’, ‘Sun’ or ‘Bygone’. Also useful are words such as ‘Guerrillas’, ‘Timeless’, ‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’. Note that ‘People’ means Africans who are not black, while ‘The People’ means black Africans……”
Djimon Hounsou reading “How (Not) to Write About Africa” byBinyavanga Wainaina (Text here: Granta 92).
I recently went to the annual Festa de jongo at the Quilombo São José in Valença, in the interior of the state of Rio de Janeiro. São José is a community of about 200 people of the same ancestral family founded by former slaves 150 or so years ago. The dance and rhythm jongo, was brought from Angola and is considered one of the origins of samba. Clementina de Jesus is from here and there’s lots of folks over 90 years old (so says their blog - it was certainly an all ages event).
In keeping with tradition, the roda de jongo was started by lighting a huge bonfire while the oldest couple from the community took the first dance……and then group after group comes through representing other communities. Here’s a ponto de jongo from the festa recorded on my still digital camera.
There were many different folkloric groups visiting from all over Rio de Janeiro state, as well as groups from São Paulo and Minas Gerais (where jongo can also be found). The group with the white shirts above is the local crew from Quilombo São José and the pink and white group are visitors (like most of the people there).
It was really dusty and hard to take photos with a flash! The festa began in the morning on Saturday and only ended the next morning. Below is the full schedule tacked onto the side of the sound system. Unfortunately, we had a 4 hour drive back to Rio and had to leave on the early side. Next year, I bring a tent and food and more clothes (it was cold!) and cachaça……
You can get the CD from Jongo da Serrinha, a group based in Madureira, Rio de Janeiro here. Still jongo, but lots of elements of samba, more urban sounding and well recorded. Aside from some guy I ran across on soulseek who had a bunch of unlabeled 96 kbps mp3s of “jongo do quilombo são josé…faixa 1, faixa 2, etc.,” (and who disconnected almost immediately) I haven’t found any recordings from quilombo São José.
A general overview on jongo do quilombo de São José is here. A very detailed paper on jongo from são benedito, Espírito Santo is here. These are all in portuguese….
Below are 2 documentaries (each in 3 parts) on jongo do quilombo São josé. The first has an interesting breakdown of the drum patterns and the lyrical content, while the second is more focused on jongo, the dance. Highly recommended!
I’m extra pleased to pass along the news that Jahdan’s new record on Dutty Artz got picked up by Gold Dust media for a fall release. Last year I had the pleasure of working with JD on a number of tracks - 2 of which appear on the album.
Recording at Chez Jones aka DA HQ, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Abena Koomson writing lyrics for Rise Again, which closes the album and Mr. Jones hard at work in the background.
