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)
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.”
12′ vinyl is pressed and making its way to shops….
“Super good gear for the pan global bass travellers…… Mighty Twelve.” says Boomkat.
We recorded over the course of multiple trips back and forth between Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Barcelona, Seattle, New York, Meknes, Tangier and Amsterdam. Granted, we could have just sent emails and ftp’ed files to all of these places, talked on skype and cell phones, mailed DVDs, but somehow, it was more satisfying (and I’d like to think more fruitful) to physically carry media carrying our precious 0s and 1s around to all these places. A very analog journey to create a very digital collage of sound and music. We’re very happy to have this out after such a circuitous production process. Here’s a little video from our studio setup in Tangier, Morocco:
