Another Experiment

Jo'burg's most exciting new (and second oldest) venue, Kitchener's Carvery Bar, hosts three of the most respected, experienced and generally just kick-ass DJ's in the city - including yours truly - this Friday night (3 July).

Joining Dexterity (who's on at half-past midnight) are Kid Fonque and Ben Montressor. More info here.

Entry is free before 10pm and R30 after.

Shrine On, Or Over?

Disturbing news disseminated by Nikki Lucas, who hosts the excellent Future Fusion Global Warning show on various platforms. It's particularly concerning news for me, as I'm in Nigeria on business at the moment and want nothing more than to make it to Afrobeat's Mecca, the New Afrika Shrine...

Lucas writes:

"Throughout Africa today there are many western-style theatres, mainly built by the Chinese, Africa’s latest colonizers-in-waiting. But only rarely are they administered and operated as cultural centres, open and accessible to anyone other than the bourgeois minority in their SUV’s and Mercedes limos. A notable exception to this rule existed in Lagos Nigeria until last week, that is, when it was forcibly closed by the authorities giving less than 24 hours notice and claiming “noise nuisance, illegal street trading, indiscriminate parking, blocking of access roads and obstruction of traffic” as their justification.

The New Afrika Shrine was built and operated by Femi and Yeni Anikulapo Kuti, the eldest son and daughter of cultural icon, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who built the original Shrine in the seventies, which endured until shortly after his death in 1997 when it, too, was forcibly closed by the Nigerian authorities. Both the old and new Shrines were much more than just music venues. They were a refuge for the homeless and dispossessed, acted as a focal point for dissent and were consequently a thorn in the flesh of the ruling elite. Fela used the stage to launch eloquently savage diatribes against the corruption and mismanagement that was rife in Nigeria, one of the world’s leading oil producing countries, and was a hero to millions for the biting, non-compromising social commentary contained within his lyrics.

In the seventies and eighties people flocked to the Shrine to hear Fela’s latest harangue of the country’s leaders and marvel at the powerful music and spectacle produced by his singers, dancers and musicians. Millions, not just in Nigeria but across the African continent, bought his albums and his tours in Europe and America attracted huge audiences.


Fela paid the price for his brutally frank and widely publicized condemnations of the government and his fierce defense of human rights by being constantly harassed, arrested (more than 200 times) and often savagely beaten, none of which ever diminished the continuing force of his attacks.

Following his death and the forced closure of his beloved Shrine, Femi and Yeni resolved to re-build an even bigger venue on a nearby site and used their share of income from the global sale of Fela’s albums with which to do so. They were determined to maintain their Father’s legacy and considered the heritage of shelter, support and advocacy as being the most valuable contributions they could make towards the development and creation of a united and democratic African republic.

Against all the odds, and despite constant harassment from the authorities, they have successfully continued to the Shrine open for almost a decade and have developed a large and faithful following, as well as providing an effective refuge for disaffected youth and the dissemination of preventive information in defense against the Aids pandemic. Femi and his band, The Positive Force, have graced the stage and kept alive the spirit of dissent and social commentary as the backbone of his work. He and Yeni have acted as host to the ever-increasing number of world-renowned artists who have made the pilgrimage to the Shrine and participated in the Felabrations which take place each year on the anniversary of Fela’s birthday. Despite the global recognition of the Kuti family (a musical about Fela is about open on Broadway and a Hollywood film is being made of Fela’s life and work) and their work as three generations of social reformers, the authorities have maintained their opposition and have taken every opportunity to obstruct the continued operation of The Shrine. This has included countless raids, often in the middle of the night, including beatings and harassment of the many homeless youth who seek shelter there, now once again exposed to the elements.

Now, of course, The Shrine is closed, according to the authorities, permanently. However, after making this pronouncement in writing just a few days ago, they have this morning stated that it may re-open tomorrow. This can, alas, not be viewed as any kind of victory. On the contrary, that a ‘permanent’ closure can be turned around in less than a week only shows that their decision-making process is completely arbitrary. This cat and mouse game, which has been going on for almost four decades must come to an end. When Fela died, the upper echelons of Nigerian government sent letters to the family that were not simply expressions of condolence but were eloquent testimonials to a great man. The present authorities must finally admit that Fela Anikulapo Kuti is Nigeria’s best loved son and accept the earnest request made by the Executors of Fela’s Estate, Yeni, Femi and Kunle Anikulapo Kuti, to:

1. Once and for all end hostilities and harassment.

2. Permanently re-open the Shrine

3. Create the necessary decree to establish and maintain The New Afrika Shrine as a National Heritage Site in recognition of the invaluable contribution made by the Kuti family to the cultural life of the nation.

To assist this process and make clear to the Nigerian authorities that the Kutis, for almost a century have enjoyed the respect and admiration of not just Nigerians or even Africans, but people of conscience around the world, please add your signature to the petition in support of this proposal, to be forwarded to the Governor of Lagos and to Nigeria’s Minister of Justice."

So please do us all - and Fela-obsessed me, in particular! - a favour by signing the petition here. [Update - this link appeared to be down when I posted this originally, and I now believe from contacts here that The Shrine is indeed still open. But sign the petition anyway: Nigerian authorities are a law unto themselves.]

And in case you're unclear about why I'm so eager to get to The Shrine (I spent a Friday afternoon there last year but couldn't make it back for the real deal), the house band it Femi Kuti's Positive Force, and you can grab a taste of the Kuti Jnr.'s melancholy Afrobeat amazingness over at the excellent RCRD LBL, where 'Eh-Oh' is available, gratis.

Energy + Thing = Everything

It's South Africa's sexiest and slickest online mag by a long way. It's called Chew and issue 6 is out now and available for download here.

In between all the immaculate design, there are some stunning fashion shoots (well, Emily Freeman is just stunning, while Chris Saunders' township shoot is out of this world), as well as features on dirty disco rockers The Beams and the brilliant, world-conquering Blk Jks.

If you aren't sold yet, check out my reviews of albums by PJ Harvey, Phoenix, DJ Koze, Bloc Party & Grace Jones on page 90...

A Dex-periment

Jozi residents should come on down to - and get down at - Kitchener's Carvery Bar in Braamfontein on Friday night where I'll be deejaying in tandem with Offbeat.

Not only will we be dropping beats of the most deliciously dexterous order (from disco and techno to tech house and 'stepno') but the This Is An Experiment soiree happens in what is apparently Johannesburg's second oldest pub (after The Radium).

Also on the DJ bill are Data Takashi, Sound Sensible, andrw and Yoji, and the door charge is equivalent to a pack of cigs. Smokin'...

Bjork Or Kate Bush?

Bat For Lashes shamelessly flaunts her influences on Later With Jools Holland.

Beat Frequencies

Get down heads up: the keyed-in crew at Locksmith Beats Radio have featured one of my sets in their latest Podcast, so head on over and subscribe to their beat stream.

You can also catch me on Beatsradio.net on Tuesdays at 22:00 and Thursdays at 20:00.

The tracklist for Locksmith #007 is:

1. Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix)
2. Stimming - Una Pena
3. Force Of Nature - Sequencer (Stefan Goldmann Remix)
4. Daso - Meine (Lucio Aquilina Mix)
5. Mark E - R&B Drunkie
6. Worthy - Crack-El (Justin Martin Remix)
7. Justin Martin - My Angelic Demons
8. Kid Cudi - Day N Nite (Crookers Remix)
9. Hot Chip - Touch Too Much (Fake Blood Remix)
10. Kraak & Smaak ft. Ben Westbeech - Squeeze Me (Trevor Loveys Remix)
11. Sei A - Smile For Me (Chaim Remix)
12. Cari Lekebusch - Shaded (Compuphonik & Kolombo Remix)

Pulp Rhythms

Whatever happened to drum 'n' bass?

Earlier in the new millennium it was all anyone remotely interested in dance music could speak about, and double bass-driven rhythmic exploits from the likes of Roni Size's Reprazent scooped critical acclaim and awards including the coveted Mercury Prize. Then the minimal and mechanical techstep animals of Ed Rush, Andy C and co. took over the farm and ruined all the fun...

I have acquaintances who still think the form is alive and kickin' and it still sells by the truckload in the UK, but every time I've been on a drum 'n' bass floor in past six or seven years, I've been bored beyond belief.

The one exception was when Hospital Records' Tony Colman (aka London Elektricity) played a storming set, high in melodic hijinx and variety, to a near empty club in Johannesburg in 2003. That a DJ who exemplifies how wide-ranging, colourful and complex drum 'n' bass can be was ignored by the so-called 'heads' spoke volumes. I haven't bought a drum 'n' bass track since.

But I still love listening to the often magical rhythmic escapades that were ubiquitous when drum 'n' bass at its peak - "Brown Paper Bag", "Pulp Fiction", London Elektricity's 'Pull The Plug' album - and when I received a request recently for soundtrack-ready music that was Tarantino-esque, sleek and swift, I realised how cinematic, soulful and noir a lot of the best drum 'n' bass is.

I sent these classics on and thought I'd share them here too - if anyone can recommend newer drum 'n' bass that's anywhere near as compelling, please post them in the comments section.

Alex Reece - Pulp Fiction
EZ Rollers - Walk This Land (Vinyl rip)
London Elektricity - Pull The Plug
Roni Size - Hi-Potent

Get Simon Reynolds' thoughts on jungle and drum 'n' bass and how they figure in his 'hardcore continuum' - as well as their relationship with garage, grime, dubstep and funky - in a long but revealing talk hosted by FACT in association with the Wire Magazine HERE.

Songs In The Key Of Life

"Don't you ever wonder how the hell does Stevie Wonder see things?" - Hot Chip, "Keep Fallin'"

OK, the man may make a few too many appearances in inappropriate places (most notably lately: on stage at the Grammys with Jonas Brothers), but there's no denying that pop music would not be anywhere near where it is without the efforts of one Stevland Hardaway Judkins, aka Stevie Wonder.

Lately I've had plenty cause to dive deep into into his twinkling well of righteously original tunes, having been booked to DJ at an 80s-themed birthday party as well as at a shop launch where the brief is disco. Stevie works er, wonders in both contexts.

Prepping for these events over the past weekend, I dropped the needle onto my vinyl copies of 'Songs In The Key Of Life' and 'Hotter Than July', and bathed my soul in the glorious heart-tug of tracks like "Master Blaster (Jammin')", "Sir Duke" and "All I Do". I highly recommend this to everyone on a Saturday afternoon.

Having won an incredible 22 Grammy Awards (the most ever by a solo artist), one might expect this legend to just slink off into the shadows, but he's still relatively busy and has collaborated with far cooler cats than Jonas Brothers in recent years.

In 2006 he hooked up with British soul singer Omar on the 'Sing (If You Want It)' album, and their "I'm Feeling You" recently turned up remixed by Henrik Schwarz. If I wasn't convinced already that German producer Schwarz makes the most golden dance music on the face of the earth, I'm beyond sold after listening to this reworking.

Enjoy a Stevie classic and what for me is, by far and away, the song of the year so far...

Stevie Wonder - All I Do
Omar ft. Stevie Wonder - I'm Feeling You (Henrik Schwarz Remix) [Excerpt]

The Art Of Noise

The brilliant Saul Williams posted a bunch of Youtube links from his Twitter yesterday, including songs by Sade, Miles Davis, Gary Numan and Loose Joints. All were awesome, but the one that resonated to the point of getting me to post was this beyond lovely Art Of Noise tune.

Assembled in Trevor Horn's ZTT hit factory, "Moments In Love" has been a fave of mine for a while (and recently became one for Diplo too) and along with a lot of AON's catalogue, it's been the unwilling subject of some of my early production efforts (file somewhere between re-edits and unlistenable, going-nowhere, loop experiments).

Nonetheless I tried a far simpler thing with the 'Daft Slow' version of the tune in order to slot its beauty into DJ sets: sped it up (whilst keeping the pitch the same).

Also well worth downloading is the surprisingly restrained Caspa remix (which you'll find over at These Rocks Pop), which basically tacks a dubstep drum rhythm underneath the original, proving how far ahead of the curve Horn and company were.

The Art Of Noise - Moments In Love (Dexterity's Daft Faster Version)

"We've Gotta Keep on Keepin' On"

"House music will never die..."
- Kerri Chandler in Johannesburg, 21-03-2009