Braamfontein Beat Pharmacy

An event worthy of being the subject of this year's first post: presented by Kitchener's (Juta St. Braamfontein) and Broaden A New Sound, Brendon Moeller is a South African who's been making waves internationally with his dubby techno trips since the mid-90's, and he spins at Kitchener's this Saturday night (20 March) - get all the event details on Facebook here.

Recording using his own name and under the aliases Beat Pharmacy and Echologist, New York-based Moeller has released records on esteemed imprints like Francois K's Deep Space Media, Japan's Mule Musiq, Third Ear, Rekids, Eskimo and more, and has garnered support from underground icons like Hawtin and Garnier.

Employing a minimal sub-bass thump as a canvas, Moeller dabbles in - and daubs magically with - dub, jazz, Afrobeat and psychedelia, and has collaborated with a raft of great reggae vocalists to concoct singular sound pictures that echo in the mind and excite the muscles.

Make sure you catch a dub-wise DJ set from the first local lad to really make good in international dance music circles this Saturday, and check out an interview and DJ set from our man Moeller here.

Dexterity's Albums Of The Decade

The only time I'm any good at making lists (or updating this blog) is year-end, when I get to reflect on the past 365 days in music. Because it's also the end of the decade it's also given me a great excuse to occupy time reflecting on ten year's worth of music.

So here's a list of what I thought were the greatest, the most significant or plainly the most leave-on-repeat records of the past decade. I haven't included DJ mixes (bar the one Charles Webster, which is the best summation of this super producer's output under various aliases), or reissues of any music released pre-1990 (bar the Koos, which was unavailable on CD or vinyl for way too long - and because the noises this SA band banged out still sound vital - plus a few other noughties-released 'best of' collections of vital artists like Carl Craig and Aaliyah).

As always I reserve the right to make additions and corrections at any time... Enjoy.

1. Bjork - Vespertine
2. Felix Laband - Dark Days Exit
3. Isolee - We Are Monster
4. PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
5. Matthew Herbert - Bodily Functions
6. Burial - Burial
7. Phoenix - Alphabetical
8. MIA - Arular
9. Metro Area - Metro Area
10. Common - Like Water For Chocolate
11. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
12. Kate Bush - Aerial
13. Hot Chip - Coming On Strong
14. Junior Boys - Last Exit
15. Radiohead - Amnesiac
16. Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
17. Yeah Yeah Yeah's - Fever To Tell
18. The xx - The xx
19. Grace Jones - Hurricane
20. The Roots - Phrenology


A few others well worth listening to:

69 - The Legendary Adventures Of A Filter King
Aaliyah - I Care 4 U
Akufen - My Way
Aphex Twin - 26 Mixes For Cash
Apparat - Walls
Arcade Fire - Funeral
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Erykah Badu - Worldwide Underground
Erykah Badu - New Ameryykah: Part One (4th World War)
Basement Jaxx - Rooty
Benga - Diary Of An Afro-Warrior
Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
Boards Of Canada - Geogaddi
The Books - Thought For Food
The Books - The Lemon Of Pink
Brooks - You, Me & Us
The Bug - London Zoo
Bullion - Pet Sounds: In The Key Of Dee
Burial - Untrue
Cobblestone Jazz - 23 Seconds
Common - Electric Circus
Chromatics - Night Drive
Circlesquare - Songs About Dancing And Drugs
Carl Craig & Moritz von Oswald - ReComposed
Dangermouse - The Grey Album
Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
DJ/rupture - Special Gunpowder
DJ Harvey - Black Cock Edits
DJ Koze - Reincarnations: The Remix Chapter 2001 - 2009
Dusk & Blackdown - Margins Music
Missy Elliott - Miss E: So Addictive
Fennesz - Endless Summer
The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
Fink - Biscuits For Breakfast
Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
Forss - Soulhack
Four Tet - Rounds
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dympha
Jose Gonzalez - Veneer
Gorillaz - Gorillaz
Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - Face L'Est
PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her
Richie Hawtin - DE9
Hot Chip - The Warning
Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
Hudson Mohawke - Polyfolk Dance
Hudson Mohawke - Butter
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
Isolee - Rest
Jay-Z - The Blueprint
Jay Dee - J Dilla Remixes
Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care
Jamie Lidell - Multiply
Jamie Lidell - Jim
Kerrier District - Kerrier District
Kid Koala - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The Knife - Silent Shout
Kode9 & The Spaceape - Memories Of The Future
Koos - The Black Tape
Felix Laband - Thin Shoes In June
Felix Laband - 4/4 Down The Stairs
Neil Landstrumm - Lord For £39
LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
Losoul - Belong
Luciano - Tribute To The Sun
Lukid - Foma
Luomo - Vocalcity
Luomo - Convivial
Massive Attack - 100th Window
Masters At Work - Strictly MAW
The Matthew Herbert Big Band - Goodbye Swingtime
MIA - Kala
MIA vs Diplo - Piracy Funds Terrorism
Milanese - Lockout
Mocky - Saskamodie
Moderat - Moderat
Morgan Geist - Double Night Time
Mos Def - The Ecstatic
Mr. Scruff - Keep It Unreal
Murcof - Martes
My My - Songs For The Gentle
NERD - In Search Of...
Omar-S - FXHE Collected
Outkast - Stankonia
Erlend Oye - DJ Kicks
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Kelley Polar - I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling
Pole - 3
Portishead - Third
Prefuse 73 - Vocal Studies & Uprock Narratives
Q-Tip - The Renaissance
Radiohead - Kid A
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
The Rapture - Echoes
The Real Estate Agents - Marcus Wormstorm & Sibot Are...
The Roots - The Tipping Point
Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me
Royksopp - Melody AM
Sade - Lovers Rock
Henrik Schwarz - Live
Shed - Shedding The Past
Dani Siciliano - Likes...
The Soft Pink Truth - Do You Party?
Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYo
Super_Collider - Head On
Swayzak - Dirty Dancing
David Sylvian - Blemish
John Tejada - Logic Memory Centre
Jimi Tenor - Out Of Nowhere
Terranova - Hitchhiking Nonstop With No Particular Destination
Justin Timberlake - Justified
Trentemoller - The Last Resort
Tricky - Knowle West Boy
Trus'Me - Working Nights
TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Villalobos - Alcachofa
Wagon Christ - Musipal
Charles Webster - Born On The 24th Of July
Charles Webster - Defected presents...
Kanye West - The College Dropout
Paul Weller - 22 Dreams
Saul Williams - Saul Williams
Yeah Yeah Yeah's - It's Blitz!
Zomby - Where Were You In '92?

Well Red

In the Red Issue of super Chew Magazine, now out, yours truly weighs in on albums by The xx, Dear Reader, Basement Jaxx, ProVerb, Bride Reunion and Hudson Mohawke.

Well worth a look...

Mujava Gets MOBO Nomination

South African house music hero DJ Mujava was recently nominated for a Music Of Black Origin (MOBO) Award.

The annual ceremony took place in Glasgow on 30 September and while the Tshwane-reared Mujava - real name Elvis Maswanganyi - didn't win in the Best African category, he was up against some class opposition: fellow South African Lira, Mali's Oumou Sangare and Salif Keita, and Nigeria's Eldee, and Nneka, who took the award.

The recognition follows the massive splash Mujava made last year with the track 'Township Funk' (featured on Civilised Disobedience here). After that 8-bit instrumental kwaito jam was 'discovered' on YouTube, it was licensed to Warp Records in the UK and became one of THE dance anthems of 2008. It was also remixed by electronic dons like Ashley Beedle, Mark Pritchard and Matias Aguayo.

From the township streets to the top of the beat pile.

On Song

From Durban and still just a teenager, Culoe De Song is taking genuine Afro-house out of the local taverns and onto the planet’s dancefloors.

After impressing as SA’s representative at 2008’s Red Bull Music Academy, Culolethu Zulu - as he’s known to the authorities stamping an increasingly busy passport: trips to Sonar in Spain and DJing jaunts in Italy, Germany, Belgium and Holland among them - caught the attention of some of the world’s most renowned house music operations.

Esteemed electronic music hub Resident Advisor invited him to contribute to their renowned weekly Podcast series, as did beat-portal Bodytonic. Then the German label helmed by Âme, Innervisions, released his brilliant ‘The Bright Forest / African Subway’ on 12”, and the A-side made its way into the sets of the international house cognoscenti.

The latest development in the Black Coffee protégé’s burgeoning career comes via MIO: he’s due to release an EP on Japan’s Mule Musiq, titled ‘The Fallen Shiren’, on September 28. This radical label has previously released breathtaking beats from fellow South African Brendan Moeller (aka Beat Pharmacy), DJ Sprinkles (aka Terre Thaemlitz), Isolee and Minilogue.
Eighteen-years old and already all-conquering, the sun’s certainly shining brightly for Culoe De Song.

Chew On This

Dexterity reviews Circlesquare, Mocky, Fink, N.A.S.A., Milanese and Bodycode - the latter two the work of, or featuring, South Africans - in the Futuristic issue of good-looking online publication Chew Magazine.

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'...