If you're not familiar with the workings of the RBMA, now's your chance to see how it all goes down.. below Blu recites Soul Amazin' acapella, and goes into I Am... via sitting on the couch with Exile.

Exile - MPC Exhibition [Part 1]:

[Part 2]:

FILE UNDER: Electronic, Breakbeat, Hip Hop, Future Soul

Since our secret source passed along this guy Onra, we haven't left his Myspace page all day. Mostly because of the instrumental "What's Next", and "My Comet".

Onra, along with his partner pianist Byron the Aquarius, formed the group The Big Payback, a soulful and worldly sounding production duo where Onra programs drums and samples, and Byron plays the Rhodes and assorted synths. In 2007, Cinnaman & Jay Scarlett hand selected their track "Cosmic Travelling" for the Beat Dimensions compilation released on Rush Hour. A nice feather in the hat for The Big Payback in future electronic music.

What's he doing now?
Onra is about to head out to Barcelona for his "2nd Term" of the Red Bull Music Academy, a place where we found other crazy talents like Clonius who produced the Rob Swift & DJ Equal intro for our show on XM Radio.

Make sure to check out the Youtube spot he did for Coca Cola on his page.
Look out for this dude.
MYSPACE.COM/ONRA

'BROKE FUTURES' - THURSDAY 10pm til late on FM 99.3 (Sydney EST)

Following on from 'the newness' last week, we have a new name and a fresh outlook. Basically if things were going to keep moving forward, then we had make some changes. Plus I'm a Sagi, and we're nuts for this shit (change that is).

So this isn't really a return then.  Well, not for the show. That was last week, and was massive quite frankly. But for Samiyam..... if you're talking about him, well then it definitely is.  In a big way. His new four track EP on Hyperdub is killing shit. This heater alongside that Flying Lotus/Lil Wayne mix that's hurtin' em, a rough NEW J Dilla joint,  ANOTHER huge Yellowtail track, crazy heaviness from both Jahdann Blakkamoore and Lewi White, a bass stomper from Connecticut, new Q-Tip (w/ D'angelo!!) and a reflective beauty from Kid Sublime.

El-P - 'Fuck the Law' - Definitive Jux

Connecticut - 'Charisma' - Eklektik

J Dilla - 'Oxtopus Boom Boom' - moovmnt

Flying Lotus, Phonte, Oddisee, Tor - 'The Perch' - CD-R

Oh No - 'Oneness of JuJu instrumental (27:10 mark)' - Stones Throw

Skillz ft. Common and Talib Kweli - So Far So Good (remix) - Koch

Q-Tip ft. D'Angelo - 'I Believe' - Children of the Sun

Hawthorne Headhunters - 'She Wanna' - HVW8

J Davey - 'Lil Big Heads' - Illav8r

Nosaj Thing - 'Bach' - Stussy/Turntable LAB

Samiyam - 'Trick Platform' - Hyperdub

Flying Lotus/Lil Wayne - 'Robotussin' - moovmnt

A.D. Bourke - 'SP' - Treble O

Various Production - 'Lost (Actress remix)' - Various Production

Blackpocket - 'Ur A Star (Martyn remix)' - Fat City

2562 - 'Redux' - Tectonic

Lewi White - 'Sideline' - Z Audio

Jahdan Blakkamoore  - 'Nice Green' - Dutty Artz UK

Fool - 'Real Thing (Various Productions remix)' - Hum & Haw

Lekan Babalola - 'Asokere (I.G. Culture remix)' - Mr Bongo 

S.K. Radicals - 'Troubled Times (BITA remix)' - Groovement

Erykah Badu - 'Honey (Seiji mix)' - Sony

Yellowtail ft. Selma I - 'Miss 17 (Arch-Typ's Punk Funk mix)' - Bagpak

Yellowtail ft. Russell Morgan - 'Changes' - Dancing  Turtle

Mr Scruff - 'Get Up to Give' - Ninja Tune

Andy H - 'Kick Kick' - First Word

Stac - 'Ball's Bounce (Bonobo remix)' - Wah Wah

Natural Self - 'Alexandra and Gabriel' - Tru Thoughts

Kid Sublime - 'Pityful Times (extended version)' - Dopeness Galore

LATE

next week we have an in depth look at one of our fave labels, Stockholm powerhouse Raw Fusion. Can't wait!

'BROKE FUTURES' - THURSDAY 10pm til late on FM 99.3 (Sydney EST)

Last week, I promised you the audio files of Mulatu Astatke's gig with The Heliocentrics in London. Well, the time is now. Hopefully, the two videos from the session made the waiting period seem not as long. (This release is so hot that I had to start a new post category.)

Mulatu Astatke, born in Ethiopia in 1943, is the father of so-called Ethio-Jazz. It is safe to say that he has left quite a mark in the history of music. The 9-piece Heliocentrics, on the other hand, are a fairly new band. Their style consists of an unclassifiable mix of Jazz, Psychedelic, Funk, Soul, Rock, Percussion, Hip-Hop, Electronic, etc. (I could go on for hours.) Their phenomenal debut record, "Out There," was released last year. For them it is also safe to assume that they will leave their mark in music history, if they have not already done so.

These two, Mulatu and The Helios, joined forces about two months ago for one of BBC's Maida Vale sessions at the Cargo in London. It's already an incredible pleasure to listen to their individual records. So you can't even begin to imagine how great it is when they're live on stage together.

Thanks to one of the event's organizers, the Red Bull Music Academy, we cannot only watch some clips from the session but also listen to the set in its entirety. They actually offer an on-demand stream at their online radio station. You can't download the material there, though. But you can do so right here and right now.

According to Mulatu, he only rehearsed with The Helios for about six to seven hours. With that in mind, the result is even more awe-inspiring. Watch out for the improv bit starting around two minutes into track number 2, "Gubulye."

Sit down, hold on to your seats, and prepare yourselves for one hour and six minutes of music of eargasmic proportions. It does not, nor ever will it get any better than this. As always, Malcolm Catto's performance on the drums is breathtaking. (Check my post from last Thursday again for two video clips from this very concert.)

Please remember to download both files for this. Some of you don't always get the two parts and in this case you would clearly miss a lot if you didn't.

Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics – Live At Broad Casting, Cargo, London. 17 April 2008 (2008) @ 256 kbps (Total 1:06:31)

part 1 \\ mirror for part 1
part 2 \\ mirror for part 2

1. Yekermo Sew – 10:06
2. Gubulye – 4:04
3. Yegelle Tezeta – 7:36
4. Mulatu – 7:11
5. Kulumanqualeshi – 6:33
6. Kasalefkut Hulu – 5:29
7. Ethio Blues – 5:43
8. Yekatit – 5:57
9. Munaye – 7:22
10. Netsanet – 6:34 (@ 320 kbps)

Okay, enough said. Let the music speak for itself. Most likely, this will be the best download I'll ever offer on this blog. Not because there's only crap music lying around at my place (though that may be the case), but because this is "the best of the best of the best."

Drop me some comments about this release. I'm really curious what you think.

Selam, (that's Amharic)
3ardrumm3r

P.S. Coming up every week now, full downloads of Gilles Peterson's weekly two-hour-long BBC Radio 1 show.

Regardless of their purpose or genre, the compilation is there to promote songs, artists and causes. The latest record from the Red Bull Music Academy certainly fulfils this criteria – each track was written, recorded and produced at 2007’s RBMA, held in Toronto.

With the worldwide proliferation of dubstep, it is no surprise that one of its lead purveyors, Benga, appears on the album. His 2008 release Diary of an Afro Warrior was widely touted as one of the more mainstream examples of dubstep emerging out of Britain. Yet his track on Not For Sale, produced with TRG and DJ Zinc is surprisingly heavy. Not entirely dubstep, not entirely grime, “Benga Woz Here” works on a reverberating bass line coupled with a thumping 2-step beat that seems deeper than the tracks on his solo release.

The lead track on the first CD is undoubtedly the highlight of the collection – Muhsinah & Jake One’s “You” is heavily infused with the flavour of soul and old school funk, with Muhsinah’s playful vocal lifting the song beyond its humble origins. The quirky culinary references in the song make more sense when accompanied by the liner notes. Muhsinah stepped away from the stove just long enough to pen the lyrics and the bass line for this one.

Most of the takes on this album lean toward the experimental, producing lively results, even if they don’t always work in a conventional sense. Over on the second CD, the risks are perhaps greater, with bigger payoffs – again, Muhsinah proves herself as a talent to watch with her collaboration with Marks on “In Need Of”, rapping to the underscore of brass samples and sharp kick drums.

Such a collaborative, intense environment inevitably creates results that would be difficult to produce otherwise. This collection undoubtedly reflects such an experience. An interesting take on the RBMA by Guido Farnell can be found over at Cyclic Defrost. For more information on RBMA, head to redbullmusicacademy.com.

Are you producer, DJ, mc, or a musician? Do you want an all expense paid trip to Barcelona for two weeks to be with other artists? You might have a change if you apply to the Red Bull Music Academy. What is the Red Bull Music Academy?

The Red Bull Music Academy is an event that travels the world. A yearly celebration of all the journeys and breakthroughs, all the dreams and intricacies that go into the music we love. For two weeks, you'll be checking gear, chatting on tunes, and spinning in clubs, while getting a rare glimpse into local musical hybrids in a different country. Inbetween times, you can talk to people from around the world who started revolutions in sound. They're the people we look up to, and they're looking to you for a fresh perspective in turn.

Each morning participants, team and lecturers gather on-site, checking emails and grabbing liquid refreshments. The building is bubbling with activity as we prepare for the day's guest speakers to take the famous Academy couch. There, armed with a mic and a turntable or a piece of hardware, each guest explores crucial know-how, sharing the dreams that pushed them forward to where they are. Since the very first session back in '98, when Jeff Mills revealed his transglobal hotel secrets, the Academy lectures have offered a chance for participants to glean those pearls of renegade wisdom.

Then, after breaking-down chord progressions and wising-up to business pitfalls, it's time to hit the beats. Participants have the chance to DJ one-on-one and sketch out mixes, or collaborate on tunes, flipping styles. It's free time, and anything could happen. You might find yourself exchanging licks with your favourite reggae-soul composer in a studio session, or writing sentimental lyrics with a Scandinavian singer/songwriter at a milkshake bar. The building echoes with noise and music well into the night, and then we head out on the town to get down to each other's sets.

It might seem too good to be true, but it's actually a very simple recipe: the best in music, past & present, from around the world. All under one roof, getting down just for the funk of it. The Red Bull Music Academy is there to advance and inspire at a grassroots level - expect your expectations to be overturned in the best possible way.

Interested? Download the application and put together a mix or cd of original music and get in the mail by May 5th (sorry for the short notice), and you might be in Barcelona, Spain this year for two weeks.

A cidade vai receber três workshops. O primeiro, sobre composição, é ministrado por Tatá Aeroplano (Cérebro Eletrônico, Jumbo Elektro) e Curumin (atração da próxima Mágica). Depois, Fernando Catatau (Cidadão Instigado) e Max de Castro abordam instrumentação e interpretação. No encerramento das atividades, os produtores Apollo 9 e Beto Villares conversam com o público sobre mixagem.

A programação completa está disponível no site do evento. Para participar, é necessário preencher a ficha de inscrição, que deve ser enviada à organização até esta sexta-feira (18). Campinas, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Recife e Rio de Janeiro também contam com oficinas gratuitas do Red Bull Music Academy.

Akademia startuje po raz dziesiąty, a ja po raz szósty zapraszam na polskie, a szczególnie krakowskie, Laboratoria :-)

W tym roku dwutygodniowe warsztaty odbędą się w Barcelonie, jednak zanim rozstrzygnie się, kto będzie mógł pakować walizki, ducha tej muzycznej szkoły będzie można poczuć podczas Laboratoriów Red Bull Music Academy. Zajęcia poprowadzi producent Tony Nwachukwu, który spotka się z przedstawicielami polskiego środowiska muzycznego oraz osobami zainteresowanymi udziałem w tegorocznej Akademii. Podczas kilkugodzinnych warsztatów opowie o historii i pokaże sekrety pracy w studiu nagraniowym. Efektem końcowym warsztatów będzie kawałek muzyczny stworzony wspólnie przez uczestników i wykładowców. Oprócz angielskiego gościa grono prowadzących uzupełni DJ Krime i tegoroczny mistrz świata didżejów IDA, Eprom, którzy poprowadzą zajęcia z turntablizmu. Natomiast arkana produkcji sampli przedstawi Seb Skalski w towarzystwie wokalistki Natalii Grosiak.

13 kwietnia – studio nagraniowe Radio Kraków – godz. 13.00 – wstęp: zaproszenia (maria@redbullmusicacademy.com)

(M.I.A. podczas RBMA w Toronto 2007)

RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY: X-LECIE W BARCELONIE

I warsztat: 21 września – 3 października 2008

II warsztat: 12 – 24 października 2008

Termin składania zgłoszeń: 14 marca – 5 maja, 2008

I didn't get that many pictures for the night. But it wa good fun anywhoo. We headed on to butter factory after that where I got more pictures! whoppeeee

Jasmine & Maddy. We were arguing about who was gonna drink ater that '5, 10, 15, 20' game. You know the hand thing.. dunno what it's called.

My roomie Tania & me.

Maddy's signature unglam shots! ;P

My turn for unglam shots! ;P

Red Bull gives you wings!

In the backseat of Darryl;s Volvo T something.

With Alessia. =)

Labels: Partying hard before Folio Submission

Red Bull Music Academy zaprasza po raz dziesiąty. Aplikować może każdy z oryginalnym podejściem do muzyki, chęcią nauki i dzielenia się pomysłami. Na szczęśliwców czeka dwutygodniowa muzyczna przygoda w międzynarodowej Akademii wyposażonej w najnowszy sprzęt muzyczny, której wykładowcy swoją twórczością przyczynili się do tego jak dziś wygląda muzyka. Tekściarze, gitarzyści basowi, producenci, specjaliści od wibrafonów, Dje - wszyscy mają równe szanse włączyć się do działania. Laboratoria przybliżające ideę Akademii odbędą się również w Polsce - w Warszawie, Poznaniu, Sopocie i Krakowie.

RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY: X-LECIE W BARCELONIE

I warsztat: 21 września - 3 października 2008
II warsztat: 12 - 24 października 2008

Termin składania zgłoszeń: 14 marca - 5 maja, 2008

Red Bull Music Academy to platforma dla tych, którzy kształtują muzyczną przyszłość. W ciągu ostatniej dekady wypełnionej dźwiękami, Akademia gościła ponad 450 znakomitych wykładowców, takich Peter Hook z New Order, Just Blaze (producent takich gwiazd hip hopu wagi ciężkiej jak Jay-Z czy Kanye West), the Mizell Brothers (twórcy jazz-fusion i hitów dla Jackson 5). Wykształciła również doskonałych absolwentów; wielu z 600 studentów Akademii aktywnie współtworzy lokalne sceny muzyczne, nagrywa albumy, współpracuje z twórcami, których wykłady słyszeli w czasie warsztatów i zakłada swoje własne wytwórnie.

Akademia jest otwarta dla wszystkich pasjonatów muzyki, którzy w terminie od 14 marca do 4 maja 2008 wypełnią i prześla formularz zgłoszeniowy. Jest on dostępny na stronie www.redbullmusicacademy.com w sekcji ‘apply'. Kiedy zakończy się proces aplikacji, szczęśliwcy zostaną zaproszeni do wzięcia udziału w Akademii w jednym z dwóch terminach: 21 września - 3 października 2008 lub 12 - 24 października 2008. W tym roku muzyczną stolicą świata będzie ukochana metropolia twórców - Barcelonie.

Zanim jednak rozstrzygnie się, kto będzie mógł pakować walizki do Barcelony, ducha tej muzycznej szkoły będzie można poczuć podczas polskich Laboratoriów Red Bull Music Academy, które odbędą się w Warszawie, Poznaniu, Sopocie i Krakowie.

Na zaproszenie Red Bulla do Polski przyjadą tacy producenci jak ZED BIAS i TONY NWACHUKWU. Spotkają się tu z przedstawicielami polskiego środowiska muzycznego oraz osobami zainteresowanymi udziałem w tegorocznej Akademii. Podczas kilkugodzinnych warsztatów opowiedzą o historii i założeniach RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY oraz wygłoszą wykłady na tematy związane z tworzeniem, miksowaniem i produkcją muzyki. Efektem końcowym warsztatów będzie utwór stworzony wspólnie przez uczestników i wykładowców.

Pierwsze Laboratoria odbędą się 5 kwietnia w Warszawie i 6 kwietnia w Poznaniu. Gościem specjalnym będzie Zed Bias, który poprowadzi warsztat z produkcji. Zed Bias jest DJem/producentem z Londynu - prawdziwym prekursorem nurtu garage. Dodatkowo warsztaty z turntablismu poprowadzą DJ Krime i Daniel Drums. Poza tym gościć będziemy Seba Skalskiego i Masta P z warsztatem o produkcji sampli.

Laboratorium w Warszawie 5 kwietnia rozpocznie się o godz. 11.00 i potrwa do 19.30. Zapraszamy do PKiN, Sala Gałczyńskiego 6p. Szczegółowych informacji udziela dinn@redbullmusicacademy.com

Dla osób z Łodzi, które chcą wziąć udział w Laboratorium zostanie zorganizowany bezpłatny transport. W tym celu należy kontaktować się: sixmillian@redbullmusicacademy.com

Laboratorium w Poznaniu 6 kwietnia rozpocznie się o godz. 13.00 i potrwa do 21.00. Zainteresowanych zapraszamy do Galerii Spot. Po warsztatach za deckami stanie Good Paul. Szczegółowych informacji udziela filip.szymczak@redbullmusicacademy.com

Bezpłatny transport zostanie zorganizowany dla chętnych z Wrocławia - zainteresowani proszeni są o kontakt z mat@redbullmusicacademy.com

W kolejny weekend pojawimy się w Sopocie 12 kwietnia i Krakowie 13 kwietnia. Gościem specjalnym będzie DJ i producent w Wielkiej Brytanii Tony Nwachukwu. Podobnie jak w Warszawie i Poznaniu warsztaty z turnatblismu poprowadzi Dj Krime i Daniel Drums, a warsztaty z produkcji sampli poprowadzi Seb Skalski i Masta P. W Krakowie Daniela Drumsa zastąpi Eprom.

Laboratorium w Sopocie 12 kwietnia odbędzie się klubie Mandarynka o godz. 11.00 i zakończy się imprezą, która rozpocznie się po zakończeniu warsztatów ok. 21.00. Zostanie zorganizowany też bezpłatny transport z Bydgoszczy. Informacji szczegółowych udziela soma@redbullmusicacademy.com

13 kwietnia o godz. 13.00 rozpocznie się Laboratorium w Krakowie. Laboratorium potrwa do godz. 21.00. Zapraszamy do studia nagraniowego Radia Kraków. Do Krakowa bezpłatny transport zorganizowany zostanie dla chętnych z Katowic. W celu uzyskania informacji należy kontaktować się z maria@redbullmusicacademy.com

www.redbullmusicacademy.com

O espectáculo integra-se no Red Bull Music Academy que decorre de 13 a 15 de Março em Lisboa, onde estarão DJs, produtores musicais e outros, em sessões restritas e não só.

E uma para todos. Os que se deslocarem ali, ao Cais do Sodré.

O programa começa com elementos da Red Bull Music Academy, e Juan Atkins será logo o segundo. Lá estará também Kamala, bem conhecido do Estado Líquido.

Para os apreciadores será imperdível. Para os outros, uma rara oportunidade de assistir à avalanche musical do “Padrinho”, e passar a gostar.

Será assim:

ACADEMY FRIENDS
00h / Dj Set’s / Fusion / Pt

JUAN ATKINS – THE GODFATHER OF TECHNO
02h / Dj Set / Fusion / Usa

KAMALA
04h / Dj Set / Fusion / Pt

VJ ZEN
02h / Vj Set / Pt

Entrada, 8 euros, com oferta de 2 euros de consumo.

Ver: Music Box

Karen P Presents… Broad Casting @ Cargo, 83 Rivington St, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 3AY
Thursday 20th March
7-1
£15 adv

LIVE: Jimi Tenor & Kabu Kabu + Andreya Triana
DJ: Karen P

Musician and composer Jimi Tenor has never settled for the traditional role of a pop artist. He is known as a productive musician whose work lies beyond current trends, and also as a performer who combines the finest elements of afro-american music, spontaneous silliness and shameless glamour in an original way. Jimi Tenor will grace Cargo's stage with his presence on this, the 2nd installment of the excellent "Karen P presents... Broad Casting" night.Besides being a professional musician for almost 20 years, Jimi Tenor (born Lassi Lehto, 1965, Lahti, Finland) has also practised photography, directed short films and designed clothes and musical instruments. The electro-mechanic instruments built by Jimi Tenor and designer Matti Knaapi are not intended to be pieces of art on display at exhibitions, though have sometimes ended up as such. They emerge from musical needs, and are mainly made of scrap material. The instruments have been used at full blast during recording and on stage, so some of them have been wrecked.

The music industry has found it difficult to operate with Jimi Tenor at times. The hard rock driven Finland of the 80s considered him weird and too marginal. In Britain in the 90s he was seen as a trendy techno jazz artist, but Tenor soon confused the pioneering electro label Warp by delivering an imaginary - and expensive - soundtrack album with a symphony orchestra, instead of making minimalistic hits.

Today Jimi Tenor is an established European artist who operates outside the mainstream. His audience consists of clubbers and alternative rock enthusiasts looking for new perspective, but also of jazz and funk rebels. Those who understand that even unconventional pop music can move your body and heart.

Support comes from Brighton based soul/folk singer and songwriter Andreya Triana. Having been selected for the 2006 Red Bull Academy in Australia she has since worked with musical legends the Mizell Brothers, US based producer Flying Lotus and Aaron Jerome. 2008 will see the release of her debut album currently being produced by Bonobo. The Dreamscape Soul Sessions sees Andreya teaming up with talented artist Sri McKinnon. The pair showcase their live visual and music performance with Andreya's live vocal's backed by only layered harmonies and freestyles while Sri draws live.

The Broad Casting night will be recorded especially for Red Bull Music Academy Radio. It will fit snugly amongst an archive of music from the most iconoclastic DJs & musicians of our time. Left-field, underground, contemporary, genre-crossing; RBMA Radio is Karen’s biggest project since leaving ‘Worldwide’.

www.rbmaradio.com

PRESENTED AND COMPILED BY… KAREN P
www.karenp.co.uk
www.myspace.com/misskarenp

Get ready for 'Karen P... Broad Casting'
(VARIOUS/CD) released on Sonar Kollektiv (May '08)

PLUS CHECK LAST MONTHS SETS...
Little Dragon Live @ last months Broad Casting night on Red Bull Music Academy Radio...
http://rbmaradio.com/ARCHIVE.153.0.php?extID=0&showID=782

Charles Webster Live @ last months Broad Casting night on Red Bull Music Academy Radio...
Featuring special guests Robert Owens & Emilie Chick
http://rbmaradio.com/ARCHIVE.153.0.php?extID=0&showID=783

Mike Stellar (Journeys/Portugal) DJ set @ last months Broad Casting night on Red Bull Music Academy Radio...
http://rbmaradio.com/ARCHIVE.153.0.php?extID=0&showID=786

Thursday 7th February 2008
7pm - 1am
£10 adv
Tickets: www.cargo-london.com/shop & www.ticketweb.co.uk - 24hr - 08700 600 100

A New Monthly Night At Cargo – Presented And Compiled by Karen P
Karen P Presents… Broad Casting

Inspired by a series of fantastic compilations on Sonar Kollektiv; a new night is born!

Karen P has had a huge impact on the world of radio and provided a much-needed platform to an incredibly talented pool of musicians and performers from all over the world. From her work with Gilles Peterson on Worldwide to the creation and production of the groundbreaking underground radio station, Red Bull Music Academy Radio - and now her string of excitingly fresh podcasts, she is undoubtedly a hugely influential tastemaker in the scene. The Observer recently hand-picked Karen as one of the brightest and best rising stars in her field by naming her in the Top 10 of the media category for the ‘Future 500’, recognising the movers and shakers of the future.

Tonight we celebrate the launch of her new monthly night with a little tribute to Peacefrog Records (www.peacefrog.com), responsible for hundreds of stand-out releases scaling many genres. We present two exclusive performances representing their past and present, showing just how much they have achieved in their 17 years.

LITTLE DRAGON – LIVE / SWEDEN

www.little-dragon.se

CHARLES WEBSTER – LIVE LAPTOP SET

www.misorecords.co.uk

Broad Casting To Broadcast on RBMA Radio

www.rbmaradio.com

PRESENTED AND COMPILED BY… KAREN P
www.karenp.co.uk
www.myspace.com/misskarenp

Get ready for 'Karen P ...Broad Casting'
(Various/CD) released on Sonar Kollektiv (Spring '08)

The term “thoroughly” Native American speaks of the original settlers of Seattle, a city named for Duwamish tribe Chief Sealth. The Duwamish, part of the Salish tribe, originally settled the area and prospered from the land’s rich soil and vegetation and the plentiful fishing the surrounding waters provided. The inevitable exploration by settlers looking to establish a seaport on the Sound first took place via two battling fellows, David Denny and Doc Maynard, in 1851. Denny, a well-educated if money-seeking sort, originally staked Alki Point (now the beachy area of West Seattle) for his “territory,” but was soon overwhelmed with the muddy ooze and floods of the Sound and resettled in the area that is now Pioneer Square. Doc Maynard, a humanitarian doctor from Ohio, purchased much of the land around the Sound at the same time. He gave away legions of acres willing businessmen ready to settle the area and open shop, and in turn financed a large part of the city’s boom. Strangely, Denny is credited as the founding father of the city, through misinformed history. Much of history, the adage claims, is written by the winners (whether economic or militaristic), and settlers—Native American tribes and humanitarian sorts such as Maynard are often ignored in American history.

The economy of Seattle has had several fluctuations, but was greatly augmented by the arrival of the railroad 1893. The population of the city in 1880 had been 3533, and grew to about ten times that amount during the following Yukon gold rush. As the largest city in the Northwest, Seattle’s banking and financing industry was aptly positioned for the fortunes made there. Later lumber plundering ensured a continued economic health, along with the shipbuilding industry and the establishment of Boeing’s factory in 1916. Although the company now has regular trade disputes and the rare maligned mechanics, it was a mainstay in the Northwest economy throughout most of the remaining 1900s. Seattle’s part as an aviation metropolis helped garner it the location title for the World's Fair of 1962, for which the Space Needle was constructed. At that time, the city hoped to foster a forward-looking modernity represented in the UFO, Jetsons-like shape of the Needle. The monument remains, now a somewhat dated-looking symbol of a timeless ideal.

In the 1980s, Microsoft arrived in the area, and developed as the world's leader in software, albeit monopolistically. The grunge proliferation and later Internet boom created a dreamlike atmosphere in the city. RealNetworks, Amazon, and Adobe populated the Employment Opportunities sections of newspapers with wanted ads. Seattle-based Starbucks replicated itself exponentially on a tidal wave of too-sweet “corporate” coffee to jolt the technologically inclined into their 12-hour workdays. Cranes towered above downtown areas at all times, constructing a seemingly endless set of skyline-fracturing high rises. Charming brick artist lofts that rented for $200 per month were reduced to rubble to make way for condominium complexes selling for $400,000 per unit. Code-writing teenage geeks founded companies that went public on the New York Stock Exchange at $2 per share and skyrocketed to $60 apiece in one month. Information technologists were made millionaires in months from stock options. Some retired at thirty; other aggressively invested folk saw their wealth decimated in the same ratio it grew, were laid off, and remained on Unemployment for years.

While the Internet boom and bust were a manic time of too much wealth and then too much poverty, they did help revolutionize the culture of Seattle. The limitations of the finite world were kept at bay, if only briefly, and allowed dreamers to indulge. The staid American work tradition of “business” attire was cast aside, and three-piece suits were retired in favor of ratty T-shirts and Levis. Tradition was scorned for new invention. It is perhaps for this reason that Seattleites insist on pridefully wearing jeans and Teva sandals with white tube socks to restaurants with $200 prix fixe menus.

Seattle is revolutionary in more ways than simple tradition spurning, if ratty, attire. The city boasts the largest population of educated folk of any American city, and international companies seeded in the fertile brain-soil of the populace have prospered. When viewed in light of other American cities, Seattle’s politics are also revolutionary, as residents are devoted liberals. The democratic vote in King County neared twice the republican vote for the 2004 election. The WTO riots in 2000 garnered press coverage internationally. Finally, Americans opposed to unchecked power were given media coverage, although much of that coverage showed police in riot gear, tear gas, and running protesters. Punk group Anti-Flag wrote in the song "Seattle Was a Riot," "They tried to pin it on us / But we didn't show up, with gas and billy clubs / An unarmed mass of thousands, just trying to be heard / But there are no world leaders, that want to hear our words."

Movements abound in Seattle, it seems. The American music industry was revolutionized by the whole grunge thing as Big Money corporations pushing bloodless rock suddenly had hot garage-bred labels as competition on billboard charts. This is apropos, as grunge was a movement couched in the unorthodox. Labels grew quickly, and satellite industries like music production and CD duplication supported the clamor.

Seattle’s Rich History of Rhythm

Jazz
Seattle’s storied jazz scene began in 1916, and was fostered through the alcohol Prohibition era of the 1920s. The Central District area of the city around Jackson Street proliferated with speakeasies, bootleg liquor, and jazz performers. Musicians Buddy Catlett, Patti Bown, Wyatt Ruther and Jimmy Rowles all got their start in the hotbed of 1940s Seattle. Ray Charles arrived in the mid ‘40s and, at age 16, began working with Quincy Jones, then 14. While the city’s jazz was often surpassed by that of New York’s in the national media, and misrepresented wholly in most of the local media due to prejudice, it remained a sweltering scene for many years.

This is especially remarkable when viewed in light of the political environment at the time, as lawmakers sought to force jazz clubs underground by strict governance. Paul de Barros speaks of this era in Jackson Street After Hours: The Roots of Jazz in Seattle: “As if national Prohibition itself were not enough, the city passed additional ordinances against dancing, imposed taxes on cabarets, and tried to enforce irrational regulation of entertainment of all kinds. Confusing prudence with intolerance, vice with artistic expression, these measures slowed the cultural progress of the region. A residue of that intolerance still exists, in the control exercised by the State Liquor Board over nightclubs.” This intolerance is also strangely replicated in Seattle’s electronic music arena today, as lawmakers have made it difficult for the musically inclined to gather peacefully, lawfully and with required permits.

In any case, jazz remained somewhat unhindered by the lawmakers’ lack of liberty, due to dirty policemen accepting quiet cash “contributions” from club owners. In 1969, when all that came to an end, Seattle grew much quieter. The quiet period was short-lived, however, as rock soon arrived.

Rock
Like jazz, when rock was introduced to Seattle, the conservatives arched their eyebrows. The discerning 1960s parent feared that the chaotic basslines of rock could lead to sex, drugs, and even more rock ‘n’ roll tendencies in their children. Were they right? Perhaps. The particular brand of Seattle garage rock was raw and untempered, with tonal inconsistencies, wild riffs, and staggered drum beats. The Wailers and the controversial “Louie, Louie” saga launched the city’s rock status into the national psyche, and the song plagued fraternity parties in the following decades. Seattle’s The Ventures produced an international hit here, and several local underground artists enjoyed cult status, but remained underground. Jimi Hendrix was one artist who will never remain underground, however, and there’s not much to say about his Seattle-bred rock psychedelia of the 1960s that hasn’t been said.

The underground paradigm of Seattle rock continued on through the post-garage and grunge scenes. Grunge music, as it is known today, got its start in the late ‘80s and continued through the ‘90s, and many Seattle groups became internationally known through a brief but massive worldwide fascination with the dirty rock that shared the same tendency to thick riffs and signature drums with garage rock. Sub Pop, who signed Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, and L7, was known for its gourmet curation. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains all hailed from the Jet City (so titled due to Boeing). Jello Biafra, the legendary singer of Dead Kennedys, gave Seattle cred when he organized No WTO Combo’s Live from the Battle in Seattle, giving voice to the aforementioned WTO riot fiasco. Grunge’s message of rebellion against mainstream and corporate culture resounded across a wide audience, though the scene was exhausted quickly. Perhaps it had always been something of an anti-scene, anyway. Some define the end of the era as the death of Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide in 1994, while others claim it ended with the breakup of Soundgarden in 1997.

Other Stuff

Other genres like hip-hop and electronic music have recently enjoyed a burgeoning, if relatively underground, following. Hip-hop artist Sir Mix-Alot hailed from the city, after all. “My Posse’s on Broadway” refers to Broadway Avenue, a main haul in the Capitol Hill former grunge area. The Stuck / Under the Needle record labels have fared well, representing artists like Boom Bap Project produced by Vitamin D, who also worked with Gift of Gab of Blackalicious. Several well-known electronic music producers and bands live here, such as Imputor? king Plastiq Phantom (Darrin Wiener), United States of Electronica, L’Usine, Matt Corwine, (Viva Recordings label owner) Jon Lemmon, Donald Glaude, DJ Dan, Jacob London and Lawnchair Generals. The success of the Decibel Festival, Seattle’s first Northwest electronic music fest, has also catapulted the city into national (if not international) recognition among the laptop-loving set.

This article was written for attendees of the Seattle Red Bull Music Academy in 2005.