The Play List
Shabazz Palaces: I’ve had the timeless Black Up, debut album of American hip-hop duo Shabazz Palaces, for a number of years. It’s the sonic marriage of hip-hop, techno, electronic music and an industrial sound of rhythmic chains chiming over a bass beat — all accompanying good old rhythmic rap by Ishmael Butler and Tendai Marere with occasional lip from THEESatisfaction. (MB)
Peven Everett’s Power Soul: I have always skirted around house music, except maybe for the contributions of Osunlade and Vikter Duplaix. Peven combines the energy of house with a funk and classic soul sensibility to contemporary R&B themes. A dilettante’s dream. (KS)
The Reading List
Same old, same old: How the hipster aesthetic is taking over the world — the last interesting piece of online writing I encountered is this Guardian article written by Kyle Chayka, about how cultural imperialism has led to the same old boring Scandinavian aesthetic of hewn wood, Edison bulbs and pretentious minimalistic design on almost every urbanised corner of the world – http://bit.ly/2b4yDD1. (MB)
Amiri Baraka’s Black Music: How does one write about music – purely as an art form or a life force intrinsically linked to the struggles and triumphs of the people who birthed it? For Baraka, this was a no-brainer. Beyond the intellect and the particular phrasing, it is love shaping the strokes of his pen. (KS)