| #693 |
|
2004 |
Perilous 693 Berlin was freezing. Probably not as cold as it could have been but an evil wind coming in from Russia made it somewhat unpleasant to be outside. Coupled with dirty snow making it difficult for trainers to get a grip on the icy streets, most of the time was spent getting (as quickly as possible) from the apartment to Transmediale, the festival. Transmediale is an annual festival of ‘media art’, this began as early video art and digital video and has over the last 15 years changed into everything from software art to digital music and game art (art pieces built with computer game engines). This year’s theme was utopia and there were a lot of interesting and cerebral discussions in and around the event, and some exciting talks, performances and installations - Antonio Negri on globalisation and continuations of the thoughts from his seminal book Empire; Kodwo Eshun showing his new film project with his ‘crew’ The Otolith Group; and a whole swag of night time electronic music. Strangely, the biggest news at the festival café amongst the various electronic music writers/critics at the festival seemed to be Dangermouse’s The Grey Album which every blogger seems to have been writing about recently. Dangermouse – yes the same New York producer who put out Ghetto Pop Life on Lex with Jemini – has put out, on the sly, an album that takes the accapellas from Jay-Z’s The Black Album and lays them over beats made up entirely of samples from The Beatles, The White Album. A few days later in Berlin, what should turn up in my friend’s record store but a copy of the record. And for the most part it’s a crazy and essential listen. Although it tires by the end, the first half is stunning with the resulting beats being like a mutant cross of Prefuse73’s chopped up-ness and the psychedelic folk digitalia of Manitoba – and Jay-Z actually sounds more interesting as a result. The off kilter beats and guitar loops bring a strange sadness to What More Can I Say, and the Helter Skelter cutup on 99 Problems makes for a Run DMC-like crossover. Run don’t walk to Next Level and get in the queue for your copy, or hit the net for a mail order solution – it won’t be around for long. Back home the post box was full of new music. Ninja Tune have finally got around to putting out their best of compilations – and they also seem to have changed distributor in Australia (from the long time home at Creative Vibes to Inertia). The Zen compilations come in three options – a double CD best of, a double CD of best remixes, and a DVD containing all the promo videos. The DVD is the one I’ve been waiting for (apparently Warp has one coming too, and the success of the Directors Label DVDs is also a good sign). There are about 40 videos of varying ages and qualities and its exciting to see many clips that have never been screened here in Australia. There is no over arching aesthetic especially with so many directors called in to do the work, but Ninja Tune’s development and changes – especially in the last 6 years becomes apparent – particularly the shift from sample cutups to live instrumentation in the catalogue. Also, maybe you have heard on the grapevine . . . . Frigid is coming back from the dead. In Newtown on Sundays from the end of February. And free of charge. At the new @Newtown (the old RSL). And continuing the insane volume of killer live shows the Hip Hop Film Festival opens with Madlib, Peanut Butter Wolf and Diverse, then later, in mid April, just after Easter, there is Kid Koala and RJD2 in a big double header. Save your pennies. Yellow Peril (www.snarl.org)  Goto
Snarl Texts Index Pages
|