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Black Mercury Lloyd W Barrett - listening notes

Black Mercury album by Lloyd W Barrett
https://secretkillerofnames.bandcamp.com/album/black-mercury
(listening notes)

the album begins with a sound of the future, blade runner style. continues with sounds picturing cinematic wide-swept scenes. openness. there's a lightness underlying these songs that I'm really enjoying. & some interesting sounds in Imposter Syndrome - finished too soon. full-bodied, layered.

oh beauty. 'cloud refuge'

oh gorgeous "the Church of Enlightened Disinterest"

Agbogbloshie. so lush. mixed with sparks of electricity

it's been on repeat all evening (random & in order)

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Postfolkrocktronica Picnic

Postfolkrocktronica Picnic, with FBi's Utility Fog

thanks to the organizers and artists who played. I arrived a bit late so missed the first couple of performances. loved the venue - so many textures, such a great warehouse & view from the island. and the sound was great. nice to see Raven & Ollie Bown - I'd only heard some of Icarus' cds and music on Utility Fog so it was great to see how he makes his music. interesting to hear that he programs code for it too. and wow, Pimmon! that sounded different to other times I've seen him play. loved it. so atmospheric, and even a bit industrial in there as well. and I do believe he was even dancing a bit! :)

some photos @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliak_com/sets/72157628156997103 (ferry, outpost, performances)

videos :
raw clips - unedited

Postfolkrocktronica Picnic #69 http://youtu.be/IzIgP5hE6UU ::: Raven

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Hunter & Mortar - Fear and Loathing

Hunter & Mortar - Fear and Loathing—a few words with Hunter SBX about his new album with Mortar—this was originally an article for ozhiphop.com : article in forum & on http://officialozhiphop.tumblr.com. by AliaK 31/05/2011. Thanks very much to Hunter for taking the time to answer my rambling questions

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Hunter and Mortar released their new album "Fear and Loathing" in May 2011—the guys seem a perfect match to release an album together. Written over a few years, there's a range of styles, and fans of either of the two will not be disappointed. My personal favourites are the more introspective songs, such as Mortar's "Expecting to Fly" and Hunter's "Love and Fear" but there are also plenty of hardcore rap songs for the fans to play at parties and bars around Australia. Hunter answered a few questions and replied to comments about the new release. You can find the album in all good stores supporting Australian Hip Hop, and I'd encourage you to buy all of Hunter's and Mortar's albums, including this one—the latest chapter in the Hunter SBX story.

>> AliaK
Hunter SBX

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Hunter (SBX) - The Words

Hunter (SBX) — The Words

Reflections on Hunter's first three albums:
::: "Done DL" ::: Hunter and Dazastah (2002)
::: "Going Back to Yokine" ::: Hunter (2006)
::: "Monster House" ::: Hunter and DJ Vame (2010)

When Walter Benjamin stated in 1936 that, “the art of storytelling is coming to an end" due to the rise of the printed novel and the lowering value of experience, he hadn't anticipated the rise of the hip hop emcee to revive this craft in our modern world. In all his albums, Hunter shows his skills as a wonderful storyteller. There are tales of growing up, getting into trouble and later returning to his hometown of Yokine, Perth, in the songs "Adolescence", "Going Back To Yokine" and "Yokine (Drugs + Crime)". These are stories of self-discovery, and of changing his life, and of hope — giving up old ways that were not working for him to focus on music, rapping and living a hip hop-infused life instead. "What I Do Best" has the feeling of homecoming to a community of supportive people and finding his place in the world. There are stories of mateship and the value of community with his Syllabolix (SBX) family and crew. There are stories of having children and the specialness that can bring to one's life in "Ultrasound" and "Kids of the Future". Littering his rhymes in "Kids of the Future", "The Big Issue" and "Me Old Man" are stories based on his Dad’s advice, as he contemplates being a father himself.

David Byrne in Auckland

David Byrne performed in Auckland at ASB Theatre - Aotea Centre last night, 14th Feb 2009, as part of his "Songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno" world tour. I loved the show. The musicians, backup singers and David Byrne all wore white. The lighting was a series of subtle background colours changing for effect in different songs. Byrne chatted with the audience who shouted comments to him & showed their appreciation with loud applause. There were three dancers who acted out the songs - at times Byrne was the fourth dancer. The show was very theatrical as the story of the music, lyrics and movements of the dancers weaved together. The audience was generally an older crowd - mid 30s - 70s from my estimation. The show was sold out. They played a range of songs, from Talking Heads, his earlier collaboration with Brian Eno, "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", and the latest album "Everything that happens will happen today". Another favourite part of the show for me was watching the audience enjoy it so much! I watched one man in his 60s dancing in his seat, shoulders moving, fingers pointing in all directions to the percussive beats. Others were dancing in the aisles and along the edges of the rows of seats.

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e/i magazine

e/i magazine was a print magazine from 2003 - 2006. from 2007 onwards, it has become an online magazine only. the publisher describes the magazine as "e/i was an attempt to establish on the newsstand what I hoped would be the most comprehensive, definitive, intelligently written and artfully designed magazine covering all manners of music electronic, experimental and otherwise. Our editorial mandate was to shatter genre margins while encompassing the past, the present and the future, extolling a broad swathe of artists who challenged the very notions of sound and vision." these days you can join their mail list and every 2 weeks or so you'll receive an email listing the latest reviews and news which are available on the site.

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TransAcoustic Festival, Auckland, 8th-11th December 2005 - (casual) review

Here's a rough review of TransAcoustic Festival held in Auckland in December 2005. It is actually comprised of a couple of emails sent to the aus_noise yahoogroups mail list and the audio foundation NZ mail list, so is casual / informal in manner & language. (but I like it this way!)

I've added joel stern's review which was also posted to aus_noise. he wrote a formal piece for RealTime magazine also which is available @ http://www.realtimearts.net/rt71/stern_transacoustic.html

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reading notes from "Grassroots - a field guide for feminist activism" by Jennifer Baumgardner & Amy Richards

Today I read "Grassroots - a field guide for feminist activism" by Jennifer Baumgardner & Amy Richards. It's a DIY feminist activism book that gives examples of how everyday women can perform activist activities without having to be too radical. Examples are from high school, university students, women at work and in their local communities. Baumgardner and Richards speak about and provide contact details for many organisations performing and supporting feminist activism projects. I've included some links in the feminism and activism links on this site if you are interested in finding out more, otherwise track down the book from your local bookstore..

The authors, who also co-wrote "Manifesta", define activism (page xix, Prologue) as:

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reading notes "Where you're at" by Patrick Neate (notes from the frontline of a hip hop planet)

I've just finished reading "Where you're at - notes from the frontline of a hip hop planet" by Patrick Neate. I thought it was a great book - sometimes he went off on a few tangents, but they provided interesting background information on the context of the hip hop communities in the different cities covered in the book. I'm now re-reading/skimming through it to post up some notes on sections I found most thought provoking. Much of the underlying thread of the book is about the cultural misappropriation of hip hop.

from Part One: New York
page 30

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