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20221015

A teaser from an upcoming book Radius: A Story of Feminist Revolution (2022) Yasmin El-Rifae detailing Cairo’s Tahrir Square events from ten years ago. The story follows activists working in the Opantish network.

Then I came back on the 30th and went straight from the airport to Opantish. And as soon as I saw the streets, I knew. I knew that we (the revolution) had lost.

Wickedest Sound (2022) 99% invisible. A good vibe podcast offering a DJ oriented narrative of the development of sound systems in Jamaica. I particularly like that operators and engineers where considered a part of the system. A good companion for Edward George’s The Strangeness of Dub (2019) mentioned earlier.

Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires (2022) Cyber (Matthew Gault). An interview with Douglas Rushkoff exposing billionaire worldviews. Not surprising but enjoyable to reconfirm. If something was surprising it was Rushkoff’s soft flirtation with ecososialism and permaculture.

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20210412

Still on The Strangeness of Dub series (2019) Edward George. Learning about King Tubby is great but I’m experiencing the bridges George builds between jazz, electonic avantgarde and dub to be wider then necessary (in episode Distance II). It’s pleasant to learn about dub as a mythical story with genius figures, innovations and tragic artist fates but I think this approach is cutting corners. Not everything needs to make sense (fit a narrative) and valorizing charismatic but conflicted artists causes an unnecessary emotional offset.

Inadvertently I’m listening to more John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhauser trough this source then ever before! George has arranged a very clever and rich selection of music. I particularly enjoyed listening to long and noisy bootleg recordings from the 70ties (in Distance I). The tapes make for a media archeological exploration of King Tubby’s Hometown HIFI in Kingston, Jamaica 1975. The system in the recording was build and operated by King Tubby & U Roy and approaching it trough a flat, gritty tape feels fresh (like exploring the alleyways of an ancient city with a flimsy torch).

And I must add that the wide bridge George builds between King Tubby and Stockhauser as media-deconstructivists who are piecing together a future sound, which operates in a different realm them the past mass-media of past dictators, feels great. The artists were working to hear the sublime by using their sound systems/band filters as navigational instruments! I’ve been inspired to work with dub in my studio recently. I also fondly ponder if our Kaosspad work in Masku Movement qualifies as such, or particularly this Hard Boiled track from 2006. Also bought a used Ginko Synthese Sampleslicer MkII to specifically experiment with dub styles and techniques.

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20201207

Cuentos Patrióticos (1997) Francis Alÿs. Artist forms a self-organising assembly with sheep. The assemblies uniformity can be verified from its geometry and pace. It starts to dispense after the shepard releases their leash. In the process the sheeps solidarity to each other, sence of routine-established-security and alliance to men is tested.

Someone Explains How Poland Uses Clams To Control Its Water Supply And It’s Pretty Crazy (2020) Judita K. The title is self-explanatory. Here is a link to an article on the matter in Polish (with super pictures). In short: If the clams close their shells it is a sign that there is something wrong with the water. Their hulls are attached with sensors which measure their movement. Selected animals serve the water company for three months after which they are released. The article is illustrated woth pictures of a film called Fat Kathy / Gruba Kaśka (2019) Julia Pełka.

Listening to The Strangeness of Dub (2019) Edward George. Music history merged with philosophy! In episode ‘Oh, Slavery Days!’ George links the tones of solos played by Don Drummond, philosophy related to memory and liberation with the living history of Atlantic slave trade.

Folk who don’t work with crafts to sustain themselves underline a belief that mastery is a process were an artisan develops an intuitive relationship to materials they use. In practice the artisan is in a relationship with their tools and only trough them with the materials they use for their craft. The maintenance of tools (such as a furnace) takes up a considerable chunk of labor efforts. Ultimately a craft is a process where tools are maintained and made. The proper placement of tools around a workspace is most important. #ॐ