Curriculum Podcast 8

Curriculum Podcast 8 by Curriculumclubnights on Mixcloud

Tracklist:

1. What Is Guru? - Renaissance Man
2. Habibi (Shir Khan remix) - Malente and Dex
3. Midgets In Bricklane - Solo
4. Asian Taiko Drum Music - Drums of the World
5. Call for Dawn Prayer - Ahmad Abd Raffur
6. Pmc Boliyan - Punjabi MC
7. Vix Itn Tappe - Lehmber Hussainpuri
8. Electro Jugni - Swami
9. Flight IC408 - State of Bengal
10. Equation - Equal 1
11. Desert Search For Techno Allah - Mr. Bungle

Postman Patois

My picks of the day... Morning Drums, Steel Pans, and Booty Clapping...

My picks today are pretty varied... Starting with one of my favourite tracks from Gregor Salto, it gets a bit techy after the initial carnival beginning, but it comes back...



Yo Majesty are ace. I couldn't find a full length version of Booty Clap on youtube, so you'll have to deal with these kids swinging their lovely hats about instead. HAHA!

But never fear... Party Hardy will pick you up...





Big tune from The Bug...



The Steel Drums are the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobego... This is a SICK version of Toto - Africa. I don't think you cannot smile to this... it is immense.

Ayobaness / Ayoba / Ayeye / Ayoyoyo !!!

The term ‘Ayoba’ is an exuberant expression of general delight or approval, rather than a word with a specific meaning. It has its origins on the dance-floor, and is an evolution of expressions like ‘ayeye’ / 'ayoyoyo’ used to express approval or appreciation of good dancing. As with many slang words, no one knows its exact origins but it is believed to have evolved in Johannesburg township culture.

Outhere presents:

Ayobaness - The Sound Of South African House

South African DJs started playing Chicago house in the 80s and were selling mixes out of their car boots. By the time apartheid finally came to an end in 1994, the South African township youths had created their own club music called Kwaito. In the early days, Kwaito was not much more than slowed-down house beats overlain with raps in Zulu, Xhosa and broken township English. Soon Kwaito became the soundtrack for celebrating a free South Africa and catalyzed the rebirth of a new black entertainment industry.

(Here's a track from a man dubbed "the King of Kwaito"... he starts with 'AYEYEYE'...)



Even throughout the Kwaito boom, house music was always around. DJs started to fuse and produce their own local version adding uniquely South African sounds from Kwaito vibes, Zulu Mbaqanga bass lines to Hugh Masekela samples, and local house duos like Revolution or BOP were instant chart breakers. With the Kwaito craze somewhat fading in recent years, house has again taken the lead as South Africa’s number 1 party music and the heartbeat of urban SA music. Today South Africa is the only country on the continent that has its unique local house culture. It is also the only country in Africa where kids dream of being a DJ or a producer - not a singer.

The most well-known artist on the compilation, known far beyond the suburb of Pretoria he hails from and South Africa as a whole, is of course DJ Mujava whose 2008 single “Township Funk” (released in the UK on Warp Records) became a global club anthem and as such first introduced many people to SA house.



Buy the full Ayobaness album, and have a cheeky listen, HERE

But here are a few of my favourites from the album in their entirety. Really big stuff.

Curriculum Clubnight 21.05.10

WHAT A NIGHT!?

Not only did we manage to coax our unsuspecting friends to a
refurbished toilet, but we also managed to coax some strangers to a
refurbished toilet... AND play them a plethora of music from around
the globe... AND have them break sweat dancing to it.

In no way was the mission statement of Curriculum jeapordised; we
stuck to our guns, and it paid off in a way that made me smile from
ear to ear.

Every forehead glistened with the proof that we have something special
to dish out, and as a result. We will be back very soon.

Curriculum Podcast 7

Curriculum Podcast 7 by Curriculumclubnights on Mixcloud

CURRICULUM CLUBNIGHT IS TONIGHT (21.5.10) at Public Life, 82a Commercial St, Shoreditch.

FREE ENTRY before 10pm. Do not miss out.

1. Intro - African Underground
2. Pasa el Borrador - Los Aldeanos
3. Bukom Mashie - Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band
4. Death of the Revolution - Flowering Inferno
5. Kahaloopo - Erisu
6. Mugwanti - DJ Mujava
7. Roforofo Fight (feat. Mayra Caridad Valdés) - Gilles Peterson's Havana Cultura Band
8. Homenaje a Benny Moré - Gente de Zona
9. Individual - Danay
10. Arroz Con Pollo (MJ Cole Remix) - Gilles Peterson's Havana Cultura Band
11. Chekere Son (Seiji ReRub) - Gilles Peterson's Havana Cultura Band
12. Bangkok - Malente, Dex
13. Gathina - Genghis Clan

You can download this podcast HERE.

My picks of the day... East African Hip Hop and some shoe obsessed Jamaicans...

I thought it was about time to unleash a bit of the quality hip hop that has been tickling me recently.

Straight out of Tanzania and Uganda, this is some awesome stuff.







Also, big up to Danny from Un Bongo for bringing the Clarkes video to my attention. Enjoy that!! THEY LOVE THOSE SHOES!

Spoonfed talk to Dickon about Curriculum. Which hits Public Life TOMORROW

So, Spoonfed got in touch to find out a little more about the night... which COINCIDENTALLY is TOMORROW NIGHT at Public Life, 82a Commercial St., Shoreditch. It's FREE before 10pm...

What can Londoners expect from a night like Curriculum?

You can expect to find music from almost every continent, hand picked for it's specific energy, rhythm, or some unique nuance that makes it viable for a London clubnight experience.

As well as retaining the Curriculum world vibe.

I think we certainly challenge the contemporary club norm; since we don't just play straight up house, or purely clean well-produced, well mixed music; there really is a great deal of variety in the selection, with BPMs all over the place, and yet retaining this energy that will be familiar to the contemporary clubber over the course of the night.

You could start by sitting enjoying a glass of red with a candle to some Ugandan hiphop, or an Asian aria, and end it bouncing off the walls to South African House or some twisted bass heavy Lambada...

I guess basically, we will make you sweat, but it wont be to stuff you would expect - though maybe a baile funk rendition of Kernkraft 3000... Haha


So world music seems to be your thing, why? Is there an importance in branching out, and getting a sense of what's out there? Where, when and how did your love for world music begin?

I think the thing that grips my ears most of all about 'world music' is simply hearing noises that are new.

There are sounds that I couldn't even fathom before. And the fascination is not only on an aural level, but reading the history and the evolution of sounds and rhythms and dances etc. just blows my mind.

Tuvan throat singing for example, or listening to Alla Rakhar playing a tabla solo 108 cycles long, made up of cycles formed in 10 beats divided 2 3 2 3... WHAT!? Just, totally rinsing everything I ever learned about music theory.

I think there is a certain staleness about western music, and there is so much out there... its just fun to hear how other people do it.


How did the idea come about?

Curriculum is my baby.

My friend TLGB came up with the name when I said that i wanted a word that had Latin roots and also a powerful meaning surrounding notions of a journey; and Curriculum does
just that.

Not only does it have connotations of flowing, exploration, learning, and knowledge, but it also rolls nicely off the tongue..!

I think the idea really came about after Rob Swaine (Shooting Horses) and I were in his car listening to a CD with loads of Brasilian and Latin influence on it; stuff like Daniel Haaksman and Riva Starr, but a few years ago, when Riva Starr was making stuff like La Conga...

Then we all went to my house in the middle of nowhere to play with music and I did a mix with some wacky tracks from Mowgli and Solo and Justin Martin and I was just in love with the noises and the beats... So much soul.

From there it just blossomed I guess, exploring 'other' sounds, but also moving away from the likes of Fidget, and trying to find something a bit more organic.


Any comments on the other chaps hitting the decks come Friday night?

I think Rob and I are both stoked about Tom's (Trol23) set. Cant wait for the dancehall!

Other than that I think Friday sums up what we want from Curriculum; a get together of people for a good time. I'm not going to make any money from it, it's just an excuse to have a good dance and play some tracks I love with my mates, to my mates.

And if anyone else wants to come along then awesome.


What kind of tunes can we expect?

Best way to get a grasp of what we play is to listen to the PODCASTS, we upload them weekly and you can hear anything from a Greenlandic shaman hitting sticks together, to Sambass, to Baile Funk, Indian Jazz, all the way to Dub, Reggae, Dancehall, and then the more upfront dance like Midget, House, and Ghettopop.


So if we were jumping on a jet plane, heading off to find the music you'll be playing, where would we go?

I think you would have to go on google maps and just spin the Earth as fast as you could. That blue and green blur would probably be pretty close to Curriculum's sound.


What came first, the podcasts or the club night?

We put out a podcast most weeks. They go up on mixcloud, but soon you'll be able to subscribe on itunes.

The clubnight came first, a long time ago now, but the podcast and the blog have become really intrinsic to the evolution of the night, and I suppose to the broadening of our horizons.

Every time we get together to make a new podcast we just end up throwing music into the pot and getting hyped about something new that one of us has found.

It's a constantly growing beast. I love it.


What makes Curriculum so original?

There are other nights that have influences from various nations, or, which employ gimmicks to bring the carnival vibe, or whatever, but there seems to always be this desperation to be "cool" beneath all that and it just falls into yet another future garage night...

I think there is a rawness in Curriculum. We aren't pretending to be anything we are not. We just love this music. And here is a platform on which to play it. We aren't going to be playing THE LATEST TRACK FROM THE COOLEST DJ. I dont care about that kind of thing.


If Curriculum was an animal, what animal would it be and why?

A duck billed platypus; cute, cuddly, a total mish mash of constituent
elements, and just a little bit poisonous... with plenty of intrigue.


What are your hopes for Curriculum? Where do you see it going?

I hope people come down to see how we do things. I hope people tune into the podcasts and get excited by this kind of thing. It isn't going to be "London's biggest clubnight"; we aren't appealing to the masses, we aren't putting a boucey castle and playstations in a club. We aren't claiming to be in a wearhouse, or a squat, and we arent having a fancy dress night.

It is just purely about the music and the atmosphere. And if that appeals to people then I will be happy. Come down and try something different.

Looking to the future I hope to get the label up and running by 2011. I cant find the music here, so I'll bring it here. And maybe someone will buy it.


Massive thanks to Skye at Spoonfed! You could check out the preview HERE

Featured Artist: Lady Chann

Lady Chann is making waves in the UK music spectrum right now.

And she's also bloody lovely.

After tearing up Trouble Vision last month at the launch of Toddla T's label Girls Music - her single Sticky Situation being it's first release - Lady Chann is opening up the doors of public affection to Dancehall.

Who are you? Where are you from? And what do you do?

I'm a female Dancehall artist, originating from West/North West London, from a group called Suncycle who consisted of Gappy Ranx, Dolamite (Producer/Artist/CEO), Vigilante, and Infra Red Man.



I sing and MC... In a dancehall style, and fuse electro beats, dancehall, grime, whatever; with my vocals.

What is your musical background?

Musical background is everything from Madonna, Boys II Men, Michael Jackson, The Fugees to Capleton, Beenie Man and Bounty Killah.

How did you become involved in Dancehall?

My dad was from the sound Exodus... And was on pirate radio... And toured with some artists like Beenie Man, Dennis Brown, who I had the privilige of meeting when I was very small.

Why do you think this kind of music is becoming more and more accepted
by mainstream audiences in the UK?

I think dancehall has become much more popular because of artists like Patra, Sean Paul, Rhianna, Movado, Ward 21, TOK, Suncycle, Lady Saw etc. banging out GREAT songs and presenting the whole genre in a more adaptable and mainstream way...

The image, the lifestyle, the swagger, fashion of Dancehall has a mass appeal.

What's life like for an artist emerging into the limelight? How have
things changed for you, if at all?

Life is good, though it's harder work as a solo artist, and is a bit mind boggling; flattering receiving the love that I have been all around the world...

I'm here to work and provide a service; a very grounded bubbly fun girl, and have been in music many years, but led a very normal life before this 'limelight'.

It's different from 'hood limelight' where you're popular in you're ends.

But being 'normal' for a long time, I know myself, and had time to be myself without all the focus, so has kept me grounded and I appreciate that.

I've always been apart of Reggae/Dancehall as my father and uncle were in the soundsystem business... Suncycle discovered that although I could sing, they honed my craft into dancehall spitting.

When your around the best, you gotta step your game up and match it!

Who do you see as your biggest influences, firstly throughout your
life, and secondly artists right now..?

Well the artists I named previously did and still do influence me... But recent artists in any genre doing their thing inspires me too.

Who do you think is responsible for the music scene shifting ever
further towards the territory of alternative rhythms?

The alternative thing has become a big movement... With the likes of Toddla T - who at heart is a Dancehall fan big time - who has the love for big bars and riddims, so he's combined a sound, with broken beats and has made this very popular, alongside producers like Chase and Status, Scream, Benga etc.. The sound just seems unique to the UK, but has been adopted world wide it seems.

Sticky Situation came out in at the end of '09, what do you have lined
up for 2010?

Sticky Situation actually first got played on a British radio station in December 2008(!) by Target from Roll Deep, who loved the song, and always featured it...



But the song's just going from strength to strength and building even more; being played in the clubs, with my other Sticky produced track Eye Too Fast.

It's amazing really, to have 2 simultaneous club tracks, so that's why when we realeased through Toddla T's new label Girls Music as his first signing of a project, Eye Too fast was included on the 3 track EP - which charted on the Japanese electro Itunes chart at number 13!

Lucky number for me now!

It's out now on all digital retailers (You can get it HERE).

We then left it til last to shoot the video, as sometimes artists shoot videos to songs that aren't even being supported on the radio, or there's no real demand for it.

So the vid's out now... And in it there're a few faces from the music and entertainment world, who I'm flattered came.

What was it like collaborating with House producers like Warrior One?

Working with Warrior One was a lot of fun, they played me a few beats, and the King Riddim stood out to me by a mile, and decided this was the track.. We're all friends now too, and occassionally hang out.. So we always have a load of fun.



What do you listen to at home?

At home I'm currently just listening to the newest Alicia Keys album, I've just bought Ushers new album which is a banger! Also I'm listening and bought Ellie Gouldings Starry Eyed ep, ... My itunes at the moment consists of Mclean, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Alicia Keys, Lemar , Tinchy and also have Chipmunks re-packaged album...


Crikey. What a busy lady. Hit this LINK for Lady Chann's myspace for more tracks and updates, and you can also download her MEGA mixtape DUM DEM: Volume 1.

Keeps your eyes open for more from this one.

My picks of the day... Dancehall, Kuduro, and Amputations!!

Dancehall artwork is pretty racey. We love that booty. Though not all Dancehall is straight outta Jamaica...

For some serious shakin', check the clips below. Uber cheesy. Prepare for some laughs. But the music is wicked. This is my sound of the day.

Also, right down the bottom, you HAVE to take a peek at the one legged genius dancing about with a crutch. Boom riddims.

Featured Artist: Uncle Bakongo

Uncle Bakongo first came into my ears over a year ago, we got a few questions in with Roska; the man behind the music...


Well firstly, for those that don't know; where are you from? and what do you do?

I'm from the London jungle. I produce tribal music for Roska Kicks & Snares


How would you describe the music you currently output?

Kicks, Snares Bongo's and Congo's


Who do you see as your most influential contemporaries?

I dont really have any main influences but I listen to a lot of African music and Reggae influenced music which helps me to obtain my sound.


With this huge influx of minimal percussion and a great use of space in a lot of tracks from various big producers right now, is hype dead?

Hype is what you make it. I believe in making good music.


What do you listen to at home?

I listen to all music, but a lot of Reggae and Calypso music.


What are you doing for the rest of 2010?

I have a track coming out on Brainmath called 'Amhara' later this year


Why do you think all this "world" influence is suddenly jumping into the scene?

I think everyone is opening their ears to different sounds.


You can check out more Bakongo beats at the MYSPACE or alternative check the box below where you can also buy some of Bakongo's releases.


Read full review of Maasai - Uncle Bakongo on Boomkat.com ©

Curriculum Podcast 6

Curriculum Podcast 6 by Curriculumclubnights on Mixcloud

Our Brazil special contains:

1. Popozuda Rock 'n Roll - De Falla
2. Berimbau (Bongo Re-Edit) - Mandrake
3. Trans Europe Express - Kraftwerk
4. Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force
5. We want some pussy - The 2 Live Crew
6. Planeta Dominado - SD Boys
7. Jogo Do Bilhar feat. MC Betta - Original Mix - Daniel Haaksman
8. Who's Afraid Of Rio? feat. MC Jennifer - Original Mix - Daniel Haaksman
9. Senta Senta - Daniel Haaksman
10. Bingo - MIA and Diplo
11. Way More Brazil - Diplo

**Daniel Haaksman feature coming THIS WEEK!!

Mike Simonetti: Back To Africa Mix

A friend of mine brought this to my attention recently... Just a cool little 30 min mix of African Blues, rock, guitar stuff... Really nice, good flowing grooves. Big ups to Mike Simonetti for (afro)rocking it out, and to Angus for sharing.

Download HERE.

Curriculum Clubnight @ Public Life - Friday May 21st

CURRICULUM CLUBNIGHT is back.

On the 21st of May, Curriculum will be hitting Public Life (82a Commercial St. - Just off Bricklane) for a night of delights.

With sets from:

Shooting Horses
Beat Takeshi
and more...

Opening at 8pm, and with FREE ENTRY before 10pm, it would be great if you could come and join us for an expedition into the wonders of:

World Bass
Midget
Baile Funk
Reggae
Dancehall
Sambass (Brazilian DnB)
Percussive House
World Music

and many more interesting and wonderful sounds...

Since I love all of it, and as you may not be familiar with some of the above terms...I threw together a little mix to give you a bit of an idea of what to expect throughout course of the night.

I got a bit arty on it... I hope you enjoy.

SEE YOU ON THE 21ST

Beat Takeshi 'Half Hour Of Curriculum Power' Mix by Curriculumclubnights on Mixcloud

Crashroots - a plethora of rhythms and Latin fever...

This is a truly inspiring site/forum/community I came across via SAMIM's myspace blog.

HIT THE ABOVE IMAGE TO GO THERE...

"...'Calypsa' is inspired by Colombian Cumbia, mainly by Andrés Landero, a great accordionist from Colombia - dead some time ago. This mashup is kind of saying “thanks” for his wonderful and moody music. The track I used is: Andrés Landero - Vírgen de la Candelaria. Download it, mash it up or create something completely new and share it with the crashroots community..."

This is the attitude of Crashroots, and you can hear the result below (right click for download):

Latincontra - Calypsa (by Jin Yerei)



THAT ACCORDION SOUND FAMILIAR!?

Once you have signed up there are just SO many brilliant little tracks to get your hands on. I feel like this really is a gold mine for inspiration, and with everyone sharing everything they do for free, and handing out timeless audio bits to be sampled, I am pretty drop jawed at how fantastic Crashroots is.





Another name that seems to come up again and again is MIGUEL TORO and if you follow that link to his myspace you can enjoy the full range of collaborations with Samim, as well as his own solo productions...

Definitely a great site to get yourself signed up to. Loads of dabbling producers making some intriguing beats.

And just for good measure here is a mix only of Crashroots' material by 'Razz'.