Paul MacGuiness of The Guardian on the phone with The Upsetter:

Hello Lee, where are you now?

I’m in my bedroom.

What can you see from your window?

[Wife repeats the question, slowly] I can see ice and snow. What goes on. What can you see?

I’m stuck in the Guardian office. I wish I was looking at snow.

Maybe you are, who knows. Maybe you have double vision.

The clock continues here.

Recommended listening: Police and Thieves

Mañana la presentación de La Platanera, con Tupperwear, Postman & Jorganes, I/O & GaBa en El Generador  desde 21h30
Despues en El Hombre Bala, la fiesta continúa con yo, D. WattsRiot.

Tomorrow night is the launch of a collective called La Platanera.  Spearheaded by musicians, visual stimulant artists, do-ers, creative hoodlums.  Providers of sound and vision will be Tupperwear, Postman & Jorganes, I/O & GaBa.  Afterwards head over to El Hombre Bala where I shall be doing the honors down in the bassment (sic).

BLU – DOINNOTHIN’ FT. UGOD (PRODUCED BY FLYING LOTUS) from david m. helman on Vimeo.

Anyway, the theme of this years Carnival is the sixties, Vietnam War, and the music of the time that reflected the prevailing moods.  Checking back on what Martin Luther King Jr. said, especially about how many in the country and media turned their back on him when he spoke against the war, preferring that he stay within their confines of civil rights. Or questioning his motives, labeling him a traitor for being critical of the bombing of people of colour thousands of miles from home, while brothers and sisters at home couldn’t get a micro-teenth of the money spent on the military machine to better their situation. Two months before he was murdered he declared his country was “the world’s greatest purveyor of violence.”.  Thirty years later the figures bear true, of every ten dollars spent on arms in the world, four and a half end up in the US.

I went back to find the following quote from Smedley Butler.  He is one of the most decorated men that ever existed in Uncle Jam’s Sam’s Army Machine.  After his retirement he said:

“I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”

Recommended reading: Upside Down by Eduardo Galeano

‘Borom Gal’ his collaboration with Youssou N’dour is one of my all-time favourites, one of the best ever. A highlight of last year was another collaborative effort, LV and Joshua Idehen.

Awhile back an album surfaced that caught my attention as Filastine and Quantic were on there.  We got Quantic’s thang in here tonight, sparking up a  reggae joint.

More newness from Studio Rockers label, AzURA. Bass, finger pianos, distant voices in the space, make a good combo.

Also fresh for 2012 is ‘Eyesdown’ from Bonono.  Under the hands of Arp 101, ‘Eyesdown’ is a with a little mischievous synth-led bottom mover.  The package comes laden with remixes from Mike Slott, Mark Pritchard and Leatherette.

Ramadanman and Arpxp represent the drum and bass section tonight, two tracks pulled from the Critical Sound compilation.

The B-boys get repped by El-P and Earl Sweatshirt, and Ezekiel Honig closes, taking us home via  Folding Us in on Itself.

Hopefully it will satisfy the ear-wigs.

Ear Con87 – Break Out

King L Man / Seven Magic
Muslimguaze / You Have Limbs and Baksheesh
Bonono / Eyesdown – ARP 101 Remix (ninjatune)
AzURA / 4Supa Nova in a Clover (studio rockers)
LV and Joshua Idehen / Lean Back (keysound)
坂本龍 feat. Youssou N’Dour / Borom Gal (virgin)
Quantic / Dog With A Rope (autonomous music)
Montagem / Que Isso Porra? Tamborzão Parou!
Ben Sharpa / Callin’ It Quits (ninjatune)
Del Close and John Brent / Basic Hip
Arpxp / Surfaces
Ramadanman / Reclaim
El-P / Eat My Garbage (def jux)
Earl Sweatshirt / Couch Featuring Ace Creator (oddfuture)
Ezekiel Honig / Folding Us in on Itself (deep medi)

This edition will be transmitted tonight via Sunhole at 22h GMT+1 and on Saturday via eFM/ Radio Sarajevo at 16h CET

Chris Watson / El Divisadero – from the album ‘El Tren Fantasma’ (touch)
Ta Ku / Zine High (project mooncircle)
Nuphlo / Nona (studio rockers)
Postman / Friday Night
Asher D & Daddy Freddy / Ragamuffin Hip Hop (music of life)
Royalty vs. Ben Sharpa / Halley’s Trail vs. Hegemoney acappella
The Moody Boyz / Congotronic (Boosey & Hawkes)
School of Seven Bells / Babelonia – Sepalcure Remix
Mark Ernestus / Mbalax Mix
Gonjasufi / Timeout, from the forthcoming ‘MU.ZZ.LE’ release (warp)
King L Man / Ossie Davis eulogy for  Malcolm X
Chris Watson / Aguascalientes – from the album ‘El Tren Fantasma’ (touch)

The train departs from Sunhole Station at 22h GMT tonight, and on Saturday from platform eFM / Radio Sarajevo at 15h GMT

Thanks to all passengers that came aboard at some point in 2011, and thanks to the stainless steel providers of this music and sound.

Larissa Sansour is an artist born in Jerusalem.  Sansour was among eight finalists shortlisted for the 2011 Lacoste Elysee Prize that is awarded by the Swiss Musee de l’Elysee with sponsorship from Lacoste.  Her contribution was Nation Estate, conceived during the Palestinian bid for UN membership, it depicts a science fiction-style Palestinian state in the form of a single skyscraper housing the entire Palestinian population. Inside this new Nation Estate, the residents have recreated their lost cities on separate floors: Jerusalem on 3, Ramallah on 4, Sansour’s own hometown of Bethlehem on 5, etc.”

This has proved to be “too pro-Palestinian” for Lacoste, and Larissa’s name has been withdrawn from the competition.  She was asked to sign a form stating that she “voluntarily withdrew”.

Demonstrations in support of Larissa took place in Paris, Lyon, Lille and Bordeaux, activists picketed stores, handed out flyers and told Christmas shoppers about Lacoste’s censorship, calling on them to boycott the company. Protestors held signs and prints of Sansour’s censored work and called out slogans condemning Lacoste’s “racism” against Palestinians.

Swiss Musee de l’Elysee has decided to cancel the prestigious event in support of Larissa and the principles of creative freedom and expression.

Thanks to Electronic Intifada

Gil Scott-Heron and Gerard Smith (TV on the Radio) R.I.P.,  Tsnuami from hell, Pierre Bastien at Keroxen, Za! at Keroxen, Democracy held hostage, laughter, no money for us, Vina Rock sucks large, I mean one packet of crisps between five people and we nah get paid, Fuck them; Clandestino Festival, Machinedrum, The Underachievers, Philip D. Kick, Margin Call, Inside Job, Chris Watson, Kode 9 & The Spaceape, G.A.F., Project Mooncircle, Zara McFarlane, DRC – Kinshasa One Two, Death Grips, Tahir Square, Osama Bin Laden, Spanish Election, Krts, Gonjasufi ‘Low’, ‘Yezzi Mil Viss’ by King Abid, Pritch & Trim, Martyn’s Ghost People LP, Eduardo Galeano at Miradasdoc, Grenouille, being introduced to Robert A. Lowe aka Lichens and Ricardo Villalobos by The BugMan of King Midas Sound.

To all singers, players, dealers, promoters, and listeners, festival and club goers, thanks for believing and living.

2012

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Gothenborg International Film Festival takes place Jan.26 – Feb. 6.   The Clandestino family will be present, I’ll be doing an Arabic-flavoured set there Feb. 3, joining the likes of Johannes Anyuru, Michael Azar, Edda Manga, Aleksander Motturi, Andrzej Tichý and Nina Zanjani.  More Film Fest info via here.