I first heard Joshua Idehen on a UK electronic dub song by LV. I was amazed by the clarity of his voice and the sharp revelatory lyrics. As any new musical discovery, I started to search more discover Idehen as not only a great musician, but a poet, workshop facilitator, and founder of Poejazzi.
Already a drummer for some time, Winston Williams, aka Horseman, made his MC debut back in 1985, on the Rusty International label. The UK’s premier reggae drummer, Horseman, worked with producers such as Mad Professor, Adrian Sherwood, Scientist, Jah Shaka, and Prince Fatty, to name a few.
Four years ago, when I first visited Israel, I had a special feeling. It was the young’s people energy surrounding the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. I was impressed about the vast music community and their love for sound system culture and Jamaican music. So, my exploration into the Israeli's sound system culture began with last year interview with Miss Red.
Our conversation with Matteo Anselmo is following the music scene in Italy, with a special focus on Genoa, through the eyes of a visual artist. Anselmo is a teacher at the Genoa International School of Comics – Academy of Visual Arts and new media, and co-founder of the Rebigo Illustration Studio.
With a strong career spanning over three decades, experimenting with electronic music, reggae, psychedelic, dub, and world-music, Gaudi is a truly innovative artist. Fascinated by synthesizers and sound-distortion of any kind, Gaudi’s motivation to pursue his music career started in the early ’80s.
Before the world went silent, at the beginning of March, I attended Ghent Dub Club #3, a two sound system session put together by Indica Dubs and his crew. With Danman as his guest MC, Indica put up a strong lineup by inviting the mighty Channel One Sound System.
Jonny DJ Acid Gold Tiernan is the founder of LOLA Magazine from Berlin. Having started as an independent radio DJ back in Belfast, Jonny has transformed his radio show Alternative Ulster into a top-quality British and Irish magazine. Tiernan moved to Berlin in 2014, launched LOLA in 2016, and started promoting Berliner culture in its myriad forms.
From club events, festivals and movie screenings, to managing the dub legend Scientist, Rory Taylor is a good example of a music business professional. Based in Liverpool, his passion for sound system culture and Caribbean music is hard to match. Rory is also the co-founder of the Positive Vibration agency, a structure that holds all his musical activities.
.When you think music-wise about Benjamin Stanford aka Dub FX, you get transported into another world. As an independent artist, his…
Lukasz is a multidisciplinary artist and my conversation with him took a nice detour touching all kinds of subjects related to arts - the local visual art and the history of the Polish poster, the legacy of Polish art cinema, music, Paprika Korps albums, and the Karrot Kommando record house.
Sasha Bandi Robert is a hardcore punk and poet that uses various techniques of art to express his stream of consciousness and surrounding environment. There is something raw about the reality that he sings, paints, sculpts + cut and pastes about.
Calm, always smiling, with a ritualistic approach to music, Swiss musician and composer Nik Bärtsch is a thrilling individual. Fascinated about his organically interwoven textures from jazz, funk, new music and minimalism, the interview explores his search for new and his dive into sound development.
There are always many sides to an artist and music performer, this is what this chatattack with Miss Red is meant to enlighten. If you will ever witness her perform, she will for sure leave a deep mark on you. Her aggressive style, mashed with a strong attitude and energy, an approach that on top of The Bug’s distorted heavy bass and beats, define the meaning of sound pressure.
Sergé "Jojo" Mayer is one of the names you can't have it confused. He stands out not only as a virtuous drummer, but also as a musical philosopher. His style of drumming, combining elements from jazz, rock and drum and bass, creates a powerful rhythm who takes the listener into a magical journey.
Chrysta Bell Zucht is one of the most interesting singer-songwriter in the American indie scene. With a musical studio experience dating since childhood, Chrysta's musical career was full of surprising experiences: she was a vocalist and composer in the 8½ Souvenirs swing jazz band, with albums released on the prestigious RCA Victor label.
Following the evolution of dubstep and the new wave of artists we invited the Croatian producer Egoless for an interview to discuss about his vision of music, the way he embraced this sound and introduced his musical punk background into the 140BPM productions.
Radikal Guru's discography boasts highlights that include his debut LP ‘The Rootstepa’ and the mighty "Dread Commandments" 12inch, or his second LP ''Subconscious'' that includes dancefloor killers like Stay Calm ft. YT or Warning ft. Echo Ranks. In 2016 he released his third studio album "Dub Mentalist" including more exciting collaborations and soundscapes.
Like most of the independent labels, Dancehall Tradition is also founded by the passion and love for music. The interview with Sheba is following the label mission, collaborators and future plans in the amazing world of reggae music.
After five years since his latest album release Fennesz has returned to Touch label with a new release, Agora. Due to be released on the 28th of March, this album finds the composer returning to his roots with a minimal production setup and a focus on manipulated and mangled guitar riffs and synths.
Algiers is an experimental American band from Atlanta, Georgia, that labels it’s sound as dystopian soul. This is a transcontinental affair as the project’s members met and played together in the United States but the band was officially formed in London. Their African country name evokes the anti-colonial struggle, symbolizing a contested space where violence, racism, resistance and religion commingle.
The militant lyrics and the attitude towards the Big Brother oppression have formed a strong connection between punk and reggae. From the UK punk attitude of rejecting the establishment, to the squats of Berlin and the rasta hooligans in the Netherlands, the punk and reggae have formed an alliance in fighting the extreme right groups and promoting the...
I had the pleasure to meet and talk with the Norwegian trumpet player Nils Petter Molvaer at the 22nd edition of Garana Jazz Festival, where he performed alongside the reggae legends Sly & Robbie, and his Scandinavian collaborators Eivind Aarset & Vladislav Delay.
After almost 50 years of a solid reggae genre where the harmony, rhythm, percussion and sounds where well established comes a new approach. Straight from the mother island of Jamaica, a new concept is born – the reggae revival. A term coined by Protoje, Chronixx and Jah9 to help them better market their sound.
The 25 years old, Camden born, Ocean Wisdom, impressed me since his debut album in 2016. With Chaos 93’ Ocean announced his future supremacy. He brought something new – a really fast flow, a good understanding of both hip hop and grime and a dedication to work.
Looking at the world of music one could live a feeling of hope. There are a lot of good musicians, passionate promoters and public eager to hear new sounds. Of course, things don’t move always as fast as we would like, but still, things are changing for the best for those who work and follow their path.
Gabriela and Cristian Fierbinteanu explore the pop genre beyound the common definition. With strong messages and a militant atitude, the duo speaks about the liberation from corporations and the discover of the inner self. Their is show is often accompanied by dance performance giving the audience a more intense perception of their message.
Fine It’s Pink is a band that experiments with each release, adding layer and layer of musical influences upon their compositions. They have performed all over the country opening for artists such as Tricky, Nadine Shah, Daughter, Sevdaliza, to name a few.
The sextet has a dreamy trance-like sound and focuses on translating into sound the social aspects of life in China. With a full length album released in 2015 and a new EP made in Berlin in 2017 with producer Mark Reeder, they have just finished their international debut album and plan for its release.
Oana Pop is not only a truly talented musician, but she is also a great person with whom I had the pleasure to talk about music, creativity and new projects. She is one of the drummers I always liked to watch performing.
Disturbing the Comfortable - Comforting the Disturbed is On-U Sound's motto, Adrian Sherwood’s longstanding label. Recurring through our interview is the theme of avoiding musical safe explorations, taking the audience out of their comfort zone and the demystification of music through the lack of enthusiasm from music lovers.
Housewife Records is a freshly launched record label from Canada, specialised in dark ambient, post-industrial, noise and generally hard to classify experimental music. I had the pleasure to talk with Zach, had honcho of the label.
Cyberian is a Bulgarian music artist and head honcho of WTF IS SWAG label. We chat with him about his next release Limerence, a full lenght album that will be released on the 30th of April on tape an digital via Amek Collective. We take this oportunity and we premiere the track Dragons Of Eden ft. Kantz.
Having released more than 60 full-length albums in the last 9 years under the Motion Sickness of Time Travel name, Rachel Evans is an important composer for any serious listener of ambient sounds.
Alexei Turcan is one of those people you could describe as a music man. He writes and produce music, he orchestrates and he plays several instruments, and he is doing all these with a great passion.
Most people know Mala from Digital Mystikz, Deep Medi and the DMZ clubbing nights he puts on. The whole scene and community around him is organic, profound and honest. As a builder he always took risks but the results never disappointed, they always stun.
Ștefan Panea is a man that vibrates around music. He started his activity as a musician and he gradually evolved in being one of the most acclaimed front of house engineers in Romania.
Iordache is first and foremost a jazz music lover. His passion for jazz drove him in becoming a musician in the 80s, playing saxophone. He gradually started to compose, produce and in 2009 he founded a label.
Fascinated by the way sound can be generated and manipulated by digital techniques he began to build his own software (in Max) and hardware (the Monodeck). Then, in 2001, he co-founded Ableton with Gerhard Behles.
For any serious music lover, Masami Akita needs no introduction. The Japanese noise/avant-garde musician discography is very hard to follow even by collectors, as the artist has released hundreds of albums.
Right in the middle of Amsterdam's Red Light District, amongst all the red windows establishments, there's a place pushing a different sort of merchandise, in the form of hard to find, and usually surprising music.
The music composed by Marco Haas is so diverse that it's hard to apply a label and define it. His albums, with lots of punk attitude, are so diverse and intriguing that makes you listen to a song multiple times.
Costin Chioreanu is bridging music and visual arts with a finesse worthy of the ”artist” title. A combination of high level of ambition, productivity and heavy discipline.
Mitoș Micleușanu, born in Bakhchysarai/Crimeea, lived and studied arts in Chisinau (MD) and Cluj-Napoca. He has an almost holistic approach to his compositions, using lots of granular synthesis and modular synthesizers.
Kateryna Zavoloka is an artist from Ukraine, currently living and working in Wien. She composes experimental music, with sonorities ranging from electro-acoustic sounds to IDM, ambient and even techno.
Richard Devine is an American musician and sound designer. He started his career producing heavily-processed IDM and glitch music. Devine loves to play with modular synthesizers and he’s the creator of many sound banks and patches.
Annette Henry a.k.a. Warrior Queen is a Jamaican dancehall, reggae and dub performer, a strong voice bridging the reggae and electronic genre. You can find her on LP’s and recordings from established producers and artists like The Bug, Skream, Vex’d, Mungo’s and many others.
Valentin Toma (Toma Carnagiu, formerly known as Qewza) and Felix Petrescu (Waka X) are Makunouchi Bento, an experimental electronic music duo from Timisoara with a vast perspective on music.
Sound wise, I believe the best way to describe Noua ani lumina's sound is by saying it is a space rock journey. Imagine yourself being in a space shuttle and travelling through the vast infinity of the cosmic space.
Baba Dochia is a Cluj based electronic-rock four piece band with it’s origins in the medieval city of Sighișoara. The band have released one critically praised conceptual studio album called XII Lambskins a bridge between electronic, post-rock, film score and eclectic sampling.
Alexandru Das is an artist. From music to graphic design his work has an atmosphere that induces emotion above anything else. It is nice when you find people that are both musicians and graphic artists, because in this way, as a listener or viewer, you can better understand his or her philosophy.
Drum N Bass is a hybrid genre with deep roots in acid house and breakbeat, all combined within the amazing culture of sampling. This style of music has revealed along the years a lot of talented artists who became world wide producers and evangelist of electronic music.
One can refer to Marius Costache as a studio engineer or a music producer, but I prefer to describe him as a man who sounds different. His passion regarding sound transcends the modern thin line of musical genre and steps into the world where sonic laws are meant to be just an example.
Rider Shafique is an unique artist and spoken word musician from Bristol, living and performing between the UK and New York. Music and lyrics are always at their best when used as tools and this man proves it the most.
Beautiful noise, chemistry and texture, intensity and reflection, both sonically and visually, these are some of the assets of The KVB’s music. Kat and Nick are an electronic shoegaze couple from UK, now based in Berlin.
Kuedo is a producer and musician, label owner at Knives, affiliated to the respectable Planet Mu label. Imagine the sci-fi soundtracks of the ‘80s: Vangelis’s Blade Runner, Giorgio Moroder’s Metropolis and the atmospheric John Carpenter OST’s clashing with industrial hip-hop.
Sumach Valentine aka Gonjasufi is a universal traveller. He trips through the universe chanting his eclectic mélange of hip-hop, psycheledia, punk and dark humms. Having realeased 4 EP’s and five albums for Warp Records.
There is a strong feeling of family values and a spider web community around this musician who produces as The Bug since ’97.
Radu is active in four different projects: BRUM, Helen, Sebastian Spanache Trio and Alexandrina, playing either jazz or electronic music.
My discussion with Kiki Hitomi, the Japan born musician and visual artist who fell in love with reggae and dub, is like a tsunami of sincerity and hope.
