Modernism might have a white visage but Madlib’s brand of afro-modernism shouldn’t be overlooked. Film director James Cameron once said, “People call me a perfectionist, but I’m not. I’m a rightist. I do something until it’s right, and then I move on to the next thing.” Fans of Madlib – and Dilla – will be familiar with this ideal. Perfection fuels many creatives in how they…
Namibian producer Becoming Phill gets funky with his latest album, Electrum. Becoming Phill is a multi-talented producer from southern African country of Namibia and after an illustrious career spanning over 10 years, his latest album, “Electrum”, takes him on an electro funk odyssey. It features vocals from Namibian singers Shishani and Dantago, and guitar play from Christian Polloni. The album oozes with synth appeal from…
Producer and saxophonist Philippe Edison dropped his debut beat album Star Ocean a few months back. “I can sleep a lil easier knowing that my 1st beat music album came out after 4 years of patience & hurdles…” Philippe Edison They say slow and steady wins the race and in this case, that rings out true. The long awaited debut album from Philippe Edison is…
DJ Skarface returns with another fine mix, this time blending Deltron 3030’s classic debut with the music of Flying Lotus. You’ll hopefully remember DJ Skarface’s dope MadDILLAiny mix from last year. Well, a few months ago (sorry for the lateness, dude), the ATL-based disc jockey merged the worlds of Deltron 3030 and Flying Lotus in an audacious work of art. Considering both FlyLo and Deltron’s…
The epitome of afrofuturism, Mamman Sani’s Taaritt combines ancient Saharan folk ballads with 80s synthesizers and drum machines to take you back to the future. Lee “Scratch” Perry, Wally Badarou, Sun Ra, Juan Atkins, George Clinton – all names associated with the cultural movement of afrofuturism. Well, you can now add another unknown talent to that list thanks to this fantastic album. Nigerien musician Mamman…
As it’s Sun Ra’s 100th birthday today, our Throwback Thursday is dedicated to the man from Saturn. Here, he speaks about his music and plays a few compositions including “Face The Music”. Many artists have helped mould the Sampleface aesthetic. Our logo is an obvious homage to DOOM and our strapline – “Face The Music” – is taken from Sun Ra’s song of the same…
Mysterious website Sheepish.org have collated a 17-track afrofuturism mix. I’ve had this afrofuturism mix in my bookmarks folder for a while. Sheepish.org appears to be something of a cultural hub with portals to China and bicycles but there are also some mixtapes, including one dedicated to the afrofuturistic movement. We touched upon it a few months back with King Britt’s mix, but this one comes…
It was Sun Ra’s 99th birthday yesterday (if you’re in the UK), so here are ten songs and projects inspired by the great man. Call him eccentric, call him crazy but never call him unoriginal. Sun Ra, born Herman Poole Blount, was born on 22nd May in 1914 and during his stay on Earth, he altered the jazz landscape with every new album and performance….
Ras G pays tribute to the late great Sun Ra on his 99th birthday with a new track. First off, happy birthday to Sun Ra. The mysterious man from Saturn would have been 99 years old today (on Earth at least) and in tribute to this, Los Angeles’ beat magician Ras G put together a track dedicated to him. Ras got much of his inspiration…
This hour long documentary about Sun Ra is the feature presentation for our Saturday Matinée this week. Sun Ra was one of jazz’s greatest enigmas, with his home on a faraway planet (Saturn) and the wildest jazz compositions heard by the human ear. There are only a few documentaries out there that have tried to capture a glimpse into his cosmic world and A Joyful…