The Lijadu Sisters: Afro-Beat Soul Sisters
Soul Jazz records release a fantastic new retrospective of female Afro-Beat Funk from Nigeria in the 1970s. The Lijadu Sisters were the most successful female group of the era and managed to overturn many stereotypes and attitudes as they carved out a unique space for themselves in a predominantly male arena. The Lijadu Sisters released...
Afro-Punk Mix: PVNTHER PXWER
The concept of “Afro-Punk” might appear to be a fairly simple one at first glance. In essence, it could be best described as the music of black resistance. The people of the African diaspora voicing their dissent from normative discourses. Now take a second to consider the magnitude of different music this definition includes. From...
RAVE Documentary… From the underground to the mainstream via the BBC
One for all the warehouse deviants – Be true to your roots. A charmingly innocent exposé of the early rave scene aired on the BBC in 1992 revealing the “realties” of the underground rave scene to the horrified British public for the first time… Featuring “Smokey Joe” Brodie and the classic Arsenal away strip of...
Label profile: Planet Bohemia
Planet Bohemia is a Berlin-based independent music label and a promotions platform for alternative events and culture that has recently initiated its quest for beauty in the German capital. The PB label aims to bring you sparkling, experimental, psychedelic sounds and a loose, free place to experience creativity, beauty and joy, all with the noble...
The Voyager Golden Record: “To the makers of music — all worlds, all times”
In 1977 NASA funded a space program like no other. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were unmanned space craft, sent into the infinite darkness to monitor conditions at the outer limits of our solar system. And despite all the mind-boggling, state-of-the-art interplanetary measuring equipment on board, perhaps the most important piece of kit was the...
King Geedorah – Take Me To Your Leader
Take Me To Your Leader was Daniel Dumille’s first full-length release under his alias “King Geedorah”. The man behind MF Doom based the records eponymous space monster on “King Ghidorah”, the two-tailed, three-headed dragon that terrorizes Earth in the Godzilla films. You should listen to the album for what it is and not expect it...
Cosmogramma – The Art of the Codex
The critically acclaimed and seminal future-jazz release of Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus in 2010 was one of the stand-out records of the year. And as anyone who owns a copy of the stunning gatefold 2LP vinyl will know, it looks fantastic too. Brought to you by Warp records, this video presents the man behind the...
Sun Ra’s “Space is the Place” – In Full
Made in 1972, and released two years later, Space is the Place is the film and manifesto of intergalactic traveller, sage and jazz pianist Sun Ra. He believed himself to be from Saturn, led his Arkestra with stoic discipline and is regarded as the father of an aesthetic movement now known as “afrofuturism”. The film...
VINYLIZE YOUR IPHONE4 WITH THE GRIFFIN + THIRD MAN RECORDS CASE
This is for all of you who do not want to go anywhere without vinyl records. Third Men Records produced a iPhone 4 / iPhone 4S case for every vinyl lover. The cases are cut out of a special 7″ vinyl record pressed at United Records Pressing in Nashville.
Home-recording Paper Boy
Home-recording is a phenomenon which has never been given the credit it deserves. Berlin-based graphic artist Florian Fusco spent three months interviewing and taking pictures of the workspaces of home-recording artists in Greater Manchester and Blackpool. The result: “Manchester Memories”, an astonishing installation of analogue origami and DIY recording equipment. iCrates brings you Florian’s story...
Independent Label Market – Spitalfields, London 10/12/11
On Saturday 10th December, Independent Label Market will be hosting a special Christmas market in association with AIM in London’s Spitalfields Market, to support the labels that lost their stock in the PIAS/Sony warehouse fire earlier this year. There will be a host of exclusive releases, artist appearances and much more from labels like Angular...
The Chalga Experience
Chalga Excellence is a blog documenting one of the more bizarre corners of Balkan music: Chalga. Bulgarian in origin, Chalga mixes Greek, Arabic and Balkan influences, and has become increasingly popular despite criticisms of ‘questionable’ morality. It’s also unquestionably the kitschiest thing you’ll ever see. Curator of the site Ivaylo Spasov told us a little...
