Sometime in 2017, when my friend Kay Suzuki first came up with the idea of starting a high quality reissue label, asking a bunch of us to act as curators, the first idea that came to my mind was a project dedicated to gwoka in general, and gwoka moderne in particular. As a frequent visitor […]
Year: 2021
Dance For Haiti
Earlier in the summer, I immersed myself into 𝘈 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘺, the fascinating book by famed ethnomusicologist Gage Averill, in which he narrates how Haiti’s vibrant and expressive music has been one of the most highly charged instruments in the struggle against oppression at the hands of colonial […]
Beauty and the Beat in depth article / interview for Resistor Mag
Cyril, Jeremy and I were recently asked to share some thoughts about Beauty And The Beat, from its genesis to the present day. It turned out to be a really interesting and in depth reflection about the influences and motivations behind this labour of love. Here are the links to the original articles. Part 1 Part […]
20 songs to celebrate 20 years in London
Towards the end of November 2000 I landed in London with a backpack, one cassette tape and dreams aplenty. Years have mysteriously passed (who knows where the time goes?!) and here I found myself, as Londoner as can be, celebrating twenty years of trials and tribulations in the city. For 20 days (+ 1) in […]
SOUNDS OF 2020 – THE WEIRDEST YEAR IN MUSIC
“Music is the healing force of the Universe” This quote taken from Albert Ayler’s spiritual jazz masterpiece perhaps never sounded so accurate as it did in 2020. Most of us searched for solace in music in even deeper ways than ever. I for one spent even more time than usual consuming music, digging, seeking out, […]
Gratien Midonet Compilation on Time Capsule
It is finally here: the project started at the tail end of 2019 has finally become reality with the release of a retrospective of Midonet’s career highlights on double vinyl and in full audiophile glory. After tracking down Gratien in Noumea, New Caledonia, we spent the best part of 2020 exchanging long emails as I […]