In one of mankind’s archetypal tales, the protagonist runs off a cliff and away from the pressures of age, conformity and submission. If the protagonist is alone, she precipitates into the void, shackled by those chains that cannot be escaped, viz. gravity, and towards oblivion, under the vicarious gaze of those who daren’t, those who…
Sirs, I got a hell of a kick reading the piece Altered Zones magazine did this week on XXJFG. In addition to wishing you the best of luck, I’d also like to offer my services. Since I haven’t seen a copy of the “new” XXJFG yet, I’ll have to make this a tentative offer. I…
(Eduardo Paolozzi via Sci-fi-o-rama) It can be tempting to think of (or make) dance music as an exercise in design or engineering – a set of elements is configured to achieve the producer’s purpose, subject to certain constrains (tempo, length, genre). Isn’t this after all functional music supposed to achieve quantifiable goals (calorie burn)? This…
In the 22nd Century, Africa becomes to Asia what Asia is to America today, an ambitious and go-getting continent hungry to make its mark in this planet and beyond. Several foundational legends of the new pan-African identity underpin the development of its psychedelic space program – they include the re-appropriation of global dance culture (that…
Ramble through the hazy palace of your past, and into a cellar of gentle ruins where you collect memories of those pets that grew up with you, and grew old and frail and one day, died. Bask in the portentous sadness of a wordless farewell, sweetened by the remembrance of the joy that was, and…
The land of the Angles had changed much since Stuart Lamour began his Phase IV treatments.Through the grand mechanics of financial inequality, decreased belief in a society, and the release of an infectious virus the ruling classes had in a few short weeks successfully brought about the rule of irrational, primitive impulses that have little…
20jazzfunkgreats was devastated to hear of the recent demise of peddler of nightmares extraordinaire, scion of one of London’s most notorious wizard dynasties and heroic saboteur of Nazi trips to the Himalayas Dr. Benjamin Sprake. We became acquainted with him through our visits to ‘Mysterious of the Worm’, his rather underrated science fiction, horror and…
We’ve long championed Digits’ appropriation of various dancefloors in service of his hushed pop. A whispering sound from the ether that swirled around Arthur Russell back in his folk fuelled days. Digits’ latest feels familiarly strange in the way that Water Borders did on first listen. Brought up in a pre-internet land the idea that…
Antiguo Autómata Mexicano’s ‘Speed’ narrates the grievous spiritual journey of a civilisation of transcendental beings under attack from a cosmic virus that is chaos, unity in slavery, and never-ending hunger. This journey starts with the realisation of the severity of the threat, followed by the grim decision to face it with whatever weapons can be crafted…
Regular readers may have by now realised that some time ago we constructed a wormportal perpendicular to ley lines, between our spiritual home of Brighton (UK) and our other spiritual outpost of Berlin. Many people have drawn (sometimes derogatory) comparisons between these two bohemian fortresses, and perhaps some of them are valid, apart from the fact that Berlin is in a…
Artists and record labels give away content in exchange for exposure. The outlets granting it attain a critical mass of users, which subsequently makes them more attractive for artists and record labels seeking audiences. Network effects result in concentration. Popular outlets will usually demand exclusivity from their content feeders, so as to distinguish themselves from…