"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work." 

- Emile Zola

Kim Jong-Il, they don't call him great for nothing!

Not only can the Dear Leader hide nuclear missiles, he also knows football tactics. Those are two pretty mean party tricks. Most reading types are aware of the Great Leader’s nuclear ambitions, but not too many folks are probably aware that North Korean leader and super-tactician Kim Jong-Il was also the inspiration behind North Korea’s march to South Africa. That’s right. And to think we’ve spent the better part of the last five months praising Roy Hodgson whose full time job is to manage Fulham. The Great Leader has to juggle tactical preparation with oppressing his people, rationing electricity, nuclear arms negotiations, collecting fabulous sunglasses, and forcible relocations. Take that Roy Hodgson, you one-trick pony.

According to Kim Jong Su of the North Korean Football Association, “The Great Leader gave in-depth guidance on the development of Korean football. He proposed the game’s tactics most relevant for the physiological characteristics of the Korean players.” Now that’s a leader.

Of all the North Korea previews I’ve seen (and there aren’t many), none of them try to get inside the head of the team’s tactical nerve center, the man himself, Kim Jong-Il. So here, only here, will you find some proper analysis that will enable you to properly place your bets on who gets out of the Group G, which many acknowledge is the 2010 World Cup’s Group of Death.

Tactics: Watch for the Unpredictable

The Great Leader is a big fan of the clandestine. Whether with uranium enrichment or general team information, Kim takes great measures to carefully conceal his hand. At the World Cup, the element of surprise weighs in favor of the North Koreans.

Kim has repeatedly duped foreign leaders, for instance, repeatedly entering into negotiations and then backing out when convenient. For the Great Leader, walking up to the line and quickly backpedaling is merely a form of exercise. If Kim passes on his erratic and unpredictable behavior to his team, watch out for 7-3 formations to start, shifting into 1-2-7 formations if the Koreans need goals. Completely disregard anything you’ve seen in qualification and friendlies, because what you see is not always what you get when the Great Leader is involved.

Style: In One Word – Hungry

The term “hungry” is often used to describe players who have an insatiable appetite to win. But with the North Koreans, the team might literally be hungry. And if they fail to impress, they could go hungry for some time. Kim Jong-Il is known for rewarding athletes who do well, while mercilessly punishing those who fail to meet his standards. So expect his side to get after it. The fashionable sides facing this hardened group of North Koreans may be in for a surprise when they learn what it really means to be hungry for success. And for the North Korean players, success will surely bring that reward that North Koreans desperately want and need, a massive, synchronized parade, full of all the color that has been removed from their daily lives. If that’s not incentive, I don’t know what is.

Adversaries: Escaping Death

Alongside the North Koreans in the “Group of Death” are Brazil, Portugal, and Sven-Göran Eriksson’s Côte d’Ivoire. Yes, the same Sven who was being lined up to potentially manage North Korea in South Africa. It makes you wonder whether Côte d’Ivoire’s placement in Group G is part of some nefarious plan concocted by the mind of the Great Leader. Too many variables you say? Well, Sven is capable of anything if the price is right. We all know that FIFA and bribery are good friends. And you can never underestimate the mind of a dictator when pride is at stake on the global stage. I’m just saying, don’t underestimate the mind of the man behind the sunglasses.

But back to the Group of Death. When you think of all the necessary characteristics that would enable one to overcome death, there’s an argument for each of Group G’s teams to escape group play. The Brazilians escape the death, kidnappings and Manchester City regularly. That’s a lot of evil to deal with. But I fear that Brazil may have become complacent with all of their success in spite of these obstacles. Portugal has a bunch of primadonnas who would rather look good than win. Faced with death, they’ll fold under the pressure and choose stylish losing. And Sven, well, he always escapes death, often getting paid handsomely in the process. But given that he cares more about his paycheck than he does about success, expect him to run well before it becomes a fight to the death. That leaves North Korea, a team of internationals that don’t even have refrigerators. As North Korean player Choe Myong Ho eloquently stated, “What’s a refrigerator for? It allows you to get cold drinks in the summer. And if you do that, you could catch a cold and not be able to train.” Yeah, in a Group of Death, I’m taking that guy.

***

And there you have it, my dark horse to make it out of the Group of Death, North Korea, heading into the knockout rounds with Brazil, the conventional pick. I’d have put my money on the completely unconventional duo of North Korea and Côte d’Ivoire if Sven wasn’t involved. But alas, he is.

Now that my selection is made for Group G, I need to find a proper North Korean supporters club, which is difficult since no North Koreans will be permitted to travel to South Africa for the World Cup. Fortunately, a stand-up crew of Chinese fans calling themselves the “fans volunteer army” have stepped in to support the North Koreans and have been given tickets from the North Korean government. How’s that for community service? It would be a sad day in South Africa to watch North Korea play without supporters, especially considering that the nation has a very strong flag, perfect for waiving and apparel. I hope the volunteer army accepts me. But just in case, I’m bringing platform shoes to show them that I’m down with the Leader.

Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq. @'Nutmeg Radio'

Orphan101 - Mix

Saigon Recordings is a brand new imprint out of Bristol, who claim to blend techno and dubstep to a new diamond standard, which they themselves call “Dub-Tech” (not to be confused with dub techno). Haughtiness aside, their first release seems to warrant this kind of superior attitude — “Tribtek” by newcomer Orphan101 is a steely and muscular two-tracker that rightfully should drum up hype when it’s released next month. To celebrate the launch of the label, we’ve got a Saigon Recordings mix by Orphan101, loaded with his own exclusive dubs as well as new sounds from Headhunter and his not-so-mysterious juke alias Addison Groove. The mix is beyond captivating, and the Orphan101 tracks run the gamut from throbbing, dark techno to tribal-influenced sounds to something that sounds suspiciously like trance, and blended in with the tracks from other producers it really does sound like a manifesto for a completely brand new sound — something which is ever rarer in the heady days of 2010. Check this tracklist:

1. Scribe – Orphan101
2. Similate – Orphan101
3. Corsa – Orphan101
4. Commune – Orphan101
5. Olo – Orphan101
6. 45 – Orphan101
7. Au Dela – Orphan101 & Bloodman Ft Soraya Saberi
8. Out Of The Sun – Arkist
9. Remote Viewing – Bloodman
10. Hocus Pocus – Headhunter
11. Deepfish – Bloodman
12. Propa – Orphan101
13. Home – Orphan101
14. Labella – Orphan101
15. Whish – Orphan101
16. Chasing Dragons – Addison Groove
17. V710 – Headhunter & Orphan101
18. What Do I See – Arkist
19. Worry Dolls – Wedge

@'OneThirtyBPM'

HERE

Coming from the musical melting pot that is Bristol England Orphan101’s Blend of four to the floor Dubstep and Techno have brought him fast acclaim and attention of genre impresarios like Appleblim (Apple Pips / Skull Disco), Headhunter (Tempa), Jus Wan (Apple Pips), DJ Pinch (Tectonic) and RSD (Punch Drunk Records) to name but a few.

His wide range of musical tastes have certainly shone through in his productions with labels such as Appleblim’s highly regarded Apple Pips label, British based alternative label Saigon Recordings and Deca Rhythm already signing tracks from him, all due for release in 2010 making this a very busy year for Orphan101.

His live DJ sets have gained a reputation on radio and in clubs as a new diverse sound with little or no boundaries to what he will play. His sets do not sound out of place whether it be minimal house, techno or dubstep This approach has recently earned him a residency in Berlin, Bristol and also Apple Pips nights across Europe.

His current production collaborations include Headhunter, Bloodman Appleblim and Gatekeeper to name just a few, with remix work being picked carefully to fit with his own production roster.

@'Extra Music New'

www.saigonrecordings.com
www.myspace.com/saigonrecordings
www.soundcloud.com/saigonrecordings
www.twitter.com/saigonrecording
www.facebook.com/pages/Saigon-Recordings/117236301627473

DV>CV

Originally released on VHS in 1982 by Doublevision.
1 Diskono
2 Obsession
3 Trash (Part 1)
4 Badge Of Evil
5 Nag, Nag, Nag
6 Eddie's Out
7 Landslide
8 Photophobia
9 Trash (Part 2)
10 Seconds Too Late
11 Extract From Johnny YesNo
12 Walls Of Jericho
13 This Is Entertainment
14 Moscow
Liner Notes:
Doublevision was a communication company founded by Cabaret Voltaire and Paul Smith in 1982 initially as a vehicle for this programme, and also with a view to releasing affordable music based video (video releases were generally between 40 and 70 pounds back then) for around 15 pounds. Material released by Throbbing Gristle, Derek Jarman, The Residents, Einsturzende Neubauten, Chris and Cosey (cti), 23 Skidoo, Tuxedomoon and many others,. To help finance / and compliment the video releases, records by Cabaret Voltaire, Chakk, Lydia Lunch, Arto Lindsay, Clock dva, The Hafler Trio, Eric Random helped to turn it also into a forward thinking record label which organised various audio visual events and club nights around England. The label continued throughout most of the 80s and left behind an interesting legacy of experimental visual arts and music.
RHKirk, Oct 2002

All videos by Cabaret Voltaire except "Obsession", "Nag Nag Nag", "Photophobia" and "Seconds Too Late" by St. John Walker of Plan 9 with special thanks to Roger Bush (Communication Dept. Sheffield Polytechnic). "Extract From Johnny YesNo" courtesy Peter Care.

Special Thanks to; Phil Barnes, Lyn Clark, John Lake, Steve Nall, Psychic Television, Jon Savage, Paul Smith-Boden, Christopher Watson, Tony Wilson, Tim Owen.

"Double Vision Presents Cabaret Voltaire" was one of the first independent long form videos ever made. As such it is a collectors item. The audio and visual quality of this programme may be of a slightly lower standard than is usual today.

HERE

US oil spill a disaster — but more oil is spilt in Nigeria every year

Only when the disaster is coming through the front door does it seem the West takes notice of the ecological catastrophes that are throughout the world, by and large through the inadequate safeguards put in place by Big Corporations. In the ever ongoing rush for higher profits for shareholders and the over-consumption of the general western public we are rapidly destroying vital environments that will take decades or longer to recuperate. With the "clean-up" underway in the US Gulf, it is vital that other parts of the globe are incorporated into the "clean-up" picture/action as well. Maybe there will be some lean years for the shareholders, but surely this is not the time to turn our backs on such pressing, global, environmental carnage. - Beeden

One small positive that may come out of the Deepwater Horizon spill is the slender beam of reflected light cast on the fascinating, tragic story of oil drilling in the Niger Delta.
On Sunday The Observer rather stunningly announced that “more oil is spilled from the Delta’s network of terminals, pipes, pumping stations and oil platforms every year than has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico”. Given the scale and longevity of the disaster in Nigeria the disparity in publicity is troubling.

 Rafiq Copeland @'Crikey'

'Give Me A Beat' by Leilani Clark

The guitarist started talking about Maureen Tucker right after I tried to quit the band for a second time. I was standing by the door, microphone stand in hand, and I had just told my new band mates that if they wanted to find a different drummer, that was okay by me. I’d realized after our second practice that my enthusiasm for playing the drums did not necessarily translate into an ability to play a steady beat. With a drum repertoire limited to two or three rhythms–if I tried to toss in a little bass drum action than those beats became off-kilter and off-beat–I didn’t know how much more I could offer much more beyond the first three songs. What if my simplistic and untrained musicianship made everything sound the same? Sure, they wanted to play raw garage rock, but that didn’t mean every song had to sound like the one that came before.

“Moe Tucker used to flip this on its side,” said Will, the guitarist, as he turned the battered bass drum in the middle of the living room practice space over, “Instead of using a pedal, she played it like another tom.”

“Really?” I said. My dark mood began to lift. What an original trick, made all the more promising because it had been used by the drummer from the Velvet Underground. I’d rather sound like her than Lars Ulrich anyway! Maybe there was still a chance for me to venture beyond the guitar. Maybe I was being too hard on myself, holding onto this idea that music has to be polished and melodic in order to be worth anything. How many bands did I listen to in the nineties that didn’t give a fuck about being perfect? Often times, the rawer and messier the music was, the more I liked it. Huggy Bear, anyone?

“We want a more primitive sound anyway,” added the singer, “And your drumming works for that.”

“I can do that,” I responded, feeling once again inspired to take up the drum sticks, the inadequacy descending back into the pit from whence it came. I promised them I wouldn’t quit the band just yet and that I would go home and listen to tons of Velvet Underground to get all pumped up for our next practice. (I’m listening to their 1969 self-titled record as I write this and I’m reminded that Moe Tucker’s notions about singing were about as high-falutin’ as her drumming philosophy—meaning, no pretension, whatsoever)

Driving home from practice that night, I listened to classic rock on the radio, paying close attention to the percussion, realizing more and more that drumming didn’t have to be complicated. When it comes to drumming, simplicity is the key. I mean, honestly—Neil Peart and Art Blakey are about the only people I want to hear drum solos from anyway.

Later, I stumbled upon a Beat Happening video for the song “Black Candy.” The drummer from my old band was a big-time Beat Happening fan but I’d never really given them a chance. Considered one of the originators of “twee pop,” the band was formed by Calvin Johnson (who is also one of the founders of K Records), Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford in 1982. They hailed from Olympia, Washington—a breeding ground for primitive beats and rule-breaking music in the eighties and nineties and probably today. During this particular performance the drummer plays standing up, his only equipment: tom, snare drum, sticks. I watched the video—thinking, “I can do that!” For the millionth time, I remember what drew me to punk rock/DIY in the first place. Primarily, the thundering realization that music and writing do not have to be aesthetically perfect; that in fact, what some consider primitive, ugly or silly can actually be the most stimulating and inspiring art.

I love what Moe Tucker says about her drum “philosophy” in an interview with Drummer Girl Magazine:

“I always think that the drummer’s just supposed to keep time—that’s basically it. I always hated songs where if you rolled at every opportunity, there would be a constant roll throughout the song. Or crashed a cymbal at every opportunity or every place where you felt like you should do that. So I consciously avoided it. While you’re crashing you can’t hear the vocal and you can’t hear the guitar part, you know? I just always felt like the drums shouldn’t take over the song. They should always be under there, obvious, but not taking over the song so that suddenly you realize all you hear is drums.”

So I’m taking on Maureen Tucker and Heather Lewis as my drum gurus, while worshiping at their altar of cool, raw simplicity. Other bands that have taken this approach: Young Marble Giants, The Need, and sometimes, Yo La Tengo.

I’m looking for more inspiration when it comes to simple, innovative and “primitive” drums as I embark on this drumming adventure, so any suggestions are welcome! 

Leilani Clark @'Is Greater Than'

Leilani Clark writes, copy-edits, teaches and plays music in Santa Rosa, California. She blogs about books, music, culture and DIY radness at www.leilaniclark.com.

Glenn Beck promotes book rife with anti-Semitism and racism

What the BP oil spill would look like in Melbourne

To see what it would look like wherever YOU are:

Go

HERE

An interview with Guido

You’re probably already familiar with Guido. The Bristol native, real name Guy Middleton, has released two singles to date (the swollen grime odyssey ‘Orchestral Lab’ and R’n’B joint ‘Beautiful Complication’, both stunning), and last month followed them with Anidea, his debut album and one of the most accomplished LPs that grime or dubstep has produced.

Guido’s musical upbringing is inspired by grime, and as a member of both Peverelist’s Punch Drunk stable and the “Purple Trilogy” with Joker and Gemmy, his ties to dubstep run deep. But Anidea is, at its heart, a pop album, reliant on overwhelming hooks and melodies. Sometimes these are provided by guest vocalists, but mostly they’re courtesy of synthesized instruments; memorably saxophone on the incredible ‘Mad Sax’.

More than anything, you get the feeling that Anidea is just the start for Guido. He’s already stated in another interview that he gets more out of playing piano than he does producing electronic music, and the inspiration he gets from classical music (both in traditional form and in video soundtracks by the likes of Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu) is clear to see on Anidea’s symphonic crescendos. Guido’s got ideas beyond dance music, and I can’t wait to hear how they materialise. We spoke about this and more over email.

You’re trained in both jazz and classical piano – are you from quite a musical family? 

“I wouldn’t say my family is hugely musical but my dad was in a punk band and can play guitar, keyboard, mandolin and various stringed instruments. I’m not trained prolifically in jazz and classical although I have learnt both for a few years.”

What contemporary music were you into early on in life? Any particular acts?

“I use to listen to a lot of hip-hop, R’n’B from the 90’s and so on, that was what I was mainly into.”

When did you start producing? And what sort of stuff were you trying to make then?

“I began to produce whilst I was attending my early secondary school years, I don’t believe I was aware of trying to make a particular style of music, I just wanted to make music!”

You’re always grouped in with dubstep, but you’ve said you used to go to grime nights a lot when you started. Was that stuff a bigger inspiration to you?

“Nope, it was never really the nights that got me inspired, I was just young and wanted to go out with friends.”

What particular grime were you into? ‘Orchestral Lab’ always reminds me of Ruff Sqwad tunes like ‘Lethal Injection’.

“Low deep, Davinche, Dizzee, Wiley to name a few.”

Are you still into much grime now?

“Not as much as I used to be.”

You’ve said that you get more of a thrill out of playing piano more than you do producing – is live instrumentation something you’re going to incorporate more and more into your music?

“We’ll have to see. It feels more enjoyable to play piano than it is to try and make music on a computer sometimes but I do both.”

Do you reckon you’d ever make an all-out piano-led record, like Sven Weisemann with Xine?

“Yeah I don’t see why not!”

The two realms of music that seem to be the biggest influences on you – correct me if I’m wrong – are incredibly different: 8-bit video game sounds, and classical. Is your music an attempt to bridge the two, do you think? It’s something people like Uematsu have done with the Playstation-era Final Fantasy soundtracks, to some extent.

“Could be. Uematsu’s music translates perfectly to an orchestra and that is the nature of his compositions. I guess you could say I’d like to play it by that angle too.”

Obviously you’ve talked about being an Uematsu fan before – what other composers are you particularly into? You heard Hiroki Kikuta’s Secret of Mana score?

“Yes I played the Secret of Mana game so I’m familiar with it, I think the music writers for early Japanese games were a very talented bunch. They had to make music that accompanied the player whilst they played the game and the sound plays an important role in setting a feeling from the game.”

When you work with vocalists, is it usually the case that you build a track and they record on top of it, or is it a more cooperative relationship than that? You ever built a track on top of a raw vocal, for instance?

“With Aarya’s vocal on ‘Beautiful Complication’ I completely built the tune around it. She had written to another beat before and I felt inspired to try making another tune to it. With Yolanda it was very easy I sort of knew how I wanted the singing to go so I sent her another song as an example to show her. I was really happy with what she did.”

How’s your DJing going? You started pretty late – how did you approach learning it, knowing you had to get good really quick now you had bookings?

“I picked it up from going to nights and seeing other Dj’s play. I took advice from friends then practised and got there in the end. I am having a great time as a DJ being able to travel and go to new places and meet people from doing music is a fantastic thing and I appreciate it very much.”

@'fact'

If you haven't heard Guido's new album 'Anidea' I thoroughly recommend that you beg, borrow or steal it as it is a truly remarkable debut.

HA!

Antarctica - Ole Ole (Original Mix)

    

Ex-MTV Executive A Suspect In Promo and Piracy Case

“On Monday, a federal court of appeals in Seattle will consider whether it is legal to resell ‘promo CDs’. You’ve seen them, the CDs mailed out for free by record labels to industry insiders, reviewers, and radio stations, each bearing the label ‘promotional use only, not for resale’,” writes the EFF in an article titled “Why Your Right To Sell Promo CDs Matters.”

The case sees Universal Music Group take on an eBay seller called “Roast Beast Music”. Roast Beast Music buys promo CDs at used record stores and sells them on eBay. In 2008 Roast Beast Music won its case but Universal, undeterred, appealed the decision.

Over the pond in the UK a similar question could be answered shortly.

Earlier this year TorrentFreak learned of raids quietly carried out against members of an Internet release group, a case that is still ongoing. In the course of our investigations into this event we stumbled across another release group whose sources for new material had suddenly and coincidentally dried up. It didn’t take long to work out that both groups somehow had a connection to the same supplier.

Our investigations then led us to look closer at an eBay account which had been offering, amongst other things, promo CDs. The individual behind the ‘popculture4sale’ account clearly had access to a huge number of them and had conducted many thousands of sales through the site.

Armed with the user names of both the seller and some of the buyers we started digging deeper and asking questions, and we were surprised at what we found.

In 2006 a row blew up on an online forum over some unreleased tracks being sold on eBay. Someone interested in finding out who was behind the sales obtained the seller’s address. That address was a perfect match for the contact address provided for ex-MTV executive James Hyman on his personal website.

Hyman began his career at MTV Europe in 1988 as Press Officer but later went on to become Senior Producer, Director and Programmer. His achievements there were impressive.

“From 1988 to 2000, Hyman steered MTV through the emerging UK dance music scene, from its inception (the acid house explosion) right through to its current global multi-million dollar culture. Hyman’s MTV shows featured over 500 in-depth interviews with all the major players, many unknown at time of interview: The Prodigy, Goldie, Moby, David Holmes, Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Paul Oakenfold, Aphex Twin etc,” reads information from Hyman’s personal website.

“Hyman, involved in all aspects of MTV’s playlist strategy & programme production was also responsible for producing, directing and editing over 250 pop videos, including clips for Fatboy Slim, New Order, Mike Oldfield, Moby, Prince & Michael Jackson,” it adds.

The row about promo sales played out on the NuSkoolBreaks forum. However, it seems that Hyman, who had left MTV at the time of the transactions and had joined London’s XFM as a DJ, took exception to having his real name, address and associated eBay account linked in public. Hyman went on to threaten the forum’s administrator with legal action, should he not take down the information. The multi-page thread in question was edited, but not enough to obscure who the discussion was about.

So here we are back in 2010 and it seems that despite the probability that Hyman obtained said promos 100% legitimately and probably had little or zero idea the music would turn up on the Internet, he appears to be in considerable trouble. A source close to Hyman confirmed to TorrentFreak that he became a suspect in the case several months ago and has been answering bail.

In the weeks prior to posting this article TorrentFreak contacted Hyman via his current company website twice and gave him an outline of what we know along with an opportunity to contribute and comment, but we have received no responses.

According to his site, Hyman has a personal media library which includes over one million magazines, in excess of 50,000 vinyl records and more than 50,000 CDs. That’s several lifetimes worth of viewing and listening. Clearing some of them out on eBay seems to make perfect sense – how much music can one person listen to?

But that said, this situation provides much food for thought. If someone legitimately and freely gives a another person an item, should they then be entitled to do with it as they please? With just about any other item on this planet that would be fine. With promo copies of music, it seems to be a different story.

enigmax @'Torrent Freak'

Cat outta the bag dept..

The Strokes are to play a secret gig at my old stomping ground of Dingwalls in Camden Lock tomorrow night!

Brilliant! The best audience ever!

@'Dangerous Minds'

(Thanx Mr. Christmass!)

John McDonnell apologises for Thatcher 'joke' offence 

No offence taken...

Many years ago Thatcher came out to Melbourne to open the first Body Shop out here. I went on the demo and one point it was just me, the glass of the shop window and her! Firstly I was amazed how tiny this woman who had terrorised me in the UK was and secondly if only I had had a...