Ad Break: Australia 1973

The Secret History of the Vocoder

‘What’s more human than wanting to be something else?’
The transhuman sounds of the vocoder are familiar to anyone who’s listened to chart-topping albums from the likes of Daft Punk, Coldplay, The Beastie Boys and Kanye West. But before the speech synthesis technology reached a wide public, it had already lived three full lives: first, as an experimental technology created to cut the cost of transcontinental phone calls, then as an encrypted communication system of the US military during the Second World War and Vietnam, and then as a re-purposed instrument used by influential counterculture musicians such as Laurie Anderson, Afrika Bambaataa and Kraftwerk.
With interviews from military, communication and music experts, The Secret History of the Vocoder traces the technology through the course of the 20th century, from its birth at Bell Labs in 1928, to its transformation into an instrument with a distinctive sound that exists in the grey area between human and machine.
For more on digital art and the tools we use to create it, read Tom Uglow’s essay ‘The Arts Electric’
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The Complete Force: A Wackies Primer

HERE

Lost in translation?

He was the saviour of Afghan music. Then a Taliban bomb took his hearing

Iggy Pop: Blowtorch in Bondage (Lester Bangs The Village Voice 28/3/77)

HERE

Patti Smith, David Johansen, Cyrinda Foxe and Lenny Kaye

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TEAC O'Casse Open Cassette

I do not remember these at all
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The Family: A film about Ramzan Kadyrov

Under The Influence: Krautrock

Dear lawd! Drummers eh?

Tabla Beat Science - Talamanam Sound Clash

Filmed June 21, 2002 with 12 cameras at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco, this DVD documents a Tabla Beat Science performance that features founders Zakir Hussein (Tablas) and Bill Laswell (Bass), along with Ustad Sultan Khan (Sarangi and Vocals), Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw (Vocals), Karsh Kale (Drums), DJ Disk (Turntable) and MIDIval PunditZ (Electronics). Directed by Alex Winter

Michael Jackson's recorded grunts

Truth

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Spoek Mathambo presents 'Future Sound Of Mzansi' (Part 1)

'Future Sound of Mzansi' is Spoek Mathambo and Lebogang Rasethaba's powerful new documentary about South African electronic music. Part one introduces the new sounds coming out of the townships and urban areas of cities like Durban, Cape Town, and Johannesburg. It becomes abundantly clear that regionalism is extremely important in the development of genres like broken beats, qgom, Shangaan electro, and kwaito. Or, as a producer puts it, it's about the need to "own our shit, own who we are, then bring that out to the world."
We also get to meet the film's colorful cast of characters, which includes Black Coffee, Okmalumkoolkat, Culoe De Song, the owners of Cape Town record label African Dope, and broken beats originators NakedBoys, among many others. The producers discuss the ways the Internet has both helped and hurt their scenes, while dancers show off the sneaker-shredding moves that bring the music to life.
One of this segment's most powerful moments comes from Nozinja, who delivers a passionate speech about using Shangaan electro—the genre he pretty much created—to represent the marginalized Shangaan people. "For me to be known and seen all over, representing that same marginalized and abused nation, I feel proud," he says, eyes twinkling. That same pride resonates with everyone else in the film.
Spoek Mathambo's "Future Sound of Mzansi" Credits:
Directed by: Nthato Mokgata and Lebo Rasethaba
Produced by: Black Major
Featuring: Black Coffee, DJ Spoko, Mujava, Culoe De Song, Christian Tiger School, Felix Laband, Aero Manyelo, Okmalumkoolkat, Saki Ibrahim and others.
Website: www.futuresoundofmzansi.com
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/futuresoundo...
Twitter: #futuresoundofmzansi
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check back for parts two and three
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Fantasma - Cat & Mouse