Symbiosis Gathering 2013
next level journey, but so close to home this year!!! a peninsula of epic everything, literally. too much to do and must go swimming!
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Raindance Campout 2013
Epic Raindance Campout this year, they always are but the bluff and the river were out of control in the Sierra’s and in familiar territory. the moon and sunrise sunday morning on the bluff were pivitol. Following J.Phlip from Dirtbird was a bit of a nerve shaker, especially as i was truly a rotary knob mixer virgin (besides that one time in ’95 kind of thing). turned out it’s like flying a plane and i loved every second of it / and the sound was phenomenal. not sure i’ve heard vinyl through a tube mixer on such a nice system like that before. pure good.
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Playground at Cathedral Park Portland Oregon
what an epic time! Portland, you rock, for realz. for the first time in forever i got to play tourist and enjoy one epic food, drink, and culture one after another, culminating in closing out the super fun outdoor party Playground with a sunset set. Now I know why they call it Cathedral Park! beyond grateful to join the amazing day of music with highlights including Jacaranda, Mercedes, Jak, and Phidelity. special thanks to our friends at Santeria and of course Love at Jack London. give thanks and super hope to get to come back soon!!!
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Firefly Gathering 2013 / Northern Arizona
my second year and a true family experience. the deep journey sunset and sunrise sets i was honored to play were super magic. the people, land, depth, art, space makers, interaction, and opportunity were all magic. props to a core level of epic with a good splash of down home… don’t forget about the official proliferation of Rock Toss Bounce (including new crowd-pleaser Sink Smash! and the Three Point Line!!) Smokovich also rocked two epic sets as well between his busy schedule as baby mustard judge for RTB. firefly just ain’t another boom boom. it’s the original style everything! POINTS!!! Special props to the entire Firefly crew and Jeremiah Green, Safi’s Lab, Acidisco, Laura, Julia, Tim, Brian, Lizzy, Leor, Lavender, Rene, camp colorado sound guys, Steve Christmas, Deborah, David, Todd, and of course the ‘visionary art yardstick is-it-this-or-this matrix workshop’. I’m already looking forward to next year… www.facebook.com/fireflygatherings
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Symbiosis: Pyramid Eclipse 2012
the road to Symbiosis , literally, is always deep with obstacle, patience, daring, and reward. give thanks to the creators, the family, and the host. it was an honor to try landing the ecliptic ship by playing the closing set at the Sun Stage on Monday. right before i played i walked in prayer around the dance floor and remained in forever awe of landscape and original spirit. Music was going to be my gratitude and offering, and the sound system was fantastic and sounding like your first playa sunrise. the winds were howling across the vinyl which makes me nervous, but i think that those desert bellow winds truly (acoustically) speak through the record needles that could have skipped at any time (but never did!). this is what matters to me, there is a physical vibration in my sound path. as if there was a guitar string that rattles, and how it vibrates and what it picks up is what we hear in that moment. it wasn’t about me, but about sharing the music. yes i make music and produce, but who cares, I’m a dj, a vinyl dj, and i’m here to mix records, hopefully long and well. always searching to spin two quartz locked pitched spirals into one (2 x 33:1/3 = 1) to create a new journey and tell a new story. beauty is the mantra, but there seems to be something more macro to it. that’s where i’m trying to go. that is my prayer. infinite love light and compassion. special thanks, reverence, and love, -Majitope
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GardenHouse Vinyl / Mandjou Kone: Wamian – the remixes
Quoted from Soft Secrets Magazine Issue 3, 2011:
DJ Shakra & Mandjou Kone – ‘Wamian’ (DJ Shakra Maian Mix) – (Garden House Records)
Released on 12” vinyl, this latest project from San Francisco based Garden House Records is destined to inspire and uplift the dance floors across both clubs and festivals this summer and beyond. A collaboration with Malian singer Mandjou Kone and master percussionist Ben Issacs; co-written, produced and arranged by David Jenkins; the song is dedicated to Mandjou’s great great great grandfather who was the “Michael Jackson of Mali”. Wamian reportedly lived till he was over 120 years old.
Mandjou Kone was born and raised in West Africa in the countries of Mali and Burkina Faso. She was born into the Kone’s, a well-known Griot family. The Griot people of West Africa are world renowned for their unique ability to record events carefully and accurately, passing history from one generation to the other. One cannot learn to become a Griot; rather one is born into it, along with the responsibility to preserve the culture.
As a young girl, Mandjou assisted her Griot father in keeping his band alive by singing, dancing and playing instruments like the Djembe, Bala, Dundun, Kora and Tama. She also danced and performed with the National Ballet of Burkina Faso. With her brothers group Surutukunu, Mandjou toured Europe extensively as lead singer; she was then invited to come to the United States to help translating a documentary about the last 40 years of her family’s musical tradition and history. The film, entitled “Great Great Great Grandparents’ Music” went on to win several awards from the Pan-African movie world.
A propelling and deliciously deep acid bass line, aided by deftly shaped electronica, flows naturally and effortlessly with traditional percussion such as the Balaphone creating shimmering waves of rhythm. The potently beautiful voice of Mandjou blows sure wind to the sails. Whilst it may not be possible, for some ears at least, to understand exactly her words, the essence of this compelling and remarkable African past reverberates throughout the song triggering powerful visual images and a feeling of happiness and harmony.
Including two monster remixes by B. Smiley and DJ Majitope along with a dub mix from DJ Shakra, this is a sonic connection to our archaic phuture!
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