Photoshoot with AMIR EBRAHIMI & invite to his show opening loft party Sat July 11

Back in the winter, my good friend and one of my favorite photographers, AMIR EBRAHIMI and I had a chance to work together on a photoshoot for a CLAM Magazine feature. I've been a fan of his work for a while and gave him some light here before. He captured some of my favorite photos of many BK artists, such the likes of Raye 6, Sarah White, Taylor McFerrin, DJ Cuco, Jah Dan, Livingroom Johnston, Concep, The Roots, and many more...he's just got that special skill to capture people in their element/presence. I highly recommend him.

Here are some of the images from the shoot (the series has its own storyline). I waited to share them together until CLAM came out, and it's just happens that Amir's doing his debut solo show opening this Saturday at the LOFT (13 Lexington Ave, Brooklyn NY), so it's perfect timing. On top of the photography exhibit and tee-shirt line launch we have TAYLOR MCFERRIN and RAYE 6 performing so you can be assured that it's going to be a sexy vibe and the photos are guaranteed to be amazing (including some stunning nudes of Raye). If you haven't seen either of these two perform, now it's the time to get an intro! Check for details on the flyer below.

Here is the man

Amir Ebrahimi, Photographer :: 120 Seconds from friendswelove.com on Vimeo.

COME THROUGH TOMORROW-this is Brooklyn underground in the making

THANK YOU :: CLAM :: n:19 :::

Much love to my favorite magazine for giving me another opportunity to get some shine and to be able to pass it onto a few of my favorite artists -Waajeed, Raye 6, Diamond Girl, Jelsen Jargon, Concep, Theophilus London and Amir Ebrahimi whose work I've been a fan of for a long time. He photographed all of us in this feature (His show opening/loft party is coming up, stay tuned for the next post). The new issue is based on the theme THE WORLD AROUND YOU.

As my friend Andy, the visionary founder behind CLAM once told me, "CLAM is not about the money it's about people and their creativity". These days, when magazines are folding and print media is starting to become a collectible commodity it's especially great to see a magazine thrive while being true to that principle.

CLAM has only a very limited amount of adds, most of the space is taken up by features of artists/creative folks from around the world...and I mean truly around the world (not just the usual players, but less represented countries from Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe as well). Each issue has a theme, and everybody responds to the same set of questions. You read it and leave feeling inspired by people's vision and passion.


Raye 6 :: Theophilus London

CHECK HERE FOR distribution in the US. [I heard that the big magazine store on Prince & Lafayette carries it in NYC]

FREE DOWNLOAD :: DÂM -FUNK :: Toeachizown + 5 LP set coming in Fall

:: galactic funk is bringing the future back ::

I just bought LAtrik the first part of Toeachizown, LA fam Dâm-Funk's debut album which will be released this Fall as 5/LP set - two and a half hours of music - with CD version to follow. Toeachizown is a modern funk album, created in five distinct parts: LAtrik, Fly, Life, Hood, Sky. I'm really feeling the cover, whoever did the art direction did a great job of creating a mood for the music..makes Dâm look like some kind of space superhero. That is definitely where this is going... galactic memories translated into sound vibration. Check my recent interview with him here.

Stones Throw will be releasing a few of these volumes digitally prior to the vinyl & CD release in Fall. LAtrik is available now exclusively at stonesthrow.com. Here is an extra freebie entitled Toeachizown off of the album you can download here.

From Dam-Funk himself: “LAtrik is more of my 'electric style' (hence the title of this volume) which is influenced by, yet never bitin', such great artist as Juan Atkins (Cybotron) & Prince to name just a few. It also highlights the more Modern sounds of L.A. based Funk right now with instrumentals like ‘Toeachizown’ & vocal tracks like ‘Mirrors’ which, I feel are distinctly my sound, humbly speaking. I hope U dig it, as this was made 4 U! Stay tuned 4 Volumes: 2. 3, 4, & 5. - D-F”

Check his live set I recorded at Santos at the Cubic Zirconia record release party (which by the way was OFF THE HOOK...I'll have some videos of that up too soon.)

lichiban::ELECTRIC VISION presents: DAM-FUNK at Santos NYC from Lichiban EV [Electric Vision] on Vimeo.

this one just came out the other day as well.

PHOTO & SONG OF THE DAY :: cardiac connect

This photo was taken of me by my closest friend from Hungary, sculptor/life artist, and one of the most amazing human beings, Éva Bertók. The heart-light sculpture is one of her work...Just like in mine, the heart is a central symbol in her creations...An inspiring interview with Éva is coming up, stay tuned.

been listening to AFTA-1

The time in between -AFTA-1 by gasd

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: René Laloux -animator/ galactic visionary

This is my all-time favorite animation from my childhood:: AZ IDÖ URAI :: Les Maitres du Temps [Lords of Time]. It is the 1981 masterpiece of Renê Laloux, one of my favorite artists & big inspiration, who co-produced this movie with a Hungarian animation studio, so I always thought that it was a Hungarian production. I later discovered Laloux's surreal imaginary world and was floored. Way ahead of its time with timeless messages.
[the first video is in the original Hungarian, in case you were wondering...unfortunately, I don't think this was ever formatted to English audience]

FANTASTIC PLANET

GANDAHAR --Light Years (English version)

PHOTO OF THE DAY :: Galaxyriders

A.L.I.E.N Buddhaz In The Hood shot by Tossy

NEW WORK :: RE:GENERATION mural :: Earth Spirit Rise

A follow up to my UP IN THE CLOUDS mural, here is the piece I've worked on in June (the rain kept on sabotaging me) and submitted to my collective, YOUNITY's new environmental awareness-raising mural exhibition, FRESHER. The piece is located on the rooftop of the Grand Street New Design High School (It was revealed a few weeks back at the Rooftop legends party). The rooftop hosts some of the illest legal street mural/graf pieces of the city...definitely worth a trip asking the people at the school to let you check out all the pieces up there. I'll post some of the other pieces from the roof soon.

<3thunderbolt> starts generating vibration :::
code: <3+3>=1

The Rise of the Earth Spirit, GEA:: GEA launches <3thunderbolt> to release magic power to heal and awaken earthlings

GEA - Avatar of Re:Generation

earthlings realize the need to protect COSMIC ARK :: feel the vibration ::: we open gates :::

PHOTO & SONG OF THE DAY:: Tehas Beans :: MELO-X

Ninjas vs. Samurais ::
Big shout out to homies Melo-X (check my feature on him) & Claude Dary for repping my work shinobi style (the one on the right is a collabo with Quan Luv) at the VONY Fundraiser. Stay up on Melo's blog to get the latest from the lab (including lots of free music) and go to Claude if you want to book Melo..he is taking the world by storm.

Tehas Beans - MeLo-X

NEW WORK :: <<<<-VV-Vibration-Exchange+VV+>>>>

coil :: swallow :: eternal :: pathways :: electric :: love

listening to Jay Electronica :: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - Jay Electronica

FREE DOWNLOAD :: Afta 1 x GAS'D :: LOVE IS REAL VOL 3

A fellow artist on the path of spreading love vibration, AFTA-1 just dropped a GAS'D collabo mixtape that's in Afta-1's own words "a sound scape of tracks old and new, featuring a collection of good friends, contemporaries, and other artists influential in my own musical journey." It looks like we share more than just the focus on the heartvibrations, some of the the acts on this mix are among my all-time favorites.
Check back for an upcoming post on GAS'D, my new favorite tee line.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

1. Cazeaux O.S.L.O - Conan Bout With Circumstance : // 2. Dwilt Sharpp ft. Lorett Fleur - I Need You Close (pts. 1&2 edit) // 3. J Dilla - Dimepiece (Instrumental) : The Shining Instrumentals (2006) // 4. Self Scientific - Love Bird : Change (2005) // 5. Boom Clap Bachelors - Tiden Flyver (edit) : // 6. AFTA-1 - Tiden Flyver Remix : // 7. Jesse Boykins III - Pantyhose (Instrumental) : // 8. Platinum Pied Pipers - Stay With Me (Instrumental) : // 9. Nite Jewel - What Did He Say : // 10. Dam-Funk - Indigo : // 11. J Davey - Hi Sun : // 12. A Race Of Angels - We : // 13. Sa Ra - Downlow : // 14. Op Swamp 81 - Another Day : // 15. Cazeaux O.S.L.O. - Wildo Cheese Wind : // 16. Shuanise - Etoile (Produced by Fella Vaughn) : // 17. Dwilt Sharpp ft. Lorett Fleur - U & Endeavour // 18. Alpha - Nyquil : Come From Heaven (1997) // 19. Steve Spacek - Hidden Track : Space Shift (2006) // 20. AFTA-1 - Love Suite 2 (Sit Still) : GAS’D EXCLUSIVE

LOVE IS REAL VOL.3 promo from Imani Waddy on Vimeo.

The song thats on the promo-"Boom Clap Bachelors" AFTA-1 (official remix for Tiden Flyver Rmx) is up for download.

Tiden Flyver -Boom Clap Bachelors by gasd

WHERETHEPARTYAT? Cubic Zirconia record release w/ Dam-Funk @ Santos Party House, Thursday July 2nd

Cubic Zirconia Record Release with Dam Funk & DJ Assault & Chico Mann

Thursday, July 2 11:00p

at Santos Party House, New York, NY

Cubic Zirconia Record RELEASE
w/ DJ Sets by Dam Funk, DJ Assault & live sets by Cubic Zirconia, Head Automatica, Chico Mann.
Cubic Zirconia -- comprised of Nick Hook, Tiombe Lockhart, and Todd Weinstock -- just got back from their Uk tour, having played alongside La Roux, Afrikan Boy and many other breaking artists. read more

Price: $12

Cubic Zirconia Record RELEASE
w/ DJ Sets by Dam Funk, DJ Assault & live sets by Cubic Zirconia, Head Automatica, Chico Mann.
Cubic Zirconia -- comprised of Nick Hook, Tiombe Lockhart, and Todd Weinstock -- just got back from their Uk tour, having played alongside La Roux, Afrikan Boy and many other breaking artists. On July 2nd, they are throwing a record release party to end all record release parties.

Check the stream of CZ's recession special Fuck Work's killer remix on rcrdlbl.com by Dam-Funk, coming from their new EP!

Here are some images from last week Tyler Askew's party at APT with Dâm-Funk doing a guest DJ set....as you can see it from the pictures, people were having a hella good time. Lots of industry heads the whole Cubic Zirconia crew, Waajeed (PPP, bling47), DJ Smallchange, Melo-X, Mel D Cole, Dhundee, Oveous Maximus, Jason Lewis were in the house...Good energy & good people...it's just one more reason to check the party tonight.

Dâm on fire! I actually got this shot of him at the last STONES THROW tour a month ago, but had to share it.

Waajeed, Tiombe Lockhart of Cubic Zirconia (ex-PPP) and Nick Hook of Cubic Zirconia. If you're not familiar with CZ, check out the FREE MIXTAPE I posted a while back here. ::: Tiombe on the mic chanting FUCK WORK, their new single (check the video for the song here)...You can expect to hear Dam Funk's remix of the track tonight. :::

Artists to watch, my homies, Oveous Maximus who recently dropped a (free!) dope new album FUTURE INTENTIONS, which I'll post soon...stay tuned! ::: Melo-X, one of my favorite peeps -- he just dropped his debut album MUSTAFA'S RENAISSANCE and was responsible for all the production on Nikki Ntu's recent album A HISTORY OF DREAMS that I illustrated.Skipping a lot of steps, Melo got instantly booked at London's premier venue CARGO...the man's got talent!

One of my favorite producers/ DJs, good friend Waajeed (PPP, bling47). Waajeed is a super versatile producer and a true pioneer, he tends to come out with records that are way ahead of their time. Like for instance, his timeless album WAR part 2. (feat. Jay Dee, Tiombe Lockhart, Invincible, Taraach now available on Bagpak) is one of the most brilliant hip-hop records in my view. Take a listen and buy it here.

My boy Kenshin, big boss at Kilo Intl & Rocksmith Tokyo (left) :: Arden, DJ/ globe trotter. Below is dope photographer, Jason Lewis with lovely friend.

Dj Smallchange was having a good time. I had to get a shot of photographer Mel of Village Slum... This man never stops working!

that's wassup...haha...my talented homies, Jelsen Jargon & Dhundee in character


4:30am..fun times...Jason Lewis, Waajeed, Dam-Funk, Tiombe Lockhart, L, Dhundee & Nick Hook

this is why I still love ADIDAS!!

mmmm...i'm ready to strike a deal for these

i'm feeling... TK WONDER & DUKE B ::: Can't Get It

don't sleep on Duke B & TK WONDER!!!! this is heat!

FREE DOWNLOAD :: ONRA x True Radio BOOGIE MIX

I'm really feeling this sexy boogie mix by ONRA (birth name: Arnaud Bernard) I found on the TRUE RADIO site (which has a ton of other dope free mixes...def worth a tour).

The Parisian beatmaker with roots in Vietnam, ONRA has been on my radar for a while. His music floats somewhere in the sea of abstract hip-hop, future funk & boogie sound along with the fellow musical wayfarers, like Jay Dilla and Flying Lotus. Make sure to check out his myspace page and listen to his tracks.
DOWNLOAD ONRA x TRUE RADIO Boogie Mix HERE.

NEW WORK :: cover design for Tony Lionni ::

New album cover artwork I just finished for Tony Lionni's new EP The Games People Play.










If you'd like to get details about design & commissions, contact me at lichibanart_ at_gmail.com

WHERETHEPARTYAT? :: The Bounce presents GRAVITY at Santos on Wed, July 1st

[photo by Amir Ebrahimi]

I'm definitely checking the opening night of my peeps' new party, Gravity.

A New York DJ is truly excelling when he surpasses simply mixing tunes and successfully reveals the soul of the city. Multi-talents Dhundee and Stimulus can each boast this measure of musical ability. Both producers, composers and crowd-movers with eclectic tendencies, they undeniably feel the pulse of their environment and enhance it with their sounds. GRAVITY, their new Wednesday night weekly residency at Santos, will shatter categorizations of underground dance music making for a night that is as much an exploration as it is a celebration.

Gravity fills the space at Santos every Wednesday, starting July 1.

Fusing sub-genres into a cohesive whole, Gravity is the sexiest party NY is aching for, bringing the summer sounds of the street and filling both floors of santos with everything electronic from dubstep to grime, electro, dirty disco, drum and bass, blacktronica ghetto tech, broken beat, house and hip hop. .

Their Brooklyn Bounce weekly party has been heralded for this same mentality, blessing dance warriors with a mix of ghetto tech, grime, drum and bass, baile funk, broken beat, hip-hop, afrobeat, pretty much anything one could ask for.
Join the movement at the bounce

OPENING NIGHT JULY 1st

DRINK SPECIALS WILL BE SERVED

DOORS OPEN AT 11:00
YOUR GRAVITY Resident rotating Dj's:
Dhundee (The Bounce)
Stimulus (The Bounce)
SABO (Turntable Lab)
OP!
Ayres (The Rub)

SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMANCE BY
Taylor Mcferrin http://taylormcferrin.com/

i'm feeling...ANIMAL COLLECTIVE :: Summertime Clothes

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE :: Summertime Clothes
make sure to check out Dam Funk's dope remix I posted earlier here.

RUBICON :: WK Interact & Invader Solo Exhibit at the Jonathan Levine Gallery, June 27, 2009

WK Interact present a new portrait series entitled 12 Angry Men (above). The exhibition will feature the faces of twelve men using process solely created using a sponge and large brush. The show opens on Saturday June 27th at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery ( 529 West 20th Street, 9th floor, New York, NY 10011).

The other half of the gallery will host the solo exhibition opening of fellow Frenchman, INVADER, entitled "Top IO." Check out this new video created specifically for the upcoming the show. Time-lapse footage reveals the geometric complexity of the process in creating his trademark Rubickubism pieces featured in the show, and will be projected into the gallery space during the exhibition. The term Rubikcubism is used to describe an art movement of which Invader is believed to be the originator, using Rubik’s Cubes (a 3-D mechanical puzzle game popular in the 1980’s, a brainchild of my compatriot, Hungarian designer/architect Ernö Rubik.

TOP 10
by extermitent

FREE DOWNLOAD & ON MY RADAR ::: WILLIE ISZ (Jneiro Janel & Khujo Goodie) mixtape

I recently had the pleasure to meet superproducer/MC Jneiro Jarel (Shape of Broad Minds), who came through to visit my girl, Laura Dee at our BK homebase. I copped the preview of GEORGIAVANIA the debut album of Jneiro's new duo Willie Isz with legend Khujo Goodie (of Goodie Mob)....the album is huge!! Featuring guests including Big Boi and Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio) GEORGIAVANIA is coming out this month. As the title suggests, the album is an out-of-the-box, gothic trip through Southern vibes evoking Outcast & Goodie Mob, galactic soundscapes and futuristic eclecticism characteristic of Jneiro's brilliant production skills. Stay tuned for an exclusive interview w/ Jneiro coming soon. Check for more info and link them on the Willie Isz myspace page.
Until the album drops, here is a free mixtape from Jneiro to get a taste of the mood. Download it here.
tracklist: Jneiro Jarel - Lock Down // Outkast Feat Khujo Goodie and Cee lo - Reset // Jneiro Jarel - Big Bounce Theory Remix// Goodie Mob - Cell Therapy // Shape of Broad Minds - Changes // Jneiro Jarel F. Shape of Broad Minds // Electric/Computer Blue // Outkast Featuring Khujo Goodie - Gasoline // Goodie Mob - Soul Food // NSM F. Jneiro Jarel aka Dr. Who Dat? - Mumbo Jum // Jneiro Jarel - Black Cinderella //Jneiro Jarel - Stranger They Come // Goodie Mob - They Don't Dance No Mo' // Goodie Mob - Fly Away // Shape of Broad Minds - Buddafly Away // Jneiro Jarel - NASA // Shape of Broad MInds Featuring Khujo Goodie - OPR8R //Shape of Broad MInds Featuring Khujo Goodie -OPR8R (Collipark Mix)

WILLIE ISZ :: Autopilot (from GEORGIAVANIA)
---this track caught me the most at first listening of the album. Dark and brilliant. Somebody should write a movie with this track as the theme song.

Charlie Dark x De La Soul x Nike: Run Dem!

"Are You In?"

via KingBritt.net

NEW CLAM is OUT!

The new CLAM, a Paris-based international photography/art/design magazine is finally out (I've yet to cop my copy). CLAM is my favorite such publication, and I've been blessed to get to curate the Brooklyn part of the mag and get a feature in the upcoming issue along with my fellow artists friends from Brooklyn, Waajeed, Theophilus London, Diamond Girl, Raye 6, Concep, Jelsen Jargon and Amir Ebrahimi, who photographed all of us.

NEW DESIGN :: Flyer for VONY Fundraiser show w/ BILAL, 88-KEYS & JESSE BOYKINS III

I just finished designing this flyer for the big fundraising show following the Voices of New York SPEAK! Youth Media /Arts Conference next Saturday, June 27, 2009.

All details on the flyer...the event will feature a raffle with goodies from ROCKSMITH Tokyo (Jesse Boykins III actually modeled in the latest shoot), a gift certificate for dinner-for-2, and surprise gifts! EACH TICKET AUTOMATICALLY ENTERS THE RAFFLE. And importantly, all proceeds go to VONY's Youth Media/Arts mentoring program.

Some of my work will be on display, which I'm very excited about.

Read more about the events of the day and purchase advance tickets on the VONY SPEAK Conference website.




I wrote about the PSA shoot in an earlier post. Here is the end product, edited & directed by Joel Mejia (Dare to Dream, Things Are Changing) featuring VONY Youth, Suzanna Ali, founder of VONY, Bilal, 88-Keys, Rasu (CDTBK) and myself (holding my collabo piece w/ Jelsen Jargon "We Are") among others.

OLD WORK :: Chymicae NeoCosmi :::

Inspired by the concept of the alchemical wedding, this drawing I made as a gift was an old attempt of mine to practice etching by "remixing" alchemical engravings (by hand, of course) which has been inspiring my work since I first read the mysterious Tabula Smaragdina, the sercet formula of Hermes Trismegistos, and discovered a whole universe of hermetic illustrations when i was 13. Beside the 13th century Sufi Ibn al-Arabi, it was Arabic alchemical texts like the TS that made me want to study Arabic. I love doing murals because it gets one's whole body moving while painting, but I must admit, I take a lot of pleasure in sitting tightly & working on fine details. Here is the poem.

TABULA SMARAGDINA

1. It contains an accurate commentary that can't be doubted.

2. It states: What is the above is from the below and the below is from the above. The work of wonders is from one.

3. And all things sprang from this essence through a single projection. How marvelous is its work! It is the principle part of the world and its custodian.

4. Its father is the sun and its mother is the moon. Thus the wind bore it within it and the earth nourished it.

5. Father of talismans and keeper of wonders.

6. Perfect in power that reveals the lights.

7. It is a fire that became our earth. Separate the earth from the fire and you shall adhere more to that which is subtle than that which is coarse, through care and wisdom.

8. It ascends from the earth to the heaven. It extracts the lights from the heights and descends to the earth containing the power of the above and the below for it is with the light of the lights. Therefore the darkness flees from it.

9. The greatest power overcomes everything that is subtle and it penetrates all that is coarse.

10. The formation of the microcosm is in accordance with the formation of the macrocosm.

11. The scholars made this their path.

12. This is why Thrice Hermes was exalted with wisdom.

13. This is his last book that he hid in the catacomb.

(published by Nineveh Shadrach from the original Arabic of Book of Causes attributed to Apollonius of Tyana.^[1])

SONG OF THE DAY :: Rah Band :: MESSAGES FROM THE STARS

[i wish the video was more developed...makes me want to do something for this track]

NEW WORK :: Transsiberian Vision

opening :: vision :: milky way :: hidden gem :: benevolence :: rapture :: abundance :: terra incognita :: life :: vision :: love :: mothers ::

I made this new piece, entitled "Transsiberian Vision" in one sitting, inspired by my recent trip back to the motherland, Hungary. People often ask me if and how my roots shape my work. I think I haven't yet tapped completely into my "roots" (I mean one of my roots, the country & culture I was born into), but this is my first true attempt to incorporate some of the floral symbolism and shamanistic lore I've grew up around into my personal mythology. Hungarian's closest relatives are obscure Siberian languages, and according to ancient oral lore, Hungarians were part of Attila, the Hun's tribal confederation and were nomads who came to Europe pretty late in the 8th century. Growing up, shamanism was one of the spiritual traditions that stimulated my mental universe (and that of a whole the generation of artists back then). I've been drawn to the spirituality of nomads (and that includes the wandering Sufi poets or qalandars as well) since I was a kid. Finally, I am ready to bring out more of that in my new work.


This is a video recording of the shamanistic ritual of the North Siberian NGANASAN tribe (a lingistic relative of Hungarian from the Uralic language family), which comes closest to what I imagine what the rituals of Hungarians living in the Central Asian steppes may have looked like. I've been waiting for the right moment to drop it and I found the perfect one (for more than one reason).

I made this for the upcoming FEAR NO ARE 3 show opening on June 21, in Boston, curated by old friends and dope artist colleagues Marka 27 and ninerevolutions.
Check out their blog for the show featuring Jesse Hernandez, Deme5, Kenji Nakayama, WERC and more. Also check the blog for venue info here.

i'm feeling....TAKI76 & Jenny Jen :: Disco Kryptonite

i've been following TAKI76 for a couple of years now... this dark and twisted funk-space-electro piece was the one that made me an instant fan of TAKI. TAKI clearly has a lot of fun making music...so in a way listening to it reminds me to seek fun in creating.
stay tuned for free goodies from him.

MOS DEF's new album THE ECSTATIC is a masterpiece

after several replay, i still have a hard time translating my feelings about this album... i've been waiting for an album from MOS DEF, but i didn't expect this...listening to THE ECSTATIC transported me back to the days of my studies & travels a few years back in search of sufi teachers; in many ways i feel THE ECSTATIC draws on the spirit of sufis, the ecstatics of the Muslim world & as well as the teachings of Noble Drew Ali, as the cover suggests.. this is elevating, inspired, illuminating music that comes from a spiritual place. a place of freedom to play, which shows in the sound that is diverse, sexy, mystical and experimental in a refreshing way. The Preservation Society, a super dope hidden gem, I've been following for a while, Madlib, Georgia Anne Muldrow & Oh No, the late J Dilla and Mos himself have done an amazing job with the production. the poetry & the production & the message-fierce. al-rahman & al-rahim. ...and not least, it is very good for my creativity, it inspires me to paint more when i listen to this.

get it on itunes.

::: ninjas making moves :::

sample sale and free download of Blakladin - Ninjah Gurl + Galaxy Ride

FREEDOM IN FUNK /// Interview with DAM-FUNK [w/ free downloads]

Hailing from Los Angeles, Stones Throw artist
Dâm-Funk has been on my radar for a while, and I finally had a chance to link up with him for a quick interview before his recent show in NYC during the STONES THROW TOUR 2009. With his arsenal of vintage synths and drum machines, Dâm has blended galactic harmonies with this-wordly sexy boogie/funk vibes and magic analogue soundscapes into his own brand of modern funk or boogie-funk, which earned him the title "The Ambassador of Boogie Funk." His soulful, futuristic compositions evoke an era of 80s space-inspired music, and like their inspiration, Dâm's modern funk melodies are adept at making you feel good and bring out your inner sexy. When he's not in the studio working on his next cosmic project, as a DJ/selector Dâm-Funk throws one of the freshest Monday nite parties in L.A. called FUNKMOSPHERE which focuses on rare joints via 'original wax' from the early 80's based Boogie/Funk, Modern-Soul, & 'current' Modern-Funk sub genres respectfully. "Anyone who grooves to the likes of Slave, Aurra, early Prince, Prelude Records and the like, will get a dose of those groups' unknown contemporaries – more obscure but equally Funk-worthy." According to Ty G (HVW8.com) "Dãm-Funk is a man that's almost single-handedly brought the 'Boogie' scene to life here in LA", and I suspect he's going to do that for other parts of the US and for overseas shores as well. If you're in NYC, don't miss him, he's doing a set in two weeks on June 23, at APT with Tyler Askew (for those who like to get down, this should be the night to do so...he was killing it at the last time he was here in NYC)...Follow him on twitter, myspace and check his page on stonesthrow.com for news and tour dates.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Lichiban: You produce and you are also a collector, right?
dâm-funk: Yes.

L: Is there a particular sound or mood that you are drawn to when working on a track or when you pick a record to buy?
D-F: Mostly the 'beautiful chords' when it comes to my music & with records (wax)...it's usually the producer, the artwork & if it's a label I've never heard of before.

L: How much of the day do you spend in the studio? Do you have a ritual before or after?
D-F: I spend A LOT of time in the studio, actually. There is no ritual, but I usually enjoy my Djarum Blacks on the side & 'privacy' when it comes to my recording process.

L: Have you taken major risks in your carrier?
D-F: If you want to count being around a lot of gun play when I used to do keyboard session work back in the mid 90's to early 2000's west-coast gangsta rap era. Nothing I couldn't handle though. Respect was always received amongst my peers back then in the studio & in the streets of L.A. and still is.

L: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received regarding doing music?
D-F: Do YOU!!

L: Sex & drugs & rock & roll....what would be the equivalent for funk?
D-F: "Flyness (U gotta stay fly) & Freedom (Always break the chains) & Funk (Thee state of mind & sound)"

L: Projects for the next 12 months…
D-F: *My debut full length LP/CD on Stones Throw titled: "TOEACHIZOWN".

*My early work recordings being released on Good Time Records.

*More side projects on my own private press label Glydezone.

*And, more carefully chosen remixes (such as the just completed Animal Collective "Summertime Clothes" DâM-FunK Remix // DOWNLOAD IT HERE) that I actually like and am not forced to do because of some 'opportunist' that are out there that my man Leon Sylvers III once warned me about. See, when things start gettin' 'hot' (if you will), all sorts of 'wild offers' come your way. I've learned that you have to 'pick and choose like fruit' if you wanna stay strong in this game. And, I intend to 'not be drained' by so many 'johnny come lately' opportunist and the game. I intend to ALWAYS stay strong in this thang...humbly speaking.

L: Define success…
D-F: Knowing that you've made people feel good. Knowing that heartstrings have been touched by the music that has been created for the universe. (And, a brand new Dodge Challenger sittin' in your driveway! LOL!!)

Stay up & STAY FREE!!
- DâM-FunK

LINKS

www.myspace.com/damfunk
www.stonesthrow.com/damfunk
www.youtube.com/funkmosphere
www.myspace.com/funkmosphere

FREE DOWNLOAD:
Dam-Funk Mix from
BBC’s Mary Anne Hobbs Experimental Show (MP3)

DâM-FunK – ‘Brookside Park’ (Stones Throw)
DâM-FunK – ‘Spacecapades’ (Stones Throw)
DâM-FunK – ‘This Time, Take It Out On the Groove’ (Stones Throw)
DâM-FunK – ‘Flying V Ride’ (Stones Throw)
DâM-FunK – ‘The Sky Is Ours’ (Stones Throw)
DâM-FunK – ‘Sidewayz’ (Stones Throw)
DâM-FunK – ‘Rollin’ (Stones Throw)
L.S. Movement – ‘Move Everything You Got’ (LA/Veg)

i'm feeling...Illa J. feat. Debi Nova :: SOUNDS LIKE LOVE

not new, but classic ::: Illa J feat. Debi Nova - Sounds Like Love [LP 2008 "Yancey Boys" (Delicious Vinyl)]
* prod. by J Dilla

NEW WORK & FREE DOWNLOAD :: Art directing and illustrating NIKKI NTU :: "A History Dreams" album cover

As the first one of the AURAL VISIONS :: Lichiban presents series, I worked on as art director// illustrator// graphic designer for NIKKI NTU's debut album produced by MeLo-X, called A History of Dreams. My story with Nikki's project began last year when MEGA, one of her executive directors beside Claude Dary (also known as MeLo-X's manager), contacted me to ask me if I'd do an art installation for Nikki's private listening party in September 2008 (here is my post about the event). After hearing the album, I was blown away by MeLo-X's super versatile production skills (this was before he dropped his first album, Mustafa's Renaissance) and by Nikki's amazing lyrical skills, and connected immediately with her message that was powerful, empowering and spiritual...a tendency I'm very happy to see growing among the next generation of artists, who are fellow seekers and are trying to communicate good, higher vibrations and a love message through their art. (I think it's becoming more and more obvious to those who read my blog that I specifically support artists who have this kind of message...As the world is heading toward a cosmic transformation and a future of global struggle, artists are awakening to their mission to counteract all the negativity that is getting released through this shift. As I've been saying it for a while, I believe there is a new ART LOVE MOVEMENT in the making and we are the builders of it. I am very conscious about connecting people with this kind of approach to doing art.) But back to Nikki, I was very happy to be part of her and MeLo's project, a beautiful ascending sonic voyage through the land of cosmic dreams and this-wordly realities.

DOWNLOAD
Nikki NTU :: "A History of Dreams" HERE!!

While meditating on the cover, I'd try to focus on two aspects of her spirituality :: the visionary amazon-poet shamaness & and the modern-day warrior-priestess. The heart is a very strong symbol for her (this is another aspect on which we connected). Here is a passage from her art statement, that says so much about her spiritual stance "With strong themes of healing, revolution and love, Nikki is birthing new concepts of female empowerment but moreover people empowerment. “My music breaks down a lot of barriers in people. The rhythms bring out emotion and the lyrics stimulate the mind as well as the heart. Those simple things have a great impact on inspiring and informing folks. And when you have a safe space to put everything on the table, healing is the only outcome.” For me, this project was more than just a commissioned work...She is in many ways on the same mission that I have been traveling for a while...to mediate an old but timeless message for the present generation through her art. Nikki is an old soul and as I learned more about her and her project, I realized that two of us were meant to do this together. She had an amazingly loving & supportive core team of Melo-X, her producer, and MEGA and Claude Dary her executive producers and myself (big shout out to all three who have been giving me lots of love & support throughout as well)...the energy that went into this album and the spirit of the people involved made this project very special for me. You can expect more visual & sonic collabo's with this group in the future..it's meant to happen! Thank you!

Make sure to link Nikki's and MeLo's blogs and link them on myspace (Nikki's link // MeLo's link) as well.
Here are some of the steps...



I played around with a number of logo ideas until we picked the final version above.

i'm feeling....PAUL HARDCASTLE :: King Tut

KOVAS Wax On Wax Off Video Challenge

Watch the KOVAS Wax On Wax Off Video (you can watch the video on WRONGLIPS), then tape yourself doing your own version. Battle everyone around the world to see who can be the most creative and innovative!! The Beat Freaks & KOVAS are watching. Show ‘em what you got!! Read more about how to enter on www.kovaswaxonwaxoff.com Link him on myspace & follow Kovas on twitter.

Life As A Cat:: NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD

Talking about space, I want to share one of my all-time favorite animes, Night on The Galactic Railroad (Ginga Tetsudo no Yoru / 銀河鉄道の夜) directed by Gisaburo Sugii, based on the enigmatic symbolism-filled cult story by Kenji Miyazawa. Somehow it happens that my favorite animations feature cats as the main characters (The Hungarian "Macskafogó" or Cat City is another one). In this mystical tale, the two cats set out on a galactic railroad ride on the Milky Way to the Southern Cross- an allegorical journey to the afterlife and a beautiful meditation on Kenji's view of self-sacrifice. It is not an action movie, so get ready for a dreamy pace.

i'm feeling...RQM :: Miss Pacman

I just recently discovered RQM via his myspace request (yes I still use myspace...still trumps all other sites when it comes to discovering new music)...had to post his MISS PACMAN promo...it's hilarious! His music is sexy & mad funny. You can stalk him on twitter or listen to more tracks on his myspace page