Author: joseph

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Zcasting

I downloaded the Zcast app as soon as Read about it last week. The idea of making anyone with a phone in their pocket a radio station caught my imagination. Initially I was going to do a test Zcast with a friend to see how it sounded, how the software ran, etc. But after giving it some thoughts I decided to go all out and invite a few guests and have a round table conversation about pop culture to put Zcast through it’s paces. And you know what, it was pretty good! We rambled a bit and one connection dropped a few times but it was a good first effort.

My guests were Steve Howard, longtime friend and DJ; Mikel OD, host of Most People are DJ’s and founder of Digital Racket; and Christian Payne, founder of Documentally. We talked about Zcast, the vinyl revival, Moogfest and David Bowie’s recent death.

Joseph Aleo
Website: http://josephaleo.com/blog/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/josephaleo

Christian Payne
Website: http://documentally.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/documentally

Mikel OD
Website: http://digitalracket.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mikel_OD

Steven Howard
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mentalnotesAFM
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MentalNotesAFM

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solipsistic NATION No. 311: Head Cold

I’m keeping today’s show mellow. I’ve got a cold and I wanted to convey to you sonically what I’m feeling. I’m also not going to talk too much on today’s show because my throat is still alittle sore and I never know when I might cough and you don’t want to hear that.

You can find me on Twitter at @solipsistic or at @josephaleo.

Want to hear more great music? Go check out my brothers and sisters at futuremusic.fm!

Okay, time for me drink some syrzup. See you in two weeks with a show from the archives. Peace.

  1. Letherette “Blad”
  2. J Dilla “So Far to Go”
  3. Lemon Jelly “’68 aka Only Time”
  4. Shigeto “Pulse”
  5. Gold Panda “You”
  6. Onra “Ms. Ho”
  7. Flying Lotus “Zodiac Shit”
  8. Tycho “Coastal Break”
  9. Four Tet “Moma”
  10. Hidden Orchestra “Spoken”
  11. Lapalux “There Are Monsters In This Bed”
  12. Prefuse 73 “Storm Returns (A Prefuse/Tommy Guerrero Interlude)”
  13. Clams Casino “Treetop”
  14. Balam Acab “Motion”
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Steampunk

Steampunk combines science fiction elements from the Victoria era with the edginess of Cyberpunk of the 1980s. So why is Steampunk exploding in popular culture in the 21st century?

To find out, today on the Small World, we’ll talk with Bruce Sterling who, along with William Gibson, wrote The Difference Engine, the book that first pushed Steampunk into mainstream culture.

We’ll also talk with David Simkins, a writer and executive producer for Syfy’s Warehouse 13 has been described as “part The X-Files, part Raiders of the Lost Ark and part Moonlighting.”

Finally, we’ll talk with Steampunk Tales Evelyn Kriete, a penny dreadful you can read on your iPhone.

Steampunk was originally a blend of 19th century science fiction from writers like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne and the 20th century Cyberpunk themes of rebellion and dystopianism.

Steampunk has steadily been growing in popularity. Some people modify their laptops or cellphone with polished brass, iron, and wood while some musicians are incorporating Steampunk elements into their music. There are even Steampunk conventions where people can gather and display their wares or dress in pseudo Victorian fashions.

My introduction to Steampunk was The Difference Engine, a novel by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson, back in the early 1990s. The Difference Engine explored an alternate history where computers existed in the 19th century and the impact they had on that world.

What better place to begin today’s show than talking with Bruce Sterling?

Bruce not only co-wrote The Difference Engine with William Gibson, but he also put Cyberpunk on the map with the Mirrorshades anthology. Bruce has also written Zeitgeist, which is one of my favorite novels, as well as The Zenith Angle, and his most recent book, The Caryatids.

Warehouse 13 is a mashup of the The X-Files and Indiana Jones with our heroes Peter Lattimer and Myka Bering hunting supernatural objects.

I really enjoy the bickering and bantering on Warehouse 13 but what first got me interested in the show were the artifacts and devices that appeared on the show. There are gadgets like Tesla guns and archaic looking communication devices and supernatural objects like Lewis Carroll’s mirror Harry Houdini’s wallet. All of which is steeped of Steampunk.

You know, I almost hate to admit this, but I love my iPhone.

I listen to music and podcasts on my iPhone, I play games on my iPhone, I read blogs and books on my iPhone and sometimes I even call people on my iPhone.

The iPhone is such a 21st century device that I was surprised and charmed to find an application for the iPhone called Steampunk Tales.

Steampunk Tales describes itself as a penny dreadful for the iPhone and features Steampunk stories that you can read on Apple’s nearly ubiquitous device.

Evelyn has been kind enough to give away a copy of the latest Steampunk Tales. Send me an email at smallworldpodcast@gmail.com for your chance to win a copy of Steampunk Tales for your iPhone.

The music heard on today’s show is “Mr. Soot’s Little Black Book” by the Unextraordinary Gentlemen and Hannah Fury’s “No Man Alive.”

The incidental music heard on today’s show was “Sûrement” by Ez3kiel, “Cold Fuzzies” by Skerror, “Landlost” by In the Nursery, “Arcanum” by Ben Houge and “Yeesha’s Joyride” by Jack Wall.

Join us next time on the Small World when we’ll talk with singer/song writer Michael Hayes about his retrospective album, Diamonds Down the Drain.

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September 27, 2014 | Different Melancholy Song

Her stars Joaquin Phoenix as a broken hearted man in the near future in Los Angeles. In one scene he gets in a crowded elevator and tells his phone to play him a melancholy song. It’s melancholy, really melancholy, but not exactly what Joaquin is looking for. “Play a different melancholy song” Joaquin says. It’s a funny beat but it tells you everything you need to know about Joaquin’s character and the world he lives in. But it got me thinking, we’re living in a world pretty close to joaquin’s. I can’t tell my phone to instantly play me a melancholy song suited to my personal tastes… yet.

For today’s show I used the iTunes Genius Mix to generate playlists using The Breeders “Off You” as the seed. Why don’t you try iTunes or Pandora or Spotify to generate a playlist for you based on one of your favorite melancholy songs and tell me what you came up with.

  1. Her Soundtrack “Different Melancholy Song”
  2. The Breeders “Off You”
  3. ID
  4. This Mortal Coil “You And Your Sister”
  5. Nico “The Fairest Of The Seasons”
  6. Wye Oak “Doubt”
  7. Cat Power “He Turns Down”
  8. Symbols of the West “Come Alive”
  9. ID
  10. Sonic Youth “Shadow Of A Doubt”
  11. Blonde Redhead “Missile”
  12. Bauhaus “Silent Hedges”
  13. Throwing Muses “Fish”
  14. Dinosaur Jr. “Repulsion”
  15. Embrace “Money”
  16. ID
  17. My Bloody Valentine “What You Want”
  18. Spacemen 3 “Take Me To The Other Side”
  19. Suicide “Cheree”
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Zcast: January 24, 2016

I downloaded the Zcast app as soon as I read about it last week. The idea of making anyone with a phone in their pocket a radio station caught my imagination. Initially I was going to do a test Zcast with a friend to see how it sounded, how the software ran, etc. But after giving it some thoughts I decided to go all out and invite a few guests and have a round table conversation about pop culture to put Zcast through it’s paces. And you know what, it was pretty good! We rambled a bit and one connection dropped a few times but it was a good first effort.

My guests were Steve Howard, longtime friend and DJ; Mikel OD, host of Most People are DJ’s and founder of Digital Racket; and Christian Payne, founder of Documentally. We talked about Zcast, the vinyl revival and David Bowie’s recent death.

Joseph Aleo
Website: http://josephaleo.com/blog/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/josephaleo

Christian Payne
Website: http://documentally.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/documentally

Mikel OD
Website: http://digitalracket.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mikel_OD

Steven Howard
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/mentalnotesAFM/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/MentalNotesAFM

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solipsistic NATION No. 310: Mutamassik, Live

Today on solipsistic NATION we’ll hear a live set from Giulia Loli from Mutamassik, which was originally recorded for Fari Bradley‘s Six Pillars radio show on Resonance FM to promote Giulia’s 2012 release, Rekkez, out on Ini.itu Records. In fact, there are quite a few tracks from Rekkez on today’s live set.

We’ll also talk to Giulia about balancing artistry with industry, and her growth as an artist, musician and as a DJ.

Today’s show is eight years in the making.

When I launched solipsistic NATION podcasts were a new thing and most people didn’t know what a podcast actually was, which made it difficult when I would email labels and ask for them to send me promotional CDs for the show. And even if a label knew what a podcast was I didn’t have the audience that I do now, so why mail out music to show that only had a few hundred listeners? I can’t blame them, really.

But one label I did approach was generous enough to send a CD. I had read a review about Mutamassik’s album, Masri Mokkassar: Definitive Works in XLR8R, back when it was still a print magazine. Definitive Works had been released by Sound-Ink Records and they sent me Mutamassik’s LP without questions or hassle.

Like I said, podcasts were an unknown quantity back then, so it meant a lot to me that Sound-Ink took me seriously enough to send me Mutamassik’s album. And it was a great album! I played it on the show and I played it on my iPod constantly. Someday, I told myself, I’m going to have Mutamassik on the show as a guest so I could get to know the person behind all this fantastic music!

That day is today. It took months of planning and aligning our schedules but it finally happened.

Join us again next week. I’m still getting my ducks in a row but I think our guests will be Known Rebel‘s Germán Escandell and Jaime Irles.

See you then!

  1. Mutamassik “Babomb”
  2. Interview with Giulia Loli of Mutamassik
  3. Mutamassik “Live”
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solipsistic NATION No. 309: Khafru, Live

Great show for you today! We’re going to hear a live, in-studio performance from Khafru. But first, I’ve got some sad news to announce.

Cheb i Sabbah died last week of stomach cancer.

For those of you who didn’t know him, Chebi was a musician and composer from San Francisco. If there’s a genre that would describe his music I guess it would be worldbeat, but that doesn’t adequately describe the richness, complexity and the beauty of Chebi’s artistry.

I first discovered Chebi late last century in 1995 when I purchased Sub Rosa‘s Ancient Light and the Blackcore at Newbury Comics in Boston. The album featured field recordings of Yanomami shamans, Seefeel, Scorn and Timothy Leary remixed by some guy called Cheb i Sabbah.

The track by Chebi was called “Why Are You Here?” Timothy Leary waxed psychedelic on the meaning of our existence and was supported by Chebi’s timeless, cosmic music. It was mind blowing stuff.

From that point on, Cheb i Sabbah was on my radar so when Sub Rosa released an album of poetry by Ira Cohen with music from Chebi, I purchased it without question and I was not disappointed. Chebi’s music was still psychedelic but it now incorporated sounds from Morocco. Combined with Ira Cohen’s words, I felt like I was living in one of William Burroughs‘ fevered dreams.

Chebi then released a series of albums: Shri Durga, Maha Maya and Krishna Lila, each one exploring music from North and South India. In 2005 Chebi veered off into an entirely different direction and released La Kahena, which featured music from North Africa.

When I launched solipsistic NATION I had a list of artists I wanted to have on the show to talk about their music. Chebi was one of those artists and it was a pleasure to talk to him about his craft and each of his albums after listening to his music for so many years.

At the time, that show was supposed to be a retrospective of Chebi’s musical journey so far. Like everybody else, I assumed that Chebi would release album after wonderful album. Sadly, Chebi only released two more albums: La Ghriba: La Kahena Remixed in 2006 and Devotion in 2008.

Chebi had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Chebi didn’t have health insurance so an online fundraiser campaign was launched to cover Chebi’s medical fees. Six Degrees Records, who had put out nearly every album during Chebi’s musical career, also released a benefit album called Samaya in 2012.

And now Chebi’s gone. His music is still with us, but the man is gone. He will be missed.

If you live in or near San Francisco Friends of Chebi invite you to celebrate Chebi’s music and message November 21 from 7pm to 2 am at 1015 Folsom. There will be 4 rooms of live and electronic music centered around the global music that defined the unique Cheb i Sabbah sound. Suggested Donation $10-$20 sliding scale but no one turned away for lack of funds.

There’s a staggering list of musicians who will be there so I’ll just mention a few: Karsh Kale and the Midival Punditz will be there via satellite, Dub Gabriel will be there, Bob Duskis from Six Degrees Records will be there and many, many more.

As I mentioned earlier, I had a list of artists I wanted to feature on solipsistic NATION and Cheb i Sabbah was one of them. Over the years I’ve got to talk to a lot of people on that list. There are still quite few names on that list like Kraftwerk and Crystal Method I’d like to have on the show but these days I’m more about finding new voices in electronic music. Which brings us to today’s show featuring Khafru.

Producing solipsistic NATION means listening to a lot of music. One might even go as so far as to say that I listen to an unhealthy amount of music. And most of it is either awful or forgettable. Statistically that’s just the way it is. 99% of everything is crap. But when Khafru’s music came over my headphones I got goosebumps! Who was this guy?! I knew I had to have him on the show.

It took a few months but Khafru found a window to talk about his music and send me a recording of him performing live, in studio.

Before I go, I’ll spend the rest of the month catching up on loose ends and next week we’ll listen to a live set from Mutamassik.

See you then!

  1. Khafru “Mirrors Become Doors At Night”
  2. Interview with Abhimanyu Malhotra of Khafru
  3. Khafru “Live”
    1. Finegan Finch “Thousand Eyes Towards The Skies [Khafru Remix]”
    2. Khafru “Mon Petit Fleur”
    3. Khafru “Coasts Of Khayyam”
    4. Khafru “Venn Diagram”
    5. Khafru “Industry Of Man”
    6. Khafru “Sentinel”
    7. Arms of Oblivion “Sleep [Khafru Remix]”
    8. Khafru “Mirrors Become Doors At Night”
    9. Khafru “When The Morning Comes”
    10. Khafru “Delicate Dawn”