2012 has been a fantastic year for solipsistic NATION!
In 2012 began streaming on taintradio. At first glance it seems like an off fit—taintradio is primarily a jazz station, but that also include jazz on the fringes like Naked City and Last Exit. If you kind of squint your eyes you can see how solipsistic NATION might fit into taintradio’s overall format. Whatever, I don’t care. I’m just thrilled and honored to be included on taintradio’s roster. Check out my interview with Bob Rogers, the founder of taintradio, here.
Rob Birch from the legendary Stereo MCs was a guest on solipsistic NATION in 2012 and rocked the show with select tracks from some of the Stereo MCs best shows! I’m such a huge fan of Stereo MCs that it was a relief that I didn’t turn into an absolute drooling fanboy and say things like “You know that song you did? ‘Connected?’ Yeah, that was cool!” Fortunately for me, Rob was a gracious guest. So now I can check having the Stereo MCs on my list of solipsistic NATION milestones. You can listen to that show here.
While I’m in fan boy node, I also got to chat with notorious noisesmith Boyd Rice of Non. Boyd was one of those guys that really changed my perceptions of what noise and music could be. Through his music he also taught and encouraged me to embrace harsh frequencies and use them to occasionally fuck with my listeners. Hey, I was your typical angry punk at the time, so sue me. I’ve mellowed out since then and it seems like Boyd has too because he was absolutely charming. Check that show out here.
Look, a lot of cool stuff happened in 2012. I got to help support Headphone Commute‘s …And Darkness Came compilation album, which is HC’s effort to help those affected worst by Hurricane Sandy. The lads from the Magicore blog came on the show with another awesome mix! I got to showcase labels like Metal Postcard Records and Robot Elephant Records, taking solipsistic NATION further out into charted territories!
But what truly blew my mind in 2012 is how much solipsistic NATION has blown up. As I write this solipsistic NATION has gotten 302,597 downloads from the month of December alone. That’s an all-time best for solipsistic NATION in a string of months of already fantastic downloads. Who knows how big solipsistic NATION will get in 2012? I’m not kidding myself, those are pretty modest numbers but they are far more than I ever expected the show to get. And it also confirms what I knew would happen with I first relaunched solipsistic NATION as a podcast—solipsistic NATION is not for everyone. It’s for people who don’t get caught up on genres, who simply want to hear the best that electronic music offers. Given the number of us who live online then if only a fraction of a percent of that population tuned in, that number would be huge. I knew that then, I just didn’t expect to look it in the face in 2012.
There are a lot of new listeners to solipsistic NATION this month and if that’s you, welcome aboard. You’re probably wondering what this show is all about so let me get you up to speed.
The first weekend of each month I feature a live performance by an electronic musician. This month our guest was Michael Maricle, and that show got over one 144,624 downloads, so that may be how you found out about solipsistic NATION. The second weekend of each month, as I mentioned earlier, I showcase a record label that’s putting out such amazing releases that it’s my duty as host of this show to turn you on those labels.The rest of the month on solipsistic NATION is chock full of interviews and music and from time to tine, a guest DJ comes to town.
On today’s show we’ll bring in the new year with our guest DJs Juan Diego Borda and Andres “Popa” Erazo. Together they are Palenke Soultribe!
Palenke Soultribe is a loose-knit collective of musicians based out of Los Angeles. I’ve been a fan of their music since the release of their Tropic N Heaven album back in 2007. Such a fan that I was kicking myself earlier this year for not having them on the show yet. I sent them an invitation to cone on the show to play live. They declined because they are hard at work on their forthcoming album but they were generous to put together an awesome mix to close out 2012 and bring in 2013! Toss this mix onto the stereo at the next party you go to tonight!
On that high note, I want to thank all the bands and musicians, labels and festival organizers, filmmakers and documentarians, photographers and artists who make solipsistic NATION. And of course I want to thank you for listening. I’m stunned at how many there are of you. Tell a friend about the show, let’s see how big solipsistic NATION can get in 2013.
See you next year!
- Palenke Soultribe “The Sierra Brothers (Wilcox Remix)”
- Interview with Juan Diego Borda and Andres “Popa” Erazo of Palenke Soultribe
- La Makina del Caribe “Levemente Obsceno”
- Munchi “Sandungueo”
- ETC!ETC! “Temblando”
- Palenke Soultribe Remix “Bonkers”
- Frikstailers “Cumbia Kamisama”
- ETC!ETC! “Fresh”
- Palenke Soultribe “Oh Mama! (Kaddyn Palmed Remix)”
- Palenke Soultribe “Oh Mama! (DJHD Remix)”
- Shanti Roots “Cumbia Nightlife”
- Gregor Salto/The Flexican “Maldita Cumbia”
- Andy Von Paramus “La Cumbia (Dutchworx Rmx)”
- Sidney Samson “Riverside (Palenke Soultribe Remix)”
- Palenke Soultribe “La Tierra No es Mia”
- Palenke Soultribe “El Cocuyo”
- Hatiras, Nom De Strip “Roman Bromanski”
- Palenke Soultribe “Africa is the Mother of the Beat (feat.Scrip)”