Have shifted these runnings to the Sugarlicks blog >>
www.sugarlicks.com/blog
7.10.09
11.6.09
fireside chat
This is a radio show for Redbull Germany that we did on tour in 2006, still makes good listening ...
25.5.09
Money & Xmedia Lab hype
Attended the Xmedia Lab conference day last Friday in Auckland City. An interesting day with a variety of mainly international speakers waxing triumphant about their online projects. For me the most interesting were the NZ speakers who seemed real compared to the other speakers who were mainly from the US. The US speakers focus was money money money, and how large their VC networks are, how much capital was needed for a startup, how the focus was shifting to gaming versions of platforms, and how insidiously cunning their online marketing strategies were.
While I believe in the importance of online media (as here), I feel a little dismay at the lack of a social conscience for almost all of the speakers. Sure online social networks and other initiatives have important social functions - connection, collaboration, belonging .... but aren't these more important than commercialism?
Question: everyone in the room was media savvy, and online functional par excellence;
so as far as money itself goes, I am sure no one in their business even handles physical money - transactions are of course online - the wealth is intangible.
It exists only as a collection of online transactions.
Money and the exchange is therefore a thought, a transaction over the internet, rather than anything physical.
So if we keep the motivation behind the transaction, the thought of exchange itself, can't we one day remove the numbers and the associated commercial obsession, and keep only the thought - the thought of equal exchange - my ideas / knowledge for your attention, collaboration and input.
The focus is therefore not money, but human endeavour, and the continued advancement of human society - an equal exchange to benefit us all, and lift the human spirit.
We can do all we do now, but without any "money" changing hands. Keep the thought of exchange at the time of the exchange, but remove the mundane monetary transaction. Focus on money removes us from serious focus on what is really important - the reason for exchange, rather than the continual chasing of the commercial dragon (bigger, better, louder, faster).
When money dies, and the Capitalist monetary system finally becomes irrelevant, we will be left with only the thought. The thought of equal exchange.
Will those that focus only on commercialism be ready for that? I doubt it.
While I believe in the importance of online media (as here), I feel a little dismay at the lack of a social conscience for almost all of the speakers. Sure online social networks and other initiatives have important social functions - connection, collaboration, belonging .... but aren't these more important than commercialism?
Question: everyone in the room was media savvy, and online functional par excellence;
so as far as money itself goes, I am sure no one in their business even handles physical money - transactions are of course online - the wealth is intangible.
It exists only as a collection of online transactions.
Money and the exchange is therefore a thought, a transaction over the internet, rather than anything physical.
So if we keep the motivation behind the transaction, the thought of exchange itself, can't we one day remove the numbers and the associated commercial obsession, and keep only the thought - the thought of equal exchange - my ideas / knowledge for your attention, collaboration and input.
The focus is therefore not money, but human endeavour, and the continued advancement of human society - an equal exchange to benefit us all, and lift the human spirit.
We can do all we do now, but without any "money" changing hands. Keep the thought of exchange at the time of the exchange, but remove the mundane monetary transaction. Focus on money removes us from serious focus on what is really important - the reason for exchange, rather than the continual chasing of the commercial dragon (bigger, better, louder, faster).
When money dies, and the Capitalist monetary system finally becomes irrelevant, we will be left with only the thought. The thought of equal exchange.
Will those that focus only on commercialism be ready for that? I doubt it.
28.4.09
Transculturalism & the 21st Century
What does transculturalism in the 21st century mean? especially here in the globe's second most culturally diverse city, Auckland New Zealand?
With all the talk of Creative Cities and interculturalism, and the triumphing of the same by organizations and public bodies around the World, where does that leave real dialogue between public bodies and aspiring cultural entrepreneurs?
These entrepreneurs are getting co-opted by public institutions, who are anxious to fill their "ethnicity" and "cultural" quotas. The institutional approach is dominated by form-filling and talk-fests, whereas culturally diverse process often involves opensourced cultural knowledge exchange and community based solutions. Diversity needs to be represented in the process as well as the idea. Otherwise the very creativity that is the cultural lifeblood will continue to be reinterpreted, filtered and ultimately squashed.
The bees and trees approach (small nimble social entrepreneurs and networks working with bigger organizations and Govt), can only go so far. What happens if the innovation proposed is to totally dismantle the hierarchies in place?
Transculturalism by its nature defies categorisation. It is beyond definition. It describes a sense of identity and belonging for a growing majority of the World's population - those who, whether through mixed blood, global upbringing or plain refusal to adhere to mainstream consumerist/patriotic notions of shared culture, seek to create a new World where difference is celebrated without conforming.
Transculturalism extends throughout all human culture.
from "Transculturalism - How The World is Coming Together" by Claude Grunitzky and TRACE magazine contributors
"Some individuals find ways to transcend their initial culture, in order to explore, examine, and infiltrate new, seemingly alien cultures. These people are “transculturalists” and their experiences show that in the future it will become increasingly difficult to identify and separate people according to previously accepted delineations. In essence, we are saying that transculturalism defies race, religion, sexuality, class and every sort of classification known to sociologists and marketers. Transculturalists lead unusual lives, and some people continue to call them heretics. They date and marry outside of their race or religion; they date and marry inside of their gender; they travel on a whim and venture into faraway lands; they dress unconventionally, and customize new dress codes regularly; they live in areas their parents were once barred from, and take jobs previously considered outside of their leagues; they listen to, and create and criticize music they are not supposed to listen to; they display high levels of creativity in the arts and other progressive disciplines.
What succeeds empire? Time will tell. And time does tell, for those who are willing to listen, and look around, and be surprised. Today is less like yesterday than it has ever been. When people are not busy predicting, they find it easier to discover. Fresh attitudes only now gaining scale and traction–transglobalism, transculturalism–promise much for the future. The very value of these attitudes derives from the fact that they are not inherited. "
Josh takes his music back to Korea
Auckland Korean rap artist Josh "Daemang" Jang, who was part of the People In Your Neighbourhood album, and had his track "Flying Kowi" blessed by strings from Urban Soul Orchestra, is planning to take his music back to the urban charts in Homeland Korea. bless brother!
check out his track here.
check out his track here.
18.3.09
PIYNWomad
People In Your Neighbourhood was recognised as one of the standout shows at Womad Taranaki 2009, with an intercultural mix of dynamic live electronic soul.
The show involved Urban Soul Orchestra (UK) string players writing and performing with 15 aspiring urban ethnic performers from Auckland - which included flamenco guitar, Chinese guzheng, dj scratching, fijian percussion, Maori waiata, palestinian rap et al.
An NZ herald review praised the performance, although the review author thinly disguised his backward racism and undercover ignorance by describing the Korean rap as one of various "oddities" in the show. The New Zealand music industry is filled with such mono cultural views from the plethora of furrowed Pakeha critical brows .... personally I am totally bored with "Kiwi Music" and the industry bodies that supposedly represent it.
Does the Herald reporter realise that more people globally listen to Korean rap than Kiwi rap music? maybe he should take a look at the changing demography in the world around him, and then another in the mirror to see what really now constitutes "odd".
The show involved Urban Soul Orchestra (UK) string players writing and performing with 15 aspiring urban ethnic performers from Auckland - which included flamenco guitar, Chinese guzheng, dj scratching, fijian percussion, Maori waiata, palestinian rap et al.
An NZ herald review praised the performance, although the review author thinly disguised his backward racism and undercover ignorance by describing the Korean rap as one of various "oddities" in the show. The New Zealand music industry is filled with such mono cultural views from the plethora of furrowed Pakeha critical brows .... personally I am totally bored with "Kiwi Music" and the industry bodies that supposedly represent it.
Does the Herald reporter realise that more people globally listen to Korean rap than Kiwi rap music? maybe he should take a look at the changing demography in the world around him, and then another in the mirror to see what really now constitutes "odd".
11.2.09
Saraswati Salaam - Saccie & Kadambari
Kadambari comes from the tiny coastal state of Goa in India. She’s been a cover girl for Elle, worked with Tibetan refugees, doco and ad-film makers in India, alongside singing with various independent artists and bands.
Kadambari thinks celebrating differences through film and music alone can bridge gaps between people. What makes her tick? Reggae, funk, soul, Indian classical, languages and travel.
This is the first of many planned new recordings while in New Zealand.
Khaled El-Shareif (Saccie)
New Zealand Hip Hop’s top voted hype MC, Saccie also does conscious and Arab-centric rhymes. He records with the Sugarlicks Records crew in Auckland City.
Khaled is a Palestinian Kiwi who has a strong sense of Arab identity, a keen ear for political expression, and a taste for the funk!
People In Your Neighbourhood cd and art
People In Your Neighbourhood is an intercultural creative commons music work from Auckland city NZ. A joint project between the British Council New Zealand, Echo Culture and Sugarlicks, it aims to celebrate cultural diversity in the Southern Hemisphere's most diverse city Auckland.
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