Tuesday, December 13, 2011

SLUMCHELLA & The $3 Dollar Holler



This is it folks- by far the most audacious and important thing we have ever attempted. Downhill, no brakes, toothpick between the teeth, into the sunset we go. Sirens behind, but in the smokey distance, someone you love very much is calling your name.
We don't get that feeling every day. But it's right here if you want it.

The purpose of the event is to give a voice to the indigenous tribes of northern Kenya who face mass displacement by the GIBE 3 hydroelectric dam, currently under construction, that will destroy the downstream river and lake ecosystem and cut the lifeline of 1 million indigenous people, sending them into refugee camps or one of Kenyas massive slums in search of a new way to survive.

SLUMCHELLA will awaken the sleeping giant- a collective beast of immeasurable potential, which includes you, me, Kenya, everyone. We are going put this issue on a world-stage through a celebration of indigenous culture. Music, film and dance. In short, Slumchella is a get-down to stop whats going down.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN US. CONTRIBUTE $3. SPREAD THE WORD TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

Love,
VB

The Finest Hour

The Finest Hour of 2011 Village Beat by Village Beat


This is our Year End Mix. 2011's "Finest hour", according to the owls of Village Beat. You've heard most of these gems, but if you haven't, put the Tupac back in the visor CD wallet and open your ears to exactly 60 minutes of one of the finest years in music history. Happy New Year from Village Beat. We love you.

TRACKLIST: artist/track/album
00:05-4:12 Tyler the Creator/ Yonkers/ Goblin
4:23-11:09 The Weeknd/ House of Balloons-Glass Table Girls/ House of Balloons
11:17-14:42 SBTRKT/ Hold On/SBTRKT
15:03-18:16 WU LYF/ Dirt/ Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
18:17-22:48 PlanningtoRock/ The Breaks/ W
22:49- 26:54 John Maus/ Believer/ We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
26:55-30:33 PJ Harvey/ Words That Maketh Murder/ Let England Shake
30:34-35:06 Panda Bear/ Last Night at the Jetty/ Tomboy
35:19-38:34 Shabazz Palaces/ An Echo From the Hosts That Profess Infinitum/ Black Up
38:35- 42:16 AWOLNATION/ Sail/ Megalithic Symphony
42:17- 45:12 Atlas Sound/ The Shakes/ Parallax
45:13-50:51 The Antlers/ Putting the Dog to SLeep/ Burst Apart
50:52- 55:26 James Blake/ The Wilhelm Scream/ James Blake
55:27-58:57 Thundercat/ For Love I Come/ The Golden Age of Apocalypse
58:57-59:10 Boards of Canada/ One Very Importnat Thought/ Music Has the Right to Children
End: Village Beat and the Turkeys

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Scoreless in Seattle



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Seattle's Capitol Hill is a vortex of wind, rain, dancing trees, shot glasses of cayenne pepper-drizzled health blasters, vinyl and candles. Music. Coffee. Done. An LA escapee could get used to this.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

For Information:

http://occupylosangeles.org/

http://occupywallst.org/

Occupy LA. Be present in your presence.










OCCUPY LA: Day 2-- October 2nd, 2011

There is no them. There is only us.
We point fingers blaming and bow heads in frustration and look to others for communication. Yet, its all our creation. Downtown LA, at City Hall, at 1st and Spring Street, there is a protest happening. A gathering of humans. A movement of Solidarity, that when solid, can solidify our country. Install the We back into We The People. There is a revolution growing. A revolution ending the absurdity of Corporate America. The absurdity of a nation with a democratic government that is not deriving its power from the people. The absurdity of a system that places self-interest over harmony and justice. Profit over people. Consumption over culture.

This isn't a month long sit in the park and walk down the streets. This isn't a year of sign waiving and marching into banks. This is a commitment to a world of equality. A world of cooperation. A lifestyle derived and rooted in consciousness. We make the decision to have our money in banks. We make the decision to wear clothing that is stitched with slavery. We make the decision to get paychecks from businesses that rape the earth, declare bankruptcy and give CEO bonuses. Businesses that make a commodity out of our privacy.

Take a deep breath. Think about your decisions. Don't worry about what you've done. But make changes this next time.

You'll never get there if you're taking the wrong road.

Come join us downtown LA. All day and night. Or join Occupy all over the USA. Wherever you are, we're Occupying. Get inspired. We can change this by joining together, by showing solidarity that we recognize we're no longer represented by our representatives. That democracy has been forgotten. That the United States has become untied and is living a lie.

Its not a matter of hope. Its a matter if you want to change yourself. Thats where this all begins.

So Begin!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Shabazz Palaces- Live on KEXP



"Black Up" is out.
After about 100 listens, you start hearing it for the first time again.

Between the band's recent deluge of interviews and shows, we're catching the signal that Ishmael's score for Tough Bond is in synthesis- as is a plan to get these cats on a stage in one of the mot remote regions of East Africa, to play for an audience of a few thousand Turkana nomads.

We could use a few extra hands. Anyone?

Thursday, April 28, 2011

SHABAZZ PALACES: "BLASTIT"



Finally, we give you Blastit- our video for Shabazz Palaces. The track is from their self-titled EP. A few months ago, we made a good friend in Ishmael Butler, AKA Butterfly, of Shabazz Palaces. He's bringing our favorite voice in hip-hop and the mysterious sound of Shabazz to bear on the score of our film. There is pure magic in this union.

The full-length debut record from Shabazz Palaces, "Black Up", will be out in June on Sub Pop. Not to be missed. It's already my favorite record of the year and it will likely stay that way.

I don't think I've smiled as I did today in a really long time- thinking of our friends in this video from Isiolo, Mombasa, Meru, the Turkana village of Attir and how happy they would be to know that people here can see them and feel a ray of their African sunshine.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

A day in the Beat Cave



Modeselektor. Happy Birthday. Coffee, 1 press, 2 cups, spinach, more than you'd think, a cookie, a website born, an argument outside between "Gregory" and a man who should have sent him something in the mail, helicopters, tourists taking pictures of gargoyles, underwear, dancing, Kenyan music videos, Mombasa turned into Nairobi and we are one step closer to the dawn of the Tough Bond.
Just another day in the Beat Cave. However, those days are numbered, as we soon relocate to the Pueblo, an elevated cliffside dwelling with a view, a crew and a whole lot to do.