“The hell started at about half past one on the morning of... the fourteenth of June”
- (Nyelele & Drake, 1985)

A broadcast of the sound piece on Gaborone, 1985 (2021, 3:38 min) marks the start of the residency of artist Kim Karabo Makin, who lives in Botswana and is one of four artists selected for a Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee radio residency during 2022.

"on Gaborone, 1985 considers the June 14 raid on Gaborone by the South African Defence Force (SADF) as a traumatic turning point for Botswana’s creative development – resulting in the demise of Medu Art Ensemble overnight. Positioned centrally to my Master of Fine Art body of work – the doors of culture shall be opened (2021), on Gaborone, 1985 notably includes a Radio Botswana jingle interspliced with segments from the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Special Report, as well as then-President of Botswana Masire’s reaction to the raid, and South African 80s group Future’s song, Party Weekend (1985). The featured mix unpacks an intertextual reimagining of Gaborone in 1985, where it is significantly described as the year that Botswana’s capital ‘lost its innocence’.

This work importantly refocuses my initial disappointment in Botswana’s limited national archive of Medu into a generative starting point – considering the manner in which the archive lives on today. In addition, I consider how at the time, my grandmother’s radio cabinet may have brought news of the SADF raids on Botswana to my family, and the extent to which the story resounds unsuspectingly in contemporaneity, through the local lives that received this impact. on Gaborone, 1985 also introduces the cyclical nature that underscores the exhibition – by considering the extent to which the sound mix may constitute a socio-cultural symbol, and thus a tool in activating spaces as sites of memory. By looping on Gaborone, 1985 four times, I aim to recognise and commemorate June 14 as one of four raids by the SADF in Botswana in 1985. By broadcasting on Gaborone, 1985 via Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee’s platform, I aim to engage an international audience through aural storytelling, where I am particularly interested in reflecting on Medu’s suppressed narrative in Botswana as a contemporary Motswana artist myself. In addition, the hour-long broadcast
(including moments of silence) is intended to provide a space to reflect on themes of transnationality, with respect to both Botswana and the Netherlands’ historical entanglements with South Africa. In this way, I hope to extend a conversation on Medu’s lasting memory across borders, and further delve into archival research on culture as a weapon or tool for change.

Furthermore, with this broadcast I am interested in providing some analysis of the post-traumas of Botswana in the anti-Apartheid struggle, with respect to the Netherlands. In so doing, the broadcast of on Gaborone, 1985 via Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee will inaugurate the beginning of my residency. Going forward, I hope to reflect on the historic context of Botswana’s capital Gaborone – my hometown and the home of Medu, with a specific look at the ‘Culture and Resistance Conference’ that took place in 1982. By comparison, I will draw connections between Gaborone and Amsterdam, as the Dutch capital and self-declared anti-apartheid city, with respect to the ‘Culture in Another South Africa’ (CASA) conference that took place in Amsterdam, in 1987. In partnership with Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee, through this residency I aim to provide a space that reflects on themes of transnationality, with respect to both Botswana and the Netherlands’ respective positions in the Anti-Apartheid struggle." - Kim Karabo Makin

on Gaborone, 1985

2013 Orion Visitor Lecture, University of Victoria, November 6, 2013. David A. Jaffe D.M.A. discusses his approach to composition, his studies with Henry Brant, the early days of computer music at Stanford's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the making of his landmark work Silicon Valley Breakdown (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/xxist-century-mandolin/id316117992">iTunes</a>), the development of time maps and the first practical physical model of a musical instrument, and his collaborations with Juilus O. Smith III and Bernard Mont-Reynaud and others. The lecture was preceded by an introduction by Professor Andrew Schloss (<a href="https://soundcloud.com/david-a-jaffe/jaffeorionintro"></a>) and followed by a performance of the quadraphonic version, newly restored (not included on this recording.)

2013 Orion Lecture - David A. Jaffe

Secret Garden 025 | Pataphysical

Production by BLXCKHIPPY ENTERTAINMENT

‘Unpacking Satellite Activism’ is an extended conversation hosted by Kim Karabo Makin along with artist friends and colleagues – Ann Gollifer and Thero Makepe, at the home of the Art Residency Centre in Gaborone, Botswana.

The conversation unpacks Makin’s final outcome of her radio residency with Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee, a sound piece entitled Satellite Activism. In so doing, Makin engages a conversation with Gollifer in considering her practice as an archivist, as well as in unpacking the potential for an exploration of the archive as ‘living’, with specific regard to the strong presence of oral traditions in the context of Botswana. In addition, Makin engages Makepe in reflecting on the role of the DJ as an archivist of sorts, in curating the living archive. Furthermore, with a look at the cultural significance of radio in the local soundscape, the three collectively present the sort of intergenerational passing on of knowledge that Satellite Activism embraces.

In considering the life and legacy of Medu Art Ensemble in and out of Botswana, the conversation also reflects on particular moments included in Satellite Activism. Through shared storytelling, Makin, Gollifer and Makepe also unpack themes surrounding dislocation, exile, community-building, and the potential for Makin’s radio art practice going forward.

This broadcast, alongside "Satellite Activism", streamed last November 13th, marks the end of the residency of artist Kim Karabo Makin, who lives in Botswana and is one of four artists selected for a Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee radio residency during 2022.

Unpacking 'Satellite Activism'

Ecoutes au vert is thrilled to introduce you to the wonderful forgotten era of Peruvian Disco Outsiders by record collectors DJs AXEL H & CAO BRAVO! 🧿

Following @ecoutesauvert's output for a while, @axelhaxel contacted us to see if we will be up to releasing this mix via our Soundcloud. A quick listen and the rest is history! 📡

Big thanks to the artists for the fantastic music + Axel & Cao for digging & putting this together! ❤️

AXEL H & CAO BRAVO presents: El Mundo de Quilca

Peru, a country with a rich geographic and cultural diversity, is mostly known to the international music community as the epicenter of cumbia and its psychedelic variants. Unknown to most, a handful of groups have experimented with sounds related to disco and synth-pop in the 80s that were unpopular at the time and thus have mostly been forgotten over the years. 

@axelhaxel (@kitchensessions_int), an epidemiologist and collector residing in Lima, has spent the last 6 years digging records in Quilca, a small and dusty gallery in the center of Lima with improvised vinyl stalls, as well as sourcing records from elsewhere across Peru.

Sharing a common interest to explore Peruvian "Disco" output, Axel has teamed up with @caobravo, a surgeon and well-respected record collector across Latin America, to record “El Mundo de Quilca” a vinyl-only mix of neglected and often impossible-to-find Peruvian disco gems, exploring a variety of different styles, moods, and energy levels. 

Some of the tracks in this mix will be featured in an upcoming compilation to be released in early 2023 on @buhrecords, a Peruvian label run and curated by Luis Alvarado, who has provided valuable insights into this mix. 

www.instagram.com/axel__haxel
www.instagram.com/caobravocl

Cover artwork by Herles Basurto, artist and co-founder of the infamous Lima-based party @casalocasa

Peruvian Disco Outsiders / AXEL H & CAO BRAVO : El Mundo de Quilca

A conversation with Jessica Ekomane about her sound creation process and compositions. This exchange looks into the importance of highlighting an anti colonial historical understanding of computer music, pointing to the Asian origins of math which are the foundation to contemporary computing. Jessica also speaks about the importance of finding connection across struggles for justice and on ways to express solidarity within the arts. 

This interview was recorded by Stefan Christoff in Montreal, a special thank you to Nadah El Shazly for helping to facilitate the connection.

Broadcasting on Radio AlHara, Saturday the 7th of January at 3:00 pm (Palestine time).

Music on this edition is by Jessica Ekomane.

#MUSICIANSFORPALESTINE PODCAST - 16 Jessica Ekomane

Cheap Therapy

Momentの出演者たちの現場でのサウンドを解放する新シリーズ、Archives。
第3弾は、オランダを拠点に世界で活躍するShoalの日本初となったLive Setを公開。
ミニマルで有機的なシンセサイザーの音色、心地良いビートが幾重にも重なり響き渡り、まるで瞑想するかのように観客のマインドを導いた彼のセットはまさにオーガニックテクノそのものだった。さらに今回の音源はShoal本人がマスタリングを行なっており、より素晴らしいサウンドをお届け出来ることになりました。是非ご視聴ください。

Archives, a new series presenting the sound of DJs and artists at Moment events, is proud bring you our third installment. For this episode we present a live set by Dutch artist Shoal, performed at the Moment festival last July.
This set has Shoal blending layer upon layer of organic synths and smooth and cozy beats, guiding the listener forward through an experience that is both meditative and hypnotic. Shoal mastered the set himself, so we’re delighted to bring you the most ideal version of the performance. Sit back, listen, and drift away.

@shoall

Moment Archives 003 | Shoal (Live)

Dj Drew Lights Remix

Stereo rendering from live quad performance at the Old Church, in Stoke Newington (London) in support of Pataphysical's release on 12th Isle. 
May 29, 2019

Image and sample source (on min: 27) © DyingLlama
from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJw9orNUcpA
Probably the most free I'd ever feel in London.

as free(london 2010-2016)

انشودة انيس الروح ll بلال الأحمد

@moneda5 founder

ghost-producing for
@oswaldo-iii  
@joralsky 
@omedo
etcc

as free(london 2010-2016)

Emiddio Vasquez

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