Virgil Abloh x Braun “functional art” – March 2021 
 
“Internationalism” is a diverse and varied track. It refers to International Style, or internationalism, a major architectural style that was developed in the 1920s and 1930s, which was closely related to modernism and modern architecture. Braun’s Dieter Rams is a modernist hero and, to mark the brand’s 100th anniversary in 2021, Virgil Abloh has reimagined one of its iconic products, the 1965 Wandanlage HiFi wall unit.  The result is “functional art” where design bridges form and function with art.  
 
The track was conceived by Virgil Abloh™️ in collaboration with The Chopstars, the epochal Houston sound designers; the net result being chopped and screwed jazz classics. The track itself is an audio expression of the thesis in which parallels can be drawn in reference to The Chopstar process, which relates to the design process followed with Braun for the “functional art” piece. The hallmark of the work is rooting the industrial design and existence of the Canon to embody Black culture in a specific way that Houston brand of music specifically achieves - the Chopped not Slopped sonic texture picks up where design leaves off.
 
To Abloh, ‘Internationalism’ exemplifies the Braun ethos of good design: “it’s timeless and meant to be appreciated and enjoyed over time.”  You can find out more about the Virgil Abloh x Braun collaboration to mark Braun’s 100 years of ‘good design’ by visiting https://uk.braun.com/en-gb/100years-virgil-abloh.

Internationalism c/o The Chopstars & Virgil Abloh™

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Release Details:
Title: Gqom Oh! X Crudo Mixtape
Catalogue Number: GQOM 003
Label: Gqom Oh!
Format: Tape/Digital
Release Date: 25 July 2016


The word Crudo [ˈkruːdo] in Italian translates as “raw” and this is the overarching concept around the latest Gqom Oh! Release. 

It is set to be in collaboration with Crudo Volta - a young Rome-based collective who focused on visual curation and dj culture. The mixtape is the soundtrack of the Woza Taxi documentary. Making the documentary in April 2016 - whilst visiting his artists and their families in Durban - label boss Nan Kolè painstakingly narrowed down this selection of tracks for the release. The trip lent a tremendous amount of in-sight to Nan Kolè, granting him both a detailed and broad view of the Gqom scene and what Gqom means to the youth of the township (for they consist the core music makers and listeners of Gqom).

Their unique sound, which took Europe by storm at the start of 2016, is a way for the youth in the township to express themselves - something that music does the world over - but moreover enables them to express their pride and experiences in their Zulu culture and history. Mawbestana from Forgotten Souls gave some insight into how the music was made. He said in the documentary “…Everyone thinks we have a mega studio with huge speakers but we are just ‘Hlanganisa’..” Hlanganisa is a zulu word literally translated as 'putting together'; This refers to creating something out of the few elements available to you “…Just like when you scrap the bottom of a pan to get some food out of it..” cited Mawbestana. 

The release features 14 tracks showcasing different and new music from Durban  - spanning Core Tribe through Sgubhu to Gqom. The 90 minute tape will consist of two sides, with Side A containing seven tracks and Side B containing a continuous mix and a digital download code granting access to the entire compilation. 

The tape will be release in ‘package’ format designed by Crudo Volta alongside a photography book with the best pictures from the trip to Durban by Tommaso Cas-sinis, a limited edition t-shirt and access to an online premiere of the documentary.







Tracks:
1 - Dominowe - Darbuka Tribe (Core Tribe)
2 - Dj Lag - Ithuna ( Grave Yard ) remastered 2016
3 - Julz da Deejay - Quantums And Qo
4 - Formation Boyz - dlala amaBenuBenu
5 - Citizen Boy - indaba ka bani besibenuza *
6 - Emo Kid feat. WorstHood - Hennessy
7 - Cruel Boyz - Cruel Drumz
8 - TLC Fam - No 2 BeeF (slima)
9 - Mafia Boyz - Bhengi yoKhalipha **
10 - Dj Mabheko - Izinyosi (Core Tribe) ***
11 - Julz da Deejay - Broken Souls
12 - Dominowe - Dark Valley (Core Tribe)
13 - TLC Fam - Umgcwabo weNdanda (Da 4th Term Mix)
14 - Forgotten Souls - Blow my mind (dj Nerd vocalist)



Translation
* who cares if we dance under the influence of drugs
** dance retarded
*** wasps

for press pics or any other enquires write to gqomubhenga@gmail.com




Credits :

art direction : Mike Calandra
Photography : Tommaso Cassinis

Label and artist management for South Africa : Lerato Phiri lerato@gqomoh.com
Label management : Craig Pugnetti craig@gqomoh.com


Mafia Boyz - Bhengi YoKhalipha

Under The Cherry Blossoms (NOW ON SPOTIFY!)

"Safe Harbour" is the new EP from Christa Couture on Coax Records, March 20, 2020.

All songs by Christa Couture.

Produced by Jim Bryson.

Safe Harbour

Water to Sail (Safe Harbour)

Don't Doubt ur Vibe

macky mills (instrumental beat)

While we cannot see small nanoscopic objects like proteins or other molecules that make up virtually all living matter including our cells, tissues, as well as pathogens such as viruses, our computational algorithm allows us to make its material manifestation audible.  This piece is a musical representation of the amino acid sequence and structure of the spike protein of the pathogen of COVID-19, 2019-nCoV (protein data bank identifier 6VSB [1]). 

MUSICAL DECEIT

A virus’ genome hijacks the host cell’s protein manufacturing machinery, and forces it to replicate the viral genome and produce viral proteins to make new viruses from it.  This musical art teaches us something about the fine line between beauty of life and death as an opposite pole.  As you listen to the protein you will find that the intricate design results in incredibly interesting and actually pleasing, relaxing sounds. This doesn’t really convey the deadly impacts this particularly protein is having on the world. This aspect of the music shows the deceiving nature of the virus, how it hijacks our body to replicate, and hurt us along the way. So, the music is a metaphor for this nature of the virus to deceive the host and exploit it for its own multiplication. 

HOW IT IS DONE: 

What you hear is a multi-layered algorithmic composition featuring both the vibrational spectrum of the entire protein (expressed in sound and rhythmic elements), the sequence and folding of amino acids that compose the virus spike structure, as well as interwoven melodies - forming counterpoint music - reflecting the complex hierarchical intersecting geometry of the protein [2].

Scientific references:

[1] Wrapp et al., "Cryo-EM structure of the 2019-nCoV spike in the prefusion conformation," Science, 2020, DOI: 10.1126/science.abb2507

[2] Buehler et al., "A Self-Consistent Sonification Method to Translate Amino Acid Sequences into Musical Compositions and Application in Protein Design Using Artificial Intelligence," ACS Nano, 2019, DOI: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.9b02180

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