Documentaries

FAUZIA, DamnShaq and counsellor Darlington Zvionere discuss performance anxiety and how to overcome it with Vanessa Maria.

As part of Resident Advisor's wellness month, and in collaboration with Black Minds Matter, host Vanessa Maria discusses performance anxiety—what it is, how it manifests, how to overcome it—with FAUZIA, DamnShaq and  Psychotherapeutic counsellor Darlington Zvionere. 

Support Black Minds Matter here: http://bit.ly/BMMRA

In simple terms, performance anxiety is stage fright. As Zvionere explains, artists may experience everything from clammy hands to stiffness and blurred vision, which then impacts their performance. It's a vicious cycle, he says, as a falter in your performance will likely lead to increased nerves next time. "Be the best you can be in that moment," advises Zvionere. "Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow." 

In her own experience as a DJ, Maria has suffered from performance anxiety to the point of cancelling shows and relying on the influence of alcohol to calm her nerves. She speaks to DJ, promoter and presenter DamnShaq, known for his "madman" energy in the booth, about the pressure he used to put on himself. He reflects on how the pandemic has allowed him some time to reset and make peace with the fact that his boisterous stage character is not a sustainable way to function day-to-day. 

For FAUZIA, whose transition from DJing to having a live show has come with a huge increase in pre-performance anxiety, steadying her nerves is a work in progress. She speaks to Vanessa about fine-tuning her set, stepping away from social media and the confidence boost of working with Kelela.   

Black Minds Matter is a charity on a mission to connect Black families with free mental health services from qualified Black therapists. They are currently looking for 21,000 long-term donors who are able to donate £5 per month. With your support, they will be able to take steps forward to achieve their goal of lasting impact on Black mental health. Contributions can be made on the website if you are in a position to do so.

Tracklist:
Space Afrika - yyyyyy2222 [Dais Records]
Fauzia - Lap, Sir
Fauzia - When It's All Over [with Kelela]
Fauzia - Lap, Sir
Kundai - Decisions
House of Pharaohs - Okay (Instrumental)
andarctica - waiting on the tides

@djfauzia @damnshaq

EX.595 Performance Anxiety

Kadallah Burrowes explores the term "Afrofuturism" with the help of Suzi Analogue, Neema Githere, Mia Imani Harrison and Jackie Queens.

This past Juneteenth, Burrowes held a digital event called A Moment In Between (after which this podcast is named) at COMMON, a digital club that forms part of Currents.FM. It was, in their words, "a digital pan-African celebration of Black liberation." The interviewees in this week's Exchange all helped make A Moment In Between possible: artists Jackie Queens and Suzi Analogue, plus cultural critics Neema Githere and Mia Imani Harrison. 

In this documentary-style podcast, which forms part of our celebration of Black Futures Month in the US, Burrowes et al. discuss the term "Afrofuturism. They discuss its imperfect, controversial nature (it was coined by a white academic), how it intersects with electronic music and its relationship to the legacy of the writer Octavia Butler. 

Last week's Exchange saw Burrowes in conversation with Analogue, the producer, singer, songwriter and founder of Never Normal Records. This week, Analogue delves deeper into her connection to the concept of Afrofuturism. "Afrofuturism to me is just being Black," she said. "It's a bunch of things. Self-determination, self-preservation and self-expression." 

Born in Nairobi and now based in Brooklyn, Neema Githere is a guerrilla theorist who works within the digital diaspora. In 2017, Githere coined the term "Afropresentism," which presents the idea that the Afrofuturism being theorised in the '90s and early '00s exists here and now. "Afrofuturism is concerned with space," Githere said. "Afropresentism is concerned with earth." 

Mia Imani Harrison is an interdisciplinary artist and conceptual creator working within dream technology. Her part in A Moment In Between saw COMMON, which had primarily been a space for music, become a place for Black people to come and talk about their dreams. Harrison's understanding of Afrofuturism began with "intergalactic Black folks" in music—Sun Ra, Grace Jones, Parliament-Funkadelic—and has grown into an interest in artists that build worlds and galaxies in their work. "I've always been interested in expanding our concept of the realities we exist within," she said. "Especially as Black people, because we're already told what we can and cannot do, and the perimeters of the spaces that we exist in." 

The final speaker is Jackie Queens, singer, songwriter, label and agency founder, and community member of Currents.FM and electronic music network female:pressure. Queens' thoughts about Afrofuturism tie in with Githere's Afropresentism. "People say Africa is the future," Queens said. "But I don't like to look at it that way. I always feel like we're the present."

https://ra.co/exchange/598

EX.598 A Moment In Between

The 600th episode of the Exchange marks a pivot in Resident Advisor’s audio coverage. Source Material, one of our new series, moves towards in-depth, documentary-style reports on the electronic music community and beyond. For the inaugural edition of Source Material, we invite perspectives from Ukraine following the country’s invasion by Russia, which has sparked a humanitarian crisis with over 1.5 million displaced refugees.

Starting in 2014, Kyiv became a global dance music destination, due to its world-class venues and festivals, plus the government’s relatively hands-off approach towards enforcing social gathering regulations during Covid. Many flocked to its dance floors during a time when other countries operated under stringent lockdowns, and interest in the city only continued to grow. But the promise of Kyiv’s fertile club scene has been completely decimated by the war.

Those who made the community so vibrant are now faced with  the unimaginable decision to either flee or fight. The voices within this episode include Timur, known as the producer John Object, an affiliate of CXEMA, who is defending his country as part of the Territorial Defense Force, and Margareeta, RA’s City Manager for Kyiv, who discusses the emotional toll of fleeing from the war. Woven throughout are also interviews with anti-war protestors in the streets of Berlin and the volunteers helping refugees at the city’s main train stations.

Guests: John Object, Margarita Evi
Interviewer: Whitney Wei

Tracklist: 
John Object - Draft (2010)
John Object - Xanax & Silk (Live) (2016)
John Object - Kiss (2018)

EX.600 Source Material: Kyiv’s Club Community, Fractured By War

Collaboration is intrinsic to creative jobs. Whether you're a lone wolf or a team player, it's impossible to avoid partnerships and group coordination. But working with other people can get messy, especially when ego is involved. As part of Resident Advisor's ongoing collaboration with Black Minds Matter, this episode of the Exchange explores how alliances affect an artist's craft and wellbeing. In separate conversations with UK singer-songwriter Aluna and Hamburg-based DJ crew SLIC Unit, host Vanessa Maria asks them about the challenges of building collectively versus individually.

For SLIC Unit, being part of a network is all about mutual trust. Each person brings different talents to the table so it's important to reinforce each another while streamlining the decision-making process, founding members Nissa and SENU describe. "Being together or being in a collective always means more work," they say, referring to the need for clear communication, empathy and making time for everyone's projects. SLIC Unit practices what they call "radical solidarity," a support system that reduces chaos and stress while enabling them to have fun while working.

Aluna, on the other hand, has a solo career in addition to being one-half of the duo AlunaGeorge. For her, going solo meant confronting her relationship with fear. Being in a band provided her with a sense of safety but that ultimately became a warning bell, she explains. "I knew that I was using it as a safety net from a place of either displacement or fear," she continues, alluding to her issues with racism and sexism. At the end of the day, it's important for artists to establish stability and security within themselves before they can join a group, she notes.

For more insights on how creatives can preserve authenticity and self-worth in a team environment or on their own, listen to the hour-long podcast.

EX.612 Source Material: Collaboration & Mental Health

Faced with shrinking margins and higher rents, event organisers are finding new ways to keep the party going.

As the cost of living crisis continues to eat into club land, promoters around the world are increasingly being forced to adapt to shrinking margins. This new episode of Source Material, our documentary-style podcast series, shines a spotlight on Glasgow, Taipei and Chicago, where local organisers are testing out unconventional forms of inclusive promotion in response to widespread economic uncertainty. 

In Glasgow, Han Read runs a monthly night called Events Research Programme that operates off a Patreon subscription model. Bonjour, meanwhile, is a queer venue in the Scottish city that runs as a co-op, sharing a minimum 50 percent of its profits among staff in an effort to acquire more financial freedom. In Taipei, venue 23 Music Room is using its non-traditional business model to bolster the next generation of promoters while RA contributor Steve Noah describes the state of DIY parties in Chicago.

Listen to the full conversation for details on each of these scenes.

Producer: Rose Manson
Executive Producer: Martha Pazienti Caidan

EX.637 Source Material: Sustainable Promotion

Since at least the 1970s, artists have composed music for plants. From Mort Garson’s Plantasia to dublab's Plant Music compilation, albums recorded with nature in mind often intend to stimulate growth or simply entertain leafy creatures. This episode of Source Material, a documentary-style series, explores the symbiotic links between electronic music and house plants.

Diving into the world of frequencies and root systems, @martharadio speaks to various experts to learn how nature responds to ambient tunes and synthesisers. Among them are biotherapeutic musician Imka, Joe Patitucci of PlantWave, an app that translates plants' biorhythms into music, sound artist Karine Bonneval and composer Erland Cooper.

To discover how bass frequencies mimic bees and why festivals are adopting sonic soil pollution, listen to the episode.

EX.641 Source Material: Plants and Electronic Music

In honour of World Radio Day—which landed on February 13th—this week’s RA Exchange celebrates the power of radio in a documentary-style deep dive. UNESCO inaugurated World Radio Day in 2011 in order to commemorate its efficacy in reaching remote communities, connecting with people everywhere regardless of their education level, and providing a platform for positive and democratic discourse. It's also critical in spreading critical information during times of crisis or emergency. According to UNESCO, "increasing radio's journalistic standards and capacity should be considered as an investment in peace."

On a more modest level, podcasting and radio, especially in the world of underground music, can help forge in-person and virtual networks and celebrate and spread new and lesser-known music. During the pandemic, it also held together underground music scenes when people couldn't be together in the club, and sustained a kind of intimacy and connection by letting people share music over the airwaves and community platform chat rooms. 

In this episode, we hear from various radio producers around the world—including Jamz Supernova, Hana Walker Brown, Dublab Barcelona and Hong Kong Community Radio, among others—about why radio resonates so strongly with them. "Good radio is always an exercise in connection, especially host-led radio,” says Rory Bowens, NTS’s Head of Radio Production. “The fact that it's a live experience is really crucial. People can listen to something in real time with a huge audience of other listeners at the same time, and that intrinsically connects them to each other." Take a listen to the episode in full.

EX.648 Source Material: The Power of Radio in Times of Crisis

In this full-length audio documentary, we explore how immigration laws hurt an underrepresented group of electronic artists: those from outside the US and the EU.

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=369

@tijanat
@nastia_ua
@sandunes

RA Exchange

EX.369 The Hour: Tonight's gig is cancelled

Among other things, this month's show will be asking: what are negative reviews good for? 

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=377

EX.377 The Hour: Psychology of raving, Sydney, negative reviews

On this month's episode, Kerri Chandler gives us a guided tour of New York and Moxie investigates how DJs organise their music collections.

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=382

@kerri-chandler
@djmoxie
@avalonemerson
@feelmybicep
@erolalkan
@btraits

EX.382 The Hour: Kerri Chandler in NYC, how DJs organise music

What makes a great soundsystem? That's one of the questions we'll be trying to answer on this month's show. 

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=391

EX.391 The Hour: Soundsystems, mental wellbeing, Matthew Collin

This month's show also features some horror stories about DJs losing their records.

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=395

@ableton

EX.395 The Hour: Dance music trolls, Ableton Live 10

This month's edition looks at one of the most controversial recreational drugs in existence.  

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=413

EX.413 The Hour: The GHB issue

This month's episode features a pioneer in drug harm reduction and a thriving UK label.

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=426

@lobster-theremin

EX.426 The Hour: Harm reduction, Lobster Theremin

Take a tour of the UK's wildest rave and explore the implications of Brexit on electronic music. 

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=452

EX.452 The Hour: Bangface, Brexit

This month, we look into the environmental impact of the vinyl industry and the delicate art of posthumous releases. 

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=465

EX.465 The Hour: Vinyl sustainability, posthumous releases

Angus Finlayson speaks to Avalon Emerson, Mat Dryhurst, Marta Salogni and others about the impact of streaming services on artists.  

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=472

EX.472 The Hour: the changing economics of dance music part 1

Patrice Bäumel, Gunnar Haslam and Telefon Tel Aviv discuss the financial challenges facing music producers.

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=483

EX.483 The Hour: The Changing Economics Of Electronic Music pt.2

E.M.M.A., Pearson Sound and Blackdown on the software that democratised electronic music.

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=507

EX.507 The Hour: Fruity Loops

What makes community radio so crucial in times of crisis?

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=513

EX.513 The Hour: The Power Of Radio

The weekly RA Exchange is a series of conversations with artists, labels and promoters shaping the electronic music landscape.