This guy knows a thing or two about sound wave dynamics. Having been responsible for designing and building some of the finest club soundsystems around the world from Spirit NYC and Club Shelter, to Cocoon and Ministry Singapore. Getting the music to sound the best it can in the space you got is the name of the game, and 'Strop' is a don of psycho-acoustics as well as pro audio components. Probably the most important man not at the nightclub, if George didn't do his thing, the party would be over before it even started. If only more venue owners cared enough to give George and Steve Dash a call before they opened the doors to the dancefloor, clubland and its ears would be in a much better state. Listen to George drop the science in his couch session.

(95.09 MB)

Georgia's first album "Olesi: Fragments Of An Earth" (Stones Throw, 2006) sounds like a classic soul record melted over a Salvador Dali tree branch. Now combine the artist's beautifully ragged, sometimes Dilla-esque production sense with smart, surreal poetics and what you get is the freshest voice to emerge in the last decade of soul music. Teaming up with cosmic preacher Dudley Perkins, and two create some of the most beautiful soulful music for the year 2300 that you'll ever hear. Check their views on war, metronomes and the universe in this couch session from Toronto.

(61.59 MB)

Having first strung chords together as teens in a small Australian country town, Cameron Bird, Jamie Mildren and Sam Perry moved to Melbourne, that Antipodean port for the creatively inclined, and formed the romantic indie-electronic behemoth known as Architecture In Helsinki. Heartfelt dark Folk ditties and shimmery jams emerged from Supermelodyworld, in a massive church hall on Melbourne's Southeast side, until a trip by Cameron to the Pacific Northwest led them to condense influences of Portland Oregon, post-acid Beach Boys, Wu Tang Clan, The Magnetic Fields and Mexican food into sub-2.5 minute pop songs, sharp and catchy, with no time to look at your shoes. Pump organ and busted-up guitar jangle against a new horn section, with Tara Shackell, Isobel Knowles and Gus Franklin adding their chops. Like a mutant gene or a polygamist cult, AIH keep growing in size and influence as they continue to redefine Pop Music.

(49.61 MB)

Fela once said that without Tony Allen, he'd need 4 drummers at once. Of course, the style we know as afrobeat wouldn't sound anything like it does without Tony Allen. A true intuitive pioneer, Mr Allen managed to mix the brevity and snap of jazz drumming by the likes of Art Blakey, Max Roach, and Guy Warren, with the deep extended forms of african rhythms from highlife, Yoruba, and Ghana. The musical conversation between Clyde Stubblefield, Jabo Starks and Tony Allen is still being felt today, having influenced practically every new genre of dance music from the seventies onwards. Still flipping poly-rhythms today, Tony works with artists like TY and Damon Albarn, as well as inspiring remixes of his music from producers like Carl Craig, Waajeed and the mighty Moritz von Oswald. The original Mr Up Side Down.

(80.02 MB)

If regularity was dynamite, this guy wouldn't have enough to blow his hat off. Ann Arbor resident and long time Ghostly/Spectral watchman Tadd Mullinix (Dabrye/SK-1/James T Cotton) has a bucketload of projects and aliases - from dancefloor acid explosions of the jacking kind with Todd Osborn as TNT, to hypnotic beat scapes with the great Jay Dee, MF Doom, and others, as Dabrye. All these aliases might make things complicated for the royalties dept, but it doesn't get in the way of his stripped-back powerhouses of tracks, whatever the groove or tempo. Sometimes simplicity speaks volumes.

(0.02 MB)

You all know about the Moog. But what about Don Buchla, the Californian synthesizer designer whose Buchla Series 100 was released mere months after Dr. Bob's first synth? His electronic music equipment company, Buchla and Associates, were commissioned by avantgarde composers Morton Subotnik and Ramon Sender to create something they could use in live performance - and since then he's been creating and designing a whole range of unusual electro-acoustic instruments and deeply desirable modular synths. That includes the intruiging Marimba Lumina, the classic 1970 200 Series Electric Music Box or indeed the hot little analogue cutie, 1972's Music Easel. Buchla's sonic toys combine a colourful aesthetic with supernatural sonic abilities. Genius alert!

(96.38 MB)

When it comes to the foundations of hip hop, Jazzy Jay certainly laid a couple of hefty cornerstones. A disciple of Afrika Bambaataa, Jazzy started out as a DJ in the Bronx, bringing the new sound to the New York masses, before he joined the team of Bam and Arthur Baker cold chillin' in the studio. They captured plenty of funky sensations on tape, one track being the pioneering Planet Rock, which proved a favourite for astronauts and robots alike. Since then, Jay helped found Def Jam records in the 80's with Rick Rubin, working alongside Public Enemy, LL Cool J, and the Beastie Boys, before setting up his own studio and helping groups like Brand Nubian, A Tribe Called Quest and Fat Joe to launch their careers. Jazzy Jay is the final word in hip hop DJing, and production.

(80.94 MB)

Ron Trent is one of the most influential house music producers ever to emerge from the Windy City or beyond, infusing simmering, warm kicks 'n' hats with the legacy of what he calls "conscience jazz-fusion". The stepping stones laid down by pioneers like Gary Bartz, Ahmad Jamal and John Coltrane are joined by the words of leaders like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and brought forward into a futuristic musical form that's filled with the strength of knowing whence it came. His 1990 release Altered States on Warehouse Records influenced not only the development of house but all 4/4-based music that came in its wake. His earlier collaborations with producer Chez Damier were pieces of dancefloor poetry, released on KMS Records, while his own Prescription label, begun in the early '90s, is respected around the world as just what the doctor ordered, for its unique combo of raw and moody deep sounds.

(49.91 MB)

Want to know about classic bleep, or how to build one of the most bulletproof 'Indie' labels in today's hostile musical environment? Come listen to Steve. He's the co-founder of Warp Records, the influential label that has been synonymous with left-field electronic music for nearly a decade, before recently reclaiming experimental pop and all types of song formats that teenage girls could break their hearts to. As one who watched his imprint metamorphose from a modest record store in Sheffield, into a powerhouse that exploded at the dawn of Acid House and helped spark the careers of Aphex Twin, Autechre, !!!, Prefuse 73 and Richie Hawtin, Beckett has a bottomless understanding of the business of innovative independent music. He says the common bond between Warp artists is a maverick spirit, and the key to his label's longevity is reinvention. Don't be afraid to twist yourself into a new shape.

(60.87 MB)

Mulatu's music is more than just the soundtrack to a hazy dream, or a surreal vista. During the mid seventies, amidst a state of massive political upheaval, the Ethiopian music scene exploded in a shower of creativity. After studying music in London, New York and Boston, Mulatu returned to Addis Abeba in the late sixties an experienced band leader having founded the Ethiopian Quintet with some serious Puerta Rican assistance. Fusing his Jazz and Funk schooling with the roots and tunings of his Ethiopian heritage, Mulatu created a sound that was both heavy and weightless, and undeniably Abyssinian. Mulatu stands alongside political icons like Fela Kuti or Gilberto Gil, but despite capturing the atmosphere of Ethiopian revolution in the Seventies, Mulatu's music has a much wider reach than politics. In this podcast expect tomes of knowledge from the husky-voiced one that are as ancient as the rolling steppes and the winding Awasi.

(79.28 MB)

Toronto powerhouse Vince Degiorgio might have done it all by the time he was 25, but he retains the enthusiasm of teenage discovery. At 13, inspired by his Maltese father's large record collection, he had already learned how to DJ in clubs. At 15 he was a manager at a record store and at 21, with his rep as a Toronto DJ established, he started his own label Power Records. After spinning in clubs for 17 years, Degiorgio went on to co-write with Techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson and eventually become a record exec at BMG. In Canada he broke countless dance records, and when he took an Artist and Repertoire job in the United States, he happened to sign a small group called N'SYNC. After years in the industry where it's easy to become jaded, a conversation with Degiorgio reveals his keen knowledge and deep passion continues unabated. This podcast brings new meaning to the term generation gap, as Vince talks with the experience of a veteran, but the enthusiasm of a kid. Stay young!

(79.35 MB)

Beni Uthman is a 21-year-old Dubstep producer from Croydon, South London. He's the one to blame for the legion of people humming the narcotically addictive beeping line from his Tempa release 'Night' with fellow steppah Coki. He first went to lynchpin night, FWD>> to hear his debut track 'Skank' being spun by Hatcha at the tender age of 13. Let's just hope he got some earplugs for his 16th birthday, or he'll be deaf by 30. After 'Skank', a slew of influential tracks followed - his spooky early teen collaboration with Skream, titled 'Judgement'; unreleased Reggae-sampling gems like 'World War 7' and 'The Fittest'; and tracks that match his plugged-into-the-mainframe DJ style like the head-blowing, tempo-shattering 'Crunked Up'. On the couch Benga talks about his influences like Wookie and Stevie Wonder, the life-cycle of a dub, and why he gave up school and the glimpse of a professional football career to make music.

(60.34 MB)

The night train is coming...better keep on runnin', to catch the Baker man with his dancefloor bread'n'butter. He may have pioneered the first electronic rap record with Bambaataa but his musical career has encompassed virtually every genre with a bit of groove in it, and his influence widened far beyond Planet Rock. Baker began his incredible journey as a DJ playing Philly soul 45s, before steeping himself in the underground disco scene after a move to the Big Apple. He contributed his share of anthems to the legendary New York club Paradise Garage in the late '70s/early '80s, like the rolling blunted funk of Rockers Revenge - Walking On Sunshine. Another of those anthems was a track Arthur did with Salsoul virtuoso Joe Bataan, Rap-O Clap-O, one of the first records to incorporate rap, some time before he laid down the beats for the man with even more 'A's in his name (Bambaataa). And the Philadelphia soul beast reared its beautiful head again when he produced Hall and Oates' most electronic effort. These days you can find him as active as ever, on Darren Emerson's Underwater label.

(63.42 MB)

Known as a meeting point for intersecting genres and beloved as the heart of a musical community, it's no wonder IG's world renowned clubnight goes by the name of Co-Op. From bruk to Hip Hop, to R'n'B and Soul, IG is respected across continents for his self-taught musicality and heavy rhythms. Having started out as a member of Dodge City Productions in the early 90s, he went on to become one of the pioneers who took the scatterlogical energy of steppers rhythms and fused it into the shape-shifting sound known as Broken Beat. In this podcast IG Culture gets lyrical about his inspirations and informations, while painting a vision of London's dancefloor futures.

(57.58 MB)

Sound-experimenter Martyn Ware describes himself as "an appalling keyboard player." But armed with the Post-Punk era's DIY ethos, a love for all things key(board)ed up (from Kraftwerk to Bernie Worrell), and time to experiment and rehearse (important words, those two, don't forget 'em) within the plentiful dead industrial space within his hometown Sheffield, great musical accidents would happen. John Peel championed Human League's 'Being Boiled' (the kind of tune that should've if it didn't, in fact, birth Pharrell's whole shit), and the rest, as they say, is history: after splitting from Human League (and being called "the un-aesthetic part of the band" by former partner Philip Oakey), he'd enjoy the last laugh and enormous success with Heaven 17. Tune in to hear how Martyn (and Terence Trent D'Arby) exemplify the adage, fail to prepare or prepare to fail.

(84.05 MB)

At the Red Bull Music Academy in Toronto just a couple months back, we had the pleasure of being lectured by Prins Thomas of Oslo, who makes contemporary disco. (As he said himself, "I make contemporary music for discos.") Also an international DJ, he spoke with couch interviewer Gerd Janson about the pressure of being sought-after all over the world, from Hawaii to Toronto. The Norwegian said that travel is actually a relief for him; a father of two boys who works at his studio 9 to 5 (not unlike Dolly Parton), zipping around on jet planes is the only chance he gets to read a book, or close his eyes for a few minutes. Download this podcast to gain insights into why, in the land of fjords, expensive beer and economic miracles, a great deal of wacky, acoustic-plucked, history-steeped danceable music has become utterly priceless.

(24.19 MB)

Everyone's got a favourite Primo beat. Whether it's the backdrop of Nas' portrayal of New York underworld in N.Y. State of Mind, Gang Starr's tale of greed and ambition 'Just To Get A Rep', or the panicky dream sequence of 'I Can't Wake Up' from KRS-One, some of THE finest MCs to ever grace a mic, have spit deep lyrics over a chopped up break from Primo's crates. Now time has proved that DJ Premier defined an era. You could even say he helped pave the way for the deluxe lifestyle that R 'n'B and hip hop superstars enjoy nowadays. But let's not get that confused with the vacuous content of some of today's popstars. Back then, if you wanted the chance to spit over 32 bars, first you had to have battled to the top of the pile, and then you had to have something to say. Primo's tracks in themselves are masterpieces in honesty, direct statements carrying the messages of MC's like Biggie, Rakim, Mos Def and Bahamadia straight to the heart while still rocking the dance.

(85.97 MB)

No one knows more about Toronto's music history than Rob Bowman. As he watched his hometown's scene evolve through genres, from country to folk to blues to rock to soul to electronic, he chronicled it all as a music writer. Today, Bowman is the director of York University's grad school program in Enthomusicology and Musicology and has written extensively about music for newspapers, magazines and liner notes. He also wrote the book Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records, has served as both radio personality and guest on numerous stations throughout the city, and assisted labels in compiling box sets. Most recently, he was appointed a judge for the esteemed Polaris Music Prize (for outstanding Canadian independent music). As Bowman proved at his lecture on Monday afternoon, he has an unquenchable passion for the sounds of his city and beyond.

(67.75 MB)

If George Clinton and Kraftwerk in an elevator resulted in Techno, what kind of acoustic emo-Soul would these three concoct on their way to the viewing deck? Superpitcher's session in Toronto placed the roots of stripped down Kompakt dancefloors as far away as Jamaica (with a version of Horace Andy's 'Man Next Door'), T Rex, and a whole manner of magical, fairytale soundscapes. Later that afternoon, analogue wizard engineer Russ 'The Dragon' Elevado took time to share tips on how to stack vocal arrangements, why it's important to spend time on an artist's signature track, and how to mix so that the bass is practically spillin' out the speakers. Meanwhile Ron Trent brought an empowered vision of Soul that could span a thousand tempos via raw analogue chains and the breaking thereof.

(52.62 MB)

Getting famous, arguing with each other, breaking-up and then lawsuits. That might be the typical dynamics of a triumphant band. The surprinsingly Melbourne-based Architecture in Helsinki fellas show that it is also possible to (hopefully) use another route. Behaviour in large groups is not of Kardinal Offishall's concern. The proverbial two tunrtables (equipped with a laptop nowadays) and a mic are enough for this Torontonian Hip Hop entrepreneur to knock his rivalry for a loop. That is exactly where the hair-dressed heads of ATrak and DJ Mehdi are right now. From Hip Hop to even hipper Ed Banger sounds those used-to-be-turntablists discovered the joy of partying and care to share.

(33.37 MB)

How can you create an album that is regarded as an instant classic? Owusu and Hannibal are not sure either, but they just did it. Denmark's elaborate answer to a hypothetical supergroup consisting of Hall & Oates, Ashford & Simpson and Eric B & Rakim, is the closest you can get to unstifling Future Soul.They will be "Liwing with.." it for the rest of their lives. IG Culture as well knows a thing or two about freshness. Being on the forefront of London's Broken Beat mania and responsible for places like Co-Op, the man is capable of pleasing nerds and mesdames in equal measures. Last but not least, Nottz is nots one of your average beat makers. Just ask Busta Rhymes, M.O.P., Snoop, the G-Unit or lend him your ear here.

(39.64 MB)

Get sharp on your commute, with volume six of our Toronto Red Bull Music Academy lecture highlights. Mulatu brings the weight of national culture and heritage to the lecture room, but this one fuses chromatic structures of a different kind. "If you really want to understand a music, you must look at the roots," Mulatu said, before introducing a concise synopsis of Ethiopian musical treasures. Ian Dewhirst divulged his exceptional back catalogue of Mastercuts, and Alex Barck of Jazzanova invited us into his vision of the future, a poetic perspective of music breaking out of its physical cage. "Music at least is supposed to be played live and is just an idea. The record itself is nothing. It is just a media, like a CD is a media. The music itself is free of that, and one day it will be free again."

(27.75 MB)

Here we go again with another slice of Toronto Red Bull Music Academy helter skelter. Japan's Makoto is in there as well as the Canadian Disco godfather/BMG biz man Vince Degiorgio and Arthur "Planet Rock" Baker. The gap between state-of-the-art Drum'n'Bass, Euro-Italo-Disco and Baker's Kraftwerk-memento that eventually taught New Order how to dance has not been that wide anyway, has it?

(40.25 MB)

Three generations on the couch and one love for sound. Dial Record's Efdemin as well as the Junior Boys headmaster Jeremy Greenspan most likely would sound different without the inventive genius of Don Buchla. This gentleman released his first synthesizer merely a few second after Bob Moog and since then has been releasing a whole range of electro-acoustic instruments and deeply desirable modular synths. Fundamental instruments for a kind of sound that is essential for Junior Boys's romantic Pop-Muzik-Disco and the lingering Berlin-Techno, sapid House and soothing Ambient of Efdemin at the same time. Brothers from different mothers?

(41.20 MB)

As De La explained to us: Three is the magic number. This time our issue of special Toronto Academy podcasts consists of a legendary Big Apple Disco man, a mash up don from England and the next Dubstep bwoy wonder. Randy Muller from Skyy reveals the historical secrets of a thriving NYC music scene, Sinden fuses the heritage of Metalheadz and Public Enemy with the modern day dance floors and Benga tells how to make the Dub step!

(41.07 MB)

Our second Academy podcast builds bridges again. Because wherelse would you get to know, what the lowest common denominator of Ann Arbor's Tadd Mullinix aka Dabrye aka James T. Cotton, Georgia Anne Muldrow and her partner Dudley Perkins from Cali plus Disco viking Prins Thomas is? At first glance, their appearance on the truth-seeking RBMA couch is the only hint. But after a closer look, you realise how Hip Hop somehow has them all connected. It started Prins' passion for music, has Tadd talking about his favourite microphone priests and is the foundation for whatever Georgia and Dudley create in their own parallel universe. Get the full picture!

(40.83 MB)

Our first Academy podcast gives a colourful glimpse in the rich musical world we're living in down on Queen West. We record all the interviews that happen here and the podcasts are your change to get a taste of what we're sipping. First up, Toronto's local musical hero, Rob Bowman, who spent his couch time delivering up dusty gems from Toronto's musical heritage - like how Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks morphed into Dylan's backing group and eventually into The Band. Then there's inspiration and information from Martyn Ware, the man who invented Human League and Heaven 17 and turned Tina Turner into a post-Ike superstar with her version of 'Let's Stay Together'. Last up, the man like DJ Premier's got a few stories. Want to hear him riff on life, music and keeping the old ego in control? It's all here.

(36.95 MB)

Choose a number, pitch-adjust your mic: Strobocop is here to get the viscera vibrating with sweet sounds from the schael siick, or "wrong side of the Rhine". Since 1997 his label Karaoke Kalk, named after the proletarian Cologne suburbia Kalk, has been pumping our bleeps and jazzy riffs to cutely destroy the prevalent cliches. Besides Karaoke Kalk artists Takagi Masakatsu, Julee Cruise and Antonelli, label boss Strobocop likes to sit on the fence, creating his own niche next to the competing camps of post-glitch (a la Mouse on Mars and Sonig) and minimal techno (the Kompakt people, you name them), who have traditionally dominated the electronic music scene in Cologne. Pop sensibility finds finds an avantgarde outpost alongside acoustic instruments and all the nostalgia of a drunken singalong.

(13.21 MB)

Performers, producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Carl McIntosh of pioneering UK Soul act Loose Ends is one of the lesser-sung heroes of 80s Soul Funk, and a well-loved influence upon most of today's souliest U.K. artists. A thoroughly class act, Mr. McIntosh was introduced to the Roland 808 drum machine while recording the smash 'Hanging On A String', and his love of melody manifests itself in killer keyboard and guitar chops. His production/remix/songwriting credits include heavyweights from the future and footsteps of Soul on both sides of the Atlantic, from D'Angelo, Caron Wheeler and Pete Rock to Leon Ware. Mr. McIntosh, you sir, are the apple of the RBMA's eye.

(42.34 MB)

On this very special couch session, Jeff Chang sits down with Arthur Verocai, a true pioneer of Brazilian music. Arthur takes us along the streets of Sao Paulo back in the sixties, when Brazil had just won the World Cup, the first cars were being made, and, in spite of an oppressive dictatorship, bossa nova was born. Arthur displays some of his dextrous light-fingered moves on the neck of his guitar, while also telling us how he got hold of the first synthesizer to arrive in Rio, and how to fit vocals, guitar, drums, bass, percussion, synth, and a 20 piece string orchestra onto 4 measley tracks. It's maths and magic all rolled into one.

(41.34 MB)

From tape loops and smashing up pianos, to meeting New York's nascent club cognoscenti, to Chicago House pioneers like Marshall Jefferson and Lil Louis - it's a uniquely crooked path that Stephen Mallinder has wound since forming Cabaret Voltaire with childhood friend Richard H Kirk in the early 70's. In this podcast Stephen breaks down how he went from a grimey industrial town in the north of England to cruising round Chicago in stretch limos while still producing some of the most uncompromising art dance noise that made it onto wax. A dose of surreal theatre, for real.

(62.36 MB)

He's the man with the big smile - the all singin', all swingin' Phonte of North Carolina's Little Brother. Little Brother came together at North Carolina Central University: three individuals laying down the foundations for what would go on to become one of the most hyped underground acts in the years to follow: their debut on ABB 'The Listening' didn't just get props from the original chef of Hip Hop's main ingredients, Pete Rock. From his alter-ego Percy Miracles' hilarious 'Make Me Hot!' to the seriously heavy rendition of Joe Jackson's 'Steppin' Out', man oh man, one thing's for sure, this boy's been blessed with a gift!

(59.70 MB)

Everyone who lives in Montreal is supernice, even the local politicians, but Scott Monteith is just that bit supernicer. If you make it out to the annual Mutek festival there you'll see what we mean. Anyway, Scott makes his own type of dub-laden, minimal-leaning electronics on Cynosure, Intr_version, Revolver and Scape but has also been known to dress up like a farm hand and charge around a stage in the mighty two-man electronic barndance ensemble known as Crackhaus with good friend Steve Beaupre. Scott's double life must be something to do with the extreme Montreal weather - they're all huddled together eating fondue one week and dancing naked in hot summer rain the next. Trippy.

(31.62 MB)

Lovely Wally grew up with a super-keen interest in aviation, so it's little wonder he took to working in the cockpits of recording studios like a little ducky to water. In 2006 you'll find his name in the production credits of African megastars like Salif Keita, Wasis Diop, Youssou N'Dour and Papa Wemba, on various movie soundtracks, through numerous solo projects or even in the castlists to stage plays and TV dramas. Back in the day though - the day being any from the mid-sixties to early-nineties - he twiddled nobs and played synths for Grace Jones, James Brown, Fela Kuti, Foreigner, Robert Palmer, Level 42 and loads more. Given how much he's done and how rarely he's credited you might expect him to be bitter, but in fact he's sweeter than anything you could conjure in a Paris patiserie.

(42.99 MB)

The story of Matt 'Recloose' Chicoine slipping a demo into Carl Craig's sandwich has been firmly etched into Techno folklore stone, but that killer combo of Pastrami, Cheese and Motor inspired Jazz freakiness on rye led to his subsequent signing to Planet-E and the first fruits of an incredible musical output were unleashed. Fast forward an acclaimed debut later, some world touring with Carl's Innerzone Orchestra Band, an a chance meeting with a lovely lass from the South Pacific and Recloose found himself moving shop, trading in the urban decay of Detroit's downtown for the starkly contrasting beach vibes of Titahi Bay. Soaking up the Welli vibes and hooking with some of the local like-minded peeps, some block rocking collaborations were born and thus the world got a taste of Matt on a slight fuush 'n' chups tip - Hiatus On The Horizon. With a nomination for best Dance album at the NZ Music Awards in 2006, numerous nominations for the albums videos, and one of the biggest underground club hits of 2005 in the form of his link-up with Fat Freddy's own Joe Dukie, and the Recloose all-star band keeping floors rocking from London town to Welli-town, it's been a busy ol' time of late for everyone's favourite Ann Arbor ex-pat. Works already underway on the third album, and the first mutterings are sounding pretty damn tight, it must be said, the future's looking tighter than a Matterhorn lock-in. Churrrr!

(20.73 MB)

A man of many monikers, Matt Edwards uses his Rekid outlet for his deeper, more underground sounds, the kind of tunes that get the likes of DJ Hell, Lindstrom, Tiga and Trevor Jackson all hot under the collar and cold rockin' the floor. Having remixed and worked with a list of stars that could make the most avid autograph hunter turn incredible hulk with envy, Matt aka Radio Slave can pull out styles from Walter Gibbons or Metro Area electronic Disco, to Dilla-esque hip hop, and the abstract house runnings of Theo Parrish. Together with Joel Martin he records balearic soundscapes and film scores for music never made. 23rd Century dance music is here.

(12.14 MB)

Their crowning achievements: from Donald Byrd 'Dominoes', to Bobbi Humphrey 'Uno Esta', to Johnny Hammond 'Los Conquistadores Chocolates' and Taste Of Honey 'Boogie Oogie Oogie'. First thing to know is that the Mizell bloodline is thick: two prominent early 20th century black leaders, Andy Razaf (the composer of 'Ain't Misbehavin''), the Ronettes, Don Mizell, and the great Jam Master Jay (R.I.P.). Success seems to run in their genes. So here's a story of family values. It begins with a little hit by a little boy and his four big brothers. The boy is named Michael Jackson, the brothers are the Jackson 5, the song they are about to record is one co-written by Fonce Mizell called 'I Want You Back', and, in a last-minute bit of Motown intrigue, it's plucked from the hands of Gladys Knight in their favor. (Larry says Gladys still may not know the song was meant for her.) When Fonce's Motown days ended (after a series of #1 J5 hits he got no writing credit for), brothers Larry and Rod joined him in Los Angeles and the magic continued. Out of ill pangaeic jam sessions at their Hollywood Hills studio came the stuff that gave fusion a name. This time, they kept the publishing. So after a glorious ten-year run at the top ending around 1982, they retired to their Altadena rancho for tennis, champagne, clams on the half shell, and roller skates.

(54.56 MB)

Cut Chemist (government name: Lucas McFadin) is the kind of fellow whose name rings some serious bells around our way here at RBMA. Not simply because his resume is a veritable template for all things innovative and beat-wise (longtime sonic sculptor for Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli; co-conspirator with DJ Shadow on the infamous Brainfreeze and Product Placement mixes; remixer and turntablist par excellence), but because he's also an Academy repeat offender. Having already lectured with the Stones Throw crew in Sao Paulo in 2002, and lent his studio expertise as part of the 2004 tech team in Rome, Cut apparently just can't get enough of that RBMA stuff, re-upping for another tour of duty as a solo speaker here in Melbourne. For a bit-sized overview of what this musical mastermind's been into of late, check his lecture which is sure to reflect the range of influences (Ethiopian Jazz-Funk, Brasilian lullabies, and classic Hip Hop) that inform his latest long-player, The Audience's Listening.

(36.91 MB)

Greg Wilson has a story or two to tell. Born and raised across the river Mersey from Liverpool, he is one of the key figures responsible for the development of the early 80's Electro-Funk scene in clubs across the north of England before its spread throughout the country. Borrowing from formative experiences at an early age in England and Continental Europe, Wilson introduced British club audiences to the revolutionary Dance music sounds coming out of New York City. Both reviled by traditionalists and praised by those hungry for something new, Greg Wilson helped shepherd the evolution of Black Dance music in the UK from the Soul and Funk sounds that dominated the 70's to the emergence of House and Hip Hop in the late 80's. He retired from DJing at an early age in 1984, but has returned to DJ work in recent years and received the hero's welcome befitting his role in the history of Dance music.

(59.91 MB)

Want to learn more about the musical and cultural legacy of Australia? It's a tale filled with some cold hard truths, but one musician and singer rose above it all: Kutcha Edwards. Due to the burden of the abuse of his people, the southern caretakers of Mutti Mutti, this Aboriginal singer/songwriter went through most of the dangerous habits of Keith, Kurt and Miles combined. Kutcha gave sobering insights into how the Aboriginal clan was affected by the government's adoption policies, leading his own mother to have six children stolen from her. Inspired when he caught bluesman Robert Cray live in concert, Kutcha went on to form Blackfire, a powerful sound from a man who conversely took respite in the delicate refrains of a young lady called Karen Carpenter. Kutcha demoed his omnipull instrument, and without a hint of Omo in sight, we all felt glad to have stepped up on the box to get a better glimpse of this country's soul.

(19.81 MB)

Midnight Request Line might have become the Planet Rock of dubstep - but that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Skream's musical output. Soundtracking the sounds of suburban Croydon, Skream's trademark minimal sound found a resounding ear with urban youth around the world. Gravity-defying beats and pads, all buoyed by a tidal wave of sub bass, make Skream's music perfect for walking across the moon or accompanying an experiment gone wrong set in a Martian research bunker. Whether he's moulding cosmic Indian flavours, electro dancehall, or skankin' reggae - it all gets squeezed through the Skream filter and ends up sounding like it has been beamed from the dark side of some asteroid. And in Skream, everyone can hear outer space.

(26.93 MB)

Reaching his golden fourth decade of working in the music industry, there's not many who can claim to have kick started three different episodes in musical history - from the moment latin went large in New Yorica, to the birth of disco and 12" singles, to the start of a some fad called rap music. Somewhere along the line it was all moulded by Joe, who has been making perfectly formed licorice pies out of the youths and street culture of NYC since the 60's. This podcast we get Joe's words of wisdom about the music industry, publishing, playing live, checking the record label, and being at peace with your place in the world.

(71.47 MB)

The Bali-hooligan from Berlin to New York certainly knows how to form an opinion. Danny Wang has been an aficionado of underground clubs since university, and put his toe in the waters of production and running his own label since the early 90's. In the years that followed, Danny has built up a cult following, bringing the old school values of arrangement, harmonic progression, and tension and release back to modern dance floor music. His session at the academy was as idiosyncratic as ever, hurtling down the corridors of curiosity, stopping to take a look behind the doors of musical theory, history, civil rights, and disco forty-fives.