Red Bull has gradually positioned itself at the forefront of sports, creativity and lifestyle, embedding itself in everything from extreme sports and dance to music, football and Formula One. In 1998, they started the Red Bull Music Academy in Berlin as “a world-travelling series of music workshops and festivals” with the main segment attended by “two groups of 30 selected participants – producers, vocalists, DJs, instrumentalists and all-round musical mavericks from across the planet”. It has been held in as diverse places as Cape Town, Sao Paulo, Dublin, Melbourne, London, Seattle and...
A View Of Frank Ocean’s Channel ORANGE
Until a few months ago, when Frank Ocean alluded to being, at least, bisexual with an open letter on his blog, I, for some reason, had not really registered him. I had heard the name every now and then and knew he was involved in music, but he wasn’t really on my radar. I had heard that he was on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch The Throne album but, to be honest, I’ve never really submerged myself in that album. I like some songs but its impact on my musical listening was nowhere near regular enough for me to register Frank Ocean or a lot of the album. I heard that he had written songs for...
Has It Come To This? (CP)
We seem to celebrate mediocrity and this has carried over into much of what the mass media pushes as great music. To find great, classic music, one has to look beyond what is thrown at us and seek out the gems outside mainstream.
Special Kind Of Fool, An Album From TY
For too long, hip hop that originates from outside the US has existed in the shadows, despite the opinion (mine) that a lot of the music that is true to the spirit of hip hop is from everywhere else. A couple of years ago, my brother-in-law started schooling me on UK hip hop and it resonated in a way that is different from what I continue to enjoy from the US. The first artist I got into was Roots Manuva and he continues to be one of my favourite, but I was also fortunate to randomly come across the work of Ben Chijioke, known to UK hip hop fans as Ty. In addition to the beauty of his...
