MicRoma HQ Invasion 4

This Saturday night I’m off to Rome for the MicRoma party (nice pun there!). I’m copying fromt the Roma events’ website:

• Data:  28/01/2012
• Ora: 21.00 – 02.00
• Club: Dal Verme (RM)
• Organizzatore: buskerdroid

DESCRIZIONE

 

MicROMA HQ INVASION 4

SABATO 28 GENNAIO

DAL VERME,
Via Luchino dal Verme 8, Roma

Sette concerti in una notte per scoprire l’uso alternativo di Gameboy, Commodore 64 e Nintendo DS.

COUCOU Netlabel, unica etichetta italiana ad occuparsi esclusivamente di micromusic, e MicROMA, collettivo pioniere del genere e organizzatore del primo 8Bit party ufficiale in Italia, annunciano la serata MICROMA HQ INVASION 4 che avrà luogo il 28 gennaio alle ore 22 presso il Circolo Arci “Dal Verme” (Via Luchino dal Verme, 8 – zona Pigneto) , a cui parteciperanno i maggiori esponenti della scena Micromusic romana.

L’appuntamento raccoglierà i live di Buskerdroid VS Microman, Cobol Pongide, Dj Scheisse, J8b!t, Mat64 e Pira666, musicisti le cui composizioni nascono tramite i suoni di vecchie consolle la cui funzione ludica è stata trasformata in funzione musicale. Le sonorità dei vecchi videogame saranno le protagoniste di questa serata che reinterpreterà i generi musicali contemporanei come il pop, l’electro, la nuRave ed anche il metal. Ogni live sarà accompagnato dalle video proiezioni dei video artisti Secret Lab e VjVisualoop, ospite speciale da Milano.

Lo show sarà interamente documentato dalle telecamere della troupe di Europe in 8 bits, un documentario della Turanga Films il cui scopo è quello di presentare al grande pubblico del web la scena micromusic europea.

▲ Ore 21.00 (Ingresso con sottoscrizione libera)

▲ Openact : CouCou Netlabel Djset

▲ Openact : OminoLego http://soundcloud.com/foderaro8

Nasce nel [...] Successivamente cresce fino a raggiungere una discreta altezza. Si presume , ma non si auspica , che prima o poi qualche bambino dispettoso stacchi le sue braccine di plastica gialla , facendolo finire nel paradiso LEGO, accompagnato da Harry Potter e Darth Vader (versione LEGO). “MicRomaHQ Invasion 4″ sarà il live debutto nel mondo a 8bit per il nostro amico OminoLego , armato di un Gameboy con LSDJ per braccino e una LSDJ Keyboard ovviamente homemade .

▲ CobolPongide http://www.cobolpongide.org/

Un duo umano/robotico formato da Cobol e da Emiglino Cicala. Nel duo Cobol si occupa di suonare con le mani: tastierine didattiche ,console di gioco come il Gameboy e il C64 & circuit bending. Diversamente Emiglino e’ il frontbot cantante della band e canta grazie a un cavo nero che gli esce dalla testa. La loro musica (musica elettronica suonata e cantata con strumenti piccoli e colorati) e’ ispirata al tema della mancata conquista umana dello spazio.

▲ Mat64 & Pira666 http://www.mat64.org/ - http://www.cervellomeccanico.com/

Polverizzare intere armate extraterrestri con enormi laser! Ammazzare zombie medievali con spade, dentro cimiteri! I passatempi metal del mondo che tra l’altro avete svolto per un sacco di tempo grazie ai videogiochi degli anni 80. Quale musica si presta meglio all’omicidio seriale e continuativo meglio del metal e il grindcore? Due Guru dell 8bit Italiana si sfideranno in un epica battaglia metal 8bit .

▲ Buskerdroid VS Microman http://www.buskerdroid.com/gameboy-liveset - http://www.buskerdroid.com/microman/

Un duo Italiano che propone musica electro , fidget & techno , composta e prodotta con 1 solo Gameboy grazie ad un software chiamato LSDJ (little sound dj). Non ci sono Vst o samples , non ci sono loops preimpostati , il tutto è composto , programmato e suonato da un Gameboy del 1989 sfruttando il chip audio originale della Nintendo . La loro musica Gameboy Electro Raw & Gameboy Technopunk nasce dalla cultura micromusic , 8bit ma subbisce contaminazioni esterne dal mondo della musica elettronica da rave e da club del nuovo millenio. Dopo il “micro-tour 2009″ (26 concerti in Europa) Buskerdroid VS Microman si sono stabiliti a Roma ed hanno partecipato ad eventi nella capitale italiana e in Francia. Il progetto Buskerdroid VS Microman in studio si divide , i due seguono strade differenti ma pur sempre parallele , collaborando con collettivi ed etichette Italiane e Internazionali .

▲ J8b!t http://www.myspace.com/j_8bit

Nasce a Roma nel 1986. Scopre la musica suonando il triangolo durante una recita a scuola. A 11 anni abbraccia per la prima volta una chitarra. Dieci anni dopo conosce la Micromusic e lascia tutto per un Nintendo DS. Fa parte del collettivo romano MicRoma HQ e gestisce l’etichetta COUCOU Netlabel insieme a Buskerdroid.

▲ VjVisualoop http://www.vjvisualoop.tv/

I suoi lavori sono caratterizzati da immagini, suoni ed animazioni 8-bit a bassa risoluzione di propria fattura. Durante la prima metà degli anni 90′comincia a produrre musica elettronica e creare computer grafica. Più tardi scopre l’emergente scena 8-bit e il vjing. A partire dal 2005 ha partecipato a numerosi festival ed eventi e i suoi lavori sono stati esposti in mostre come Playlist in Spagna e in Belgio, Neoludica alla Biennale di Venezia, Atopic Machinima Film Festival a Parigi e Nam June Paik Summer Festival in Sud Corea.

▲ SecretLab VJ

Progetto Audio/Video di Francesco Bartolomei creato nel 2007. E’ nato dall’amore di creare arte indipendente, unisce la passione di fare musica, immagini e animazioni con un’estetica diy e lo-fi.Per le sue proiezioni utilizza la console portatile Gp2x . Tramite il programma Pikix svilluppato da due visual artist francesi controlla attraverso la console le sue varie animazioni mettendole in sequenza e inserendo diversi effetti visivi. Il risultato è avere un programma versatile come quello di un pc ma su una console portatile Open Source.

▲ DjScheisse da Micropupazzo (djset) http://www.myspace.com/micropupazzo

DJ Scheisse e Grand Master Ghei sono rimasti intrappolati in un vortice spazio-temporale dove musiche da videogiochi si confondono con samples dei Bee-Gees e nitriti di cavalli dopati. Sotto il nome Micropupazzo terrorizzano da 6 anni circa la scena 8-bit europea con live sets brevi e devastanti, costruiti su basi massacrate e un massiccio uso di strumenti musicali automodificati.Fautori di una teoria dell´oscuritá di residentiana memoria, nascondo le proprie identità dietro a mille nicknames e fanno come cazzo gli pare.

- – - – O – - – - O – - – -

MediaPartners // COUCOU Netlabel – Crack Festival – Cromedrop Family – Europe in 8Bits – Festen Party – Micromusic Roma HQ – NartraRadioRoma – Nodezero Records – Nuovasarin – Rxstnz Records – Selva Elettrica – Sonic Belligeranza – Sostanze Records – Squame – Stato Elettrico – VjVISUALOOP – 8-b.it

- – - – O – - – - O – - – -

http://www.facebook.com/pages/MicROMA-HQ-Invasion-4/260952383970159?sk=wall

http://micromahqinvasion4.tumblr.com/

Per maggiori informazioni contattare:

Samuele > Buskerdroid
info@buskerdroid.com

Giorgia > J8b!t
J8bit.music@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSsdNlHm9jY&feature=player_embedded

 

 

Event official website here: http://micromahqinvasion4.tumblr.com/

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxmqiyO3kP1rn3tpko1_r1_1280.gif?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1327588495&Signature=qmWzNmVqqh9LDt8wQoxjstvZ1w8%3D

 

Eindbaas 13/1/12 Utrecht

http://www.justin.tv/widgets/live_embed_player.swfWatch live video from EINDBAAS on www.justin.tv

Live now!

Hacking in and as culture

As part of my ethnographic perspective, I am trying to see what’s the fuss about hacking. Why do people alter devices? Why do films and books feature dystopias where a hacker is usually a hero?

Think of “1984″. Winston tried to hack  the Big Brother system, it’s a story about this man who wanted things differently, as well as an outcast collective of people who wanted to break free.

What about “Brave new world”? Bernard and his unorthodox beliefs – according to the World State order – are characterised as “misfits”.

Films: Johnny Mnemonic; Tron; Hackers; The Matrix; all of them featuring hackers who are trying to break a system in order to reconstitute the truth

This is the link between anthropology and hacking: the search of truth; question everything. Anti-authoritarian people.

Lately I read “Ready Player One” by Ernie Cline. I must admit, I devoured the book. It’s definitely one of my most favourite of all time – and well, yes, it’s about a hacker. Here’s the official website, it’s definitely work reading it if you’re into retro games, hacker culture, dystopian literature.

I’ve been using hacked material for years. Linux are so powerful and stable. Do the job, can do more if you want to.

Lately I hacked my Barnes and Noble Nook color, putting a 32GB micro SD card with CM7 which transformed it into a powerful Android tablet.

I extended my skills by rooting my HTC phone, again with CM7 (one of the best OS I’ve used!).

And you know what? That feeling of distress before you see the screen load up certainly does it for me. And of course, the pleasure of a good hack – a geeky pleasure. We’re talking about geek aesthetics.

I’m just throwing ideas out there. Feel free to propose more readings/films etc.

 

Double Dragon (Paris)

The French team hit back with another event on Friday 9/12. “Double Dragon” took place on a ship restaurant in Paris (La Dame de Canton). Here’s the Facebook event for more details and a link where you can listen to the music sets of the night.

I’m looking forward to the next event in Paris…

Catching up

Fact of the day: when in fieldwork mood, it’s difficult to keep up with everyday life.

There are several things I’d like to stress in this blog post, however, there isn’t enough time, space, words to describe them.

1) “8 bit’em’all” event in Paris

That was AWESOME. Fantastic people, super music, and hypnotic atmosphere. I lasted 16 hours in a row. I’d like to post a review from Modern Zeuhl blog. It’s in French.

 

“Mon Dieu, quel programme ! Atelier circuit-bending et apéro en musique gratuit, puis neuf heures de concert pour la monstrueuse somme de… cinq euros. Goddammit. Le plus cher pour la plupart des participants aura été le trajet vers la région parisienne — par exemple pour les trois Troyens avec qui j’ai passé une grande partie de ce festival, depuis la première bière de 16h30 jusqu’à l’ennui péri-ferroviaire de 7h30, le lendemain matin, épuisés et affamés comme des guerriers après la bataille. Mais ne brûlons pas d’étapes.

Mon arrivée sur place sera périlleuse : je me lève tard, trop à mon goût, les trains sont rares, mais c’est une fois arrivé à Saint-Denis que l’aventure commence. Samedi, milieu d’après-midi : le marché rend les rues animées, vivantes, la ville a un cœur, je me remémore ce que Grand Corps Malade, au détour d’une des chansons de son premier album “Midi 20“, déclamait sur cette cité à laquelle il voue un attachement sans défaut. En revanche, demandez où est le 6B, et même les vendeurs de magasins de jeux vidéo vous regarderont d’un air abruti, l’un d’eux osant même affirmer que si un grand concert 8-bit avait lieu quelque part dans sa ville, “il le saurait”, et “qu’on avait dû mal me renseigner”. Si tu lis ces quelques lignes, petit commerçant sympathique mais sans doute trop imbu de ta personne du bout de la rue Gabriel Péri, sache qu’il est temps que tu jettes un œil sur le 6B, comme ça, pour voir. Ce n’est pas bien loin de ta modeste échoppe, en plus.

C’est finalement un ami à moi, Killian, qui me tirera de ce mauvais pas en jouant le rôle de Kit. [Pour information, Killian est un jeune dreadeux rencontré lors de la soirée/nuit électro "Casse Ton Singe !" chroniquée en ces pages, et une sorte de mini-star puisqu'on le voit agiter ses dreadlocks dans le clip de "La Menuiserie" de Stupeflip.] J’arrive à 16h30, ce qui me semble déjà terriblement tard, au 6B, un immeuble de bureau désaffecté reconverti en lieu de rencontres artistiques. La salle de danse est occupée par une petite poignée de soudeurs/bidouilleurs chevronnés en train de massacrer des jouets pour enfants pour leur faire tirer des sons étranges (pas de Furby, étonnamment, alors que ce jouet est réputé comme étant un très bon point de départ pour le circuit-bending, une sorte d’artisanat du bidouillage et de la torture électronique). Parmi eux, je retrouve Youenn, alias Schematic Wizard, qui, après avoir travaillé sur une nouvelle track qui semble tout à fait alléchante, et sur la demande générale d’au moins deux personnes — je n’ai pas eu le temps de compter, tout s’est passé tellement vite — reprendra sous nos yeux du Nine Inch Nails [NdR : "The Great Destroyer" de l'album "Year Zero", merci à Morgane pour la précision] en version chiptune, grâce au séquenceur LSDJ pour Game Boy si ma mémoire est bonne.

Il y a aussi cette jeune fille qui, avec trois rouleaux de chatterton, fait un petit miracle sous nos yeux. 

L’apéritif tant promis est en fait plus une sorte d’accueil tranquille pour ceux des participants qui n’ont pas pu ou voulu être présents dans l’après-midi (c’est-à-dire la grande majorité) et l’occasion pour plusieurs labels indépendants et artistes divers de présenter leurs œuvres. Deux d’entre eux auront particulièrement retenu mon attention.

…cachés quelque part entre un drapeau bizarre et une NES bendée.

D’un côté, Arrache-Toi Un Œil, à qui l’on doit entre autres un certain nombre de superbes affiches de concert dans des styles comme le punk, le hardcore, le sludge ou le postcore (je découvrirai quelques jours après les avoir rencontrés le superbe travail que l’un d’entre eux a récemment effectué pour le concert de Neurosis et Amenra à la Machine du Moulin Rouge)…

What the fffff-shhhh-d-d-d-ohmagaditsawesome.

…mais qui profitent également de leur atelier de sérigraphie pour tirer de très beaux bouquins d’art, allant du portfolio d’une jeune artiste étrangère (asiatique, si ma mémoire est bonne… ah, si seulement leur site était déjà en ligne, j’aurais des antisèches) à la compilation de dessins d’artistes “décalés” dont le très talentueux et très sale dessinateur parisienrouennais [NdR : OMG !] Crao.

Et en plus, ils sont beaux.

De l’autre côté, le label indépendant Darling Dada qui, en plus d’avoir un nom improbable et un logo totalement fumé, propose dans la gratuité la plus totale les œuvres d’artistes… intéressants, allons-nous dire. J’y reviendrai bientôt.

Picture is unrelated.

C’est un peu fébriles que nous avons enfin accès à la salle de concert, avec un petit retard, pour le set de Rachitik Data qui ouvre le grand bal des englitchés. La musique de ce Black Knight parvient à superposer très naturellement des expérimentations très noisy à des rythmiques sales et soutenues, dans un style hardcore tendant parfois franchement vers le speedcore, et la participation de Computer Truck au chant (à vrai dire, plutôt des sortes d’incantations hurlées dans les restes court-circuités d’un mégaphone-jouet lui servant aussi à produire d’agréables larsens) est loin d’appauvrir son set, qui en devient une micro-performance très décalée et noisy.

Cette entrée en matière royale ouvre sur un artiste meilleur encore (à mon sens, tout du moins) nommé Klaten. Je vous avais promis que je reparlerais du label Darling Dada : Klaten en est l’artiste le plus prolifique pour l’instant, avec deux albums complets sortis en février et octobre 2011. La montée sur scène de ce jeune homme très hipster (petite moustache et chemise à carreaux d’origine) ne me rassure pourtant pas…

…mais son set, malheureusement trop court et visiblement perturbé par quelques nuisances d’ordre technique, fut une excellente introduction à son univers musical, un mélange ambitieux-sans-faire-exprès de drum’n'bass, breakcore et IDM, sur fond d’un amour éloquent des grosses basses post-dubstep et des sonorités électroniques des enfants de la génération NES. Autant dire que lui, son masque délirant et son énergie communicative se verront sans doute réserver un peu de place dans la Zeuhlerie un de ces quatre…

You rock, dude.

C’est le duo The Cheat Code qui prend la suite, que certains avaient apparemment déjà beaucoup apprécié en concert. Contrairement aux autres artistes de la nuit, ces deux-là sont au milieu de la foule, l’un frisé aux cheveux longs, barbu, bref : poilu de partout, l’autre avec un boitier d’écran cathodique autour de la tête, s’affairant autour d’une sorte d’arbre à câbles de deux mètres de haut où se mêlent accessoires pour NES (dont ce fusil pour jouer à Duck Hunt qui ne m’a jamais permis de tuer ce putain de chien !), jouets pour enfants, sèche-cheveux, et au pied duquel est posé un vieil aspirateur pas très joli.

Les amateurs de 8-bit “à l’ancienne” retrouvent facilement leurs petits dans ce set révérencieux envers les musiques de jeux rétro sans se limiter à la simple tentative de copie, et les curieux toucheront “l’arbre” avec curiosité et amusement, et assisteront hébétés à un superbe jeu d’aspirateur… lequel semble en fait contenir un ou plusieurs accessoires circuit-bendés pilotés grâce à quelques boutons et potentiomètres. L’aspirateur circuit-bendé… Grande invention du XXI° siècle.

Un metalleux qui chante/rappe sur du 8-bit influencé par le breakcore, c’est forcément étrange. On a envie d’être curieux, de voir ce que ça peut donner. C’est que nous propose Divag, un chevelu à l’air… comment dire ?.. facétieux ! C’est une grande joie de le voir se faire plaisir, danser (mal), jouer (bien), se galérer un peu avec le matériel, reprendre quand même, avec toujours la même décontraction et le même naturel. C’est sur le plan musical que j’accroche moins, d’autant que son chant n’est pas toujours parfait et qu’on a parfois du mal à entendre ce qu’il raconte — la faute, également, à une balance pas évidente à faire sur ce genre de musique. Mes jambes m’ont déjà abandonné, mais je suis la prestation avec une curiosité mêlée d’engouement.

Le suédois Goto80, qui prend la suite, m’interpelle rien que par son pseudo d’artiste. Déformation professionnelle : quand on code en Fortran, il y a des noms comme celui-ci qui nous parlent. Les ambiances qu’il pose en début de set, sur une 8-bit mid-tempo enrichie de sonorités sorties tout droit de chez Commodore, ont quelque chose de très particulier, un ressenti rare, difficile à décrire. Et puis, le monsieur s’amuse à divaguer, un peu de lounge par-ci, quelques sonorités iliennes par-là, du chant disto qu’on dirait sorti tout droit du “Fat of the Land” de Prodigy, pour revenir ensuite sur des rythmiques plus appuyées, avec quelques sons volontairement désaxés (comme peuvent le faire des Flying Lotus ou des artisans de la techno française — non, je n’ai pas pensé à Mr Oizo, c’est faux), et conclure sur une sorte d’orgie 8-bit/speedcore totalement jouissive. Ce mec ne s’interdit rien, passe d’un genre à un autre avec une aisance insolente, et une heure en sa compagnie passe terriblement vite…

La fatigue s’emparant de moi (le milieu de nuit est sans doute le cap le plus difficile à passer), je regarde d’un peu plus loin le set de Bacalao, aux inspirations résolument house, presque “clubbing”. Contrairement à quelques personnes passablement éméchées qui se mettent torse nu et se trémoussent sur ces sonorités plus easy-listening (et contre qui je râlerai ouvertement parce qu’en montant sur la sorte d’estrade à l’avant de la scène elles m’empêchent de voir les artistes, mais c’est surtout parce que j’aime bien râler), je n’apprécie pas particulièrement le style que joue le jeune homme ; je suis en revanche forcé de reconnaitre que la construction irréprochable de ses morceaux donne aussi à déguster de très agréables lignes de basses.

Picture is unrelated, épisode 2.

Eat Rabbit vient secouer le public encore plus fort, avec une sorte de live mix hardtek-to-hardcore enrichi de sonorités chiptune. Ce “son de teuf rétro” semble fortement apprécié par les beat-addicts venus nombreux, mais mes jambes en miettes m’empêchent de les rejoindre. Il me faut du repos, et un peu d’air frais. J’apprécie néanmoins le son, malgré une “orthodoxie” hélas symptomatique de presque tout ce qui se rapproche de la hardtek.

C’est un peu reposé que je me relève pour voir celui que j’attendais le plus, Dr Von Pnok. D’autres ne le verront pas de cet œil, mais malgré la très grande qualité du reste des artistes, il fut ma claque de la soirée, ni plus ni moins. Son sens de la mélodie est terriblement affûté, ses rythmiques de drum’n'bass minimalistes visent juste, tout en finesse, mais une finesse recouverte d’une agréable manipulation du bruit (que vous pouvez déjà apprécier dans le puissant “21122012“, qui figure dans les vidéos du Zeuhl, et avec lequel le Docteur nous a régalé). Il y a véritablement de la création dans la musique 8-bit, et ce même dans la chiptune pure : Von Pnok ne joue qu’avec deux Gameboy reliées l’une à l’autre, qu’il fait chauffer en fin de set dans une déferlante poussant presque jusqu’au speedcore et se concluant dans un noise ravageur. On en aurait voulu plus…

Oh, Goddammit, je la remets : mesdames et messieurs, “21122012″ de Dr Von Pnok, avec une visu audio-réactive en temps réel préparée par RealMyop. D’autres musiques très miam-miam sur son Soundcloud.

Difficile de ne pas être fine gueule après un tel concert ; c’est pourquoi je ne peux qu’être sceptique concernant Spintronic, qui est parvenu à trouver un équilibre totalement mystique. Je m’explique : ses mélodies sont simples, à la limite du putassier ; ses rythmiques sont standard ; ses arrangements sont classiques ; bref, sa musique est une sorte d’archétype de la musique chiptune. Et pourtant, ça marche, nom de Dieu ! En exploitant jusqu’au bout les possibilités de sa machine, et en contrôlant ses magouilles dans le cadre d’une musique bien ficelée, misant toujours sur l’efficacité, il nous offre un set d’une efficacité redoutable.

…et pendant ce temps, Rachitik Data s’amuse à faire peur à des gens dans le public.

Bravo, belle mentalité.

Je ne peux pas dire la même chose de Culomono, qui ne parvient pas, à mon sens, à retrouver cette efficacité. J’aurais probablement mieux apprécié sa musique en début de soirée, mais là, il est quatre heures passées ; la fatigue s’installe, et la lassitude avec ; le corps et l’esprit cherchent à être surpris, voire même brusqués, et le jeune espagnol ne va pas dans ce sens. Ne parlons pas d’ailleurs de sa reprise, bien trop convenue, de la fameuse musique du film “Requiem for a Dream” version hardtek/chiptune… Non, je n’accroche vraiment pas, malgré son savoir-faire évident.

La nuit se conclut par un concert plus rentre-dedans, provocateur, anticonformiste : celui de Computer Truck, qui reprend son haut-parleur diabolique pour accompagner, par des hurlements très “indus old-school” à l’allemande (bonjourSynapscape !), des instrus chiptune mouvantes, très variées — donc très agréables à une heure si tardive — et toujours très Do It Yourself, avec des gros morceaux d’expérimentations noisy et un côté punk indéniable. Un bricoleur de son, qui adopte volontairement une attitude musicale sale et jusqu’au-boutiste. Un régal à la limite de l’inconfortable. Bref, une fin de nuitée parfaite, et un artiste à revoir pour apprécier la performance. Initialement prévu à la soirée Casse Ton Singe !, il y aurait fait tâche… et ça aurait été génial.

A six heures du matin, nos oreilles tentent de se remettre de tous ces viols successifs… avec une certaine difficulté. On dit “au revoir” au lieu, parce qu’on sait qu’on y reviendra quoi qu’il arrive, et on attend le premier train du dimanche, à sept heures et demie, fourbus et soupirants, épuisés et affamés comme des guerriers après la bataille, nous en étions donc là. On sait que le dimanche sera difficile, entre siestes et ennui, et le lundi déprimant, avec sa normalité et ses sons ambiants trop propres, mais Dieu que ça valait le coup.”

Original link: http://modernzeuhl.blogspot.com/2011/11/live-review-8bitemall-051111-le-6b.html last assessed 10/12/11

2) Europe in 8 bits documentary

If you still haven’t looked at this webpage do so. It’s the first European documentary on the 8 bit/ chipmusic scene.

3) “Worldtronics ’11″ in Berlin

I must say, not one of my favourite events so far. The venue: 9/10. Line-up: 9/10. The organisers: -1/10

I have to be frank and absolutely honest, this relies simply on my experience. I’m sure the audience had a great time BUT:

- Bubblyfish SHOULD have been the headliner and NOT the act to open the event -WTF?

- I was told it was an event featuring ONLY women of the 8bit scene. Although there was a significant amount of ladies, I wouldn’t call it a riot grrrl event at all. (Have a look here).

- It’s the first time I encountered several shut doors when trying to do my research. And I strongly believe – please correct me if I’m wrong – this is because the people organising the event had nothing to do with the community (ie not sharing ideology, purposes and aims). From my experience so far, the community is very encouraging, and no-one ever attempted to even stop be from getting a backstage pass. German professionalism doesn’t allow people to do that little extra thing that is not included in their job description. I understand that, I note it down and I’m going on.

- I noticed something interesting about the venue, Haus der Kulturen den Welt – or the pregnant oyster as the locals call it (Schwangere Auster). It was a gift from the Americans to West Berlin and its aim was to host contemporary non-European art. As I understand it, its purpose has extended and now European art is revisited etc.

- A crew from ZDF, a German TV channel, was filming the event. Hmm…

4) SHAKE IT! In Valencia

One of the most amazing 8bit parties I’ve been to. I’ll be posting pictures and videos as soon as I can!

———————————————————————————————————–

I’d also like to comment on digital awakening with the rise of the Internet and social communication sites such as Facebook and more importantly, Twitter. Following the events in Tahrir, where a whole regime ended when people that “tweeted” or “blogged” or communicated in any way online gathered in Cairo, I saw today the new core of the revolution. “Russian protest biggest in years” writes BBC News. This time, the gathering is on Bolotnaya square, Moscow. And people are trying to regain the power.

It’s very interesting how people become more politically aware through the Internet – a great source of videos, articles, pictures, sounds. The truth is out there? Yes, but some things are not to be trusted – as in the real world. It’s the re-creation of media. The digital era begun years ago but now people are realising its impact.

That’s all for now, I will prob write more another night…

8bit’em’all party 5/11/11

Tomorrow I’m off to Paris for a crazy 26hour experience: 8bit’em’all Party.

It’s hosted in a centre in St. Denis (North of Paris) called 6B. I’ve never been th

ere, but it looks quite huge on the website and on Google maps. The party is organised by Brigade Neurale, Festen, Dataglitch and the hosting team of 6B. It starts at 14h in the afternoon and goes on until 6am on Sunday morning (it’s going to be a long, lo

ng night…).

What I expect to see? Workshops on circuit bending and chip music, live performances (among others, Bacalao, GoTo80, Computer Truck, The Cheat Code), visuals, and generally, the very much alive 8bit scene of France.

I’ll be meeting there with Europe in 8bits team.

It will be great so if you’re around Paris tomorrow, I’d recommend you come down

!

Don’t mention the crisis

Last week I read Michael Herzfeld’s narrative in Anthropology Today. For the ones who aren’t familiar with this work, he has conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Greece, and his article is about his latest experiences in Greece: being mugged, and his observations on the Summer riots in the centre of the capital, Athens.

It’s worth reading his article. I have asked him for permission to upload it on my blog, but I haven’t heard from him yet; I hope he will forgive me for not waiting any longer, but some news should be read when they are still fresh. As of 20/10, Michael Herzfeld replied to me. Following his e-mail, he has no legal rights on the article; he advised me to ask permission from Anthropology Today magazine. I haven’t done so, I decided to put the article on here and if there are any problems, I will take it down.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise the fact that I could sit here and write thousands of narratives from my personal experiences in Athens – or in Greece generally. Several good, fewer bad. I am slightly disappointed that Herzfeld’s article was a yet negative approach on the Greek crisis. Why is everyone so surprised? Greece may be biologically million years old: philosophy, technology, mathematics, arts, architecture, music, commerce, imperialism (sic), you name it, we were famous for it. However, socially, as a Democratic state, the Third Hellenic Republic (1975)  is less than 40-odd years old, bearing in mind that we were previously ruled by a dictator and later, monarchs. In this sense, Greece is undergoing middle-life crisis. Fits with the events and all.

I know this observation doesn’t really help, but I’m pretty certain some of you will recognise my sarcasm – and if you know me well, then yes, well… Obviously you understand and are following me.

However, why doesn’t anyone write a positive approach – and furthermore, publish it? All I see published, even on the Internet, are either negatively driven essays of any kind, or ethnocentric videos advertising the beauty of Hellas. Where’s everyone else hiding? Come out!

I’ll just leave you with my latest composition. It’s (yet) another song about trouble – this is what I’m called in the library as well.

8 bit generation documentary

I’ve updated my links on the side, they look more nice and neat now, so feel free to navigate and propose me any more to add!

I’m after a French documentary on the chip music scene by Lionel Brouet, it’s called “8-bit generation”. Malcom McLaren is featured there too. Does anyone know where I can get it from? I’ve messaged the director, so I’m waiting to hear from him… Check the trailer:

 

But also an excerpt:

Reconsidering e-Fieldnotes

I have been thinking about fieldnotes for a while now and I finally decided that the best way to do it, is privately. But at the same time, I didn’t want to handwrite my notes in a diary. So I created a menu category, visible to anyone that visits my blog, “e-Fieldnotes”. However, I’m the only one who has access to it.

As cyberethnography is still “under construction”, I think that e-Fieldnotes would be a great methodological tool for any ethnographers who have computer and Internet access. Of course, it wouldn’t work under other circumstances. Why go digital? Because it saves time. And it’s more convenient.

We’ll see how it goes anyway.

1st RAI Postgraduate Conference – Report

Royal Anthropological Institute

First Annual Postgraduate Conference Report

20 September 2011 Department of Anthropology, Durham University

Written by: Marilou Polymeropoulou, University of Oxford

 

“The RAI and Durham University are hosting research students in all sub-disciplines of anthropology at UK universities for the upcoming postgraduate conference at Durham University on 20 September 2011. As this will be the first postgraduate conference held by the RAI, it is the organisers’ hope that it will provide insight into the depth and breadth of anthropological research currently being conducted by postgraduates across the UK .”

I had the opportunity to attend the first postgraduate conference organised by the Royal Anthropological Institute. Although I have been a postgraduate fellow for few months now, I didn’t know any graduate members. At the same time, my affiliation with the Faculty of Music doesn’t alwats allow me much time to inform myself about recent anthropological graduate research outside Oxford. The conference, which took place at Durham University, aimed to offer an overview of anthropology in the UK. It was a positive experience and a fantastic opportunity for networking.

From all the delegates, only three were not able to attend – which was disappointing, I was looking forward to Debojyoti Das’ talk from SOAS onVisual Anthropology and the Knowledge of the ‘Other’: Representing Colonial Subjects through Photography in Naga Hills as I am very much interested in visual anthropology.

The conference was hosted by the Department of Anthropology at Durham University. From my experience so far, Durham specialises in medical anthropology and the majority of its students presented a relevant paper. Overall however, there were a few topics on medical anthropology, perhaps more than one would expect at the first postgraduate RAI conference, leaving the impression that social and cultural anthropology are underrepresented by British institutions.

Dr Bob Simpson, Head of Anthropology department at Durham, gave the opening lecture, introducing the audience to topics such as graduate life, transferrable skills in anthropology, but also writing and publishing in the social sciences; information particularly useful for inexperienced graduates. Shortly after Dr Simpson, Dr Stephen Lyon, Senior Lecturer at Durham praised anthropology as a discipline and discussed the need for de-Londonisation of RAI events.

Following the welcome talks, the audience had to choose between three options for every session. For my first morning session I attended Andrea Butcher’s (University of Aberdeen) presentation: Grammatically Speaking: Religious Authority and Cultural Identity in Buddhist Ladakh. Her paper was based on short ethnographic research in Ladakh, examining perceptions on local languages. I enjoyed the topic of her presentation, however, I noticed her material was not adequately organised, leaving parts of her presentation unstructured. Next, I chose Ivan Constantino’s (University of Oxford) Tibetan Urbanism in Practice: Movements in Space from the Perspective of a Theory of Material Social Practices, which summed up part of Ivan’s ethnographic research for his doctorate with a migrant community in Lhasa. Ivan’s delivery of his arguments was very coherent, well-structured and precise, using theory, methodology and part of his ethnographic material (such as pictures from the field). The final presentation of the morning session I opted for, was given by Muhammad Aurang Zeb Mughal (University of Durham), who was also one of the conference conveners, on Day that Matters: Friday as a Weekday and Weekend in Pakistan, discussing the shift of the “day off” from Friday (Muslim religion) to Sunday (Westernised, tradition of the commercial industry). Quite a confident speaker, Aurang gave an interesting presentation, but I felt that the ethnographic material was not well incorporated. What he succeeded in was to give an analysis of time and space through a combined anthropological and philosophical point of view.

After a short coffee break, the morning sessions continued and I quickly went to the Lab to hear Bowen Wei (University of Edinburgh) explaining the Narrative Beside the Pitch: An Ethnography with Thebans, Edinburgh Gay Men RFC. Bowen focusses on Caledonian Thebans, Scotland’s gay rugby club, mainly analysing gender roles in rugby. Here I would like to stress one of the negative aspects of the conference organisation: timing between presentations, questions, and the transitions to and from the three different lecture rooms; unfortunately there was not enough time allowed, resulting in leaving early from presentations to make it up to the other lecture rooms. In my case, I left early from Bowen’s presentation to attend Brianne Wenning’s (University of Durham) talk entitled As a Woman, As a Human: Narratives of Well-Being among Female Refugees in the North East of England. The previous delegate had delayed the session severely, and by the time Brianne started her talk I had to move on to the final morning session at a different lecture room, resulting in completely missing it. In the main lecture hall, the subject of Apprenticeship Anthropology in Museums: Perspectives on Fieldwork and Curatorship Models, was presented by PhD student Magdalena Buchczyk (Goldsmiths College). Magdalena is curating an exhibition of Romanian artifacts that were sent to the Horniman museum in London as a gift in the ‘50s. The morning session ended with this engaging ethnographic representation on the history of collections but also the role of the modern museum.

The audience had the chance to be informed about the Anthropological Index Online by Dr Lyon; AIO is a useful online resource, a search engine for mainly English but also foreign language journals, held in the Centre for Anthropology Library at the British Museum (situated at the far back entrance).  The next session brought together a panel of editors in anthropological journals (History of Anthropology, Durham Anthropology Journal and ART/E/FACT). The editors explained the publishing process and responded to students’ questions. Again in this instance, more time than needed was offered, with the convenor trying to stretch the talk in order to fit the time slot. However, this extra time could have been used for questions after the delegates’ presentations.

The post-lunchtime sessions left me with only three more paper presentations to attend as I had to leave before the end of the conference to make my way back to Oxford on a 5 hour train ride. Alex Rugens (University of Oxford) presented his research on Cognitive Aspects of Ghost Beliefs, and more importantly his results from his recent experiments. Alex talked about the cognitive interpretation of lab-produced ghosts with a mirror effect. The juxtaposition of traditional beliefs and cognitive aspects of the participants was interesting, although his inclination towards the scientific approach was apparent. The next paper presentation I decided to turn up at was Dori Beeler’s (University of Durham), a fresher from Durham who presented her master’s research project on Reiki Embodied: An Anthropological Approach to Reiki. Dori conducted ethnographic research with Reiki practitioners in the US; Reiki is a form of alternative medicine, based on healing by channelling positive energy. She is mainly using embodiment theory and will begin working on her topic to a doctorate level starting this academic year (2011-12). The final talk I attended was given by Rachel Douglas-Jones (University of Durham): A Single Broken Thread: Integrity, Trust and Accountability in Asian Ethics Review Committees. Although I was not familiar with the topic, I found the presentation engaging, a fascinating performance using wordplay, intriguing methodology, and ethnographic material from Rachel’s research.

 

Finally, I would like to stress two points. Firstly, who is the conference addressing to? Recently graduated anthropology students? MA/Msc graduates? PhD candidates? Junior researchers? I experienced the following distinction: the opening talks and the afternoon panels about AIO and publishing in anthropology captivated the attention of MA/MSc graduates – in fact, the line between the academic body and the conference audience was made clear. As I have previously stated in the majority of my written work, there is no objective criticism, and here I would like to underline my perspective. As a doctorate student I had the feeling of being marketed “anthropology”: how and why to become a member of RAI, why and how should I write and publish in anthropological journals, what types of jobs are “out there”. This is all very interesting information, which I would prefer to see outside lecture rooms, as it usually occurs in conferences, but I do not think it should be part of the main body even of a graduate conference – especially when time allocations are note well planned for the paper presentations.

One last criticism I would like to make, is a geographical one. Since the event is mainly addressed to graduate students – whoever they may be! – , who often do not receive adequate funding to attend conferences, it should perhaps be considered next year to divide the distance between London and the North and meet somewhere in the Midlands, where it would be more affordable money and time wise. Overall, it certainly was a pleasure attending RAI’s 1^st Postgraduate Conference. I will definitely consider submitting an abstract next year provided that time allocations will have improved.