Archive for February, 2010

The return of Gil Scott-Heron

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

After a several years of battling personal demons, the godfather of rap is back in full effect, better than ever! Truly amazing to hear how his revolutionary tone and aggressively sharp spoken word delivery has transformed into a gravelly blues presence.

The origins of the sound system

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

African Vibez and Lazeme sound systems

African Vibez and Lazeme sound systems


So much of our culture we take for granted. . . the DJ, the MC, and the sound system. . . has its roots in Jamaican street parties of the ’50s and ’60s. Check out this photo essay of Jamaican sound systems to understand how & where the appreciation for sub frequency bass bins originated.

DJ Kool Herc brought the concept of the sound system from Kingston to the Bronx in the 1970s, along with a style of of DJing focused on the “break” beat. The rest is history!

The topography of sound

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Vinyl record grooves at 500X magnification

Vinyl record grooves at 500X magnification


SynthGear reports on researcher Chris Supranowitz, from the University of Rochester’s Insitute of Optics, use of an electron microscope to captures the close-up waveform beauty of vinyl records. Just like the surface of Mars, just a bit smoother & more delicious!

You too can be a groovy beatboxer. . .

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

. . . with this soulful & fun interactive beatbox experience from France!

And check out the loop technique of the sites creator, l’incredible Polo.

How records are made

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Fascinating video about how manufacture of vinyl records. Each disk of delicious black wax is pressed with over 100 tons of pressure! Let’s fire up the boiler and melt down some PVC pellets, yo!

Gotta Groove Records - “Groove With Us” from Nick Cavalier on Vimeo.