Music for Highways

Music for Highways is a project by dj afifa Here is a description of the project by dj afifa.

 

In Jamaica, road expansion and the creation of highways dominate the urban landscape. At least one person dies everyday in a road accident. Starting in 2015, new roadways have been created in the Barbican area, Constant Spring Road, Hagley Park Road and the Mandela Highway under the Major Infrastructure Development Project, (MIDP).

Whenever I use these roads I am constantly thinking about ways to improve the safety of the journey.

The new Mandela Highway for example "features construction of a 3.5-kilometre six-lane corridor with a two-lane overpass bridge, two new three-lane bridges, and a two-lane service road adjacent to the main roadway".

The design of the new roads has negatively affected my driving experience. On the Mandela Highway for example, I notice how exhausted I feel from the intense concentration it takes to drive along this 6 lane Highway. I usually use music to help me focus and enjoy driving. Once, I decided to listen to a talk programme instead of music and was surprised at how sleepy I began to feel. I immediately started to think about the importance of music for driving and wondered whether there was a “music for highways?”

I made a short video with Orandi Harris driving across a section of the Mandela Highway to find out about his driving experience and what he listens to while driving?

Here are some additional questions to think about

1. Do you listen to music while driving?
2. What music do you prefer to listen to while driving on Highways?
3. What songs would you recommend for driving on highways?

Additional Resources

Loop Jamaica- Jamaica's deadliest roads

Voice Notes and Sound Clips

Voice notes and sound clips is a soundscape produced by dj afifa. The is a 5:55 length composition of voice notes and sound clips collected by dj afifa featuring music by Sheibo Sekito


Voice notes and sound clips is the first in a series for the music and memory project by dj afifa. 

Listen to Voice notes and sound clips here 

Download voice notes and soundclips here 

The History of ganja in Jamaica

This is a project by dj afifa. It was created for the Whitenoise mixtape in 2018. It was also featured on the Umbalembe project curated by Zanj Rracc in 2018.

Ganja (Marijuana, Cannabis) was decriminalized in Jamaica in 2015. Individuals are now been allowed to possess and grow limited amounts of the plant. The decriminalization has made way for the development of a medicinal Cannabis industry with a licensing authority, licensed growers, export arrangements and dispensaries called herb houses. There is now an even stronger demarcation between the legal and illegal trade in ganja. Ganja continues to be classified as a drug, which is regularly seized and destroyed by the Jamaican police.

Download the History of Ganja in Jamaica here

Listen to the History of Ganja in Jamaica here

Experimental and chill mixes featured on Zanj Radio

People change. Artwork design dj afifa 2019.

Dj afifa and dj zanj rracc were recently featured on the Zanj Radio International broadcast of ambient chill and experimental mixes. 

DJ afifa created a 30 minute experimental mix titled "People Change". The artwork to accompany the mix is also created by her.

listen to the mix here




The experimental chill mix by dj Zanj Rracc is titled "Dealing with these thoughts". 


 listen to the mix here

Flies

Flies is a nu-music track produced by dj afifa for Sounds of Life.

Flies is a poem written by Zanj Rracc. It is performed by him and recorded in the Zanj Radio Studios in St.Andrew Jamaica.

 

 “ I was sitting at my doorway one day and there was a lot of flies, flies were attacking me and there was no water because of a water lock off. I was thinking about politicians in Jamaica and how we shouldn't live on an island surrounded by water and be without water...it was just a poem that came to me….” Dj Zanj Rracc

For this production dj afifa added ambiance or atmospheric quality to the track using a sample from the beginning of the sitting of the house of parliament in Jamaica.

“i listened to the vocals and imagined the sound of the flies, then I started to think about how that sound was similar to the hum of voices then I heard the hum m of voices at the beginning at the beginning” Dj Afifa

download flies here

World Music Fusion on Zanj Radio a different idea about World Music

 Every Saturday from 5pm to 7pm Zanj Rracc presents World Music Fusion on Zanj Radio. World Music Fusion has been running on Zanj Radio for 6 years.

Zanj Rracc describes World Music Fusion as "a coming together of music and sound in one space"... a time vessel through music ...different borders and territories of music...like a time machine through music...you can drive it, you can fly it or play it....you put the music in your ears and you take a journey, a different type of journey... each track or groups of tracks transport you to a different place.

....it is a different idea of World music. World music is music made in the world not just indigenous music like Putamayo or Pata Patta, it is Arabic Jazz from 1996 mixed with Dancehall and hip hop instrumentals from 1990, that is how the whole music come together, all of these places are stops in time. Sometimes the gap is bridged when you hear a Grace Jones remix in 2019 it sounds like the original song of 1990. The essence of fusion is how you can put all these songs together....it is rich....

Every summer listeners can look forward to the Summer lounge edition of World Music Fusion.  The Summer Lounge Edition features "relaxed tropical sounds and beats, it is relaxed chill lounge music with different beats"

The latest edition featured some Brazilian selections, Arabic Jazz, 80's Africa,  and disco funk remixes.

Here are some of the tracks featured on the latest edition.

• Jimmy Cliff  - Sooner Or Later
• Eme Ballantyne - My Life (Nigeria 1981)
• Prince Issac Black - Papa Bless Me
• Lijadu Sisters - Come On Home
• Mtume - So You Wanna Be A Star (Joey Negro Disco Re Blend)
• Earth Wind Fire - Cant Let Go (Joey Negro Elevated Mix)
• Grace Jones - Pull Up To The Bumper (Joey Negro Bumper To Bumper Mix)
• Zenit - Waitin
• 5 Reasons - Summer Rain (Slipenberg Remix)
• Prince Kaybee - Fetch Your Life ft. Msaki
• DJ Khaled & Buju Banton - Holy Ground
• Fyah Roiall feat. Jah Izrehl - Amun-RA
• Umoja - Rabia
• The System - Find It In Your Eyes

 You can listen to the latest episode here
 World Music Fusion is also featured in the Sounds of Life sound art series visit our blog for all the latest episodes and special playlist releases by Zanj Rracc..

Zanj Radio Ambient Chill Experimental Open Call

ZANJ RADIO is extending an open invitation to DJs, Curators, Sound Artists and broadcasters who would like to take part in our exclusive genre feature dubbed, AMBIENT CHILL EXPERIMENTAL: An International Broadcast of Chill Mixes, on July 11th 2019.

The 24 hour international broadcast will showcase one (1) or two (2) mixes, playlists or soundscapes from contributors worldwide who want to highlight their interest or love for Ambient, Chill or Experimental music forms, genres and presentations.

 How to Submit. If you would like to take part in AMBIENT CHILL EXPERIMENTAL : An International Broadcast of Chill Mixes, here’s what to submit:

1. A Mini-Bio (no more than 100 words) with Photo or Logo 
2. Social Media Links Mix (or selections ) 
3. File should be MP3 or WAV. Please indicate on file whether Ambient, Chill or Experimental Mix (or selections) should not exceed 120 mins 

All submissions must be made through WeTransfer or Dropbox and sent to ZANJ RADIO’s email : thezanj@live.com Deadline for all submissions is June.30.2019 | 23:59PM. -5 UTC Jamaica.

New Release: Excerpts of Dis Poem Wordz and Agro Festival 2019

Excerpts of the Dis Poem Wordz and Agro Festival 2019 is a recording for Sounds of Life by dj afifa using a Panasonic RR-US511.

Listen to the Excerpts here:

or download it directly here it

Here are the recording notes from dj afifa

These excerpts are produced from a sound recording experiment at the 9th Annual Dis Poem Wordz and Agro festival.

My first recording of the Dis Poem Wordz and Agro festival was in 2017, I was hired to be the selecta at the event. Outdoor music events such as these in Jamaica provide a rich sonic experience. Capturing the dynamics of an event in audio can be an interesting challenge for sound artist. These excerpts are the result of my experiments at the festival.

Typically audio recordings of live events are made by capturing a direct audio signal, this is how I got my recording of the event in 2017. I was connected to the mixing board 36.and got a direct audio signal. The disadvantage of recording like this is that it misses ambiance. At the 2019 edition of Dis Poem I tried to collect some of the ambiance of the event by recording from the audience using a digital mp3 recorder (a Panasonic RR-US511 I used for recording interviews). The recording came out much different than I had expected. Previously I had recorded another poetry event using my Huawei NS L53 and the audio was much clearer.

The audience sat in pavilion style seating facing the stage that was on an open field with the sea behind it. There was a hugh tree hanging over the pavilion. I got to the event at about 2:30pm and started recording immediately. I recorded at least one performance for each poet. I changed location twice during my recording.

I attempted to edit the recordings in Audacity to improve the clarity of the audio, this was not successful.

Factors which affected the clarity of the recording. The first factor was the recording device (Panasonic RR-US511) which records in mono, performances that included music where more muffled than performances with no accompanying music. Recordings which were done earlier in the evening when there was a smaller audience were clearer. Recordings where I was sitting directly at the back of the pavilion as opposed to closer to the stage or to the far left were much clearer.

 Because of the recording device used and the recording condition it is best to listen to the Excerpts using headphones; the audio will be clearer.

New Release: Soundscapes

Soundscapes is a project by dj afifa for  Sounds of Life. Each soundscape features material from her favourite netlabels, original nu-music tracks and field recordings. The most recent release features tracks from bump foot, a netlabel bases in Japan.


Download soundscapes here

Track list
dj afifa - sons and daughters of Marcus Garvey compose an unfinished melody
Shin Wada - Dignity, Always Dignity-
dj afifa - the body of a 9 yr old girl
Sciuza - Leaving The Cities
dj afifa - building nations on small islands
Ishii Fuwa - Orbital Eccentricity
ish10 yow1r0 - experimental android work 01
dj afifa - the body of a 9 yr old girl
beatsgo - Da Future
Chico Correa & Electronic Band - Bossinha (Aquilez Remix)
Lavoura - MM Moods
Non m'importa della luna - Uchu (Orquesta Pandroginia Remix)

DJ afifa remembers the SO((U))Lherverse project

Sounds of Life: What is SO((U))Lherverse?

DJ afifa: SO((U))Lherverse is a series of "mixtapes" or compilations to mark International Women's Day.  In 2012 Amina Doherty approached me with the idea for the collaboration.


Sounds of Life: How did you approach the compilations?

DJ afifa: Amina had the overall idea. We talked about what she wanted each compilation to sound like and then my role was to create something around that. The core was always selecting a diverse range of female voices. That was the first challenge organizing the selection. I knew i wanted to do something different with the 3rd compilation. I was able to include a conversation with the selections. I experimented with live recording of a conversation at the SO((U))L HQ. I also thought it would be cool to include selections by another dj, Ear Audigy who i was working closely with at the time at Zanj Radio. The selections came from all three of us Ear Audigy, Amina and myself. I just wanted it to be interesting to listen to.

Sounds of Life: What do remember most about the project?

DJ afifa: It was something i looked forward to doing. i remember the last one the most. Recording the live conversation at the HQ. It was a cool reasoning that night i am glad we could have done it that way.

Why is remembering important?

There are 9 months left in 2019 and for the rest of the year you can follow the memory and music project with dj afifa on Zanj Radio. The project will explore the relationship between music and memory starting with the following question;
With so much happening around us can we use music to help us process them? How do we remember important events?
How is music connected to our memories?
How is popular music shaping our memories?
How far can we remember?
Why is remembering important?

Listen to the electromagnetic radiation with dj afifa on Zanj Radio 10pm to 12 midnight-5UTC and Crocus Bag a Tings 6-7pm- 5UTC on Zanj Radio

Dj Zanj Racc presents Church Wars

CHURCH WARS, is a soundscape documentary produced and curated by DJ Zanj Rracc.  Church Wars feature details about behaviours and ideas that find themselves in one of the world’s most influencing spaces, a church, despite being contradictory to its ideals.

The soundscape documentary takes its listeners/audience on a journey that explores the mob mentality of congregations and their leaders in the houses of the lord.

Listen to Church Wars 

"If i had the wings of a dove" - a Tribe film Project

"if i had the wings of a dove" is a soundscape created by dj afifa for Simone Harris and her Tribe film project. The video was shot and edited by Isabel Dennis and the video concept and performance is by Simone Harris.Here is a preview of the film project.

What is Drone music

This is the first in a series of articles on "netlabel music" or music genres popular in the netlabel community. Our first genre is drone music.

Drone music, drone-based music, or simply drone, is a subgenre of minimal music that emphasizes the use of sustained sounds, notes, or tone clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmonic variations throughout each piece. La Monte Young, one of its 1960s originators, defined it in 2000 as "the sustained tone branch of minimalism". ^- wikipedia

 
Here is a list of articles we found which talk about drone music. 


http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2018/12/a-brief-history-of-drone

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/the-history-of-drone-music-culminates-in-now-thats-what-i-call-drone/260330/

https://www.textura.org/archives/articles/dronesarticle.htm

https://www.juliusdobos.com/the-philosophy-behind/ambient-vs-newage/


https://pitchfork.com/features/resonant-frequency/5879-resonant-frequency-17/

https://hyperallergic.com/154631/spending-an-evening-with-a-maestro-of-drone-music/

In part 2 we will look at ambient music.

Subscribe to Sounds of Life on Telegram

A Sounds of Life Channel can now be found on the messaging service telegram.


Download telegram and subscribe to the channel to receive our latest releases, field recordings, sound samples, artist interviews, films, books and visual art projects directly to your desktop or mobile devices.


We look forward to connecting the diverse community of djs, experimental musicians and sound artist globally.

Dj Zanj Rracc presents Power of the Pussy

Our first release for 2019 is the "Power of the Pussy" mixtape curated and produced by Dj Zanj Rracc. The mixtape features an exclusive selection of current female hip hop and fusion artists.
Zanj Rracc describes the "Power of the Pussy as "a conversation that is being had between various tracks on the mixtape. It is a rush of opinions, points of view and ideas around Pussy Power today (or as some call it empowerment)." He explains that "the ideas around the Power of the Pussy are diverse. They take on a variety of meaning for different women and the Pussy’s power can be used innumerably, in a myriad of life changing ways. Each track offers of an idea or opinion of how the Pussy’s power can be wielded, ranging from the cold hardcore street counsel of hip hop queen Baby Mutha to the mystikal Adzekolo (Voodoo Pussy) by fusion artist Azizaa"