Art Radio Call for Content

 Art Radio is a platform for sharing music and sound art. The station is managed by dj afifa. This is a general call for content from artist. musicians, producers and interested persons. 

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

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

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.

"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.

The Sounds of Life sound art series

 

The Electromagnetic radiation with Dj afifa on Zanj Radio is now one of our official Sounds of life podcasts. Here is the latest episode. Listen live to Zanj Radio 10-12 midnight -5utc.
Selections

1. DJ Spooky - dis poem burns babylon 
2. The GOJ IIMF Mission Review Press Conference - September 21 2018 
3. Anthony B - Mr. Heartless 
4. Sho0t Out In Mountain View Kingston Jamaica Jarret Lane Rock Fort 
5. Bob Marley - Slave Driver
6. Che - Suite para Pereio 
7. Day 2 of NIDS Court Case (TVJ Midday News) October 23 2018 
8. Day 3 of NIDS Court Case Biometric Data Needed for ID (TVJ Midday News) October 24 2018 
9. Che - Ainda te pego - bonus track 
10. Femi Kuti - Sorry Sorry 
11. Credo (The Nicene Creed) 
12. Psalm 24 Chant 
13. dj afifa - the body of a 9 yr old girl 
14. Uyama Hiroto feat. Iyunda - Uyama Hiroto feat. Iyunda-I-I chant 
15. dj afifa - sons and daughters of Marcus Garvey compose an unfinished melody 
16. dj afifa - voice of america scripture reading 
17. Grace Jones - Devil Dub
18. The Roots - Livin' In A New World (Feat. John-John) 
19. Things We Do For Love - Horace Brown (1996) (1) 
20. dj afifa - kirknugent remix 
21. Errol Dunkley - Betcha By Golly Wow 
22. dj afifa - NETOREMIX1 
23. dj afifa - TAKURA REMIX1 
24. Kraak And Smaak - Plastic People 
25. Captain Planet feat. Chico Mann - Un Poquito Mas 
26. Bruce Golding says Citizens were not at Risk West Kingston Inquiry 
27. EARL FLUTE - The Betrayer [1972] 
28. dj afifa - nothing matters 
29. Oku Onuora & AK7 - Dread Times - Pressure Drop LP - Blue Moon 
30. Vybz Kartel - Time (Viking) Lyrics

DJ afifa presents: the Dub Poetry mixtape vol.1

Here is the most recent release of the Dub Poetry mixtape by dj afifa. The mixtape was created in 2017 for Ras Takura's "Dis Poem Wordz and Agro Fest" at the Neville Antonio Park in Port Antonio, Portland.

The mix was first aired during the Electromagnetic Radiation with dj afifa on Zanj Radio.The artwork for this mixtape are from pictures taken by Sokari Ekine at the Studio Be art gallery in New Orleans.

"I will be doing more mixtapes like this. Dub poetry is an art form that has influenced my life significantly.I am actively looking for new dub poets all over the world, i enjoying compiling interesting work and interesting ideas in the "dub style"- dj afifa

Physical copies of the mixtape can be purchased at the Sounds of Life store at the So((u))l hq, or Di Institute for Social Leadership.

Special preview of the Power of the Pussy

Last Friday, the Electro Magnetic Radiation with dj afifa on Zanj Radio featured a guest set by Dj Zanj Racc and a preview of his latest work the "The Power of the Pussy".

Dj Zanj Racc is a selecta, music curator and founder of Zanj Radio. He presents the World Music Fusion on Zanj Radio Saturdays 5-7pm -5utc.

Listen to the latest episode here

5 Questions with DJ Afifa

1. Many people find what you do  interesting but weird and sometimes confusing. Do you do this deliberately and why do you think this might be the case?

*Laughs* I can imagine....I think I understand why it might appear that way. It gets confusing because I didn’t go to art school and I have a PhD but I don’t present papers or work in a university.  I believe art is life and I bring my life, that consists of a range of different backgrounds and experiences, mix it up and present it as my art. I think maybe it would be easier to understand if it was okay to mix things up, but people tend to compartmentalize everything so it’s not really the case. I guess, then, you could say I am doing it deliberately but I don’t feel there is much of a choice for me to do it any other way. I just prefer to use what I really love to explore myself and the world, so I play around with ideas and concepts and try to create new things. Laughs. I take everything I learn personally so whatever I think about I try to practice. I don’t know if I’ve confused you even more, but that’s kinda how I think about it. I would like to find out more about how other people would explain my art because maybe it has nothing to do with what I think.

 

  

2. Where are you now in your art?

Hmmmm… I have been working through and thinking through a lot of things. It has been tough and fulfilling at the same time. At times I have had doubts and fears about how everything will all work out and had to dig deep to remind myself about how I got here and where I really see myself going. I use my show on Zanj Radio to practice and work through what it really means for me to be a dj and a sound artist. I use it to help me figure out who is dj Afifa essentially. This has been my main focus over the last 2 years, and today I  have a much better idea about what I want to do as a dj and sound artist. I am working on a project that I feel confident in developing.  I am excited about it actually. I am creating a distinctive area for my work where I bring together  discussions, sound and space. I think I am at the stage where I can see how they can all fit other and I am recommitting to continue making it work. 

 

3. So who is dj Afifa now? 

Well she is a selecta who works on sound projects and she makes spaces inspired by music.... yea that's where dj Afifa is.focused right now.

 

 4. Tell us about something that you have been working on that you would like people to listen to? 

Well.... The body of a nine year old girl is a sound art project that I would like people to listen to and talk about. It is a very basic track that I created recently. One day I was listening to the local news on youtube. And I heard a story about a nine year old girl who was found dead in bushes. I heard the story first on TVJnews then again on CVM TV. Both stories started the same way and after looking it up in the newspaper and reading twice, the reality sank in. Why was something like this happening in Jamaica? What is going to happen to the children? I heard some parts of the story play back in my mind. The body... of a nine year old girl. I decided to put the two tracks together and recreate the feeling of being in a room listening to it. I want to know what people think about it. What Jamaican people think and what other people think.

I am really interested in what we listen to and how we are and perceive reality? Like when you hear the first sentence in the newscast does it make you listen more or walk away? I think it’s interesting because this is the news every day in Jamaica. Graphic descriptions of homicides are common place. You can hear it a lot and you can see it. If you want you can listen to the track ‘The body of a nine year old girl’ on my soundcloud. So yea...check it out.

5. Where do you see yourself in 2030?

Yea...2030. I see myself making more spaces inspired by music all over the place....building my catalogue of tracks, developing my soundscaping techniques, and just working on this dj Afifa thing. 

Well, all the best and we look forward to talking to you some more in the future.