The Fak’ugesi Conference titled The Future of Creative Innovation & Technology is happening today, the 14th of September. We had a conversation with Benoît Hické, the curator of the French film festival F.A.M.E. He is also one of the panelists for the conference discussion titled ‘Sonic Visions: Understanding new collaborations in film, design and music’.
The ‘Turn-up Talk Series’ is a collection of discussions in which young Jo’burgers share their nocturnal lives: stories and reflections from the city’s dancefloors. The candid conversations explore nightclubs as stages for young people’s negotiations of identity, belonging and power.“This week’s episode is a phat 20-minute story about one woman’s coming-of-age in Johannesburg nightclubs. It’s a tale of transition from the Eastern Cape to Gauteng, from childhood to adulthood. It’s about rumour, romance, space and belonging. An exploration of “How to be black, ‘middle-class’ and ‘hipster’ in a complicated city.”
The ‘Turn-up Talk Series’ is a collection of discussions in which young Jo’burgers share their nocturnal lives: stories and reflections from the city’s dancefloors. The candid conversations explore nightclubs as stages for young people’s negotiations of identity, belonging and power.
‘In this episode, we talk about music, moves and what they say about us’
The ‘Turn-up Talk Series’ is a collection of discussions in which young Jo’burgers share their nocturnal lives: stories and reflections from the city’s dancefloors. The candid conversations explore nightclubs as stages for young people’s negotiations of identity, belonging and power.
This weeks episode is about how we ‘carve out space in nightclubs’.
Produced by Beth Vale
Background music by Ash_fx (@ashfx)
Artlifers are a collective of passionate young creatives from Johannesburg whose interests connect art, politics, society, music and fashion. They first came together while at university, realising that their mutual interests could be better advanced as a crew. Their initial efforts focused on producing streetwear which won them international exposure on a Yahoo feature about South African trends. They also diversified into music with crew members putting in the DJ work at parties and events. But there diverse sociological concerns have now found their perfect medium- podcast radio.
Now on its fourth episode of season three, the Artlifers Show is both a vehicle to give exposure to young artists, while also discussing the frenzied challenges confronting South Africa. This might sound onerous but the crew adapt a laid-back and affable presentation style, which engages with the audience in an enjoyable way. A good example is provided in Episode Three. The broadcast discussed topics from the J.Cole concert to the AFDA film festival. These topics provide a springboard to discuss hefty themes like the climate of toxic masculinity in South Africa and the new moral panic about ‘lean’. As they point out, the media has become fixated on the dangers of cough syrup, while ignoring the far more serious problem of nyaope abuse. Because these topics are discussed casually and with wit, the discussion doesn’t sound like a message from the pulpit or soapbox.
And each episode shows this same subtle attention to tone. The most recent episode Indiependence Day highlights path-finding youth in a number of different industries. Cool Africa looks at the inventive work being done by expatriate South African’s. Along with the talk, each episode is served with a hefty helping of fresh music. South African radio is currently in a dismal place. There is a renewed attempt to enforce censorship on public broadcasters, while private platforms are dominated by self-serving egomaniacs. But with their podcast, Artlifers are keeping the spirit of radio communication alive, and updated for the internet age.
Johannesburg has a dark past of violence and exploitation, and even to this day is often presented as an urban dystopia. But the flip side of this is a long history of creativity, resistance, style and flair. In 2016, the city is keeping this legacy alive with exciting and overlapping developments in music, poetry, literature and fashion. Aiming to archive this current golden age, the Mushroom Half Hour started as a podcast in 2014. Its creators Nhlanhla Mngadi (Kool oNe Ebony), Andrew Curnow (Radio Robert) and Soul Diablo honed an eclectic space for rap, soul, funk and everything in between.
The podcast has now flourished into its own label. Its focus is on bringing together artists from different genre and generations to create special experimental collaborations. The label has now launched a website- on the auspicious date of June 16. The website lands with four new instalments, each of which highlight the sheer amount of talent in the Jo’Burg scene. The website is curated to reflect different artistic formats, with each release contoured to theme .
Lab Sessions features special jam sessions and live performances. It launches with Ithuba Loku Hlola a jam session featuring the likes of João Orecchia (Motel Mari) and various members of acclaimed rock band BLK JKS. The Word on Wax part of the site gives a platform to another form of performance with poets and singers dropping lyrics over special ‘vinyl-based soundscapes’. The pilot performance Makhafula Mushrooms centres on poet Makhafula Vilakazi, with backing from Nosisi Ngakane and Ngoma Makhosi.
In the Mixellaneous section, space is provided for mixed medium collaboration. 40 Years…June 16 honours the date by blending classical music with interview from people who saw the 1976 uprising first hand. And taking the theme of archiving further Choice Pickings hosts specially created mixes. New Power New Power is a journey through both old and contemporary tracks. Overall, the page is a must see portal for new sounds and images.
[mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/Mushroom_Hour_Half_Hour/scamtho-shrooms/ width=100% height=120 hide_cover=1]