Parts Unknown: 911 Funk, Another Day in EPA, and Time for Turmoil
From Time for Turmoil (Self Release, 1991)

Some raw Bay Area heat was brought to my attention last week, a tape called Time for Turmoil released by East Palo Alto’s Parts Unknown in 1991. A fascinating time capsule into Bay Area rap, with influences coming from all corners of hip hop. “911 Funk” has that classic Bay Area bounce, while “Another Day in EPA” has a golden era feel to it, and “Time for Turmoil” sounds like a stripped down Bomb Squad production. Hearing stuff like this makes me want to delve deeper into the Bay’s rap vaults, although I’m not sure I have the time or money to add another genre to my music fetishes. A cassette copy just sold on ebay for $325. Damn!

At the very least someone needs to step up and start reissuing stuff like this. There’s certainly a market for it, and I’m sure there’s an endless supply of dope raps dying to be unearthed.

Soul Scrapbook marks the beginning of a new feature on D.I.A. – a showcase of vintage photography, album covers and anything else in the way of music related graphics. I mean, the music is where it’s at, but sometimes I get just as excited flipping through a batch of stunning photos, and this set that I’m about to share is definitely no exception.

For this first post I’m thrilled to share an amazing collection of vintage soul, jazz, funk and gospel photos I was fortunate enough to stumble upon – essentially a who’s who of all things soulful from the 50′s through the 70′s. You can click on the thumbnails above to start the slideshow or you can go directly to my new flickr page where you can view the entire set (only about 50 out of 100 are posted here). I’ll be uploading all of my scrapbook photos, mixtape covers, as well as other music related images onto this page, and I probably won’t post about it all so I’d recommend adding it to your bookmarks or checking it periodically so you don’t miss anything.

Enjoy!

Favela on Blast is the directorial debut of Wesley Pentz (better known as DJ and producer Diplo) and Leandro HBL. A true labor of love and years in the making, the documentary explores Brazil’s vibrant musical subculture called Baile Funk, as Pentz travels deep into favelas to examine the artists and communities that have helped shape this culture, as well as the output of his Mad Decent label.

Really looking forward to watching this. You can get a digital copy for only $5 here.

As I’m currently working on a project involving typographic treatments and motion graphics, I’ve been looking for possible things to reference. This Cee-Lo video came just in the nick of time as it’s a perfect example of how engaging simple text animation can be, and is very close to the vision I had in mind for this particular project. The old school film treatment is a nice touch too.

Hi-Fi from bante on Vimeo.

This is a really cool video celebrating Reid Miles’ work for Blue Note records, and his monumental impact on album cover art and graphic design. Seriously, if you flip through the CD bins at your local record store you’ll see how many people his work has influenced. The video was made to promote a series of summer jazz concerts at the Bella Vista Social Pub in Siena, Tuscany.

You can learn more about Miles here and see the side-by-side comparisons of the original cover art with the hi-fi versions.

Miles Cleret, founder of UK-based Soundway Records, is inspired by music from some of the world’s most colorful cultures. From Africa to Latin America to the Caribbean, Cleret has made it his life’s mission to scour the world for sounds on the brink of extinction, in some cases sourcing the artists and learning about the context of the music, all culminating with the re-release on his imprint.

Anyone can put together a comp, but few put the type of thought, depth and presentation that Cleret does into his releases. The liner notes are like text books, going into the history and back-story of every release. You can tell he doesn’t just want you to hear the music, but he wants you to understand it as well.

For more check out this nice interview with Cleret up on Vice Magazine.

Hey friends.

I got around to redesigning the site this weekend which I hope you will find a bit more organized and intuitive. I’m still tweaking things here and there and am constantly looking for ways to improve the site, so if you find any bugs or have any ideas or features you would like to see please get in touch.

The functionality of the site remains pretty much the same. You have your navigation up top now instead of to the side. The latest D.I.A. mix will always be featured on top of the sidebar, and below that you’ll find a “Mix of the Moment” section featuring a mix that I’ve been listening to recently. I may not always have time to post about such mixes so I thought this would be a good way to at least get it out there.

Additionally, I’ve added some social networking features, namely Twitter and Facebook. I tried for a long time to resist the Twitter craze, but I’ve been told that it’s great for blogs so I’m taking a stab at it. I’ve also created a Facebook page for D.I.A. which you can become a fan of. It may take a little time to get both of these things up and running at full capacity, but I definitely intend to use both of them to their fullest potential. Lastly, you’ll also find a ShareThis link at the bottom of each post which makes it super easy to share content through a variety of different channels.

Other than that, everything else is pretty much the same – recommendations, links, archives and all that good stuff.

And I’m currently working on this for the 1-year anniversary of Dreams in Audio.

Get excited….

Alemayehu Eshete: Kochen Messassate
From Kochen Messassate b/w Alemayehu Eshete 7″ (Amha, 1973)

Like many people, I was introduced to Ethiopian music through Mulatu Astatke, the most commercially successful Ethiopian musician, arranger and composer and whose career seems to be enjoying a second wind through renewed interest in his work. But I must admit, beyond Astatke, I don’t know a whole lot, partly because of the obscurity of the music and the fact that I can never remember anyone’s names. However, this gem by Alemayehu Eshete entitled Kochen Messassate is one I will never forget – a late night jazz vibe with heartfelt vocals. I don’t speak Ethiopian so I have no idea what he’s singing about, but it resonates with unparalleled depth and soul.

Academy Records and Frank at Voodoo Funk will soon be releasing the heavily anticipated CD and 7″ box set for the Psychedelic Aliens, an obscure rock outfit from Ghana that released the obscenely rare EP pictured above. Original copies are pretty much non-existent, and thanks to the dusty fingers and hard work of Frank and Academy, this was really the only way anyone was going to hear it. In my mind, this is what reissues are all about – taking something that literally only a handful of people have heard and bringing it to a wider audience, in effect resurrecting a long deflated music career. I can’t wait.

Check out the promo below, hot off the press.