Summer 2010: Polypunk 51 is Podita, Italian pop music selected by Michele Cesana with Leen Hilde Haesen. Mixed by MC.

In our ongoing series of guest-curated episodes certain places and times stand out: after Norwegian black metal and Jamaican reggae, our next stop is Italian popular music. Italian music is certainly not unknown outside its home, but once we put the cliches aside what are we left with? Michele & Leen’s selection digs into Italy’s pop realm: old and new music, forgotten and celebrated songs, and all in all a quite fascinating material.

download here (*mp3):

51: Podita (Polypunk in Italy)

50: “BIG STUFF” 1968-1982 Reggae selected by Jah Fouks. Yeah man.

I could tell you the story of how I first met Jah Fouks in Paris and how the guy is the sickest collector I have ever met, redefining the notion of a “want list” ever and ever again, endlessly in search of obscure record shops in the most random places. Or I could tell you the nights we spent talking about The Black Ark and the golden era of Studio One, or how Jah one day told me, “after 1982, it all became too DIGITAL”. But not today. Today is the 50th episode of Polypunk, and we will be drinking rum on the beach and this music will come out of the tiny speakers of the portable cassette, a mixtape of love. Seeeen

50: “BIG STUFF” 1968-1982 Reggae selected by Jah Fouks
A Digiki invitation
April 2010

50: “BIG STUFF” (polypunk) <---MP3

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Polypunk not dead: this year, Polypunk, the podcast series I initiated, will celebrate its fifth year and its 50th episode.

Back in 2005, I imagined Polypunk to be a selection of contemporary sounds, “bits and beats” from around the world.

It could be an annoying over-ground commercial song heard in an airport, a rare re-edit of a disco track, some sugar pop from Malaysia, field recording from Portugal, the genres and styles would not matter as long as the selected bits would connect, “click” with the very moment they were found, noted, selected.

Since 2005, with a few exceptions, I have selected all contents for the show.

Now in 2010, it is time to open and to invite friends, special guests, “curators”, to give us their idea of Polypunk and contemporary sound.

In 2010 Polypunk changes from being a Digiki selection to being a Digiki invitation, and it’s very exciting.

So, no special “anniversary” episode, but rather a year of sound archeology, digging the now.

Happy new decade.

///

To (kick) start 2010, I am pleased to welcome back Olivier Lamm for a very special black metal selection. Olivier did a brazilian selection (selección?) for Polypunk 014.
This time things are very different as he introduces some of his favorites black metal tracks.
What’s striking is the richness of the textures and layers in the music selected by Olivier. I believe we can all learn one or two things here. What’s more, Hendrik Hegray is our cover artist. A perfect match.

Black is the new black.

49:
POLYBLACK
Black Metal Favorites by O.Lamm
Cover art: Hendrik Hegray
A Digiki invitation
February 2010

49:POLYBLACK <---MP3

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December 2009: happy new decade. The transition soundtrack is POLYPUNK.
Selected in Tokyo by Digiki. Art direction by ski projects. Photography by Alin Huma. Enjoy, and see you in 2010.

48:POLYPUNK *.mp3

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Following our events Wrapped party and So Whet, we (Thomas and I) are back with a very special party for Christmas.

With Eat Mas, we want to do a eatable party.

Yes, eatable: imagine if you could eat the furniture, bite in the chandeliers, devour books…
All of this, and a lot more, will be possible on Thursday. Don’t miss the chance!

We are thrilled to work on this event with food designers Shoko Muraguchi, Kaori Oishi and Shuhei Ohata.

To provide the right atmosphere to the feast, .atonal, duck rock, kinkies, zombie at my door and the rare but unmissable home cut will select music to keep you dancing till the early morning. I will bring some records too and (ahem) DJ, under the Anaki alias.

So: Eat Mas, this Thursday, from 9 PM till late, M, Daikanyama. A very special Xmas party, bring your date, tell your friends, meet and eat!

M
Court Daikanyama B1
Shibuya-ku, Nishi - Ebisu 1-33-18
Tokyo, Japan, 150-0021
http://www.M-EVENT-BAR.com

MAP
http://tiny.cc/EATMAS

FACEBOOK group
http://tiny.cc/m8gu0

CHEERS 4 FEARS by digiki

xoxo

This is the end of the decade and I can’t wait to leave the 00’s. Nothing happened in the past 10 years. Let’s move on and START SOMETHING GODDAMNIT.

/// /

I moved to a new place in Tokyo and I can’t find words to say how inspiring, exciting and amazing the new house is.
I am very much looking forward to resuming work on a number of projects, music, art, food, sex, etc

Couldn’t find a better environment to create.

// / ///

It’s already October which means unless a MIRACLE happens I will miss the Venise Biennale again which is quite unforgivable.
(I could do a long list of things I have missed and so could you, but hey let’s move on)

So, 2010.

But wait.
Before the year is out, expect a few POLYPUNKs and hopefully some PHOTOS, my main camera is broken and I have lost the battery of the other one, it’s in one of the carton boxes somewhere.

/ // / / //

YES there is a new Digiki album coming (in 2010) - I’m really smiling as I type this - and in the meantime a lot of my early works (released-unreleased-refused-embarrasing-unfinished-etc) will be available online. Watch this space. (and YES it will include the long forgotten DARSH album we made 5 years ago).

(it’s typhoon time today in Tokyo, but I’ll see you this Friday at SECO BAR with Jeans Team) (I’m a DJ!)

Oh, and I need a decent website.

So whet… Wed September 30 from 9PM

At The Room, Shibuya

with DJs
.atonal
Digiki (tokyo fun party)
Duck Rock
PMKFA (itsourthing)
David Dicembre

Visuals:
Ai-Hz

September 2009: polypunk 46 is Life without objects.
Selected in Transition. I’m moving.

Enjoy.

46: Life without objects (Polypunk) by digiki

46: Life without objects *.mp3

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Creatively, there is indeed a lot going on and I wish to give more details in the near future. I am working on two music collaborations that I want to talk about, I am also preparing a new mix CD (I know it sounds a bit silly to think it is of any importance, but it is to me, it’s the third one I do and the first one in five years, and I see it as a statement about the club/DJ scene, as always, perhaps more political than ever), there is new material being recorded as we speak, this time with collaborators (a long list of people will be involved but it’s much too early to give a “final cut”) for a release in 2010. I believe it won’t be a CD per see, but closer to a DVD or a gallery installation or a collection of videos, visuals are as important as sounds this time.

Talking of visuals and art, I am working to bring some artists I like from Europe to Japan to show their work, again it’s much too early to talk about details but it certainly feels good to have one foot back in the art world.
On the publishing front, expect more contents for Amusement magazine and some output with my partner in crime Alin Huma, we can’t help talking and working on books.

Hope your summer treated you well.

Antonin, Tokyo 9/8/2009

PS: You get older and the things you are good at become clearer and the ones you have been thinking about for a long time become viable options or disappear, and new ideas come into play. How did I do this? changes into I don’t know how I did this, but I wouldn’t do it this way today and it’s all very exciting and liberating. The fear doesn’t disappear, but it becomes softer, because you have done things and been to places and lived situations and you are not going back. You realize you have a lot to give back and a lot to pass and share to others and in the end it doesn’t matter if your friends make huge sums of money or fuck top models or drive Mercedes Benzes because there is no one else in the entire world doing what you are doing. No one can imagine what you will come up with next, and this is fucking exciting.