Just recently, Berlin hosted again the Worldtronics festival with various music events. One of the highlights though was a side conference titled “Postcolonial Piracy”, which explored the global aspects of cultural piracy. The conference talked on how sampling, copying or recycling of electronic materials can be the only way for artists in the southern hemisphere to gain access to globalized cultural production. One of the questions raised was: What influence does this postcolonial piracy have on our interpretation of aesthetics and authorship?

The conference promoted a re-orientation that focuses on postcolonial piracy primarily as a strategy of access to global modernity and as a culture that demands to be understood in its own right. Discussing examples from across the globe that show how both everyday and artistic strategies of medial copying and recycling are currently changing legal, economic, social and aesthetic concepts of authorship and originality. The conference host, Ravi Sundaram from Delhi, India, gave a very interesting interview on the conference´s various topics for Berlin Reboot FM which can be heard here:

Worldtronics Piracy (2011-12-04) Ravi Sundaram by reboot.fm

Berlin´s G.I. Disco crew are the German capitol city specialists in bringing back 1980s electro funk and boogie. Moreover, the parties and the compilation release of G.I. Disco have lately raised awareness of the cultural impact that the post WW II presence of U.S. troops in West Germany´s occupation zones created from the 1950s to late 1980s. The American forces not only brought Elvis (who served a few years in Germany), but also r´n´b, disco, rap and electro funk to Germany, first played in “G.I. Discos”, specifically devised for the U.S. forces troop personnel. So when DJ Kalle Kuts from G.I. Disco sent us their rework of João Brasil´s “L.O.V.E. Banana” we thought: This is how “L.O.V.E. Banana” could´ve sounded like if it would´ve been released in the 1980s. This is one of the best remixes we received so far. Boogie on!

Joao Brasil feat. LoveFoxx: “L.O.V.E. Banana” (G.I. DISCO Re-Fix) by Kalle Kuts

Save the date! On May 14th, we´ll celebrate the release of my “Rambazamba” album in Berlin w/DJ Beware, Isa GT (Live), Schowi and Johnny Flash @ Picknick Club in Mitte.

Watch the video from the last HEAT party in Berlin @ Maria featuring Schlachthofbronx, Douster, Bert On Beats & Anbuley, Oliver $ and Daniel Haaksman..

Thanks to Dickon Stone for shooting and editing the video.

The “Karneval Der Kulturen”, Berlin´s answer to the Nottinghill Carnival will take place next Sunday on the streets of Kreuzberg. After the parade, the Carribean Invasion hits Club Maria next to the Ostbahnhof. On it´s 2nd floor (Club Joseph called, hehe) Edu K and me will bring some Man Rec tropical beats to the masses. Special guest So Shifty will present grimey bass beats on top. Come down!