Midweek Beats + Pieces vol.22

Sharayet el Disco, Susumu Yokota, Dazed, Thattu Pattu, etc

Good morning. Against all odds, this week’s newsletter is coming out in the middle of the week again. No photos this week, however, so the artwork included relates to the various things I’ve been writing about/doing. Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into it all.

WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING:

I interviewed the Amsterdam-based Egyptian vinyl & cassette collector, blogger and DJ Moataz Rageb, aka Disco Arabesquo for Test Pressing. We discussed the stories behind Sharayet el Disco, a forthcoming compilation of funky eighties Egyptian music he has put together for Wewantsounds. Read more here.

The archive of our Susumu Yokota tribute is live on the Dublab website now. You can listen to it here. If you’re a fan of Yokota-san’s music, you’re going to want to hear his friends talking about him over the top of some of their favourite songs of his.

Sweetie is an emerging 22-year-old electronic musician from Colombo, Sri Lanka. At the behest of the Thattu Pattu project and the Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka, I wrote a short blurb about his new live video of his song ‘Awadhi’. Check it all out here.

Every three months, I write a recap of ten interesting recently-released albums and EPs from around the world for Dazed. The Q1 2022 edition of my column is live over here now. Amazing to think I’m five years deep with this one.

FIVE YEARS AGO:

Five years ago, I wrote about How YouTube autoplay gave a lost Japanese classic new life for Dazed.

WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:

Nathan Tuft on The Writers Block: Journalists Shaping The Creative Industries. Four capsule interviews with Amal AlTauqi, Amuna Wagner, Nicolas-Tyrell Scott and Ira Alecia.

Morgan Godfery for The Guardian on the recently deceased Māori lawyer Moana Jackson, the most articulate, original and forceful intellectual of his generation.

Despite being a cornerstone of UK dance music since its beginnings, MCs don't always get the love they deserve. Richard Akingbehin unpacks and celebrates their role for Resident Advisor.

Kyiv's John Object speaks to Paul Hanford for Mixmag about the Russian invasion, rushing to archive his musical legacy, and enlisting in the army to protect Ukraine.

The Afro house sound is an ever-growing presence in UK dance music, with new labels, club-nights and a dedicated radio station springing up. Alongside a mix from Mr Silk, Ria Hylton explores the sound’s history for DJ Mag, and speaks to some of the scene’s key players about forging strong connections with their growing audiences, and their aim to nurture a unique UK Afro house identity.

FIN.