Old Money, image: Lichiban

oss: How are things going that side?
A.J: Quite well. Can’t complain at all. I mean, we could, but you’ve got your own problems don’t you?

How’s NYC?
The same as it’s ever been. Beautiful and ugly. ‘Life In Marvelous Times’ by Mos Def pretty much captures my feelings on it at the moment.

How do you find the current state of hip-hop?
I don’t follow hip-hop too closely these days. And by these days I mean past several years. Most of what I listen to has no words or words that ain’t English. From what I glean though, it’s vibrant. It’s evolving. I think what I’d like to see though, beyond new faces and new clothes and new types of beats getting out there, is also some more progressive representation in terms of attitudes/lifestyle/etc. ‘Hot new artists X Y and Z’ are cool and might have the hot streetwear shit but if a dude got the same mind state as his predecessors then that doesn’t bode well for women, gay people, poor people and so on…

Ahmad Julian aka Scheme, image: Olivia Seally

Do you feel it’s an interesting moment to be in the music industry?
Yeah…. now there’s no model on how to ‘make it.’ Though to be frank, we stopped giving a shit about that in the traditional sense a while ago. Anyway, it’s interesting because there’s more people than ever (or so it feels/seems) making music.

But the machine as we once knew it is pretty much dead.

So, what’s behind the name OLD MONEY
We thought about what we weren’t (wealthy white people in America) and just went with that. We’re thinking about changing our name to CRIME though, it gets more to the point of how old money muhfuckas got their shit anyway.

Moozlim Oils Sage - Behind-The-Scenes, image: MEGA.DOPE.POP

 
You have such a unique blend of influences, tell us a bit about the mix you put together for VANE.
That’s really what it was about – showing some of our influences and the connectedness of the communities where this music is coming from – and also connecting it to the past. If we really went in though, like for real for real, that shit woulda’ been 12 hours long.

Why do you feel it important to ‘stretch the limits of new age music’?
It’s really just about keeping ourselves entertained at this point. Andre and I have been making music together for a while now. So one year, we might wanna rap our asses off. The next, we’re making punk tracks that you might not ever hear. And the next, only recording chants over soca and hopping around on stage.

You’ve mentioned Spoek Mathambo, are there any other SA artists that you guys are listening to/spreading the word about?

DJ Spoko‘s shit is dope. I’ve only heard a couple joints but would love to hear more. Dirty Paraffin. DJ Mujava. Culoe De Song. A few others.

Any comment on Die Antwoord?
Not really.

 

 
Tell us a bit about the Visitors mix that debuted on The New Inquiry.
We, along with Lamin Fofana, didn’t feel like doing some trendy shit. We thought it would be more interesting to get to the root of the forms we fuck with today. For those that don’t know, a lot of the approach and production techniques used in dub reggae decades ago is where a lot of the experimentation in modern electronic music comes from. Thematically, we also felt it was fitting given the cosmic vibe of a lot of the records we were drawn to – and our whole shit is like real life black science fiction anyway. Hence ‘Visitors’.

Any plans to visit here in the future?
Book us and we’ll be in there like swimwear.

Do you go back to Jamaica often?
I’ve been back a couple of times in the past few years after a long stretch of not going. No offence to mi bredren, but I’m trying to see some new shit.

Any gigs/festivals coming up that you’ve been amped about for a while?
We just played a benefit for Hurricane Sandy victims that was thrown by our friend Va$htie. ‘Amped about for a while’ might not be the right description, since the whole thing came together just a couple of days before, but it went really well and it was really nice of her to have us be a part of it.

Our dream is for all parties to have some sort of social component.

Other than that – we have a record that just came out with the homie Lamin Fofana – so expect us to hit a few spots on the east coast of the US in the coming weeks/months. SXSW and some international things on the horizon for next year.

 

 
Your music video for ‘DC1A-+- Gamma Rayz (snippet)‘ presented some interesting views on humanity and philosophy while diving into Egypt’s history. Elaborate a little for us.
Well it all, more or less, stems from the fact that niggas is the OG E.T.s (original extra-terra-astrals). Sun-Ra said that ‘if you find Earth boring / just the same old, same thing / come on sign up with Outer Spaceways Incorporated.‘

I love that song, but if I could amend it I’d make it say ‘if you find Earth fucking intolerable’, because that’s what it’s been like for people of colour. Particularly poor ones. So it shouldn’t be no surprise that niggas stay looking back. Looking forward. And looking up. Because if we look around, we’ll go crazy. Everyday lunacy being accepted as the norm is enough to drive a good-hearted individual mad. And we’re barely holding it together over here.

Andre Oswald, image: by MEGA.DOPE.POP

Old Money, image: Lichiban

In creating your diaspora music, what’s one thing you always try to do?
Make something that’ll stand up to our own critiques.

How have you been received by your local audiences?
It varies. Sometimes it’s all love. Like, some people seem genuinely refreshed to see/hear us. Sometimes it’s ‘what the fuck?’

What do you guys do when you are not making music?
Read. Currently Bloodchild & Other Stories by Octavia Butler. Live. Watch some shit on Netflix. Kick it with dope individuals that inspire us. Shouts to ALIEN!

Any views on the whole ‘Mayan’ thing?
If I’m supposed to be scared, I’m not.

Beat-wise, what can we expect in 2013?
Evolution from Old Money. The New Black Mythology.

Old Money, image: Lichiban

Lastly, any chance of giving us a little rhyme?
Fantastic phantasm
Wanted for a lab experiment by NASA
Extract the data, coat the space capsules
Shield from the UV Rays that’s coming at ‘em.

Breaking atoms, since Adam’s rib, smashin’
Black magic, speed through the space fabric
…leave a demon choked
And fleeing for horizons receding on approach.

Bankhead (WAV file) bouncin’
Douse ‘em with flames like he Dhalsim
I’m like a hunned thousand pounds of 24 carat piled in
Draped in cowskin the color of fresh scallion.

Flames hopskotch in my veins.
Blood made from molten gold chains.
Conductor of a high vibration.
Charles Darwin didn’t die…I ate him.

…Survival of the what
I’m ridin’ on a comet, kamikaze, nigga what
Who could I be? Prolly starbody
Blue navi, annunaki, make you spill ya lil’ mochafrappalatte.

Who could I be? Prolly starbody
Over Hoover’s dead body, put my dick where his eye be.
(Then) teleport to a project lobby
Free minds, now he got the FBI tryin’ to find him.

taken from Chants – ‘Night After Night’ (Old Money Remix)

Some links!!!

Check out OLD MONEY’s SoundCloud, music videos & Blog. The single – Ethiopia b/w Nāga by Old Money & Lamin Fofana – is available now on iTunes and bandcamp. And Keep track of what are up to by following them on Twitter!
 

Old Money & Lamin Fofana, image: Olivia Seally

 
images: OLD MONEY, Lichiban, Olivia Seally, MEGA.DOPE.POP

Image: readmyego.com

From Learned Evolution to The Meta Agency and #FEED, your work is strongly tied to social media and the physical space. Lots of people assume different identities online. How do you facilitate interconnectivity in the physical world from online interactions when people behave differently in the two dimensions?

I tend to look at things in terms of evolutionary metaphysics:

we all have varying degrees of self that manifest in different vehicles at different times within different environments

So first, it’s best to understand the possibilities and limitations of each and design within those parameters. It starts with intention of the ‘feeling’ – the emotional resonance is the core mission – and builds from there. Waving your hands and making things move is cool for a few seconds, but without the feeling it won’t leave a lasting impression be it physical or online. But over all else it has to be FUN!

Image: ©Jenny Sathngam, facebook.com

Social media works through Internet access. Less than half of South African households have Internet access. How do you respond to the challenge of building communities and experiences in the physical word using online media when so many people have limited online access?

Wow, that is quite a question that I’m afraid has to start at the political level and how they define basic needs.

Can Internet be considered as fundamental as food, clothing, shelter, electricity?

This leaves more responsibility in the hands of those that do have access to fight that much harder and find creative ways to get access to those who don’t. Information is power… a dangerous fundamental need from a political power standpoint.
 

Technology is constantly changing, but Twitter and Facebook have been hegemonic of social media trends and behaviors for a while now. What do you think will be the next evolution or wave of social media?

Every evolving system will eventually face this challenge, and eventually the large hegemony will bifurcate into smaller more niche entities. The next evolution will find more action based tools that drive people offline into definitive action, then back to online to share their results so we can them optimise that data. We call this the ‘self perpetuating feedback loop’. The more we can create a ‘positive hall of mirrors’ the deeper the impact will be.

Soon we will look at social media channels as a vast toolbox for action: be it social, cultural, personal, political, entertainment, etc.

#FEED powered by Twitter: Day 1 – “Generating Synchronicity” from #FEED powered by Twitter on Vimeo.

Image: ©Jenny Sathngam, facebook.com

#FEED was an experiment in ‘generating synchronicity’. In this context what’s the difference between synchronicity and interactivity or interconnectivty?

Synchronicity is the subjective/internal ‘meaning’ based side of interconnectivity, while external/objective side of the same coin is interconnectivity. Blurring this line of duality is at the heart of everything we do.

Between the subjective and objective is where the meaningful, resonant magic is made

The majority of South Africans access online content through cellphones. Do you think mobile phones can have the same level of community-based connectivity as computers?

Even more connectivity… they are better for action based platforms that drive the self perpetuating feedback loops. They are more active tools, rather than passive resources.

Image: ©Jenny Sathngam, facebook.com

Social media interactivity seems to be primarily geared to younger audiences and users. Are you interested in using social media in relation to older generations?

Absolutely! I think it is more about stage of conscious evolution than age. I know some pretty interconnected older folks who are incredibly self aware. Thus, the focus needs to be how to raise awareness levels. Doing so will by default get more people into interconnected social media platforms. This is focusing on creating tools that advance internal, subjective mechanisms. Focusing on the causal influences rather than on the bandaid solutions that perpetuate the problems.
 

You say interactive social media art at #FEED was about capturing social media and putting it into the physical form of art before it became lost. Do you think there other ways to use the user generated content of social media before it floats away in a cloud?

Of course there are. The field of predictive data analytics is incredibly fascinating, if a bit Big Brother.

Using social media to predict and foster positive change is going to become more and more prevalent for applications in medical/healthcare, cultural and social action, politics, entertainment, etc

We like to say we’re ‘making Big Data FUN’. But of course there are infinite ways to use Big Data.

Image: ©Jenny Sathngam, facebook.com

A lot of the #FEED installations were based on visual integrations. Online media in general is focused on images over the texts. Do you think people are too lazy to read or are images just that much more exciting?

Visual images are the carrot, but at the other end of the stick the content still has to be meaningful in order for quality change to occur

The visual content is a Trojan horse, but you have to get past the wall before the warriors can jump out and make change.

Laziness is likely a factor, but I think it has more to do with how our brain processes patterns of information more than any other factor.
 

#FEED was incredibly successful at SXSW. Do you hope to evolve it beyond festivals and maybe move it beyond American borders?

YES! Now that we’ve done two years of successful events, it’s time to scale the model to other events around the world. #FEED can’t exist in a vaccuum; it has to ‘feed’ off other enviroments to work. We’re planning on Art Basel, Fashion Week(s), Cannes, and similar events. Ultimately, we can be doing #FEED somewhere on Earth all year round.

It’s a meta-linear platform that can exist as a permanent installation (think: #FEEDnyc – a museum that just feeds manifests social happening around NYC) or in conjunction with another event. It can be a single installation, or a three-floor megaplex. It’s designed to scale and modulate as needed.

Image: ©Jenny Sathngam, facebook.com

You say that simplicity and consistency are crucial in using and building a brand via social media successfully. You need to ‘carry the same voice across all media but understand the different nuances of each’. How do you make this voice appeal to a variety of different people with different interests?

One of my favorite quotes of all time is Heidegger’s ‘Language is the house of Being’. So it all comes down to creating systems of language that are designed for simultaneity, rather than myopic targeting.

Again we find the Trojan horse scenario.

Certain words have loaded meanings for certain stages of consciousness, and if you choose these loaded words you’ll in effect scare off a certain market

Sometimes that is a good thing, but most if not all of our projects, from Brooklyn Bowl to #FEED, are grounded upon inclusivity and integration, so creating language systems that reflect simultaneity and inclusiveness at their core is the first step to success. Or, so I ‘say’.

Image: ©Jenny Sathngam, facebook.com

Images: facebook.com, Jenny Sathngam, readmyego.com

Questions and introduction: Ra’eesa Pather

Water and Sound Experiment #2

Have you ever seen water flowing backwards? Using a rubber hose, a speaker, some water, tone generating software, and a 24 frame-per-second capable camera you can make it happen. These simple tools create a scientific optical illusion that’ll have water curling into spirals with the turn of a tap. The false impression is produced by adjusting the volume of water and producing a 24 Hz sine wave. The camera helps a little too.
 

Do Ho Suh’s ‘Karma’ installation at NOMA
 

Image: juxtapoz.com/

Extraordinary Korean installation artist, Do Ho Suh, has managed to create a giant H.R. Giger look-alike alien tail out of 98 men standing on top of each other. The stainless steel art piece , named ‘Karma’, was recently installed in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art. At 23 feet tall this piece is a must to see.
 

Portable Clip-On Mobile Phone Camera Lens (wide angle, marco, and fisheye lens)
 

Image: jexstarshop.blogspot.com/

This portable clip-on detachable camera lens is compatible with mobile phones and digital cameras. The mobile fish eye lens allows users to see an image with a range of 180 degrees from the right to the left on their mobile phones. The macro lens can capture microscopic details on the pictures it snaps. A wide angle lens is also available to take pictures of large ranges, such as crowds of people, buildings, and landscapes. The Portable Clip-On Mobile Phone Camera Lens makes it possible for ordinary people to enjoy a fish-eye world of images.
 

shop.brando.com/

Spanish Smart Home
 

Image: expatica.com/

There has always been a murmur about smart homes, and now they’re becoming a reality. A Spanish company has designed a prototype apartment that uses gaming technology to create interactive living spaces. Check the latest online news on your living room wall or tap your finger to redecorate your bedroom with a projected scenery video of your choice.
 

CV Dazzle
 

Image: adamhrv.tumblr.com/

CV Dazzle™ is a form of expressive interference that takes the shape of makeup and hair styling (or other modifications) created by Adam Harvey. The name is derived from CV, a common abbreviation for computer vision, and Dazzle, a type of camouflage used during WWI. Dazzle camouflage was originally used to break apart the gestalt image of warships, making it hard to discern their directionality, size, and orientation. Likewise, the goal of CV Dazzle is to break apart the gestalt of a face or object, and make it undetectable to computer vision algorithms, in particular face detection. In this way CV Dazzle aims to tackle face detection software and counter surveillance technology.
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Google+ and adidas Talking Shoe
 

jonnymetbird.com/

Talking computers have been around for a while, but Google’s Art, Copy, and Code in conjunction with interactive design studio YesYesNo and artist Zach Lieberman have taken this concept a step further – literally. The adidas smart sneaker talks to its wearer. If you’re sitting down it’ll complain of boredom and if you score a goal it’ll verbally high five you. The smart sneaker has a personality of its own, employing a snarky attitude when its unhappy, and a joyful tone when it’s walking around.The shoe was showcased at this year’s SXSW and with development progressing, your clothing might just become your new companion.
 

Touch Sound: The Seaboard
 

news.bbcimg.co.uk

London-based company Roli has designed the Seaboard – an instrument that takes making music to a whole new sensory experience. The Seaboard mimics the concept of a piano, but while a piano key functions as an on/off switch, the Seaboard allows the composer to have precise control over the pitch, volume, and timbre of each note. The Seaboard is a new musical instrument that essentially blurs the line between digital and acoustic sound production.
 

Images via news.bbcimg.co.uk, jonnymetbird.com, adamhrv.tumblr.com, expatica.com, shop.brando.com, juxtapoz.com, jexstarshop.blogspot.com/2012/07/
 

Words: Ra’eesa Pather