Man Recordings Inspiration Series #3 : Malcolm McLaren Buffalo Gals

Malcolm McLaren is known for being the ex-husband of Vivienne Westwood and the manager cum impressario making the Sex Pistols break punk rock on a global scale. Though one thing that history books largely neglect is that McLaren brought hip hop culture to European audiences. When the video to his song "Buffalo Gals" first aired in 1983 in Europe, armies of teenagers were single handedly introduced to a) scratching b) graffiti c) breakdancing d) postmodernism - with just one magic song. The accompanying album "Duck Rock", conceived as a ficitional NY radio station run by the two MCs of the World´s Famous Supreme Team, in which Zulu music, Salsa, Electro Funk and Hillbilly songs got synthesized into a breathtaking mix is one of my personal top 5 albums of all time. If you want to understand where Man Rec´s 360 degree music approach is rooted - check Malcolm McLaren´s "Duck Rock" (produced by Trevor Horn, with a cover illustration of Keith Haring)



I´m eagerly awaiting the release of "Duck Rock - The Movie" on DVD. Does anyone know any release date?

RIO BAILE FUNK BREAKS - DJ GENE SCRATCH VIDEO

See DJ GENE´s answer video to the RIO BAILE FUNK BREAKS clip:

DJ EDGAR LIVE IN STOCKHOLM

See Baile Funk Master DJ Edgar banging Stockholm with his MPC



Valeu Edgar!!

GHETTOBLASTER #3 @ TAPE CLUB BERLIN

#3 of the Man Recordings party series Ghettoblaster featured special guest Diplo who rocked the bells so hard
the light system broke down. Tape club boasted one of the first evenings with their brand new Function One sound system. The night proved they have the best sound system in town.



Daniel Best and Mr.Wix adjusting the bass


Diplo heating up


Yeahhh


Well done, Wes

"I AM THE MELODY GUY" SERGIO MENDES ON MC GRINGOs "PERNINHA DEPILADA"

Sérgio Mendes is the biggest globalizer of Brazilian music: In the 1960, with support from his mentor, the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sérgio Mendes started to translate Burt Bacharach and the Beatles into Samba and Bossa Nova. Global success followed, establishing Sérgio Mendes as the easy to access symbol of the laid back Copacabana sound.

Mendes recently resurfaced with another Will.I.Am produced album with revisited classics and new songs. In the current May/June issue of German music magazine "Spex" Sérgio Mendes gets asked to give comments on a couple of tracks played to him blindfold. After commenting on songs like "Fool On The Hill" by The Beatles, "Estrela Da Terra" by Dori Caymmi and Nouvelle Vague´s "A Forest", MC Gringo´s "Perninha Depilada" is played. Here´s his comments:

SM: "This is baile funk, right? Funk is very popular in Brazil these days. The kids dance to this music all night long and freak out to this beat. I dont understand though what the guy is singing. Is he a foreigner?"

Spex: It might be his Swabian-German accent. MC Gringo is a German from Stuttgart who performs on bailes in Rio and he raps in Portugese. In this track he´s talking about a recent summer trend on the beaches of Rio - it´s about women that dont shave their leg hair but color them with peroxide.

SM: "Pardon me? I think I heard of this MC Gringo. The lyrics are nonsense of course, we dont have to talk about this. In many of the baile funk tracks people talk crap. Wordplays, jokes. I wouldnt consider it lyrical."

Spex: You dont like baile funk?

SM: "The rhythm is great. It´s in my blood, it´s a lot of fun, because it comes from Samba. I think baile funk is much more interesting than techno, trance and all those new electronic music styles with their simple machine rhythms. On my new album I also use a beat that is inspired by baile funk, it´s on "Look Of Love". Fergie from BEP is singing on this song. It´s the same beat, it´s the pulse of baile funk, the only difference is that it´s played life from my band, it´s not sampled"

Spex: Would you consider to work on one of your upcoming albums with a German artists such as MC Gringo?

SM: "I already do: On my new album there´s a cameo by the German trumpet player Till Brönner. His solo is magnificent!"

Spex: No, we actually mean if could you think of using German lyrics on one of your albums? You work with Italian and Spanish on your new release, you also work with a Japanese singer.

SM: "A song in German? Why not. As long as it feels right. To only sing in Portugese and English is getting a bit boring. For my next album I would like to work with Chinese for the first time. I never went to China and there´s so many interesting instruments! I also would like to work with Russians. But most of all I would like to perfom in Russia. Imagine that: I never played in Russia in my whole life!"

MC GRINGO interviewed by Maga Bo

Maga Bo interviews MC Gringo on his career as
a foreigner in Rio´s baile funk scene. Including unseen and unreleased footage.



Check Gringo´s new hit "Föcki Föcki" - currently big in Rio´s bailes:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/116587678a904fdd/

GHETTOBLASTER #3 THIS THURSDAY @ TAPE CLUB BERLIN

We are proud to present #3 in the Man Recordings Presents Ghettoblaster party series. This Thursday at Tape CLub in Berlin we´ll clash with Mad Decent don DIPLO special guest is DJ Edgar straight outta Rio. Don´t miss it....

Man Recordings Inspiration Series #2 : Jean Paul Goude

Excerpt of the DVD retrospective of French visual engineer Jean Paul Goude. The man who choreographed the unforgettable looks of Grace Jones throughout the 80s has produced numerous other iconographic visual masterpieces, including designing the breathtaking parade for the 200th anniversary of the French revolution in Paris 1989. Things got a little quiet on him lately, but he was to the 80s what Michel Gondry is to the 00s - except that Goude unfortunately never made feature movies. The accompanying book to this trailer is the highly recommendable book "So Far So Goude" (Thames+Hudson) - which is currently sold for bargain prices at Ebay and Zweitausendeins in Germany. Don´t miss it.