Rhubarb Radio
June 11th, 2009
The latest MFG! show is available from Rhubarb Radio just click on the drop down to listen to the last show on 28th May…Enjoy
MAMA AFRICA
May 28th, 2009
So this is the final count down until Mama Africa on Saturday 6th June at The Bulls Head! In conjunction with the Bass 09 Festival, MAMA AFRICA Features an all female line up, collectively demonstrating a range of musical styles deeply rooted and fused with African rhythms; Funk, Soul, Afrobeat, Acid Jazz, Latin, Conscious Hip hop, Jazz Funk, Rare Groove, Reggae, Afrikan Fusion and Neo Soul.
Mama Feel good! Are super excited to welcome Afrocat to headline at the event. Afrocat is a Brixton-based DJ and Producer, who draws her inspirations from a melting pot of musical influences including Dub, Spoken Word, Hip-Hop, original Funk, Reggae, Afrobeat, Jazz and Blaxploitation soundtracks. She has DJ’d for over 10 years and delighted audiences internationally with her selections! She also runs Strong Linx – a company providing arts opportunities and global exchanges, and organises showcases and events in London.
Anyone who has had the opportunity to see Afrocat play will know she has skills and some serious tunes, to have her play for us is a seriously High Coo, so come on down help us to raise some cash!
DJs Afrocat, Sister 45 & Bobbalin’ Hot
Saturday 6 June
Bulls Head, St. Mary’s Row, Moseley Birmingham
£3 proceeds going to charity
Breakin’ Convention
May 5th, 2009
So I have been freelance now for three months and have had the opportunity to work on a project that is close to my heart. Breakin’ Convention is a unique festival of Hip Hop dance theatre, which strives to fit a bunch of unconventional art forms into a formal theatre space. It is my job to think creatively with the Education Manager at Birmingham Hippodrome; Liz Leck about how we can accommodate the 4 elements of Hip Hop with integrity and value and truly represent the hip hop community in Birmingham.
We are working with artists, DJs, MCs and Breakers for the event. Eat Good Records and Mama Feel Good! will be hosting the foyer events for both nights. There will be a live MC cypher with performances from SonnyJim, Kosyne, Redbeard and Taharka plus special guest DJ ill boogs from Breakin’ Bread playing rock, funk, soul and disco breaks and rarities.
Also featuring a Hip Hop market place, which has been set up as an opportunity for local clothing, record and hip hop retailers to run stalls or for local Hip Hop organisations, promoters and entrepreneurs to publicise their service, event or product. The market place will be set in the Theatre’s restaurant on the 3rd Floor over 12th & 13th May from 5.30pm.
Workshops with local schools, youth groups, charities and young people in the Art of Hip Hop; breakin, spoken word and graffiti illustration, have created unique material that will also be showcased in the theatre over the two days.
The main acts are all legends and leaders in their field.
Witness a UK exclusive from the USA’s VII Gems Rock Dance Division featuring “the epitome of the B Boy” Ken Swift; French entertainer Salah, who mixes Hip Hop dance with mime and clowning and is known as the “Charlie Chaplin of Hip Hop”; and hailing from South Korea – arguably the best B Boying nation in the world – MyoSung.
Foyer Events start at 5.30pm! For £10 tickets holler “freestyle” to box office.
Breakin’ Convention: Ken Swift & MyoSung
May 5th, 2009
Heads up to those that could cope with an advanced level workshop with Rock Steady legend Ken Swift and bboy world leaders MyoSung.
Master class with Ken Swift
As part of Breakin Convention 09 Birmingham Hippodrome presents a B-Boy Fundamentals Masterclass with legend Ken Swift.
Where: DanceXchange, Level 5, Birmingham Hippodrome, Thorp Street, Birmingham B5 4TB
Workshop date: Monday 11th May 2009
Time: 10:00am-11:30am
Level: This workshop is for advanced level B-Boys and B-Girls
Cost: £5 per person IN ADVANCE to Book: Call Birmingham Hippodrome box office T: 0844 338 5000
(Opening hours: 10am – 8pm / 6pm non-performance days; subject to change due to maintenance/training)
Please note numbers for this workshop are limited and will be sold on a first come first served basis.
Ken Swift is a B-boy and former Vice President of the Rock Steady Crew of which he was a long time member and key figure, he is now President of the VII Gems Hip Hop movement in NYC. Widely known in the B-Boy world as “the Epitome of a B-Boy,” Ken Swift is credited with the creation of many dance moves. Ken Swift is nearly universally considered by B-Boys to be the individual who has had the greatest influence on break dancing. Ken Swift began B-Boying in 1978 at the age of twelve when he was inspired by dancers on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Ken Swift is performing for the first time in the UK as part of Breakin’ Convention at Birmingham Hippodrome on the 12th & 13th May with VII Gems Rock Dance Division in their new piece – ROCKIN IT.
For more information and for tickets check:
Master class with MyoSung
Also as part of Breakin Convention 09 Birmingham Hippodrome presents an advanced level breaking masterclass with Korean BBoys MyoSung
Where: DanceXchange, Level 5, Birmingham Hippodrome, Thorp Street, Birmingham B5 4TB
Workshop date: Wednesday 13th May
Time: 2pm – 3.30pm
Cost: £5 per person IN ADVANCE FROM BOX OFFICE
To Book: Call Birmingham Hippodrome box office T: 0844 338 5000
(Opening hours: 10am – 8pm / 6pm non-performance days; subject to change due to maintenance/training)
Level: This workshop is for advanced level B-Boys and B-Girls
Please note numbers for this workshop are also limited and will be sold on a first come first served basis.
Feature
April 9th, 2009
The Guitar Center has a nice little mention and some flics of MFG! in it’s latest issue, in an article about portable DJ equipment. Cheers to Aaron Stone and them nice folks from NYC.
Baby Loves Disco featuring Mama Feel Good! DJs
March 24th, 2009
We are going to be playing records for the big and little people coming to Baby Loves Disco on Sunday 24th May at The Patrick Centre, Hurst Street, Birmingham from 2pm-4pm.
Baby Loves Disco is an afternoon dance party for little kids (6 months-7 years) and (especially) their parents: featuring Mama Feel Good! DJs playing feel good disco, soul and funk tracks guaranteed to get those little booties moving and grooving.
The fun spills out from all corners of the coolest club in town: bubble machines, baskets of instruments, a chill-out room (with tents, books and puzzles), and dancing, LOTS of dancing (and yes, the cash bar will be open for mummy and daddy!). But at its core, Baby Loves Disco is a community event that brings kids together with kids and parents together with parents, guaranteed to be the best time you’ve had at a kids event!
Check the DanceXchange website for more info, tickets are £5 each and non walking babies get in for free – perhaps its worth laying off those development sessions for a while and saving some cash. Bobbie and I are looking forward to this, seeing all them cute kids wiggling around, little boys sliding on their knees and hard working mums and dads getting a chance to wind down and chat whilst their wee ones tear up the dance floor.
My biological clock is ticking pretty loudly these days, I am in my late twenties now and sometimes I find myself looking at my other half, with my head tilted to one side, with one eye slightly squinted thinking about whether our baby boys will have his shoulders and my nose or his nose and my shoulders.
If you haven’t got babies yet, then try to borrow one for this – whatever you do, don’t miss out!
I fell in love
March 16th, 2009
“A SUITE FOR MA DUKES”
James Yancey (1974-2006), better known as J Dilla was born in Detroit. His work as a producer had a defining role in Hip-Hop. He produced hits for A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Common and Erykah Badu to name a few. At 32, he passed away in Los Angeles in the care of his mother, Ma Dukes of lupus related illness. Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson pay tribute to Dilla by interpreting his music with a 40-piece orchestra.
I got this heads up from my beau Blacksmile; (DJ, producer, beat maker and J Dilla fanatic). A Suite for Ma Dukes is phenomenal. This iconic EP will surely go down in history as one of the best tributes to the legendary J Dilla there has ever been. And certainly a completely unique interpretation of some of his productions.
As a soul/funk DJ my ears are usually turned off by classical music, I need the familiar structure and syncopation of a well constructed soul record. I usually like some strings but want them crafted into a melody that I can tap my feet to. This EP by Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood Ferguson is orchestral and beautifully soulful, with a jazzy emotive lean. Fall in Love features dreamy harps and dramatic swooshes. But Find a way is my favourite, and will be getting much air play from the Mama Feel Good! camp.
Here is some more info from Stones Throw.
Carlos Niño and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson have been working together on a wide variety of projects, beginning in 2004 when Niño hired Atwood-Ferguson’s string quartet to perform on Dwight Trible & The Life Force Trio’s Love is the Answer (Ninja Tune). The J Dilla production “Antiquity” also comes from this project.
Suite for Ma Dukes initially began in 2007, on what would have been Dilla’s 33rd birthday, when Niño & Atwood-Ferguson recorded and released their strings, brass and reeds-only version of J Dilla & Common’s “Nag Champa” to DJs, producers and fans over the Internet for free. They had written the entire piece to accompany the record as a their tribute to Dilla, feeling that the producer was still in the track not by his presence but by his absence.
The 4 tracks on Suite for Ma Dukes cover Dilla’s productions from “Antiquity” and “Nag Champa”, A Tribe Called Quest’s “Find a Way” and Slum Village’s “Fall in Love”.
Early in 2009 the project received the official blessing from Ma Dukes herself. The EP is available from Stones Throw. As stated by Mochilla, proceeds from the record will go to Dilla’s heirs.
Mama Africa
March 10th, 2009
Bobbie and I have been awarded some funding from the Bass Festival to do an event called Mama Africa in June.
MAMA AFRICA Celebrates Women in Music and music rooted in Africa, raising awareness and funds for three African women’s charities.
Featuring some of the best female DJs in the UK collectively demonstrating a range of musical styles deeply rooted and fused with African rhythms; Funk, Soul, Afrobeat, Broken Beat, Acid Jazz, Latin, Conscious Hip hop, Jazz Funk, Rare Groove, Reggae, Afrikan Fusion and Neo Soul.
This one off event will be held on Saturday 6th June at The Bulls Head, Moseley, Birmingham. More details including DJ line up to follow.
MAMA FEEL GOOD! Are using this event to raise money and awareness of the following charities;
Global Mamas envisions women in Africa to be economically independent. Global Mamas is the name brand for fair-trade goods produced through the efforts of Women in Progress, an international not-for-profit organization assisting women of Africa in attaining economic independence. Global Mamas reduces the economic inequality of women by significantly increasing the revenues and profits of woman-owned businesses in Africa. This in turn increases employee wages, generates new jobs and improves the standard of living. By helping women to help themselves, Global Mamas is taking small steps towards helping end Africa’s dependence on foreign aid and creating a sustainable society.
The Kanga Project supports the work of grassroots women-led organisations in Tanzania that strive to overcome the social, cultural, economic and political marginalisation of women. Through education, new skills, business start up loans and lessons in empowerment, civic rights and capacity building, these organizations are initiating a renaissance of African society based on equality, dignity and access to resources
ACTSA’s Dignity! Period campaign
A pack of sanitary towels in Zimbabwe can cost more than double the average monthly wage. Women have been forced to use newspaper, rags or leaves as a substitute for sanitary pads which can cause serious infections for which there is little available medication. Worse still, these infections are often mistaken for STIs, leading to social embarrassment and domestic violence.
ACTSA’s Dignity! Period campaign, with the support of the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and Bodyform, raises awareness and funds to distribute sanitary products to the women and girls of Zimbabwe to halt this immediate danger that will affect their long term health and wellbeing. Since launching the campaign in 2005, ACTSA with the ZCTU has distributed more than 5 million sanitary products to the women and girls of Zimbabwe.
Mama Africa is dedicated to the late Miriam Makeba who was a South African Singer and civil rights activist.
Waxpoetics: The Philly Issue
March 7th, 2009
This issue pays homage to Philly Soul and is well worth a peruse. Philadelphia was home to many great artists and bands; Barbara Mason, Billy Paul, Brenda and The Tabulations, First Choice, The Stylistics and The Soul Survivors to name but a few.
Props to wax-p for the article about the late great jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard who sadly passed away last year.
You can buy this issue and past issues of Waxpoetics from the website and online at Juno, Dusty Groove or from the high street at Borders for about £8.
Listen to your MAMA
March 4th, 2009
If you fancy a listen, I will be representing for the MAMAs on Rhubarb Radio tomorrow night from 6pm-8pm. We have been a little lame of late with our radio show, but I am pulling my socks up and getting on it tomorrow with some new purchases fresh from Amsterdam, expect to hear some Whatnaughts, Yvonne Baker, Leroy and the drivers and perhaps a little Toots and The Maytals.
Later on this month I will be playing my 45s for the regulars at Lombard Royale at an old/new venue The victoria.
Unfortunately the boys from Lombard had to move premises due to a visit from the fuzz at their last home (darn party poopers) but this new venue has got plenty of people talking, so I am looking forward to checking it out. Lets hope the sound system is better than the carpet.
A Northern Soul Film: Ouch
March 3rd, 2009
I went to a test screening of this film on Monday in Birmingham and it was terrible.
1974. Power cuts, strikes and boot-boy aggro on the terraces. Flares,Chopper bikes and beer at fourteen pence a pint.
JOE MCCAIN, 17 and restless, is bored with the flatline tedium of a life that seems like it’s going nowhere. Enter JANE, moving to the beat of a music that Joe’s never heard, a vision of loveliness who opens the door to a whole world of sound, movement and all-nighter dancing at The Wigan Casino – the home of Northern Soul! Swept along on this tide of pulsating dance and lust, Joe finally finds somewhere he belongs and the acceptance and true love he yearns for.
Although I am too young to really know what the scene was like, I have only experienced what it is like now, at Prestatyn, 100 Club, Soul Revolution and all nighters in Brum and Stoke. I do know that it was in no way bland, clean and never looked like a school disco. This film is a poor representation of the Northern Soul scene, it does not touch on any of the passion, atmosphere, enthusiasm and energy, it is wholly unrealistic and in parts ridiculous – especially the dance/fight scene where the ‘hero’ and the main protagonist decide to settle their differences by using floor drops and spins.
I could go on, but I can feel myself getting properly wound up. Don’t go and see it, life is too short and you could be spending your time doing something more productive like listening to Soul records and watching this.
Daptone Records: victims of crime
March 3rd, 2009
Last week the Daptone Records studio in NYC was broken into and they are trying to gather back all the equipment that was stolen. If any of our international and well off friends can help please contact Gabriel Roth here. You can also do your bit by donating a drink to the crew here. We wish them well, and hope that they get back on their feet as soon as possible.
- Friends and associates,
As you may have heard through the grapevine by now, Daptone was broken into last night. Unfortunately, there was a lot of equipment (mics, pre-amps, monitors, turntables, guitars, amps, computers, etc.) stolen and damaged. It is going to take us a while to go through everything and take full stock of what was stolen, and we are not supposed to touch anything until the cops come back to collect fingerprints so we can only guess what’s missing from some mic drawers and cabinets.
And, no, we did not have insurance. We had been shopping around with different companies earlier this month but had not signed a check, so nothing was insured…
I would like to ask for everyone’s help first in keeping an eye out for all of our stuff showing up on ebay/craigslist/local music shops, and secondly (and more realistically) keeping an eye out for good deals on headphones, mics, pre-amps, etc. I could really use a heads up on any kind of studio package for sale or studio equipment to be possibly bought or borrowed as soon as possible.
Thanks for keeping eyes open for us. AND PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ALONG TO ANYONE YOU THINK MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP US.
Thankfully, we all still have our health, ambition, tape machines, and sense of humor in tact. You can slow us down, but you can’t stop us. Sleep well knowing we here at Daptone will continue to…
Keep putting Soul up,
Gabriel Roth
P.S. On a lighter note, it seems like the burglars did drop a few items in order to lift Alex’s old safe out of here, which was VERY heavy, VERY unwieldy, and also VERY EMPTY!”
Political sequins
February 22nd, 2009
What struck me most at the Supremes exhibition at BM&AG today was how much Motown Records was instrumental to the black civil rights movement.
Motown was America’s largest independent record label and the most financially successful black owned business in the country. The marketing of their artists was crucial. It got black people on TV and in the mainstream media and portrayed them as clean cut, wholesome and fresh faced – palatable to white America, during a radical upheaval in race relations.
This grooming was done under the instruction of Ms Maxine Powell head of Artist Development at Motown. Ms Powell taught the Supremes ‘how to glide’. They would take classes in etiquette – how to talk, eat, get out of a car and generally present themselves.
Artist development was a major part of Motown’s operations. The acts on the Motown label were fastidiously groomed, dressed and choreographed for live performances. Motown artists were advised that their breakthrough into the white popular music market made them ambassadors for other African American artists seeking broad market acceptance, and that they should think, act, walk and talk like royalty, so as to alter the less-than-dignified image commonly held by white Americans in that era of black musicians. Given that many of the talented young artists had been raised in housing projects and were short on social and dress skills, this Motown department was not only necessary, it created an elegant style of presentation long associated with the label.
But just as this image was essential in the early days of the civil rights movement by the late 60s early 70s it was deemed to be too syrupy and a poor representation of black people and black music. Hair went natural; lyrics became political – paving the way for Funk and Raw Soul.
This exhibition highlights this important political time. If you thought like me that the Supremes were just about sequins, big hair and showtime soul you should go and check it out. Those sequins were essential to changing attitudes and were instrument to the equality that we witness today.
Closing down sale…
February 18th, 2009
My local record retailer Jibbering Records is closing its doors this Saturday with 50% off all stock.
The Mamas have had an important relationship with Jibbering over the years; indeed Bobbie and I first met when I was DJing for them at Drop Beats Not Bombs in 2006. We both at some point have worked in the shop, I used to do every Friday and Bobbie and I both used to work on the door at the Jibbering sessions at The Cross. On one late Sunday night I stayed in the shop till after 2am with the boys, when we decided it needed a little spruce – painting the ceiling and fixing up some curtains my mom had made.
Within a month of the death of James Brown, Bobbie and I had organised a tribute by using Jibbering Records as a temporary events office. Bobbie did the lion’s share of the organising by nesting in the shop with her laptop, drinking tea and bagging musicians to play in our JB’s band and DJs to play at the event, she got a collection of at least 16 musicians and DJs not to mention much needed advice from Dan and Oli.
It is this collaborative and community approach that makes Jibbering and certainly Shambala Festival (the love child of the Jibbering boys) such a success. The majority of DJs and some of the bands that play at the festival have a long standing relationship with Jibbering and are old time friends, creating a fair trade off – of skills and opportunities.
There is an article on the BBC website that talks of the doom and gloom…another victim of the credit crunch. I like to think of the achievements of the Jibbering crew (Jon, Dan, Oli, Rich & Robin) and how the shop has contributed to a sense of community in the alternative music scene in Birmingham. Their new venture sees them host a creative space in Digbeth and continue with their events and successful art exhibitions.
So for you creative types; the go-getter’s and the do-er’s… there is an opening for a creative hub in Birmingham, somewhere folks can go and drink tea and set sh*t up – it must be friendly, have knowledgeable staff, be cheap and welcoming to all – It seems strange that we have such a successful online community with active arty twitters and Created in Birmingham winning the 2008 Weblog Award (for Best UK Blog), but when it comes to a real life place you actually have to leave your living room and go to, we seem to fall down.
The mamas salute Jibbering and the opportunities that have arisen from being able to hang out at the shop. I am not worried about the creative community in Brumtown or the future of Jibbering enterprises, as we all know the future is bright, and apparently the future’s orange.
The Story of the Supremes: Exhibition
February 17th, 2009
If you are into Motown, 60’s shift dresses, big hair and fantastically applied eye liner then check out this exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery from 21st February – 7th June.
This exhibition is a dazzling celebration of the queens of Motown and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the founding of Motown Records. At the core of the exhibition will be the unique collection of costumes and memorabilia gathered by Mary Wilson, one of the founder members of The Supremes.
Tickets start at just £3 with discounted family tickets and concessions available. This exhibition has been on at the V&A in London and is accompanied by a gorgeous book of the same name. I am going on Saturday and will report back with my thoughts…
Stitches and Hos
February 13th, 2009
On Tuesday 24th February I will be bringing both types of needles to The Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath Birmingham to DJ for the lovely folks at Stitches and Hos. Stitches and Hos is a monthly knitting night hosted by a motley crew of enthusiasts for all things knitted, crocheted, cross-stitched or threaded.
Say it loud – I knit and I’m proud.
I am a devoted and enthusiastic knitter, although I practice what I like to call ‘extreme knitting’, which is where you have no idea what you’re knitting and you haven’t learnt to cast off yet. Casting off or binding off is basically what you do when you have finished your project, the last step: getting it off the needles. When you can’t do this you basically can’t stop. Its what the more edgy, adrenaline junkie – knitters amongst us do. I would say it is the fixed wheel bicycle riding equivalent of knitting. What can I say? I just get off on the buzz.
If unlike me you were actually any good at knitting and you were rolling in it (wool that is) you could knit yourself an IPhone, a Gas mask, a sandwich, a jumper for your kitten or indeed a Ferrari.
So if you are at a loose end on Tuesday, make sure you bring your 80s bat-winged jumper pattern and your knitting kit to the Hare and Hounds, we cast off at 7.30pm.
I am one subservient, submissive and obedient wifey
February 12th, 2009
Because this morning for my birthday I was greeted with the Mayer Hawthorne limited edition heart shaped microgroove vinyl single. So I gots to stick to my promise and get back to the washing up, the cleaning, the cooking and serving my man some beer…
Enjoy…
“If you really loved me you would buy me this record….”
February 6th, 2009
Is what I have said to him.
Yes it’s Valentine’s Day a week tomorrow and yes I am a sucker for novelty shaped items especially when they are made out of wax, but hot darn it this record is BAAAD!
Golden boy, Mark Ronson has been quoted in saying this record is “…f$&king good” and I would agree with him. Mayer Hawthorne is Stones Throw’s newest artist; he is young, white and equipped with a beautifully emotive and tender voice.
When I first heard this record I thought it was either a next level remix of an old soul record or perhaps a Mayfield, Hutson or Hancock production that I had never heard of. Turns out it was this jack of all trades twenty something geezer from Detroit who has written, played, recorded and sang on these tracks.
If I got one of these bad boys for Valentine ’s Day I would be one subservient, submissive and obedient wifey just give me a ickle record player and some headphones and you wouldn’t hear a peep.
Enjoy…
God Save the 45…
February 2nd, 2009
On the 31st march 2009 the 7-inch 45 rpm microgroove vinyl single will reach the grand old age of 60! We are continuing our homage to the 7” single by flagging up this neat lil online game from God Save the 45 all you need is your space bar and your arrows…
The 45 is in danger your job is to collect all the 45s in just 200 seconds whilst avoiding the patrolling record company executives. There are 24 records to collect over 4 levels.
To play go to the media section of the GOD SAVE THE 45 website.
Happy Birthday to the beloved 7″
February 1st, 2009
On the 31st March 2009 the humble 45 RPM single vinyl disk celebrates its 60th birthday. First issued by RCA records in 1959 it initially came in different colours representing the various musical genres.
Seven-inch sales peaked in the UK in 1979, when a staggering 89 million of them were sold. Reissues of rare and classic Funk and Soul 45s account for a large proportion of the records being pressed today, as well as Rock and Indie bands still finding relevance in the beloved format.
To celebrate this momentous occasion we will be featuring a series of discussions, stories and personal accounts from record collectors and 45 enthusiasts.
To get us started Dave Moore from Hits Ville Soul Club, has kindly written the following personal account of his love affair with the glorious 45 and the music that he so passionately keeps alive especially for us here at mama HQ. Hits Ville is primarily a worldwide group of fans of Rare Northern Soul, whose aim is to celebrate the “lost” Soul music of 60s & 70s Black America and the people who created it.
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