TopPotNinja

Source: Looking: The Movie trailer. 

I have to admit something to all of you. I was totally obsessed by looking while it aired. I loved the show even though many valid points were made against it and they can all be summed up by this one: Why do they have to be bitches all the time? 

It is true, each and every character, except Doris, dealt with “growing up” in the worst way. Augustine became an addict, Patrick couldn’t make up his mind on his love life and Dom didn’t make any moves to make his dream restaurant happen until the very last breath of the show. For me, it was exactly why I loved Looking so much. I used to be just like them, a 28 or 29 years old scared of building a life for myself that represented what I really wanted but not I set up for myself in the very beginning of adulthood. I get that it was grating to watch but for me, it was an accurate description of what I living at the time. 

This Year after year I keep asking myself, what is going be to huge this year. Will something new excite my ears and change how I look at music? In the case of Witch House and Vaporwave, it was actually the case. Most of the time, I discover something old that everyone stopped paying attention and came back in the music world. This is the case of Fourth World Music.

The first occurrence I found of the term Fourth World Music is in a record of the same name by Jon Hassell and Brian Eno. The first time I’ve heard the record I was blown away by the atmosphere it conveyed. Traditional ambient music like Music for Airports by Eno brings you back of being in an empty airport. The music created by Eno and Hassell on Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Music brings you to a tropical land where natives got the chance to experiment with synthesizers. Something the sounds are joyous, other times they are scary but they are always giving you a rich sensual experience.

The kind of experiments Hassell stayed with him during all of his career. We can also trace back his influence in many bands like Sun Arraw or 4th World Magazine. The name did not catch on as much as it did at the end of 2017. The excellent label Glitterbeat Records announced the opening of a sub-label called  tak:til dedicated to Fourth World Music.I also think of Optimo that will publish a curation of the best tracks from the fourth world. Even Resident Advisor caught on the trend by publishing a podcast from a duo who makes music from the genre.

I hope that I convinced you to explore Fourth World Music. Here’s a list helping you find your way.

1-Jon Hassell and Brian Eno - Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics Songs

Essential record that pushed ambient on a different level with its dialog between non-occidental music and advanced technical music.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYvbCjntvk0

Georgia - All Kind Music 

Georgia really caught my by surprise at the end of 2016. I was looking at the End of Year list and when I found out this gem. Once again you can hear electronic elements of the music playing with ethnic influences. The big difference you’ll hear between this record and Possible Musics is the funkyness of the songs. This is particulary true on songs like Ama Yez Uzme.

Listen here: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/18620-georgia-ama-yes-uzume/

Aria Kalma and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - FRKWYS Vol. 12 - We Know Each Other Somehow is closer to Hassel’s vision than Georgia but delivers hard on the dreamy otherworldliness  that is typical to Fourth World Music. 

Anthony Child -  Electronic Recordings From Maui Jungle Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.

In 2015 the producer known as Surgeon took his gear to Maui to record an album. The results of his experiments are amazing. It is darker and more austere than the other records on my list. His electronic recordings still give the impression of being somewhere else in space and time that the best Fourth Wolrd Music offer. 

X.Y.R - Mental Journey To BC

This one is a new one for me. I just discovered it while researching for this blog entry.  As I’m hearing right now, I would say that the field recordings are used with new age synths to make you travel to another era.

Listen here: https://xyrmusic.bandcamp.com/track/underwater-jungle

Les initiatives de revitalisation urbaine sont souvent fréinées par une administration publique peu dynamique.

Algorithms are used everywhere but yet, most of us don’t know a thing about them. 

There is a representation problem in ballroom dancing. 

Blacks, latinos, LGBT or anyone that doesn’t fit the traditional professional ballroom dancers profile is under-represented.

Trevor Copp & Jeffrey Fox may have a solution to this problem.