asaplive.com: "David Keenan is an author, freelance journalist and musician. Keenan was the first writer to popularise the term 'free folk' in his Wire cover story "The New Weird America" (The WIRE 234) and his talk will be based around further elucidating the whole concept of 'free folk' - its roots, historical antecedents and potential futures, particularly highlighting the degree of common ground shared by both folk and experimental modes. He will also talk about the role of 'community' in folk music and how new technology (internet/home-burning CD-Rs) has enabled a new form of community to come together. The talk will particularly focus on the reasons why free folk has suddenly become such a popular form and provide some creative context by demonstrating how the UK has long provided an indigenous continuum of DIY roots activity - folk/punk/industrial etc - in much the same way that US rock was fuelled by more primal/feral forms like blues etc..."

The Aesthetics of Free Folk

This is a part of the ictgateshead .org podcast

Planet Mu head Mike Paradinas (aka u-Ziq) discussing some of his favourite Planet Mu tracks

Traklist: Neil Landstrumm - unknown track Joseph Nothing - 'Dreamland Geist Orchestra' Neil Landstrumm - unknown track Capitol K - 'Pillow' Neil Landstrumm - unknown track Leafcutter John - 'If You Have An Enemy' Hellfish & Producer - 'Homeboy Pt.2' Venetian Snares - 'Eistein-Rosen Bridge' Bizzy B & Equinox - 'Merda Style 2004' Boxcutter - 'Sunshine VIP' u-Ziq - 'Wergle The Proud') Pinch - 'Punisher' Tom Burband - 'Gnats' Mileece - 'Tau'

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thewire.co.uk: "Textually hyperdense and accelerated for the televisual age, the multimedia music theatre of composer Robert Ashley has been called the future of opera, as well as the first to exploit the unique rhythms of the American voice. Following this year's premiere of his new work Celestial Excursions, Thom Holmes meets the composer to discuss his founding role in the Sonic Arts Union, his love of TV, and his celebration of life on the margins." Read the whole article

• MP3: Robert Ashley - Music With Roots in the Aether

One of the premiere names in the field of electronic home-listening music, Mike Paradinas' recordings retained the abrasive flavor of early techno pioneers and explored the periphery of experimental electronica even while coddling to his unusual ear for melody, the occasional piece of vintage synthesizer, and distorted beatbox rhythms. While his side projects -- including Diesel M, Jake Slazenger, Gary Moscheles, Kid Spatula, and Tusken Raiders -- have often emphasized (or satired) his debts to jazz, funk, and electro, Paradinas reserved his most original and exciting work for major album releases as µ-Ziq. Read More

Downloads:
µ-Ziq - part 1 @ ALIVE Festival - tent 32MB µ-Ziq - part 2 @ ALIVE Festival - tent 69MB