Our latest guest mix comes from one of the pioneers of the Italian hip hop scene who has now transformed himself into a renowned producer of funk and disco under the name Katzuma. In recent years he’s made a name for himself in and outside of Italy for his deep productions taking its cue from classic funk and disco from the 70s and 80s and putting his own cosmic spin on it.

‘From Inner Space’ is a promo mix by Katzuma ahead of his involvement in the latest Original Cultures project, of the same name, which will see him direct a five piece band put together for the occasion and nicknamed the The Expanding Disco Machine. Over four days they’ll be locked in workshops putting together a one hour show inspired by the evolution of black music in America from the funk of the 70s to the early electronic experiment of the 80s. Alongside them will be Opificio Ciclope, a collective of video artists, who will design and produce visuals for the show. You can read more about the project and event here. Check out a trailer for the show below:

For more on Katzuma, check his bio here, and look out for his latest EP ‘Dr Know’ which is out now and features predominantly in this mix. The mix itself is a 25 minutes ride into Katzuma’s musical universe on a deep, cosmic tip.

Enjoy and if you like what you hear check out another promo mix for the event I put together called Beats and Boogie.

Download Katzuma – ‘From Inner Space’ promo mix (right click and save as)

Tracklist
Bob Moog – Not The Machine
Katzuma – Dr. Know (Scuola Furano Remix)
Absolute Voltage – skit
Katzuma – El Chupacabra
Katzuma – Tell Him I’ Holding On (E-The-Hot Sunday’s Dub)
Katzuma – Reach For The Stars

Things have been a bit quiet round these parts, as we work away at preparing some exciting shows, but we’ve still got some tricks up our sleeves. First of which is this exclusive mix of the first Original Cultures showcase which took place in Bologna, Italy earlier this year. Featuring the musical talents of Om Unit (aka 2tall), from the UK, Tatsuki, from Japan, and Tayone, from Italy, alongside special guest Bruno Briscik on cello bass, the mix highlights some of the best bits of a 2h30 showcase that was truly unique in many ways.

Why unique I hear you ask? Well because all of the music played on the night (apart from Om Unit’s solo set) was created in the days prior to the showcase in a series of workshops between the 3 artists. They’d never met each other before, barely spoke the same languages (Tayone speaks no English) and communicated primarily through music. In the space of 3 days, and roughly 24 hours of actual workshops, they put together 12 tracks and a one hour showcase. Alongside all this, 3 visual artists from the UK and Italy also worked for 3 days alongside the musicians to create a visual show to compliment the music. The result included live painting, an animation and Chinese-shadow based visual displays, all of which formed an integral part of the showcase alongside the music.

For more information on what happened during the workshops and to listen to a two-part audio documentary from which this mix is taken, check part 1 here and part 2 here. There are also additional mixes from the workshops to download on the Original Cultures site. Also look out for a video documentary at the end of september.

Be sure to check the website for full details and if your curiosity has been piqued than check this exclusive mix and look out for a full digital release of the entire audio from the showcase later this year.

Download the mix! (right click and save as)

Om Unit x Tatsuki x Tayone ft. Bruno Briscik – Live in Bologna 09
Tracklist:
Tatsuki – solo showcase
Om Unit – solo showcase
Om Unit x Tatsuki x Tayone ft Bruno Briscik – live showcase
Om Unit x Tatsuki x Tayone ft Bruno Briscik – encore

Continuing the Japanese theme we started last week with our guest mix from Olive Oil, here’s a mix from another Japanese friend and collaborator of ours, Tatsuki. Originally put together for the Original Cultures podcast series, I’m using the slow, quiet summer months to give it another push and put it out for those who might have missed it first time round.

Regular listeners might remember Tatsuki from a guest mix he did on Turntable Radio back in 06. Since then he’s been rather quiet, working R&D at Korg (he’s the man responsible for the Korg Zero4 mixer) and quietly doing bits here and there for friends. He’s probably most well known for his featuring on Krush’s ‘Decks-A-Thron’ from the 2004 Jaku album as well as his work with Danish band Blue Foundation.

This year Tatsuki is taking part in the first Original Cultures series of events, representing Japan in the field of music and for this occasion put together a mix showcasing influences and favourites. Tracklist and download links are below. For more info on the man hit up his myspace, and for more info on Original Cultures check the newly redesigned site.

Also look out for some exclusive audio from the Original Cultures pilot event in Bologna very soon featuring Tatsuki, 2tall / Om Unit and Tayone. Oh and be sure to subscribe to the Original Cultures feed and/or iTunes podcast feed to make sure you get all the mixes coming through – there’s some tasty ones forthcoming.

Download the mix here! (right click and save as)

Tatsuki – Original Cultures radio mix

1. Intro
2. Vice Verzen Instrumental
3. tatsuki* Loop 1
4. Ekaj – Enmap
5. Apes on Tapes – Grand 5
6. Goth-Trad – Acid Steps
7. Dj Baku – Element for Perfect
8. Dj Krush feat Mc Kan – Mosa
9. Dj Shadow x Depeche Mode – Painkiller
10.Dj Krush feat Tatsuki – Deck’s Athron
11.Dj Krush – Kemuri Untouchable Mix

This special show will take place during the Original Cultures pilot event, as Rhythm Incursions is an official media partner for the project. We’ll have special guests in the studio with us including 2tall / Om Unit, Tatsuki and Tayone. So tune in for 2h of fresh music and a few surprises!

To recap: Wednesday 3rd June, from 21.30 to 23.30 GMT. To stream live on the internet go to the Radio Citta del Capo website and click the ‘ASCOLTA LIVE’ button located on the top-left hand side of the screen underneath the logo. Hell we might even Twitter the proceedings so make sure you follow us too.

Since leaving Japan last year I’ve been working on a project to try and bridge the gap between the art scenes in Japan and Europe. At first I was looking at the music scene, as this is the area I’ve spent the most time working on for the last 7 odd years. The project started taking shape when I was in Italy, it evolved and now it is officially launched. I am very proud and happy to introduce to you Original Cultures: a non-profit project that aims to facilitate and promote cultural exchange between Japan and European countries through the medium of modern performing arts.

The countries currently involved in the project are the UK, Italy and Japan, and the performing arts fields are music and visual arts (painting, street art etc…). The project will hold its first event, our pilot, in the first week of June in Bologna, Italy, from June 3 to 6. Six artists will take part in the pilot, representing each country and taking part in a variety of activities including workshops, seminars, a live showcase and an art installation at the Bologna Music Museum. The artists are: Will Barras (UK), Ericailcane (IT), DEM (IT), 2tall / Om Unit (UK), Tayone (IT), and Tatsuki (JP).

You can view a trailer for the pilot below:

For full details of the project, pilot and more visit the website, www.originalcultures.org and check the links below:
An introduction to Original Cultures
Original Cultures pilot information
Original Cultures activities
Artists bios and info

Any support you can give this would be greatly appreciated – spread it on the internet, tell your friends, tell their friends etc… Become a fan on Facebook, friend us on Myspace, follow us on Twitter, holla on Flickr, view us on Youtube or Vimeo.

Any press/promotional/sponsor related queries can be sent to me. Contact details are on the site or contact me via the blog. You can download a press release for the pilot here.