Offseason, a small 7″ vinyl record label based in Graz, has so far launched seven podcasts, each of them worth checking out.

Offcast #1 by El Rakkas
Offcast #2 by Rer Repeter
Offcast #3 by Die Hand
Offcast #4 by Re-lay
Offcast #5 by Boris
Offcast #6 by Cxlnk
Offcast #7 by Simon/off

You can also find these mixes on Mixcloud and iTunes.
The first couple of 7″s are scheduled for June!

London’s police has been facing a wave of criticism, after an audio-recording by a 21-year-old man was released by the Guardian in March. The man had been stopped by the police on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs during the days of last year’s youth riots in London. After being strangled(!) by a police officer later identified as PC Alex MacFarlane, he was subject to severe racist insults.

A series of mobile-clips by grime MC JMD gives a further insight in the daily repression black youth is facing on London’s streets:

More “chatty police men” here.

In August 2011, Mark Duggan was killed by police officers, sparking of riots in many cities all over the UK. There were a few remarkable interviews and comments made, giving some idea on the situation, which eventually led to the riots.

Darcus Howe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biJgILxGK0o
Genesis Elijah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-rQpkvLuv0
Jahlani: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XSs7Az-TFU
unkown speaker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmo8DG1gno4

The photograph above was taken in April 2012 in Vienna, Austria. On the left-hand side poster, the multinational company Unilever advertises an ice cream called “Safari Afrika” by its local brand “Eskimo”(sic!). Right next to it, World Vision is promoting a food-aid programm with a rather questionable photomontage. Both advertisments apparently seek to employ as many racist and post-colonial stereotypes as possible. Unilever had already been under criticism for a similar poster in 2009.

When looking at the origins of current food crisis, one might find numerous causes. However, land grabbing has begun playing a particularly prominent role in recent years: land, which has been cultivated mostly by subsistence farmers, is claimed by the state in order to be sold to often multinational companies. These enterprises have of course no interest in the situation of the local population, as they usually produce for an exterior market. Families, who have been living and working on the land often for several generations, are subject to displacement, violence and even murder.

The short film by ON Broadcast Communications below illustrates the role of the World Bank in actively supporting land grabbing. According to the film, since 2008 an area of the size of France has been stolen with this practice.

A report by the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) from 2011 indicates that sub-Saharan Africa is subject to approximately two thirds of the worldwide land grabbing. The paper points out, that “the range of interests behind large scale land investments include multinational companies engaged in a variety of investments including biofuels and extractive industries, foreign governments seeking an assured food supply, commercial farmers expanding into neighbouring countries, and financial institutions wanting to broaden their asset portfolio. Domestic investors are also important in many countries, sometimes in partnership with foreign capital“.

And it continues: “The finance sector is a relative newcomer to farmland acquisition. Its interest has been generated by rising prices for food and other agricultural commodities, the perception that the value of land and water is increasing, and the emergence of farmland as a global asset in a portfolio of other investments, offering a return less affected by the latest international financial crisis.”

La Via Campesina in an international movement of peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world. The European branch of the organisation has issued a press release on April 25th, 2012, calling for solidarity to all people struggling for the preservation of land, the access to land and to the profession. In the text, they particularly refer to ongoing struggles in Mali, where farmers were arrested for working the land of which they were expelled after land grabbing, to land occupations in Honduras and Andalusia and to resistance of farmers against being expelled from their land to make way for airports and high-speed-trains.

You can find an online public database of large-scale land deals at Land Matrix.

One of London’s main protagonists of the future garage scene, Sub.FM‘s Whistla will releasing his first album on May 7th on his own imprint, L2S Recordings. Since his debut release in 2006, Whistla has been constantly developing his very distinct interpretation of 2-Step Garage. The consistent refinement of his style over the years is not least represented by the remix of his own 2007 track “My Father and I”. To cut things short, “Enter The Swivel” collects twelve tracks, perfectly resembling the vibe of Whistla’s weekly radio sessions.

Whistla – Enter the Swivel (L2S Recordings)

Another artist collective from the Sub.FM roaster have finally released their long awaited debut album: LHF. “Keepers of the Light” features no less than 26 tracks on two CDs and represent a good overview of the collective’s members No Fixed Abode, Amen Ra, Double Helix and Low Density Matter. The sound, diverse and consistent at the same time throughout the whole album, assembles “Hackney now, Croydon then? India now, Egypt or ancient Greece then? New York a decade ago, New Orleans a century back, Milky Way eternally?” as Martin Clark puts it. The long-player has been released on Clark’s Keysound Records, fans of vinyl must content themselves with the three previous EPs on the label. You can find a recent interview with LHF at The Quietus.

LHF – Keepers of the Light (Keysound Records)

You can catch Whistla each and every Tuesday 8 – 10pm GMT / 21 – 23h CET and LHF’s Amen Ra (as United Vibes together with Vibezin) Sundays 9 – 11pm GMT / 22 – 0h CET on Sub.FM.

A portrait of Eliane Radigue, produced by the Austrian Institute for Media Archeology, which observes Eliane in her workspace, operating the ARP and talking about the process of composing and recording.

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – “I Put A Spell On You” (live version)

Check out the studio-version and Nina Simone’s cover as well!

Kairo in December 2011: police beating up protesters

Simon/off‘s Planetary Communication EP is now out on Bristol’s Phuture Shock Musik (12″ vinyl and digital release).

» After transmissions from Mr Mageeka and Roof Light, Phuture Shock’s fifth release comes from Austrian talent, Simon/off. The ‘Planetary Communication EP’ leans into crisp, taut Techno/Breakbeats rhythms with the Carl Craig-esque title track, while ‘About To See You’ hits a Techy Afro angle akin to recent Kode 9 riddims, and ‘New Basics’ shakes out a Maddslinky-style wriggler. One to watch, this! «
(Boomkat, Manchester)