Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Dark-City? [Part 2]

This months cover by K.K.W,
with layout by Aleksandar Ares.
On the cover: Anais Heraud
Lucid Dream: Dark City? (Part 2). Curated By Aleksandar Ares with digital art, photography & text by K.K.W.




The 2nd part of an online exhibition using digital photography -to tell a story- that takes the viewer, on a journey through the "The City" [from Brooklyn into Manhattan]. Told from a first-person point of view, it presents another NYC, via a question. Is there something lurking just behind what we can see? Or, is what your being shown a form of personal insanity - a lucid dream - towards a personal revelation? 
When perception is altered through information, our reality can take on a different look & feel. Abre Los Ojos (Open your eyes). 


In as much as things change...the great wheel 
comes round again. 
"Days of future past" (1)

Arrest's were a daily occurrence...
as sure as the Sun would rise in East...
and set in the West.
Would she be taken to the camps,
like so many others? Or only re-educated?
Who could say. 



It's said that "In unity there is strength" (2);
and for these poor souls I hope its true.
For the brave are always the first to die.
It was a time of great protest in The City - 
everyone and anyone who was tired of the lack of freedom, 
living in a debt-nation, gathered in great numbers. 


Once they were known as dark-blue, 
now they roamed the streets dressed in black -
 quote the raven, "...nevermore..." (3)

Artist's, teachers, students, cafe workers,
office assistants, home-care nurses, cooks & porters,  
made protest's a regular happening.
"...budget cut-backs,
but increased police presence ...
its all mathematics... " (4)

They gathered round Washington's statue...
and  some remembered his words:
"If the freedom of speech is taken away, 
then dumb and silent we may be led, 
like sheep to the slaughter." (5)


Held up to them, and bathed in flame were the articles 
that bound him to debt
 [at least in spirit, now he was free].

The young were angry as they were passionate;
 like Prometheus,
they stood against the God's & the Titan's.


Even the very young & care-free
 couldn't escape the argument, 
  over the state of things in The City.

Away from it all I wandered alone [it would seem].
"...thought of all the things I had done, couldn't undo. 
And I longed for one moments peace." (6)

Gleaming in the last hours of daylight -
mute witnesses - the young ones basked in
the madness of their creators & those who
inhabited them. 
Still they would not leave me, still she haunted me. 
And when I heard her voice I knew again what peace could be: 
"...Do you feel me, do you read me? 
Tell-me-am-I-getting-through to you...I wanna know?..." (7)
It was their city now; the young ones
had risen, like crystal palaces
on the asphalt-shores of eternity.

As the sun dies, the shadows come alive.
The streets at dusk?
another world, a different place. 
Dawn. Its bright-light
 now stung my eyes,
as it spewed across a city
that didn't want it anymore.


And so did I see it cut-cross my path.
Now wondering what news did
my dark-winged
brother carry with him?

Sometimes...we exist right alongside ourselves.
Not one city, but 2.
 And still she lingered, always near. "...you don't have
to speak...I can hear you. I can feel all the things
you've ever felt..before..." (8)

On dark, day-lit streets I made my way.
I knew not how this would end, nor where
it would take me [yet still I walked on].

Perception: (from the Latin perceptio, percipio) is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sense organs. To be continued. If you would like to view part 1, go to:http://studiophoenix.blogspot.com/2013/12/dark-city_15.html. And if you would like to see more art-work by K.K.W, go to:www.fotoblur.com/people/kerwinAleksandar Ares is an emerging poet, digital artist, writer & curator from Morocco. K.K.W (Kerwin Kendell Williamson) is an emerging visual artist, poet, writer & art critic from Trinidad & Tobago.

1. Title of a story line from the X-Men comic's. 2. The official motto of Brooklyn. 3. From "The Raven" - poem by Edgar Allan Poe. 4. From the song "Mathematics" By Mos-Def [from the album "Black on both sides"]. 5. Quote by General George Washington [1st President of the United States of America]. 6. From the film "Interview With The vampire" [spoken by the character Louis] 7. From the song "Do you feel me", by Anthony Hamilton [from the movie American Gangster directed by Sir Ridley Scott]. 8. From the song "Together" by The xx [from the film "The great Gatsby" - directed by Baz Luhrmann].   "Art is the reason, art is the way"

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

What's good in 2014 [music now!]

This months cover design by K.K.W,
with layout by Aleksandar Ares.
On the cover Anais Heraud. 
Music Now: What's good in 2014? By K.K.W


Without a doubt, part of what hinders new music from reaching a larger audience is fame; the fame of other bands, and individuals [Pop-culture & the past]. Sometimes people can't see past this, or their unwilling.

The 2nd, and possibly worse part - generally - is the choice of most people are determined by culture, environment, sex [& or preference], and intellectual growth [or lack thereof]. Of course this is not a straight line, and people are capable of choosing something different in music [although an outside influence is often needed]. 

Over the past 10 years my musical interest has grown -considerably - well beyond Reggae, Hip-Hop & R&B. In the last 3-5 I've come across some amazing bands, duos, ensemble's & individuals producing contemporary music. This is my list.

Herzel & Genoveva @ Kanal 103 radio-station
in Skopje, Macedonia. Photo courtesy of the artists.
https://soundcloud.com/herzel
noon:30, on the cover for March 2013.
Cover design by K.K.W, with layout by Aleksandar Ares.
http://www.myspace.com/noon30band
Clinical Trials - photo courtesy of the artists.
http://clinicaltrialsmusic.com/
Antoan Kurt. Photo courtesy of the artist.
https://soundcloud.com/antoankurt
Low-Fi - image courtesy of the artists.
http://www.low-fi.net/
Nikola Kodjabashia - image courtesy of the artist.
http://www.last.fm/music/Nikola+Kodjabashia
One of the best albums he composed is PenelopeEX:
https://www.facebook.com/PenelopEX.band
Foltin - image courtesy of the artists.
http://www.last.fm/music/Foltin
A great album they were involved with is
PenelopeEX:https://www.facebook.com/PenelopEX.band

Sasko Kostov - image courtesy of the artist.
https://soundcloud.com/sasko-kostov
Muriel Louveau - image courtesy of the artist.
http://www.iapploud.com/view.php?id=1077
http://skana.bandcamp.com/album/skana
Bei The Fish - Image courtesy of the artists.
You should start with their album "Just An Idea".
https://soundcloud.com/beithefish
Ola Dioss - image courtesy of the artist.
https://soundcloud.com/oladioss
Shae Parker - image courtesy of the artist.
http://www.myspace.com/search/music?q=Shae%20Parka&ac=t
Music Progressive Quartet -
image from the reverse-side of their self-title album.
http://www.mpq.mk/
Satya Hinduja - image courtesy of the artist.
https://soundcloud.com/tabularasha
Audrey Chen - image courtesy of the artist.
www.myspace.com/audreychen

Svjetlana Bukvich Nichols - Photo by K.K.W
[Composers Concordance festival - 2012 - "Marathon"
Lynn Bechtold - photo by K.K.W
https://www.facebook.com/violynnnyc?ref=br_tf
Gene Pritsker - Photo by K.K.W
http://soundcloud.com/genepritsker
Milica Paranosic - photo by K.K.W
http://mparanosic.wix.com/milicaparanosic
Patrick Grant -photo by K.K.W
http://www.patrickgrant.com
http://www.peppergreenmedia.com
Dan Barrett [right] - photo by K.K.W
http://streetcannibals.com/#!
Kinan Azmeh - photo by K.K.W
http://www.kinanazmeh.com/
Dan Cooper - photo by K.K.W
http://www.dan-cooper.com
Aneta Kacurkova -
photo courtesy of the artist.
http://soundcloud.com/search?q%5Bfulltext%5D=Aneta+Kacurkova
Genoveva. Photo courtesy of the artist.
https://soundcloud.com/genoveva-1
Darko Kustura - image courtesy of the artist.
http://soundcloud.com/d-phunq


Jeanann Dara - photo by K.K.W
http://soundcloud.com/jeananndara
Mass Of The Infinite - image courtesy of the artist.
http://soundcloud.com/massoftheinfinite

Rob Bellville - photo courtesy of the artist.
http://soundcloud.com/robbelleville
Sabrina Pena Young - image
courtesy of the artist.
www.reverbnation.com/musician/sabrinapenayoung
Yael Archer - photo by K.K.W.
www.myspace.com/junkkatmodiano
As with everything music is a matter of choice - regardless of other factors - and we hope you'll choose to give all of these artists a chance. 
"Art is the reason, art is the way"