the Freshness
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Never Records… the Reclaimed Soul Interview cut on wax.
Fresh from New Orleans, it’s my interview with Ted Riederer…. that he cut by hand on clear wax. It’s the first Reclaimed Soul interview that was played directly from a real record to play on the radio show! Ted Riederer is a New York based artist who is in New Orleans running a pop-up record…
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Dreams in Jay-Z Minor: The Intersection of Visual Art + Excess + Lyrics
Visual Artists Amanda Williams + Krista Franklin have collaborated on “Dreams in Jay-Z Minor”, a new exhibition at Blanc Gallery in Bronzeville running October 5, 2012 – December 29, 2012. Connected by dual recurring dreams of Jay-Z, Williams and Franklin explore the natures of upward mobility, excess, fantasy, and hip-hop luxury. In their works they…
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Listen Locally: DJ Ayana at Maria’s….
Reclaimed Soul’s host, Ayana Contreras, is perhaps best known for spinning classic Chicago Soul records, but on Tuesday, October 2nd, she plans to mix it up and play cuts from the trippier and (even) grittier side of her Chicago Music collection. She will also feature what she likes to call the “Rock Hand Side of…
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Darkjive Updates!
Greetings, Darkjivers. I’ve been on sort of a blog hiatus as I’ve been working on Reclaimed Soul (the broadcast radio version of Darkjive). I’ve also been ramping up for the fall, engaged in research and digging (all too often intertwined for me). But let me be the first to tell you: feel-good events, new content,…
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Sundown in K-Town: North Lawndale Documentary Festival
Sundown in K-Town Teaser from BetterBoys Foundation on Vimeo. Better Boys Foundation (BBF) and Facets Multi-Media announce a film festival comprised of a series of social documentaries screened outside in the inner courtyard of the BBF Center at 1512 S. Pulaski Road . These groundbreaking documentaries such as The Murder of Fred Hampton (pictured at…
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Listen to Streaming Archives of my Radio Show: Reclaimed Soul.
Here in Chicago, Reclaimed Soul airs Thursdays 8-10PM (CST) on Vocalo.org 89.5fm. You can stream live at http://vocalo.org/player. Now folks can listen anytime to radio featuring sound rich interviews and an all-vinyl playlist (courtesy of host Ayana Contreras). Reclaimed Soul is about taking old materials (records, buildings, ideas, et al) to push us all forward.…
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Archeologist and Architect: this Friday at the SSCAC.
This Friday, (aka DJ Ayana) am spinning at the Southside Community Art Center, an establishment originally founded with help from the WPA during the Great Depression. It is the nation’s oldest African American Art Center. Also on the bill is the David Boykin Trio (featuring Marcus Evans on drums, Alex Wing on bass, and Boykin…
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Crate Digger as Archaeologist….
Someone recently described me as an Archaeologist. At first, I didn’t really see the connection, but then I thought for a moment. One of the things I love most about record collecting is how much akin it is to an Archaeological “dig”. A person finds the physical record, occasionally has to dust it off, and…
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21st Century: Tricks are made for kids.
The 21st Century were yet another Kiddie Soul group out of the Chicago area (not unlike The Jackson 5, The Eight Minutes, Cindy & the Playmates, The Five Stairsteps, Pat & Pam, and The Brighter Side of Darkness). Many of these groups are detailed further here. The group hailed from the West Side and were…
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