Mannequins are not all white...

Before I went to China, I could say that I had been to maybe 7 to 10 malls in my whole life. But I can more than double that experience by my trip there. China's urban cities are a mall within a mall within a mall.  I've never been to so many malls in my life.  And if I didn't know it before, I am not a mall person but I did enjoy seeing asian mannequins while I was at this mall in Shanghai.

The Jetsons Meet Shanghai

Shanghai is a very old city (think 1,000 plus years old) but you wouldn't know it from its downtown architecture. I took this picture at The Bund...a riverside walkway on the Huangpu River.  Across is the Pudong district of Shanghai...it's straight out of The Jetsons!

Mandazi-Dumpling Stuff It Mix

Um, What are you doing?!?

When I come back from my travels, it is hard for me to share what I experienced since I’m always still processing it—and everything I say seems trite. Words seem to escape me. I spent a month in China this spring (Mid April to Mid May 2011). It was amazing but when people asked me how it was “I could only say ‘amazing’. This cacophony of sounds is my attempt to share a bit of my experiences there. The Mandazi-Dumpling Stuff It Mix is a collection of some of the recordings I made in China and music that I djayed in the Southern city of Yizhou—thanks to my friend, Jimmy, and his childhood bestys! Many of the recordings are reworked, stretched, blown out, and roboticized thanks to the wonders of audio editing software but isn’t that what music is. Here’s a Chinese travelogue from my perspective. Sound is Music. Everything has a beat. That means the dance floor is my church!

Um, What was that sound?!?

Muslim Quarter of Xian---JC and I eating lamb on a stick while our streetside waiters hustled for the next bleary eyed tourist (sounds: streetside waiters/advertising, lamb sizzling, bike bells, yelps) (Xi’an)

Chinese Opera---JC and I riding bikes on top of the fortress of Xi’an. The intoxicating sounds of an opera right outside of the wall below us calls us from our mechanical horses to listen to this makeshift performance in the park (sounds: opera singer/waitress voice) (Xi’an)

Strawberry Festival (Tongzhou Canal Park)---African Drumming in China! Exists! (sounds: 8 to 10 drummers) (Beijing)

Strawberry Festival (Tongzhou Canal Park)---Hanggai is an amazing Mongolian sonic centered anthem rock group based in Beijing. (sounds: throat singing, traditional Mongolian instruments) (Beijing)

The Great Mosque of Xi'an---Evening Call to Prayer (sounds: call to prayer, people running through the Mosque garden to Worship…that would totally be me all of the time) (Xi’an)

Shadow Puppet Show in Xi’an---Apparently, the art of shadow puppetry started in Xi’an. (sounds: 3 actors playing multiple characters, bells, chimes, unseen instruments)

Li River--- We (Jun, JC, and I) took a river cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo (sounds: stewardess trying to sell us something or tell us about the history of the river sites) (Li River)

Nightclub Sounds

Dance Move #1: Wena Ng’Hamba Nawe (2007) by DJ Cleo (South African Kwaito, House, and Hip Hop DJ and Producer)
Dance Move #2: Chukua (2007) by Longombas (Formerly Kenyan based Soukous and Hip Hop Performance Duo—and their twins)
Dance Move #3: Safari Disco Club (2011) by Yelle (French Electronic trio)
Dance Move #4: Nasty Bass (2011) by Schlachthofbronx ft. Spoek Mathambo (South African based DJ and Producer)
Dance Move #5: Najivunia (2011) by Trapee and Avril (Kenyan Anthem of the Ages—My opinion)
Dance Move #6: Hunting (Tom Piper Vs. Neki Stranac Moombahton Mix 2011) by Malente Vs Azzido Da Bass (German Electronic Producer Duo)
After-Party Wind Down
Imuhar (2010) by Bombino (Musician and Revolutionary songwriter from the Niger)
Credits and Muchisima Thanks!

Album Art: Jalane Holidae
China Trip Experience and Guidance: Jimmy Tang and Bestys
Shipmate/Co-pilot: JC
Backbone/Support Team: Bent, Rat, Trash, Danielle, and Amrita

Overheard on Top of Xian's City Walls: Chinese Opera

On my final day in Xian, J.C. and I took a bike ride on top of the city's fortified walls. Cloudy, cool and not many people to cross paths with--a very different Day in Xian. As we rode a quarter around the wall, we heard this amazing high pitched voice accompanied by a string instrument coming from below us and like a dream/fantasy/movie, there was a Chinese opera taking place under a tarp outside the city walls. People were sitting under the tarp while being served food and beverages while others in the park clustered under shade on their own chairs, bicycles, and motor bikes. Here is a brief clip from that.

This will be included in a beat heavy inspired mix tape called The Maandazi Dumpling Stuff It Mix

Smiley Culture - Saxon - Cockney translation

Famed 80s reggae star, Smiley Culture passed away this week. His death is shrouded with some pretty strange details that make no sense but instead of mulling over that, I'm going to spend the day swaying to his music.

A Beachside Feast in the City

A Beachside Feast in the City a photo by mothershiester on Flickr.

This is one of the first meals I had with D in Lima. For 12 soles, you could eat all of this...cebiche, sopa de mariscos, sopa de algo, agua fresca...etc etc etc. I think I wrote down the name of the restaurant somewhere in my journals. It was only 3 blocks down from me on the street that i lived in but i only visited twice. Benign regrets catch up with me occasionally.

papas a la huancaina...finalmente

papas a la huancaina...finalmente a photo by mothershiester on Flickr.

Right now, I'm in an emo mood...listening to "aqui estoy" por Elefante, over and over again. Hungry but not moved enough by food to do anything about it. Though, I will admit that D chowing down on this plate of papas a la huancaina is giving me ideas.

laundromat love

laundromat love a photo by mothershiester on Flickr.

It's been a year since D came down to visit me and JC in Peru. This weekend he and his boo are coming up to D.C. and I want to travel back in time and rehash our adventures together. Including a highlight at the laundromat in my temporary neighborhood, Jesus Maria. There are many cleaners in Lima but not that many laundromats. I love this spot because it reminds me of the best of my family moments.