Monday, January 25, 2016

Lucky Cat S11 E15 - Martial Arts Special!






Martial Arts Special!

Crane style kung fu practitioner Sharmin Asia-Rohima Ahmed talks about martial arts and self defence and the new classes she will be teaching in Clapham. Sharmin has trained in crane style kung fu or 12 years both in China and the UK. Legend has it that crane style kung fu was developed by Fang Qi Niang, daughter of a respected Kung fu master in 18th Century China. Sharmin has competed in several UK and European sparring and patterns tournaments winning 5 gold medals, 3 silver and1 bronze medal.

The Tai Chi and Crane style Kung-fu classes will start Sat 6th Feb in Clapham, see: http://www.damospt.com/ or follow Sharmin via Instagram: damo_self_defense

This programme also features a brief review of Donnie Yen's Ip Man 3, out in UK cinemas now.
Also note that the art house martial arts movie The Assassin is currently showing at the BFI.  to get 2 for 1 tickets use the code ASSASSIN241 when booking online.

Playlist:

  • Den Kick - Afronational (7" on No Wahala Sounds label)
  • Crane Style - dub version of Madoo's Have you ever Been to Heaven (7" on the Prophet label, Far East rhythm)
  • Rude Girls - Doreen and Her Allstars (7" on the Rainbow label)
  • Oh Me Oh My - Lloyd Charmers (7" on the Bullet label)

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Lucky cat S11 E14 - Sino-grime Special



Here's last week's show which was a Sino-grime special!  To be honest I got a bit confused - is it Grime or is it Dub Step? Digital bass driven music...Whatever the genre I was surprised to really enjoy it (well it is not lovely scratchy old vinyl after all) - especially stand out track Frozen Pagoda!  
Swimful's PM2.5 (named after a pollution particle) will be released on 1st Feb on SBVKVLT label:
https://soundcloud.com/svbkvlt

Reggae Sound Systems & DJing

Me with the Copesetic Sound system speakers 2014

I was thrilled to get a mention in this great article about women and reggae sound systems:
https://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/the-hidden-women-of-sound-system-culture

A couple of books I can recommend on sound system culture:
This one, Sound System Culture, is written by Paul Huxtable of Axis Sound system and focuses on the history and development of reggae sound systems in Huddersfield where Paul is from:
http://www.axissound.co.uk/sound-system-culture-project-and-book/

The Sonar System is a beautifully illustrated children's book emphasising the importance of sound systems in the cultural history of the 20th century:
http://www.factmag.com/2015/07/08/sonar-system-picture-book-sound-system-culture/

I am pleased to announce that I will be playing with Copesetic sound system again on Friday 6th May 2016 in Manchester.

 A little sooner than that on Wednesday 10th February I'll be playing reggae at David Katz's night Dub Me Always in Brixton alongside Sweetie.  Lots of reggae plans for 2016!

Friday, January 15, 2016

No Cars - Mixcloud link and Photos

Tomoko on keys    
 
Haruna on lead guitar (and clarinet later) 

 
Takaco on bass and 'Candy' on drums


I had so much fun with the brilliant band No Cars playing live in the studio last week.  Go see them live - they are amazing!  Check their Facebook for upcoming gigs in February: www.facebook.com/nocarsmusic/

Sunday, January 03, 2016

Happy 2016!

Hope you all had a lovely festive break and are fresh and ready for the new year ahead!  Here is a mix I made for a friend - no East Asian tunes but plenty of toe tapping treats.

Lucky Cat returns to Resonance FM for a further 13 weeks of series 11 on Saturday 9th Jan 2016.
I will be joined live in the studio by the fabulous group No Cars for a live set and interview.  There may even be a curry taste off!

So far I have quite a few DJ dates booked in for 2016:

JAN:
Sunday 24th: Women's DJ relay at The Ritzy, Brixton


FEB:
Wednesday 10th: Dub Me Always at The Ritzy, Brixton
Monday 22nd: Asia House Film Festival Opening, Ham Yard, Soho 
Saturday 27th: Gaby Agis & The Raincoats, Greenwich

More dates to be confirmed soon!