I have been in the mountains for more days in a row then I can count. Snow was deep, turns amazing. Got home last night and woke exhausted to the sound of rain on my roof. All I can think about is a mellow morning with coffee and a big breakfast. Checking my email from the past week and I find a great recommendation from JM “Afromonk” that fits my mood perfect this grey day. The Human Experience’s release “The Art of the Way” is a gorgeous piece of music. David Block took last year to travel around the globe and grow as an human and this release shows just that maturity in the tracks. Sometimes it just takes stepping out of your normal day to day life and venture into the unknown to be inspired and unleash the inner creativity. I don’t know David Block, but from listening to “The Art of the Way” this morning I think he has succeeded. Check out his whole release on Bandcamp!
ChrisB just dropped a fantastic new EP this morning that totally kills it. 2 Songs full of gorgeous melodies layered over slightly glitchy beats with some atmospherics really showcase how ChrisB is taking his music to the next level! The release which can be found on Bandcamp is perfect preview to what we can expect to see this festival Season. Catch ChrisB at the Do Lab stage at coachella or check out his site to see the other venues he is playing this spring!
One of my favorite albums from GoldRush just got remixed by some of the freshest names in the game! Goldrush is dropping his 2ed release on Generation Bass with the help of some friends. Each a talented producer in their own right, re-imagines one of Goldrush’s original tracks off the Love Hz release. The result is a new creative look on what started as amazing tracks. These creative additions add elements of percussion, melodic atmosphere and dance floor ready beats! Love Hz Rmxd drops on March 23. Enjoy!
Desert Dwellers are super excited to release their newest release that has been fully funded by their fans through a kick-starter project! DownTemple Dub: Remixed will be released on April 3ed thanks to a huge rally from fans and friends helping to promote this project. This is just one more reason why our community is such a blessing to be apart of. Everyone benefits in this situation, new music, new live show. Now the music. Desert Dwellers put together a release filled with otherworldly down-tempo and psy-chill grooves. Some of today’s top producers took classic Desert Dwellers yoga dubs and remixed them into another dimension. Combining sounds of the future with the roots of years past this release is perfect for sitting back and allowing your mind to drift far from daily life. Prepare for a sonic exploration into higher dimensions! Remixes from Love & Light, Aes Dana, Kaminanda, Kalya Scintilla, Duke Mushroom, Eastern Sun, Drumspyder, Androcell, and Earthrise SoundSystem.
The Do Lab does it right as always! This years line up looks incredible! I can’t wait to see all your faces and see all my friends on the West Coast. You will find the AfroMonk.com family there in full force! I’ve bolded all the acts i’m most excited about!
We will have more coverage as time progresses!
Much Love to The Do Lab and everyone part of this event
Lucidity Festival, on April 13th-15th, looks to be one of the most spiritually transformative gatherings of 2012. Nestled in Live Oak Camp in the hills outside of Santa Barbara, its location is prime; imagine listening to unparalleled groovy beats while wandering in a forest with family new and old. The experience, however, will not only be pleasing to your eardrums. It will likely cause all-sensory gratification – visual, mental, aromatic, tactic, even your taste buds may do a little dance once or twice. It’s all about connections; all are welcome and participants will transcend any mental boundaries they may have had coming into the festival. Everyone is encouraged to get involved in their respective villages to create a mutually contributive and interwoven community. There are six archetypal villages at the festival: Renegade Outpost, Warrior’s Way, Healing Sanctuary, Family Garden, Lovers Nest, and Lunatic Fringe; each represent what each person may identify with or seek to fulfill in coming to Lucidity. The aim is to co-create something beautiful that will never be forgotten… and surely that will happen.
The music lineup for Lucidity Festival is extraordinary. The focus seems to be on relatively chill, downtempo electronic vibes that will resonate throughout the forest. Including some of the world’s most talented live DJs among the likes of Random Rab, Love & Light, Govinda, William & The Earth Harp (the longest stringed instrument in the world), Heyoka, Thriftworks, Phutureprimitive, Bird of Prey, Nicoluminous, and Russ Liquid, the bill is stacked and sure to please. There will be plenty of other unique and quality sounds surrounding you, including elements of dub, IDM, shamanistic, percussion, ambient, beatboxing, wind instruments, strings, lyricists… the list goes on. I really think that each of the musical acts will be stunning, thought-provoking, and the flowing lifeblood of the festival.
Another awe-inspiring aspect of Lucidity Festival will be the live art and art installations. Everywhere you look there will be artists at work in tune with the rhythm of the gathering, as well as intricate yet vast installations open to interaction and interpretation. I am particularly excited to see what Bamboo DNA brings to the plate as I saw some of their remarkable structures at Lightning in a Bottle 2011 and they seem to be boundless in their creations. Walkabout Woods looks to be intriguing as well – it’s a large three-part interactive installation for exploring.
I am looking more and more forward to Lucidity Festival each day. I know it will be life-changing in more than one way and am excited to open my senses to new possibilities!
Check out the Lucidity Festival website for more details and to purchase tickets, and get ready to drink some delicious liquid sunshine in the woods with us!
Sunmonx’s debut release “Power Salad” is one I have been waiting for all winter because I’m a sucker for live instrumentation blended with top notch production. Sunmonx consists of the Australian duo of Opiuo’s tight production style with Austero’s down under funky guitar rifts. This tight fusion of production blends together pieces from many genres including bass music, blues, and funk. I picked up moments that really reminded me of Signal Path’s funky guitar while other tracks slowed things down and had a much chiller organic sound. The Australians have been killing it this past year and this release is no exception. Power Salad is true to its name, a sonic fusion that explores new dimensions of the electronica spectrum.
Sunmonx is releasing “Power Salad” on March 21st, but you can get it Pre-Release on Interchill’s bandcamp and Addictech March 7th.
One of my favorite Bass Innovators Nico Luminous is providing a new audible treat with releasing his 3ed Ep entitled “Unearth the Diamond.” Personally, I only got turned on to the LA, based producer last year from JM the creator of Afromonk.com, but he has become part of my constant rotation, his tracks finding their way into my dj sets and mixes. Don’t get me wrong, just because I was late to the scene, Nico Luminous is a longtime member of the Bass community sharing the stage with some of the greats including, Vibesquad, Dave Tipper, and Heyoka. Hopefuly, I will have my first pleasure of hearing a live performance at the up and coming Lucidity Festival! The specific sounds that set Nico Luminous ahead of the pack in my mind is how he makes electronic music sexy. He stretches the limits of his software and pulls together elements of the bass genre into one seamless package that is a pure sex. Catch a show this spring and hear for yourself, Nico has a busy touring schedule taking him from Coasta Rica to Texas, Cali, Nevada, Utah and Washington. I hope to catch up to this talented individual this spring and enjoy the positivity his music brings to our community and the larger galaxy. In Nico Luminous words, ”Music is nourishment for the soul, a bridge to unseen worlds. I’m grateful to have dedicated my life to something that brings people together in Love and Peace.”
Pickup your copy of this Masterpiece and support one of the true Innovators of our Bass Community at his Bandcamp page.
Afro Monk
March 31st by Mr Ed 
Tags: David Block, The Art of the Way, The Human Experience
I have been in the mountains for more days in a row then I can count. Snow was deep, turns amazing. Got home last night and woke exhausted to the sound of rain on my roof. All I can think about is a mellow morning with coffee and a big breakfast. Checking my email from the past week and I find a great recommendation from JM “Afromonk” that fits my mood perfect this grey day. The Human Experience’s release “The Art of the Way” is a gorgeous piece of music. David Block took last year to travel around the globe and grow as an human and this release shows just that maturity in the tracks. Sometimes it just takes stepping out of your normal day to day life and venture into the unknown to be inspired and unleash the inner creativity. I don’t know David Block, but from listening to “The Art of the Way” this morning I think he has succeeded. Check out his whole release on Bandcamp! 
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