thefreethinkingmovementI have a confession to make: I like folk music. Stop, come back. Let me explain… A couple of things this week have prompted me to share this insight. First of all, interspersed in the World Cup coverage on ESPN in the US is a new advert for AT&T. I was shocked when I heard […]
I’m not sure that I’ve ever felt so passionate about a radio station. This is a big statement from someone who used to run one (albeit a student station). The news of the potential (likely, even) closure of BBC 6 Music came as a shock to me when it first broke in March this year. […]
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. If you haven’t heard of them, do yourself a favour: check them out immediately. Representing the acceptable face of UK hip-hop, this is an act with more depth, creativity and intelligence than the vast majority of artists out there. They have the balls to sample Radiohead – and get […]
Gil Scott-Heron. I feel almost ashamed that it’s taken me until now to write about him. His is a singular talent. He is almost the dictionary definition of a freethinker. Let me start with his latest album. A liner note asks that you listen to the album ‘for the first time under optimum conditions’. I […]
The King Blues. Heard of them? No, I hadn’t either until a few weeks ago. So much music, so little time… I was recently put onto The King Blues by a mate of mine who was visiting from the UK (cheers, Mark). One listen to ‘What If Punk Never Happened’, and I was taken. The […]
Loud concerts can sometimes be bloody wonderful. Case #1: the Happy Mondays during their ‘we reformed for tax purposes’ gigs at the Brixton Academy. Bloody marvellous. They were a complete shambles on stage. Never ones to be known for their musical prowess – it didn’t matter. They made up for it – as they did […]
The freethinking ethos was loud and clear during volume 3. Genuinely, I don’t know where else you would hear Run DMC, Heaven 17, Sade, Dizzy Gillespie, Friendly Fires and Delphic all in one night. Throw in a Nat Cole tune to close the evening, and I think you’ve got something special. Nat Cole’s ‘Sweet Lorraine’ […]
I really didn’t like them at first. This is quite a big thing to admit, and looking back, I simply can’t justify it at all. Every now and then, you’re just plain wrong. And here I am admitting it, in a big way. Supergrass is no more. The end of monkey pop. The end of […]
You’ve probably missed this. My guess is that the music press is barely going to take notice. The NME won’t be screaming a headline, celebrating the tenth studio album of one of the most outstanding contributors to British music over the last 30 years. It’ll go without note – just as the majority of their […]
‘What kind of music do you play?’ A common, and completely understandable question from people hearing about freethinking nyc – our Thursday club nights at Kush. It’s actually a really tough question to answer. Saying ‘good music’ really doesn’t capture it. Likewise, a straightforward genre response only scratches the surface. We’ll play 80s electronica up […]
1993. I scarcely believe that it was that long ago that I was dropped off by my parents at university. A naïve, fresher-faced, significantly slimmer (a ‘lanky streak of piss’ is one way of putting it) version of me. And I had bad jeans. I envy this streak of piss on a regular basis. Yes, […]
Volume 2 of freethinking nyc took place at Kush last night. The idea is simple: 2 DJs playing a genre-spanning set of music that you would not normally hear in a club setting. It’s not just about the same thumping hip hop, or chart pop. There’s some great music out there, that if given the […]