J Gerlach: Simple History series

Zine Scene: J Gerlach’s Simple History Series

J Gerlach: Simple History SeriesJ Gerlach: Simple History Series (Microcosm Publishing)

The history textbook might seem like an odd choice to adapt to a zine format. On a shelf full of comics, perzines, and essays, you wouldn’t really expect to find a history of modern Iran or the Nez Perce Indians. J Gerlach’s Simple History series (Microcosm), however, aims to change that. Each edition chronicles a decisive moment or movement in world history, condensing a story to the 50-page chapbook format. These books provide an insightful and informative antidote to the bulky historical tome usually found at schools or libraries. Additionally, the presentation breaks significantly with the mainstream idea of “history;” a sort of micro-People’s History of the United States, Gerlach looks at these events with a leftist, anti-imperialist, and sharply critical approach that’s in contrast to many established historical interpretations.

†‡† (Ritualz): Anonymous Witch-House Musician Draws from Pop’s Dark Side

This story first appeared in Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music. Order your copy today.

Ritualz: CDR†‡†: CDR (Disaro, 9/10/10)

†‡†: “gOth bb”

[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Ritualz_Goth_BB.mp3|titles=†‡† (Ritualz): “Goth BB”]

Behind the dark electronica of †‡† (vocalized and alternately written as Ritualz) stands an anonymous, soft-spoken man. The latter is confirmed in fragmented bits over the phone, before technological limitations force the conversation to Google Chat. Once online, he explains that he’d prefer to keep his regular location to himself, though he divulges that he’s staying with family in Mexico City and has a date to perform in Monterrey, Mexico the following week. (San Marino, the location listed on his MySpace profile, is a red herring.)

An instant-message interview is very fitting; nearly everything about Ritualz’ short music career has happened on the Internet. Two days after making a MySpace profile showcasing a handful of gloomy trip-hop tracks under his nom de guerre, he signed to Houston-based micro-label Disaro. Run by Robert Disaro, the Disaro label is a standard bearer for a nascent electronic sub-genre that most are calling “witch house,” and Ritualz’ compelling mix of drone, synth hop, and industrial is a perfect fit.

Mixtape Premiere: Fort Knox Recordings’ Funk the World 03

Funk the World vol. 3Jay Clue: Funk the World 03 (Fort Knox)

DJ Jay Clue: Funk the World 03

Copy and paste this URL to download the whole mixtape:

In late 2011, “renegade funk ‘n’ soul” label Fort Knox Recordings launched a monthly mixtape series titled Funk the World. The first part of the series was presented by the label’s own Fort Knox Five and included an eclectic mix of world-music artists among remixes of songs by Fred Astaire and Louis Armstrong.

This month’s mixtape is presented by DJ Jay Clue (of QDUP Foundation) and features the likes of Gogol Bordello, Tim Tim, and The Correspondents, among others. You can listen to the entire mix here and read on for the full tracklisting.