Eclectic Fusion’s Weblog

 

Soooo much to see and experience at the Winter Music Conference 2008 and only one petite body!!!! 

Since everyone’s experience is different based on the shows they go to, here is my take on it. Based on the sets and the shows I went to… this year was the revival of ACID HOUSE… A caveat, don’t just take my word on the shows reviewed check out the footage of the nights for yourself!!!

Tuesday March 25th, 2008

Benny Benassi, MSTRKRFT, & Boys Noize @ Mansion

Ok so it is March 25th, 2008 and the Winter Music Conference finally arrived… a year ago Crystal Castles, PEACHES, The Presets, and Dj Hell opened up the conference @ Mansion. This year it also started at Mansion, but with some of the heavy masters of electro house…. Boys Noize, MSTRKRFT, and Mr. Satisfaction himself Benny Benassi… Boys Noize banged with his tough but always funky mixing, which kept everyone pumped and asking for more at every breakdown. His playlist blended rave, with that warm acid house piano, and of course underlying everything was analog sounds… his remix of Feist’s “My Moon My Man” closed the set. MSTRKRFT played classic electro house they teased the crowd with “killing on the dance floor” and they definitely played “easy love.” Tracks from other people that definitely stuck in my mind were those by Green Velvet and Vitalic. Though their set was true electro funk and kept the party flowing, it was definitely a FUN set, but not an innovative one… Finally Benny Benassi mixed great trancy and analog house music that filled the room with DEEP sound. One track had an amazing bass guitar that sounded similar to that used by The Cure in any of their songs… Benassi’s set was a professional mix, but the remix of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”stopped the night to a screeching halt for me. Overall the consensus on the walk home with my girlfriends was that Boys Noize was the hero of the night!

On to Thursday March 27th, 2008

Erol Alkan, Boyz Noize, & Digitalism-Scion Soiree @ The Raleigh Hotel Pool

This line up was amazing on its own, but add to it palm trees, a beautiful blue sky, 73F degree weather, a light breeze, a pool and bikinis, and you get the classic WMC feel…. Erol Alkan started playing around 3pm the tracks were tough and dark for a day party, but he banged it anyways. Among these, Alkan played a track that mixed a Moroccan snake charmer with techno, which rocked. He finished his set with “Blind” by Hercules and Love Affair, which is a beautiful disco song that WILL be a CLASSIC– the lead singer’s voice is just phenomenal. Next up was Boys Noize of course! This poolside set started up with some electro Miami bass style, and slowly but surely he impeccably mixed his way to more pounding tracks, which really pleased the growing crowd. His mix of Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman” was a great breakdown to hear outdoors, but he played it long enough to tease the crowd, and kick the beat back to get the party going. At the end of this incredible lineup was a live performance by Digitalism!!!! This was an amazing sunset appearance. Their live PA included ‘zdarlight,’ ‘fire in Cairo,’ ‘idealistic,’ ‘Homezone,’ and they ended their set with ‘Pogo,’ which was just beautiful.

 

Friday March 28th, 2008

Calvin Harris, Institubes (Surkin, ParaOne and Bobmo), The Toxic Avenger and Franki Chan- Scion Sound Ceremony@Raleigh Hotel

The second day of music at the Raleigh Poolside started with Calvin Harris on the decks. The crowd was more relaxed than the day before when it was filled with NYC hipsters arriving in their sweaters and black skinny jeans. Friday was filled with girls in bikinis enjoying more of the pool than the music. The Institubes started playing around 3:30 and Surkin was first up. He did “Radio Fireworks” and had set up some acid house tracks, when the half the sound system just shut down and it started smelling like burnt rubber. Surkin got off stage and a replacement DJ went on stage.  Later Para One played and started the party again…

 

MSTRKRFT, Surkin, Boys Noize, & A-Track- Fool’s Gold Records Party @ Whiteroom

This party was no fool’s gold it was Solid Gold (except they could have used more sound). This was a FREE party with an original line up that included L.A. Riots, A-Track, and other Fool’s Gold artists. I arrived at the party around one, and I had just missed L.A. Riots (which was the reason for going), but MSTRKRFT was mixing, Chromeo was on stage, A-Track was on stage, Tommy Sunshine and Daniela were on stage, and the Institubes were on stage as well!!!! This was a total surprise to the crowd there, and people were simply amazed. This was TRULY an Acid House party. Right after MSTRKRFT finished their set, Surkin went on and just went OFF!! He played ‘Kiss & Fly’ and of course ‘White Knight Twoooo’!!! When Surkin got off the turntables Boyz Noize got on! After, A-Track got on the decks. Then, DJ Mehdi from Ed Recs and Annie Mac from BBC 1 got on stage, and A-Track played Justice as a teaser, then kept rocking it… I had to leave the party, but I heard the sound system fell right before A-Track was done so…..

Saturday March 29th, 2008

Boyz Noize, Simian Mobile Disco (Live PA), Erol Alkan, and - Fixed @ Studio A

This was another incredible line up, and for me the best party of the conference. Studio A, which locally is known for its lack of quality sound, had huge sets of additional speakers on its stage… Boys Noize started playing at 2AM and rocked it. Simian Mobile Disco went on and started the set with “Sleep Deprivation,” this track’s warm analog and melodic sounds set the theme of their set. Among tracks played were, their remix of the The Go Team’s ‘Ladyflash’ and the Klaxon’s ‘Magick.’ From their stuff they played ‘Hustler,’ ‘The Beat,’ and ‘I believe’ among others… The intricacies of the synthy and the warmth of the lights went hand in hand with the beautiful, but powerful beat. An ecstatic crowd continued to dance to Erol Alkan who just banged it. Alkan delivered a set that mixed techno and acid house, so dark acid house???? At the beginning there was a track with a huge overpowering bass line, he played the snake charmer track, which was OFF THE HOOK especially at a club environment. Towards the end he got going with some acid house, and played tracks with dark and soulful vocals. This was a mind-blowing set to say the least.  

On January 29^th, 2008 I will vote even if my vote does not count. Why? I am doing it to feel what people around the world who live in mediocre democracies feel like when their vote does not count.  Such limited democracies hold elections, but disenfranchise voters in many ways like: not securing voting booths from intimidation or violence, destroying ballots, fixing elections, buying people’s votes, and/or only offering one candidate, because all others have been intimidated or eliminated.    

 

I mean, what is more important in a democracy, the electorate or an organization?

 

Floridians should be rewarded for using the democratic system to change electoral problems in their state.  Instead the Democratic National Committee (DNC) opted to punish states that changed their primary elections, such as Michigan and Florida, by dismissing their votes.  

 

The Florida law, approved by Floridians and signed by Governor Charlie Crist on May 21, 2007, established an early presidential primary on January 29^th, 2008.  This reform led the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to boycott the Florida primaries, thereby preventing candidates from campaigning and not counting the votes of Florida delegates at the Democratic Convention. In other words, the votes of Florida Democrats will not count. 

  

This is ironic because in the 2000 presidential elections, Democrats were scrounging for 500 votes to beat current President George W. Bush.  That election that was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, and it disenfranchised Florida voters. So Florida voters, who agonized over the 2000 presidential elections, are again IGNORED. 

 

Why was the primary date changed in Florida?

               

 

The crazy 2000 presidential elections, experienced by Floridians and by the entire United States, led to a number of electoral reforms. So rather than becoming disillusioned and disconnected from the electoral process, Florida voters became more engaged in improving an electoral system that was the butt of national jokes. Florida officials and the electorate voted to change electoral machines from those that punched paper ballots to computerized systems that will have a paper trail. The state also created an early voting process, so voters not only have absentee balloting at their disposal, but they can also vote early for almost a week before the actual Election Day takes place. This reform was done to accommodate people that have 9-5 jobs, and/or are unable to vote on the actual election date. Floridian voters also agreed to change the date of the electoral primary to increase the relevance of their vote in national politics. This way Floridians could have an increased effect on the momentum of primary elections.

 

A country that has strong democratic institutions allows its citizens to use the political system to solve problems without massive protest or violence. Floridians have showed that they can change the electoral process by using the present political system, and they should be rewarded for their enthusiasm.  The electorate should not be punished by the DNC.

 

What Is the DNC and Why Boycott the Florida and Michigan Primaries?

 

The Democratic National Committee is the organization that according to their website “plans the Party’s quadrennial presidential nominating convention; promotes the election of Party candidates with both technical and financial support; and works with national, state, and local party organizations, elected officials, candidates, and constituencies to respond to the needs and views of the Democratic electorate and the nation” (http://www.democrats.org/a/party/aboutDNC.html). The DNC is chaired by Gov. Howard Dean and it also has a Rules Committee that on August 2007 decided to boycott Florida and Michigan’s push for early primaries.  The 30-committee members did not like being bypassed by the Florida and Michigan electorates, arguing that the “leapfrogging” of  “rogue” states did not follow organizational rules.

In the DNC’s defense, if all states moved up their primary elections, then it would cut the campaigning process.  So voters would not have time to become acquainted with candidates, and the candidates and the party would loose out in opportunities to raise political campaign funds in each state. Many in the DNC have argued that the primary process should be reformed to allow more states to have more representation.

Though the DNC deals with the logistics of candidate selection and should reform the primary system in cooperation with its Republican counterparts, is punishing voters in a democracy necessary? In a democracy, the DNC, which is just an organization, should not be more powerful than an electorate.

 

What are the Costs of the Boycott?

 

If the Democratic National Committee is in the business of convincing people to vote and claims to represent the interests of the American People, by disenfranchising voters it made a public relations blunder. Republicans can always use this against the DNC, its candidates, and voters will remember. Because of the boycott, angry Democrats have opted to give campaign donations to their candidate of choice, rather than to the DNC.

 

Because of the boycott candidates are unable to raise funds in Florida without being hypocrites. Why should supporters give money to candidates if their vote does not count? Remember “no taxation without representation?” More importantly, candidates lose the opportunity to present themselves and sell their agenda in Florida– a key state that has a diverse population and 27 delegates.

 

Even in the past days Hillary Clinton has told voters that she will visit South Florida after the primary to thank voters and hear their needs. She has pleaded to make Florida delegate votes count at the convention, but this is because polls show that she is winning by 50%.  Barack Obama opposes lifting the boycott because he did not campaign in Florida after the DNC’s decision, and if he were to agree to count the votes of Florida and Michigan delegates, it is most likely that he would lose. Democrats lost the opportunity to convince voters about their views on the economy and the war in Iraq, whereas Republicans have used this opportunity to debate and persuade voters in both states possibly winning the attention of independents.

 

For voters the cost of the boycott is the opportunity of meeting candidates, hearing debates, and of taking part in the selection of candidates closest to their views, so at least they can feel like they have a stake in the political system. Many people I spoke to will not vote because they know that their vote will not count. If we follow this reasoning what is the point of having a democracy? Why not have an authoritarian system that will choose everything for us? I should also add that primary elections are elections for delegates that will vote on behalf of the Floridian population, this is not even a direct vote!  

 

Finally, not counting votes in a country like the United States that brags about the value of democratic politics all over the world is a hypocritical move by U.S. politicians. If people are disenfranchised in this country what can people in countries in the midst of political turmoil like Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Kenya hope for? 

 

Though I can say with a high degree of certainty that I will not be violently intimidated by armed groups like in some places in Colombia, my country of origin, as a U.S. naturalized citizen I can hope that the political system will register my vote and that the media will take notice.  Even if my vote does not count, I hope that the next election will improve politics, just as Florida electoral politics have improved eight years since the fiasco of November 2000.

 

To conclude if people want to vote, their vote should count. This is especially true if people want to vote for a candidate that they believe will: improve an economy, create greater peace, lead a developed and rich country, and that will not leave hundreds of people stranded for days, and waiting for water and food right after a Level 5 hurricane floods and destroys their city.

The Flood Aftermath left by Hurricane Katrina August/September 2005 

| View Show | Create Your Own

 All Pictures courtesy of bbc.com

 Update

It is optimistic to see that voter turnout in Florida primaries broke records.  3.848 million people voted, which is a 37% voter turnout. This is an increase, because the 2004 Florida primaries only garnered 2.569 million votes and 26.3% voter turnout.  Democrats got 1,719,334 million votes vs. Republican 1,912,652 votes. Considering that democrat votes did not count this is a pretty good turnout. Hillary Clinton got 854,089 (49.7%) votes compared to Obama’s 567,356 (33%).  Hillary Clinton also received more votes than Sen. John McCain, who received 689,300 votes (36%). However, this result is illusive for Sen. Clinton, because this primary was not a contested primary due to the boycott. 

Though I was looking forward to Art Basel 2007, I got more than I bargained for and it was awesome. Starting with the free Iggy and the Stooges performance right on South Beach, hundreds of people came out to enjoy a cool night, watching 57-year-old Mr. Pop craw, jump, and scream as he has done since his punk stardom in the late ’60s. The reckless guitar riffs and the intense bass guitar sounds were as compelling as ever. 

After feeling quite satisfied for having seen Iggy, my overdose of art started on Thursday afternoon.  I rode with my friend Daniel on his green scooter and we went to see the Art Basel containers.  Some of the exhibits were fun and others were super-intense.  One fun and intense piece was Silent Sound, which consisted of 26 minutes of loud and beautiful classical music.  As you walked into an absolutely dark room full of speakers, the music was supposedly sending a subliminal message. Though Daniel and I never overtly got what the subliminal message was, I came out feeling HAPPINESS… maybe that was the message… Who knows? But it was fun. The artists involved in this piece will not disclose what the message is, so basically you will have to check it someday and tell me if you had the same feeling. For more on this piece click the link: http://www.silentsound.info/sound_silentsound.html. 

Anyway, the piece that really impacted me was located in the Bridge Art Fair at the Catalina Hotel, where all the hotel rooms became galleries.  As you would walk from hotel room to hotel room you looked at what each gallery had to offer. With in this labyrinth of art, The Toomey Tourell Gallery showed Clinton Fein’s Torture Exhibition. With the exception of Colombia’s Fernando Botero, who released his controversial Abu Ghraib Series in early 2005, I had never heard of Clinton Fein, or that any other artists were also tackling the issue of torture that took place in 2003 at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq.  As my friend Daniel and I casually saw two huge photographs of Abu Ghraib tortures in the hallway of the hotel, we continued to stroll in to the room where the gallery was showing Clinton Fein’s work.  As you walked into the room you saw four people talking, but it was as if they were not there because the most eye-catching piece of art was Fein’s “Rank and Defile 1.” 

Right after I saw the photograph, I turned around to see the other pieces in the room, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off the picture.  I turned back around to look again and realized that only two men were left in the room, both standing at each side of the photograph, and one of them was saying “hello!”  Then I think I said something like “it is and incredible piece!”  After I said this, the man to the right of the picture pointed to the other man and said, “Well… he is the artist!”  Needless to say I was excited, I mean how often do you go to a huge art event where you are able to meet the artist, and he is more than willing to talk to you?  Not very often. So I asked him a few questions. 

On his motivations… 

Fein explained that his motivation for doing this project was the way that torture as an issue was dismissed so quickly.  He believes that people quickly forgot the Abu Ghraib events because the images of torture leaked to the press were in low resolution and were sanitized.  For example, the images of genitals were blurred, you cannot see blood or dirt, and because the images were small it was difficult to see the details.  Another reason, why Fein believes people did not dwell on the images for too long, was because people are bombarded with media input 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Fein is right in this regard.  If people even concern themselves with the news, they get it from different types of media and issues are not debated in impartial news programs.  Mainstream media in the United States is constantly criticized for not questioning government policies and using self-censorship.  Most television news networks (were most people in the United States get their news) do not attempt to discuss issues  in an intelligent manner, where the issue is explored in depth and experts on all sides of the issue are called to actually debate.  Instead, talking heads bash each other to see who is going to have the last word.  The aim of popular news networks becomes either pleasing their target audience on the left or the right side of politics, or getting high ratings (or both).  Ratings are more important to news networks interested in turning profit, than informing the public.  The private lives and daily misbehavior of many of “young Hollywookd’s” divas take over news television networks more so than in the past, where “the news” was “news,” and the lives of entertainers was left to the tabloids.  Sadly, issues like torture should be covered like the lives of “it girls.” Networks, like CNN or E!, produce mini-documentaries or call a number of experts ranging from lawyers, to psychologists, to “Hollywood insiders,” to share different points of view.

Material Used and What Clinton Fein learned… 

Clinton Fein told us that although his pictures were re-enactments of the torture at Abu Ghraib, he had a hard time with the project because the pictures he had to look at were so sanitized.  When he began to do the actual project he realized he had very little material to work with.  He was not able to see detail like dirt or blood on the detainees’ bodies.  When he started to work with his models, it was when he realized what really took place in Abu Ghraib.  During the re-enactment his models had a hard time getting into position because it was painful.  The closeness of the bodies as depicted in the photograph is uncomfortable especially when you consider that the detainees were most likely heterosexual men with traditional values.  Fein also mentioned that the different poses really indicated that whoever ordered the detainees to pose for the pictures had a pre-meditated vision of the positions that he or she wanted to photograph.  Fein’s work really touches upon the torturer’s ability to create a composition by the way the torturer organized the bodies.  The pictures that show most composition are “Rank and Defile 1 and 2,” and also pieces “#10″ and “Trophy” (see Fein’s video and images below).  The piece “#10″ truly displays the sexual abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib, and until this day (Dec 2007) many of these abuses have not been shown, in-depth, on mainstream American media (see video below by Australian Dateline for more info).  Fein is still amazed that many U.S. Congresspersons dismissed the original pictures of Abu Ghraib as “sexual pranks.”  (Which makes me think that maybe such congresspersons must engage in a lot of kinky sex!)  Such remarks belittle the fact that: 1.) These were NOT consensual sexual acts, and 2.) These were events that took place in a prison and under U.S. military supervision. 

Fein’s pieces show something UGLIER than torture, if that is even possible to conceive– the use of torture not for intelligence gathering, but for entertainment.  In essence, the torturers were entertaining themselves with the naked bodies of people they regarded as sub-human.  

Criticism… 

When I asked Clinton Fein what kind of criticism he received, he told us that the biggest criticism received from people that saw his work was that he did not know what torture was, because they did not consider what happened at Abu Ghraib torture.  Clinton Fein is a South African born U.S. citizen.  He comes from South Africa, a country that lived through years of Apartheid.  This was a state policy of sustaining the racial oppression of blacks.  Apartheid resulted in the imprisonment of political activists, the use of torture, and the killing of anyone who opposed the regime.  Given his background, if anyone knows what torture is, it is Fein.  He is amazed by this criticism of his work.  He is also stunned by the fact that the use of torture is still debated by U.S. politicians, who represent a country that prides itself on being a democracy that protects individual freedoms.  Fein believes that torture is wrong.  He also believes that the current debate questioning whether “water-boarding” is torture, should not be an issue, because it is torture. 

  Proponents of torture believe that this tool should be available to U.S. intelligence officers.  Governments and violent political groups primarily use torture to retrieve information from whoever their “enemy” may be.  However, torture has its limits because even if such organizations use torture on a person who really is their enemy (and not an innocent civilian), the efficiency of torture depends on: 1.)  The captive person’s knowledge, and 2.) The speed by which an “enemy” organization changes its strategies. Also, torturing a person does not mean that the information obtained is truthful.  

One of the reasons why the George W. Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress decided to go to war in spring of 2003 was to: 1.) Find weapons of mass destruction, and 2.) Finish what George Bush senior did not do– remove a dictator from power who, in their view, was a rogue because of the atrocities that he committed against his enemies and ethnic communities in Iraq.  Fein and other critics of the Iraq War believe that the U.S. government lost the moral ability to defend its reasoning for the war altogether precisely because of the use of torture at Abu Ghraib.  Such events collide with the administration’s supposed moral authority for going to war.  This same belief led Fernando Botero to do his Abu Ghraib Series.  Botero has confronted the violence that exists in Colombia through his artwork, and was astounded by the events at Abu Ghraib because the use of torture showed U.S. hypocrisy. When I mentioned Botero’s Series to Fein, he and the gallery rep were amazed that I knew about it.  According to them, even while touring with the Torture exhibition worldwide, not that many people knew about Botero’s work on Abu Ghraib.  It was interesting to find out that while in Berkeley, California for a showing of the Series at a library, Fein was able to meet Botero.  Essentially because supporters of the War on Iraq regard it as Anti-American, Botero’s work had not been shown in any U.S. museums until this past November when the Katzen Arts Center of American University “premiered” the Series in Washington D.C..

Fear of Typecasts?

Finally, my conversation with Clinton Fein ended with his future as an artist.  Was he afraid of being labeled or dismissed as a radical artist because of his political and controversial topic?  According to him, “it’s already too late (to be afraid)!”  People currently criticizing Fein believe that he is out to get the Bush Administration and dismiss him as an artist.  But Fein’s claim to fame was his ability to sue Janet Reno, President Clinton’s Attorney General because of the 1997 Communications Decency Act.  The Act tried to criminalize any “indecent computer communication intended to annoy another person.”  Fein believed that the piece of law was so ambiguous that he sued Reno and created Annoy.com, an Internet site that encouraged people to submit behavior or content that they considered annoying to them.  The whole exercise explored the absurdity of Reno’s law.  After a series of background checks, a gag order, and a prolonged legal confrontation, on August 2000 Clinton Fein won the case against Janet Reno for trying to limit freedom of expression on the Internet (Annoy.com/history).  Through his activism, Fein proves that he is not picking on any one administration.  Instead, he is trying to make the United States a place that protects freedoms.  Opponents may regard Fein as anti-American, but they should be happy that Fein exists to protect their freedom to annoy him!

I finish off by sharing some Youtube videos with you on: Clinton Fein’s Exhibition, background information on Abu Ghraib, and Fernando Botero’s contribution in a video called a “Permanent Accusation.”

Clinton Fein’s Work

Video:  

And 

Images of Fein’s Work contrasted to the original leaked pictures of Abu Ghraib: 

http://www.clintonfein.com/torture/images.html

Australian Dateline: 

For more background information on the tortures at Abu Ghraib, the sexual abuse, and how the U.S. government has incessantly been fighting to prevent new images from being released to the media, see this Australian news source “Dateline.”

 

Botero’s  ”A Permanent Accusation”

This Fernando Botero video called “A Permanent Accusation” describes his motivation behind his Abu Ghraib Series released in 2005.  As mentioned earlier, this work had not been shown in any U.S. museums, until November of 2007.