News, info and works of Greek-American interdisciplinary artist, Ithaka (Ithaka Darin Pappas); visual artist, music-maker, writer, photographer, citizen biologist & saltwater nomad (surfer). Lives between LA, CDMX and AkahtiLândia, Brasil. Ithaka official instagram: @_ithaka_ #sogetup #ithaka #ithakadarinpappas
Turquoise Records tiene previsto lanzar el próximo viernes 31 de enero el primer álbum de Armando Mendes, artista de origen portugués que también ha editado con el alias Sun7 y que cuenta con varios lanzamientos en el sello barcelonés.
Titulado Parallel Universe, éste primer álbum ha sido grabado por el portugués a lo largo de un periodo de dos años y medio y lo ha grabado en tres ciudades diferentes: Los Ángeles, Londres y Berlín. Entre sus colaboradores hay leyendas como Robert Owens, Ithaka (letrista vocalista de "So Get Up") y Jinadu (Defected). Un disco formado por doce temas que van desde la electrónica más lenta a paisajes sonoros llenos de jazz y deep house.
Beginning at the start with this thought. Some music is more important, more meaningful than others. That is not to be elitist, it’s simply a statement of truth. Listening to Armando Mendes journey into experience conjures up that implication as sounds, moods and musical possibility are all visited upon the listener via a joyous intent. The first thing that strikes you here is the sheer breadth of sight and notation which has been soaked up and then transferred through the stereo of life. Quality and imagination are bywords. For example experience the warm, poignancy noted across the beautifully haunting Things U Do 2 Me, Acid is then consumed by the grainy rhythms of the fierce Acid Yardies, while the soulful tear of Robert Owens is laid bare upon No Regrets – with one of his finest vocals. Never sticking to a single idea the music evolves in many exciting ways such as on the ambient bliss generated by MS20 Interlude, leaving darker impressions to contrast with One Night in Bangkok, or on the sublime electrics of Parallel Universe. It’s all just about discovery. But back to the very beginning as Ithaka ignites the thought-provoking This Life’s All We Got in low-slung, funky ways by breathing the anticipation of life into all the happens next.
NEW YORK, NY (JANUARY 13, 2020) — The International Center of Photography (ICP) will open its new integrated center at Essex Crossing on Manhattan’s Lower East Side with CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, one of four inaugural exhibitions. It will be on view at ICP at 79 Essex Street from January 25 to May 18, 2020.
Produced and originated at the Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles’s premier destination for photography, CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop is a journey through nearly four decades of photography, documenting a movement that impacted music, politics, race relations, fashion, and the culture at large. Curated by Vikki Tobak, based on the bestselling book of the same name, and with creative direction by Fab 5 Freddy, the exhibition includes nearly 150 works from 60 photographers, including Janette Beckman, Jamel Shabazz, and Gordon Parks.
This expanded CONTACT HIGH exhibition includes nearly 10 new works and more than 75 unedited contact sheets from Barron Claiborne’s iconic Notorious B.I.G. portraits to early images of Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Kanye West. It will also display the Dapper Dan jacket made for Rakim and the crown worn by the Notorious B.I.G.
“CONTACT HIGH celebrates a musical genre that speaks truth to power and the photographers who played a critical role in bringing hip-hop’s visual culture to the global stage. It provides a rare, inside look at the work of hip-hop photographers through their unedited contact sheets,” said Tobak.
“ICP is thrilled to open our new space on Manhattan’s Lower East Side with CONTACT HIGH and bring this important work to a New York City audience. As relevant now as when they were made, the images in this exhibition reveal complex and nuanced negotiations of self-presentation—foreshadowing our own selfie age— within and without the confines and stereotypes of the hip-hop scene,” said Mark Lubell, ICP’s Executive Director.
“The overwhelming number of visitors in the Los Angeles region to CONTACT HIGH was a testament to the importance and impact of these images,” said Wallis Annenberg, president and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation. “The role these photographers played in shaping hip-hop culture and beyond is incredible. It’s only right that our most popular exhibit to-date come to New York City, the birthplace of hip-hop.”
The exhibit also includes a documentary short film featuring CONTACT HIGH photographers at work and in conversation, including BarronClaiborne, Brian “B+” Cross, Eric Coleman, Estevan Oriol, Ithaka Darin Pappas, Jorge Peniche, Jamel Shabazz, Janette Beckman, Joe Conzo, Jack McKain, Dana Scruggs, and Danny Clinch. The film is produced by the Annenberg Foundation and Radical Media.
During the run of the exhibition, Tobak and several photographers featured in CONTACT HIGH will participate in public programs and other events for students, museum goers, ICP members, and the general public. In addition, new exhibition-related retail products will be available exclusively in ICP’s new shop. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Review in BIG BAER-Urban Alternative Music Magazine (Nov.2001)
http://www.bigbaer.com/ithaka.htm
Somewhere South of Somalia
Let me start by telling you the ending:"…run, don't walk, and buy this CD! Don't miss out on one of the most original hip hop releases of the year!"
Somewhere South Of Somalia, the third album to be released from the artist ITHAKA, is the freshest compilation of hip hop beats, rap lyrics and spoken word that I have heard in a very long time. If you are feeling hip hop but are more than a little tired of hearing rappers spit about ho's and 4/Os; about twenty inch rims and all-nighters; if the thought of one more Jay-to-the-izzo causes you more pain than fingernails scratching mercilessly on the chalkboard, then Somewhere South of Somalia is for you.
The timing of this review is impeccable. I recently sat on a panel at an Urban Music conference where I addressed the situation of originality, or rather, the lack of it in much of today's urban music. Somewhere South Of Somalia is as original as they come, written on location in Kenya and Tanzania, it is an adventurer's diary, a hip-hop recollection of one man's soul-searching escape to the east coast of Africa. ITHAKA Darin Pappas is a visual artist and a writer. He is also a superb storyteller who explores the sometimes forgotten topic of escapism.
The album plays out like a hip-hop adventure journal. Somewhere South Of Somalia brings us stories of tribal folklore, urban dangers, epidemics and voodoo. It recalls life threatening experiences and human tragedy. It is funny; it is serious and at times wildly erotic.
There are nineteen tracks of songs and interludes on this very unique offering. Though written on location in East Africa, followed by a stay in Lisbon, Portugal, Somewhere South Of Somalia was recorded in Los Angeles with producer-engineer, Conley "Conman" Abrams (Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Queen Latifa, Heavy D, etc.), ITHAKA's distinctive laid-back but powerful rap style is complemented by first class original beats and vocal arrangements.
The overall production quality is first rate. It is obvious that a great deal of thought went into the production of each track. Almost as adventurous as the album's material itself, Somewhere South Of Somalia transports you from rap to spoken word, to trip-hop, all seamlessly done lending to a true sense of discovery.
Rana Linda is the story of a foreign war correspondent originally from Colorado who had been covering events in Rwanda and now struggles with the realities of difficult choices. Ugly American tells of a wealthy businessman who moves to the Kenyan coast, destroys forests, sexually abuses his maid and kills endangered species for fun.
Black Rock is a song based on Tanzanian tribal tradition of a black stone reported to save lives of those bitten by venomous snakes. The catchy chorus is sung by tribal children and backed by a thick base of tribal hip-hop rhythm.
Lapis Lazuli / Mother of Pearl is a spoken word proclamation of love with a melodically sung hook-line by IZREAL (from the song Rana Linda) and woven throughout by a beautifully muted trumpet jazz-like beats. The song adds to the diversity and richness of the album. Very well done.
Upendo is eight minutes and twenty-six seconds of superb and outrageously erotic, trip-hop. "Mr. Lapis Lazuli" receiving a language lesson from "Mother of Pearl" (50 ways to say I LOVE YOU in Swahili). For sheer mood enhancing power, Upendo stands tall in the company of Enigma's Principles of Lust (MCMXC a.D.) and Lonnie Liston Smith's Desert Nights from his hallmark Expansions album. I would buy Somewhere South of Somalia for this song alone.
Exploring the outskirts of Nairobi's notorious River Road, ITHAKA relates a tale of adventure-turned nightmare involving pimps, drug dealers and knife wielding gangs. It ends with ITHAKA sprinting for his life.
Mwajuma, tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a wandering nomad, ITHAKA, and a domestic servant to Nairobi's elite. The story unfolds from a light-hearted meeting to ITHAKA's discovery that his new friend has tested HIV positive. Her husband is already dead and she ponders about the future of her children while still showing great concern for ITHAKA's well being. Cynthia Denise Farmer sings the moving gospel chorus, building to a full choir ending. The song is a powerful reminder of the AIDS epidemic that is devastating much of Africa today.
ITHAKA's curiosity of places and people is revealed wholeheartedly in Somewhere South Of Somalia. His travels have taken him to Europe, Africa and the South Pacific. While in Lisbon, Portugal, a brief stint as a radio host landed him a record deal with a local subsidiary of EMI. In 1998 he released the ep, ESCAPE (Nortesul EMI/Portugal) which featured a remake of his hip-hop dance track "Escape From The City Of Angels" off of his first album. The song earned ITHAKA a SCYPE AWARD (European Radio Listener's Choice Award) and later appeared in the soundtrack of Columbia Film's The Replacement Killers starring Mira Sorvino and Chow Yung Fat.
Somewhere South Of Somalia is a continuation of ITHAKA's philosophy: live it, write about it, rap about it. It is an excellent hip-hop album as well as a true collector's offering. Now I can finish right where I began: run, don't walk, and buy this CD! Don't miss out on one of the most original hip hop releases of the year!"
