In West Africa, as mentioned every so often here, cellphones are far more important than television in media diffusion and consumption. Videos are traded, like sound - from short comedic clips to full-length movies. But amongst the plethora of video, nothing stands out like the remix. Using pre-existing sequences, new…
A heads up for the friends across the pond, I'll be bringing some digital Sahel goodness to Europe for the next two weeks in Switzerland and France: From Feb. 6th - 8th is Lift 13, a three day conference "exploring the business and social implications of digital technologies." I'll be…
In the past year, the Northern portion of Mali slipped into chaos, leaving it without military or law. Islamist militants with a bad habit of kidnapping Westerners took control of the cities, and even the most dogged reporters beat a hasty retreat to the capital. Western media empires constructed around…
. Music from Saharan Cellphones: Volume 2 is finally on vinyl! The album draws from material from both of the first two cassettes - from hi-energy Moroccan Raï, desert ishumar guitar, Sonrai rap from Northern Mali, to yet to be named genres like "Tuareg Autotune". Production of the release was…
For those of you in the Northwest, I'll be showing some of the best modern digital art from the Sahel -- opening this Saturday at the new Portland Museum of Modern Art, "Azawad Libre! New Media and Imagined Geographies in the Sahel" draws from cellphone photography, Facebook profile graphics, and…
