Posts Tagged Ambassador
DJ Rekha presents “Bollywood Disco Xmas” with Rajstar and DJ Rekha at Le Poisson Rouge on Christmas Day at 10pm
Posted by SB in EV Artists, ev arts, EV Arts, SB in EV Arts on December 6, 2011
DJ Rekha presents Bollywood Disco Xmas!
Doors Open: 10:00 PM (Happy Hour from 10pm-11pm)
Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleeker Street NYC Tel)212-505-FISH
Bollywood Disco – retro filmi classics, eclectic disco grooves. DJ Rekha digs through her digital and actual crates, spinning a range of filmi songs from retro tunes to the latest dance floor hits and everything in between.
Bol•ly•wood, n. [Humorous blend of the names of Bombay and Hollywood.]
1. The Indian film industry, based in Bombay; Bombay regarded as the base of this industry.
Bollywood is shorthand for the Hindi-language film industry centered in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. It is the world’s largest, yearly churning out hundreds of 3-hour musical epics that also drive South Asia’s pop music industry. To the current generation of South Asian club-goers, Bollywood is synonymous with the 1970s golden age of masala films. This decade produced blockbusters like Don and Sholay (which still holds the record for most-viewed film ever made) not to mention “some of the fattest funk tunes that ever pimp-rolled their way down Music Street, Bombay.”
Recently, Bollywood has lit up the cultural radar of the west, resulting in extensive press coverage, references in films like Moulin Rouge and Ghost World, and the nomination of Lagaan for best foreign film Oscar. Not surprisingly, classic Bollywood soundtracks from the 70s have been the focus of no less than 5 compilations in the past few years. (However, with the exception of Outcaste Records comp Bollywood Funk, these have been mostly compiled by and for outsiders to South Asian culture and often provide an uneven view of the genre.) Even the cutting edge of hiphop production has been shaped by the retro Bollywood sound, as producers like Dan the Automator, DJ Shadow, Timbaland and DJ Quik dip into Bollywood’s back-catalog to widen their production palette.
Dis•co n. pl. dis•cos 1. A discotheque.
2. Popular dance music, especially of the late 1970s, characterized by strong repetitive bass rhythms.
In NY the rise of interest in Bollywood coincides with a general resurgence in the sounds of the city’s own musical golden age: the progressive disco associated with legendary clubs like the Loft, the Paradise Garage and Studio 54. In addition to the numerous compilations & re-releases focusing on the producers and DJs of this era, the Garage ethos has inspired a new generation of happenings at clubs like Spa & APT, as well as a new generation of electronic musicians.
Chico Art
Posted by SB in EV Artists, ev arts, EV Arts, SB in EV Arts on August 29, 2010
If you’ve ever visited East Village and LES in New York City, you might have wondered about the artist behind that masterpieces of rural paintings. You found him now, Antonio “Chico” Garcia.
Like many graffiti artists, Chico started out spray-painting subway cars in the early 80′s. His career as a graffiti writer is a true inspiration from once being chased by cops to now, being awarded by them. Chico was born and raised in the Lower East side where he still currently resides. At the earliest memories the community began to recognize ChicoÕs work as he began to “dress up” his neighborhood with bright, contemporary renderings on the sides ofÊbuildings and playgrounds.Ê In areas often plagued by drugs and violence, his murals tend to be socially conscious and uplifting. Through the years, Chico has been arrested, shot, stabbed and yet nothing has stopped his passion to create striking messages that alert the community and arise inspiration. Chico never wears a mask when he works, people say; the noxious krylon fumes have made him insane. His passion and drive is still and has always been in driving force. No one can remember a time when the neighborhood wasn’t one big gallery of his work. Chico believes it’s important to try and help people through his art.
He has developed both an underground and mainstream following over the years. Local businesses hire him to create anything from storefronts to advertisements. There is at least one bar or store on every block that Chico has touched in the Lower East Side. There have been many people from the community that come to Chico to put up memorials for the dead. One of his most recent memorials was just created in January 2006, for Nixzmary, who was brutally beaten and murdered by her parents. His murals also include world icons such as the Pope, Celia Cruz, and Selena. People choose Chico because his work responds to emotional issues. His work transmitters feeling and enlightens the community as well as passerbys about the current issues in today’s society.
Chico’s fame has brought him to many places in the world. He was commissioned in 1992 by a London Jean company to spray paint a mural in Piccadilly Circus to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix‘s death. His influence on the art world has also been witnessed in such places as Japan, when he constructed a backdrop of NYC for a popular television show, as well as a project he worked on for Nike while he was there. In Amsterdam his work was viewed at the Nova Gallery. He also created a peace mural for the American Ambassador in Italy, and in NYC he was commended for his work when he received the “Token to the City” award. Some of his work has even madeit to the big screen debut in movies such as “Blackout” a Columbia pictures film that was released in summer 1994. Also in the movie “Rent“ which was released in December of 2005. Every great artist must eventually, at some point, go through struggles to rise to the top and Chico has proven his worth as an artist, who will go through great lengths to represent his community.
-Biography by Antonio “Chico” Garcia
SB
