The Incredible Human Journey

Word-up to your mommas.

How are thee? Well, I hope. And so to begin....

As promised now follows a soliloquy on a fascinating programme I have been watching on BBC2, entitled, "The Incredible Human Journey", presented by Dr Alice Roberts. Now Dr Roberts is no ordinary presenter, she is a medical doctor, anthropologist and lecturer in anatomy at Bristol University. Not bad. Plus she also happens to be quite attractive, which always helps in keeping up my attention levels! Was reading some article in one of the broadsheets in which a male journalist recently described her as "swoon-inducing". Wouldn't necessarily go that far, but she definitely strikes me as down to Earth, as well as obviously being incredibly well informed and passionate about her subject matter. You could blatantly have a pint with said academic and chew the anthropological fat....

Anyway, enough about Alice (!). What I have been thoroughly enjoying is the way she has been presenting the "Out of Africa" theory which basically suggests that all modern humans descend from the same branch of people from Africa. It's not a new theory by any means, but it is still mind-blowing. And humbling. Whatever racial, religious and cultural differences between human-kind exist seem so insignificant at the thought that we all share the same ancestry that is probably only about 100,000 years old. Suck on that.

What I am finding particularly interesting is the way Dr Roberts charts the first Africans' migration out of Africa, through the Arabian peninsula, and then East into Asia Minor, and Asia at large. Very interestingly, a lot of the Chinese genuinely believe that they are actually an entirely different species, descended from Homo-Erectus. Apparently, Chinese kids are taught this at school, and led to believe that they are "special" (state propaganda anyone?). Not so sure. I definitely shared Dr Roberts' scepticism when confronting a top Chinese professor of Anthropology. Although his arguments were compelling, equipped with this amazingly intact "homo-erectus" skull he presented, I'm not so sure. You could see Dr Roberts' deference to an old distinguished academic, but also still her very definite scepticism. The way academia should be I guess. Though when she then met a thoroughly modern Genetics professor who had performed some incredibly detailed and thorough testing of this same theory (at The Chinese Academy of Sciences), all the evidence pointed to the fact the Chinese people do actually descend from Africa. Conclusive I thought. (Though I am biased towards modern science...).

All this reminded me of a book I read not long after I graduated in Neuroscience, entitled "The Blank Slate", written by Steven Pinker (legend). I think the title is fairly self-explanatory: are humans born with a blank slate? The book basically discusses nature vs nature and is fascinating. One thing I found particualrly interesting was Steven Pinker's list of human universals; those behaviour traits that are absolutely universal between all human beings. To be honest, as a young wide-eyed graduate, I found this staggering, and humbling. It makes you re-assess the futility of feuds, disputes and wars. And what really is the point of religion in this context? Surely it really is divisive.

Anyway, click here to see the list for anyone who might be interested.

I haven't got started on Dr Roberts' charting the progression of humans into Europe, and the explanations behind typical European facial characteristics, as well as why they became white. But to be honest, I can't recommend watching the programme yourself. It's perfect Sunday night fodder, on at 9pm on BBC2, so you can watch it whilst doing your ironing. Or whatever. Plus there's always iPlayer....

Back to music, that old chestnut. Well, I am currently on my third or fourth listen to Allez Allez's latest mix, by "Exercise One", who are this duo from Berlin who had some notable releases on K7! back in the day. The mix is certainly one of the best I have listened to in ages, taking in Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Aphex, Radiohead and Daft Punk. Very eclectic, and always fun. Not sure if they are Anglophiles, or whether the mix is a bit of a nod to the Brits, but I am loving it nonetheless. Anything which drops "Windowlicker" and "Unfinished Sympathy" has gotta be the shiz, in my humble opinion.

Off to a friends' engagement party somewhere in North London on Saturday, and really looking forward to it. A couple of mutual friends are DJing from about 11 til 3, but I have been asked to put together some "bar tunes" from 7 till 11pm. The Exercise One mix is definitely in there.

Until next time suckers.

Peace,

F.

More music musings...

So,

Here I am again, after just a day's break. Clearly I have much to talk about. Further to my last post, I'd like to talk more about some of the amazing music I have been listening to. Where to start?

Well, currently I am listening to Fever Ray's eponymously titled debut offering. For the uninitiated, Fever Ray is Karin Dreijer Andersson, one half of the sibling duo, The Knife, who many of you will know. There are definitely similarities in the production style with The Knife, namely that the music is still basically synth-pop, all arpeggiated and such. But unlike The Knife's techno leanings, Fever Ray goes down the haunting, ethereal gothic route. Not that I am expert mind, but I can certainly hear The Cure and Depeche Mode in there. And maybe even Ryuichi Sakamoto. Although this is much more chilling. Apparently it's the sound of a new mother's sense of frustration and isolation when still awake with child in the middle of the night. And boy, can I sense that. Brrrrr! But the production is absolutely amazing. And the album is growing on me with every listen.

What else have I been listening to? Probably too much to tell for one blog, but would definitely have to single out Fuck Buttons' debut album offering, "Street Horrrsing" as absolutely incredible. The Bristol duo have certainly put out a shimmering, magisterial post-rock effort of epic proportions. Basically, if you like Mogwai, you will probably like Fuck Buttons. Although dare I say it, FB have slightly more "dancey" elements and incorporate more melody, so may be easier to digest for anyone new to the "soft-loud" dynamic sound that Mogwai basically invented. All the tracks are absolutely incredible, and average about 8 minutes in length, so not for the fainthearted. The standout track is probably "Bright Tomorrow" which incorporates a steady 4x4 kick-drum, slow, chugging synths, brooding visceral guitars, and ends with the sound of a screaming, eerie tortured voice all laiden on top. Crescendo is certainly the word. Amazing. Oh yeah, and I absolutely love FB's abstract artwork (see above), which has definitely been given my mate Ben's seal of approval (and he is a graphic designer don't you know).



Other albums I been listening to recently include Junior Boys' latest release, "Begone Dull Care", which continues the Canadian duos interesting and well produced retro synth-pop sound. And TV On The Radio's latest album, "Dear Science". Now granted, this was a bit of a wild card for me, especially given I don't listen to that many bands. But having been given 9.1 by Pitchfork Media, I had to take this seriously. And after a few listens, I have deifinitely got into the sound. I guess I would describe TVOTR as rock, but with some electronic leanings, which is probably why I rate them. Some real standout tracks, including "Love Dog" which is like a beautiful, lullaby. Have really fallen for Tunde Adebimpe's voice. Very soothing indeed.

I suppose the album I have been most looking forward to has been Nathan Fake's eagerly anticipated sophomore effort, "Hard Islands". Don't think I need to harp on about how bloody good "Drowning in a Sea of Love" was. Electronica shoe-gazing at its finest. Apparently, Nathan Fake produced that album whilst still living with his folks in Norfolk, whilst his second album offering was produced from his new abode in Hackney. And boy can you tell. It is a much tougher, hard-edged prospect. Pretty much techno, though with the Nathan Fake/Border community IDM tag stamped all over it. I.e. still very interesting production, still with shoegaze elements and has plenty of glitch. That said, I have been pretty disappointed. The tunes just aren't as catchy. No really discernible melodies as far as I can hear. Think the standout track is "Fentiger", the last on the album, that has a big synthy breakdown mid-way through, that probably most resembles stuff from the first album. Don't get me wrong, Hard Islands is still a decent album, but it was always going to be hard to match the amazing effort of DIASOL. Will be interesting to hear what Nathan Fake's third LP is like. Though not sure if I can wait another 3 years...

Well, that's about it for now. Could drone on a lot more, but my neck is starting to ache.

Next blog: I wll probably be talking about quite how much I am enjoying watching "The Incredible Human Journey" on BBC2, presented by Dr Alice Roberts. It is absolutely fascinating, and should be of interest to anyone who has ever thought about where modern homo-sapiens has come from, and how we have adapted and evolved into different races, cultures and creeds. Plus Alice Roberts isn't exactly hard to look at, though don't want to sexualise someone who is clearly a proper scientist. Still, I am a red-blooded male...

Peace,

F.