The Week

Harry Nuriev is an architect, a furniture designer, and an artist. He describes his approach as "transformism": creating new and exciting designs with what we already have, in contrast to producing something entirely new. Whether it is sofas made out of winnowed clothes, gamer chairs covered with lace, or a swimming pool tiled like a Photoshop transparency layer – with his company Crosby Studios, Nuriev finds beauty where no one else wants to look, transforming objects and spaces and incorporating the digital into the real world. OttO Kent and Harry Nuriev dive into the inspiration behind his work, where he’s coming from, and where he’s heading – as well as his view on MTV Cribs and old school RnB hits. Check out this tour through Harry Nuriev’s studio in Paris by the New York Times, as well as this feature by The Guardian. Listen to TLC and Chopin if you want to dive into Harry Nuriev’s playlist, or just put on your noise cancelling headphones and enjoy quiet time. Find OttO Kent on Instagram.Check out Harry Nuriev and Crosby Studios. The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: OttO KentWriters for this episode: Carlos Steurer and Isabel WoopEdit and sound design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

With their soulful vocals and melodies divas bring themes of love, acceptance and power to the dancefloor. Kikelomo talks to someone who brings the same energy to their sets: fka.m4a. Plus: A campaign in the UK to stop the use of rap lyrics and videos as evidence in criminal trials, an AI model that can understand and identify South African languages, and streaming platform Nina Protocol launches an editorial arm.The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: KikelomoWriters for this episode: Aaron Gonsher and Helena SchmidtEdit and sound design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel WoopFollow Kikelomo.Follow Electronic Beats.Follow fka.m4a.Check out Art not Evidence.Read the feature in Resident Advisor by Carlos Hawthorn.

Will “AI Pins” replace smartphones? That's not the only question about new generations that we ask ourselves in this episode. OttO also talks to Anetha about intergenerational understanding and exchange in dance music. Plus: the Warehouse is returning as a touring party brand, Cassie sues Diddy for sexual assault and André 3000 releases his debut solo album.The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: KikelomoWriters for this episode: Aaron Gonsher and Isabel Woop Edit and sound design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel WoopFollow Kikelomo.Follow OttO Kent.Follow Electronic Beats.Follow AnethaCheck out Anetha’s label Mama told ya and her agency Mama loves ya.Listen to Selassie’s EP Retro Future Kid. 

Music taste and fandom have always been tied to our identities, but today it can seem like musical genres themselves are being replaced by identity-driven scenes. At least, according to music researcher Kriss Thakrar, who recently wrote a piece for the music industry blog Midia Research. OttO Kent invites Christa Belle to the studio to discuss this potential ‘tug-of-war’ between genre and identity. Plus: Controversial changes for Spotify streaming royalties, Missy Elliot becoming the first female rapper in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, rap history slipping away online and new Grammy categories.OttO Kent recommends you read this piece on the beef between DJ Akademiks and Saucy Santana.Check out Christa Belle’s new favourite genre Skwee and OttO’s favourite @thealgorythm on TikTok.Follow OttO Kent.Follow Electronic Beats.Follow Christa Belle.The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: OttO KentWriters for this episode: Aaron Gonsher, Helena Schmidt and Jacob SperberEdit and sound design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

After Songtradr bought Bandcamp, more than half of the staff has been booted out the door. In this episode Otto Kent talks to Ed Blair, one of the union's bargaining committee members. Plus: Listening to your favourite music actually acts as a painkiller, The Beatles released their final ever song with help from AI, and subcultures like “sad girl music” might replace genres afterall. The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: OttO KentWriters for this episode: Aaron Gonsher, Carlos Steurer and Helena SchmidtEdit and sound design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel WoopFollow Kikelomo and OttO Kent.Follow Electronic Beats.Support Bandcamp United.Watch how “Now and Then” by The Beatles was made.  Read Kriss Thakrar’s article on how Identity and culture have killed genre.And check out the documentary ONEFOUR.

What a time to be online. In this week’s episode Kikelomo and OttO Kent discuss whether or not artists are obligated to post on social media in the wake of political crises. Plus: Fashion labels are recruiting and exploiting models from refugee camps, UMG is now NTS's largest shareholder, US states file a lawsuit against Meta accusing the company of harmful features, and can music hardware be environmentally sustainable?The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: KikelomoWriters for this episode: Aaron Gonsher, Carlos Steurer and Helena SchmidtEdit and sound design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel WoopFollow Kikelomo and OttO Kent.Follow Electronic Beats.Follow Shawn Reynaldo’s newsletter First Floor.Check out Neema Githere’s post on Instagram.Listen to the podcast “Slate News: You don’t need to post about Israel and Palestine”Read the Sunday Time’s investigation “How modelling agencies recruit refugees” Read Adam Douglas’s article “Is music hardware environmentally sustainable?”.Here you can find the book “The Musical Human” by Michael Spitzer.

Why is it more important than ever to create ‘safer’ spaces and awareness concepts in our club culture? And what can we all do, so that everybody feels safe while going out? Kikelomo talks to diversity consultant Lewamm Ghebremariam about the evolution of safer spaces, why she rather speaks about intentional spaces, and how the Netflix series “Sex Education” is a great learning experience for basically everything. Plus: Prada designing the space suits for NASA’s next moon mission, reggae icon Max Romeo suing his publishers, the amapiano community showing love to its originator, and the psychic story behind the classic “Gypsy Woman”. The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: KikelomoWriters for this episode: Aaron Gonsher, Helena Schmidt and Carlos Steurer Edit and sound design: Hakan Halaç and Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel WoopFollow KikelomoFollow Lewamm Ghebremariam Check out Awareness Akademie and LemLem Culture. Watch “Capital B” – the 5-part documentary on ARTEs YouTube channel. 

While West-African music is celebrating new milestones globally, the electronic music scene is still underrepresented. The Nyege Nyege festival in Uganda and its community have been a centerpoint for highlighting dance music and queer culture from East Africa. In this episode Kikelomo talks to Turkana, who’s part of the experimental Anti-Mass collective from Kumpala. She opens up about the danger of building safer spaces in a country where being queer is a crime and the troubles of getting working visas as African artists in Europe. Plus: Bandcamp being sold – again, grassroots music venues under threat, cable-free studio monitors, and the EU to ban generic environmental claims. The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: KikelomoWriters for this episode: Aaron Gonsher, Carlos Steurer and KikelomoEdit and sound design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel WoopFollow Kikelomo.Follow Turkana.  Check out the recommended multimedia project “Union Black – Sounds Of A Nation”.Read more on the challenges African artists have to face when applying for visa.