Black Sifichi
Encyclopedia
Black Sifichi is a Scottish / American spoken word
artist and writer born in New York City
and who now lives in Paris
. He has recorded albums with a multitude of artists, including "Unsavoury Products" and "Genetically Modifidied" with The Black Dog
. He co-wrote the cult hit 'Versus' with the group Ez3kiel. Recent releases are "Lost-Wax" with The Floating Roots Orchestra and "The Uncertain Trail" and "Floating Roots" with Lena. "Ashes to Ashes - Dub to Dub", "Spoken Dub Manifesto Vol 1." and a fourth album, Burning Before Sunset (TBR in March 2010 on Jarring Effects
records) with 'Brain Damage
' the duo from Saint-Étienne
, France
. In 2008 Sifichi recorded two tracks for Barry Adamson
's label Central Control for the album Our Moon is Full with Strings of Consciousness
led by Philippe Petit
.
With Norscq he created performances for their stoner-pysche-free-DIY duo "Super Stoned" which uses costume, music and video. Ghedalia Tazartes accepted a rare invitation to work with Super Stoned for a performance at the Etrange Music festival in Paris. Ghedalia decided to take on the name of Black Sifichi for the day and Black became Ghedalia. Sifichi also regularly works with the 7 member group 'Tempsion' led by Frederic Temps. A double LP called T.N.R.T.B.T.M.E will be released in 2010 on the Etrange Sonoteque label.
He is also a DJ
who began mixing at Paris' Radio Libertaire
'Wreck This Mess' and then at Radio Nova
in sharing a bi-monthly slot with DJ Morpheus. One week Morpheus with the 'Freezone' mix and another week 'Sub Para Dub'. Sub Para Dub was also re-broadcast on Couleurs 3 in Switzerland
. Sub Para Dub eventually had its own weekly place in the grill. Sifichi now produces a 2 hour long weekly radio program entitled 'Audiometric' which is a meticulous mix of contemporary, abstract, experimental, dub, digi-dub, hip-hop, breakbeat
, neo-jazz, post-rock... (a broad rage of music 'actuel') is broadcast on Aligre FM 93.1 in Paris, Jet FM in Nantes
, Radio Grenouille in Marseille
, Eko des Garrigues in Montpellier
and on RTF, Limoges
. He has mixed in many festivals across France and Europe - was resident at Paris' Batofar, What's Up, Flêche D'Or, and Cithea. He is also a photographer and has been exhibiting at the gallery 'Cabinet D'Amateur' in Paris and in London
's 'Flexitron' in Islington
. He was awarded a Bourse from the city of Paris for his photography on contemporary sculpture
in the public sectors of Prague
, Edinburgh
and Paris which is now it the collection of the European Maison de la Photography. He shared first prize for a Time Out magazine reporter award. Recent publications are '400ml" = 400 Graffiti
Artists from Around the World Customize the Spraycan' (Kitchen 93 publishers) - Livraison Revue d'art special edition
compiled by Pierre Belouin "Soundtracks for the Blind", and the cover photography for 'La Plinthe' by Mathias Delplanque on Optical Sound Records & Fine Arts.
He has performed live with Norscq, Simon Fisher Turner
, Mathias Delplanque, Olivia Louvel, Paul Kendall
, Oldman, Rob Mazurek
, Tim Whelan
, Christian Vialard, Rodolphe Burger, David Thomas, Ghedalia Tazartes, Alain Bashung
, UHT, Rainier Lericolais, Edward Perroud, Mohamed Roubhi, Ez3kiel, Carlo Brandt, Steve Arguelles
, Cyril Atef, Bart Plantenga, Nicolas Marmin (aka bondage), Didier Calléja, Olivier Cadiot, DJ Mute, Wide Open Cage, Rachid Taha
, and the duo 2 Kilos & More.
His narrative skills have been used for the films "Hear me, children yet-to-be-born" by Sandy Amerio - "Dial H-i-s-t-o-r-y" by Johann Grimonprez. The 2009 short film 'Les Songes D'Edmee" by Jerome Lefdup.
Radio productions include 'Wet Dreams of The Pope' text by Bart Plantenga and Black Sifichi for Dutch National Radio, 'Pamplemousse by Yoko Ono' directed by Helena Villovitch for Radio France
And Locked Out vs RBS for Radio Creation day.
In October 2009 Sifichi created the electronic and vocal work "Reaching For The Centre of Your Mind" (text and sound) for the Centre Georges Pompidou
and Optical Sound records.
Sifichi has also made the full length video "Twist Over" with visual artist Roma Napoli with texts by Paul Lafargue
. Another film entitled "Escape" which creates the strong effect of falling, "The Fly", "Scrolls : Volumes 1 & 2" and provides the visuals for Lena and The Floating Roots Orchestra.
Our Moon Is Full / Strings of Consciousness (Grand Central records)
First, a word of caution: this is a record steeped in post rock, featuring, on the majority of the tracks, spoken word rather than singing. It’s a pretentious proposition, but one that works out the majority of the time. As the centerpiece (and, handsdown,
best composition) of the album, While The Sun Burns Out Another Sun features a radiant, morningdazed backdrop of chimes and glissandi, over which Parisian poet, and erstwhile Black Dog collaborator, Black Sifichi, exhales nervous existential observations. It’s the apex of the album, and certainly one of the most lush and engaging pieces of music released this year.
Musically, lyrically, and thematically, Our Moon Is Full comes to a fitting close with Midnight Moonbeams. Sifichi once again takes the mic, relating a story of memory and his dying father, and the universal emotional connection caused by the shining of moonbeams. Our Moon Is Full produces a similar effect on the listener, as Strings Of Consciousness do not hold anything back, but rather embark on a series of art inflected
risks, resulting in a transcendent confluence of sound and emotion.
David Abravanel
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
artist and writer born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and who now lives in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He has recorded albums with a multitude of artists, including "Unsavoury Products" and "Genetically Modifidied" with The Black Dog
Black Dog Productions
The Black Dog was founded by Ken Downie along with Ed Handley and Andy Turner. Widely regarded as legends, the group are pioneers who, along with acts like Autechre, Aphex Twin, µ-ziq and LFO, came to define the techno movement known as intelligent dance music in the early 1990s.-Early career:In...
. He co-wrote the cult hit 'Versus' with the group Ez3kiel. Recent releases are "Lost-Wax" with The Floating Roots Orchestra and "The Uncertain Trail" and "Floating Roots" with Lena. "Ashes to Ashes - Dub to Dub", "Spoken Dub Manifesto Vol 1." and a fourth album, Burning Before Sunset (TBR in March 2010 on Jarring Effects
Jarring effects
Jarring Effects is a French musical label based in Lyon, south-east of France. Jarring Effects encourages musicians to be independent, produce the music themselves, be creative and to make music they enjoy rather than trying to make it commercially viable...
records) with 'Brain Damage
Brain Damage Sound System
Brain Damage is a French dub band from Saint-Étienne.The band is made up by Martin, sound engineering, and Raphael, bass.Created in the year 1999 by two members of the dub collective and label Bangarang, Brain Damage play a very personal and particular dub music: dark, like their home city, and...
' the duo from Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 2008 Sifichi recorded two tracks for Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson is a British rock musician who has worked with rock bands such as Magazine, Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electronic musicians Pan sonic and Depeche Mode. Adamson created the seven-minute opus "Useless " remix for the latter band in 1997...
's label Central Control for the album Our Moon is Full with Strings of Consciousness
Strings of Consciousness
Strings of Consciousness is an eleven-piece band hailing from cities such as London, Chicago and Paris. Their debut album, Our Moon is Full , was released on Barry Adamson's Central Control label and features guest vocalists such as Barry Adamson , J.G...
led by Philippe Petit
Philippe Petit
Philippe Petit is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, on 7 August 1974...
.
With Norscq he created performances for their stoner-pysche-free-DIY duo "Super Stoned" which uses costume, music and video. Ghedalia Tazartes accepted a rare invitation to work with Super Stoned for a performance at the Etrange Music festival in Paris. Ghedalia decided to take on the name of Black Sifichi for the day and Black became Ghedalia. Sifichi also regularly works with the 7 member group 'Tempsion' led by Frederic Temps. A double LP called T.N.R.T.B.T.M.E will be released in 2010 on the Etrange Sonoteque label.
He is also a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
who began mixing at Paris' Radio Libertaire
Radio libertaire
Radio libertaire is the radio station of the Anarchist Federation in Paris, France.It was founded in 1981. By 1983 it had become one of the ten most popular stations in the Paris region....
'Wreck This Mess' and then at Radio Nova
Radio Nova (France)
Radio Nova is a radio station broadcast from Paris, created in 1981 by Jean-François Bizot.Its playlist is characterized by non-mainstream or underground artists of various music genres, such as electro, new wave, reggae, jazz, hip hop and world music....
in sharing a bi-monthly slot with DJ Morpheus. One week Morpheus with the 'Freezone' mix and another week 'Sub Para Dub'. Sub Para Dub was also re-broadcast on Couleurs 3 in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Sub Para Dub eventually had its own weekly place in the grill. Sifichi now produces a 2 hour long weekly radio program entitled 'Audiometric' which is a meticulous mix of contemporary, abstract, experimental, dub, digi-dub, hip-hop, breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
, neo-jazz, post-rock... (a broad rage of music 'actuel') is broadcast on Aligre FM 93.1 in Paris, Jet FM in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, Radio Grenouille in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Eko des Garrigues in Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
and on RTF, Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
. He has mixed in many festivals across France and Europe - was resident at Paris' Batofar, What's Up, Flêche D'Or, and Cithea. He is also a photographer and has been exhibiting at the gallery 'Cabinet D'Amateur' in Paris and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's 'Flexitron' in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
. He was awarded a Bourse from the city of Paris for his photography on contemporary sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
in the public sectors of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Paris which is now it the collection of the European Maison de la Photography. He shared first prize for a Time Out magazine reporter award. Recent publications are '400ml" = 400 Graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
Artists from Around the World Customize the Spraycan' (Kitchen 93 publishers) - Livraison Revue d'art special edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
compiled by Pierre Belouin "Soundtracks for the Blind", and the cover photography for 'La Plinthe' by Mathias Delplanque on Optical Sound Records & Fine Arts.
He has performed live with Norscq, Simon Fisher Turner
Simon Fisher Turner
Simon Turner is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor.After portraying Ned East in the 1971 BBC TV adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldays and roles in films such as The Big Sleep , Dover-born Simon Turner quickly rose to fame as a teen star in Britain thanks to his mentor...
, Mathias Delplanque, Olivia Louvel, Paul Kendall
Paul Kendall
Paul Kendall also known as PK or Piquet is a sound engineer, producer, mixer, composer.-The Space Age :Born in 1954, falling between the two moments of hippy and punk found himself stuck firmly in glam....
, Oldman, Rob Mazurek
Rob Mazurek
Rob Mazurek is an American composer, jazz musician, and visual artist originally from Chicago, Illinois. Mazurek now resides in São Paulo Brazil.-Biography:...
, Tim Whelan
Tim Whelan
Tim Whelan was an American film director, writer, producer and actor.-Selected filmography:* Adam's Apple * When Knights Were Bold * It's a Boy * Aunt Sally...
, Christian Vialard, Rodolphe Burger, David Thomas, Ghedalia Tazartes, Alain Bashung
Alain Bashung
Alain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor.- Youth :Alain Bashung was the son of a Breton factory worker and French Kabyle father, whom he never knew. His mother remarried, and at the age of one, Bashung was sent to Strasbourg to live with his new stepfather's parents...
, UHT, Rainier Lericolais, Edward Perroud, Mohamed Roubhi, Ez3kiel, Carlo Brandt, Steve Arguelles
Steve Argüelles
Steve Argüelles is an English jazz drummer, producer and is the boss of the record label . He has also worked in film and theatre. He is the elder brother of saxophonist Julian Argüelles...
, Cyril Atef, Bart Plantenga, Nicolas Marmin (aka bondage), Didier Calléja, Olivier Cadiot, DJ Mute, Wide Open Cage, Rachid Taha
Rachid Taha
Rachid Taha is an Algerian singer and activist based in France who has been described as "sonically adventurous." His music is influenced by many different styles such as rock, electronic, punk and raï.-Early life:Taha was born in 1958 in Sig , Algeria, although a second source suggests he was...
, and the duo 2 Kilos & More.
His narrative skills have been used for the films "Hear me, children yet-to-be-born" by Sandy Amerio - "Dial H-i-s-t-o-r-y" by Johann Grimonprez. The 2009 short film 'Les Songes D'Edmee" by Jerome Lefdup.
Radio productions include 'Wet Dreams of The Pope' text by Bart Plantenga and Black Sifichi for Dutch National Radio, 'Pamplemousse by Yoko Ono' directed by Helena Villovitch for Radio France
Radio France
Radio France is a French public service radio broadcaster.-Mission:Radio France's two principal missions are:* To create and expand the programming on all of their stations; and...
And Locked Out vs RBS for Radio Creation day.
In October 2009 Sifichi created the electronic and vocal work "Reaching For The Centre of Your Mind" (text and sound) for the Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais...
and Optical Sound records.
Sifichi has also made the full length video "Twist Over" with visual artist Roma Napoli with texts by Paul Lafargue
Paul Lafargue
Paul Lafargue was a French revolutionary Marxist socialist journalist, literary critic, political writer and activist; he was Karl Marx's son-in-law, having married his second daughter Laura. His best known work is The Right to Be Lazy...
. Another film entitled "Escape" which creates the strong effect of falling, "The Fly", "Scrolls : Volumes 1 & 2" and provides the visuals for Lena and The Floating Roots Orchestra.
Our Moon Is Full / Strings of Consciousness (Grand Central records)
First, a word of caution: this is a record steeped in post rock, featuring, on the majority of the tracks, spoken word rather than singing. It’s a pretentious proposition, but one that works out the majority of the time. As the centerpiece (and, handsdown,
best composition) of the album, While The Sun Burns Out Another Sun features a radiant, morningdazed backdrop of chimes and glissandi, over which Parisian poet, and erstwhile Black Dog collaborator, Black Sifichi, exhales nervous existential observations. It’s the apex of the album, and certainly one of the most lush and engaging pieces of music released this year.
Musically, lyrically, and thematically, Our Moon Is Full comes to a fitting close with Midnight Moonbeams. Sifichi once again takes the mic, relating a story of memory and his dying father, and the universal emotional connection caused by the shining of moonbeams. Our Moon Is Full produces a similar effect on the listener, as Strings Of Consciousness do not hold anything back, but rather embark on a series of art inflected
risks, resulting in a transcendent confluence of sound and emotion.
David Abravanel