Be the best. Rock with DECOLONISE FEST
How to kick off a quality entertainment EVENT? Start with an all acclaimed line up - fresh from Afro Punk, Lady Fest, The Big Screen etc., then invite punk friends along to the free entry show in London's music central, Camden Town! Beautifully done, and hats off to the D.I.Y. Diaspora Punx.
Decolonise is a welcome addition to 2017's independent music festivals, and gives this year's #Punk40 thing a fresh and vibrant, genuine legacy of DIY power. On Friday November 4th 2016, the fireworks start early when Big Joanie, Junk, Sabatta, Trash Kit and an instant family of noisy-joy lovers unite at The Unicorn in London.
Video 'Dream Number Nine' by Black Feminist punks, Big Joanie. Their Spring 2016 release, 'Crooked Room', was "inspired by a talk by Melissa Harris Perry. She compared the way Black women have to negotiate our racist, sexist, classist, homophobic society while maintaining a sense of self,as trying to find your vertical in a crooked room. (Yep. I hear that.).
"The song is about how difficult it is for black women to find confidence in themselves and exist in a world that hates and tells them so on every advert, TV show or magazine. "
Fuck any short sighted, narrow minded, tiny brained mainstream "media" puppets. We're not all sheeple. DIY Diaspora Punx are reclaiming our beauty, power, hope and respect for all that wish to join in. Bringing people together in peace, laughter, rock and roll (itself, black music created from queerdom, originally a colloquialism for shagging). What is happening around them, right now, is sexy and stylish as hell.
In Black History Month it's cool to be adding more making-black-history moments. Decolonise Fest is set to help create the "Heaven'17" vibe that TheZineUK posse have got our hearts set on. Let's make Britain Great, not grate, again.
Mega reviews for the multi-talent with the megaphone, Yinka Oyewole, who fronts Sabatta, one of the star turns that you can see for free on November 4th.
At the end of June 2016, after the farce of "Brexit" (psst, its not a real word, or even in possesion of a clue/policy, but will be added to the Poxford Dictionary for posterity) the gloating, fascist Summer Of Hate kicked in. 48% of the British voters, whatever their background, became instant outsiders, Sadly, unlike an infant school playground, there's been no shaking of hands and trying to go forward together yet. Well, not for the majority, anyway. It's condoned by the press who lose no opportunity to divide and conquer us, with weapons of mass distraction like opression, depression, recession mixed with celebrity, royalty, tits and hate.
Come on, my people, people, can’t you see what’s really goin' on? Unemployment’s high, the housing’s bad, and the schools are teaching wrong. Cancer from the water, pollution in the air. But you’re partying hard, like you just don’t care. Wake up y'all, you know that ain’t right. 'Cause that hurts everybody, black or white.
Watch out, the far right have waged a five-fold increase in terrorism starting with the murder of a young mother/wife/MP by the kind of thugs who have knocked the pound out of the financial system, and then, physically, themselves, as the far wrong Ukrap recently demonstrated. It's time to snap outta screen zombie apathy and reclaim our sixth sense human empathy.
They’re killing Us in the streets, while we pay more for food that’s cheap. And all you wanna do is so-socialize.
Mainstream media still refer to ethnicity as "minorities" but need to take a bigger view of the cosmopolitan, 21st century, dying planet we all live on. Yes, there are less non white citizens in Europe, than Europeans. Woop-di-woo, give yourselves a maths award. I'm ethnic as fuck, but there's now minor about me. Not gonna get all pedantic about being called Ethnic Citizen or whatever. In reality, it would be great if everybody could be referred as a a person, child, woman, man, if no crime has been committed.
(video; Medicine by Trash Kit)
In a parallel dimension to the surreal world on the news, reality springs. DIY sewed explosively exciting new seeds of positivite energy, appropriately in DIY Space For London. Now there was a gathering in Rocklands (#SELondon) that we could put our bully-charged extra intelligence to. Yeah, that's right, the bad manners and low intellect name calling from bigots stimulate our minds to enquire more from childhood onwards. We add further poetical flow to our thoughts. Own goal, fucktards. Yeah, and a better quality of name calling too, ha ha. Sorry, I'm a giggler. But with a few serious points, I hope.
For instance, In a year celebrating 40 years of punk, the anarchy in the UK is actually being waged by the "oh no he isn't. oh yes he is" panto. Illegally "elected" political clowns and their ilk. There doesn't seem to be anybody worthy of their job title (legal, media, financial or otherwise)
Does your name sound foreign?
Do you have a superior, natural, tan?
Are you not behaving hetrosexually enough?
Well, good for you. Exotic variety IS the spice of life. Fascists can fuck off and get back to sucking goblin cock, or however they inbreed. Oops, I may have gone off tangent about making a serious point, there. Its just EXCITEMENT. I've got November 4th in my diary already. Got a jumper to wear, in mind, too, ha ha. And my new £1 ear rings from Deptford Market that are SO #stagestyle
I wanna have SO much fun, and invite children back to hope and giggles. Eccentric tiny islands that play a huge part on a giant globe, for their collective reputation (and economy boost) of entertainment alone, are so much better than all this.
(Note to self; Breath)
Like so many friends, I am one helluva busy lady, ain't nobody got time for negativity for too long. Waste of time and energy when you could be creating good times. I am excited about music and art and fashion and romance and (r)Evolution and dance (I dance like a dad, but fuck it, I have a career as a Love Pirate, I'll do things my way, stumbling to the beat, included). As inviduals of Uniqulture I'm mostly thrilled at what we can all achieve. Lets DO this. Let's NEVER stop having dreams.
If we're going to be Little Britain, let's be Great Little Britain. Thousands of years of international Love Making, slavery and abolition has also fused the most creative rainbow nation on the planet. Tastier Fashion, Entertainment, Ideas, Beauty (and food!). That's the wonder of these eccentric collection of islands, such a tiny place playing such a major part on the world stage.
Deconstructing the past to make new futures, through the empire of empathy that is entertainment, is not a pipe dream. UK Music reports that the music industry generates billions for the economy. All positivity that celebrates the heritage of tiny islands that stood up to fascism (and won) on various occasions, has got to be good for the children of this revolution.
image; Junk
Mind shocks of goodness and hope. This makes Decolonise an even more exciting prospect - #NotSoWhite - Never mind the bland bigot bollocks, here's the sexiest pistols and they're firing on all cylinders. The salt and pepper of the earth are so colourful that love and respect are still the real people power.
Statement of Intent:
"We are the DIY Diaspora Punx and we are the collective behind the upcoming Decolonise Festival in London. Decolonise Fest will celebrate all the brilliant Diaspora Punx, who we define this as people who are descended (through one or both parents) from the original inhabitants of Africa, Caribbean, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Australasia, North America, and the islands of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean. We want to celebrate the Diaspora Punx that are creating right now, acknowledge our elders and the doors the opened for us, and make room for more DIY diaspora punx to take centre stage and make noise. If you meet the description a diaspora punx and want to join our organising group please message our page and we'll send you more information. White people cannot join the organising group. Please respect this."
DIY Diaspora Punx Organising Group
Everybody from everywhere is invited to the festival in 2017. It's gonna be amazing. Uniqulture in ACTION. Get Friday 4th November in your diaries (click here for the FB event, updates, band links etc, it's already buzzing like all the bees we've got left) If you can't be there in person, please support on line/in spirit, by any means necessary!
* Lyrics from Brother D's time travelling classic; "How We Gonna Make The Black Nation Rise?" Such a great track that even I have got some good moves for this one.
How We gonna make the Punk Nation rise? AGITATE! EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!
oh, and we are gonna bring the noize and entertain the HELL outta y'all! facebook.com/decolonisefest
Combinations of generations of imaginations and sexual persuasions from all the nations are our future salvations. One Love. (Minxy McNaughty)