Mad Decent Field Recordings

As part of his mad recent trip to India, DJ Paul Devro of Mad Decent (home of Diplo, Blaqstarr, South Rakkas Crew) recorded and posted a series of field recordings from Dharavi, Asia’s second largest slum.

Devro used the Urban Typhoon festival as an opportunity “to archive some of the neighborhoods traditional music.” The recordings are excellent and amazingly document the local folk music. Just wait a few months, this will be set to a B-more beat with gun shots or sirens and both Lomaxes will simultaneously roll in their graves.

The objective is to produce creative alternatives for the future of a neighborhood threatened by a redevelopment plan of the government as well as a multimedia testimony to the unique spirit of Koliwada. The workshop itself is a joyous and participatory takeover of the neighbourhood. It combines the city’s historic spirit of activism with the celebratory, independent and culturally dynamic traditions that the Kolis of Mumbai have always demonstrated. The plan builds on these impulses in the best traditions of a festive exchange with visitors, guests, strangers and locals of all shades and hues.