The 1+1 recording project, a co-production of Norient and Sound Development, aims to produce and document great tracks from upcoming artists worldwide. The project brings together unexpected artist pairings and showcases them to new audiences. The main focus of the project is on urban music from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Producing Tracks

In each season, Norient and Sound Development invite three artists (musicians, MCs, DJs, or producers), each of whom is asked to select another artist with whom he or she would like to produce a track during one week. The exchanges can be regional and do not need to include European artists. Season 1 debuted in 2015 with three pairings in Honolulu, Lomé and Cairo.

Documenting the Process

While the artists co-produce their track in one of their hometowns, local journalists and scholars document the production process and the backgrounds of both artists. They publish articles, interviews, podcasts, and video documentaries on norient.com, the online magazine for local and global sounds, media culture, and on other media channels.

Presenting the Project

After the production weeks, the three pairings present and promote the project within their own networks through individual activities, publications, and local release events. In addition, Norient and Sound Development organize a release event in Switzerland, featuring at least one of the three artist pairings.

Background

1+1 was initiated and developed by Sound Development and Norient. Through project 1+1, Norient and Sound Development want to promote and support musicians with distinctive artistic positions and journalists and filmmakers from Africa, Asia, and Latin America by connecting their music, films, and texts to a new audience. The project also gives insight into today’s music production and illustrates production methods in regional and international settings.

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Season One: Involved Artists

Couple 1: USA/Hawai’i

Salome MC (Iran/Japan)

Salome MC is an Iranian multi-media artist who started her artistic journey as the first female hip-hop MC of Iran in 2002. Having graduated from art school in Tehran, she added experimental audio/visual art projects to her field of work after moving to Japan, and had various performances, Exhibitions and screenings around the world. Musically she brings Persian/Turkish folk melodies into her rap verses, creating a fusion of urban sounds and fantasy tunes.

Shing02 (Japan/USA/Hawai’i)

Born in Tokyo, raised in Tanzania and England, Shing02 came up in the independent San Francisco Bay Area scene in the early ‚90s. Over the course of his independent career starting in 1995, he has collaborated with various DJs and musicians, most notably with the late Japanese producer Nujabes. As the inventor of the Vestax Faderboard, he toured around for a few years with the free-jazz trio, Kosmic Renaissance. Recently he has released the FTTB mix CD series with DJ Icewater and 1200 Ways with DJ $hin. Shing02 directed four short films, including Bustin’ (2014) and The Divider (2015).

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1+1: Honolulu - Articles

Speaking Hip Hop Vernacular

Salome MC: A Quiet Storm

Island Fever: Darker Than You’d Think

Salome MC + Shing02: «Passenger»

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Couple 2: Togo

Yao Bobby (Togo)

Activiste du rap africain depuis les années 90, Yao Bobby s’est fait un nom sur la scène internationale et a participé à la construction d’un mouvement hip hop panafricain. Ses textes engagés, son flow surprenant toujours accompagnés de musiques et d’instruments traditionnels ancrent l’identité musicale de Yao Bobby au coeur de ses racines. Au côtés d’Awadi, Xuman ou encore Smockey, Yao Bobby est l’un des rappeurs les plus actifs et productifs d’Afrique. Il sait s’adresser à un large public en utilisant le français et l’éwé dans ses morceaux. De la Kora à l’Afrobeat, le Hip Hop de Yao Bobby est en constante adéquation avec l’histoire de la musique africaine.

Edgar Sekloka (France)

Né de parents Beninois et Camerounais, Edgar Sekloka alias Suga, né à Puteaux près de Paris, est un auteur-compositeur-interprète français. Il est membre aux côtés de Gaël Faye du groupe Milk Coffee & Sugar depuis 2008 dont le premier album Eponyme sort en 2010 (avec la participation notamment de Beat Assaillant et de Tumi & The Volume). Depuis avril 2015, côté musique, des Street Tapes visuelles sont diffusées exclusivement sur sa page YouTube. Il a également sorti en juin 2015, le titre «Encore» produit par le beatmaker français Guts.

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1+1: Lomé - Articles

1+1 EP Release: «Ispasskoi?»

1+1=5 Tracks from Lomé: «Wake Up»

Et il verse un peu de sucre…

Browse the Past to Build the Future

1+1=5 Tracks from Lomé: «Kilodé»

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Couple 3: Egypt

Islam Chipsy (Egypt)

Der Kairoer Keyboarder Islam Chipsy spielt virtuos, in rasender Geschwindigkeit, mit radikalem Sound und extravaganter Spieltechnik. Sein Geld verdient er im Nachtclub Markez in Kairo und an Hochzeiten. Dank YouTube gilt er heute aber in Europa, Japan und den USA als einer der aufregendsten Musiker der Gegenwart. Seine Livesets bestreitet er mit zwei Schlagzeugern aus Kairo.

Aïsha Devi (Switzerland)

Laying her Kate Wax moniker to rest after releases on Trevor Jackson’s Output and James Holden’s Border Community, the enigmatic Aïsha Devi set forth on a new adventure with Danse Noire, her own sanctuary-label. Devi’s music mines her Nepalese-Tibetan heritage, using her machines to transmute deep meditation. Whether they are guttural or soprano, Devi’s warped pop mantras instruct us to find the unseen through a tense, visceral musical landscape that is often gnarled and industrial as it is danceable.

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Posters Release Event