Shabazz Palaces brings its alien churn

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Audiences interested in a crash course in Afro-futurism had a chance to see the genre's past and future in Philadelphia last week. Founding father George Clinton played the Ardmore Music Hall on Wednesday, while current torchbearers Shabazz Palaces landed at Union Transfer on Friday, performing for a small but rapt crowd.

The duo plays a warped sci-fi mutation of hip-hop that incorporates equal doses of EDM and old-fashioned eccentricity and makes their music sound like nothing else on the current scene.

Shabazz Palace's second full-length album, Lese Majesty, layers voices, percussion, and synthesized noises into a hazy psychedelic whorl, a densely absorbing headspace that seemed daunting to re-create live. But on Friday, the songs took on a fiercer groove while sacrificing little of their inherent weirdness. The fragmentary tunes have small regard for traditional song structure and tend to bleed into one another so fluidly that when the duo actually paused for a moment, there was an unusually long silence before the entranced audience remembered to applaud.

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Shabazz Palaces brings its alien churn

Track Of The Day 29/8 – Exit Calm

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The Future Isnt What It Used To Be.

Its a bold statement, yet in one phrase Exit Calm seem to have captured the universal ennui which has descended upon our post-Millennial lull.

The bands music ferocious noise rock, glacial shoegaze, lilting psychedelia seems to dwell amongst the collapsed shards of rock futurism. Tracks bleed into one another, with the volume switched into the red.

Organising a full UK tour, Clash is able to share a live performance featuring previews of Come Back Again, 'Footprints' and 'The Veil'. Its an enthralling watch, all swaggering menace and visceral passion with Exit Calm clearly walking it like they talk it.

Check it out now.

Exit Calm have confirmed the following tour dates:

September 17 Newcastle Upon Tyne 18 Glasgow King Tuts 19 Sheffield Northern Sound Festival , 02 Academy 20 Manchester Sound Control 23 Nottingham Bodega Social Club 24 Leicester The Cookie Jar 25 Bristol Louisiana 27 London Hoxton Bar and Kitchen

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Track Of The Day 29/8 - Exit Calm

8 of the World's Coolest Skyscrapers Rendered Like 1980s Futurist Art

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An increasing number of skyscrapers that line our horizons these days resemble the future we were promised: twisting pillars of glass and steel that stretch up into the clouds. When you glaze those buildings with some 1980s-inspired French futurism, however, they look simply surreal

Arcueil-based illustrator Romain Trystram is highlighting some of the world's most striking skyscrapers in a series of wallpapers for I Like Architecture. They're crazy awesome. The glows and gradients are rendered in colors that can only be described as the palette of the most memorable sunset you've ever seen. They look like some sort of neon dream. They're best enjoyed while listening to the Drive soundtrack and wearing a Member's Only jacket.

As the name implies, this tiered, typhoon-proof tower designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners is 101 stories-tall. In real life, it almost looks like a magical accident. In Trystram's world, it looks like Oz. [Download High-Res]

These twisting towers are the centerpiece of the Absolute City Center complex in Mississauga, Ontario. Designed by Burka Architects and MAD Studio, the skyscrapers are colloquially known as the Marilyn Monroe towers for their voluptuous shape. I've always thought Marilyn looks great in neon. [Download High-Res]

You know this one. The world's tallest manmade structure towers 2,722 feet over Dubai like a beacon of human progress reaching towards the gods. Trystram's wallpaper might actually be a photograph. The real thing is already so absurd, I can't be sure. [Download High-Res]

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8 of the World's Coolest Skyscrapers Rendered Like 1980s Futurist Art

People Matters Hosts TechHR Conference 2014

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In a globalized and economically dynamic world, HR technology is proving to be the game-changer for many corporations across the world. It is to capture the rising HR technology trends that People Matters organized the TechHR Conference 2014, India's first coalescence of Human Resources (HR) and Technology leaders on August 22, 2014 in Gurgaon.

People Matters isa 360 degree knowledge and media platform in the Human Resources space, brought together leading lights from the worlds of HR and technology for a one-of-its-kind conclave in India. Over 65 speakers and moderators kept the over 550-delegate and audience mostly CHROs, CEOs, CIOs and CXOs constantly engaged during the 22 fast-paced and interactive sessions.

The TechHR Conference 2014 title, Futurism for the Workplace, incorporated the avant-garde concept of Futurism which means breaking away from tradition and embracing ideas that seem ahead of their time.

"TechHR Conference is all about looking ahead and staying abreast with the evolving and deepening relationship between HR and Technology. CHROs today face the challenge of keeping pace with the rapid changes in technology. A deeper understanding of how technology can deliver significant efficiencies to the HR domain. How HR can contribution to business agility. On the other hand HR Technology service providers want to better understand the needs of the HR business which also change as new generations enter the workforce. TechHR Conference provides the perfect platform where all this, and more, comes together!" says Esther Martinez, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, People Matters.

A specially developed App created a social community where delegates could communicate with the speakers, and with each other, share their views, participate in crowd-sourced polls and connect with popular social media. Delegates experienced the power and excitement of gamification when they earned points every time they engaged with the TechHR community. The prizes were exciting enough to keep everyone's fingers continuously working. The true power of technology in action!

Rudy Karsan, GM, Kenexa and Smarter Workforce, IBM, says, "Technology is a way of life in the business world and the personal world. At this point in time, the three technologies influencing HR are social, SaaS and Big Data. The ability to interact with one another in the real time is something going to become a massive wave that will affect the way individuals and enterprises will communicate with one another and therefore it will affect HR."

Madan Nagaldinne, Head of HR, APAC, Facebook, who spoke at the conference says,

The Business Agenda consisted of incisive presentations, interactive discussions, highly participative group sessions and a CHRO Round Table. Bistro Sessions allowed delegates to mix around and join several groups during the same session.

Sameer Patel, GM/SVP, Products and GTM, Enterprise Social & Collaborative Software, SAP Cloud/Successfactors, says, "Coming from the US, it was a big learning experience for me. HR needs technology. There is a huge disconnect in the organizations today between strategy and execution, goals and getting the work done. While we put a lot of emphasis on technology to collect and monitor those, we do not have a very good hand over how the work gets done or influence how the work is done. I think HR needs the second layer of technology, which moves from identifying those measurables, to be able to really influence and execute technologies down into the lines of business."

From the high level of participation it was evident that the topics discussed were close to everyone's heart. While the merits of technology in the HR domain were amply clear, several moral, financial and human aspects of this partnership also emerged.

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People Matters Hosts TechHR Conference 2014

The Software Behind IBM's Watson Will Be Probing The Mysteries Of Physics

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Scientists at the PETRA III particle accelerator. (Credit: IBM/DESY)

Last week, the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron one of the largest research centers in Germany announced that it has entered into a collaboration with IBM to enhance its computers abilities to crunch the massive amounts of data being generated every day by its particle accelerators.

DESY has a variety of instruments being used every day by teams of scientists all over the world. These researchers are exploring subatomic physics, astrophysics, chemistry, biology and a host of other different types of sciences. The amount of data that the research institute generates is staggering. To give you an example, just one instrument currently being built, the X-ray laser European XFEL, will be producing about 100 Petabytes of data per year when its complete. And thats just one instrument.

To handle the data volume, IBM IBM will be supplying DESY with its Elastic Storage system. This is the hardware behind Watson and IBMs major supercomputing systems that IBM began releasing as a general product in May of this year. When the system is installed at DESY, it will be able to handle 20GB per second of data and be quickly accessible to who needs it.

This system makes data available at any time around the world, Dr. Volker Glzow, head of DESY IT told me. Its basically at your fingertips.

The Elastic Storage system, which is part of what Watson used to plow through hundreds of millions of Wikipedia articles to prep for Jeopardy, is a hardware-agnostic software layer that uses proprietary algorithms to to scale out and process data along thousands of nodes. But its speed comes from a unique ability it doesnt need multiple copies of data to work.

Most storage systems require multiple copies of data to ensure accessibility, Jamie Thomas, IBMs General Manager Storage and Software Defined Systems told me. Elastic Storage includes a unique invention that allows it to recreate data should something happen to the single copy.

This is appealing to a lot of scientific institutions, Thomas told me, because until recently most storage solutions like this were built in house. But with so much data being produced by modern instruments, labs are overwhelmed.

Its also a benefit, Glzow pointed out to me, because it allows teams to do work at DESY from anywhere in the world. They can submit a proposal, have the experiment performed, then have the data delivered in a manner thats quick and easy to access.

The system is currently scheduled to go live in March of 2015 after some upgrades to a particle accelerator are completed.

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The Software Behind IBM's Watson Will Be Probing The Mysteries Of Physics

Exclusive: Steve Aoki on 'Neon Future,' Working With Fall Out Boy & Trying to Live Forever

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When you're Steve Aoki -- one of the planet's highest-paid, hardest-working DJs -- life is understandably quite busy. But unlike many other workaholic musicians, it's not because of a "life is too short to waste time" mentality. Actually, Aoki thinks it's possible he'll live forever.

Steve Aoki & Disco Donnie to Speak at Electronic Music Conference

While chatting with Billboard from a balcony in Ibiza, where he's currently finishing work on the second album in his Neon Future project, Aoki tells us about the futurist concepts that inspired his new album, from doctors working to end aging to society nearing the so-called technological singularity.

Aoki also tells us about working with Fall Out Boy for Neon Future I, out Sept. 30, teaming up with Guitar Center for its Greatest Feeling on Earth campaign, and creating music videos for all 16 proper songs on his Neon Future project.

Where are you on Neon Future -- you've finished the first one, right?

I finished Neon Future part 1 here in Ibiza, and now I'm working on part 2, which is a whole 'nother complex project that needs a lot of tidying up.

Is Neon Future II very different from I, or is it more a continuation?

It is a continuation, but when you hear both bodies of work, they're very different musically and emotionally. On I, there's a lot more party songs, club records -- I is introducing people into this world, inviting them into it. On II, you're deeper in the psyche of what Neon Future is. So I put songs that have more emotional content and deeper context in part 2. There are party songs on part 2 as well -- the song I do with Tinie Tempah is really upbeat -- but the rest of it is a little bit darker.

What does the phrase "Neon Future" mean?

Neon Future is, in short, a positive outlook on human progress and technology, looking forward to a bright, colorful utopia. It's embracing the future, and looking toward the future in a more optimistic way. I like looking at a future where we're expanding our creativity and brightening our lives. I believe that eventually we'll get to a point where we'll be able to live indefinitely through our technology. That concept of futurism is underlying the full process of the album.

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Exclusive: Steve Aoki on 'Neon Future,' Working With Fall Out Boy & Trying to Live Forever

Freedom Platoon Battle because ‘MERICA @Sovietdeath playing @WoTXbox – Video

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Freedom Platoon Battle because #39;MERICA @Sovietdeath playing @WoTXbox
Clips taken from my Bi-weekly live streams every Wed. and Fri. http://www.twitch.tv/rtgnsovietdeath please also follow my twitter @Sovietdeath and my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/rtgnsovietdeath.

By: RTGNSovietdeath

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Freedom Platoon Battle because 'MERICA @Sovietdeath playing @WoTXbox - Video

Freedom Foods looks for Asian partner

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Freedom Foods is looking for Asian partners to launch its allergy-free cereal business to bolster exports in the region.

Managing director Rory Macleod said the company hoped its cereals arm can replicate its Pactum Dairy operation which produces long-life milk for one of China's biggest dairy companies, Bright Foods.

Freedom posted an 11.6 per cent slide in net profit to $12.1 million in the 12 months to June 30. Mr Macleod attributed the decline to booking a pre-tax profit of $11.8 million the year before from reducing its stake in a2 Milk from 25 to 17.9 per cent.

While Freedom's profit eased, its net sales grew 5.97 per cent to $104.6 million. Investors warmed to the result, the company's shares jumping 2.8 per cent to close at $3.25.

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Mr Macleod expected more sales growth in the next two years as it increases exports in the US and Asia.

But he said he didn't want to rush the expansion.

"We want to be quite thoughtful about what we'll do," Mr Macleod said. "It's not a case of taking the whole range over there and see who will bite.

"You have to be very careful about what products you are going to take up there and sell."

Mr Macleod said working with a Chinese company was therefore more preferable than relying on distributors.

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Freedom Foods looks for Asian partner

Freedom Foods looks for Asian partner to boost exports

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Freedom Foods is looking for Asian partners to launch its allergy-free cereal business to bolster exports in the region.

Managing director Rory Macleod said the company hoped its cereals arm can replicate its Pactum Dairy operation which produces long-life milk for one of China's biggest dairy companies, Bright Foods.

Freedom posted an 11.6 per cent slide in net profit to $12.1 million in the 12 months to June 30. Mr Macleod attributed the decline to booking a pre-tax profit of $11.8 million the year before from reducing its stake in a2 Milk from 25 to 17.9 per cent.

While Freedom's profit eased, its net sales grew 5.97 per cent to $104.6 million. Investors warmed to the result, the company's shares jumping 2.8 per cent to close at $3.25.

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Mr Macleod expected more sales growth in the next two years as it increases exports in the US and Asia.

But he said he didn't want to rush the expansion.

"We want to be quite thoughtful about what we'll do," Mr Macleod said. "It's not a case of taking the whole range over there and see who will bite.

"You have to be very careful about what products you are going to take up there and sell."

Mr Macleod said working with a Chinese company was therefore more preferable than relying on distributors.

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Freedom Foods looks for Asian partner to boost exports

Freedom eyes DEP's voluntary cleanup program

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Freedom Industries is considering trying to enter West Virginias voluntary industrial site remediation program to help ease the cleanup of its Elk River facility, where a chemical leak in January contaminated the drinking-water supply for hundreds of thousands of people in Charleston and the surrounding region.

Representatives from Freedom met last week with state Department of Environmental Protection officials to discuss whether the companys Etowah Terminal is eligible for the DEPs Voluntary Remediation Program, a move that could result in Freedom having to meet less-stringent contamination standards than under existing DEP enforcement orders.

No decisions were made, and Freedom has not yet submitted a formal application for the program, officials from the company and the DEP said.

Freedoms eligibility for the program could be tricky, though, because of the companys ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and because there are no existing cleanup standards for Crude MCHM, the main chemical involved in the Jan. 9 leak into the Elk.

DEP officials emphasized that discussions about Freedom applying for voluntary remediation status were preliminary and that the program would not change agency Secretary Randy Huffmans promise that the Freedom site will be remediated until there is a 100-percent certainty that the risk of this stuff getting back in the water has been eliminated, not just minimized.

They will still have to show that they are not going to have chemicals going into the Elk River, said Patty Hickman, interim director of the DEPs Division of Land Restoration, which runs the voluntary industrial site cleanup program.

Mark Welch, Freedoms chief restructuring officer, said the company is still considering options but that the voluntary program could benefit Freedom because the company and the DEP would agree to enter into the plan and agree to the standards, rather than having cleanup details mandated by the state.

On Thursday, Freedom received approval from the Charleston Sanitary Board to send potentially contaminated stormwater gathered at the Elk River site in recent months to Charlestons sewage facility, where it would be treated and discharged into the Kanawha River. Freedom has said the boards operation can properly treat the runoff and save the company significant money over sending the stormwater to out-of-state treatment and disposal sites.

Last week, Freedom moved temporary chemical storage tanks onto the site for stormwater thats collected in the future, so that the remaining four tanks can be dismantled. Work tearing down those tanks is scheduled to begin around Sept. 22, Welch said.

So far, DEP officials havent seen any results of soil samples from the Freedom site and are still waiting for the company to submit an updated remediation plan for the facility.

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Freedom eyes DEP's voluntary cleanup program

Freedom Strategy Put To The Test At Democratic National Convention

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Seats assigned to Mississippi are empty at the Democratic Convention on Aug. 24, 1964. Two competing delegations were assigned spectator status for the opening session when the credentials committee was unable to decide which delegation to accredit. AP hide caption

Seats assigned to Mississippi are empty at the Democratic Convention on Aug. 24, 1964. Two competing delegations were assigned spectator status for the opening session when the credentials committee was unable to decide which delegation to accredit.

Fifty years ago this week, Freedom Summer spilled into national party politics. Young volunteers spent the summer of 1964 in Mississippi, working to register African-American voters. But leaders of the movement also had a political strategy designed to chip away at the oppressive white power structure in the South, and it was put to the test at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, N.J.

Five-foot-four Fannie Lou Hamer, a sharecropper from the Mississippi Delta, caught the nation's attention as she sat before the convention's credentials committee seeking recognition for the newly formed and integrated Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

"I question America," Hamer said as she challenged the state party's all-white delegation.

"Is this America?" she asked. "The land of the free and the home of the brave where we have to sleep with our telephones off of the hook because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings in America?"

The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party stormed Atlantic City, garnering the support of liberal delegations outside the South. The 68 delegates four white, the rest black wanted to be seated instead of the state party's regular delegates, who they argued were wrongly elected in a segregated process.

The standoff was the outgrowth of what started as the Freedom Vote in 1963. Established civil rights groups helped stage a mock statewide election open to disenfranchised African-Americans in Mississippi.

"We wanted to show that black votes could make a difference," says the Rev. Ed King, a white Methodist minister who was the new party's candidate for lieutenant governor at the time. "We have to break the myth that black people are uninterested in politics."

And no one made that case stronger than Hamer, a cotton plantation worker with a sixth-grade education from tiny Ruleville, Miss.

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Freedom Strategy Put To The Test At Democratic National Convention

Independent film Freedom a hit at Aussie box office

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IT MAY have been filmed in America but the movie Freedom has a large backing from Australia, including the distributor.

Rod Hopping, of the Sunshine Coast company Heritage Films, is behind the distribution of the independent film, which outperformed James Cameron's independent film Deepsea Challenge 3D.

Freedom was in the Top 10 grossing films nationally this week.

"With 55 films currently in cinemas around the country this is something to celebrate and makes all the hard work from a small passionate team well worth it," Mr Hopping said.

Mr Hopping said Freedom was the ideal film for the company to be involved with.

"Freedom was a perfect match for us," he said.

"We're involved in looking to release films that are inspirational, true stories, with content that can move the human spirit.

"That's what we're on the lookout for."

He said the company was formed in 2004 on the Sunshine Coast.

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Independent film Freedom a hit at Aussie box office