obsoletism by olmecha supreme

Obsoletism. An ism translation of sankofa, and a criticism of the throw away world. The trash planet. Planned obsolescence. The intentional scrapping of usable goods for profit. The devaluing of ingenuity. Obsoletism sees a people craving new and shinny things, chasing the ever receding "cutting edge", and on to what? We are not luddites. We embrace the tools as they are made and use them to do the work in new and exciting ways, but when there are more cell phones then people on the planet, and the vast bulk of them are headed to the scrap heap only months off the production line, we are in trouble. When "E-waste" recycling outfits end up in the lungs of children in India, China, and Africa, we have to look at ourselves hard as a world. And when the raw materials to make these wonderful trinkets are yanked from the earth and sold off for pennies to the metric ton while their communities lie in waste a broken and smoking ruin, the forests spoiled, the waters soiled, we are in serious trouble. Enough to let you down something awful, this world. But even then, there is hope and a reason to fight back. That reason is the future. The children. Around the world. Born and not yet. We prepare the way for them. We blaze the trail. And we have to. And it feels good to. And it's worth while. So the style called obsoletism flies in the face of convention. It's a translation of what we mean by "afro futuristic roots music". Old synths. Guitars (gasp!). Singing! Actual song writing! Drums! Rap dancing! Ancient rhythms. New style. 361 degrees. Revolutions. Evolutions. Brand new second hand. Real bass. Not just yelling the hook again and again (on most of the songs...). Key changes! Chords! Song craft! Meaning to lyrics! Fun! Seriousness. Fantasy! Reality! 8 bit. 16 bit. 64 bit. All these things and more are to be found on the obsoletism ep. Oh and trees. And rivers. And oceans. and deserts. And forests. And plains. And sky. And mountains. And clouds. And lakes. And birds. And fish. And dolphins. And whales. And four eyed lions. And dragons. And hawks. And falcons. And monsters. And people. Obsoletism represents more than a years work to gather up these songs in one place, and is the last chapter before the full "School of Evil Laughter" is launched at the end of the year.

Lead by Captain Imon Starr, Olmecha Supreme is outstandingly versatile. This is music. Rooted in traditional rhythms of Reggae, Jazz, Blues, Dub and "world music", traveling to the frontiers of slamming soundscapes, and riding the vehicle of hip hop hard lyric and improvisation, Olmecha has coined the phrase Afro futuristic roots music to give the uninitiated an idea as to what to expect. LISTEN!

olmecha.com