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Vernon Courtlandt Johnson 's Interview - Art of Skateboarding

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May 19, 2011 by Matt DeAngelis VC Johnson is the genius behind the graphics that propelled Powell·Peralta into the stratosphere. His iconic images have inspired countless others to not only draw, but in some cases, to begin skating in the first place. An enigmatic figure, he disappeared off of the radar for almost 20 years until starting to work with Pocket Pistols a few years ago, and now back in his rightful place, Powell·Peralta.  MD: So how did skateboard graphics fit into a journey of self exploration? VCJ: They answered to the needs of the soul that chose the body. The soul that inherited, that grabbed the baton in my early 30s had a very different mandate and how it affected the life is fascinating. I can see this in other souls who’ve come to profound turning points in their lives and I’ve shared notes with those souls who have experienced a transformation at the core of being.   I come back to the company interested in a different o...
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Modern Jazz in Hungary 1961-1970

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After we took a look at the modern jazz scene of Czechoslovakia in the previous episode of the Focus on European Jazz series, it’s time to delve into the jazz music of its neighbouring country Hungary. This is quite a logical step, as the history of the jazz scenes in Czechoslovakia and Hungary show many parallels. Being both Eastern European countries, Czechoslovakia and Hungary suffered from extreme left regimes that undoubtedly put their stamp on the history of their country’s jazz music. In Hungary, the harsh communist regime was installed right after the Second World War. This regime was opposed to jazz, as it was perceived as music with a distinctive Western character that represented freedom and other principles that did not fit the Soviet ideology. In 1956, the Hungarian people stood up against this regime, but the Soviet troops reacted heavily and killed 20.000 people. In that year the Hungarian borders were open for a brief period, during which approximately 250....
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World Circuit Records

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When World Circuit was established in London in the mid-1980s little did they know that it would go on to become one of the most admired and successful ‘world music’ record labels. Anne Hunt and Mary Farquharson were running a touring organisation called Arts Worldwide which brought musicians to the U.K. who were popular locally but little known to a wider public. Many concert goers would ask for records at the shows and at that time there were none available. So they decided to set up a record company to bring this music from a local circuit to the world circuit. The one pre-requisite for a World Circuit artist was musical excellence. World Circuit Records have established their reputation by producing some of the finest world music albums of the past two decades, specialising in music from Cuba and West Africa.  The label is best known for the GRAMMY winning Buena Vista Social Club album, which is the biggest selling world music album of all time, and led to the pheno...
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