{"id":4315,"date":"2011-03-29T18:08:11","date_gmt":"2011-03-29T22:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/2011\/03\/21\/"},"modified":"2011-03-29T18:08:11","modified_gmt":"2011-03-29T22:08:11","slug":"catching-up-with-hipgnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=4315","title":{"rendered":"Catching Up with HipGnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a year ago that through my bizarre little Twitter inspired idea\/experiment that I met Eric Young, aka DJ HipGnosis. It was a wonderful bit of luck that he thought so highly of The Magical Buffet that him featuring it on his assorted Twitter lists inspired me to reach out to him. And what timing, since this was at the same time that he was realizing the true emotional bonds that can be forged online. If we had connected at any other moment it’s hard to say if it would have resonated so much for us and our readers. You can read our first meeting in the article “What I Learned from Twitter (or How Talking to Strangers Can be Good)”<\/a>. Even after all this time I still smile when I read HipGnosis describing himself, “To my own introduction, I am known as HipGnosis: I am a musician. A performer of music. A producer of music. A purveyor of music. You bring the booze, I\u2019ll bring the beats, I guess is the general theme of this part of the presentation.”<\/p>\n

Since our meeting I’ve been a big supporter of all things HipGnosis. Although I don’t get to listen as much as I’d like, I follow a lot of his work on his SoundCloud artist page<\/a>, on Facebook<\/a>, and of course on Twitter<\/a>. People who follow him or The Magical Buffet on Twitter<\/a> will see fairly regular exchanges between us doing the Twitter equivalent of the drunken “I love you man” that is better known among Twitterers as “Follow Friday”.<\/p>\n

All of this is leading up to something, and here it is. I am so proud\/excited that HipGnosis’s work on Adrian Molina’s “Build 2020 Manifesto” has gotten him some attention from The Denver Post’s Reverb! Part one of the two part profile on “Build 2020 Manifesto” says:
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$\"\"$ <\/a>Inspired by futurists like Ray Kurzweil \u2014 who famously theorized that the 21st century would bring the equivalent of 20,000 years of technological progress \u2014 Molina created \u201cBuild 2020 Manifesto\u201d in the hopes of creating a new movement of social progressives who will seize the power of technology to create a better world for everyone. His concern is that, left unchecked and unguided by conscientious humans, the rapid pace of change will have dire social, political, economic and environmental ramifications.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the premises of this manifesto is that governments, think tanks, bankers, corporations, technological developers have a plan for 2020,\u201d he explains. \u201cThey know what they\u2019re building. They think in terms of paradigms, agenda setting and we don\u2019t, and we need to because shit\u2019s getting critical.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you creating? What reality are you pushing?\u201d Molina asks. \u201cIt\u2019s a frightening thing to meditate on, but also a very powerful thing to realize that you manifest reality. Every conversation you have, you are creating reality. You are creating the future. Every time a kid on his or her cell phone tweets or updates their Facebook status, they\u2019re publishing content in a way that enlightened thinkers never could\u2019ve imagined. A 13-year-old girl with a cell phone in her hand has a lot of power, and we have to take control of that to create a healthier world for the next generation of babies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Part two describes HipGnosis’s work and contribution as:<\/a><\/p>\n

HipGnosis comes from the world of experimental electronic music. His interest in psychoacoustics (the effects that certain sounds have on the brain) and technology, coupled with his passion for social justice and grassroots movements, made him an ideal collaborator. His contributions to \u201cBuild 2020 Manifesto\u201d create an ominous, glitchy and futuristic mood that are an apt complement to Molina\u2019s words.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you have the time, I highly recommend reading part one<\/a> and two<\/a> discussing the album. It’s an interesting profile and some thought provoking work on the part of Adrian Molina, which as expected HipGnosis is right in step with. If you go to http:\/\/build2020manifesto.bandcamp.com\/<\/a> and opt to name your price on a download of the album you will “support a physical printing of this project. Physical copies of the album will be made available free to youth advocates, scholars, college student organizations, and youth activists.”<\/p>\n

FYI, the cover art for “Build 2020 Manifesto” is by Dustin Neal and I totally snatched the image from the Reverb site<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"