Pope returns to cocaine

Pope wine! A great commentary on Pope Francis’ decision to chew coca leaves on his trip to latin America. Quick explanation on the history of Vin Mariani, the coke/red wine mixture touted as being consumed by 2 popes!

Mind Hacks

Image from Wikipedia. Click for source,According to a report from BBC News the Pope ‘plans to chew coca leaves’ during his visit to Bolivia. Although portrayed as a radical encounter, this is really a return to cocaine use after a long period of abstinence in the papal office.

Although the leaves are a traditional, mild stimulant that have been used for thousands of years, they are controversial as they’re the raw material for synthesising powder cocaine.

The leaves themselves actually contain cocaine in its final form but only produce a mild stimulant effect because they have a low dose that is released relatively gently when chewed.

The lab process to produce the powder is largely concerned with concentrating and refining it which means it can be taken in a way to give the cocaine high.

The Pope is likely to be wanting to chew coca leaves to show support for the traditional uses of the…

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Midnight Music: Just A Gent – Pure Imagination [Future Bass]

Just A Gent - Pure Imagination

Just A Gent – Pure Imagination

Just A Gent continues to blow me away. I am just going to expect every new remix & original track to be stupendous. He sits down at the piano and doesn’t get up until we’ve seen one of the best re-imaginings of Willy Wonka’s Pure Imagination (performed by Gene Wilder of course) since the film. The synth work at 50 sec rambles around in the sky and echoes through the rest of the track. A lovely fusion of sun-drenched vibe, piano and amazing future bass, this is an instant classic. I also bet you’ll get people who don’t like EDM that are really into it when they hear it. This is a great intro track for those leery friends who went to Governor’s Ball for Drake & Lana Del Ray but think deadmau5 is weird. Just A Gent is a gem that’s blossoming into one of the most exciting sounds in dance music. 

Midnight Music: Bon Iver – Perth (Mi Ka Remix)

Bon Iver - Perth (Mi Ka Remix)

Bon Iver  – Perth (mi ka remix)

This remix of Bon Iver is (to  quote V/Man), too chill for words. There’s a magic to Bon Iver’s tracks originally, so watching this evolve into a golden tune is a quiet joy. mi ka, hailing from Stuttgart lays his spell on you as a listener. It’s got hammock & summer sunshine written all over it. Don’t spend too much time thinking about it, just relax and enjoy. The soothing, smooth bass blends into the bird chirps and soft guitars. If you can’t find a calming breath during this song, you may need to cut back on the Red Bull. As the weekend draws to a close, simmer down with mi ka & show him some love!

Prince Fox Leads BangOn! To Victory On Moffat!

BangOn FireTwo years ago I was lucky enough to experience one of BangOn’s first events. This night to remember involved The Chainsmokers, KOAN Sound, Minnesota, carnival rides and a whole lot of good times. 2 years later, almost to the day, there I was in the Green Room, chatting with Prince Fox about future music & high fiving people who couldn’t wait to see the rising star. He had the prime set for the latest BangOn extravaganza, Soulstice.BangOn MasksSet up at the end of Moffat street, one of the few pristine Brooklyn hoods not fucked by gentrification, the space was smartly arranged & expertly decorated. BangOn!has real production value, so anyone thinking this is the same kind of party as the outlaw/illegal raves that NYC saw in the late 90’s/early 2000’s is in for a serious surprise. The security was tight & the amenities were on point with portajohns away from the food (critical) and the silent disco near the chill space (also critical). The bar, away from the dancefloor & directly opposite the facepainting, and it faced a new feature I’ve never seen at parties: A hairdresser. There was a hair artist giving people blowouts and mohawks and all manner of dope hair. Frankly, this needs to become a standard at every party I go to. I’d love to have someone properly style my mop. Shit, this is a reason to get there early. But, the real reason we were all there was the music, and Prince Fox was there to greet them. In a word, wow. He wasted no time, playing through technical difficulties, dropping into a punchy, future set almost immediately. I’ve talked about this kid more than once, but seeing him live was an entirely new world. I was overjoyed that Prince Fox could keep the relatively ADD crowd focused. Brooklyn took his signature style of Future Pop and ran with it. I saw the crowd go from filtering in to full in 10min. Again, full main stage dance floor, before midnight. The remixes and originals came quickly, but one of the highlights was his mashup of Turn Down For What & Rick Roll. This actually got plenty of ravers concerned he was going to drop the stupendous bass of DJ Snake on them, but then, BANG, he never gave us up.BangOn Dome

The set, pound for pound, was the best I’ve heard at BangOn! in some time, but the night was just getting started. My boy 2Melo put out a fantastic signature global bass set on the Silent Disco, and Breach made short work of the main stage. We were there for hours after Prince Fox’s set finished, as BangOn! does a great job as a selectro brand, and has for quite some time. Their A&R deserves congratulations, but at the end of the day, so does everyone else associated with the event. Start to finish a delightful reminder that quality still hides in Brooklyn. You just gotta go searching for it. This is Terry Gotham, see you on the dance floor.

Photos from BangOn! NYC’s Instagram

MXE, Maxine or Mexxy: Ketamine’s (Legal Not For Consumption) Younger Sister

8dJpCibMethoxetamine is a drug that started as a synthetic replacement for the popular recreational drug (Ketamine), but soon found a following all its own. When Ketamine became difficult to find, some peeps decided to buy still legal versions of it on the grey market. Lots of places online sell novel psychoactive substances, especially ones that haven’t been picked up or ingested by random users yet. In 2010 people started purchasing it as a cheaper alternative to the dodgy K that was going around at the time. It went from first described to formally identified by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs in 6 months. While it’s certainly not acid, the trips online of the intensity of the experience became legendary. People report intensely disassociative experiences, powerful psychedelic rides & huge problems moving and coordinating their limbs.  Continue reading

Midnight Music: Misun – Eli Eli (Maduk Remix) [Liquid Drum & Bass]


If it seems like I post every new track from Liquicity, it’s because I totally do. Maduk floats towards the harder end of the spectrum, which just gives it more to love according to a lot of my drum & bass fans out there. Even though it’s harder, it’s still liquid, it’s still that smooth vibe you’ve come to expect from the Northern European D&B. The push is exactly what it needs to be and it drives on with a surprising amount of low end. I think you’ve gotta give it up for Maduk on this, as he’s been one of the champions of Liquicity, stewarding the liquid sound for years now.

Midnight Music: Lyrx – Go For The Gold (Prod. Else) [Hip Hop]

Lyrx - Go For The Gold

Lyrx – Go For The Gold

V/Man of Fresh New Tracks & the Popped app, continues to be a fountain of inspiration. New hotness for your Monday night. 32 seconds in, I’ve got the first fusion of nu disco & hip hop I’ve heard since Jurassic 5. Lyrx may have a totally new sound. Or, at least a sound that we haven’t heard since Donald Glover still had hope in his eyes. Flow is adult and intelligent, never getting too aggressive or staccato. There’s a smooth, West Coast vibe to the track & it doesn’t last too long. It’s not trying to get you to fuck bitches or get money. Though, it may remind you to go for the best. Who knows, you might just get it. Lyrx & Else are most certainly on my radar now, as the rest of the tracks on this Soundcloud are similarly fantastic.  

Earworm Of The Month: SubVibe – Lemons [Portal Dubstep]

SubVibe - Lemons

SubVibe – Lemons

It’s been a tough month, so I needed something with a little more punch. In this post-dubstep era, the rare tunes that still effectively leverage the wubs earn my respect. This one came out over the weekend and it’s been on repeat. I am going to inflict this on everyone I know, so you might as well get it over with. This has a beginning that evokes the best of Portal. This is the greatest motivationalstep I’ve ever heard. I don’t think that’s a genre, but this anthemic massive vibe that the step & quotes bring forth is really potent. Even just the quote:

Do you know who I am?! I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down!

With the Lemons.

There’s some great guitar work halfway through, showing that SubVibe aren’t resting on their laurels and keeps you engaged. This is critical with dubstep. It needs to change up or we stop paying attention. 3min in, when the quote comes back, the hardness is in full effect and it crosses into the realm of Seven Lions and the best of the best. This track totally blew me away, and I don’t say that about many things. The energy drops back down after more surprisingly good guitar work, leaving me hoping for more. Alright, I’m into it, let’s bring dubstep back just for Portal.

Midnight Music: Haven – The Truth Is, I Love You [Dream Bass]

Haven - The Truth Is, I Love You

Haven – The Truth Is, I Love You

Haven is blowing me away. This track got picked up by Insight Music, this splendid little chillstep, downtempo, ambient, future garage & bass label out of the UK I follow. Their monthly compilations are a dreamy mix of up & coming underground artists always has something interesting. This one made me stop what I was doing and pay attention. The massive low end & heart-wrenching vocals scream for this to be played live on a significant system to give it the sternum-vibrating live experience we all know it can deliver. I really want to hear more from this guy. Haven is from Stockholm, which is apparently where Dream Bass is made of. This is a cloud of emotion being vibrated by a subwoofer. It understands you, doesn’t judge, and may cry with you if you start. This is a track I want to make a music video or a party concept around. See someone walk through a crazy, dreamy party experience with this in the background, or a chill space with this kind of aural & visual aesthetic. What do you say? Would you come? Apparently he works in NYC, so I kind of want to hire them to spin an afterparty now.