The Rebel Beat is Firebrand Records podcast of radical political music across different genres, and across different continents, hosted and produced by Aaron Maiden on unceded Mohawk territory in Montreal. It is the mixtape to a riot against police brutality. It is your nightly newscast set to bass and beats. It is a rallying cry against apathy. It is protest anthems from Hong Kong to Istanbul to Ferguson to Montreal. The Rebel Beat drops once a month, and will feature interviews, collaborators, and accomplices. Get it through Firebrand Records’ Soundcloud page, and check out older episodes from Rebel Beat Radio here: http://www.rebelbeatradio.com.
https://rebelbeatradio.com
The Rebel Beat 087: Sounding off with the anarchist music journalists
This month’s episode of The Rebel Beat podcast features an interview with two people who are huge inspirations for the work we do on this show – Ron Sakolsky and Sheila Knopper. They’re anarchists. They’re grassroots music journalists. They’re radio pirates. And among them, they’ve got a well of music knowledge deeper than the Pacific ocean.
Ron and Sheila live on Denman Island, also known by it’s Indigenous Comox name of “Sladaich”, in so-called British Columbia. On Denman, they helped start a long-running pirate radio project, Tree Frog radio. But even before then, they have a long legacy in community radio, music journalism, and the anarcho-surrealism movement.
In this interview, we’ll hear about some of their work over the decades to bridge music and radical politics. We’ll hear stories about smuggling poetry out of South African prisons, dub poetry in Toronto, and a mission with Pete Seeger.
** If you dig the Rebel Beat, support us!
www.patreon.com/rebelbeatradio
On our Turn It Up segment, we big up Moses Sumney, who recently pulled out of his gig at the Montreal Jazz Festival to protest against a racist play. Read all about it here
Check out Rebel Diaz and Ana Tijoux’s new video here
Check out some of Ron Sakolsky and Sheila Knopper’s writing here:
www.akpress.org/soundingoff.html
islandsofresistance.ca/
**Playlist**
Crashprez – Fascists don’t cry
Rebel Diaz feat. Ana Tijoux – Y va caer
Rage Against the Machine – Guerilla radio
Benjamin Zephaniah – Belly of de beast
Mzwakhe Mbuli – Behind the bars
Pete Seeger – Abiyoyo
Fela Kuti – Opposite people
Moses Sumney – Worth it
https://ia801502.us.archive.org/12/items/TheRebelBeatJuly2018Final/The%20Rebel%20Beat%20July%202018%20final.mp3