Natural Sympathies is the solo project of the talented & visionary artist Amber Goodwyn. It is synth-pop with deep hooks and layering, powerful lyrics, and a very danceable live show. Amber is a musician, a mother, a community radio programmer, and a feminist. She joins us on this episode of the Rebel Beat all the way from Regina, Saskatchewan to talk about the intersection of all these things. Look out for her new album “Porous” on the way this fall from Grey Records.
Josh MacPhee does beautiful art. He is a member of the Justseeds collective, and if you love their work, you might have some of his prints up on your wall. In recent years, Josh has turned his focus from visual art and graphic design to revolutionary music, and he is the author of the forthcoming book “An Encyclopedia of Political Record Labels” from Common Notions Press. The book is a glorious work of deep research and stunning design. He joins us on the Rebel Beat to dive deep into his book, and the propaganda potential of record labels.
The book is out in October 2019, and you can pre-order your copy here!
If you like this podcast, then support us! You can sign up as a monthly sustainer on our Patreon page (get some great swag too!), or make a one time donation of any amount by sending $$ via Paypal to rebel@ckut.ca.
In our Turn It Up segment, we give a nod to Egyptian rebel musician Ramy Essam, who is fighting to get many of his band-mates and artistic collaborators out of jail. Find out all about the campaign around his song “Balaha” here.
Welcome back to another episode of The Rebel Beat! This episode is reminiscent of the old format of this show, 2 hours of live radio, done at our beloved CKUT radio in Montreal during a residency Aaron was doing for the Montreal Sessions.
Our special guest on the program is one of Egypt’s top studio guitarists and rebel musicians, Weka Soliman. You’ll definitely be hearing more about Weka’s story in the weeks to come on this show, but for now, enjoy this episode as he guides us through Egypt’s vast world of underground music.
After a prolonged hiatus for most of 2019, we’re back with a brand new episode of The Rebel Beat! This one is a bit of a throwback to our old format, since it’s part of a residency we’re doing at our beloved local community radio station CKUT. So you’ll hear a lot more music here!
Special guest on the show is the delightfully militant trans rapper Backxwash. Originally from Zambia, she’s now based in Montreal. She’s been tearing up the local scene lately, from playing huge stages like Montreal’s Pride festival, to countless community benefit shows. And her new album “Deviancy” is fire!
This is our last episode of the Rebel Beat for 2018, and we have some big news about the podcast as we head into 2019. Ryan Harvey of Firebrand records joins us to talk about that news, plus some of his favorite music of the year, and what it means to be a working-class musician at the dawn of 2019.
We give a special shout out to the Unist’ot’en Camp, who are on high alert as they fight a court injunction to force a pipeline through their Indigenous territory. Support them and get informed here!
Snotty Nose Rez Kids – Warriors
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings – Tear it down
Ryan Harvey, Kareem Samara, Shireen Lillith – See it through
Ryan, Kareem, Shireen – Thin blue border
Ryan and Shireen – Light in the morning
Ryan Harvey w/ Ani DiFranco and Tom Morello – Old man Trump
Jeremy Dutcher -Mehcinut
Emel Mathlouthi – Ma Lkit
Ryan, Kareem, Shireen – Come back stronger
The Clash – (White man) in Hammersmith Palais
What’s up! Welcome to the latest edition of The Rebel Beat for November 2018! Our special guest on the show this month is Xiuhtezcatl! Xiuhtezcatl is maybe the busiest, fiercest, and most accomplished 18-year old we’ve ever spoken with. He’s an Indigenous hip-hop artist based out of Boulder, Colorado, a youth activist, and he’s even written a book on resisting climate change. A huge inspiration dropping beats that the next 7 generations can revolt to.
In our Turn It Up segment, we give mad respect to Benjamin Zephaniah, a British dub poet who recently turned down an offer to be the UK’s poet laureate. Check out the article, and Zephaniah’s righteous response here.
Get your Rebel Beat merch today! Our t-shirts and pins make for great holiday gifts for that radical music lover in your life, and you can also support the podcast at the same time!
(All prices include tax and shipping in North America. For international orders, email us at rebel@ckut.ca to work out shipping prices)
To order – send us a Paypal transfer to rebel@ckut.ca. Please include your full mailing address in the message section. If you’re order a t-shirt, please indicate your size as well (we have S,M,L,XL).
To ensure that your order arrives before x-mas, place your order before December 1.
We interrupt our regular programming to bring you another episode of Changing On The Fly, Aaron’s other podcast, that we think you’re gonna love. Check it!
How did Gritty, the new mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers, become the new mascot for the American anti-fascist movement? Gritty is a huge, ugly, scary orange monster, who comes to us at a time when there is an equally huge, ugly, scary orange monster in the White House.
We’re joined on this episode by Mark Bray, history professor & the author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook” to talk about Gritty, hockey, and what the antifa movement actually is. Since we’re talking about Pennsylvania and fascism, we also reflect on the recent tragic synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, and pay our respects to the victims. May their memories be for a blessing.
Oi! Oi! Vey!
Welcome to the latest episode of The Rebel Beat!
Straight outta the ranks of Montreal’s Wobblies, we’ve got an interview with The Union Thugs. The Union Thugs are a folk-punk band who take a page from the little red song book, and give a nod to the great working class music heroes like Woody Guthrie and Billy Bragg. The Union Thugs feel most at home playing on today’s picket lines, using their bodies and their instruments to clog the wheels of capitalism. Bosses, beware!
On our Turn It Up segment, we give a shout-out to Rihanna, who refused an offer to play at the 2019 Super Bowl in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. bit.ly/2ExbE2R
Pete Seeger – Talking Union The Ex – Bourgeois Blues
Union Thugs – Solidarity
Union Thugs – Union Maid
Union Thugs – War on the workers
Union Thugs – Juillet 1936
Union Thugs – Solidarity forever
Mary J Blige feat. Kendrick Lamar – 41 Shots (American skin)
Hey Rebel Beat listeners! We interrupt our regular programming to bring you something special – the very first episode of Changing On The Fly, Aaron’s new podcast on hockey and radical politics!
If you want to follow along with all future episodes, subscribe to Changing On The Fly now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, etc.)
On this episode, we lace up the skates and hit the ice to talk about colonialism in hockey, and the Indigenous hockey experience. What does it mean to call hockey “Canada’s game” while Canada is a country built on stolen Native land? We’re gonna take a deep dive into hockey’s role in Canada’s residential schools, the presence of Native mascots in sports, and the changing role of Indigenous hockey players in the NHL today.
To help us pick apart these huge questions, we hear from:
-Braden Te Hiwi. Te Hiwi is an Indigenous Maori academic, originally from New Zealand, who now teaches as an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, ON. He co-authored an incredible paper on the history of hockey at the Pelican Lake Residential School in northern Ontario: www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.313…jh.ach.52.1.04
-Justin Louis is from the Samson Cree Nation of Mascwacis, Alberta, and the co-founder of Section 35, an Indigenous clothing company. Louis and Section 35 have put out a line of clothing called “Kill Mascots”, which takes aim at racist Native mascotry in sports (particularly the Chicago Blackhawks): www.sectionthirtyfive.com/
-Jason Brennan is the producer and director of Hit the Ice, a show on the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Nework (APTN) that follows the lives of young Indigenous hockey players. The show is now in its 6th season! www.hittheice.tv/
Rebel Beat Radio 