M A i K A O

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Peter Camenzind by Hermann Hesse My rating: 5 of 5 stars Oh wow. Hesse's first novel and its content is as filled with with as much insight into love and life as any of his later works: "Where love is concerned, I must confess to having remained a child all my life. For love for women has always been for me a purifying act of devotion - a tall flame mounting upward from my melancholy, praying hands stretched towards the blue heavens. Prompted by my love for my mother and vague feelings within, I have always honoured the female sex as a strange and mysterious race superior to the male by virtue of its inherent beauty and singleness of being and one and to be regarded as divine because, like the stars and blue mountain peaks, it is remote from us and seems nearer to heaven." And there's even the sort of spiritual wisdom you find in later works such as Siddhartha and Steppenwolf: "Once more I suddenly realised that death is a wise and good brother who knows the right moment and on whom we can confidently depend. I began to understand that sorrow, disappointments and sadness do not exist to distress us, to make us worthless and undignified, but rather to bring us to a full state of maturity and enlightenment". Highly recommendable as with all Hesse's works. Everything this man wrote was pure esoteric gold usually only reserved for the likes of deeply mystical texts. His works are as philosophically illuminating as anything produced in the late 19th and early 20th century, from both the west and the east, and this novel serves as a true testament to that. View all my reviews

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Complete I Ching by Anonymous My rating: 5 of 5 stars A misunderstood and often misused book. Having lived in Taiwan for a year, of all the places to come across this book, "I" came across the I Ching, or rather it came across me, in the library at Ramanashram in Tiruvannmalai, Inida. Knowing next to nothing about the book nor its contents, i picked the book from the shelf and read the foreword by a certain highly influential figure and psychologist of the 20th century -a compatriot of Einsten - Carl Jung, with some bemusement and awe. Jung talked of jiggling coins into the air and deciphering answers from the book. My western, sceptical mind was quick to dismiss it. Yet something in the words throughout the proceeding sections spoke to me. Months down the line, something called out in me to purchase the book. After spending some brief time researching how to use the book for divination there i was, throwing coins into the air, reading hopeless answers i had no chance of understanding. But then i become more interested. After a while of mostly trial and error, i soon realised what the book is and more importantly, what it isn't. This book is not going to predict you your future (not quite anyway). This book won't tell you if you'll be rich, find the right partner, become a bitcoin billionaire etc. etc. This book is not a book for your ego. It will answer you in the way it sees fit, and the way in which it answers you will be contingent entirely on how you approach it. Sceptics might dismiss it as new age nonsense, but it's difficult to label a 5,000 year old book, used by both Confucius and Lao Tzu as 'new age'. The voice of 90's psychedelic intellectualism Terence McKenna was so fascinated by it he wrote a whole book about it. Others have been equally enthralled by its incredible insight into real-life situations. It is the first known source of 'binary code' on this planet (binary, was "invented" by a mathematician named Liebniz, who happened to be fanatical about the I Ching. He named yin 0 and yang 1 and now here we are, living in a planet with binary all around us in technology). What does that say about it? Nothing. It just adds to the mystery of this incredibe book. If you're interested, do some research in to "how" to ask it questions. If you don't have time to get the book or find out how, try the website below, which has similarly to the book, always been incredibly accuate for "me": https://ichingonline.net/ To give an example "I" asked the site above what it thought about me writing this review. It's reply?: "No mistakes if your aim remains true." Still sceptical? Try asking the I Ching. View all my reviews

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Free Will by Sam Harris My rating: 5 of 5 stars A concise read that looks to resolve and disprove the illusion of free will once and for all. It's an inventive approach to the subject, which builds upon existing stances in philosophy matched with modern research from neuroscience. Harris's stance is clear: we are not the conscious deciders of our actions. Nor have we ever been. We are determined by our genetics, environments and whatever other forces the cosmos have dictated us. Its a great argument, with a hidden gem of a quote by Schoppenhauer tucked in the notes at the back: "Man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills." Well said. View all my reviews

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Winter trees in the mist

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iPhone camera through a Kaleidoscope

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iPhone camera through a kaleidoscope

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Photo taken at Lavender Cottage - Taichung, Taiwan

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Retro Japanese Artwork for house Producer Manabu Nagayama

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So this is a real kids book.

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National palace museum

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I can’t preach Scientism because I don’t believe in it, I can’t preach Buddhism because I can’t understand it. The only thing I can preach is the felt presence of immediate experience.

Terence McKenna

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Black police officer protects KKK member from protestors

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Less Effect presents OBJEKT at 24 KITCHEN STREET

When? Saturday 22nd Feb Warehouse parties aren’t anything new but lately, Liverpool’s got them in abundance. Haus continue to deliver, Camp & Furnace keep making an appearance and now, with 24 Kitchen Street shouting the odds, it all promises for a community of partying. As I enter the RC1 Sound system ravages my ears; it’s an experience that leaves my entire body quivering. It’s strange to see so many people using earplugs, or in some cases simply covering their ears, but with these speakers it’s essential: the room - figuratively and literally - is rocking.

For a warehouse though it’s modestly sized. The DJ booth is easily accessible - it adds to the intimacy, the bar looks like a saloon - it’s oddly comfortable. The cobbled floor and stone pillars give you the feeling you’ve stepped into some wild caveman’s lair, as do the crowd behaving ferociously to every drop. There’s a flock of baseball caps nodding in approval as Less Effect resident DJ Matt Pidgeon gets feet stomping to tracks like “Boddika & Joy Orbison – Mercy”. The tempo is fast, the style is a blend of bass music and tech house, a mesh crowds are becoming used to.

Objekt takes to the decks Objekt dives in with hard 4/4 techno, easily pushing 136BPM -- on these speakers, it sounds (and feels) incredible. As a venue, Less Effect couldn’t have chosen anywhere more suitable. The gritty, industrial location is matched with harsh beats, served through brutal speakers. Other boss up and coming nights in Liverpool: Analogue Bubbles Hustle Jolt Modular

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SEVEN DAVIS JR - ONE EP

4/5 There’s some truth behind this EP’s label – “Must Have Records” -- One definitely falls under this category. The lead single (of the same name) doesn’t outshine any tracks, it compliments them; Davis’ grasp of wordplay sucks you into his romantically fuelled world. Breaker is filled with bitter, heart ached lyrics “I wish upon a star, that someone breaks your heart… gives you something to remember, let you know how it feels”. The dreamy keys and crooning vocals give the track a strong sense of emotion; it’s a house music ballad.

It’s a simpler affair on All Kinds; looped 4/4 beats, a Funkadelic inspired bass guitar and weird, monotone vocals. Support for this track is big, Detroit producer “Kyle Hall” is a fan, having praised it an interview with The Guardian. In places, it may sound like you’re listening to an Outkast side project, such is the eccentric element to Davis’ music but, the record itself is a house/R&B hybrid; displayed perfectly by Leave a Message, which highlights Davis’ vocal ability -- think a more rugged “D’Angelo” and you get the idea. It’s a record filled with originality, yet offers something familiar and downright funky. Seven Davis Jr - All Kinds If you like this try: Romanthony - Trust (Kerri Chandler Dub) Soulphiction - When Radio Was Boss Larry Heard - Missing You

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CHIBUKU w/ HUDSON MOHAWKE, JACKMASTER & SPECIAL REQUEST (PAUL WOOLFORD)

It’s Saturday 15th February and love is lingering the streets of Liverpool from the night before. And what’s not to love? The line-up of Hudson Mohawke, Jackmaster, and Paul Woolford’s alias Special Request, is sure to get the crowd in the mood for some lovin’. The Masque (or East Village Arts Club as it’s now known) may have seen many changes over the years, but the concept remains the same: multiple rooms + multiple DJ’s + multiple styles of music = multiple hours of partying. If the walls of the Theatre could talk, they would have some interesting tales to tell. Local DJ Friend Within has the privilege of getting the legendary room going, and does so in true Chibuku style, with jackin’ house beats on the menu for starters. Hudson Mohawke takes to the stage and the crowd is more than up for it, it’s an eclectic group as always; bohemians mix with hip-hop dressed students and Hawaiian shirt wearing young men. There’s crazy old school ravers bouncing around, telling people about the time they seen Paul Oakenfold at Nation, back in the day. The atmosphere, to put it in scouse text, is “boss”. But it’s just beginning, a long, eerie intro from "HudMo" sets the mood before some big 808 bass drums hit your ears; it’s hip-hop, but not as you know it. As the BPM drops, partyers adapt their dancing, as swaying and head bopping become common practice around the room.

(HudMO, poor photography noted) Jackmaster pumps the house vibes back into the place, people are moving their feet quicker and the relaxed vibe set by HudMo is instantly gone. Meanwhile, upstairs Paul Woolford is preparing for his set under his moniker “Special Request”, which promises to be anything but relaxing. The loft isn’t particularly busy, but still has a great atmosphere. Paul drives straight into techno edged jungle much to the delight of the crowd; this is exactly what Chibuku is all about. Going on nearly 14 years, Chibuku has managed to keep its vision of delivering music not for the masses, but for the people who seek something a little different. With its’ reputation as big as ever, Chibuku can potentially look forward to another 14 year reign as the UK’s most diverse club night out.