Making his RIPEcast debut, the Space Cowboys are pleased to welcome Ali B of Air Recordings to the show. For his appearance on the RIPEcast this week, Ali B pays homage to AfrikaBurn, a regional Burning Man event in Tankwa, South Africa, where he'll be playing April 25th-30th. Safe travels, Ali B, and thanks for the fabulous RIPEcast!

A little more background on this week's distinguished guest..

You can catch Ali B hosting Saturday nights at West London’s ‘Paradise’ where his legendary 5 hour sets seamlessly take in everything from blues and funk to rock, soul, dub, disco and beyond, captured on his ever popular series of ‘Oh Shit!’ mix tapes and ‘Airpod’ podcasts. His latest productions include remixes for the likes of Fort Knox Five and collaborations with Nick Thayer on the mighty Bombstrikes label.

 

With an eclectic and varied music industry background spanning nearly two decades, Ali B has a broad sense of musical appreciation, coupled with an intuitive feel for the dance-floor which has seen him hold down DJ residencies at London’s two most influential venues. After making his mark at the legendary Blue Note club, he then went on to become the resident DJ for Fabric where he’s been since the day it opened, releasing one of the first albums in their legendary mix CD series. He has also extensively toured Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Asia, Africa and the US.

 

Ali B spent his teens working for the Acid Jazz record label followed by several years in Public Relations, representing the likes of Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay and Pete Tong. He went on to host a weekly radio show on Capital FM for five years, followed by 5 years on Kiss FM alongside regular appearances on stations including BBC 6 and Ministry Of Sound Radio. He has also made several appearances on British television for the likes of MTV, ITV and Channel 4.

 

Ali B’s infamous Air parties have been running since the mid nineties at venues across London, including The Blue Note, 333, Mass, Electrowerkz, Rhythm Factory, Cargo and Matter as well as hosting arenas at festivals such as Glastonbury, Global Gathering, Hi-Fi and Australia’s Future Music Festival.

 

Ali B’s Air Recordings record label covers a wide range of leftfield sounds. Releases have included Finish electro breaks duo Mr Velcro Fastener, US stalwarts Tony Faline and DJ Love, the UK’s Will Saul (with Ursula Rucker), Jellybass, Janette Slack, Diverted, Lazersonic, Franci$co and Mr No Hands, alongside Ali B himself who’s track with The Jungle Brothers propelled Air Recordings into the major league. ‘Beats On A String’ was play-listed on BBC 6 in the UK and Australia’s national Triple J radio station. Alongside remixes for the likes of Positiva, Multiply, Sony and Cheeky, Ali B has also released mix albums for Fabric, Y4K, Godskitchen and his own Air Recordings label.

 

Ali B is widely regarded as the DJs DJ, as comfortable at the controls of clubs such as Fabric playing a heady mix of cutting edge bass and beats as he is digging for rare 7’s to play one of his exclusive party sets. He is regularly in demand at high profile events such as Vancouver’s Winter Olympics, Abbey Road Studios with Mark Ronson, numerous film wrap parties, various private members clubs such as Bungalow 8 & Dover Street Arts Club and celebrity events which in the last 12 months have included Mick Hucknall’s 50’th birthday party and Gary Barlow’s wedding anniversary. He is happiest travelling the world and seeking out intrepid party locations such as Afrikaburn in the Karoo desert, Burning Man in the US or Lake Of Stars in Malawi, catch him while you can…

For a little more background on AfrikaBurn, check out these videos Ali B shot at last year's event:

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/airrecordings

 

Or visit www.afrikaburn.com.

 

For more information on Ali B visit him on Twitter at Twitter @DJ_Ali_B. You can also check him out at www.airrecordings.com