Maga Bo Mini Documentaries: Ghislain Poirier & Diplo

An Interview with Ghislain Poirier from Maga Bo on Vimeo.


An Interview with Diplo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from Maga Bo on Vimeo.


Some visual treats for you today. Our buddy Maga Bo has taken it upon himself to produce a great series of mini documentaries, focusing on some of the most interesting "movers & shakers" currently operating on the global/dance scene. The fact that these video pieces are so tremendously enjoyable can be directly attributed to the fact that these are smart, articulate and talented musicians who are being interviewed by one of their peers who completely understands the scene and knows how to focus on the issues that most "journalists" don't cover.

Ghislain Poirier & Diplo are both talented musical omnivores who have produced fascinating bodies of work that are inspired by and incorporate styles of music from all over the planet. Both of these guys are relatively young in the game and know how to positively levitate a dance floor with their diverse DJ sets. They walk a very fine line between getting props for spreading the gospel of styles of music like dancehall, hip-hop, kuduro and baile funk to a wide, predominately "white" audience and being accused of "appropriating" these musics for their own gain. It is a testament to both artists that they are completely aware that the paths they have chosen are fraught with critical land mines and they just don't give a damn, choosing instead to just put their head's down and making block rocking music. Maga Bo gets them talking about some of these issues, as well as how they feel about slapping the tag, "Ghetto" in front of all of these new hybrids and what it's like to travel to the third world to collaborate musically.

As far as I'm concerned, the musical landscape would be a much more interesting and vital place if we had a few more artist/producers like these two and this is a fascinating chance to find out a little more about where they are coming from. Here's hoping Maga Bo keeps this video series alive for a good long time.

Check out all of Maga Bo's Video Profiles