about
Jace Clayton is a writer and musician living in Brooklyn. His essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Abitare, n+1, and Bidoun, and he is a regular contributor to Frieze, The Fader, and The National. Clayton’s interests include music, public space, memory in the digital era, and how technology and culture intersect in low-income communities, with an emphasis on Latin America, Africa, and the Arab world. The New York Times calls Clayton “a thoughtful pipeline for music from countless distant and obscure outposts.” He has given lectures and artist talks at Harvard University and other cultural/educational institutions in Germany, Spain, Peru, The Netherlands, and Brazil.
Clayton performs internationally as DJ /rupture. The turntablist and producer has toured in over 30 countries, released records on Soul Jazz & Tigerbeat6, DJ’ed in a band with Norah Jones, done two John Peel Sessions, and was turntable soloist with the 80-member Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. His dynamic live sets simultaneously party-rock and suggest complex political undertones. His recent album, Uproot, was named one of the 10 Best Albums of the Year by Pitchfork.
Clayton maintains a popular blog at www.negrophonic.com, and hosts a weekly radio show on NYC-area FM station WFMU 91.1fm. His show is re-broadcast on a number of independent radio stations throughout Europe.
selected online writings:
“Pitch Perfect” – Frieze, October 09. The best article on auto-tune or your money back. New York Times called this ‘Idea of the Day’. Zeitgeisty!
“Slow Burn” – The Fader, spring 08. Buenos Aires to the Bay Area, 2008 is experiencing the explosion of cumbia, a bomb with a century-long fuse.
“Rock the Rai Now” – The National, November 08.
“Muslin Gaze” – Bidoun, 07. Long critical piece on Bryn Jones aka Muslimgauze.
“Defending the Pig: Oink Croaks” – Mudd Up!, October 07. Later translated into Spanish and Italian and reprinted in Abitare.
“Search and Rescue” – Frieze, Sept 08. The hunt for rare African funk records raises questions about how the digitized music of the 21st century will be archived.
