Feeling the deepest of blessings we wish Sun Ra’s Arkestra’s band leader Master Marshall Belford Allen a joyful 100th revolution around the Sun. The indelible torch bearer of Sun Ra has inspired generations of tone scientist to delve deeper within their discipline. Liquidating genre, and boundaries in the pursuit… We are grateful for this benchmark for we are nothing without our Elders, and Ancestors who uphold the Flame lighting the Way. The Procession… >>>
The Ballad of Don Lewis
Ascended Master…..
[DBR-V036] DFLN – DREAMS FROM LAST NIGHT LP
This release is not available to the public, but lives here as a Shrine to Derrick. If you close your eyes, and are still enough… you can hear it. His legacy continues through our hearts, minds, and procession in Sound…
With Balance,
– A
DFLN – Dreams Form Last Night LP [DBR-V036]
Written and produced by Derrick Curtis
Was slated to be released in Fall of 2016….
[ 01 ] Move Your Feet 03:53
[ 02 ] Ache 02:29
[ 03 ] Diviner’s Sage 04:20
[ 04 ] Attack Tha Dance Floor 03:48
[ 05 ] Flame 02:44
[ 06 ] Hit Or Miss 03:32
[ 07 ] Jam Crew 04:00
[ 08 ] Carry On 03:55
[ 09 ] Fly High 04:43
[ 10 ] Dark Room 04:18
[ 11 ] Heavy Grinder 05:19
[ 12 ] Hyperspace 05:26
[ 13 ] Lone Black Lion 03:09
[ 14 ] Vibrate 05:28
[ 15 ] Tesser Act Three 02:56
[ 16 ] Phlegm 02:30
[ 17 ] Rare Gems 03:23
[ 18 ] Smoke 04:45
[ 19 ] The Things I Cannot Change 04:14
Mike Huckaby (1966-2020)
He was my Brother…
I miss him…
He Gave…
The Flame will continue…
~ Armon
Mike Huckaby | Waldorfmusic.com Portrait (2025)
Remembering Mike Huckaby with Reggie Dokes
What’s In My Bag
CDR Berlin
Mike Huckaby – When Music Finds You – NOVELA VAGA
A Conversation with Mike Huckaby
Mike Huckaby’s Ableton Live 9 Masterclass
NI Maschine Masterclass
Mike Huckaby Q&A
Real Scenes Detroit
Ras-G…transforms (1978-2019)
An Ascended Master…
Thank you for crossing my path…
A^
AYBEE | On Sun Ra, Improvisation , and the Musicians mission. Electronic Beats
AYBEE sits down with esteemed Chicago-based music writer and curator John Corbett to explore the deeper meaning behind Sun Ra’s work and examine the roles that improvisation and experimentation serve in times of political and social upheaval. Corbett is well placed to discuss such issues, as he’s the acclaimed author of books such as Travelling The Spaceways: Sun Ra, The Astro Black And Other Solar Myths and A Listener’s Guide to Free Improvisation.
https://www.electronicbeats.net/aybee-john-corbett-conversation
#CONTEXT with AYBEE [ 18 ] David Mancuso and Rod Temperton Thoughts
The Sounds of Deepblak Recordings past, present, and future. Along with any, and everything else we are feeling. This episode we pay respects to David Mancuso of The Loft along with song writer Rod Temperton. Take the walk…
[ FILM ] A MESSAGE | by AYBEE (2016)
‘A Message’ is dedicated to the memory of Derrick Curtis aka DFLN (Dreams From Last Night), the North Carolina-based Deepblak artist who passed away in July 2016….
“The film was originally supposed to be a lead into my Odyssey LP, but with the sudden passing of Derrick during post production I decided to make it a dedication to him. The film involves an encounter with a gatekeeper to the other “side” in the hopes of delivering a message…”
I hope it reverberates. – AYBEE
A Message | A Film by AYBEE from Deepblak on Vimeo.
#CONTEXT with AYBEE [ 16 ] DFLN (Derrick Curtis) Tribute | July 26th, 2016
Tribute to Derrick (DFLN) Curtis….
DFLN aka Derrick Curtis (Remembering)
I did not want to have to write this… We should never want to write these type of things. Because in writing I felt that somehow i was letting go, and that is something I am not prepared to do.
A little more than 48hrs ago i was laughing at Derrick. Last week we had a conversation about the Roland TR8. He wanted one. I told him the thing was garbage, but he was not listening. He was like “man I am looking at these KINK videos and he’s killing it!” I was telling him yo man that’s KINK he can make a shoe-box sound good, but the TR8 is hot garbage don’t do it. You know he went and did it… 🙂
So the night before last he hits me up like “ yo man…you were right that thing is a toy!” I was like why you don’t listen to your boy tho?? What am i gonna lie to you for?? 🙂 He said he took it back. It was a normal, funny, and innocent as any other convo we had, and just like that he was gone.
There are too many waves of emotions that hit you when u go thru something like this, but disbelief is the one that is dominant. Many of you were just getting to know what we in the Deepblak circles have known for a while. That Derrick Curtis was special. When i met Derrick i had heard his music via short doc on a visual artist named Joshua Mays who at the time was living in my hometown of Oakland. The doc said music by Deflon. Upon searching his music up i was floored. It turned out he was also good friends with Maf Maddix (Bro. Aten) who was friends with Afrikan Sciences. When i got to know him he was a really really shy, and extremely humble guy. A stark contrast for someone whose music had an explosive nature to it. But i knew instantly he had “it”…he had that “thing”. His sonic world was beautiful. Full of color, depth, and narrative. Listening to his stuff was a cinematic experience.
At the time he was doing a lot of beat driven music in the LA Beat scene mode. I told him i would love to hear what his uptempo stuff sounded like. So he cooked somethings and sent them. I will never forget myself and Eric (Afrikan Sciences) sitting in Berlin listening to a batch of joints he sent over just shaking our heads. We knew….you could hear it. We knew he was going to have an impact. His melodies, his arrangement, his sense of rhythm, his production, his synth handle, his chops on the keys, it was evident. It was such an inspiration for us. And what made it particularly potent is that he was in North Carolina situated light years from any type of scene, or hype around the type of music he was creating. He was the new kid that we knew was gonna take this further than we ever could. It was the beginning of a new chapter. And that is what makes this so hard to bare. I feel as though i have witnessed a rocket taken from the launch pad before it ever took off.
I was pitching him on coming out to Berlin for a minute kick-it with Eric and myself as he was gearing up to start performing LIVE. He always had so many questions in particular about Ableton. Much of it way over my head. I would always be like man ”you need to hit Eric with that he’s the guru”. So i thought the best thing would be hands on. If we spent a few weeks in the lab together we could all collectively work it out right there. I was really looking forward to that…
But the Creator has a Masterplan…
I do not question that which is greater than myself…but i hurt in my selfishness of wanting him to remain here…
I will miss him. I will miss our convos/skypes… and most important i will miss his creations, and the joy they brought me…
He was such a humble un-assuming soul. He was limitless in my eyes, and maybe that’s why he has moved on…
Maybe his gifts are needed for greater works on higher planes…
I wanted to wake up this morning only to believe that this was indeed a “Dream From Last Nite” but it was not. Its hard to type this. I can only be grateful for crossing his path… i can only be grateful for the time i was granted with him. His journey continues… and so does his music. I will always look up to the star filled night sky, and hope that in the stillness of the moment i can hear you out there.
Safe Travels Brother
Love, Respect, and Power
Armon
THE G I F T | A Film by AYBEE (2015)
The Gift | A Film by AYBEE from Deepblak on Vimeo.
“THE GIFT” is the story of a mysterious Radio, and its journey through intersecting lives. Shot in Berlin we follow the radio across the city as we learn of its power, and influence on all that cross its path. Directed by Berlin based music producer AYBEE (Armon Bazile) the film is silent, and was created to be scored LIVE in front of audiences. Done in collaboration with Berlin based photographer Marie Staggat “THE GIFT” was debuted, and scored live at the 8th annual FORWARD Fest (DC) on Thursday, May 14th 2015 at the Goethe Institute in Washington DC.
Starring:
Ari
Sabrina Basten
Fred P.
Dave Aju
Matthieu La
Christopher Rau
Yuval Gross
Alland Byallo
Levon Vincent
Official Soundtrack
Written and produced by Armon Bazile for Deepblak Music (BMI).
Recorded at Deepblak Halle der Wissenschaft (Berlin)
Jonah Sharp (Reagenz) and AYBEE | Live at Forward D.C. 2015
Here is 30 Minutes of Jonah Sharp and myself LIVE at the Forward 2015 Fest in D.C. This was beyond an honor on my part as Jonah represents a Yoda of sorts to many of us from the San Francisco Bay Area that live this music… He has been a pioneer & staple for more than 25 years, and also was the 1st person to give me the opportunity years back to perform live! So again to share the stage with him in a jam was a immense honor. Thanks David Fogel for making this happen. Here is 30mins before the recorder ran out of juice. 😉 Enjoy!
– AYBEE
[ FILM ] DEEPBLAK Label NiTE 01 | Berlin | 2013
pic by Dholl
DEEPBLAK Label Nite in Berlin. It’s funny to think that we sat together in Afrikan Sciences apt. in Oakland in 2006 as a small group of sonic misfits trying to figure out a way to perform together. Life has a funny way leading paths away then back together, but here we found ourselves in my new home of Berlin for the 1st DEEPBLAK Label Night. It was a truly magical evening, and a cap to what has been an amazing year for DEEPBLAK. To be able to merge my worlds in a night of sonic travels, was something i will always cherish. Afrikan Sciences, and Damon Bell in from Oakland, along with my Berlin massive of Loganic & the mad scientist that is Onyx Ashanti… simply beautiful.
Smiles and vibes in the air…definitely a historic night. To ALL DEEPBLAK massive worldwide your energy/love was present. It’s so tough to put a whole evening into context, but here is a snapshot. Also an amazing glimpse at the end of the vid of Onyx’s stunning live performance. ~ A
DEEPBLAK LABEL NiTE BERLIN 2013 from Deepblak on Vimeo.
Deepblak | featured on soundtrack for Ava DuVernay’s – Venus Vs. Film for ESPN
Venus Vs. is a new the film by 2012 Sundance Best Director Ava Duvernay. The film produced for ESPN chronicles story of tennis champion Venus Williams and her struggle to get women equal pay at Wimbeldon.
via ESPN
We know about the swing. We know about the swagger. But what most Americans don’t know about Venus Williams is how she changed the course of her sport. In a stunning case that captured the European public beginning in 2005, Williams challenged the long-held practice of paying women tennis players less than their male counterparts at Wimbledon.
With a deep sense of obligation to the legacy of Billie Jean King, Williams lobbied British Parliament, UNESCO and Fleet Street for financial parity. And it was her poignant op-ed piece in The London Times that convinced many people that the Wimbledon tournament organizers were “on the wrong side of history.”
Roland Garros and Wimbledon finally relented in 2007. That year at Wimbledon, Venus became the first women’s champion to earn as much as the men’s singleswinner (Roger Federer). “Venus VS.” chronicles Williams’ fight for pay equality.
I was extremely honored when approached by Ava to work on the soundtrack. Largely because I was a fan of her work as a Director, and also a tremendous fan of Venus Williams as a ground breaking tennis champion from my native California. I considered myself pretty clued up on things of this nature so I was actually shocked at how little I knew about this historic story. To participate on the scoring of such a film was a benchmark moment for Deepblak as a label. It is very rare that a small indie outfit such as Deepblak is tapped for a project of such magnitude, and was humbled by Ava’s confidence in our music.
I was struck, and inspired by the dedication, and tenacity that Venus Williams showed in taking up this cause of Women’s rights not only in her sport, but also in merging it with the larger push for women’s equality on the international stage. She took on tremendous risks to herself financially by challenging some very well entrenched institutions, and corporations to right a long standing inequity. As the weight of the story unfolded so did my anxiety at scoring some of these moments. Here I find myself as a modest musician in the middle of narrative that will sit for generations to come, and my music will be a part of it.
It was surreal… I pushed through the process learning many many lessons along the way. In the end with the brilliance of Ava, along with her music composer Karyn Bostic, and all the amazing people that worked on this film something memorable was created. And yes I am totally biased… 😉 I hope that you find the time to see the film, and that you can draw the same strength, and inspiration from it that I did. Let us know how you thought the music sounded.
Love, Respect, and Power Always
AYBEE
