On December 18th, in the mind-blowingly beautiful Soho loft of world-class designer, Cheryl Heller, our friends and NYC neighbors gathered to celebrate the very first music release from Pop!Tech.

Pop!Tech CEO Thomas LeVine and Producer Beth Cohen

Andrew started off the evening speaking about Pop!Tech and how this amazing project came together. Losang Rabgey, director of Machick - the charity to which 100% of the CD price is being donated- offered a few words about the work that she and her organization do in rural Tibet. And then there was the much anticipated live performance of Yungchen Lhamo and Reggie Watts. Completely improvised and completely amazing, the two artists unique sounds filled the loft space.

Reggie and Yungchen perform live

Projects like “AntiBabel” and Pop!Tech Giving (A website to make donations to the many amazing organizations featured at this years conference) help us to carry out our mission to “amplify weak signals” as Andrew put it. Pop!Tech is dedicated to supporting and calling attention to organizations that are enforcing real change in our word. We encourage you to purchase an “AntiBabel” CD for yourself, your friends and family. Also visit Pop!Tech Giving to make a tax-deductible donation to any or all of the featured charities.

amshied Sharifi, Yungchen Lhamo, Andrew Zolli, Reggie Watts and Losang Rabgey

Thanks to Yungchen Lhamo, Reggie Watts, Jamshied Sharifi, Larry Braverman, David Meinert, Ben Arons, Andy VanDette

And a special thanks to the generous financial support from Banana Republic and Etymotic Research, Inc.

Photos by HeuiChul Kim

A few nights ago, I was lucky enough to join Neema Mgana and architect Gaston Tolila at the National Design Triennial at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in NYC where the Ipuli Media Complex was selected as one of the best designs of the past three years.

The Triennial brings together the experimental designs and emerging ideas-including animation, new media, and fashion, robotics, architecture, product, medical, and graphic design-at the center of American culture from 2003 to 2006.

Gaston Tolila and his partner Nicholas Gilliland are architects from Paris who are designing the Ipuli Medical Complex in Tanzania after teaming up with Cameron Sinclair’s Architecture for Humanity who in turn met with Neema Mgana at the 2005 Pop!Tech.

Pop!Tech wants to congratulate Neema, Gaston and Nicholas and everyone involved in this remarkable project. It is truly inspiring not only to see this endeavor come to fruition, but also to see it receive the attention and accololades it deserves.

Gaston and exhibit vistor

Close up of Ipuli Medical Complex model

Gaston and Neema

models and sketches of the first building of the complex

(Trumpet Fanfare!)

AntiBabel Album Cover by Hamilton Hughes Design

Here it is…the first ever music release from Pop!Tech. And we couldn’t be more thrilled. Pop!Tech recently brought two of our favorite performers from 2006, Yungchen Lhamo and Reggie Watts together to record “AntiBabel”.

And with the generous support of Banana Republic and Etymotic, Pop!Tech is donating 100% of the purchase price to Machik, the innovative charity directed by Pop!Tech 2006 Speaker, Losang Rabgey.That means that every dollar that you spend on this cd will go directly to building schools and supporting sustainable initiatives in rural Tibet.

So this holiday season, please consider giving a gift - to yourself, your friends, family members, and colleagues — that truly does a greater good in the world.

You can buy copies of “AntiBabel” for just $10 (plus shipping) exclusively at The Pop!Tech Store

The tracks on this album defy description so listen to these samples for a taste<:
World in Transition
Integration

Also, check out the official AntiBabel Press Release

Photos by Evan Sung

Here is a Flickr slideshow by Patrick Haney to remind us of the power of really simple and functional website design…the best kind there is.

via: SwissMiss

Come closer….no, closer….ok i’m not supposed to tell you about this yet but here is a sneak peak…

That’s Reggie Watts and Yungchen Lhamo in a recording studio together.

More to come on this amazing collaboration…so check back often.

Pop!Tech Speaker and Sun Fellow Neema Mgana was recently interviewed in (Red) Alert, a publication exploring how the emergency of AIDS in Africa intersects with our lives.

In the article, Neema shared the evolution of the Rural Center of Excellence in Ipuli, Tanzania from its beginnings at Pop!Tech 2005 where she paired with founder of Architecture for Humanity, Cameron Sinclair to initiate the building process.

Neema Mgana is a social entrepreneur, the leader of a remarkable AIDS treatment program in Tanzania, and was the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

Click here to read the article.