Christopher McMichael

Christopher McMichael is a writer, journalist and filmmaker. He has a PhD in Politics from Rhodes University and is fascinated by the relationship between social conflict, technology, power, paranoia and art. His work has appeared in The Mail and Guardian, The Daily Maverick and New Frame among others.

Latest Posts

Christopher McMichael / music

The Weeknd — After Hours

Writing about The Weeknd’s new album After Hours on the grey, overcast Day 5 of the national lockdown feels deeply incongruous. Everything a...

Christopher McMichael / art&culture

The Radical Collectives of Acid House

The UK Acid House movement of the late 80s is synonymous with fevered hedonism. The peace and love experience - fuelled by copious amounts o...

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Christopher McMichael / art&culture

The psychedelic horror of Richard Stanley returns with ‘The Color Out of Space’

South African filmmaker Richard Stanley has had a remarkable career, full of glorious highs and spectacular disaster. Leaving apartheid Sout...

Christopher McMichael / music

Mapping the Possible- “Alternate African Realities” with Syrphe Records

In an essay on noise music, the artist and archivist Cedrik Fermont aka C-dirk, takes note of the colonial and racist bias implicit in...

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Christopher McMichael / Thought

“Infamous: The Tekashi 6ix9ine Story” highlights the Faustian bargain of viral fame

The rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine had one of the most sordid rise and falls in the history of popular music. His initial fame was less rooted in hi...

Christopher McMichael / art&culture

The Hard Times Celebrates the Ludicrous Glory of Punk

Punk, indie and metal subcultures are inspiring and exciting, but they can also be very silly! From the hyper-macho obsession with being edg...

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Christopher McMichael / art&culture

Off the Score Explores the Edges of Musical Experimentation

On a sweltering Friday night in Braamfontein, cultural venue The Forge hosted it latest Off The Score exploratory music night. Exploratory m...

Christopher McMichael / music

With There is No Year, Algiers Drop Another Insurgent Gem

After winning its independence from France in a brutal civil war, Algeria became a haven for liberation movements and revolutionaries from a...

Christopher McMichael / music

Burial’s Bleakly Beautiful Appeal is Captured on Tunes 2011-2019

Burial, the recording name of London producer Will Bevan, is one of the most cultishly adored electronic producers of our time. With his alb...

Christopher McMichael / Thought

WeWork and the Guru CEO Con

At the beginning of 2019, WeWork was known for renting out co-working offices. With locations spanning from New York to London and even good...

Christopher McMichael / Thought

The Global Water Crisis and South African Culture

Mad Max: Fury Road, which starred South African actress Charlize Theron and was filmed in Namibia, was the most critically acclaimed&n...

Christopher McMichael / Thought

Gothic is the Pain You Feel and Not the Clothes That’s on Your Back: A Review of Darkly by Leila Taylor

Some surprise was expressed recently when Travis Scott featured 90s gothic metal icon Marilyn Manson on the bill of his Atlanta-based Astr...