Photography by John Dickie

When a gram of coke is purchased in North America, much of the profit ends up blood-stained in the back pocket of a Mexican druglord (or more precisely, in one of his crates of greenbacks in a warehouse somewhere). And what will the druglord spend it on? Weapons and gold, mostly.
     On the seventh floor of army headquarters in Mexico City, some of the kingpins’ personal treasures are on show in a curious little bazaar of narco items called the Museo de Enervantes (Narcotics Museum). It’s not open to the public — it’s designed to complement the training of troops in the war on drugs, to help them get to know the enemy better — but PLANET managed to sneak inside and take a peek.
     On show is bounty captured from gangster safe houses, or culled from their cold, dead bodies. The permanent collection is truly astounding to behold: like a Gulf cartel boss’ cache of gold-plated, diamond-encrusted Colt pistols, elaborately engraved with initials, signatures, and pre-Colombian motifs. One has a Versace logo, though I doubt Gianni knew much about it. There’s even a solid silver AK-47, which is completely useless as a weapon — it starts to melt after three or four rounds are fired.
     The army says all the guns were custom decorated in the US and smuggled into Mexico along with all the other artillery imported by the cartels (samples of which are also on show in the museum: anti-tank 50-caliber Barrett guns, grenade launchers, bazookas). It’s the old adage: while the drugs flow north, the weapons and cash flow south.

Lefse Records

Thank Alan Palomo for not taking acid. If he had, then Neon Indian, the lo-fi pop duo consisting of the VEGA lead singer and Brooklyn-based video artist, Alicia Scardetta, would never have come to fruition. Started with the song, “Should Have Taken Acid With You” — which Palomo had written as a humorous apology to Scardetta after their plans on taking LSD together fell through — the project soon manifested itself into a full-fledged multimedia collaboration. Hazy lyrics and synth sequences give songs like “Terminally Chill” and “Mind, Drips” a sound reminiscent of lazy, strung-out summer days. With the debut LP Psychic Chasms out this week and gigs lined up through January, the ambitious 21-year-old took some time out of his busy schedule to speak with PLANET° about blogs, Ecco the Dolphin, and a heated exchange with a similar “Neon” band.

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Buy this at Other Music or iTunes.

Photography by Radioclit

The Very Best’s sound is a difficult one to pin down. Even TVB’s singer, Esau Mwamwaya, concurs: “It’s done out of freestyles,” he says, “without looking at the boundaries in music. Just experimenting and things like that.” Some sort of futuristic Afro-electro-pop hybrid, perhaps? In any case, The Very Best’s music is a true product of the digital age: unlikely combinations of traditional African melodies and rhythms with modern electronics, vintage samples, orchestral flourishes, and synthesizers. Add in a few guest vocalists, including Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend and M.I.A., and you begin to get the idea. The resulting compositions blend together seamlessly and effortlessly, and the end-product is electrifying.
     The group comprises 34-year-old Malawian frontman, Mwamwaya, and European production duo, Radioclit (Etienne Tron and Johan Karlberg). Formed in 2007, they first captivated the blogosphere with their acclaimed free mixtape, Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit are the Very Best, which clocked in a remarkable 200,000+ downloads without promotional assistance or label support. And now the group has returned with their debut full-length, Warm Heart of Africa.

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The Very Best (with Ezra Koenig) – Warm Heart of Africa (Alan Wilkis Remix)

Photography by Guillaume Herbaut

In the Ukraine, a country where females are victims of sexual trafficking and gender oppression, a new tribe of empowered women is emerging. Calling themselves the “Asgarda”, the women seek complete autonomy from men. Residing in the Carpathian Mountains, the tribe is comprised of 150 women of varying ages, primarily students, led by 30 year-old Katerina Tarnouska. Reviving the tribal traditions of the Scythian Amazons of ancient Greek mythology, the Asgarda train in martial arts, taught by former Soviet karate master, Volodymyr Stepanovytch, and learn life skills and sciences in order to become ideal women. Little physical documentation existed on the tribe, until recently, when renowned French photographer, Guillaume Herbaut, met the Asgarda back in 2004 in the midst of the Orange Revolution.

Photography by Franco Musso

Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel have been making music together since they were in grade school. They meet everyday to play, whether they have specific ideas in mind or not. Eventually, out of these daily improvisations, an album is born. Maintaining this sort of routine for over a decade takes an incredible amount of commitment. Asked if their relationship resembled a marriage, Godin responds, “For me, the idea of a marriage is someone who doesn’t piss you off. The world is cruel enough. When you come home, you need some support. Our producers tell us these stories about bands that hate each other and I say, ‘Why do you do this?’ You have to want to be together.”
     So Godin and Dunckel’s marriage may solely be a musical one, but it’s an incredibly successful partnership. Love 2, the most recent fruit of their labor, sounds like a record from two musicians who have hit their stride — they know what works, and this go-round they’ve found inspiration in the sense of security that love and acceptance can provide. “Love shouldn’t be a problem,” Godin says. “Yes, but lack of love is always a problem,” Dunckel continues. “The songs on this record are about aching for love. We just want to say, ‘Love me.’” And that’s not an impossible request.

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Air – Do the Joy

<div class="aligncenter"><div class="imageframe centered" style="width:830px;"><a href="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/opener3.jpg" rel="lightbox[pics3301]" title="opener3"><img src="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/opener3.thumbnail.jpg" alt="opener3" width="830" height="405" class="attachment wp-att-3416" /></a><div class="imagecaption">Street scene. Cairo, Egypt</div></div></div>
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<div class="aligncenter"><div class="imageframe centered" style="width:830px;"><a href="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa1.jpg" rel="lightbox[pics3301]" title=""><img src="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa1.thumbnail.jpg" alt="alexa1" width="830" height="356" class="attachment wp-att-3424" /></a><div class="imagecaption"><strong>LEFT</strong> Interior of Coptic home. Young girl at left pressing limes for cool drink. Cairo, Egypt <strong>RIGHT</strong> Soccer break before a storm. <em>Siam reap</em>, Cambodia</div></div></div>
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<div class="aligncenter"><div class="imageframe centered" style="width:830px;"><a href="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa2.jpg" rel="lightbox[pics3301]" title=""><img src="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa2.thumbnail.jpg" alt="alexa2" width="830" height="405" class="attachment wp-att-3429" /></a><div class="imagecaption"><strong>LEFT</strong> Our beloved neighbor Anita sings opera in her garden everyday. She passes our family kiwis and hydrangeas over the fence and often declares, &quot;Sono Forza!&quot; well into her 80&#039;s. Aviano, Italy <strong>RIGHT</strong> Soccer tournament at the local church. Aviano, Italy</div></div></div>
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<div class="aligncenter"><div class="imageframe centered" style="width:830px;"><a href="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa3.jpg" rel="lightbox[pics3301]" title=""><img src="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa3.thumbnail.jpg" alt="alexa3" width="830" height="405" class="attachment wp-att-3433" /></a><div class="imagecaption">Street scene. Cairo, Egypt</div></div></div>
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<div class="aligncenter"><div class="imageframe centered" style="width:830px;"><a href="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa4.jpg" rel="lightbox[pics3301]" title=""><img src="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa4.thumbnail.jpg" alt="alexa4" width="830" height="405" class="attachment wp-att-3435" /></a><div class="imagecaption"><strong>LEFT</strong> Cairo, Egypt <strong>RIGHT</strong> Coptic woman weeps in graditude after two young Korean missionaries sung a sweet hymn. Mokattam, Egypt</div></div></div>
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<div class="aligncenter"><div class="imageframe centered" style="width:830px;"><a href="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa51.jpg" rel="lightbox[pics3301]" title=""><img src="http://www.planet-mag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/alexa51.thumbnail.jpg" alt="alexa51" width="830" height="356" class="attachment wp-att-3438" /></a><div class="imagecaption"><strong>LEFT</strong> Soccer tournament at the local church in my home town. Aviano, Italy <strong>RIGHT</strong> <em>Siam reap</em>, Cambodia</div></div></div>

Illustration by Peter Karpick

Five hundred years ago, Mexico City, then known as Tenochtitlán, was an island citadel of white limestone plazas, temples, and causeways that crowned the vast Lake Texcoco. With a population of around 300,000, it was one of the grandest cities on earth. When Spanish soldiers first set their eyes on the Aztec capital, they wondered if they were not dreaming.
The city’s ceremonial heart lay where the historic old town is today, where the last remnants of the great white city can be seen: just a few hundred square feet of ruins next to the Cathedral, itself built using the stones of dismantled pyramids. Somewhere near here, there stood a temple dedicated to Mictecacihuatl, the Queen of the Underworld, Goddess of Death. Forced underground by the Inquisition and out of sight for centuries, Mictecacihuatl, now transfigured, is on the rise once again, in almost exactly the same place where she was once revered by the Aztecs….