tokafi : :: :: discover your music

http://www.tokafi.com/ 

A short description of our aim would be: We set up tokafi as a portal for all those who want to discover and share great new music.

A slightly longer explanation goes like this:

At some point, something went terribly wrong in music journalism. It can all be put down to two factors: The demise of Classical music as a marketable product and the institutionalising  of Rock and Pop. The decline of “serious” music led to bitterness and fear of the new. The result: The art-sections of news papers and Classical music magazines withdrew into their shell of intellectualism and rejected everything to do with a bass, a guitar and a drum set. Meanwhile, the Rock revolutionaries of the 60s and 70s saw their dreams endangered by techno and a lively electronic scene. Their answer: Upholding the miracle of Rock n Roll, regardless of its current value. And a rejection of everything to do with more than a bass, a guitar and a drum set.

We can’t deny it: The way the media write and talk about music is influencing our perception of it. And they have lost touch with our lives. There’s disillusionment among all kinds of journalists and it has everything to do with the feeling that a new group of listeners and artists are steeling their memories of youth. It is understandable that someone who dressed in a smoking to meet up with his friends at home and listened to Schumann-Lieder over champagne will be disappointed when young music fans are chilling comfortably in sofas, grooving to hip hop beats. And we can see why someone who has spent years analysing Bob Dylan’s lyrics would turn against a style that has made “Open your mind” its highest intellectual motto. We just wouldn’t want to read their negative thoughts again and again in music magazines. Every day, every week and every month the search continues for another Gould, another Callas, another “wild child” who throws television sets out hotel room windows and dies of an overdose. But who really cares?

Of course, it can be great to argue about music, to talk about it for hours, to categorise it and compare one artist with another. But what it should really be about is finding music that hits  you like a bomb in a personal way, like it was made for you and to enjoy it just the way you want. Tokafi is here, so you won’t give up on this. We can assure you: The music you’re looking for is out there, waiting to be found. Actually, there’s probably more of it than you could ever listen to in a lifetime. That’s why, everyday, we present a selection of Classical, experimental, new and avantgarde music, as well as everything else we deem interesting. That’s why we have a radio show that mixes all these styles together, regardless of whether this serves traditional categories. And that’s why we are always happy when you give us a hint and let us know about new artists and albums. After all: Music is a form of human expression, and as such it can elevate your mind and broaden your horizon – if you only rid yourself of expectations and the constant urge to qualify as “bad” all the sounds that merely don’t appeal to you. Come with us on a journey and discover your music!