Powerspot 20 December 06

Tomorrow night's show features some of those discs which I thought were my highlights for the year (or ones which gave me great pleasure to listen to at any time) , and not necessarily released in 2006. At time of writing this is what I am bringing into the studio and not necessarily playing in the same order.

Kim Sanders & Peter Kennard- Trance'n'Dancin
Emmanuel Jal & Abdel Gadir Salim- Ceasefire
Rachid Taha- Diwan 2
Spirit of Mambesak- Black Paradise
V/A- Traveler 06 (Six Degrees Records)
Duoud- Sakat
Richard Khuzami- Fused
Ali Farka Toure- Savane
Papua New Guinea Stringbands with Bob Brozman- Songs of the Volcano
Karsh Kale- Broken English
Te Vaka - Tutuki
Source- Tonight's African Jazz Band
V/A- One World Many Cultures
Ba Cissoko- Electric Griot Land
Idan Raichel Project

If we have time some live work from Trilok Gurtu and Nils Petter Molvaer
Jazzbaltica Salzau, 2. Juli 2005. Details below.

Radio Broadcast 14. Oktober 2005 DLF Deutschlandradio
Trilok Gurtu Group
Trilok Gurtu - Perkussion
Nicolas Fiszman - Gitarre, E-Bass
Lars Danielsson - Violoncello, Kontrabass
Nils Petter Molvaer - Trompete
Mike Lindup - Piano, el. Tasteninstrumente

Lastly let me wish each and every one of you a wonderful Christmas and a happy, prosperous and musical 2007.

Powerspot 12 December 2006

Tonight's show has musical contributions from the following (and in no particular order at time of writing)

U Srinvas & Michael Brook- CD Dream (Real World)
V/A- Arabian Travels 2 (Six Degrees Records)
Bill Laswell- Hear No Evil Remixes
Shakti- CD Remember Shakti
Ba Cissoko- Electric Griot Land
Dhafer Yussef- CD Digital Prophecy (Enja)
Idan Raichel Project- CD Idan Raichel Project
Aneesh Pradhan- CD Tabla the solo tradition
Source- CD Tonight's African Jazz Band

Nadya's 101 Candle Orkestra- CD Crazy Moon
V/A- CD Turkish Groove (Putumayo)
V/A- CD Goddess Divine Energy (Celestial Harmonies)

The Necks Tour Dates

OZ TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED:
The Necks have announced the following Australian tour dates for January -
February 2007:
JANUARY
Monday 8th to Wednesday 10th:
MELBOURNE, Corner Hotel
Tix $25 (+$2 booking fee), door price: $28 (if available), doors open 8.30
Corner Box Office (57 Swan St Richmond 12-8 Mon-Sat), phone bookings 9427
9198, online bookings www.cornerhotel.com
Saturday 13th to Tuesday 16th:
SYDNEY, Sydney Festival, The Famous Spiegeltent, Hyde Park North
Tix $35 (+ $3.20 booking fee), doors open 7:00 bookings 1300 888 412
www.sydneyfestival.org.au or Moshtix www.moshtix.com.au tel 02 9209 4614
FEBRUARY
Friday 16th:
CAIRNS, Tanks Art Centre
bookings www.ticketlink.com.au 07 4031 9555 doors open 7:00
Saturday 17th:
BRISBANE, Judith Wright Centre Of Contemporary Art
bookings (07) 3872 9000 www.jwcoca.qld.gov.au
Sunday 18th:
BYRON BAY, Cultural and Community Centre
02 6685 5659 www.heartofbyron.org.au

Powerspot 29 November 2006

Tabla master Talvin Singh will be DJ'ing on Saturday night at The Factory, a new music venue over in Enmore. I hope he pulls his tablas out at some stage and plays along but somehow I doubt it. Anyhow, tonight's show is top heavy with tabla masters of one sort or another. Selected tracks from the following, and in no particular order of play at time of writing

Bobby Singh- CD Random Factors
Trilok Gurtu- CD Remembrance
Karsh Kale- Cd Realize
Tabla Beat Science- Karsh Kale / Talvin Singh / Zakhir Hussain- Tala Matrix
Talvin Singh- CD Ha
Talvin Singh- CD OK
Colin Walcott- / John Abercrombie / Dave Holland / Jack de Johnette- CD Cloud Dance

Also music by Nadya's 101 Candles Orchestra. They have a gig coming up this week- details below.

Saturday 2nd DecemberPaddington RSL226 Oxford Street Paddington 2021 NSW
Show starts 7.30pmTickets $25, concessions $15.
For bookings phone Rafal, on 0415 490 102.Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door.

Just returned back from touring Hungary Poland and France, NADYA’S 101 CANDLES ORKESTRA will perform at the Paddington RSL for one night only! Don’t miss this romantic evening of Eastern European romance and French Chanson lead by world music diva Nadya Golski. Join her and her fabulous band on the 2nd of December at the Paddington RSL. They will be supported by the fantastic UNDER FIRE GUITARS, Django Reinhardt meets Carlos Jobim in a passionate ensemble of Latin American and Balkan guitars. Part/proceeds go to Father Isaac’s homeless people’s charity.

Sunday 31st December Ignite 2007 with a wild and romantic nite as the the Candles serenade and thrill your senses.@ master blacksmith Francesco Petrolo’s enchanted ForgeNew Years EveUnder the Stars and IndoorsCandles @ Francesco’s ForgeNadya’s 101 Candles Orkestra live @ blacksmith’s forge! From 8pm till all night long.Kids welcomeGypsy DJPerformances from special guestsMeditteranean and Balkan BanquetBYO$50 per person $30 concession

Sculpt your own memento of 2006Gypsy and Eastern European film screenings in other roomBarrista making great coffee all niteChill Out room for Mum’s and kidsPlenty of on street parkingAt home atmosphereCall Mr Dabrowski 0415490102Email lucy@nadya.com.au

Please join Sangeet Australia for the final recital for 2006. Introducing to our Mehfil series Sarangan Sriranganathan on Sitar.

SANGEET AUSTRALIA:
Supporting Hindustani Music

presents

SARANGAN SRIRANGANATHAN - sitar

BOBBY SINGH - tabla

SUNDAY 10TH DECEMBER 2:30PM
THE DICKSON SPACE
35-39 DICKSON STREET NEWTOWN
TICKETS AT THE DOOR $15/12 con

Family discounts available. Wheelchair access available. On street parking. Enter via King Street. Short walk from Newtown train station or bus route 422 from Railway Square.

Performance approximately two hours with interval. Light refreshments available.

EXPERIENCE ACOUSTIC CLASSICAL MUSIC FROM INDIA

SOUL STIRRING AND PASSIONATE RAGAS IN A TRADITIONAL AND INTIMATE SOIREE SETTING.

About the Artists:

Sarangan Sriranganathan is a well known, award winning accomplished singer and musician from Sri Lanka who now resides in Sydney. The sitar is one of his many achievments. His recent concerts include The Commonwealth Games Festival and Womadelaide. More Information on www.sarangan.net

Bobby Singh is a much loved fixture in the Australian music scene performing extensively both locally and overseas. Increasingly he is exploring multiple fusion line-ups but trained rigourously as a classical musician under the tutelage of Aneesh Pradhan.

Powerspot Playlist 8-11-06

Hi All
On the show tonight tracks from the following releases (and in no particular order of play at time of writing)

The Idan Raichel Project- CD The Idan Raichel Project-
Various Arists- World Circuit Presents.....
Te Vaka- CD Te Vaka
Sidi Mansour- Rimitti
Various Artists- Congotronics 2 Buzz N' Rumble From The Urban Jungle
Debashish Bhattacharya- Calcutta Slide Guitar
Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra- CD Boulevarde de L'Independance
Ali Farka Toure- CD Savane
Duoud- CD Sakat
Pt. Premkumar Mallik- In Praise of the Goddess- Devotional Songs from North India (Celestial Harmonies)
Music from India- Goddess Divine Energy (Celestial Harmonies)
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob brozman- Nankuru Naisa
The Newtown Festival will be happening this Sunday. I'll be manning the 2SER stall from 10am and then doing a set on the 2SER stage from 1100 onwards. It should be a fun day for all.
Check out the website for more info...http://www.newtowncentre.org/festival/

Regards, and hope that some of you will tune in and listen.

Joseph Tawadros performance 15-11-2006

2006 Freedman Fellowship Winner Oud Virtuoso
JOSEPH TAWADROS LIVE IN CONCERT
with Special Guests JAMES TAWADROS (Req) and BEN RODGERS (Bass)
WHEN: Wednesday, 15th November, 2006 - 8pm
WHERE: Music Workshop, Sydney Conservatorium Of Music
ADDRESS: Macquarie St, Sydney
TICKETS: $25 Full / $20 Concession
BOOKINGS : email - joe@josephtawadros.com - www.josephtawadros.com

2SER Radiothon information

2ser Radiothon: Support a Higher Frequency
October 20 -27
2ser kicked off their annual Radiothon today, celebrating the importance of independent media.
“ Supporting independent media is more important than ever” explains Tanya Stephenson, 2ser
Marketing and Development Manager.
“As we have already seen in the past week, the laws will set off a frenzied chain reaction of take up,
takeover, devour and conquer in the commercial media realm. However, as community media cannot
be taken over by commercial interests, 2ser will remain independent and untouched by the coming
storm - as long as listeners and the community choose to support it”.
With no play-listed music and independent, unbiased current affairs programs, 2ser is committed to
providing a media platform that operates in contrast to the otherwise highly commercial world of
news and issue reporting, advertising and music promotion. 2ser also continues to be one of the only
stations in which its presenters are allowed to voice their political opinion on air.
“ According to the most recent McNair Research, people are increasingly tuning in to community
radio to access local information and news, specialist music and talks programs, and to listen to a
station that plays Australian music and supports local artists” Tanya ads.
“The ‘Support a higher frequency’ Radiothon provides listeners with the opportunity to show their
support of 2ser and help ensure that the station and its programs continue for at least another 27
years.”
During Radiothon, people are invited to 'support a higher frequency' by subscribing to 2ser. The
station holds an educational community broadcasting licence and receives no government funding,
so relies on the support of local businesses and listeners so it can continue to provide Sydney with
an independent, local and real media alternative.
Subscription costs from just $33 per year for concession holders, with special packages also
available to businesses and artists (bands, DJs, performing artists). And to sweeten the deal,
subscribers joining up during Radiothon will not only be supporting a vital media alternative, but also
receive a copy of 2ser’s new “frequency” magazine, a Spunk compilation CD and 2ser key ring,
access to great prizes all year, and entry into the draw to win up to $50,000 worth of prizes, including
an Intrepid Travel “Road to Angkor” Trip for two, two days recording/mixing at Big Jesus Burger
Studios, subscriptions to the Monthly, New Matilda and Arts Hub, loads of CD and movie packs, and
more!
For more information about Radiothon or to subscribe to 2ser, call 9514 9514 or visit www.2ser.com.

PANDIT RAMCHANDRA SUMANJI (tabla)

Asian Dance and Music Centre
presents

TAAL TARANG 2006

PANDIT RAMCHANDRA SUMANJI (tabla)
accompanied by Friends and Students

An Annual Celebration of Hindustani Rhythm, Dance and Music.

Saturday 28th October 7:30pm
Tickets $20 and $15 concession at the door.

Lithuanian Club
16-20 Meredith St
Bankstown
(near Bankstown Train Station)

Performers include:
Pandit Ramchandra Suman (tabla)
Inkaran Kantarajah (tabla) Chris Fields (tabla) Stephen (pakhawaj) Angeline (kathak dance), Shobha Bali, Anil Kumar and Sunita Sethi (vocals), Colin Berryman (sitar) and Adrian McNeil (sarod).

Come along and enjoy a variety night of classical and light classical music from India. Help to support live music in Sydney and raise funds for Panditji's Asian Dance and Music Centre.

For more info please call 0421 808 817 or 9796 7401

Nils Petter Molvaer interview

A good read for those interested in the music of this talented Nordic trumpeter

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=23039

Kim Sanders Live 12 Novemebr 06

Multi-instrumentalist and World Music pioneer Llew Kiek will join Kim Sanders & Friends for a not-to-be-missed performance at the Clarendon in Katoomba on Sunday November 12.

Kiek will play bouzouki, oud and Turkish baglama (or saz). “I love the sound of the baglama”, said Kim Sanders yesterday. “To me, it’s the sound of Turkey. It takes me right back there every time I hear it. And every time I go to Turkey and hear a baglama for the first time, I always feel that wave of emotion. It’s a very emotional instrument.”

Sanders has studied, recorded and performed extensively in Turkey and plays a number of Turkish instruments himself. These include the the ney – the flute used in the ritual of the “Whirling Dervishes” - and the mey. He also plays Bulgarian
gaida (bagpipe), kaval (wooden flute) and tenor sax. And the Aardvark will also wail.

The band is propelled by eclectic bassist Steve Elphick and tabla master Bobby Singh.

The concert will feature a unique mix of Balkan Gypsy thrash tunes, haunting Sufi meditations, Indo-jazz grooves and uncategorizable originals.

Kim Sanders: ney, gaida, kaval, mey, tenor sax, aardvark
Llew Kiek: baglama, bouzouki, oud, keyboards
Steve Elphick: double bass
Bobby Singh: tabla
Photo: Peter Elfes C. 2006


The Clarendon
68 Lurline Street, Katoomba
12 November
Doors open and dinner 6pm, music starts 7.30
Info and bookings enquiries@clarendonguesthouse.com.au or 02 4782 1322

Visit Kim’s website http://www.netspace.com.au/~kimsanders

Nick Gold interview mp3

Here's the interview from last night. Nick Gold is the creative genius behind the World Circuit label and they have just released an excellent compilation entitled World Circuit Presents.

http://savefile.com/files/170959

Powerspot 18 October 06

Tracks from the World Circuit release Best of played on Powerspot tonight aren as follows.

Chan Chan -Buena Vista Social Club
Boul di Tagal- Cheik Lo
Rumba Argelina- Radio Tarifa
Rire Zarga Quana- Bellemou Messaoud
Al Vaiven Mi Carreta- Nico sanquito
Tumbanga- Orlando Cachaito Lopez
Flor de Amor- Omara Portuando
Tapha Niang- Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra
El Carretero- Guuillermo Portobales
Juan Pena- Sierra Maestra
El Son Te Llama- Orchestra Baobab
A Love Supreme- Anga Diaz
Dr Binol- Shirati Jazz
DU Du- Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate
Silencio- Ibrahim Ferrer & Omara Portuondo

Powerspot 11 October 2006

Here's what I played on tonight's show.

Niyza- CD Niyaz- Ghazaal / Arezou (Six Degrees Records)
Midival Punditz- CD Midival Times- Kesariya (Six Degrees Records)
Hans Zimmer- S/T Black Hawk Down- Synchrotone
Joseph Tawadros- CD Storyteller- Storyteller
Jon Hassell- CD Maarifa Street- Divine SOS / New Gods
Bugge Wesseltoft- CD Moving- Moving

Various Artists- Putumayo Presents Acoustic Africa feat. Angelique Kidjo, Vusi Mahlasela, Djelimady Tounkara
Various Artists- Electric Gypsyland 2 (Crammed Discs)
Various Artists- World Circuit Presents - Ali Farka Toure- Amandrai (live) (pre release copy)

Next week I am running an interview with Nick Gold from the World Circuit label. Nick has been producing an array of wonderful recordings from around Cuba, Senegal & West Africa for many years now and has won 4 Grammy's for his work with the likes of Ali Farka Toure, Ry Cooder & the Buena Vista Social Club. He is a very likable man with many stories and more importantly many fine releases on the label. To celebrate 20 years surviving the music industry World Circuit have released an excellent compilation highlighting music from their well known and lesser known acts from over the years. We'll be highlighting this release next week on the show.

I spoke briefly tonight about the Songlines Festival up in the Blue Mountains ovr the next three weekends. Here is the link if you want to know more.

Kim Sanders is having a couple of gigs around Sydney in the next few weeks. Check it out via this link.

Kim Sanders news

Be there or be somewhere else

Acclaimed World Music group Kim Sanders & Friends are all in Sydney at the same time and will perform at the Harp in Tempe on Sunday Oct 29.

The gig will feature music in the style of Balkan and Turkish Gypsies as well as the band’s usual eclectic mix of serene Sufi meditations, bent Balkan dance tunes and original compositions.
Kim has recently returned from Indonesia where he performed as a soloist and in collaborations with Indonesian musicians. “As usual,” he said yesterday, “it’s been hard getting everyone together for a gig. Someone is always away somewhere. Sandy has just been in Korea, for instance. On the other hand, it’s good for picking up musical ideas we can eventually incorporate into the band’s music. It’s a slow process, though. I first went to Indonesia in 71 and I’ve been performing there regularly for more than ten years now. I sometimes notice Indonesian elements in my playing now, but I didn’t include them consciously. The thing is, we’ve all been round long enough, studied and integrated our influences, so our music is our music not just a pastiche like so much so-called World Music. I hope so, anyway!”

In a career spanning more than twenty-five years Kim Sanders has performed with Gypsy wedding bands in Macedonia, studied with Sufi ney-masters in Turkey, played in mosquito-infested dance-halls in West Africa, tavernas in Greece, concert-halls from Beijing to Bandung, on national radio in Bulgaria… not to mention Rooty Hill RSL.


Saxophonist, composer and three-time ARIA-winner Sandy Evans has played and recorded extensively in Australia and overseas with her own Sandy Evans Trio, Clarion Fracture Zone, The catholics, austraLYSIS, the Australian Art Orchestra, MARA!, Bernie McGann, Waratah and many visiting American artists. She has recently been working with refugee musicians.
Double-bassist Steve Elphick has made many overseas tours with folk-jazz group Mara! and various jazz groups including Ten Part Invention and The Engine Room. He has played with many jazz greats including Lee Konitz and Steve Lacey. In Australia he has performed and recorded extensively with cutting-edge improvising bands including The World According to James, The Andrew Robson Trio and The Umbrellas.

Bobby Singh studied tablas in Bombay with the legendary Nikhil Ghosh, and now divides his tıme between India and Australia, where he has quickly become a “must see” performer on the world music circuit as well as the Indian Classical scene. He has performed with Ashok Roy, Shubha Mudgal, Aneesh Pradhan, Slava Grigoriyan, Joseph Tawadros and Flamenco Dreaming . He is currently working with The Bird, Circle of Rhythm and Dha.

Kim Sanders: ney, gaida, kaval, mey, tenor sax, aardvark
Sandy Evans; tenor and soprano saxes
Steve Elphick: double bass
Bobby Singh: tabla

7 pm, Sunday October 29
The Harp
900 Princes Highway, Tempe
Tickets on the door: $18/15 conc
Kids are welcome, and meals are available.
Info 9559 6300

Lloyd Swanton & The catholics news

The catholics' upcoming Sound Lounge show, this Friday 13th October, is
nearly sold out. Our last two Sound Lounge shows did sell out, so book now
to avoid disappointment.

Our special guest for this show will be pedal steel guitar legend Michel
Rose, former catholic who hasn't appeared with us for over five years.
Michel will be lending his unique approach to material from our highly -
acclaimed recent album, Gondola, and we'll be pulling out a few old cathos
favourites in honour of the reunion.

The catholics
Friday 13th October 8.30 -11.00pm
The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre
cnr City Rd and Cleveland St
$20, $15 concession/members; tix from Seymour Theatre Box Office 9351 7940
Tables/seats are now allocated on a first come basis for each performance,
so to guarantee entry, book now!

All the catholics' albums are available at www.thenecks.com

Martin Kennedy interview 06September06

Here's the interview with Martin Kennedy from All India Radio talking about the new release Echo Other.

Chairman George interview mp3

The interview with the enigmatic George Sapounidis is available for download

Part 1
Part 2

911 The Falling Man

On TV last night was a documentary entitled 911 The Falling Man. This was a documentary based on a photo which was published of a man who had apparently jumped off the World Trade Centre on September 11 when the two planes hit the towers. Apparently about 200 people had jumped though officially the New York coroner had claimed no one had jumped, they were pushed out by the blast of heat coming from the plane as it exploded inside the towers. I like millions of others saw this event unfolding live on television at the time, and still see it as the event which changed my life. It has been five years now since that terrible day and I am still moved emotionally when I see the footage of the planes exploding as they impacted with the buildings, the two towers collapsing, the devastation and misery of lives lost for no reason other than someone hating the Americans and all they stood for. The photo was apparently only ever published once because it caused such an uproar at the time. I wonder what you or I would have done given the same circumstances, a thousand feet up in the air with no way out and a terrible roaring furnace beneath us making its way rapidly towards the top. Are there lessons for the living? I don't want to hate anyone for what happened though this act of flying the two planes into the buildings was unforgivable as is any act which results in a death. It's just that there was so much death in this case and it was so public. Who was the falling man? They believe it was Jonathon Briley, the sound man from Windows On The World, the restaurant at the top of the tower.

Powerspot 6 September 06

Tonight's show starts off with an interview I did with Martin Kennedy from the group All India Radio. Imagine a mix of Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois' Apollo soundtrack, mixed in with a touch of Ennio Morricone spaghetti western music, and a twist of Angelo Badalamenti's Lynchian soundworlds. This might get close to what Kennedy achieves with his latest recording. This interview is available now for download via the blog. (www.globalgroove.blogspot.com)

The majority of the program is taken from the excellent 2CD compilation entitled Desert Blues 2 Reves D'Oasis dedicated to the desert blues music and musicians bordering the Sahara desert; featuring contributions from Cheb Mami, Rokia Traore, Mansour Seck, Djelimady Tounkara, Momo Wandel Soumah, Djelli Moussa Diawarra & Bob Brozman and many more.
(CD 22762 Network label)

Tracks played in order as follows.

Daymallah- Majid Bekkas
Lees Waxul - Yande Codou Sene & Youssou n' Dour
Mouso Teke Soma Ye - Boubacar Traore
Laidu - Rokia Traore
Almany - Djeli Moussa Diawara & Bob Brozman
Felenko Yefe - Momo Wandel Soumah
Mande Djeliou - Djelimady Tounkara
Trab - Cheb Mami
Sufi Dialogue - Soliman Gamil
Azara al hay - Rasha
Aitma - Tartit
Yango - Mounsour Seck

It took something like two years to put this compilation together, Starting with over 1000 tracks, this compilation has 26 of the best pieces of music you will ever hear of North & West African music.

The great Calypso singer The Mighty Sparrow will be performing live on Saturday night at The Enmore Theatre here in Sydney. I hope that some of the regular local listeners will be able to attend what will be an amazing night of high energy music. If you haven't already bought tickets don't hesitate. This legendary performer will be putting on a very energetic performance and guarantees to get you out of your seats and in the aisles dancing. More information at www.jaslynhallpresents.com. I will be playing one or two tracks by the man himself on tonight's program.

Last week's interview with George Sapounidis aka Chairman George is also now available for download at www.globalgroove.blogspot.com

Powerspot Chairman George Special

George Sapounidis is a Greek Canadian who in his day job is a statistician for the Canadian government. He has a PhD in Mathematics and in general is a very clever man. At night time his musical persona comes out. He admits to being a folk singer, a troubadour, a romantic who sings in anything up to eight languages including Hebrew, Persian, Greek, French and oddly enough Chinese.

He has made somewhat of a name for himself in China, where he performs in various festivals often at the invitation of the Chinese government. He immerses himself into the local cultures as a result of having learned the Chinese language, and people relate to him easily and are drawn to him by his music, which in many ways is their music as interpreted by a foreigner.

George can possibly claim to be the only Greek singer in the world who can readily and confidently sing in Chinese. I haven't heard of too many others who can do this though remain open to correction.

George also had a dream, a dream which involved singing before the world when the Olympic flag was handed over by Athens in 2004 to Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. This dream was captured in a documentary entitled Chairman George which has been shown on a number of occasions in Canada to great acclaim and recognition.

I interviewed George Sapounidis at length this week about his being the only Greek singer who also sings in Chinese, as well as the amazing documentary Chairman George.

Most of tomorrow night's program will focus on George, a very likable man whose energy is boundless and inspirational. The music will be a little different but we feel listeners will enjoy listening to the man they call Chairman George.

For more information I urge you to go to www.chairmangeorge.com
The interview will be available as an mp3 download in the next few days.

Powerspot 9 August 2006

Hi All,
There was a good response to last week's array of African sounds, so tomorrow night's program will feature more of the same. (hey...when you're on a good thing...stick to it) Most inquiries pertained to where they listeners could find the music I play on air. Rest assured I try not to play anything too obscure and if I do I normally make mention of it. Most of the material you hear is locally available. I tend to spend far too much time sifting through the second hand record shops down in Pitt Street, as well as weekend markets looking for material. Shops sucha s Birdland, Redeye and SO in Newtown are good starting points. Oddly enough JB Hi Fi have a decent range of world music to choose from as well. Maybe what I will start doing is inviting listeners to send me their favourite record shop details and I will compile a list to draw from on this blog. Feel free to contribute.

Musical treats and delights to entice from the following masters of their trade.
Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra- CD Boulevard de L'Independance
Ali Farka Toure (The King of the Desert Blues Singers)- CD Savane- Savane
Ali Farke Toure & Toumani Diabate- Live Bozar Brussels 2005 (Promotional)
George Sapounidis- CD From Athens to Beijing - Good Morning Sun / Youth Dance / Sad Song Jam

The find of the year for me. George is a statistician by day and mild mannered Canadian Greek troubador singer of Chinese folk ballads by night. Lovely stuff and a real character who is immensely likable. Next week I will be presenting extracts from a special which aired on Canadian TV entitled Chairman George, all about his sojourns into China, the journey towards the winning over of hearts and minds. The documentary Chairman George is amongst other things a chronicle of George's attempts to perform at the closing ceremony of the Athens Olympics, when the torch was handed over to the Beijing Olympic Committee, What the hell, this would have been a perfect moment for this Greek singing Mandarin musical genius, a two for the price of one never to be repeated bargain of a lifetime. I will be speaking with George about his journey in the next few weeks so stay tuned.

2SER are having a reggae night over at The Marquee this Saturday night. This is pretty timely as I had been playing a lot of old Trojan records on the home hi-fi over the last few weeks. In the second half of the show as such, you'll be hearing from a few of the artists on this amazing label. Contributions from the likes of Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus, Delroy Wilson, El Paso, The Heptones, Alton Ellis, Augustus Pablo & Fay, Dennis Brown, Dizzy & The Soul Syndicates, Johnny Clark, Ken Boothe, Little Roy, The Upsetter & more.

Information below regarding this night.Firehouse meet Top Ranking Sound at The MarqueeSaturday 12 August, 2006...2ser's Fire on the Wire crew - Firehouse bring Sydney a big bad selection of reggae, dancehall and exclusive dubplate delivered in deadly sound system style. Here they meet Yonatan, the man behind OzReggae.com and who presents Top Ranking Sounds on Melbourne's 3RRR Radio. Tickets are $12 on the door or $8 for 2ser subscribers!I'll have some double passes to give away for this tomorrow night as well

I also rediscovered a four track CD by a local guitarist named Chris Raggatt, who had sent me his disc some time ago for consideration. Nice slide guitar work from a man who has a lot in common with the likes of Jeff Laing / Jon Butler / Bob Brozman. I'll be playing two acoustic tracks from his disc Voodoo Love Medicine-.

Don't know too much about him though I did find this blurb on the net.Chris has lived and played music on Sydneys Northern beaches for years. He is a dedicated guitarist who is passing on his knowledge and experience as a guitar tutor to many young guitar enthusiasts. When he is not teaching he is looking after his family, building guitars and developing music in his home studio in the hills of Avalon. He has played in Matt Finish, founded United Notions and is currently working with his new band called "Voodoo Love Medicine". This is also the title of his upcoming CD which provided the track "Save my soul" for ulu32.

Chris Raggatt- Voodoo Love Medicine- Secret Life / Save My Soul

Our good friends Kim Cunio & Heather Lee have asked we pass this message on to anyone who may be interested in this upcoming event. Two of the finest musicians and scholars living in Sydney exploring ancient Sephardic musical traditions. We will hear a track from one of Kim Cunio's earlier releases.

Kim Cunio- CD Under Eastern Skies- The Road to Bodhgaya

T h e T e m p l e P r o j e c tThe hit of the 2004 Melbourne Festival

The Temple Project was broadcast live around the country, stopping even the 7pm news! A one off show of this beautiful music is in Sydney for one night only. This is a night of spiritual music you will have never seen before.Saturday August 12 at 8.00 pm,At the "Stone Gallery on Oxford (Paddington Uniting Church)".395 Oxford St, (where the markets are.)$20 / $15Parking available at the Gordon St Church Car parkBookings 9331 2646 bookings@eastsidearts.org.auOr for more information oscarmarigold@optusnet.com.au

Features Kim Cunio, voice, instruments, Llew Kiek, Heather lee, voice, Llew Kiek, plucked strings, and Tunji Beier percussion.A b o u t t h e T e m p l e P r o j e c tIn 70CE the Second Jewish Temple was destroyed. The appalling casualties of the Roman invasion did not just include the innocent loss of life and those killed in resistance, but the destruction of a vibrant musical culture which included one of the great orchestras and choirs of the ancient world. The Temple project is an artistic speculation built upon the foundations of oral chant, archaeological records, and modern musicology. It is a rare project in our world, a chance to hear music as it might have been, performed by players at the top of their game. A mystical experience including yemeni shofar patterns, Baghdadi Jewish tunes from the ancient world, and stunning new compositions around all of this, featuring the angelic voice of Heather Lee.

I am hoping to catch up with Martin Kennedy from All India Radio later on this week for a chat regarding Echo Other their new disc. Also next week, music from Richard Khuzami, Duoud and other musicians leaning towards the sound of the East.

Playlist 2 August 2006

I have been somewhat slack with updating this blog in the last few weeks but here we go with tonight's program. Playing George Sapounidis' material was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to interviewing him soon regarding his release From Athens to Beijing as well as finding out what motivates him, keeps him focussed. I'm not sure of what the audience made of a Greek singing in Cantonese but to me he is a unique character who has a lot to offer.

For more information, follow the links.

Ardavan Kamkar- CD Over The Wind
Ballake Sissoko- CD Tomora (mp3 download from www.calabashmusic.com)
Rokia Traore- CD Wanita
Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra- CD Boulevard De L'Independance
George Sapounidis- CD From Athens to Beijing
Peter Carolan- CD Overland
Various Artists- CD Traveler 06 (contributions from Midival Punditz / Niyaz / Bombay Dub Orchestra)

Powerspot 12 July 06

Next week's show will probably have a bit of an islander type of feel to it. I received an excellent release by New Zealand group Te Vaka which I am itching to play, as well as a release entitled Spirit of Mambesak- Black Paradise, which is a recording of music from West Papua, and possibly one of the finest release this year. It also is a good opportunity to bring the excellent Bob Brozman & Papua New Guinea Stringbands release Songs of the Volcano in for another spin.

Tune in to hear this amazing music next week.

Powerspot 5 July 06

Hi All

On the show tonight, mostly Celtic flavored with contributions from the following. Follow the links for more information regarding these artists,

Michael McGoldrick- CD Wired (The Hillbrook Reels)

Michael McGoldrick- CD Fused (Lough Mountain / Donal Og)

Various Artists- Music & Dances from Old Ireland 1925-1942 (Maggie Pickens / The Banks from Newfoundland / Miss Langford's)

Afro Celt Sound System- CD Anatomica (Mojave)

Iarla O Lionaird- Cd I Could Read The Sky (I'm Stretched On Your Grave)

Karsh Kale- CD Broken English (Rise Up /Dancing at Sunset

DJ Cheb I Sabbah- CD La Ghriba (Jarat Fil Hub [the Chalice Remix] / Esh 'Dani, Alash Mshit [the Rai of Light Club Remix])

Martyn Bennett- CD Grit- Blackbird / Liberation)
http://realworldrecords.com/grit/

The Necks- CD Chemist (Abillera)


Hope you can tune in for a listen.

Powerspot Playlist 28 June 06

Tonight's show feature music from a number of releases by Australian composers, or composers now living in Australia.

Joseph Tawadros- CD Storyteller
- Track Storyteller

Joseph Tawadros is a young Egyptian oud player who is making a big name for himself here in Sydney for good reasons. He is talented and this talent is not escaping the attention of people like Richard Tognetti from the SSO who has just recently finished touring with him. Joe will be performing this Friday night with his brother James so go along and see this amazing musician who is carrying on a rich Arabic musical legacy.

http://www.josephtawadros.com

Kim Cunio & Heather Lee- CD- Music of the Dead Sea Scrolls
- Track El Eliyahu

Husband and wife team Kim Cunio & Heather Lee have been performing and recording ancient music for a long time now. Heather is also to my ears one of the finest sopranos we have in this country and a delight to see and hear. This recording accompanied the Dead Dea Scrolls exhibition of a few years back when it was on at the Art Gallery of NSW.
http://lotusfoot.com

Kim Sanders with Peter Kennard
- Cd Trance'n'Dancin
- Track Kaval Taksim- Track Ah Ya Zane

Kim Sanders is a great find for me. I was only made aware of his music last year when he contacted me and all I will say is I am glad that he did. He is an extremely talented musician who has travelled extensively around Indonesia as well as Eastern European countries absorbing musical cultures along the way.

http://kimsanders.customer.netspace.net.au/

Satsuki Odamura- CD Koto Dreaming
- Tracks Pretang / Tang with Linsey Pollak

Satsuki Odamura's new CD, Koto Dreaming is a collection of innovative and uniquely Australian multicultural compositions for koto. Koto Dreaming breaks away from the traditional sounds and compositions for koto, and includes Satsuki's own collaborative compositions with Australian artists. It is a synthesis of her inspirations gained by her working closely with Australian artists and a culmination of her fifteen years accumulative experience as a koto virtuoso based in Australia.
Koto Dreaming begins with a work commissioned by celebrated Australian composer Ross Edwards and includes pieces by composers Caroline Szeto, Anthony Briggs, Linsey Pollak, as well as Satsuki herself, in collaboration with Sandy Evans and Tony Lewis – who together comprise the trio Waratah.

http://satsukikoto.com.au

The Necks- CD Chemist
- Track Buoyant

Possibly Sydney's most famous or infamous jazz improvisers; this is album number 13 for the group and one of the most easy to listen to Necks releases in my opinion. Three pieces each clocking in at around the twenty minute mark, each different to the another. Buoyant is the more spacious of the three pieces available on this recording. It's difficult to categorize this outfit so I am not even going to try and bother to. Needless to say some of the most enjoyable and confronting music I have heard over the years has been from The Necks. I really rate this recording and urge anyone with an open mind to explore what is on offer here. We might even invite the group in for a chat in the next few weeks if they are in town.

http://www.thenecks.com

Adrian McNeil & Bobby Singh- Cd Aasha
- Track Rag Madhuwanti

Adrian and Bobby have been performing for well over ten years now, promoting Hindustani classical music here in Sydney. Adrian is one of the few 'white fellas' who has master the sarod, whilst Bobby Singh is without a doubt the greatest tabla player in this country and often involved with many different bands simultaneously. This recording was done shortly after the 911 incident a few years back. The title is a Hindi terms meaning Hope. Rad Madhuwanti is an afternoon raga of great beauty.

Powerspot Playlist 21 June 06

On the show tomorrow night, tracks from the following releases. Hope that some of you may be able to listen in online. Follow the links for further information.

Nuru Kane- CD Sigui- Colore / Diarama
Ba Cissoko- CD Electric Griot Land- Le Reve De L'Oiseau / Women
Smadj- CD Take It & Drive- C’est comme ci c’était fait / Tristan
Mohammad Qadri Dalal- CD Maqamat Insolites- Tarkîb jdîd
Thierry Robin & Gulabi Sapera- CD Rakhi - Yakeen / Bichu Rap / Neem
Richard Khuzami- CD Fused- Faruk's Funk / Malfouf / Go With Me / Bazar Bop
Ojos De Brujo- CD Techari-Color / Sultanas De Merkaillo / Todo Tiende

Next week Powerspot will be all Australian music.

Powerspot Playlist 14 June 06

On the show this week, I re-ran an interview with Eckhart Rahn, label manager of the Celestial Harmonies label, which is run out of Tucson Arizona. All music came from the label and artists included the following.

• BUTSUGA - JAMES ASHLEY FRANKLINNanae Yoshimura- Art of the Koto Vol 3
• THE COMPLETE PIANO MUSIC OF MIKALOJUS KONSTANTINAS CIURLIONIS, VOLUME ONE - NIKOLAUS LAHUSEN
• THE HUGO MASTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CHINESE CLASSICAL MUSIC, VOLUME 1: BOWED STRINGS - VARIOUS ARTISTS
• SEA & MOUNTAIN: MUSIC IN THE KOREAN STYLE - MICHAEL ATHERTON
• George Deuter-
• O NOBILISSIMA VIRIDITAS: THE COMPLETE HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, VOLUME THREE - SINFONYE
• Kifo Mitsuhachi- Art of the Shakuhachi Vol 2
• THE ART OF THE KOTO, VOLUME THREE: WORKS FOR NIJUGEN - NANAE YOSHIMURA
• STREAM FLOWING: TRADITIONAL MUSIC FROM CHINA - WENG ZHENFA / FU RENCHANG
• MUSIC OF LAOS: THE BUDDHIST TRADITION - VARIOUS ARTISTS
• THE SEPHARDIC EXPERIENCE, VOLUME 1: THORNS OF FIRE - THE RENAISSANCE PLAYERS, WINSOME EVANS - DIRECTOR
• THE MUSIC OF ARMENIA, VOLUME ONE: SACRED CHORAL MUSIC - THE HAISSMAVOURK CHOIR/MIHRAN GHAZELIAN, DIRECTOR
• IN WINTER LIGHT: MUSIC FOR FLUTE AND GUITAR BY JOHN BUCKLEY - WILLIAM DOWDALL AND JOHN FEELEY
• THE MUSIC OF ISLAM (SAMPLER) - VARIOUS ARTISTS
• HOMRONG: CLASSICAL MUSIC FROM CAMBODIA - CHUM NGEK

As usual if you have any queries please contact me.

Ottmar Liebert Tour Dates Australia

Speaking with Ottmar Liebert'>Listen to the interview


July 2006: Australia/New ZealandQuartet:
OL - Flamenco + Electric Guitars, Jon Gagan - Bass Guitars and Keyboard, Dave Bryant - Percussion, Stephen Duros - Flamenco Guitar + Keyboard


Jul 14 Melbourne, Australia – The Arts Centre, Hamer Hall
Jul 15 Canberra, Australia – Canberra Theatre
Jul 20 Newcastle, Australia – Civic Theatre
Jul 21 Sydney, Australia – Marconi Club
Jul 22 Sydney, Australia – State Theatre
Jul 23 Adelaide, Australia – Norwood Concert Hall
Jul 25 Perth, Australia – Burswood Theatre
Jul 27 Auckland, New Zealand – Town Hall
Jul 28 Wellington, New Zealand – St. James Opera House

Sarodist Adrian McNeil in concert 25 June 06 2.30pm

Sangeet Australia: Supporting Hindustani Music presents
The Mehfil Series
Adrian McNeil (Sarod)
Pandit Ramchandra Suman (Tabla)

Acoustic Classical Music of India
Soul stirring and passionate Hindustani ragas in a traditional and intimate soiree setting.
tickets at the door $15/$12con/family discounts available

Where- Dickson Space
35-39 Dickson St
Newtown

www.sangeetaustralia.org



Adrian McNeil has lived, studied and performed in India for many years. He has made a number of recordings for national television and radio. A guitar student since childhood, Adrian began training in Hindustani music in 1980 as a disciple of Pt. Ashok Roy. He has intensively studied the musical instrument the sarod and Hindustani classical music for twentyfive years according to the strict precepts of the guru-shishya parampara traditional training method. For the last five years he has been a disciple of Prof. Sachindra Nath Roy and also the expert vocalist and musicologist Dr. Ashok Ranade, both based in Mumbai. Adrian has a Ph.D. in music and has published important articles and a book on Indian music, and has taught in music departments in Australia, USA, UK, India and Hong Kong.

Pandit Ramchandra Sumanji is a highly experienced tabla and pakhawaj player of unusual depth and talent. He received his musical training from an early age from two well known musicians, his uncle Pt. Lokmanji, and Guru Purushottam Dasji of Nathawadar Gharana. he has accompanied many of the great masters of Hindustani classical music such as the Dagar brothers, Siddeshwari Devi and many others in India and abroad. He is a celebrated Kathak dancer as well, an art form he studied for many years with Chiranjee Lalji, Shambhu Maharaj, Lachchu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj. His compelling percussion playing has all the lilt and grace of this exquisite dance form. He now lives in Sydney where he has many students at The Asian Dance and Music Centre (Australia) which he established in Bankstown.

Sangeet Australia is a small, grass roots, artist run organisation presenting monthly recitals, and a range of other activities including workshops and concerts for local and international artists alike, to increase awareness and understanding of this rich and complex tradition. Our focus is to present the most excellent standard of this music in a manner that is sensitive to and respectful of the artists involved. Sangeet Australia mehfils provide a unique opportunity to engage with this music in a relaxed and thoughtful way. To contact Sangeet Australia call 0416 352 900.

Sangeet Australia highly recommends:
‘Music Concepts. A Concise Dictionary of Hindustani Music’ the comprehensive work by eminent scholar-musician Dr. Ashok Da.Ranade now available on the excellent and reliable website of the ethical, artist run label of Underscore Records. For this and a host of high quality recordings in a variety of Indian musical styles see www.underscorerecords.com

Join our mailing list to keep up to date
with all our concerts.
www.sangeetaustralia.org

ain't it the truth

Recruitment - A True Classic

One day while walking down the street a highly successful executive woman
was tragically hit by a bus and she died. Her soul arrived up in heaven
where she was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself.

"Welcome to Heaven," said St.Peter. "Before you get settled in though, it
seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we've never once had an
executive make it this far and we're not really sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in." said the woman.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have higher orders. What we're going to do is let
you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose whichever
one you want to spend an eternity in."

"Actually, I think I've made up my mind...I prefer to stay in Heaven", said
the woman.

"Sorry, we have rules..." And with that St. Peter put the executive in an
elevator and it went down-down-down to hell. The doors opened and she found
herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In
the distance was a country club and standing in front of her were all her
friends - fellow executives that she had worked with and they were all
dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on
both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played an excellent round
of golf and at night went to the country club where she enjoyed an excellent
steak and lobster dinner. She met the Devil who was actually a really nice
guy (kinda cute) and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. She was
having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave.
Everybody shook her hand and waved good-bye as she got on the elevator.

The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates and found
St. Peter waiting for her. "Now it's time to spend a day in heaven," he
said. So she spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds and playing
the harp and singing. She had a great time and before she knew it her 24
hours were up and St. Peter came and got her.

"So, you've spent a day in hell and you've spent a day in heaven. Now you
must choose your eternity," he said.

The woman paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I'd
say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a
better time in Hell."

So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator and again she went down-down-down
back to Hell. When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself
standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and Filth. She saw her
friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it
in sacks. The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her.

"I don't understand," stammered the woman, "yesterday I was here and there
was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and
had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends
look miserable."

The Devil looked at her and smiled. "Yesterday we were recruiting you; today
you're staff."

Powerspot 7 June 06

On the show tonight, you either heard or you missed the following.

I interviewed guitarist Ottmar Liebert who will be touring Australia in July. The interview can be downloaded here.

Music tonight came from mainly from the Ocora label out of France.

Valeria Miranda Family- Basta Ya
Musicians of the Nile- Taksim Arghoul
Ravi Shankar- Dhun Man Prasad
Fernando Machado- Virade Coimbra Fado of Coimbra Soares
Liu Yao Jin- Classical Music of China
Alim Qasimov- Rang, Uzzal, Zarbi Ussad- The Art of the Mugham
Vassilis Tsitsanis- Hoamge to Tsitsanis
Lakshmi Shankar- Raga Khafi- Seasons & Time
Munir Bashir- Taqsim- The Art of the Oud
Nusrat fateh Ali Khan- Manaqib Khawaja Mueenuddin Chisti- Live paris 1985

All tracks off a Ocora sampler entitled The World of Traditional World-Collection Ocora Radio France

Powerspot 31May06

On the show tonight(and in no particular order at time of writing) musical treats from the following to tempt and entice you to tune in.

U Srinivas & Michael Brook- CD
DreamRonu Majumdar- CD Lady Astride The Tiger
Ronu Majumdar / Ry Cooder / Jon Hassell- CD Hollow Bamboo
Hector Zazou- Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses
James Ashley Franklin- CD Butsuga music for shakuhachi
Harry Manx- Live at The Basement
Nuru Kane- CD Sigil
Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate- in concert at Bozar Brussels Jan 29-2005 (promo release)
Kim Cunio & Heather Lee- CD Infloressence
Rachel Cogan- CD Sojourn
Daude Neguinha- CD Te Amo
Richard Khuzami- CD Fused
WengZhenfa-Sheng/Chinese Mouth Organ- Stream Flowing traditional music from China

I was hoping to speak with tabla master Bobby Singh this week but this will need to be held over for another week due to unforeseen circumstances. I will also run an interview next week with Ottmar Liebert, the 'nouveau flamenco' guitarist, who will be touring Australia in July.

Cheers....Hans

Powerspot 24 may 06

Tonight's edition of Powerspot was a little bit different in that most of the program was given over to Lloyd Swanton, who many will know as the bass player for The necks, as well as leader of the group The catholics. He came in tonight to speak about the new release Gondola and we also had a bit of fun doing a sort of musical blindfold test.

Material on the show tonight came mainly from the CD Gondola by The catholics, certainly in the first 45 minutes or so. Other pieces played included works from the following artists and CD's. I'm glad to report that lloyd picked most of the artists and if you are interested in hearing this interview it should be uploaded next week. There will be a link to this on the Powerspot blog.

(In no particular order)

King Curtis- King Curtis Live at Fillmore West
Lonnie Liston Smith- CD Watercolors
Johnny Hartman- CD I Just Dropped By To Say Hello
Quincy Jones- CD Body Heat
Bugge Wesseltoft- CD Moving
Jon Hassell- CD Fascinoma
Horace Andy- CD True Love Shines Bright
Louie Vega presents Luisito Quintero- Cd Percussion Madness
Bill Laswell- Dub Chamber 3

Tune in next week to hear tabla player Bobby Singh talk about his instrument of choice and put on the musical blindfold.

Cheers....Hans

Powerspot Playlist 10 May 06

On the show tonight, musical treats and delights from the following.

Next week we speak with Natacha Atlas re the new album.

Albin De La Simone - J'Ai Changé- CD So FRenchy So Chic
Nicolas Repac - La Nuit Mène Une Existence Obscure-CD So Frenchy So Chic
Têtes Raides - Les Radis-CD So FRenchy So Chic
Solade- CD Boro Song- For That / Oceamn Lullaby / What It Is
Jalilah’s Raks Sharki- CD In A Beirut Mood- Lebanese Banquet
Natacha Atlas- CD Mish Maoul- Haram Aleyk / Wahashni
Gotan Project- CD Lunatico- La Viguela
Jessica- V/A Putumayo Kids Present Reggae Playground- Ying Yang
Asheba- V/A Putumayo Kids Present Reggae Playground- Reggae Lullaby
Toots & The Maytals- V/A Putumayo Kids Present Reggae Playground- Take Me Home
V/A Jamaica Ska Down- Ken Lazarus- I Don’t Love You Anymore
V/A Jamaica Ska Down- Ken Lazarus- Beatles Got To Go
V/A Jamaica Ska Down- Monty Morris- What Are You Going To Do
V/A Jamaica Ska Down- Monty Morris- Sammy Dead
The catholics- CD- Gondola- CD Oaxaca
Nuru Kane- CD Sigil- Mami

Powerspot 3 May 06

On the show tomorrow night, musical treats from the following (and at time of writing in no particular order)

The interview with Gotan project has been postponed. I'm hoping we can do it by next week.

Gotan Project- Lunatico
Bombay Dub Orchestra-Bombay Dub Orchestra
The catholics- Gondola
the ipanemas- samba is our gift
grupo batuque- ole ola futebol bonito
Bugge Wesseltoft- Live
Nils petter Molvaer- Remixes
Natacha Atlas- Mish Maoul
Kim Cunio & Heather Lee- Music from the Dead Sea Scrolls
Bobby Singh & Adrian McNeil- Aasha

The Necks- news

THE NECKS IN EXCITING NEW AUSTRALIAN TV SERIES, WITH AUDIO ON INTERNET

10pm on Tuesday 2nd of May sees the first episode of SET, an exciting new
(Australian) ABC-TV series of live improvised and experimental music
performances, and the first episode kicks off with The Necks playing a 25
minute piece, Taghairm.

The audio from SET will also go to air on ABC Radio National's Music Deli,
on Friday 5th May at 8:00pm, repeated on Sunday 7th at 4:00pm, and then
again on Tuesday 9th at 2:00am

Necks fans outside Australia will be pleased to know that the audio will be
available at: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/musicdeli/default.htm

and as a free podcast for 7 days after the TV broadcast at the SET website:
http://www.abc.net.au/set



SET runs on Tuesdays at 10pm throughout 2006, in three batches of three
shows:

2nd May The Necks
9th May Francis Plagne
16th May Anthony Pateras

11th July Ernie Althoff, Rod Cooper
18th July Oren Ambarchi
25th July Splinter Orchestra

12th September Hi-God People, Jim Denley, Peter Blamey
19th September Stasis Duo, Amanda Stewart
26th September Rob Avenaim, Dale Gorfinkel, Lucas Abela

This is a fantastic initiative from the ABC, with a second series already
under discussion. Please let them know you approve, by phone or through
their website, www.abc.net.au

(Even if you live outside Australia, if you think it's great that a
government-funded national network is devoting half an hour of free-to-air
TV a week to cutting edge impro and experimental music, please let them know
by sending a message through the website link above!!)

Powerspot 26 April 06

Longish pieces on tonight's show, from the following artists and albums.

Natacha Atlas- CD Mish Maoul (Mantra)
Chem Ngek- Homrong - classical music of cambodia (Celestial Harmonies)
Grupo Naidy- iArriba Suena Marimba- Currulao Marimba Music from Colombia (Smithsonian Folkways / Fuse)
Various Artists- So Frenchy So Chic (Filter)

Moritz von Oswald & Mark Ernestus CD Rhythm & Sound Trax
Imprint / Outward (Basic Channel)
Tabla Beat Science Audio Grab from DVD Live
Bugge Wesseltoft- CD Moving- Track Moving

Powerspot 19 April 06

On the show tonight, musical treats and delights from the following.

(Artist- CD- Track- Label- website)

Satsuki Odamura- Koto Dreaming-Makura-Orpheus Music-(www.orpheusmusic.com.au & www.satsukikoto.com.au)

Satsuki Odamura's new CD, Koto Dreaming is a collection of innovative and uniquely Australian multicultural compositions for koto. Koto Dreaming breaks away from the traditional sounds and compositions for koto, and includes Satsuki's own collaborative compositions with Australian artists. It is a synthesis of her inspirations gained by her working closely with Australian artists and a culmination of her fifteen years accumulative experience as a koto virtuoso based in Australia. Koto Dreaming begins with a work commissioned by celebrated Australian composer Ross Edwards and includes pieces by composers Caroline Szeto, Anthony Briggs, Linsey Pollak, as well as Satsuki herself, in collaboration with Sandy Evans and Tony Lewis – who together comprise the trio Waratah.


Jon Hassell- CD Fascinoma- Caravenesque- Water Lily Acoustics - www.waterlilyacoustics.com

Jon Hassell—trumpet
Ry Cooder—guitar
Jacky Terrason—piano
Ronu Majumdar—bansuri
Rick Cox—guitar, bass clarinet, samples
Jamie Muhoberac—zendrum
Joachim Cooder—drums
Rick Masterson—tambura
Rose Okada—tambura

After twentysome years of recordings and performnaces, this is the first time I've ever played someone else's song. With this recording I locate myself squarely within that aspect of music which is fundamental and irreducible: the beauty of the sound. This is what Dane Rudyar calls "tone-magic" — a concept derived from ancient practice wherein the quality of the tone itself communicates meaning quite apart from any further arrangement of an "artifice" of music. At the same time I celebrate here my first contacts with musical exotica in the form of certain songs and melodies heard as a child on the radio or in movie scores. This music created a kind of permanent technicolor oasis in my spirit — a place where I always want to stop for a cool refreshing drink, whether from Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol's "Caravan", or Ravel or raga or gamelan or Gil, or Joao or Joujouka — and a place which became the underlying spring from which flowed my "fourth world" musical paradigm. Jon Hassell
Marc Anderson- Cd Time Fish- Asylum Downs

Knut Hamre & Steve Tibbetts - CD A- Olav Bergsland- Hannibal- (www.frammis.com)


Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Miichael Brook Remixed CD Star Rise- Nitin Sawhney- Tracery Remix- Real World- (www.realworld.com)

V/A-Eastern Uprising: Dance Music from the Asian Underground [compilation]- Krome Assassins- Return of the Shankar- Higher Ground- http://www.higherground.co.uk/

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Miichael Brook Remixed Star Rise-Asian Dub Foundation- Taa Deem Remix- Real World- (www.realworld.com)

Various Artists- Music of Laos- The Buddhist Tradition- Sep Naichangva Khamenpaktho / Pheng Kaonok- Celestial Harmonies- www.celestialharmonies.com

Laos has remained a mystery to most Westerners even after the names of its neighboring countries—Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand—have become commonplace. Music of Laos: The Buddhist Tradition is the result of a collaboration between the University of Applied Sciences in Emden, Germany, and the Ministry of Information and Culture of Laos. If Laos is still a mystery to the West, its music is even more obscure. As producer Gisa Jähnichen points out, little research has been done on musical practises in Laos. She determined that only 22 albums were ever issued of Lao music—some on cassette only, many of dubious quality, and most generally unavailable. Apart from the khen, most types of Lao music were woefully underrecorded. Buddhism has greatly affected both the ‘classical’ ceremonial ensembles and the rural or ‘folk’ singing and playing of the farmers and villages. Music happens at all the major events in the Lao calendar, especially at the beginning of the New Year and during full moons, and at weddings, funerals, and other special occasions. The songs performed at these events are not haphazard; there is a strong tradition of prayer and thanksgiving that can be heard at a village wedding as clearly as at a grand temple festival. It is this tradition that is represented on this recording. Recording the ceremonial ensemble of Champasak in Champasak province (which is the source of the first four tracks on this collection) offered an opportunity to record a fabulous set of instruments that had been made in 1750 and are still in use. But in Xieng Khuang, Jähnichen’s crew spent three days without water and electricity, and automotive repair seems to have been as much a part of the production team’s job as the actual recording. The infrastructure of Laos is not up to modern standards, and while the area of Luang Prabang was served by a new road, unregulated irrigration by local farmers made it difficult to get very far without having to alter course several times. Jähnichen also found that the religious/ritual music of the province was far less accessible than the classical court and entertainment styles. The last five tracks on this collection come from Luang Prabang, featuring the Pi Mai ensemble, and while they clearly feature a ‘classical’ ensemble and some fairly obvious ‘popular’ tunes, they nevertheless show the pervasive influence of Buddhism, as they were all part of the Buddhist New Year celebration held in April. Through it all, Jähnichen recorded as much as she could. “We made a cross-section of actual music practices; it was not our aim to record the whole musical history of a particular ethnic group.” With her crew she documented 24 different ethnic groups in Laos between June 1999 and May 2001. They made nearly 1000 audio recordings totaling almost 80 hours of material. Music of Laos: The Buddhist Tradition is obviously just a sample of the resulting archives. This volume, as the title indicates, serves merely to hint at the enormous presence and impact of Buddhist thought in various forms of Lao music.

Rokia Traore- Live at Le Cigale Paris 2004 (DVD) - Audio extract- Label Indigo- www.label-bleu.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/womad2004/rokia_traore.shtml


I also did a quick interview with local musician, sound explorer and healer Vicki Hansen from the group IndiaJiva who have a special event coming up May 6 at Eastside Arts Centre. She spoke about her new label Medicine Music which will be officially launched on the night. More information at www.medicinemusic.com.au. Music in this section from her albums Global Roots-The Odyssey & Sacred Ragas. The interview will run for 14 minutes. The interview will be available for download over at the Powerspot blog by Thursday and will be online for a month.

Powerspot 12 April 06

On the show, tomorrow night, treats and delights from the following artists.

Mercan Dede-/ Secret Tribe CD Nar

(from mecandede.com)

Mercan Dede believes that when you put digital, electronic sounds together with hand-made, human ones, you can create universal language, capable of uniting old and young, ancient and modern, East and West. It’s a bold claim, but the Turkish-born and Montreal-based musician/producer/DJ has the career and the music to back it up. When he takes the stage with his group Secret Tribe, he hovers at the side behind his turntables and electronics, occasionally picking up a traditional wooden flute, or ney to float in sweet, breathy melodies, while masters of the kanun (zither), clarinet, darbuka (hand drum) and whatever other instruments he’s decided to include that night, ornament his grooves and spin magical, trance melodies to match the whirling of the group’s spectacular dervish dancer, Mira Burke.

This contrast between electronica and classical or folkloric arts cuts to the core of the Sufi philosophy that guides this one-of-a-kind artist. “Those things are not really separate,” says Dede. “The essence of Sufism is counterpoint. Everything exists with its opposite. On one side, I am doing electronic music. The other side of that is this really acoustic, traditional music.” Dede doesn’t just bring in any traditional sounds and sights as adornment to his techno beats. He is ever on the lookout for new collaborators, and they might come from any tradition, any country, any generation. For Secret Tribe’s U.S. debut in January, 2004, he flew in three, teenage prodigies of Turkish classical music from Istanbul and two of the pieces they played were improvised during the concert. “When I choose a musician,” says Dede, “I need to be connected with them in terms of personality, heart-wise we say in Turkey. We should have a similar energy and feeling about life. The second thing is they need to be down with the technical part of music. Once they’ve done that, you don’t need to worry. They can play anything.”

Mercan Dede and Secret Tribe’s splendid 2002 release Nar realizes this elegant marriage of old and new stunningly. Along with the groups’ spellbinding performances, it is helping them build a worldwide following. When the group plays in Turkey, they can draw as many as 20,000 people. But for Dede—whose name comes from a minor character in a contemporary Turkish novel—it has been a long, highly unconventional road to success. Raised poor in a Turkish village in the 1970s, Dede recalls the moment when listening to the radio as a six-year-old, he fell in love with the sound of the ney. But even when he moved to Istanbul to study journalism, he could not afford an instrument, so he made his first one from a length of plastic plumbing pipe. Although he eventually found a ney teacher, Dede did not pursue music as a career. He was more deeply involved with photography, and by chance, an official at the Saskatoon Public Library in Canada saw some of his work and invited him to come and do an exhibition.

Dede wound up studying multimedia in Saskatoon, and he worked in a bar to earn rent money. That was where he first encountered the art of deejaying. One day the bar’s deejay couldn’t make it, and Dede stepped in. The techno revolution was just beginning, and Dede was getting in on the ground floor. By the mid-80s, he was traveling to do “technotribalhouse” deejay gigs under the name

Mercan Dede believes that when you put digital, electronic sounds together with hand-made, human ones, you can create universal language, capable of uniting old and young, ancient and modern, East and West. It’s a bold claim, but the Turkish-born and Montreal-based musician/producer/DJ has the career and the music to back it up. When he takes the stage with his group Secret Tribe, he hovers at the side behind his turntables and electronics, occasionally picking up a traditional wooden flute, or ney to float in sweet, breathy melodies, while masters of the kanun (zither), clarinet, darbuka (hand drum) and whatever other instruments he’s decided to include that night, ornament his grooves and spin magical, trance melodies to match the whirling of the group’s spectacular dervish dancer, Mira Burke.

This contrast between electronica and classical or folkloric arts cuts to the core of the Sufi philosophy that guides this one-of-a-kind artist. “Those things are not really separate,” says Dede. “The essence of Sufism is counterpoint. Everything exists with its opposite. On one side, I am doing electronic music. The other side of that is this really acoustic, traditional music.” Dede doesn’t just bring in any traditional sounds and sights as adornment to his techno beats. He is ever on the lookout for new collaborators, and they might come from any tradition, any country, any generation. For Secret Tribe’s U.S. debut in January, 2004, he flew in three, teenage prodigies of Turkish classical music from Istanbul and two of the pieces they played were improvised during the concert. “When I choose a musician,” says Dede, “I need to be connected with them in terms of personality, heart-wise we say in Turkey. We should have a similar energy and feeling about life. The second thing is they need to be down with the technical part of music. Once they’ve done that, you don’t need to worry. They can play anything.”

Mercan Dede and Secret Tribe’s splendid 2002 release Nar realizes this elegant marriage of old and new stunningly. Along with the groups’ spellbinding performances, it is helping them build a worldwide following. When the group plays in Turkey, they can draw as many as 20,000 people. But for Dede—whose name comes from a minor character in a contemporary Turkish novel—it has been a long, highly unconventional road to success. Raised poor in a Turkish village in the 1970s, Dede recalls the moment when listening to the radio as a six-year-old, he fell in love with the sound of the ney. But even when he moved to Istanbul to study journalism, he could not afford an instrument, so he made his first one from a length of plastic plumbing pipe. Although he eventually found a ney teacher, Dede did not pursue music as a career. He was more deeply involved with photography, and by chance, an official at the Saskatoon Public Library in Canada saw some of his work and invited him to come and do an exhibition.

Dede wound up studying multimedia in Saskatoon, and he worked in a bar to earn rent money. That was where he first encountered the art of deejaying. One day the bar’s deejay couldn’t make it, and Dede stepped in. The techno revolution was just beginning, and Dede was getting in on the ground floor. By the mid-80s, he was traveling to do “technotribalhouse” deejay gigs under the name Arkin Allen. He debuted as Mercan Dede in 1987 with he released his first album, Sufi Dreams, recorded for Golden Horn Records in San Francisco. The album was a minimalist techno project featuring the ney flute, and it earned impressive reviews. A few years later, Dede moved to Montreal where he first studied, then taught, at Concordia College, moving ever more forcefully into the burgeoning techno scene. Recordings he made under the name Mercan Dede got noticed in Istanbul, and a festival invited him to perform, expecting an older gentleman, as Dede means “grandfather” in Turkish. When people saw a young band mixing techno and tradition, they were exhilarated, and Dede has stuck with this adapted name ever since.

Dede formed his first group in 1997 and created more recordings, Journeys of a Dervish (Golden Horn, 1999) Seyahatname (Doublemoon, 2001), and Nar (Doublemoon, 2002 ) From the start, the group was more an idea than a set lineup. “I always get different musicians,” says Dede, “all the time. When I do a European tour, each country, I choose a guest musician from that country. This is the essence of the group.” The Canadian TV station Bravo filmed and aired Dede’s concert with Turkish master kemence (Persian violin) player Ihsan Ozgen at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in the Fall of 1998. German television producers Saarlandischer Rundfunk were so moved by Dede’s music that they traveled to Canada to feature him in their documentary about Sufi Music. While filming Dede at work in Montreal and Toronto in February of 1998, the producers requested that Dede create the soundtrack for this project. Mercan Dede’s album Seyahatname includes pieces composed for a dance theatre project, directed and choreographed by Beyhan Murphy for the Turkish State Modern Dance Troupe.

Both as Mercan Dede and his alter ego DJ Arkin Allen, he has performed at events as diverse as the Black & Blue 98 (a world-renowned Montreal circuit party attended by 15,000 people) and a concert of improvisations with on classical Turkish music at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. In July 2001, Mercan Dede performed at the highly acclaimed Montreal Jazz Festivals, sharing the General Motors Big Event stage with Burhan Öçal and Jamaaladeen Tacuma, in a concert called “East Meets the West” before an audience of more than 150,000 people. On that same evening, right after his concert, he appeared at Spectrum, this time performing with his project Montreal Tribal Trio, again as part of the festival program. In 2002, the group electrified the WOMEX world music trade fair in Essen, Germany, and also the International Transmusicales Festival in Rennes.

Dede has also performed with such musical personalities as Peter Murphy, Natacha Atlas, Mich Gerber, Omar Sosa, Maharaja. Mercan Dede and Secret Tribe’s summer tour 2003 included Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Arezzo Wave (I?taly), Skopje Festival (Macedonia), Moers Festival (Germany),World Roots Festival (The Netherlands), Jaen-Etnosur (Spain), Rhythm Sticks Festival (UK) and many others. The group’s 2004 U.S. debut took place at Joe’s Pub in New York in January, 2004, as part of the city’s groundbreaking world music marathon, GlobalFest. Mercan Dede also provided music for Pina Bausch's recent work, "Istanbul,” performed in the city it was named for in the spring of 2003. He is now working on “Orman S¸ehir” (Jungle City) MDT Turkey’s new modern dance performance, and a new album for Secret Tribe.

Mercan Dede was invited to play at GlobalFest” (APAP Conference) in New York in January 2004, where 16 different bands from 5 continents play. He is commissioned by the Turkish Ministry of Culture as the music director of the Güldestan Project. The project is destined to represent Turkish Culture and Arts all around the Globe.

Mercan Dede is keen to bring his extraordinary music and stagecraft everywhere in the world because he feels its inclusive spirit carries a profound message of understanding and reconciliation. “I don’t like the separation,” says Dede. “The Sufi poet Rumi has a very good saying: ‘If you are everywhere, you are nowhere. If you are somewhere, you are everywhere.’ My somewhere is my heart. I try to figure it out. The rest—the hype, the trends—they are not important. Instead of talking about war in Iraq, if you can make a sound of a small instrument from an Iraqi village, you can tell people more about what is going on there. For me, the future is electronic and folkloric.” Arkin Allen. He debuted as Mercan Dede in 1987 with he released his first album, Sufi Dreams, recorded for Golden Horn Records in San Francisco. The album was a minimalist techno project featuring the ney flute, and it earned impressive reviews. A few years later, Dede moved to Montreal where he first studied, then taught, at Concordia College, moving ever more forcefully into the burgeoning techno scene. Recordings he made under the name Mercan Dede got noticed in Istanbul, and a festival invited him to perform, expecting an older gentleman, as Dede means “grandfather” in Turkish. When people saw a young band mixing techno and tradition, they were exhilarated, and Dede has stuck with this adapted name ever since.

Dede formed his first group in 1997 and created more recordings, Journeys of a Dervish (Golden Horn, 1999) Seyahatname (Doublemoon, 2001), and Nar (Doublemoon, 2002 ) From the start, the group was more an idea than a set lineup. “I always get different musicians,” says Dede, “all the time. When I do a European tour, each country, I choose a guest musician from that country. This is the essence of the group.” The Canadian TV station Bravo filmed and aired Dede’s concert with Turkish master kemence (Persian violin) player Ihsan Ozgen at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in the Fall of 1998. German television producers Saarlandischer Rundfunk were so moved by Dede’s music that they traveled to Canada to feature him in their documentary about Sufi Music. While filming Dede at work in Montreal and Toronto in February of 1998, the producers requested that Dede create the soundtrack for this project. Mercan Dede’s album Seyahatname includes pieces composed for a dance theatre project, directed and choreographed by Beyhan Murphy for the Turkish State Modern Dance Troupe.

Both as Mercan Dede and his alter ego DJ Arkin Allen, he has performed at events as diverse as the Black & Blue 98 (a world-renowned Montreal circuit party attended by 15,000 people) and a concert of improvisations with on classical Turkish music at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. In July 2001, Mercan Dede performed at the highly acclaimed Montreal Jazz Festivals, sharing the General Motors Big Event stage with Burhan Öçal and Jamaaladeen Tacuma, in a concert called “East Meets the West” before an audience of more than 150,000 people. On that same evening, right after his concert, he appeared at Spectrum, this time performing with his project Montreal Tribal Trio, again as part of the festival program. In 2002, the group electrified the WOMEX world music trade fair in Essen, Germany, and also the International Transmusicales Festival in Rennes.

Dede has also performed with such musical personalities as Peter Murphy, Natacha Atlas, Mich Gerber, Omar Sosa, Maharaja. Mercan Dede and Secret Tribe’s summer tour 2003 included Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Arezzo Wave (I?taly), Skopje Festival (Macedonia), Moers Festival (Germany),World Roots Festival (The Netherlands), Jaen-Etnosur (Spain), Rhythm Sticks Festival (UK) and many others. The group’s 2004 U.S. debut took place at Joe’s Pub in New York in January, 2004, as part of the city’s groundbreaking world music marathon, GlobalFest. Mercan Dede also provided music for Pina Bausch's recent work, "Istanbul,” performed in the city it was named for in the spring of 2003. He is now working on “Orman S¸ehir” (Jungle City) MDT Turkey’s new modern dance performance, and a new album for Secret Tribe.

Mercan Dede was invited to play at GlobalFest” (APAP Conference) in New York in January 2004, where 16 different bands from 5 continents play. He is commissioned by the Turkish Ministry of Culture as the music director of the Güldestan Project. The project is destined to represent Turkish Culture and Arts all around the Globe.

Mercan Dede is keen to bring his extraordinary music and stagecraft everywhere in the world because he feels its inclusive spirit carries a profound message of understanding and reconciliation. “I don’t like the separation,” says Dede. “The Sufi poet Rumi has a very good saying: ‘If you are everywhere, you are nowhere. If you are somewhere, you are everywhere.’ My somewhere is my heart. I try to figure it out. The rest—the hype, the trends—they are not important. Instead of talking about war in Iraq, if you can make a sound of a small instrument from an Iraqi village, you can tell people more about what is going on there. For me, the future is electronic and folkloric.”

Music of Laos- The Buddhist Tradition (Celestial Harmonies)

Laos has remained a mystery to most Westerners even after the names of its neighboring countries—Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand—have become commonplace. Music of Laos: The Buddhist Tradition is the result of a collaboration between the University of Applied Sciences in Emden, Germany, and the Ministry of Information and Culture of Laos. If Laos is still a mystery to the West, its music is even more obscure. As producer Gisa Jähnichen points out, little research has been done on musical practises in Laos. She determined that only 22 albums were ever issued of Lao music—some on cassette only, many of dubious quality, and most generally unavailable. Apart from the khen, most types of Lao music were woefully underrecorded.
Buddhism has greatly affected both the ‘classical’ ceremonial ensembles and the rural or ‘folk’ singing and playing of the farmers and villages. Music happens at all the major events in the Lao calendar, especially at the beginning of the New Year and during full moons, and at weddings, funerals, and other special occasions. The songs performed at these events are not haphazard; there is a strong tradition of prayer and thanksgiving that can be heard at a village wedding as clearly as at a grand temple festival. It is this tradition that is represented on this recording.
Recording the ceremonial ensemble of Champasak in Champasak province (which is the source of the first four tracks on this collection) offered an opportunity to record a fabulous set of instruments that had been made in 1750 and are still in use. But in Xieng Khuang, Jähnichen’s crew spent three days without water and electricity, and automotive repair seems to have been as much a part of the production team’s job as the actual recording.
The infrastructure of Laos is not up to modern standards, and while the area of Luang Prabang was served by a new road, unregulated irrigration by local farmers made it difficult to get very far without having to alter course several times. Jähnichen also found that the religious/ritual music of the province was far less accessible than the classical court and entertainment styles. The last five tracks on this collection come from Luang Prabang, featuring the Pi Mai ensemble, and while they clearly feature a ‘classical’ ensemble and some fairly obvious ‘popular’ tunes, they nevertheless show the pervasive influence of Buddhism, as they were all part of the Buddhist New Year celebration held in April.
Through it all, Jähnichen recorded as much as she could. “We made a cross-section of actual music practices; it was not our aim to record the whole musical history of a particular ethnic group.” With her crew she documented 24 different ethnic groups in Laos between June 1999 and May 2001. They made nearly 1000 audio recordings totaling almost 80 hours of material. Music of Laos: The Buddhist Tradition is obviously just a sample of the resulting archives. This volume, as the title indicates, serves merely to hint at the enormous presence and impact of Buddhist thought in various forms of Lao music.

Philip Glass- CD Kundun- Escape to India

Philip Glass's score for Kundun is the realization of a long-cherished dream. For years, I had hoped to work with Glass, and in Kundun we found the ideal subject for a special collaboration. His Buddhist faith and deep understanding of Tibetan culture combine with the subtlety of his composition to play an essential role in our movie on the life of the Dalai Lama. Philip Glass is an artist of tremendous sensitivity whose music works from the inside of the film, from its heart, to produce a powerful emotional intensity which remains for days in the listener's head. The beauty, magic, grandeur, and spirituality of the score allow us to feel the pulse of the story as it unfolds. For me, the images in the film no longer stand on their own without Philip Glass's music. I consider myself fortunate, indeed blessed, to have worked with him on Kundun...
- Martin Scorsese.

Satsuki Odamura- Koto Dreaming- Dancing on Rainbows

Satsuki Odamura's new CD, Koto Dreaming is a collection of innovative and uniquely Australian multicultural compositions for koto. Koto Dreaming breaks away from the traditional sounds and compositions for koto, and includes Satsuki's own collaborative compositions with Australian artists. It is a synthesis of her inspirations gained by her working closely with Australian artists and a culmination of her fifteen years accumulative experience as a koto virtuoso based in Australia.
Koto Dreaming begins with a work commissioned by celebrated Australian composer Ross Edwards and includes pieces by composers Caroline Szeto, Anthony Briggs, Linsey Pollak, as well as Satsuki herself, in collaboration with Sandy Evans and Tony Lewis – who together comprise the trio Waratah.

Nitin Sawhney- CD Philtre (Instrumentals)- Mausam / The Sanctuary (Promotional)

(from http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/world/reviews/nitinsawhney_philtre.shtml#review)
Nitin Sawhney is never at ease. Since the release of Human in 2003, he has DJd all over the world from the Hollywood Bowl in LA to London's Fabric, assisted the Royal National Theatre, starred in award-winning TV programmes and written scores for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and about a dozen films. Back in the studio doing his own material, it's the same crisis: no genre quite satisfies Sawhney, no suit ever fits.
On Philtre, he travels restlessly though global club beats, Indian classical music, hip-hop,Bengali folk and occasionally somersaults away from this already eclectic milieu to toy with Flamenco, Americana and old-style Soul. No single tune is exactly representative, but "Dead Man" is typical: you're not sure if you're in Arizona or Assam. Oh, and it's slow pounding rhythm, grinding guitars and blues-Bollywood vocals (shared with soundtrack star Reena Bhardwaj) are just sublime.
Collaborations are the crux of Sawhney's work. With Barcelona-based flamenco-hiphop collective Ojos de Brujo he teases out a stunning, fast-plucked two-parter, "Noches en Vela" and the equally frantic "Footprints". Tracing a melodic line from flamenco to raga, it's a subtly modulated burst of Hindu-lusian passion. He also teams up with Ninja Tune's Fink and human beatbox Jason Singh, as well as regular invitees Tina Grace, Tai and Sharon Duncan - and Mrs. Sawhney, his mum, guests on a Rag Doll, bright Hindi poem about a walk along the Ganges.
He's often angst-ridden and energetic and can deliver raps and rants with gut-twisting anger, but Sawhney also knows how to slow down: much of this album is meditative and mellow. It opens with a slow, pulsing triphop 'Everything' and often makes excursions into yogic, relaxing ambient: "Void", "The Search", "Sanctuary". Elsewhere, the danceable beat hasn't gone - but it's now more of a deep, subdued groover pulsing through all the songs. Imagine Moby with a cultural heritage and an attitude.
Prolific, polyglot, political - Sawhney preserves modern music's mental health. In many ways, he's Britain's Indian Manu Chao, but this album suggests he is not so much a global magpie in the postmodern mould as an aspiring craftsman. He weaves fusions with delicacy and pays tribute to well-established, traditional styles and genres rather than slapping and scratching them into a cacophonous collage. 'Philtres' are magic potions, healing balms - they make life better - and only canny, cunning wizards like Nitin Sawhney know how to mix them and serve them up.
Pharoah Sanders-CD With A Heartbeat- Across Time
Jai Uttal and the Pagan Love Orchestra- CD Beggars and Saints- Gopala
John Martyn- CD Couldn't Love You More- One World
Daniel Lanois- CD Sling Blade- Blue Waltz

The Daniel Lanois interview can be downloaded as mp3 from the Powerspot blog. I will also be downloading in the next few weeks the interviews I did some time ago with Nitin Sawhney, Jon Hassell re Fascinoma, Ralph Towner and more.