Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Touring soon..PANDIT DEBI PRASAD CHATTERJEE
SANGEET AUSTRALIA PRESENTS
THE MEHFIL SERIES
ACOUSTIC AND INSPIRATIONAL
CLASSICAL NORTH INDIAN MUSIC
IN A TRADITIONAL SETTING
VISITING SITAR VIRTUOSO
PANDIT DEBI PRASAD CHATTERJEE
WITH MAHARSHI RAVAL ON TABLA
A CHANCE TO ENGAGE CLOSELY WITH THE SCINTILLATING SOUNDS OF HINDUSTANI MUSIC WITH A REVERED AND EXPERIENCED ARTIST OF THIS TRADITION. SEE DEBI PRASADJI'S BIO BELOW.
2:30PM
SUNDAY MAY 13TH
$22/18 CON. TICKETS AT THE DOOR
COME EARLY TO AVOID DISSAPOINTMENT
THE DICKSON SPACE
35-39 DICKSON ST
NEWTOWN
ON-STREET PARKING
BY BUS 422 OR NEWTOWN TRAIN STATION (5-10MIN)
ENTER DICKSON ST FROM KING ST.
DISABLED ACCESS AVAIL. FAMILY DSCOUNTS AVAIL.
ALL WELCOME.
SNACKS AVAILABLE
PERFORMANCE APPROX 2 HOURS WITH INTERVAL.
I BELIEVE IT MAY BE POSSIBLE THAT THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ARRANGE MASTER CLASSES WITH DEBI PRASADJI DURING HIS SHORT VISIT TO SYDNEY ON HIS EAST COAST TOUR.
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO 0416 352 900.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
PANDIT DEBI PRASAD CHATTERJEE
(TO AVOID CONFUSION - NO RELATION TO OUR APRIL GUEST PURBAYAN CHATTERJEE BUT RELATED TO THE GREAT TABLA PLAYER ANINDO CHATTERJEE!)
PANDIT DEBI PRASAD CHATTERJEE, A SENIOR ARTIST, IS A DISTINGUISHED NAME AMONGST INDIAN MUSICIANS AS AN OUTSTANDING SITARIST AND A HIGHLY REGARDED TEACHER OF INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC. HE IS WIDELY RESPECTED FOR HIS DEVOTION TO HIS MUSIC. HIS CONTROL OVER THE RAGAS WITH SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION HAS PLACED HIM AMONGST THE TOP INSTRUMENTALISTS OF HIS ERA.
BORN IN KOLKATA INTO A FAMILY OF RICH CULTURAL AND MUSICAL HERITAGE THAT HAS PRODUCED MUSICIANS LIKE PT. ANINDO CHATTERJEE (TABLA), HE DEVELOPED A DISTINCT AND UNIQUE STYLE OF HIS OWN BY RECEIVING EXTENSIVE TRAINING FROM VARIOUS MAESTROS. HE TOOK HIS FIRST LESSONS FROM ELDER BROTHER PT. BISWANATH CHATTERJEE AND FROM PT. APARESH CHATTERJEE, ANOTHER NOTED SITAR EXPONENT.
STARTING IN 1965 HE RECEIVED TRAINING FROM THE GREAT NIKHIL BANNERJEE OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS ALSO TRAINING EXTENSIVELY UNDER SMT. ANNAPURNA DEVI. IN 1986 HE BECAME A DISCIPLE OF WORLD FAMOUS MAESTRO USTAD ALI AKBAR KHAN.
PT CHATTERJEE BELONGS TO THE SENIA MAIHAR GHARANA AND DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM THE PLAYING STYLE OF NIKHIL BANNERJEE.
FOR MANY YEARS HE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMING IN MAJOR CONCERTS ALL OVER INDIA AND ABROAD INCLUDING THE DOVER LANE MUSIC CONFERENCE, RADIO SANGEET SAMMELAN, SADARANG MUSIC CONFERENCE, TANSEN MUSIC CONFERENCE, BISHYA BANGA SAMMELAN, NORTH AMERICA BENGALI CONFERENCE, NATIONAL PROGRAMME OF MUSIC AT ALL INDIA RADIO AND DOORDASHAN ETC..
PANDITJI HAS PLAYED IN NUMEROUS CONCERTS ACROSS USA, CANADA, UK, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, HOLLAND, ITALY, FRANCE, AUSTRIA, ICELAND, IRELAND, LUXEMBOURG ETC.. HE HAS ALSO PERFORMED IN NUMEROUS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS.
HE HAS RECEIVED MANY AWARDS AND ACCOLADES FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC AND BETWEEN 1977-2001 WAS A PROFESSOR AT THE RABINDRA BHARATI UNIVERSITY, KOLKATA AND FROM 1994-2001 WAS THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC AND PERCUSSION. HE HAS ALSO CONDUCTED NUMEROUS WORKSHOPS AND DEMONSTRATIONS ON HINDUSTANI MUSIC AND ITS TECHNIQUES AT UNIVERSITIES AND INSTITUTIONS BOTH IN INDIA AND INTERNATIONALLY.
WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO HAVE THE BENEFIT OF HIS KNOWLEDGE AND VAST EXPERIENCE IN SYDNEY.
MAHARSHI RAVAL
WE ARE ALSO VERY PLEASED TO WELCOME MAHARSHI RAVAL, AN EXPERIENCED TABLIYA RELATIVELY NEW TO SYDNEY WHO PROMISES TO BECOME A FORMIDABLE PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIAN MUSIC. HE HAS TOURED EUROPE, ACCOMPANIED MANY ARTISTS IN THE SAPTAK (OCTAVE) FESTIVALS, PERFORMED WITH THE FAMOUS VOCALIST AJAY POHANKAR AND SO ON. COME AND SEE THIS EXCITING NEW TALENT.
COMING IN JUNE:
THE GREAT VOCALIST
SHRUTI SADOLIKAR!
MORE INFO TO FOLLOW
Dear Patrons,
Thank you for joining the Sangeet Australia Mailing list. If you have recently joined this is our monthly mail-out to inform you of our forth-coming events. Please forward to friends who may be interested.
Firstly, thank you to all of those who attended the concert and discussion sesssions with visiting Purbayan Chatterjee and Bobby Singh. We also thank the ABC Radio National for recording the concert and I will be informing you all by email of the broadcast dates as soon as I have them. If you couldn't make it you will have a chance to listen.
Our thanks also to Assad Abdi at The SideTrack Theatre who has been so helpful and supportive and we hope The SideTrack Performance Group had every success with their recent production of 'Seven Pirates' at The Parramatta Riverside Theatre.
Once again, it is through the hard work, generous support and thoughtfulness of our volunteers that our event was possible. Special thanks to Venkat and Melinda Narayanan who have regularly helped and after the May mehfil will, unfortunately, be moving away. Your help and presence over the years has been much appreciated.
If you would like to assist us, either with skills and resources that you may have, or, with a gift of your time we would love to speak with you. Please contact me via this email address.
As some of you may know we are currently in a process of intense development as we are re-structuring our organisation for better sustainability and more fruitful out-comes for all involved. We welcome feed-back, suggestions, requests and offers of advice or mentoring during the arduous task of formalising our infrastructure.
Warmest regards,
Pavane Oliveiro
Director
Sangeet Australia:
Supporting Hindustani Music
www.sangeetaustralia.org
THE MEHFIL SERIES
ACOUSTIC AND INSPIRATIONAL
CLASSICAL NORTH INDIAN MUSIC
IN A TRADITIONAL SETTING
VISITING SITAR VIRTUOSO
PANDIT DEBI PRASAD CHATTERJEE
WITH MAHARSHI RAVAL ON TABLA
A CHANCE TO ENGAGE CLOSELY WITH THE SCINTILLATING SOUNDS OF HINDUSTANI MUSIC WITH A REVERED AND EXPERIENCED ARTIST OF THIS TRADITION. SEE DEBI PRASADJI'S BIO BELOW.
2:30PM
SUNDAY MAY 13TH
$22/18 CON. TICKETS AT THE DOOR
COME EARLY TO AVOID DISSAPOINTMENT
THE DICKSON SPACE
35-39 DICKSON ST
NEWTOWN
ON-STREET PARKING
BY BUS 422 OR NEWTOWN TRAIN STATION (5-10MIN)
ENTER DICKSON ST FROM KING ST.
DISABLED ACCESS AVAIL. FAMILY DSCOUNTS AVAIL.
ALL WELCOME.
SNACKS AVAILABLE
PERFORMANCE APPROX 2 HOURS WITH INTERVAL.
I BELIEVE IT MAY BE POSSIBLE THAT THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ARRANGE MASTER CLASSES WITH DEBI PRASADJI DURING HIS SHORT VISIT TO SYDNEY ON HIS EAST COAST TOUR.
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO 0416 352 900.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
PANDIT DEBI PRASAD CHATTERJEE
(TO AVOID CONFUSION - NO RELATION TO OUR APRIL GUEST PURBAYAN CHATTERJEE BUT RELATED TO THE GREAT TABLA PLAYER ANINDO CHATTERJEE!)
PANDIT DEBI PRASAD CHATTERJEE, A SENIOR ARTIST, IS A DISTINGUISHED NAME AMONGST INDIAN MUSICIANS AS AN OUTSTANDING SITARIST AND A HIGHLY REGARDED TEACHER OF INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC. HE IS WIDELY RESPECTED FOR HIS DEVOTION TO HIS MUSIC. HIS CONTROL OVER THE RAGAS WITH SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION HAS PLACED HIM AMONGST THE TOP INSTRUMENTALISTS OF HIS ERA.
BORN IN KOLKATA INTO A FAMILY OF RICH CULTURAL AND MUSICAL HERITAGE THAT HAS PRODUCED MUSICIANS LIKE PT. ANINDO CHATTERJEE (TABLA), HE DEVELOPED A DISTINCT AND UNIQUE STYLE OF HIS OWN BY RECEIVING EXTENSIVE TRAINING FROM VARIOUS MAESTROS. HE TOOK HIS FIRST LESSONS FROM ELDER BROTHER PT. BISWANATH CHATTERJEE AND FROM PT. APARESH CHATTERJEE, ANOTHER NOTED SITAR EXPONENT.
STARTING IN 1965 HE RECEIVED TRAINING FROM THE GREAT NIKHIL BANNERJEE OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS ALSO TRAINING EXTENSIVELY UNDER SMT. ANNAPURNA DEVI. IN 1986 HE BECAME A DISCIPLE OF WORLD FAMOUS MAESTRO USTAD ALI AKBAR KHAN.
PT CHATTERJEE BELONGS TO THE SENIA MAIHAR GHARANA AND DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM THE PLAYING STYLE OF NIKHIL BANNERJEE.
FOR MANY YEARS HE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMING IN MAJOR CONCERTS ALL OVER INDIA AND ABROAD INCLUDING THE DOVER LANE MUSIC CONFERENCE, RADIO SANGEET SAMMELAN, SADARANG MUSIC CONFERENCE, TANSEN MUSIC CONFERENCE, BISHYA BANGA SAMMELAN, NORTH AMERICA BENGALI CONFERENCE, NATIONAL PROGRAMME OF MUSIC AT ALL INDIA RADIO AND DOORDASHAN ETC..
PANDITJI HAS PLAYED IN NUMEROUS CONCERTS ACROSS USA, CANADA, UK, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, HOLLAND, ITALY, FRANCE, AUSTRIA, ICELAND, IRELAND, LUXEMBOURG ETC.. HE HAS ALSO PERFORMED IN NUMEROUS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS.
HE HAS RECEIVED MANY AWARDS AND ACCOLADES FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC AND BETWEEN 1977-2001 WAS A PROFESSOR AT THE RABINDRA BHARATI UNIVERSITY, KOLKATA AND FROM 1994-2001 WAS THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC AND PERCUSSION. HE HAS ALSO CONDUCTED NUMEROUS WORKSHOPS AND DEMONSTRATIONS ON HINDUSTANI MUSIC AND ITS TECHNIQUES AT UNIVERSITIES AND INSTITUTIONS BOTH IN INDIA AND INTERNATIONALLY.
WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO HAVE THE BENEFIT OF HIS KNOWLEDGE AND VAST EXPERIENCE IN SYDNEY.
MAHARSHI RAVAL
WE ARE ALSO VERY PLEASED TO WELCOME MAHARSHI RAVAL, AN EXPERIENCED TABLIYA RELATIVELY NEW TO SYDNEY WHO PROMISES TO BECOME A FORMIDABLE PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIAN MUSIC. HE HAS TOURED EUROPE, ACCOMPANIED MANY ARTISTS IN THE SAPTAK (OCTAVE) FESTIVALS, PERFORMED WITH THE FAMOUS VOCALIST AJAY POHANKAR AND SO ON. COME AND SEE THIS EXCITING NEW TALENT.
COMING IN JUNE:
THE GREAT VOCALIST
SHRUTI SADOLIKAR!
MORE INFO TO FOLLOW
Dear Patrons,
Thank you for joining the Sangeet Australia Mailing list. If you have recently joined this is our monthly mail-out to inform you of our forth-coming events. Please forward to friends who may be interested.
Firstly, thank you to all of those who attended the concert and discussion sesssions with visiting Purbayan Chatterjee and Bobby Singh. We also thank the ABC Radio National for recording the concert and I will be informing you all by email of the broadcast dates as soon as I have them. If you couldn't make it you will have a chance to listen.
Our thanks also to Assad Abdi at The SideTrack Theatre who has been so helpful and supportive and we hope The SideTrack Performance Group had every success with their recent production of 'Seven Pirates' at The Parramatta Riverside Theatre.
Once again, it is through the hard work, generous support and thoughtfulness of our volunteers that our event was possible. Special thanks to Venkat and Melinda Narayanan who have regularly helped and after the May mehfil will, unfortunately, be moving away. Your help and presence over the years has been much appreciated.
If you would like to assist us, either with skills and resources that you may have, or, with a gift of your time we would love to speak with you. Please contact me via this email address.
As some of you may know we are currently in a process of intense development as we are re-structuring our organisation for better sustainability and more fruitful out-comes for all involved. We welcome feed-back, suggestions, requests and offers of advice or mentoring during the arduous task of formalising our infrastructure.
Warmest regards,
Pavane Oliveiro
Director
Sangeet Australia:
Supporting Hindustani Music
www.sangeetaustralia.org
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Powerspot 18 April 2007
On tonight's show you either heard or you missed the following:
Ja Joosh (My Country) w/Rich Medina & Afrostreet- National Geographic GeoReMixes (www.calabashmusic.com)
John Brown's Body- Head & Heart / Full Control - CD Pressure Points (www.calabashmusic.com)
Nitin Sawhney- Beyond Skin- CD Beyond Skin (www.nitinsawhney.com)
Ojos De Brujo- Feedback remixed by Nitin Sawhney- National Geographic GeoReMixes (www.calabashmusic.com)
Bombay Dub Orchestra- Feel (Thievery Corporation Remix) CD Eden Global Chillout (www.calabashmusic.com)
Niyaz- In The Shadow of Life- CD Eden Global Chillout (www.calabashmusic.com)
Kim Sanders- Tanzara / Gidemem Raza Ben- CD Trance'n' Dancin (http://www.netspace.com.au/~kimsanders)
Jon Hassell- Open Secret- CD Maarifa Street (Happy 70th birthday Jon Hassell)
Amjad Ali Khan- Live - Ballarat Victoria
Ghazal- Eternity- CD The Rain
Ja Joosh (My Country) w/Rich Medina & Afrostreet- National Geographic GeoReMixes (www.calabashmusic.com)
John Brown's Body- Head & Heart / Full Control - CD Pressure Points (www.calabashmusic.com)
Nitin Sawhney- Beyond Skin- CD Beyond Skin (www.nitinsawhney.com)
Ojos De Brujo- Feedback remixed by Nitin Sawhney- National Geographic GeoReMixes (www.calabashmusic.com)
Bombay Dub Orchestra- Feel (Thievery Corporation Remix) CD Eden Global Chillout (www.calabashmusic.com)
Niyaz- In The Shadow of Life- CD Eden Global Chillout (www.calabashmusic.com)
Kim Sanders- Tanzara / Gidemem Raza Ben- CD Trance'n' Dancin (http://www.netspace.com.au/~kimsanders)
Jon Hassell- Open Secret- CD Maarifa Street (Happy 70th birthday Jon Hassell)
Amjad Ali Khan- Live - Ballarat Victoria
Ghazal- Eternity- CD The Rain
Kim Sanders gig news May 5 2007
KIM SANDERS & FRIENDS first Sydney appearance with drummer Toby Hall
Following the band’s rapturously received performance at Peats Ridge Festival in December, Kim Sanders & Friends will perform for the first time in Sydney with drummer Toby Hall at Paddington Uniting Church on May 5.
The gig will include ethereal Sufi meditations, Bulgarian Gypsy grooves, bent Congolese pulsations, strange hypnotic originals and tunes of Middle-Eastern appearance.
“It was great playing with Toby at Peats”, says Kim. “ I love rhythms and drumming, and we have three drummers who rotate in the group now. Bobby Singh brings the subtlety and complexity of Indian Classical music, Peter Kennard is a superb colourist and a master of the frame drum, and now Toby takes the music to different places again with drum kit. He is a great improviser”
World Music veteran Kim Sanders has studied with Sufi ney-masters in Turkey, played with Gypsy wedding-bands in Macedonia, in mosquito-infested nightclubs in Gambia, seedy tavernas in Greece, concert-halls and recording studios in Turkey, China and Indonesia, not to mention Rooty Hill RSL. Saxophonist Sandy Evans, bassist Steve Elphick and drummer Toby Hall have built on their jazz roots to become three of Australia’s leading World Music exponents. Their strong improvisations have made their names familiar worldwide.
Kim Sanders: Ney (Sufi flute), kaval (Bulgarian wooden flute), Bulgarian and Turkish gaidas (bagpipes), aardvark, tenor sax
Sandy Evans: soprano, tenor sax
Steve Elphick: bass
Toby Hall: drums
8 pm, Saturday 5 May
Paddington Uniting Church
395 Oxford St, Paddington (Paddington Markets site)
Tickets on the door: $18/15 conc
For photos, interviews and other info: kimzgaida@hotmail.com
http://www.netspace.com.au/~kimsanders
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Andy Palacio & Fat Boy Slim
Fatboy Slim meets Andy Palacio & Garifuna Collective
Electronic beats combine with Afro-Caribbean soul as the British dance music star
visits Belize to record with local Garifuna musicians
April 11, 2007 –British dance music superstar Fatboy Slim visited Belize in early April to participate in a unique recording session that brought together European club grooves with the soulful rhythms and melodies of the local Afro-Caribbean Garifuna community.
Fatboy Slim, whose real name is Norman Cook, is a world-famous DJ whose records have sold millions of copies and whose award-winning music videos have set new standards for the medium. Andy Palacio is a Belizean musician who was born and raised in a small coastal village and whose critically acclaimed new album Wátina was recorded in a rustic thatch shack on the beach.
The unlikely pairing took place on the picturesque resort island of San Pedro, Belize during the last week of March. The musical experiments were inspired by Fatboy Slim’s fascination with Garifuna music. The Garifuna are a unique Central American culture that brings together elements of West African traditions with Indigenous Caribbean heritage. Their language reflects influences from West African and Caribbean Arawak languages. Garifuna music has a deeply African flavor and is played with traditional turtle shell percussion, gourd rattles and wooden drums, as well as contemporary instruments.
“We arrived here with no real songs, no real ideas. I came here with a CD with beats and bass sounds from England and about half an idea of what to do and over the last four days we've hung out with the local musicians, listened to what they do, tried to match the two and see what happens,” Fatboy Slim said of the sessions.
Working in the Mata Grande Recording Studio just north of San Pedro village, Fatboy Slim recorded members of the Garifuna Collective jamming on traditional Garifuna drums. Backup singers Cella Torres and Deseree Arana also provided vocals in the unique local style. Meanwhile, Andy Palacio wrote and sang a song for the sessions, and local spoken-word poet and dancehall singer the Grandmaster also made a guest appearance. Belizean music producer Ivan Duran of Stonetree Records was on hand to help with the interaction between technology and tradition.
The sessions resulted in three tracks that will be released by Fatboy Slim on his next album, possibly under another pseudonym, The Mighty Dub Katz. Fatboy Slim has also offered to remix some tracks from Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective album Wátina, which was released recently by Cumbancha and has been receiving critical accolades around the world.
For more information on Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective, please visit http://www.cumbancha.com/.
Electronic beats combine with Afro-Caribbean soul as the British dance music star
visits Belize to record with local Garifuna musicians
April 11, 2007 –British dance music superstar Fatboy Slim visited Belize in early April to participate in a unique recording session that brought together European club grooves with the soulful rhythms and melodies of the local Afro-Caribbean Garifuna community.
Fatboy Slim, whose real name is Norman Cook, is a world-famous DJ whose records have sold millions of copies and whose award-winning music videos have set new standards for the medium. Andy Palacio is a Belizean musician who was born and raised in a small coastal village and whose critically acclaimed new album Wátina was recorded in a rustic thatch shack on the beach.
The unlikely pairing took place on the picturesque resort island of San Pedro, Belize during the last week of March. The musical experiments were inspired by Fatboy Slim’s fascination with Garifuna music. The Garifuna are a unique Central American culture that brings together elements of West African traditions with Indigenous Caribbean heritage. Their language reflects influences from West African and Caribbean Arawak languages. Garifuna music has a deeply African flavor and is played with traditional turtle shell percussion, gourd rattles and wooden drums, as well as contemporary instruments.
“We arrived here with no real songs, no real ideas. I came here with a CD with beats and bass sounds from England and about half an idea of what to do and over the last four days we've hung out with the local musicians, listened to what they do, tried to match the two and see what happens,” Fatboy Slim said of the sessions.
Working in the Mata Grande Recording Studio just north of San Pedro village, Fatboy Slim recorded members of the Garifuna Collective jamming on traditional Garifuna drums. Backup singers Cella Torres and Deseree Arana also provided vocals in the unique local style. Meanwhile, Andy Palacio wrote and sang a song for the sessions, and local spoken-word poet and dancehall singer the Grandmaster also made a guest appearance. Belizean music producer Ivan Duran of Stonetree Records was on hand to help with the interaction between technology and tradition.
The sessions resulted in three tracks that will be released by Fatboy Slim on his next album, possibly under another pseudonym, The Mighty Dub Katz. Fatboy Slim has also offered to remix some tracks from Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective album Wátina, which was released recently by Cumbancha and has been receiving critical accolades around the world.
For more information on Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective, please visit http://www.cumbancha.com/.
Happy Birthday Jon Hassell
Echoes celebrates the 70th birthday of the great fourth world fusion trumpeter by dedicating a program to his music. Listen to it here. And happy birthday Jon. We love what you do.
We've just posted the audio of our 70th Birthday tribute to Jon Hassell on our myspace site @ www.myspace.com/echoesspaceJON HASSELL: A 70th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONAn unsung hero of techno-tribal music enters his 8th decade still blowingTrumpeter Jon Hassell's music roots go back to Karlheinz Stockhausen, Lamonte Young's Theatre of Eternal Music and playing on the first recording of Terry Riley's In C. He created the sound of Techno-Tribal music that was brought to popularity in collaborations with Brian Eno, and his distinctive trumpet sound has been adopted by musicians like Mark Isham. We look back on a musician who is still pushing the sonic envelope as he celebrated his 70th birthday on March 22 featuring interviews with Hassell, Brian Eno, Steve Roach, Robert Rich and Jeff Rona.Hear it on www.myspace.com/echoesspace
We've just posted the audio of our 70th Birthday tribute to Jon Hassell on our myspace site @ www.myspace.com/echoesspaceJON HASSELL: A 70th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONAn unsung hero of techno-tribal music enters his 8th decade still blowingTrumpeter Jon Hassell's music roots go back to Karlheinz Stockhausen, Lamonte Young's Theatre of Eternal Music and playing on the first recording of Terry Riley's In C. He created the sound of Techno-Tribal music that was brought to popularity in collaborations with Brian Eno, and his distinctive trumpet sound has been adopted by musicians like Mark Isham. We look back on a musician who is still pushing the sonic envelope as he celebrated his 70th birthday on March 22 featuring interviews with Hassell, Brian Eno, Steve Roach, Robert Rich and Jeff Rona.Hear it on www.myspace.com/echoesspace
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Happy birthday to the The Necks
From Lloyd Swanton..
On Thursday 9th April, 1987 we gave our first public performance as The
Necks, to about 120 people at the Old Darlington School, Sydney University,
Australia. At that point, we had no idea that we'd end up touring the world,
and releasing albums world-wide to such acclaim.
Thank you to everyone everywhere who has come to our concerts, bought our
records, told us what our music means to them, presented us, worked with us,
played us on radio, interviewed us, reviewed us, written about us, put us up
in their homes, in fact supported us in any way over the last 20 years. It's
been an immense pleasure and we plan to be around for a lot longer yet.
All the best,
Chris Abrahams, Tony Buck, Lloyd Swanton - The Necks
www.thenecks.com
Playlist 11 April 2007
Hi All
You either heard or missed the following on tonight's show.
Quite a few tracks from the World Circuit double disc World Circuit Presents, a disc which came out last year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the label. Mostly African and Cuban content,this is none the less a fantastic collection of tracks from a label which has recorded some of the most influential world music artists in the last two decades eg Afro Cuban All Stars, Ali Farka Toure, Buena Vista Social Club, Toumani Diabate and so much more.
One of the best releases in the last few months has been the third release by the group Tinariwen from Mali. This group of desert dwellers has a sound that is raw and honest, bluesy and in its own way very original. There are a lot of Algerian and Moroccan rhythms influences here but at its' heart is music which sings about the love of the desert and its people. I had been aware of them but had never really listened until this disc turned up. I'll definitely be following up on the other two releases. 10/10
From the Tinariwen press release...
The Tinariwen story is already well marinated in startling myths; fierce nomadic desert tribesmen toting guns and guitars, Ghadaffi's poet-soldiers spreading their gospel of freedom throughout the world, turbaned rock'n'roll troubadours, Stratocaster on one shoulder, Kalashnikov on the other, 17 bullet wounds and rawest desert blues on earth. All this fabulous imagery is the modern equivalent of the legends that have always stuck to Tinariwen's people, the nomadic Touareg of the southern Sahara; the noble desert warrior, the blue man, the lord of the desert, mysterious, secretive, covered from head to toe with eyes only bared to the world.
Like all myths, like all legends, there's plenty of truth mixed in there with the wild fantasy and wishful thinking. But the real story is deeper, richer, more engrossing, and more universal. In the desert oasis of Tamanrasset, southern Algeria, three aimless teenage friends in exile – Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Hassan Ag Touhami aka 'The Lion of the Desert' and Inteyeden - fall in love with the guitar, and with all the dreams of modernity and freedom that it embodies. They write songs about their own lives and about those of their friends, the modern Touareg youth, no longer lording over the desert on their camels, but living the clandestino life far from home, surviving by any means necessary, longing for friends and family, dreaming of retribution, of freedom, of self-determination. They are Kel Tinariwen, the 'desert boys'.
In the 1980s, all three become soldier-musicians, lured into military camps in Libya by Colonel Ghadaffi. Their songs become the soundtrack of a time and of a movement; the ishumar, the Sahara desert's Generation X. They fight a brief, painful rebellion against the government of Mali. They accept peace. They become full-time musicians and meet LoJo, a group of musical adventurers from Angers in France. They stage the first Festival in the Desert, visit Europe for the first time, release two albums including the award winning 'Amassakoul' and tour the world. This whole epic story takes 28 years to unfold.
And now the third album, 'Aman Iman: Water Is Life'. No difficulties here, apart from the 1,200-mile journey from their desert home in Kidal, north-eastern Mali, to the recording studio in the capital Bamako. Tinariwen simply delved into their seemingly inexhaustible trove of songs and dusted down 12 classics, which they worked up with the help of live sound engineer Jaja, producer Justin Adams (Robert Plant's guitarist and producer of the first Tinariwen CD 'Radio Tisdas Sessions') and recording engineer Ben Findlay. It only took ten days at Bogolan studios to nail them down and freeze frame the raw power and tenderness of modern desert blues at its best.
The whole Tinariwen story breathes through those twelve songs, beginning with the first Touareg rebellion of 1963, which lies at the root of so much pain and trauma in the Malian Touareg mindset and which is vividly recalled by Ibrahim in his brooding song 'Soixante Trois'. There are songs like the raw driving 'Cler Achel' or the banshee wailing 'Assouf', about exile and homesickness, longing and loss. There are calls for unity amongst the fractious Touareg clans, like the uplifting anthemic 'Matadjem Yinmixan' or the dubbed up 'Toumast'. There are 'Ahimana' and 'Awa Didjen', the loping ghostly trance-songs of Japonais, a poet of genius who hasn't worked with Tinariwen since 2002. And there are simple songs of love, both romantic love, as in 'Ikyadarh Dim', and that abiding love of their desert home which underpins everything about Tinariwen and finds haunting expression in 'Izarharh Tenere'.
So forget the myths, forget the 'guns-and-guitars' fantasies and tales of blue-men on their camels. The humanity, the wonder and the epic sweep of the real Tinariwen story doesn't need any photoshopping or romantic embellishments. It is the raw tale of an everyman, who was cut off from history and embraced the modern world, who lost his home and found solace in the guitar, who through pain and exile invented a new style of music that could express who he is and where he's going. Nothing mythical or exotic about that. You can find the same story the world over.
Tinariwen would like to dedicate 'Aman Iman' to "Peace, tolerance and development in the Sahara and in the world of the oppressed."
Backspin is a compilation of popular tracks remixed by some of the artists on Six Degrees Records. it's all about paying respect to the past by reinterpreting it, with an eye towards the future sound of the label. Lovely stuff. I don't like all of it but there's enough there to make me think it's a good addition to the label inventory.
From Six Degrees media release...
Six Degrees Records has spent the last ten years crossing musical borders. And to celebrate that milestone, the label looks ahead to the future by looking back, with a collection of surprising and distinctive covers: Backspin, a Six Degrees 10 Year Anniversary Project. Backspin features a dozen artists from the label's eclectic global roster, each presenting a new spin on an old favorite. Songs by Led Zeppelin, The Police, The Cure, and Pink Floyd, among others, are re-imagined by Six Degrees stalwarts including Karsh Kale, MIDIval PunditZ, Banco de Gaia, Ojos de Brujo, and more.
CHEIK LO- BOUL DI TAGAL- CD WORLD CIRCUIT PRESENTS
A PALACIO- WATINA- CD WATINA
TINARIWEN- CLER ACHEL- CD AMAN IMAN (WATER IS LIFE)
TINARIWEN- IMIDIWAN WINAKALIN- CD AMAN IMAN (WATER IS LIFE)
TINARIWEN- IKYADARH DIM- CD AMAN IMAN (WATER IS LIFE)
BELLEMOU MESSAOUD- RIRE ZARGA QUANA- *CD WORLD CIRCUIT PRESENTS
OMARA PORTUONDO- FLOR DE AMOR- *CD WORLD CIRCUIT PRESENTS
ORLANDO CACHAITO LOPEZ- TUMBANGA- *CD WORLD CIRCUIT PRESENTS
SIERRA MAESTRO= JUANA PENA - *CD WORLD CIRCUIT PRESENTS
TOUMANI DIABATE & SYMMETRIC ORCHESTRA- TAPHA NIANG- *CD WORLD CIRCUIT PRESENTS
A PALACIO- BABA- CD WATINA
AFRO CUBAN ALL STARS- AMOR VERDADORE- CD WORLD CIRCUIT PRESENTS
TINARIWEN- IZARHARH TENERE- CD AMAN IMAN (WATER IS LIFE)
TINARIWEN- MATADJEM YINMIXAN- CD AMAN IMAN (WATER IS LIFE)
RACHID TAHA LIVE - ROCK THE CASBAH / YA RAYAH
BOMBAY DUB ORCHESTRA- GET CARTER REMIX- CD BACKSPIN (SIX DEGREES RECORDS)
OJOS DE BRUJO- GET UP STAND UP REMIX- CD BACKSPIN (SIX DEGREES RECORDS
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Purbayan Chatterjee performance 13-14 April 07
Sangeet Australia
Supporting Hindustani Music
presents
Internationally Renowned Sitar Virtuoso
Purbayan Chatterjee
Experience one of India’s most brilliant new musical stars
in the style of the great Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee.
with Bobby Singh on Tabla
…The notes flowed from Chatterjee’s sitar like a cascading waterfall…
Hindustani Times, Kolkata.
Fri. 13th April 8pm - Concert.
Sat. 14th April 2pm - Afternoon Raga and discussion.
A rare opportunity to meet the artist.
Sidetrack Theatre. Addison Road Centre. 142 Addison Rd Marrickville.
Free On-Site Carpark! Bus route 428 stops at entrance to the Centre.
Snacks available from 7:30pm. Assisted disabled access available.
Tickets at the door $25/$20con. Come early to avoid disappointment.
Special Sitar Pass for both 13th and 14th April $40/30con.
Family discounts available. Contact: 0416 352 900 www.sangeetaustralia.org
One of the year’s biggest Hindustani Music highlights!
Purbayan Chatterjee in concert.
A regular at major music festivals in India, USA and Europe, Purbayan has quickly established himself as one of India’s leading sitar players. In the company of the young Purbayan, many discover the magic of Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee. Breath taking virtuosity and emotional intensity are the hallmarks of his not to be missed performances. His performance in January this year with Zakir Hussain at the Kala Mandir in Kolkata in memory of the two greatest sitar players Nikhil Bannerjee and Vilayat Khan met with rave reviews. Purbayan began his musical training at the age of 4 from his father Shri Parthapratim Chatterjee a disciple of Pt. Nikhil Bannerjee and Ustad. Ali Akbar Khan. A versatile musician he is also involved in many highly successful collaborations with diverse musical forms. Purbayan has released many highly acclaimed recordings.
One of Australia’s finest tabla players, Bobby Singh is, again, accompanying Purbayan during his current tour of Australia, appearing at WOMAD, Adelaide. Bobby’s diverse musical experience and collaborations have made him a festival favourite and has brought him recognition around the country. He started learning tabla from an early age and later studied under the tutelage of internationally renowned tabla maestro Aneesh Pradhan.
About Sangeet Australia: Formed in 2004 we are an artist-run grass-roots organisation focused on fostering greater understanding and appreciation of this classical tradition of music from India. We produce a monthly series of high-quality acoustic soirees and various other activities, including larger concerts and workshops, supporting both local and international musicians.
To contact us regarding financial sponsorship, volunteering, offers of in-kind support, media enquiries, to join our mailing list, bookings or for more information call m. 0416352900 or email: pavane_oliveiro@yahoo.com.au
www.sangeetaustralia.org
Supporting Hindustani Music
presents
Internationally Renowned Sitar Virtuoso
Purbayan Chatterjee
Experience one of India’s most brilliant new musical stars
in the style of the great Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee.
with Bobby Singh on Tabla
…The notes flowed from Chatterjee’s sitar like a cascading waterfall…
Hindustani Times, Kolkata.
Fri. 13th April 8pm - Concert.
Sat. 14th April 2pm - Afternoon Raga and discussion.
A rare opportunity to meet the artist.
Sidetrack Theatre. Addison Road Centre. 142 Addison Rd Marrickville.
Free On-Site Carpark! Bus route 428 stops at entrance to the Centre.
Snacks available from 7:30pm. Assisted disabled access available.
Tickets at the door $25/$20con. Come early to avoid disappointment.
Special Sitar Pass for both 13th and 14th April $40/30con.
Family discounts available. Contact: 0416 352 900 www.sangeetaustralia.org
One of the year’s biggest Hindustani Music highlights!
Purbayan Chatterjee in concert.
A regular at major music festivals in India, USA and Europe, Purbayan has quickly established himself as one of India’s leading sitar players. In the company of the young Purbayan, many discover the magic of Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee. Breath taking virtuosity and emotional intensity are the hallmarks of his not to be missed performances. His performance in January this year with Zakir Hussain at the Kala Mandir in Kolkata in memory of the two greatest sitar players Nikhil Bannerjee and Vilayat Khan met with rave reviews. Purbayan began his musical training at the age of 4 from his father Shri Parthapratim Chatterjee a disciple of Pt. Nikhil Bannerjee and Ustad. Ali Akbar Khan. A versatile musician he is also involved in many highly successful collaborations with diverse musical forms. Purbayan has released many highly acclaimed recordings.
One of Australia’s finest tabla players, Bobby Singh is, again, accompanying Purbayan during his current tour of Australia, appearing at WOMAD, Adelaide. Bobby’s diverse musical experience and collaborations have made him a festival favourite and has brought him recognition around the country. He started learning tabla from an early age and later studied under the tutelage of internationally renowned tabla maestro Aneesh Pradhan.
About Sangeet Australia: Formed in 2004 we are an artist-run grass-roots organisation focused on fostering greater understanding and appreciation of this classical tradition of music from India. We produce a monthly series of high-quality acoustic soirees and various other activities, including larger concerts and workshops, supporting both local and international musicians.
To contact us regarding financial sponsorship, volunteering, offers of in-kind support, media enquiries, to join our mailing list, bookings or for more information call m. 0416352900 or email: pavane_oliveiro@yahoo.com.au
www.sangeetaustralia.org
Die Grosse Stille- a review of the film
Die Grosse Stille, a film by German director Philip Groning, looks at life in a monastery, the Grande Chartreuse which is the mother house of the legendary Carthusian Order, based in the French Alps. It’s been shot over a period of 4 months and again over a period of seasons. The monks within the abbey have all taken a vow of silence as a means of serving their god. As such we never really get to know any of the converts in an intimate way as Groning himself takes the view of a silent observer.
During the course of this rather long film, clocking in at about 2 hours 46 minutes, we see the monks engaged in a cycle of silence, repetition and rhythm. Silence leads to a new heightened level of hearing in new ways, repetition creates insight, the monks create their own sense of rhythm on a daily basis through these repetitive actions. What is the concept of time like for someone who will never see the outside world again once they enter the walls of the abbey?
What we do get to see and experience though is a very stark and austere monastic lifestyle, one that most people will never really see or experience in their own lives.
The monk's lives are filled with long hours of prayers and contemplation, mostly in solitude in their cells where the sacred chant is repeated 7 times throughout the course of the day or working in various functions in order to maintain the day-to-day running of the abbey. After all, Food has to be cooked, clothes and shoes need to be mended or made, garden need to be tended.
Everything is dictated by the sound of a bell. The monks do not sleep a full night either. Instead they are allowed to sleep for a period of three hours, then spend two hours chanting or in turn reading the holy scriptures in the great hall of the abbey, and then are allowed to sleep again for three hours.
When you view the monks at work or at prayer you realize that everything is done with great care and dedication. Here nothing is wasted. When the monks die, clothes are recycled, pulled apart and reconstructed over and over for the new converts.
Groning approached the abbey 16 years ago with an idea about a film, but was only granted permission to go ahead with the 4 years ago. One wonders why? Is it possibly that the numbers are falling and this might be seen as a way to maybe boost the numbers? Who knows as we never really find out. Considering the order has been in existence for over a thousand years I doubt it. With this film, the only conditions imposed on Groning by the Grand Priory were that no artificial light, no music and no commentaries were to be offered.
The order recoginises that a life of solitude and silence can take its toll on the convert's state of mental wellbeing, so once a week on Sundays allows all a period of time to get together and speak only amongst themselves. What emerged for me was that these monks had a good sense of humor and a deep dedication to their cause.
This film is not going to be for everyone. It is slow and clocks in at 2 hours 46 minutes. This is not Baraka or Koyanisqatsi, there is no soundtrack by Phillip Glass. Patience and an open mind and heart are required with this project. Personally I found it very engaging though not life changing. This is a unique look at the lives of men who have in ways rejected modern society and gone back to a simpler monastic lifestyle in order to find themselves. Groning in a recent interview in the NY Times said that he “didn’t want to shoot a film that informs people about a monastery, but a film that transforms into a monastery. The film should become a monastery.” We may never again see into this unique way of life such.
During the course of this rather long film, clocking in at about 2 hours 46 minutes, we see the monks engaged in a cycle of silence, repetition and rhythm. Silence leads to a new heightened level of hearing in new ways, repetition creates insight, the monks create their own sense of rhythm on a daily basis through these repetitive actions. What is the concept of time like for someone who will never see the outside world again once they enter the walls of the abbey?
What we do get to see and experience though is a very stark and austere monastic lifestyle, one that most people will never really see or experience in their own lives.
The monk's lives are filled with long hours of prayers and contemplation, mostly in solitude in their cells where the sacred chant is repeated 7 times throughout the course of the day or working in various functions in order to maintain the day-to-day running of the abbey. After all, Food has to be cooked, clothes and shoes need to be mended or made, garden need to be tended.
Everything is dictated by the sound of a bell. The monks do not sleep a full night either. Instead they are allowed to sleep for a period of three hours, then spend two hours chanting or in turn reading the holy scriptures in the great hall of the abbey, and then are allowed to sleep again for three hours.
When you view the monks at work or at prayer you realize that everything is done with great care and dedication. Here nothing is wasted. When the monks die, clothes are recycled, pulled apart and reconstructed over and over for the new converts.
Groning approached the abbey 16 years ago with an idea about a film, but was only granted permission to go ahead with the 4 years ago. One wonders why? Is it possibly that the numbers are falling and this might be seen as a way to maybe boost the numbers? Who knows as we never really find out. Considering the order has been in existence for over a thousand years I doubt it. With this film, the only conditions imposed on Groning by the Grand Priory were that no artificial light, no music and no commentaries were to be offered.
The order recoginises that a life of solitude and silence can take its toll on the convert's state of mental wellbeing, so once a week on Sundays allows all a period of time to get together and speak only amongst themselves. What emerged for me was that these monks had a good sense of humor and a deep dedication to their cause.
This film is not going to be for everyone. It is slow and clocks in at 2 hours 46 minutes. This is not Baraka or Koyanisqatsi, there is no soundtrack by Phillip Glass. Patience and an open mind and heart are required with this project. Personally I found it very engaging though not life changing. This is a unique look at the lives of men who have in ways rejected modern society and gone back to a simpler monastic lifestyle in order to find themselves. Groning in a recent interview in the NY Times said that he “didn’t want to shoot a film that informs people about a monastery, but a film that transforms into a monastery. The film should become a monastery.” We may never again see into this unique way of life such.
POWERSPOT PLAYLIST 4 APRIL 07
Tinariwen- CD Aman Iman (Water is Life)Filter Music 22
-Cler Achel / Mano Dayak / Ikyardah Dim
Racheal Cogan & Tony Lewis- CD Transience - Orpheus Music OM602 www.orpheusmusic.com.au
-Sufi Ilahi / Two Averi
Satsuki Odamura- CD Koto Dreaming- Orpheus Music OM701
www.orpheusmusic.com.au
- Makura
Kim Sanders with Peter Kennard- CD Trance'n'Dancin http://kimsanders.customer.netspace.net.au/
-Saba Taksim
-Saba Sez Semaisi
Kim Sanders & Friends- CD You Can't get There From Here
http://kimsanders.customer.netspace.net.au/
- Segah Saz Semai
Nadya's 101 Candles Orkestra- CD Crazy Moon
www.nadya.com.au
- Dis-Moi
- Mieux Que Parfait
Vulgargrad- CD Popular Street Songs of the Russian Underclass
- Why Did The Aborigines Eat Captain Cook?
- Vaninsky Port
Anthony Garcia- CD Malili Dreaming
www,anthonygarcia.com.au
- Malili Dreaming
Zulya & The Children of The Underground- CD 3 Nights
www.zulya.com.au
- How Lovers Fail & Fall
- The Wolf & The Moon
Eleni Karaindrou- CD Music for Films ECM 1429
- Farewell Theme
- Elegy for Rosa
- Fairytale
-Cler Achel / Mano Dayak / Ikyardah Dim
Racheal Cogan & Tony Lewis- CD Transience - Orpheus Music OM602 www.orpheusmusic.com.au
-Sufi Ilahi / Two Averi
Satsuki Odamura- CD Koto Dreaming- Orpheus Music OM701
www.orpheusmusic.com.au
- Makura
Kim Sanders with Peter Kennard- CD Trance'n'Dancin http://kimsanders.customer.netspace.net.au/
-Saba Taksim
-Saba Sez Semaisi
Kim Sanders & Friends- CD You Can't get There From Here
http://kimsanders.customer.netspace.net.au/
- Segah Saz Semai
Nadya's 101 Candles Orkestra- CD Crazy Moon
www.nadya.com.au
- Dis-Moi
- Mieux Que Parfait
Vulgargrad- CD Popular Street Songs of the Russian Underclass
- Why Did The Aborigines Eat Captain Cook?
- Vaninsky Port
Anthony Garcia- CD Malili Dreaming
www,anthonygarcia.com.au
- Malili Dreaming
Zulya & The Children of The Underground- CD 3 Nights
www.zulya.com.au
- How Lovers Fail & Fall
- The Wolf & The Moon
Eleni Karaindrou- CD Music for Films ECM 1429
- Farewell Theme
- Elegy for Rosa
- Fairytale
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Playlist 21 February 2007
On the show tonight, you either heard or you missed the following.
Nortec Collective- Bar Inferno- CD Tijuana Sessions Vol 3 (mp3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
Calexico- Guero Canelo- CD Ahora Yo A Ti una collecione de remixes pour Panoptica (Noarte Label)
Leigh Cline & Nikolas Michailidis- Tsambasin- CD Al Asha Bi Daha (www.scimitarmusic.com)
Rachel Cogan & Tony Lewis- Panjaneh / Houdetsanes Kontilies- CD Transience Contemporary Modal Music (www.orpheusmusic.com.au)
Ashok Roy- Rag Bilashkani- CD Master of the Sarod (Larrikin LRF 333)
Speaking with Kevin Crawford from Lunasa - 18 minute interview. Incidental music from Lunasa's CD Redwood. This interview can be downloaded for 30 days at this link.
www.savefile.com/files/507848
Nadya Golski- Papillon Noir- CD Nadyas 101 Candles Orkestra - private compilation (www.nadya.com.au)
Mariza- Primavera- CD Concerto em Lisboa (www.mariza.com)
Salif Keita- Moriba- Cd M'Bemba
Next week an interview with Sylvain Leroux from the NY based group Source, as well as Mexican diva Lila Downs.
Nortec Collective- Bar Inferno- CD Tijuana Sessions Vol 3 (mp3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
Calexico- Guero Canelo- CD Ahora Yo A Ti una collecione de remixes pour Panoptica (Noarte Label)
Leigh Cline & Nikolas Michailidis- Tsambasin- CD Al Asha Bi Daha (www.scimitarmusic.com)
Rachel Cogan & Tony Lewis- Panjaneh / Houdetsanes Kontilies- CD Transience Contemporary Modal Music (www.orpheusmusic.com.au)
Ashok Roy- Rag Bilashkani- CD Master of the Sarod (Larrikin LRF 333)
Speaking with Kevin Crawford from Lunasa - 18 minute interview. Incidental music from Lunasa's CD Redwood. This interview can be downloaded for 30 days at this link.
www.savefile.com/files/507848
Nadya Golski- Papillon Noir- CD Nadyas 101 Candles Orkestra - private compilation (www.nadya.com.au)
Mariza- Primavera- CD Concerto em Lisboa (www.mariza.com)
Salif Keita- Moriba- Cd M'Bemba
Next week an interview with Sylvain Leroux from the NY based group Source, as well as Mexican diva Lila Downs.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Powerspot Playlist 14 February 2007
On the show tomorrow night, sonic treats from the following. Hope that some of you may be able to tune in. We stream live via www.2ser.com from 1900 EST. I welcome and thank you in advance for any promotional material you might send in to be played on the show.
Judy Campbell's Mosaic with Bandika Ngao- CD Colours of Kenya
-Bandika's Song
-Meeting Point (www.maju.com for tour dates East Coast of Australia)
Various Artists- CD Midnight in Mali
-Artistes (www.calabashmusic.com mp3 download)
V/A Rough Guide To The Music of South Africa 2nd Edition
- MAHLATHINI and the MAHOTELLA QUEENS - Umuntu Ngumuntu
-CHICCO - Umagubane
Source- Tonight's African Jazz Band
-Magali
-Eva
Rachid Taha- CD Diwan 2
-Maydoum
-Ghanni Li Shwaya
Gotan Project- CD Lunatico
-Notas
-Mi Confesion
Astor Piazzolla- CD La Camorra
- Soledad
Anouar Brahem- CD Barrakh (ECM Records)
-Barrakh
Dino Saluzzi- Cite De La Musique (ECM Records)
-Winter
Local Live Music Information
Sangeet Australia presents
Direct from Calcutta in One Performance Only
DON'T MISS OUR VERY SPECIAL GUEST FROM INDIA
Mehfil Series: Recital Number One
CLASSICAL KHYAL VOCALIST
SUGATA MARJIT
with
BOBBY SINGH (Tabla)
SUKHI SINGH (Harmonium)
Friday 16th February 2007 7:30pm
(performance approx. 2 hours w. interval)
Reiby Hall Yoga Studio
37 Station St (off Enmore Rd)
Newtown
Mehfil Series: Recital Number Two
ADRIAN MCNEIL (Sarod)
PANDIT RAMCHANDRA SUMAN (Tabla)
Sunday 25th February 2007 3:30pm
(performance approx. 2 hours w. interval)
The Dickson Space
35-39 Dickson Street (off King St)
Newtown
Tickets at the door of each venue $20/$15con. (student/pensioner/unemployed)
Family discounts available. Refreshments available. Disabled access available at both venues.
SPECIAL TICKET OFFER!
SHOW YOUR TICKET FROM THE 16TH FEB TO RECEIVE $5 OFF YOUR TICKET ON 25TH FEB!!
With these mehfils (soirees) only 9 days apart we are offering this discount to encourage you to celebrate the beginning of our mehfil season for 2007 by indulging in both concerts for a taste of Vocal and Instrumental music.
For more info 0416 352 900 or www.sangeetaustralia.org
Judy Campbell's Mosaic with Bandika Ngao- CD Colours of Kenya
-Bandika's Song
-Meeting Point (www.maju.com for tour dates East Coast of Australia)
Various Artists- CD Midnight in Mali
-Artistes (www.calabashmusic.com mp3 download)
V/A Rough Guide To The Music of South Africa 2nd Edition
- MAHLATHINI and the MAHOTELLA QUEENS - Umuntu Ngumuntu
-CHICCO - Umagubane
Source- Tonight's African Jazz Band
-Magali
-Eva
Rachid Taha- CD Diwan 2
-Maydoum
-Ghanni Li Shwaya
Gotan Project- CD Lunatico
-Notas
-Mi Confesion
Astor Piazzolla- CD La Camorra
- Soledad
Anouar Brahem- CD Barrakh (ECM Records)
-Barrakh
Dino Saluzzi- Cite De La Musique (ECM Records)
-Winter
Local Live Music Information
Sangeet Australia presents
Direct from Calcutta in One Performance Only
DON'T MISS OUR VERY SPECIAL GUEST FROM INDIA
Mehfil Series: Recital Number One
CLASSICAL KHYAL VOCALIST
SUGATA MARJIT
with
BOBBY SINGH (Tabla)
SUKHI SINGH (Harmonium)
Friday 16th February 2007 7:30pm
(performance approx. 2 hours w. interval)
Reiby Hall Yoga Studio
37 Station St (off Enmore Rd)
Newtown
Mehfil Series: Recital Number Two
ADRIAN MCNEIL (Sarod)
PANDIT RAMCHANDRA SUMAN (Tabla)
Sunday 25th February 2007 3:30pm
(performance approx. 2 hours w. interval)
The Dickson Space
35-39 Dickson Street (off King St)
Newtown
Tickets at the door of each venue $20/$15con. (student/pensioner/unemployed)
Family discounts available. Refreshments available. Disabled access available at both venues.
SPECIAL TICKET OFFER!
SHOW YOUR TICKET FROM THE 16TH FEB TO RECEIVE $5 OFF YOUR TICKET ON 25TH FEB!!
With these mehfils (soirees) only 9 days apart we are offering this discount to encourage you to celebrate the beginning of our mehfil season for 2007 by indulging in both concerts for a taste of Vocal and Instrumental music.
For more info 0416 352 900 or www.sangeetaustralia.org
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Powerspot Playlist 24 Jan 07
Here's what's spinning on the CD player in Studio 1 tonight. Hope some of you can tune in and have a listen..
BOB MARLEY- CHEER UP- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- ALL IN ONE- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- CAUTION- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- LIVELY UP YOURSELF- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- NATURAL MYSTIC- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
The Wailers- Dub Marley
Think of this as a little bit of reggae history. During breaks in the sessions for Rastaman Vibration, the Wailers (without Bob Marley) recorded ten of Marley's songs. The instrumental cuts and their dub versions saw very limited release in Jamaica in 1976. Why they were recorded is a mystery, but here they're reprised together.
**THE WAILERS- GET UP STAND UP DUB- CD DUB MARLEY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- GET UP STAND UP
THE WAILERS- I SHOT THE SHERIFF INSTRUMENTAL- CD DUB MARLEY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- I SHOT THE SHERIFF
**KEN LAZARUS- I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE- CD SKA DOWN JAMAICA (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com))
KEN LAZARUS- BEATLES GOT TO GO- CD SKA DOWN JAMAICA (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
MONTY MORRIS- INTO THIS BEAUTIFUL GARDEN-CD SKA DOWN JAMAICA (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
**BOB MARLEY- EXODUS
** THE WAILERS- SOUL REBEL DUB - CD DUB MARLEY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
Telek- Boystown
**Telek- Bunaik- CD Serious TAM (Real World)
"...A visionary reggae artist with a deeply spiritual side....his thin, reedy voice and potent lyrics cry out against injustice, while pointing the way to a better life." Dirty Linen (8-9/01, p.80) - "...Telek draws from his ancient culture...but combines it with a modern pop sensibility....an ingratiating sound and one that allows him to embrace global pop in a way that has never been done quite this way until now..."
Legend has it that, as a child, George Mamua Telek chewed a sacred betel nut, opening his dreams to his ancestors - and inspiring his amazing songs. Whatever its true source, this powerful and stirring music bespeaks the spirit and proud heritage of his tribal people, the Tolai of Papua New Guinea, yet dramatically transcends cultural borders with a lush, accessible sound that won a coveted Australian ARIA Award for Best World Music Album.
With the spacious production of David Bridie (of the Australian band Not Drowning Waving) and the collaboration of Australian Aboriginal artists Archie Roach and Kev Carmody, Telek forges a brilliant hybrid of world and pop music. Weaving ancestral drums (the hourglass-shaped kundu and the massive slit-log garamut) with lulling, tropical guitar and his island's unique "snaking" vocal harmonies - sung in the Tolai's Kuanuan language and a Creole called Tok Pigin - Telek's evocative songs combine such ancient elements of Tolai culture as midal (magic charms) and malira (love magic) with a pop sensibility influenced by the Beatles.
In England to record at Real World Studios, Telek's first stop after landing at Heathrow was to have his picture taken crossing Abbey Road. But despite his western influences and his national success throughout PNG and Australia, Telek remains deeply rooted in his native volcanic village of Raluana, on the Papua New Guinean island of New Britain.
Te Vaka- Nukutehe / Se Ma La Losa- CD Nukutehe
Te Vaka- Nukutehe
The Tokelau Islands of Polynesia are one of the tiniest nations on the planet. With just 1700 sprawled across ten square kilometres and no harbour or airport to speak of, the Island’s indigenous drum-driven rhythms and musical Tokelau language might have remained one of world music’s best kept secrets if it weren’t for the talent and savvy of ten-member group Te Vaka (the canoe). Founded by singer-songwriter Opetaia Foa’i in 1995 and based, along with 5,000 other Tokelauans, in Auckland, New Zealand, Te Vaka have won plaudits for their unique fusion of socially aware lyrics, modern instrumentation - guitars,
keyboards, flutes, even body percussion - and traditional Maori, Samoan and Tokelauan sounds. Their hi-energy live show - all grass skirts and giant log drums - has thrilled audiences everywhere from WOMAD Singapore to Ronnie Nukekehe the latest Album for Polynesian World Music group Te VakaScotts in London.
Nukukehe (Different land), their third album, is both a plea for environmental and social awareness and a celebration of Polynesian culture, featuring a series of rollicking, mellifluously voiced tracks, backed by soaring harmonies and featuring male and female chants. Standouts include ‘Alamagoto’ a joyous, timbale-fuelled paean to the Pacific; Sei ma le Losa’, a tribute to the late Greenpeace founder David McTaggert; and the sweetly swaying dance number Te Hiva’. Te Vaka say they aim do for Polynesian song and dance what Riverdance did for Irish music, which may or may not be a good thing. Either way, Nukukehe will certainly make people sit up and take notice.
**Rachid Taha- Agatha / Josephine- CD Diwan 2
**Bob Holroyd- Games without Frontiers / Re Awakening The Spirit- Cd Without Within (Six Degrees)
Bob Holroyd is a second-generation fourth-world musician. As if sitting in master control of the global village, he slides virtual tendrils across the world from his studio in England, transporting sounds into his computers and keyboards and deploying them across an electronic panorama that eschews big beats in favor of the polyrhythmic groove. On his fourth CD, Holroyd mixes and matches ethnic samples, including Koi San tribesman from the Kalahari desert on the exuberant "Looking Back" and a Chinese erhu in "The Spaces in Between." The album flows unpredictably as Holroyd enters deep space on "Dreams of Olduvai" and inserts highlife horn charts on "Rafiki." He is also a commercially savvy artist. He orchestrates a global groove cover of Peter Gabriel's "Games Without Frontiers," built around the criminally overlooked singer-songwriter Happy Rhodes, that could gain airplay--at least on a global radio of the imagination. --John Diliberto
Bob Holroyd's music explores the terrain where technological and primeval music intersect. Although realized in a London recording studio, Holroyd's fourth full-length collection, Without Within, features elements of Asian and African cultures flourishing within the rhythms and melodies. One of the tracks, titled "Dreams of Olduvai," evokes the African region holding the earliest evidence of human life. That reference could allude to the appeal of any given Bob Holroyd track, where the digital magic of his recording studio enables the musically articulate Englishman to summon visions of lost worlds. Remarkably, his primordial songs and soundscapes play equally well in dance clubs or in a place like the edge of the Olduvai Gorge echoing both man's earliest musical aspirations and his most recent inventions.
Without Within achieves a status all too rare among contemporary electronic-abetted music, in that it avoids categorization. While quick to praise the efforts of other forward-looking artists whose work encompasses both primordial and digital cultures, Holroyd has long ago left his influences behind and carved his own musical path. His musical signature - sinuous melodies unfolding atop polyrhythms that function as Morse Code for the Id - is best described by a track title from Without Within: "The Space Between."
1 Giant Leap- Money- Audio extract from the DVD 1 Giant Leap (www.1giantleap.tv)
BOB MARLEY- CHEER UP- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- ALL IN ONE- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- CAUTION- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- LIVELY UP YOURSELF- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- NATURAL MYSTIC- CD SOUL ALMIGHTY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
The Wailers- Dub Marley
Think of this as a little bit of reggae history. During breaks in the sessions for Rastaman Vibration, the Wailers (without Bob Marley) recorded ten of Marley's songs. The instrumental cuts and their dub versions saw very limited release in Jamaica in 1976. Why they were recorded is a mystery, but here they're reprised together.
**THE WAILERS- GET UP STAND UP DUB- CD DUB MARLEY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- GET UP STAND UP
THE WAILERS- I SHOT THE SHERIFF INSTRUMENTAL- CD DUB MARLEY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
BOB MARLEY- I SHOT THE SHERIFF
**KEN LAZARUS- I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE- CD SKA DOWN JAMAICA (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com))
KEN LAZARUS- BEATLES GOT TO GO- CD SKA DOWN JAMAICA (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
MONTY MORRIS- INTO THIS BEAUTIFUL GARDEN-CD SKA DOWN JAMAICA (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
**BOB MARLEY- EXODUS
** THE WAILERS- SOUL REBEL DUB - CD DUB MARLEY (MP3 from www.calabashmusic.com)
Telek- Boystown
**Telek- Bunaik- CD Serious TAM (Real World)
"...A visionary reggae artist with a deeply spiritual side....his thin, reedy voice and potent lyrics cry out against injustice, while pointing the way to a better life." Dirty Linen (8-9/01, p.80) - "...Telek draws from his ancient culture...but combines it with a modern pop sensibility....an ingratiating sound and one that allows him to embrace global pop in a way that has never been done quite this way until now..."
Legend has it that, as a child, George Mamua Telek chewed a sacred betel nut, opening his dreams to his ancestors - and inspiring his amazing songs. Whatever its true source, this powerful and stirring music bespeaks the spirit and proud heritage of his tribal people, the Tolai of Papua New Guinea, yet dramatically transcends cultural borders with a lush, accessible sound that won a coveted Australian ARIA Award for Best World Music Album.
With the spacious production of David Bridie (of the Australian band Not Drowning Waving) and the collaboration of Australian Aboriginal artists Archie Roach and Kev Carmody, Telek forges a brilliant hybrid of world and pop music. Weaving ancestral drums (the hourglass-shaped kundu and the massive slit-log garamut) with lulling, tropical guitar and his island's unique "snaking" vocal harmonies - sung in the Tolai's Kuanuan language and a Creole called Tok Pigin - Telek's evocative songs combine such ancient elements of Tolai culture as midal (magic charms) and malira (love magic) with a pop sensibility influenced by the Beatles.
In England to record at Real World Studios, Telek's first stop after landing at Heathrow was to have his picture taken crossing Abbey Road. But despite his western influences and his national success throughout PNG and Australia, Telek remains deeply rooted in his native volcanic village of Raluana, on the Papua New Guinean island of New Britain.
Te Vaka- Nukutehe / Se Ma La Losa- CD Nukutehe
Te Vaka- Nukutehe
The Tokelau Islands of Polynesia are one of the tiniest nations on the planet. With just 1700 sprawled across ten square kilometres and no harbour or airport to speak of, the Island’s indigenous drum-driven rhythms and musical Tokelau language might have remained one of world music’s best kept secrets if it weren’t for the talent and savvy of ten-member group Te Vaka (the canoe). Founded by singer-songwriter Opetaia Foa’i in 1995 and based, along with 5,000 other Tokelauans, in Auckland, New Zealand, Te Vaka have won plaudits for their unique fusion of socially aware lyrics, modern instrumentation - guitars,
keyboards, flutes, even body percussion - and traditional Maori, Samoan and Tokelauan sounds. Their hi-energy live show - all grass skirts and giant log drums - has thrilled audiences everywhere from WOMAD Singapore to Ronnie Nukekehe the latest Album for Polynesian World Music group Te VakaScotts in London.
Nukukehe (Different land), their third album, is both a plea for environmental and social awareness and a celebration of Polynesian culture, featuring a series of rollicking, mellifluously voiced tracks, backed by soaring harmonies and featuring male and female chants. Standouts include ‘Alamagoto’ a joyous, timbale-fuelled paean to the Pacific; Sei ma le Losa’, a tribute to the late Greenpeace founder David McTaggert; and the sweetly swaying dance number Te Hiva’. Te Vaka say they aim do for Polynesian song and dance what Riverdance did for Irish music, which may or may not be a good thing. Either way, Nukukehe will certainly make people sit up and take notice.
**Rachid Taha- Agatha / Josephine- CD Diwan 2
**Bob Holroyd- Games without Frontiers / Re Awakening The Spirit- Cd Without Within (Six Degrees)
Bob Holroyd is a second-generation fourth-world musician. As if sitting in master control of the global village, he slides virtual tendrils across the world from his studio in England, transporting sounds into his computers and keyboards and deploying them across an electronic panorama that eschews big beats in favor of the polyrhythmic groove. On his fourth CD, Holroyd mixes and matches ethnic samples, including Koi San tribesman from the Kalahari desert on the exuberant "Looking Back" and a Chinese erhu in "The Spaces in Between." The album flows unpredictably as Holroyd enters deep space on "Dreams of Olduvai" and inserts highlife horn charts on "Rafiki." He is also a commercially savvy artist. He orchestrates a global groove cover of Peter Gabriel's "Games Without Frontiers," built around the criminally overlooked singer-songwriter Happy Rhodes, that could gain airplay--at least on a global radio of the imagination. --John Diliberto
Bob Holroyd's music explores the terrain where technological and primeval music intersect. Although realized in a London recording studio, Holroyd's fourth full-length collection, Without Within, features elements of Asian and African cultures flourishing within the rhythms and melodies. One of the tracks, titled "Dreams of Olduvai," evokes the African region holding the earliest evidence of human life. That reference could allude to the appeal of any given Bob Holroyd track, where the digital magic of his recording studio enables the musically articulate Englishman to summon visions of lost worlds. Remarkably, his primordial songs and soundscapes play equally well in dance clubs or in a place like the edge of the Olduvai Gorge echoing both man's earliest musical aspirations and his most recent inventions.
Without Within achieves a status all too rare among contemporary electronic-abetted music, in that it avoids categorization. While quick to praise the efforts of other forward-looking artists whose work encompasses both primordial and digital cultures, Holroyd has long ago left his influences behind and carved his own musical path. His musical signature - sinuous melodies unfolding atop polyrhythms that function as Morse Code for the Id - is best described by a track title from Without Within: "The Space Between."
1 Giant Leap- Money- Audio extract from the DVD 1 Giant Leap (www.1giantleap.tv)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Powerspot Playlist 17 Jan 07
Jon Hassell- Map of Dusk / Myths 3 La Nouvelle Serenite Sub Rosa 005
a striking experimental piece entitled ‘Map of Dusk’, made up of what sounds like quickly struck marimba, organ and flute, all blended into a dense foggy soup of atmospheric sound. The piece was recorded in 1985 and was performed with J.A Deane, offering a good glimpse into the work of an intriguing artist who has worked with David Sylvian, Terry Riley, Bjork, David Toop and many others.
Hariprasad Chaurasia with Shib Sankar Ray- Shivranjani Dhun- CD Four Dhuns - Nimbus NI 5527
Dhuns originate in the songs and melodies of rural India. They are often performed as relaxation pieces at the end of a classical Indian music concert. Although located in a raga framework, the rules for melodic movement are not as strict as in the pure classical approach. They are sometimes described as 'light' or 'semi-classical', yet these imported western terms seem unable to do justice to the profound expression and sensuousness which a great musician such as Chaurasia, drawing on a seemingly inexhaustible well of musical experience, can bring to these tunes.
Shakti- Shringar-Remember Shakti- Saturday Night in Bombay- Verve Catalog #4400141642
Guitarist John McLaughlin is one of the true legends of modern jazz. On Saturday Night in Bombay, two distinct musical genres, traditional jazz and Indian classical music are fused together to form a powerfully energetic record. Saturday Night in Bombay features the current touring version of McLaughlin's Indian/Western improvisational quartet, which includes Zakir Hussain, U. Shrinivas, and V. Selvaganesh-Remember Shakti.
A simple look at the map shows that the capital of Maharashtra is where north meets south, a rendezvous that John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain couldn't fail to keep. So it was there, in front of a crowd of initiates or newly-converted, that the friends of more than thirty years closed this new chapter of their awesome reunion after a tour of the music planet that had seen them drift deliriously from continent to continent making this a truly monumental recording.
Leigh Cline & Nikolas Michailidis- Tsambasim / Enan Astren Ekseven - AL ASHA BI DAHA TRADITIONAL SONGS OF THE EASTERN BLACK SEAS (www.scimitarmusic.com)
The title is a traditional Black Sea call for flagging dancers to rejoin the circle: one more
time! Canadian multi-instrumentalist Leigh Cline is rightly respected for his work in
Greek and Turkish traditions, and here he teams up with Greek vocalist Nikolas
Michailidis for a set of 16 pieces from the Turkey/Georgia border.
Available via the Scimitar website at www.scimitarmusic.com or also from www.leighcline.com
Ojos de Brujo- Nana- Techari
various tracks
Based around the rousing flamenco guitar work of Ramon Gimenez and the thoughtful vocals of Marina "la Canillas" Abad, Ojos De Brujo are one of the leading exponents of the new, globally influenced Spanish pop movement.
Special guests include Faada Freddy from Senegalese hip hop collective Daara J, Asian Dub Foundation's Prithpal Rajput, and Nitin Sawhney, South Indian fusion artist and British TV star (who returned the favor after ODB collaborated on two tracks for his album Philtre).
Cuban pianist Roberto Carcassés also makes an appearance alongside respected flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela, and Cuban tres/flamenco guitar player Raúl Rodríguez from Son de la Frontera.
Ryuichi Sakamoto / Richard Horowitz ao
Soundtrack to Sheltering Sky
Loneliness / The Sheltering Sky Theme / Marnia's Tent / Croulov Limma / Sheltering Sky Soundtrack- Virgin Records 2-91597
a striking experimental piece entitled ‘Map of Dusk’, made up of what sounds like quickly struck marimba, organ and flute, all blended into a dense foggy soup of atmospheric sound. The piece was recorded in 1985 and was performed with J.A Deane, offering a good glimpse into the work of an intriguing artist who has worked with David Sylvian, Terry Riley, Bjork, David Toop and many others.
Hariprasad Chaurasia with Shib Sankar Ray- Shivranjani Dhun- CD Four Dhuns - Nimbus NI 5527
Dhuns originate in the songs and melodies of rural India. They are often performed as relaxation pieces at the end of a classical Indian music concert. Although located in a raga framework, the rules for melodic movement are not as strict as in the pure classical approach. They are sometimes described as 'light' or 'semi-classical', yet these imported western terms seem unable to do justice to the profound expression and sensuousness which a great musician such as Chaurasia, drawing on a seemingly inexhaustible well of musical experience, can bring to these tunes.
Shakti- Shringar-Remember Shakti- Saturday Night in Bombay- Verve Catalog #4400141642
Guitarist John McLaughlin is one of the true legends of modern jazz. On Saturday Night in Bombay, two distinct musical genres, traditional jazz and Indian classical music are fused together to form a powerfully energetic record. Saturday Night in Bombay features the current touring version of McLaughlin's Indian/Western improvisational quartet, which includes Zakir Hussain, U. Shrinivas, and V. Selvaganesh-Remember Shakti.
A simple look at the map shows that the capital of Maharashtra is where north meets south, a rendezvous that John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain couldn't fail to keep. So it was there, in front of a crowd of initiates or newly-converted, that the friends of more than thirty years closed this new chapter of their awesome reunion after a tour of the music planet that had seen them drift deliriously from continent to continent making this a truly monumental recording.
Leigh Cline & Nikolas Michailidis- Tsambasim / Enan Astren Ekseven - AL ASHA BI DAHA TRADITIONAL SONGS OF THE EASTERN BLACK SEAS (www.scimitarmusic.com)
The title is a traditional Black Sea call for flagging dancers to rejoin the circle: one more
time! Canadian multi-instrumentalist Leigh Cline is rightly respected for his work in
Greek and Turkish traditions, and here he teams up with Greek vocalist Nikolas
Michailidis for a set of 16 pieces from the Turkey/Georgia border.
Available via the Scimitar website at www.scimitarmusic.com or also from www.leighcline.com
Ojos de Brujo- Nana- Techari
various tracks
Based around the rousing flamenco guitar work of Ramon Gimenez and the thoughtful vocals of Marina "la Canillas" Abad, Ojos De Brujo are one of the leading exponents of the new, globally influenced Spanish pop movement.
Special guests include Faada Freddy from Senegalese hip hop collective Daara J, Asian Dub Foundation's Prithpal Rajput, and Nitin Sawhney, South Indian fusion artist and British TV star (who returned the favor after ODB collaborated on two tracks for his album Philtre).
Cuban pianist Roberto Carcassés also makes an appearance alongside respected flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela, and Cuban tres/flamenco guitar player Raúl Rodríguez from Son de la Frontera.
Ryuichi Sakamoto / Richard Horowitz ao
Soundtrack to Sheltering Sky
Loneliness / The Sheltering Sky Theme / Marnia's Tent / Croulov Limma / Sheltering Sky Soundtrack- Virgin Records 2-91597
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Powerspot Playlist 10 Jan 07
Dear All,
On the show tonight musical selections from the following CD's. The show broadcasts from 6.30pm till 8.30pm Sydney time. Hope some of you can tune in and have a listen.
Artists / CD / Track / Label
Rachel Cogan & Tony Lewis- Transience-For Fardin / Panjaneh- Orpheus Music OM 602 (www.orpheusmusic.com.au)
Pepe Habichuela- A Mandeli-Tracks Guadiana / Boabdil / Resuene- Hannibal Records HNCD 1315
Gerardo Nunez- Calima -Tracks Sancti Petri / Tabaco Y Oro- Alula ALU 1007
Ali Farka Toure- Savane-Tracks Yer Bounda Fara / Savane- World Circuit CD 075 (www.worldcircuit.co.uk)
Various Artists- Electric Gypsyland 2
Balkan Beat Box- remix of Mahala Rai Banda's Red Bula
DJ Click- remix of Mahala Rai Banda's Romano
DanceSmadj- remix of Kocani Orkestar Mi Bori San Korani Crammed Disc CRAW 37-P (www.crammed.be)
Duoud with Abdulatif Yagoub- SAKAT
Mal Agfani / Wa Raeiah Label Bleu LBLC 2598 (www.labelbleu.com)
DJ Cheb I Sabbah- Krishna Lila
Marajanima / Govinda- Six Degrees Records (www.sixdegreesrecords.com)
Ravikiran & Jayanthi- The Lotus Garden- South Indian Classical Music
Kanjadalayatakshi / Parihachakama- Latisphere LAT1015
Ghazal- As Night Falls On The Silk RoadMy Eyes My Heart- Shanachie Label 66011
On the show tonight musical selections from the following CD's. The show broadcasts from 6.30pm till 8.30pm Sydney time. Hope some of you can tune in and have a listen.
Artists / CD / Track / Label
Rachel Cogan & Tony Lewis- Transience-For Fardin / Panjaneh- Orpheus Music OM 602 (www.orpheusmusic.com.au)
Pepe Habichuela- A Mandeli-Tracks Guadiana / Boabdil / Resuene- Hannibal Records HNCD 1315
Gerardo Nunez- Calima -Tracks Sancti Petri / Tabaco Y Oro- Alula ALU 1007
Ali Farka Toure- Savane-Tracks Yer Bounda Fara / Savane- World Circuit CD 075 (www.worldcircuit.co.uk)
Various Artists- Electric Gypsyland 2
Balkan Beat Box- remix of Mahala Rai Banda's Red Bula
DJ Click- remix of Mahala Rai Banda's Romano
DanceSmadj- remix of Kocani Orkestar Mi Bori San Korani Crammed Disc CRAW 37-P (www.crammed.be)
Duoud with Abdulatif Yagoub- SAKAT
Mal Agfani / Wa Raeiah Label Bleu LBLC 2598 (www.labelbleu.com)
DJ Cheb I Sabbah- Krishna Lila
Marajanima / Govinda- Six Degrees Records (www.sixdegreesrecords.com)
Ravikiran & Jayanthi- The Lotus Garden- South Indian Classical Music
Kanjadalayatakshi / Parihachakama- Latisphere LAT1015
Ghazal- As Night Falls On The Silk RoadMy Eyes My Heart- Shanachie Label 66011
Necks News
Just a reminder that The Necks commence their 2007 tour with dates in Melbourne and Sydney next week. Seats are selling fast, so don't delay
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
You can buy all The Necks' albums online at www.thenecks.com
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
You can buy all The Necks' albums online at www.thenecks.com
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
POWERSPOT PLAYLIST 3 JAN 07
1-4 intros
5 Azam Ali- Spring Arrives- CD Elysium for the Brave **
In a career which spans over a decade and includes eight collaborative and solo albums, Azam Ali has confirmed her place as one of the most prolific, versatile, and gifted singers on the world music stage today.
Her dedication to defying cultural specificity in music, and her unwillingness to settle into one form of musical expression have earned her the respect of both her peers and critics worldwide. When one looks at her entire body of work, it is hard to deny Azam her rightful place among the best singers and composers in music
today.
Helping to seamlessly bring all of these diverse sounds together are a talented cast of musicians which includes King Crimson’s rhythm section of Trey Gunn and Pat Mastellotto, Persian classical violinist Kiavash Nourai, and noted film composers Tyler Bates and Jeff Rona, the latter of whom is known for his collaborations with Dead Can Dance. Loga Ramin Torkian and Carmen Rizzo, Azam’s collaborators in her latest musical venture, Niyaz, have also lent their talents to this project. Released on Six Degrees Records, Niyaz’ debut blends ancient Persian and Urdu Sufi poetry, rich acoustic instrumentation, and modern electronics.
Their CD has been hailed by critics worldwide as one of the most groundbreaking of its time. The album charted on Billboard's world music chart for four consecutive weeks, peaking at #12. Niyaz also entered WMCE, the World Music Charts of Europe, at #76 and was the only Iranian group whose CD made it into the top 150 of the best albums of 2005 .
Azam is internationally recognized for her work with Vas, the critically acclaimed, best selling, world music duo she co-founded in 1996 with percussionist Greg Ellis. From 1997- 2004 Vas released four albums on the Narada label. Their music, which they described as "alternative world," focused mainly on the ancient
relationship between the drum and voice. Their distinct cinematic sound blended influences of Indian, Persian, Western and other musical styles into a unique configuration that transcended categorization and cultural specificity. Though in their early days Vas drew many comparisons to Dead Can Dance, they patiently surpassed that comparison with each album they released, earning them their place in the musical hierarchy of bands whose innovation set a standard for others to aspire to.
In 2002 Azam released her first self produced highly successful solo album, Portals of Grace, which featured her singing renditions of ancient Western European medieval songs. Billboard described this album by saying, “It's unlikely that this year will bring a more spellbinding vocal album than Portals of Grace.” Azam’s exceptional voice and emotive performances on this album earned her much critical acclaim and once and for all solidified her place as a highly respected singer in the World music scene.
Azam Ali, who currently resides in Los Angeles, was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up in India from the age of four in the small town of Panchgani, a beautiful hill station in the state of Maharashtra. There she attended an international co-educational boarding school for eleven years, all the while absorbing India's rich music and culture throughout her formative years. The course Azam would eventually choose in her life would be very much influenced by her fortuitous upbringing in a school which emphasized the importance of the arts and spirituality, and aimed through moral and academic excellence, to produce promoters of social transformation imbued with the spirit of service to mankind. It is this objective that would take shape in Azam's music in the coming years. The Iranian revolution of 1979 changed the course of Azam's life as it did for many other Iranians. Unwilling to bring her daughter back to a country filled with uncertainty, her mother decided to give up her home, and together they moved to America in 1985 when Azam was just a teenager.
Shortly after moving to the United States, Azam fell in love with the Persian santour (hammered dulcimer) and it became clear to Azam that she wanted to pursue a career in music. Though she had an innate gift for singing since she was a child and sang often at home and school functions, Azam had no particular interest in becoming a vocalist. She had her heart set on becoming an instrumentalist and so began studying the santour under the guidance of Persian master Manoocher Sadeghi, During the eight years of her extensive studies with Ustad Sadeghi in which she became an accomplished hammered dulcimer player, Azam began to realize that she was unable to express the full range of emotions she experienced through her instrument. It was during one of these lessons that her teacher heard her sing for the first time.
Completely taken, he told her that her voice had a rare emotional quality about it which should be cultivated and nurtured. It was through his encouragement that Azam began to explore her voice as the vehicle through which she would
finally be able to fully express herself, a voice which Billboard magazine would later describe as, "a glorious unforgettable instrument."
While pursuing formal training in various vocal traditions like Western classical, Indian, Persian, and Eastern European, Azam's true passion has been to explore the immense potential of the human voice, specifically its capability to transcend language, cultural, and spiritual barriers when expressing pure emotion. When asked about her approach to singing Azam explains, "What intrigues me most about the human voice, is its ability to make all things transparent through its power of transformation. The voice is not just a conduit for words. For me it is like an abstract dream in which everything makes perfect sense."
"I am pertinacious in my need to expand. By nature, I am not one who can physically remain in one place for too long. I imagine that is the case because I have been transplanted enough times in my life that I am well aware of the influence the external environment has on the inner one, and how that can affect perception. So naturally, my music is going to reflect this inability to remain static, and this inability to identify myself with just one specific culture. I think of all the different music that I have done and will continue to do almost as photographs of my evolution, and just like photographs, in some I may look great and in some I may not.
What matters to me is that I risk, I, trust, I strive, and let things unfold as they may." Azam's immense talent and ability to adapt her voice to any musical style have drawn the attention of many diverse artists and film composers. Azam has collaborated in the studio and on stage with numerous artists like Serj Tankian of System of a Down, The Crystal Method, Pat Mastellato and Trey Gunn of King Crimson, Dredg, Chris Vrenna formerly of Nine Inch Nails, Ben Watkins of Juno Reactor, Buckethead, Steve Stevens, film composer Tyler Bates, Mercan Dede, the world renowned Japanese group Kodo, Zakir Hussain, Omar Faruk
Tekbilek, and Mickey Hart with whom she also toured for two years as a lead singer in his group Bembe Orisha.
Azam's distinctive voice can also be heard on myriad film and television scores among which include “Matrix Revolutions,” “Godsend,” “Papparazi,” the upcoming major motion picture 300, Children of Dune, Earthsea, Dawn of the Dead, Alias, and The Agency.
Elysium for the Brave, Azam's second solo album, signals a new turn in her musical evolution. The album, her most ambitious work to date, brings together musicians from varied musical backgrounds performing in diverse permutations. Singing predominantly in English for the first time, the songs are based on lyrics written by Azam herself and reveal a poetic lyricism heard only in glimpses of her previous works.
From the new CD’s opening track, “Endless Reverie,” it becomes immediately apparent that Ali has moved into new and exciting sonic territory. The frame drum pulse is familiar but the percolating synthesizer textures and haunting vocals sung in English take the song into a darkly beautiful place that exists between the worlds of electronic rock and global fusion. This fascinating terrain is also occupied by the tracks, “In Other Worlds,” and ”Forty One Ways.” While impeccable electronics and programming abound on Elysium for the Brave, they are balanced throughout the CD with traditional instrumentation. The gorgeous oud and hand drums which propel “Spring Arrives” and the insistent ney flute which lends a haunting quality to “In this Divide” are brilliant examples of how organic and electronic instrumentation can beautifully co-exist. In fact, despite the mix of ancient and modern instrumentation, Elysium for the Brave is a highly coherent body of work that weaves together all of Azam's cultural and musical influences into a tapestry of atmospheric rock, electronic, and global sounds.
6 Azam Ali- I Am A Stranger In This World
7 Azam Ali- Abpde **
Eden is a new compilation from Six Degrees Records that focuses on the "deeper" end of music from around the world. Featuring Cheb i Sabbah, Niyaz, the MIDIval PunditZ (featuring Anoushka Shankar), Karsh Kale, Bombay Dub Orchestra and others.
8 In The Shadow of Life w/ Niyaz
9 Rebirth w/ Midival Punditz
10 Beautiful w/ Karsh Kale
11 Desert Drive w/ Euphoria **
National Geographic GeoReMixes
Close Window
National Geographic GeoReMixes Recently, National Geographic World Music approached some of our favorite world music artists and asked if they had any new music or unheard remixes they wanted to share with our audience.
The response was overwhelming, and included contributions from some of the most cutting-edge artists working in world music today. From New York's Antibalas and Barcelona's Ojos de Brujo to Tijuana's Nortec Collective and London's Bombay Dub Orchestra, this project pulls together the most progressive and forward thinking artists of the new century.
The result was a baker's dozen of 13 exclusive new tracks from 12 amazing artists that just may change the way you think about world music.
Recently, NGWM approached some of our favorite world music artists and asked if they had any new music or unheard remixes they wanted to share with our audience.
The response was overwhelming, and included contributions from some of the most cutting-edge artists working in world music today. From New York's Antibalas and Barcelona's Ojos de Brujo to Tijuana's Nortec Collective and London's Bombay Dub Orchestra, this project pulls together the most progressive and forward thinking artists of the new century.
The result was a baker's dozen of 13 exclusive new tracks from 12 amazing artists that just may change the way you think about world music.
Ska Cubano: "No Me Desperes (The Sea Remix)"
Remixed by: The Sea The original Colombian cumbia bands went out of business because they had too many musicians and were hugely expensive. Anglo-Cuban outfit Ska Cubano (pictured) reimagines these big bands with a ska twist on the huge, melodramatic "No Me Desperes," where a massive rhythm section meets squawking, honking, screaming brass, and wild clarinets.
Antibalas: "Ja Joosh/ My Country" (AfroStreet Remix)
Remixed by: AfroStreet New York artists Antibalas and Rich Medina team up to create a cool but defiant commentary on the current political situation. This is a departure from classic Nigerian Afrobeat. Here Antibalas draws inspiration from the golden age of Ethiopian pop of the late '60s and early '70s popularized by musicians such as Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatqe, Alemayehu Eshete, and others. The track revisits the times when socially conscious music was on the airwaves, stages and tongues of party people around the world.
Karsh Kale: "Manifest" (Kaushik Ambient Remix)
Remixed by: Kaushik On has latest album Broken English, London-born and New York-raised Karsh Kale balances his Indian heritage with rock 'n' roll, hip hop and atmospheric pop for his most diverse release to date. The original opening track on Broken English, "Manifest," immediately claims the album's musical territories, MC Napoleon raps while Vishal Vaid sings, and their bilingual interplay is echoed by the programmed sounds of Western drums and the dhol drum. Kaushik's Ambient remix echoes a more spaced out ethereal vibe, while maintaining all of the original sensibilities.
Nortec Collective: "Tengo La Voz" (Karsh Kale Remix)
Remixed by: Karsh Kale South Asian DJ Karsh Kale remixes Tijuana electronica leaders Nortec Collective on this unique interpretion of "Tengo La Voz" ("I Have the Voice"). Nortec made a splash in 2000 with a critically-acclaimed debut that turned traditional notions of Mexican music upside down.
Los Amigos Invisibles: "Yo No Se" (DJ Afro's Edit)
Remixed by: DJ Afro Originally a techno merengue by Diviana, "Yo No Se" has now been transformed into a super smooth house track with Los Amigos Invisibles and DJ Afro's remix. The album version of this song appears on Los Amigos Invisibles' latest album, SuperPop Venezuela, and is an homage to the Venezuelan artists and songs that have most influenced the double Latin Grammy nominees. Produced by famed DJ Dimitri From Paris, the fifth Los Amigos Invisibles album sees the band bring their distinctive sound to reverential and decidedly fun interpretations of Venezuelan songs that "provided the soundtrack to our adolescence and early adult life," explains guitarist José Luis Pardo.
Yerba Buena: "Fever" (Blaze Remix)
Remixed by: Blaze Helmed by producer/bandleader Andres Levin, Yerba Buena's Grammy-nominated debut album was widely hailed with both serious critical acclaim and breathless praise from the dance floor. Now, Levin and the members of the Yerba Buena caravan are set to delve even further into the evolving multicultural musical fusion of bilingual New York.
Ex-Centric Sound System: "Mara" (Remater 0.1)
Remixed by: Yossi Fine Living in Israel at the time, Yossi Fine's experimentation with dubbing Ethiopian music into a hip hop beat in the mid '90s made a big mark on his musical direction, but never made it out on a record. Until now. "Mara", which is a greeting chant similar to a village welcome, is combined with a masengo (one-stringed violin) solo in this hip new remix from Ex-Centric Sound System's founding member.
Bombay Dub Orchestra: "Compassion" (Earth Mix)
Remixed by: Adam Lamprell The Bombay Dub Orchestra is the brainchild of two English musicians, Andrew T. Mackay and Garry Hughes, who wanted to combine electronic sessions recorded in the UK with orchestral sessions recorded in Bombay India. On their self-titled debut, the duo recorded with the cream of Bombay's Indian classical music scene. Here, their lush brand of South Asian orchestral electronica gets the remix treatment from Adam Lamprell. Mid-tempo trip-hop propels a rich tapestry of orchestral strings in "Compassion," with occasional wisps of Indian and Western instruments and subtle hints of '60s cinema.
Charanga Cakewalk: "El Ballad de Jose Campos" (2 Vatos Remix)
Remixed by: Michael Ramos Recorded at The Cumbia Lounge in West Austin, this previously all-instrumental piece is a look back at a 1976 incident in Houston where a Mexican youth was picked up by the police, beaten, handcuffed, and thrown off of a bridge into a bayou, where he drowned. The officers were charged, fined one dollar and put on probation. This track is a reflection on what might have become of Jose Campos Torres had he not been killed so recklessly.
Smadj: "Rouge-Violet" (Smadj Remix)
Remixed live by: Smadj "Rouge-Violet" was a part of Smadj's third album, Take It and Drive. Performing with different teams of musicians including Laurent de Wilde, Cheick Tidjane Seck, Malik Mezzadri, Dierdre Dubois, Peirre Fruchard, Artkonik, Dom Farkas, and Rokia Traoré, Smadj would play the same repertoire but in a different way each time depending on the team he worked with. Improvisation with electronica was the goal of these meetings, playing the computer like an instrument, pushing them in one direction or another to create a new universe around them.
Eccodek: "Juju in This Dub"
Remixed by: Eccodeck "Juju in This Dub" features the vocals of Nigerian Bamidele Bajowa and the gorgeous kora playing of Malian griot Mansa Sissoko. The whole performance is sewn together by the multi-instrumentalist and producer Andrew McPherson. His textured keyboard parts and thick, reggae-influenced bass grooves set up a foundation on which both Mansa and Bamidele confidently work their magic. Together the three join hands to create a dub-inflected cross cultural postcard.
Nortec Collective: "Olvidela Compa"
Remixed by: Rosco The already chilled-out Nortec Collective track "Olvidela Compa" ("Forget About It, Brother") takes an even more laid-back turn on this bass-heavy remix by Mexico City electronic act Rosco.
Ojos de Brujo: "Feedback" (Nitin Sawhney Remix)
Remixed by: Nitin Sawhney Among the 14 tracks on Barcelona-based band Ojos de Brujo's latest release, Techarí, is "Feedback," a composition built around one of the most exciting rhythms particular to Flamenco music: the bulería. The remix track is a unique collaboration with the innovative London-based Asian artist Nitin Sawhney, and features various musical influences and instruments from India, the Middle East, and Spain. All are woven around Marina Abad's flamboyant style of flamenco singing.
12 Smudge- Rouge Violet
13 Bombay Dub Orchestra - Adam Lamprell's Earth Mix of Compassion
14 Ojos de Brujo- Feedback remixed by Nitin Sawhney
15 daniel lanois id
16 Ska Cubano- No Me Desesperes (The Sea Remix)
17 Los Amigos Invisibles- Yo No Se (DJ Afro's Edit)
18 Yerba Buena- Fever Remix
19 Nitin Sawhney id
20 Antibalas - Ja Joosh (My Country) w/Rich Medina & Afrostreet
21 Charanga Cakewalk- El Ballad De Jose Campos Torres 2 Vatos Remix
22 ecodek- Juju In Those Strings (Shivaboom Mix)
23 Karsh Kale- Manifest (Kaushik Ambient Remix)
24 Ex Centric Sound System- Marra (Yossi Fine Primal Remix
25 Niyaz- Dilruba- Traveller 06 compilation
5 Azam Ali- Spring Arrives- CD Elysium for the Brave **
In a career which spans over a decade and includes eight collaborative and solo albums, Azam Ali has confirmed her place as one of the most prolific, versatile, and gifted singers on the world music stage today.
Her dedication to defying cultural specificity in music, and her unwillingness to settle into one form of musical expression have earned her the respect of both her peers and critics worldwide. When one looks at her entire body of work, it is hard to deny Azam her rightful place among the best singers and composers in music
today.
Helping to seamlessly bring all of these diverse sounds together are a talented cast of musicians which includes King Crimson’s rhythm section of Trey Gunn and Pat Mastellotto, Persian classical violinist Kiavash Nourai, and noted film composers Tyler Bates and Jeff Rona, the latter of whom is known for his collaborations with Dead Can Dance. Loga Ramin Torkian and Carmen Rizzo, Azam’s collaborators in her latest musical venture, Niyaz, have also lent their talents to this project. Released on Six Degrees Records, Niyaz’ debut blends ancient Persian and Urdu Sufi poetry, rich acoustic instrumentation, and modern electronics.
Their CD has been hailed by critics worldwide as one of the most groundbreaking of its time. The album charted on Billboard's world music chart for four consecutive weeks, peaking at #12. Niyaz also entered WMCE, the World Music Charts of Europe, at #76 and was the only Iranian group whose CD made it into the top 150 of the best albums of 2005 .
Azam is internationally recognized for her work with Vas, the critically acclaimed, best selling, world music duo she co-founded in 1996 with percussionist Greg Ellis. From 1997- 2004 Vas released four albums on the Narada label. Their music, which they described as "alternative world," focused mainly on the ancient
relationship between the drum and voice. Their distinct cinematic sound blended influences of Indian, Persian, Western and other musical styles into a unique configuration that transcended categorization and cultural specificity. Though in their early days Vas drew many comparisons to Dead Can Dance, they patiently surpassed that comparison with each album they released, earning them their place in the musical hierarchy of bands whose innovation set a standard for others to aspire to.
In 2002 Azam released her first self produced highly successful solo album, Portals of Grace, which featured her singing renditions of ancient Western European medieval songs. Billboard described this album by saying, “It's unlikely that this year will bring a more spellbinding vocal album than Portals of Grace.” Azam’s exceptional voice and emotive performances on this album earned her much critical acclaim and once and for all solidified her place as a highly respected singer in the World music scene.
Azam Ali, who currently resides in Los Angeles, was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up in India from the age of four in the small town of Panchgani, a beautiful hill station in the state of Maharashtra. There she attended an international co-educational boarding school for eleven years, all the while absorbing India's rich music and culture throughout her formative years. The course Azam would eventually choose in her life would be very much influenced by her fortuitous upbringing in a school which emphasized the importance of the arts and spirituality, and aimed through moral and academic excellence, to produce promoters of social transformation imbued with the spirit of service to mankind. It is this objective that would take shape in Azam's music in the coming years. The Iranian revolution of 1979 changed the course of Azam's life as it did for many other Iranians. Unwilling to bring her daughter back to a country filled with uncertainty, her mother decided to give up her home, and together they moved to America in 1985 when Azam was just a teenager.
Shortly after moving to the United States, Azam fell in love with the Persian santour (hammered dulcimer) and it became clear to Azam that she wanted to pursue a career in music. Though she had an innate gift for singing since she was a child and sang often at home and school functions, Azam had no particular interest in becoming a vocalist. She had her heart set on becoming an instrumentalist and so began studying the santour under the guidance of Persian master Manoocher Sadeghi, During the eight years of her extensive studies with Ustad Sadeghi in which she became an accomplished hammered dulcimer player, Azam began to realize that she was unable to express the full range of emotions she experienced through her instrument. It was during one of these lessons that her teacher heard her sing for the first time.
Completely taken, he told her that her voice had a rare emotional quality about it which should be cultivated and nurtured. It was through his encouragement that Azam began to explore her voice as the vehicle through which she would
finally be able to fully express herself, a voice which Billboard magazine would later describe as, "a glorious unforgettable instrument."
While pursuing formal training in various vocal traditions like Western classical, Indian, Persian, and Eastern European, Azam's true passion has been to explore the immense potential of the human voice, specifically its capability to transcend language, cultural, and spiritual barriers when expressing pure emotion. When asked about her approach to singing Azam explains, "What intrigues me most about the human voice, is its ability to make all things transparent through its power of transformation. The voice is not just a conduit for words. For me it is like an abstract dream in which everything makes perfect sense."
"I am pertinacious in my need to expand. By nature, I am not one who can physically remain in one place for too long. I imagine that is the case because I have been transplanted enough times in my life that I am well aware of the influence the external environment has on the inner one, and how that can affect perception. So naturally, my music is going to reflect this inability to remain static, and this inability to identify myself with just one specific culture. I think of all the different music that I have done and will continue to do almost as photographs of my evolution, and just like photographs, in some I may look great and in some I may not.
What matters to me is that I risk, I, trust, I strive, and let things unfold as they may." Azam's immense talent and ability to adapt her voice to any musical style have drawn the attention of many diverse artists and film composers. Azam has collaborated in the studio and on stage with numerous artists like Serj Tankian of System of a Down, The Crystal Method, Pat Mastellato and Trey Gunn of King Crimson, Dredg, Chris Vrenna formerly of Nine Inch Nails, Ben Watkins of Juno Reactor, Buckethead, Steve Stevens, film composer Tyler Bates, Mercan Dede, the world renowned Japanese group Kodo, Zakir Hussain, Omar Faruk
Tekbilek, and Mickey Hart with whom she also toured for two years as a lead singer in his group Bembe Orisha.
Azam's distinctive voice can also be heard on myriad film and television scores among which include “Matrix Revolutions,” “Godsend,” “Papparazi,” the upcoming major motion picture 300, Children of Dune, Earthsea, Dawn of the Dead, Alias, and The Agency.
Elysium for the Brave, Azam's second solo album, signals a new turn in her musical evolution. The album, her most ambitious work to date, brings together musicians from varied musical backgrounds performing in diverse permutations. Singing predominantly in English for the first time, the songs are based on lyrics written by Azam herself and reveal a poetic lyricism heard only in glimpses of her previous works.
From the new CD’s opening track, “Endless Reverie,” it becomes immediately apparent that Ali has moved into new and exciting sonic territory. The frame drum pulse is familiar but the percolating synthesizer textures and haunting vocals sung in English take the song into a darkly beautiful place that exists between the worlds of electronic rock and global fusion. This fascinating terrain is also occupied by the tracks, “In Other Worlds,” and ”Forty One Ways.” While impeccable electronics and programming abound on Elysium for the Brave, they are balanced throughout the CD with traditional instrumentation. The gorgeous oud and hand drums which propel “Spring Arrives” and the insistent ney flute which lends a haunting quality to “In this Divide” are brilliant examples of how organic and electronic instrumentation can beautifully co-exist. In fact, despite the mix of ancient and modern instrumentation, Elysium for the Brave is a highly coherent body of work that weaves together all of Azam's cultural and musical influences into a tapestry of atmospheric rock, electronic, and global sounds.
6 Azam Ali- I Am A Stranger In This World
7 Azam Ali- Abpde **
Eden is a new compilation from Six Degrees Records that focuses on the "deeper" end of music from around the world. Featuring Cheb i Sabbah, Niyaz, the MIDIval PunditZ (featuring Anoushka Shankar), Karsh Kale, Bombay Dub Orchestra and others.
8 In The Shadow of Life w/ Niyaz
9 Rebirth w/ Midival Punditz
10 Beautiful w/ Karsh Kale
11 Desert Drive w/ Euphoria **
National Geographic GeoReMixes
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National Geographic GeoReMixes Recently, National Geographic World Music approached some of our favorite world music artists and asked if they had any new music or unheard remixes they wanted to share with our audience.
The response was overwhelming, and included contributions from some of the most cutting-edge artists working in world music today. From New York's Antibalas and Barcelona's Ojos de Brujo to Tijuana's Nortec Collective and London's Bombay Dub Orchestra, this project pulls together the most progressive and forward thinking artists of the new century.
The result was a baker's dozen of 13 exclusive new tracks from 12 amazing artists that just may change the way you think about world music.
Recently, NGWM approached some of our favorite world music artists and asked if they had any new music or unheard remixes they wanted to share with our audience.
The response was overwhelming, and included contributions from some of the most cutting-edge artists working in world music today. From New York's Antibalas and Barcelona's Ojos de Brujo to Tijuana's Nortec Collective and London's Bombay Dub Orchestra, this project pulls together the most progressive and forward thinking artists of the new century.
The result was a baker's dozen of 13 exclusive new tracks from 12 amazing artists that just may change the way you think about world music.
Ska Cubano: "No Me Desperes (The Sea Remix)"
Remixed by: The Sea The original Colombian cumbia bands went out of business because they had too many musicians and were hugely expensive. Anglo-Cuban outfit Ska Cubano (pictured) reimagines these big bands with a ska twist on the huge, melodramatic "No Me Desperes," where a massive rhythm section meets squawking, honking, screaming brass, and wild clarinets.
Antibalas: "Ja Joosh/ My Country" (AfroStreet Remix)
Remixed by: AfroStreet New York artists Antibalas and Rich Medina team up to create a cool but defiant commentary on the current political situation. This is a departure from classic Nigerian Afrobeat. Here Antibalas draws inspiration from the golden age of Ethiopian pop of the late '60s and early '70s popularized by musicians such as Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatqe, Alemayehu Eshete, and others. The track revisits the times when socially conscious music was on the airwaves, stages and tongues of party people around the world.
Karsh Kale: "Manifest" (Kaushik Ambient Remix)
Remixed by: Kaushik On has latest album Broken English, London-born and New York-raised Karsh Kale balances his Indian heritage with rock 'n' roll, hip hop and atmospheric pop for his most diverse release to date. The original opening track on Broken English, "Manifest," immediately claims the album's musical territories, MC Napoleon raps while Vishal Vaid sings, and their bilingual interplay is echoed by the programmed sounds of Western drums and the dhol drum. Kaushik's Ambient remix echoes a more spaced out ethereal vibe, while maintaining all of the original sensibilities.
Nortec Collective: "Tengo La Voz" (Karsh Kale Remix)
Remixed by: Karsh Kale South Asian DJ Karsh Kale remixes Tijuana electronica leaders Nortec Collective on this unique interpretion of "Tengo La Voz" ("I Have the Voice"). Nortec made a splash in 2000 with a critically-acclaimed debut that turned traditional notions of Mexican music upside down.
Los Amigos Invisibles: "Yo No Se" (DJ Afro's Edit)
Remixed by: DJ Afro Originally a techno merengue by Diviana, "Yo No Se" has now been transformed into a super smooth house track with Los Amigos Invisibles and DJ Afro's remix. The album version of this song appears on Los Amigos Invisibles' latest album, SuperPop Venezuela, and is an homage to the Venezuelan artists and songs that have most influenced the double Latin Grammy nominees. Produced by famed DJ Dimitri From Paris, the fifth Los Amigos Invisibles album sees the band bring their distinctive sound to reverential and decidedly fun interpretations of Venezuelan songs that "provided the soundtrack to our adolescence and early adult life," explains guitarist José Luis Pardo.
Yerba Buena: "Fever" (Blaze Remix)
Remixed by: Blaze Helmed by producer/bandleader Andres Levin, Yerba Buena's Grammy-nominated debut album was widely hailed with both serious critical acclaim and breathless praise from the dance floor. Now, Levin and the members of the Yerba Buena caravan are set to delve even further into the evolving multicultural musical fusion of bilingual New York.
Ex-Centric Sound System: "Mara" (Remater 0.1)
Remixed by: Yossi Fine Living in Israel at the time, Yossi Fine's experimentation with dubbing Ethiopian music into a hip hop beat in the mid '90s made a big mark on his musical direction, but never made it out on a record. Until now. "Mara", which is a greeting chant similar to a village welcome, is combined with a masengo (one-stringed violin) solo in this hip new remix from Ex-Centric Sound System's founding member.
Bombay Dub Orchestra: "Compassion" (Earth Mix)
Remixed by: Adam Lamprell The Bombay Dub Orchestra is the brainchild of two English musicians, Andrew T. Mackay and Garry Hughes, who wanted to combine electronic sessions recorded in the UK with orchestral sessions recorded in Bombay India. On their self-titled debut, the duo recorded with the cream of Bombay's Indian classical music scene. Here, their lush brand of South Asian orchestral electronica gets the remix treatment from Adam Lamprell. Mid-tempo trip-hop propels a rich tapestry of orchestral strings in "Compassion," with occasional wisps of Indian and Western instruments and subtle hints of '60s cinema.
Charanga Cakewalk: "El Ballad de Jose Campos" (2 Vatos Remix)
Remixed by: Michael Ramos Recorded at The Cumbia Lounge in West Austin, this previously all-instrumental piece is a look back at a 1976 incident in Houston where a Mexican youth was picked up by the police, beaten, handcuffed, and thrown off of a bridge into a bayou, where he drowned. The officers were charged, fined one dollar and put on probation. This track is a reflection on what might have become of Jose Campos Torres had he not been killed so recklessly.
Smadj: "Rouge-Violet" (Smadj Remix)
Remixed live by: Smadj "Rouge-Violet" was a part of Smadj's third album, Take It and Drive. Performing with different teams of musicians including Laurent de Wilde, Cheick Tidjane Seck, Malik Mezzadri, Dierdre Dubois, Peirre Fruchard, Artkonik, Dom Farkas, and Rokia Traoré, Smadj would play the same repertoire but in a different way each time depending on the team he worked with. Improvisation with electronica was the goal of these meetings, playing the computer like an instrument, pushing them in one direction or another to create a new universe around them.
Eccodek: "Juju in This Dub"
Remixed by: Eccodeck "Juju in This Dub" features the vocals of Nigerian Bamidele Bajowa and the gorgeous kora playing of Malian griot Mansa Sissoko. The whole performance is sewn together by the multi-instrumentalist and producer Andrew McPherson. His textured keyboard parts and thick, reggae-influenced bass grooves set up a foundation on which both Mansa and Bamidele confidently work their magic. Together the three join hands to create a dub-inflected cross cultural postcard.
Nortec Collective: "Olvidela Compa"
Remixed by: Rosco The already chilled-out Nortec Collective track "Olvidela Compa" ("Forget About It, Brother") takes an even more laid-back turn on this bass-heavy remix by Mexico City electronic act Rosco.
Ojos de Brujo: "Feedback" (Nitin Sawhney Remix)
Remixed by: Nitin Sawhney Among the 14 tracks on Barcelona-based band Ojos de Brujo's latest release, Techarí, is "Feedback," a composition built around one of the most exciting rhythms particular to Flamenco music: the bulería. The remix track is a unique collaboration with the innovative London-based Asian artist Nitin Sawhney, and features various musical influences and instruments from India, the Middle East, and Spain. All are woven around Marina Abad's flamboyant style of flamenco singing.
12 Smudge- Rouge Violet
13 Bombay Dub Orchestra - Adam Lamprell's Earth Mix of Compassion
14 Ojos de Brujo- Feedback remixed by Nitin Sawhney
15 daniel lanois id
16 Ska Cubano- No Me Desesperes (The Sea Remix)
17 Los Amigos Invisibles- Yo No Se (DJ Afro's Edit)
18 Yerba Buena- Fever Remix
19 Nitin Sawhney id
20 Antibalas - Ja Joosh (My Country) w/Rich Medina & Afrostreet
21 Charanga Cakewalk- El Ballad De Jose Campos Torres 2 Vatos Remix
22 ecodek- Juju In Those Strings (Shivaboom Mix)
23 Karsh Kale- Manifest (Kaushik Ambient Remix)
24 Ex Centric Sound System- Marra (Yossi Fine Primal Remix
25 Niyaz- Dilruba- Traveller 06 compilation
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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)
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)
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