Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook: Mustt Mustt & Night Song

Singer Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan collaborated with Canadian guitarist Michael Brook on these two outstanding albums in the early to mid 1990s, aiming to reach a cosmopolitan audience by blending his traditional, religious singing style with western production values. During these years, Khan's work made successful connections in broader, secular settings throughout the world, and he was featured on Bollywood and even Hollywood soundtracks (the latter including Natural Born Killers and Dead Man Walking).

By the end of the decade, Khan was widely recognised as the greatest qawwali (sufi devotional songs) singer of his era, partly due to his adventurous approach of blending various singing styles, ranging from commercial movie songs to revered Indian classical material. By this time, he was also a popular choice for innovative, club culture production artists, turntablists and vocal sample hunters, including Massive Attack, Talvin Singh, Bally Sagoo and Peter Gabriel.

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook
Mustt Mustt
Real World
1990

Recorded with six years between them, Mustt Mustt (Real World, 1990) and Night Song (Real World, 1996) give an insight into a unique crossover project—Khan distancing himself somewhat from the traditional qawwali setup to explore Indian classical alaap and sargam forms, and Brooks excising eastern instruments for a more guitar, bass and drum laden ambient approach.

Khan popularized the khayal (vocal improvisation on a short verse) style of singing in qawwali more than any of his predecessors. Though khayal is a genre in Indian classical repertoire singing, its extensive use in Nusrat's qawwalis helped him garner praise from world music enthusiasts beyond Pakistan. Because Khan often challenged the strict regime of scale and structure followed under Indian classical music, his name doesn't frequently appear in the purist's list of Indian classical greats; yet he is still the most popular traditional singer among the masses.

With Mustt Mustt and Night Song, Khan comes out clear with his uninhibited aspiration to delve into classical style and distance, if not altogether to shun his traditional style of singing. On Mustt Mustt, he uses significant qawwali verses in just the first two songs (”Mustt Mustt (Lost In His Work)” and “Nothing Without You (Tery Bina);” the rest of the album is his adventurous foray into improvised singing in the khayal genre. What's most interesting is his extensive use of taranas (gibberish syllables) evident in songs like “Taa Deem” (Mustt Mustt) and “Avenue” (Mustt Mustt).

There are other subtle, and innovative, elements on these albums worth mentioning, including Khan's technique of note-blending, as highlighted on “Intoxicated” and “Sweet Pain”(Night Song) and “Tracery”(Mustt Mustt); melodic alaaps like “Lament” and “Night Song” (Night Song) and “Sea Of Vapours”(Mustt Mustt); and vocal vibratos in “Crest”(Night Song), “The Game”(Mustt Mustt) and “Fault Lines”(Mustt Mustt).

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook
Night Song
Real World
1996

Night Song, recorded six years after Mustt Mustt, which reached number 4 on the Billboard world music chart, is a much more mature album. Khan gives more space to guitarist Brook, who complements it with succinct bass and drums parts. Night Song has an underlying theme of longing and lament; it also has concrete verses, in contrast to the non-figurative, abstract singing featured on Mustt Mustt, and “build-up” tempos which reach a climax on each song. It's interesting to note Khan singing on occasions at a slightly faster tempo than the bass and drums, creating a wonderful, mystical ambience that's instantly adorable.

Yet Khan's singing is seemingly effortless here, and seems to defy the genre itself—high-tempo, high-octave, khayal singing requires a fair amount of dynamism and Khan does this wonderfully on each song. Night Song could have been a career highlight if Khan hadn't sung it outside the traditional style he's best known for, and thus having it labeled a fusion album.

These are two very important albums—insistent yet melancholic, sacrilegious for purists, innovative for radicals—with Khan at his adventurous best.

Tracks and Personnel

Mustt Mustt

Tracks: Mustt Mustt (Lost In His Work); Nothing Without You (Tery Bina); Tracery; The Game; Taa Deem; Sea Of Vapours; Fault Lines; Tana Dery Na; Shadow; Avenue; Mustt Mustt [Massive Attack Remix].

Personnel: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: vocals; Michael Brook: production.

Night Song

Tracks: My Heart, My Life; Intoxicated; Lament; My Comfort Remains; Longing; Sweet Pain; Night Song; Crest.

Personnel: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: vocals; Michael Brook: production.

By Bhasker Gupta (All About Jazz)

Big names are back - BBB

PETER GABRIEL: One of English rock’s grandees, Peter has been preparing his world music album Big Blue Ball for 15 years. Guests include Sinead O’Connor and Natacha Atlas.

By SIMON COSYNS The Sun

Djivan Gasparyan, The Soul of Armenia

(Network/Harmonia Mundi, two CDs) The Soul of Armenia

Djivan Gasparyan is both the best-known musician in Armenia and the greatest exponent of the duduk, the haunting and atmospheric apricot-wood oboe that was the preserve of local shepherds until he brought it to international concert halls. His music has been used in films from Gladiator to Dead Man Walking. Now, as Gasparyan prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday, comes a well-packaged two-CD retrospective covering his career since 1989, when Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel helped promote him in the west.

What is most remarkable about this set is the sheer variety - Gasparyan plays with a flamenco guitarist, string orchestras, and a large Armenian ensemble. There's even an intriguing, drifting track in which he accompanies both the piano work of Michael Brook, and the extraordinary improvised singing of Pakistan's greatest Sufi Qawwali star, the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. But the finest tracks, some recorded only last year, feature him with minimal accompaniment and demonstrating the duduk's gently mournful charm.

Robin Denselow/ Friday January 4, 2008/ The Guardian

Harry Potter goes to Mogadishu

That Daniel Radcliffe's in such a hurry to grow up. First, there was his full-frontal showing in a London revival of Peter Shaffer's Equus, and... well, until he commits a live sex act or eats one of those six-pound steaks in one sitting, I think he's effectively shattered his boy wizard image for the time being.

And while he's still got a couple more o' those Harry Potter movies to make, it looks like he's going to keep after that whole adult acting career thing with the lead role in Journey, a biopic about the life of British photographer Dan Eldon, who was stoned to death in Mogadishu in 1993 (whilst attempting to take pictures of the aftermath of an errant attempt by the UN to assassinate General Farah Aideed). Eldon, who was only twenty-two when he was murdered, has been immortalized through his journals, which were published a decade ago as The Journey is the Destination. According to The Guardian, Baz Luhrmann and Peter Gabriel circled the project for a time before it fell to Bronwen Hughes.

Hughes is an interesting hire. After an unrewarding Hollywood dalliance (which spawned Harriet the Spy and Forces of Nature), she made the gritty, very solid Stander. If there's a decent film to be made from Jan Sardi's adaptation, I think Hughes could deliver something fairly memorable. And, judging from her collaboration with Thomas Jane, I think she could coax a fairly indelible performance out of Radcliffe. Failing that, perhaps she can get him to whip it out again.

Journey is in the very nascent stages of development, so this is all subject to change.


01.03.08 By Jeremy Smith Contributing sources: The Guardian

Wizard to play the magician of Somalia

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe lands role as a war photographer whose work has been widely acclaimed since his tragic death From Hogwarts school to the hell of Somalia's civil war, Daniel Radcliffe is to make his biggest career leap yet. The Harry Potter actor has seen off competition from Hollywood's A-list to star in the true story of a young British photographer who met a tragic end.

The film, Journey, will see Radcliffe play Dan Eldon, a 22-year-old who was among four journalists stoned to death by a mob in Mogadishu in July 1993. Eldon left behind 17 journals, thousands of pictures and a legacy that has won admirers including Madonna and Julia Roberts.

His mother, Kathy, says that she has rejected numerous bids for film rights to the story, and met but turned down leading actors including Orlando Bloom, Heath Ledger, Ryan Phillippe and Joaquin Phoenix, all of whom were eager to play the part. But then she sat down with 18-year-old Radcliffe and his parents at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.

'The timing is right and the person is right and I couldn't ask for more,' said Kathy, a journalist, producer and activist. 'He has portrayed a magician for years and my Dan was a different kind of magician. There are parallels in the two Dans' lives. Daniel Radcliffe is a poet, he keeps journals and he's half Jewish. He has a puckishness, sense of humour and energy inside him which remind me of Dan.'

For Radcliffe the role marks a career watershed. He appeared in a TV adaptation of David Copperfield before winning the prize part of Harry Potter in the series of blockbusters based on JK Rowling's novels. But in the past year he has sought to escape Hogwarts' shadow by taking to the West End stage in Equus, appearing nude in one scene, and acting in the film December Boys and the TV drama My Boy Jack

Journey is likely to be a tough test because of the extent to which Eldon and his work still fascinate and inspire. The compilation of his richly textured journals, The Journey is the Destination, has sold nearly 200,000 copies since its publication 10 years ago, and his work now has a permanent home at a new gallery in New York. His mother said that in preserving his legacy she and her daughter, Amy, have enjoyed the support of Trudie Styler, the wife of musician Sting, Alanis Morissette, the singer-songwriter, and Rosie O'Donnell, the comedian and talk show host.

Director Baz Luhrmann and musician Peter Gabriel both expressed an interest in the film, she added. 'Julia Roberts has bought two of Dan's works and been wonderful. Madonna said, "I want to be a Dan fan".'

Eldon was born in Hampstead, north London, to Kathy, who is American, and a British father, from whom she is now divorced. When Dan was seven the family moved to Kenya and he fell in love with Africa. After spells in America and travels worldwide, he followed a family friend to northern Kenya where she photographed refugees of the civil war in neighbouring Somalia. Horrified, Eldon also took photographs which were published in Kenya's leading newspaper.

In 1992, he went to Somalia on assignment for Reuters. He witnessed American and UN troops launch 'Operation Restore Hope', first with a sense of relief, then growing frustration, and his pictures helped draw international attention to the developing crisis. On 12 July 1993, he was due to leave Mogadishu - his bags were packed and his replacement had arrived.

But then UN forces bombed a house where they believed the warlord General Farah Aideed was present. Instead, 74 innocent men, women and children were killed and more than 100 injured. Survivors raced to the journalists' hotel and asked them to take pictures. Travelling in convoy, under the protection of Somalis, Eldon and a group of colleagues went to the bombed compound.

As they began to take photographs, the crowd erupted in anger at what had happened and attacked the journalists. Eldon and his colleagues - Hansi Krauss, Anthony Macharia of Reuters and Hos Maina of the Associated Press - were surrounded, stoned and beaten to death.

'I was in LA, working on a film, and I awakened to this telephone call which changed my life,' Kathy recalled. 'We flew to London and then to Kenya for the service, still feeling numb at that stage. I thought he was gone for ever but I've always felt the tremendous energy of his spirit. I couldn't heal myself until I transformed the horror of Dan's death into some positive things.'

Journey will be directed by Bronwen Hughes, whose films include Harriet the Spy and Forces of Nature, and scripted by Jan Sardi, who gained an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for Shine. Kathy is yet to announce a producer but hopes to start filming next year in Kenya, as Somalia remains too dangerous. Profits will go to the Creative Visions Foundation.

'The film is a teen coming of age story - entertaining, funny, dark at times - but ultimately triumphant,' Kathy said. 'People will leave the cinema feeling inspired, thinking: "Oh my God, let me start living right now!" It won't be pious. We're not trying to idolise him or make him or a hero.'

She said she and Amy burst into tears the first time they contemplated Dan being portrayed on screen. 'A lot of older actors wanted to play this character but we resisted because Dan was a boy emerging into manhood. If you're an established leading actor then you're too old for this role,' Kathy said.

'Daniel Radcliffe is the first time we've found a young enough actor with a global following. We love the way he's a global soul. He's travelled the world and feels comfortable in the world and hasn't been corrupted by Hollywood.'

David Smith in New York/Sunday December 30, 2007/The Observer

Les Alpes suisses, rendez-vous glamour

Verbier

L'autre station valaisanne «People» du moment, c'est Verbier, devenu le terrain de jeu favorti des Anglais, en particulier. Le milliardaire Richard Branson, fondateur du groupe Virgin, qui y skie depuis de nombreuses années, y a d'ailleurs désormais un hôtel. Il devrait y accueillir ces jours le chanteur Peter Gabriel.

Autre chanteur britannique, James Blunt a déposé ses papiers dans la station du Val de Bagnes. Celle-ci a accueilli l'an dernier les acteurs Hugh Grant, Juliette Binoche, Christian Clavier et José Garcia. Le fils de Caroline de Monaco, Pierre Casiraghi, a été photographié récemment... alors qu'il se battait dans les rues de Verbier!

Les people anglais ont choisi Verbier

Colonisée chaque hiver par des milliers de riches touristes anglais, la station bagnarde de Verbier est également le repaire favori des stars du showbiz et de la finance. «Les personnalités viennent à Verbier pour le domaine skiable, mais surtout pour la discrétion dont elles jouissent. Ici, ce sont des gens comme les autres, explique-t-on à l'office du tourisme. C'est ce qui fait la particularité de la station. On peut tomber sur une personnalité comme ça, au détour d'une rue ou sur les pistes.»

Alors aujourd'hui, qui peut-on espérer croiser? Malheureusement, pas Hugh Grant, qui était présent la semaine dernière. Mais Sir Richard Branson. Le milliardaire britannique serait installé dans son nouvel hôtel, The Lodge, où logerait également son pote Peter Gabriel. Et puis James Blunt. Le chanteur est un habitué des lieux. «Il venait déjà quand il était militaire, rappelle une habitante de la station. L'armée anglaise envoyait ses éléments les plus méritants en vacances à Verbier. A l'époque, il se produisait déjà dans certains bars.»

Spare us the liner notes

Saul Williams released a low-quality album as a free download in 2007

You don't need to hold an album to love it

When Radiohead made their new album, In Rainbows, available for download in October at any price fans cared to set, you'd think from the ink spilled by drooling journalists that they'd managed to revolutionize music's distribution system in one fell swoop. Lo and behold, Thom Yorke & co. will be selling the album in CD form on New Year's Day -- and it's not just for diehards from the musical stone age who want physical artefacts. As it turns out, Radiohead played something of a fast one on their fans at the outset by offering them MP3 files to download at the bitrate of 160 kbps (which is noticeably below CD quality) without alerting them to this first. If you want the music in reasonable quality, you'll have to pay (in many cases, again).

Less dubious is the model set out by Saul Williams, who is making his excellent new Trent Reznor-produced album, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust, available online either free (with lossy files) or for $5 (with maximum-bitrate MP3s or lossless, CD-quality files). No catch, no hidden fees!

Both In Rainbows and Niggy Tardust prove that, even as physical formats become less important to the way music is released, there's something to be said for the idea of the album itself as a collection of related tracks.

When he was launching his On-Demand Distribution system for music files in 2000, I asked Peter Gabriel if the advent of downloading spelled a death sentence for the album; he told me it wouldn't, as people still want narrative structure in their art. Such, indeed, seems to be the case, whether figuratively (with a set of tracks that "takes you on a journey" or a DJ mix) or literally (witness the spate of recent concept albums with storylines, from Jay-Z's American Gangster to Reznor's Year Zero). Downloading should, with any luck, spell the death of the cynically conceived "album" consisting of one or two singles and a whack of filler.

Now all we need is a better distribution system with high-quality, no-DRM MP3s and content from various labels and musicians at reasonable prices. The Songwriters' Association of Canada's proposal to impose a monthly fee on Internet users for legal file-sharing, while problematic for those who are uninterested, might lead to just that. Industry Minister Jim Prentice would do well to consider it -- anything is better than the U.S.'s restrictive, law-suit-heavy model. And after all, taking legal action against their customers is the best way for the major labels to speed their own extinction.

MIDEM Talent Only’s 30 Top Artists

Thirty artists and groups have been selected to perform at MIDEM Talent Only next month. A new flagship event at MIDEM for the discovery and development of artists, MIDEM Talent Only offers four days of pop/rock, jazz and classical concerts, conferences and a range of networking events. Headliners include The Black and White Years, produced by Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison, Troy Von Balthazar, former front-man of Chokebore and Finnish act 22-Pistepirkko. Classical and jazz performers include rising stars like pianist Paddy Milner, saxophonist Géraldine Laurent, trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf, Slovenian pianist Bojan Gorisek and violinist Diego Tosi.

They will be joined by some key industry players at MIDEM Talent Only's conferences, including Peter Gabriel both in his capacity as artist and in his role as head of the Real World label, Domino Records founder Laurence Bell, and celebrated producer Tony Visconti.

The event has already created strong buzz in the industry, with some 270 acts participating via the Sonicbids on-line promotion platform. The MIDEM Talent Only concerts will be held from Sunday 27 to Wednesday 30 January, throughout the day and into the evening, and will be open to both professionals and the general public. The MIDEM international music market will take place in Cannes from 27 to 31 January 2008.

A New Deal For Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel is restarting his record label, Real World, with a new collaborative album and a slew of reissues. Newly distributed in the United States by Ryko, Real World will make its entire catalog available online and rerelease some of its albums on CD, with bonus material. The label’s first new project is Big Blue Ball, a group that includes Mr. Gabriel and Karl Wallinger of World Party.

The album, due in May, has been in the works for 15 years, and the first single, “Whole Thing,” went on sale on iTunes last Tuesday. Real World’s catalog includes albums by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sheila Chandra, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Papa Wemba and others.

GIG OF THE YEAR

(...) Historic return flight for Zeppelin

LED ZEPPELIN 02 ARENA, LONDON

A staggering two million fans applied for the 18,000 tickets up for grabs for the gig. The guest list - which included Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, U2 and Oasis - read like a Who's Who? of Rock. The Zep reunion was a huge gamble... but this historic show more than lived up to the hype. Jimmy Page proved he's one of the greatest guitarists of all time and singer Robert Plant was on fire. Songs such as Black Dog, Trampled Underfoot and Kashmir were stunning and still relevant. Fans will be talking about this show for years to come. (...)

Peter's December Update

In the last update of the year Peter talks about last month's 46664 concert on South Africa, the long journey of the Big Blue Ball project and a night at the Led Zeppelin concert at London's O2 Arena; which gave him his first trip to The Dome since working on OVO for the Millenium celebrations. We feature 'Exit Through You' and 'Whole Thing' from the forthcoming Big Blue Ball along with archive footage of the conception of 'Whole Thing' through the collaborations in The Workroom here at Real World, and excerpts of 'The Nest That Sailed The Sky' from OVO at the Millenium Dome.

Marrakech : Le festival international du film s’impose

La levée de rideau sur l’édition 2007 du FIFM a eu lieu le vendredi 7 décembre avec la présence du président de la Fondation du Festival, SAR le prince Moulay Rachid. D’emblée, un hommage a été rendu à la star de Hollywood Leonardo Dicaprio et au cinéaste marocain Mustapha Derkaoui. (...)

Martin Scorsese et Marrakech

Le réalisateur américain Martin Scorsese a donné une « leçon de cinéma » le samedi 8 décembre dans le cadre du festival international du film de Marrakech. Cette leçon était ouverte aux étudiants et aux professionnels. Rappelons que le festival a rendu hommage à Martin Scorsese en 2005. Depuis, ce grand monsieur de Hollywood qui ne cache plus son amour à Marrakech. C’est un autre « Goytissolo » que la ville ocre est en train de séduire pour le convertir en véritable marrakchi.

Jamaa Lafna en transe

Le dimanche 9 décembre à Jamaà Lafna, le grand public a assisté au concert du groupe Nass El Ghiwane et à la projection du film « Transes » (1981) de la productrice Izza Gennini et du réalisateur Ahmed El Maanouni, en présence du réalisateur Martin Scorsese. Dans La Dernière tentation du Christ, ce dernier a été inspiré par la musique de Nass El Ghiwane qu’il a découvert en effectuant des repérages au Maroc pour ce même film. Peter Gabriel s’en était également inspiré pour composer la musique du film, une musique énergique qui anime les foules.

Izza Génini fidèle à elle-même

C’était une soirée particulière et chaude malgré le froid de ces derniers jours à Marrakech. Les propos de Izza Génini son expressifs pour décrire le moment : « ce soir la place de la rédemption est devenue ‘la place de l’art’ ». Cette casablancaise n’arrête pas à travers ses films documentaires de prouver à sa manière son amour pour son pays et son patrimoine immatériel...Aïta, Malhoun, Gnaouas, Gharnati.

Bouchra Elkhadir

Rossy mettra le feu !

Nuit de la Saint-Sylvestre

Rossy, un nom qui sera difficile à effacer du milieu culturel malgache.

Rossy a quitté le pays en 2002, non face à la conjoncture en ce temps mais suite à une décision personnelle. Quand bien même, il reste une figure emblématique de la musique malgache. Avec l’accordéon, son instrument de prédilection, il continue d’enchanter tout le monde et de faire parler de lui à l’étranger avec son projet " contes " et " angano ".

Après avoir pris la décission de ne vivre entièrement que de la musique, Rossy a tout fait pour devenir le " meilleur ", sa musique, ayant pour source Peter Gabriel, Johnny Clegg et Roger Georges.

Multi instrumentiste, spécialiste de l’accordéon diatonique, Rossy, est un musicien professionnel qui milite pour la reconnaissance de la culture malgache à travers le monde. Son style propre est reconnaissable parmi d’autres. Rossy a inventé le " Tapôlaka " dont il est le roi, un rythme bien malgache mais avec des sonorités d’ailleurs. Il a d’ailleurs ébloui le monde entier en prenant part à des tournées mondiales, notamment avec le " Womad " (groupe world de Peter Gabriel).
Après cinq ans d’absence, il est revenu à Madagascar, en septembre 2007. Pour rendre visite à sa famille mais aussi pour présenter son opus qui s’intitule " Ino vaovao ? ". Lors de cette brève escale au pays natal, il a eu des contacts avec Jaobarison Randrianarivony, Directeur de l’agence Media Consulting qui a organisé les tournées récentes de Jerry Marcoss à Marseille, Paris et Nantes. Ainsi, Rossy jouera au grand complet, c’est-à-dire Mimil (guitare), Liva (basse), Dominika (batterie), Thierry (percussions), Hery (claviers), Fanja et Joséphine (chœurs) seront rejoints par tous les membres restés à Madagascar.

Malheureusement pour les nombreux fans de la Grande Île, ce concert aura lieu en France mais non à Madagascar. Ces grandes retrouvailles auront lieu le 31 décembre 2007, à partir de 22h, au night club " L’Ile Rouge " à Toulouse. Rossy au grand complet finira l’année 2007 en beauté, en compagnie de celles et ceux qu’il a quitté il y a cinq ans. Quant aux fans de Madagascar, espérons que leurs vœux de voir Rossy sur une scène malgache seront exaucés en 2008. Un projet à ce sujet a été évoqué lors du point de presse donné par Rossy, à " La Piscine " de Betongolo, lors de son tès court séjour. Croisons les doigts !

Recueilli par Daddy R.

Beyond Even (1992-2006) Fripp & Eno

Discipline Global Mobile

It’s hard to believe that it’s been thirty-five years since King Crimson’s Robert Fripp teamed with keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Brian Eno for the groundbreaking No Pussyfooting (EG, 1973). That album introduced the concept of Frippertronics to the world; a method of using two tape recorders and one guitar to create an ever-expanding orchestral approach that Fripp would, with the help of increasingly advanced technology, evolve into Soundscapes, featured on albums including the deeply resonant Love Cannot Bear (DGM, 2005). Eno has gone on to become a first-call producer for artists including U2 and Peter Gabriel, as well as a wide-reaching innovator of stylistic markers including Ambient Music.

Fripp & Eno have continued to work together over the years, but (DGM, 2004) was their first release since The Equatorial StarsEvening Star (EG, 1975). The Equatorial Stars was largely the nexus point where Eno’s Ambient Music and Fripp’s Soundscapes met but Beyond Even (1992-2006), a collection of various collaborations over a fifteen-year period, proves Fripp & Eno to be about more than tranquil and largely non-rhythmic aural landscapes. While there’s no shortage of soothing music on these sessions, there’s also some of their most assertive music on record, with the possible exception of the four-part “Healthy Colours” suite, from the compilation The Essential Fripp and Eno (Virgin/EG, 1994).

The first sound heard on Beyond Even is, in fact, the rhythm loop of “Ringing Beat” that is gradually augmented throughout the track. Uncharacteristically propulsive it may be, but it also remains characteristically ethereal, with Fripp’s emergent guitar back in the mix along with multiple sound washes, layered over a repetitive bass pattern. “Sneering Loops” revolves around a distorted guitar line from Fripp that’s rhythmically staggered, creating a sense of unease that gradually builds as the slightest variations are introduced.

The groove-laden but sonically atmospheric “Tripoli” would fit comfortably on one of Fripp’s laboratory-like ProjeKcts. The same can be said for the viscerally rhythmic “The Idea of Decline,” with Fripp emulating a vibraphone before heading into distorted guitar territory, and the closing “Criss Cross in Lust Storm,” with ex-King Crimson touch guitarist Trey Gunn guesting on what is undoubtedly the most jaggedly aggressive piece Fripp & Eno have recorded to date.

There are tracks that approach the ambience of Equatorial Stars, specifically the spacious “Behold the Child” and near-stasis of “Deep Indian Long.” This is music that could only be constructed in the studio, but that shouldn’t suggest sterility or over-consideration. “Timean Sparkles” and “Hopeful Timean”--the latter featuring guest bassist Tim Harries--are Fripp & Eno at their most beautiful.

The initial run of Beyond Even is a limited two-CD set; the first, with all but “Criss Cross in Lust Storm” segued together (this will be the disc used in future single-disc editions); the second, with each track distinct and separate. Either way, Beyond Even is Fripp & Eno’s most diverse album to date, and fans can look forward to their thirty-five year circle made complete when an expanded reissue of No Pussyfooting is released in 2008.


Track Listing: Ringing Beat; Gasp; Sneering Loops; Tripoli 2020; Behold the Child; Timean Sparkles; Dirt Loop; The Idea of Decline; Deep Indian Long; Hopeful Timean; Glass Structure; Voices; Cross Crisis in Lust Storm.

Personnel: Music performed and composed by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp. Tim Harries: bass (10); Trey Gunn: Warr touch guitar (13).

By John Kelman

Soundwaves: This week's music reviews

Want to know why "Jingle Bells" remains a biggie during the holidays? Catch the classic by Johnny Mercer with words you can understand, a big sense of fun and lots of bells. Twelve of these 13 tracks feature traditional favorites that are sure to start a party, even if you happen to be listening by yourself.

Elvis Presley lets us know that "Santa Claus is Back in Town" while Doris Day unleashes all of her considerable vocal charm for "Here Comes Santa Claus ("Right down Santa Claus Lane"). Russ Morgan & His Orchestra then steps up with a frisky "I Want You For Christmas."

Sinead O'Connor reminds us what Christmas is all about with her haunting rendition of "Silent Night." Peter Gabriel accompanies on keyboards. Beauty! These tunes are almost too familiar, but chances are you've never heard them so clearly, especially the older numbers. Each track sounds polished and fresh. A suite of original music from Christophe Beck, the 13th track, reminds us that this is a soundtrack. Right... Start it up again!

- Kay Reynolds, The Pilot

Kaki King Nominated for Golden Globe

Velour Music Group is proud to announce that guitarist and songwriter Kaki King has been nominated for a Best Original Score Golden Globe Award for her contributions to Sean Penn's film Into the Wild. King was nominated for this award alongside her collaborators on the film's soundtrack, Eddie Vedder and Michael Brook. This marks the first time King has been nominated for a Golden Globe. Her music also appears in the recently released film August Rush.

On March 4, 2008, King will be releasing her fourth record. Entitled Dreaming of Revenge, the album was produced by Grammy Award-winning musician and producer Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois). Aside from Penn, King also has a fan in Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, who asked her to duet with him on "Ballad of The Beaconsfield Miners" from the Foos' current album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.

"To have these kinds of opportunities has been amazing," King says. "Just to know that I can walk into a room, pick up a guitar, and play a piece of music that I've never heard before without days of rehearsal - I feel good knowing that I'm being asked to do such challenging things."

Dreaming of Revenge is King's first record since 2006's Until We Felt Red. Red found King branching out with songs that featured electric and pedal-steel guitar, horns, and, for the first time, vocals. The New York Times said the record sounded like "the abstract, dreamy, and hypnotic end of alternative rock." Revenge picks up that thread, continuing her evolution from acoustic instrumentalist to full-fledged, multi-faceted songwriter. Previously, her whispery, ethereal voice was used as mainly another element in her sonic arsenal. This time around, King put more effort into both her vocals and the lyrics, and, as a result, Dreaming of Revenge is King's most accessible record to date.

Look for King to be touring all through 2008 and beyond. Tour dates to be announced soon.

Related Links : Kaki King's Website

December 14, 2007 Press release Source: Big Hassle Media

After hiatus, gentler, jazzier Cole ready for Park City state

Forget all the cowboys. Where had Paula Cole gone? Because fans, after all, didn't want to wait for their lives to be over.

Cole, who was catapulted to stardom by her two 1990s hit singles "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" and "I Don't Want to Wait," performs in Park City Saturday as part of her return to show business after an eight-year retreat. "Eight years in the pop world is like death," said a talkative, open Cole from her New York City home while tending to her 6-year-old daughter. "But I needed a break from entertainment. I was tired of talking about me all the time. My quiet inner voice was telling me that I wasn't happy."

In 1999, Cole had been touring nonstop for years, first with Peter Gabriel as part of his "Secret World Live Tour," then supporting the album for which she won a Grammy for Best New Artist, and finally as one of the linchpins of the Lilith Fair. Wanting to get off the "hamster wheel," she secluded herself in New York, got married and raised a daughter. Cole resisted the itch to write and perform for a long time, she said. But soon it grew too strong. "I was kind of scared, but in a way, I longed for it," she said. "I was missing it. I got a little depressed. I needed that artistic expression."

This summer, she released her first solo studio album since 1999, "Courage." It is a more subdued, jazz-infused turn for the professionally voice-trained Cole, who in the late 1990s was lumped - largely incorrectly - with the alternative singer-songwriter movement that included Sarah McLachlan and Shawn Colvin. "It's a gentle album, more mature," said Cole, who then brought up that she is going through a divorce. "I was going through so much [stuff], but I'm not bitter."

Because Cole now calls herself a single mom, she doesn't want to go on tour for six months at a time. For her Park City concert, she is arranging a babysitter for her daughter, and is flying to Utah just for the weekend. (It helps that she doesn't ski.) Before Cole's self-imposed break, she was known for her painfully honest and unbridled shows, and says she can still pull it off with her 39-year-old body. "When I step out onstage, the adrenaline subsides," she said. "I feel more comfortable to talk. I feel like I'm really in the moment."

By David Burger / The Salt Lake Tribune

Youssou N'Dour by Peter Gabriel

It was dark in that tent in Paris and so hot that condensation dripped from the canvas. Then, cutting through everything, came a voice of liquid gold.

I had gone to see if Youssou N'Dour would be a good artist for WOMAD, the festival of world music, arts and dance we were launching. Back then, in the early '80s, Youssou's music was really known only to fellow Senegalese. I was totally blown away. I loved the grooves, the emotion and the melodies—but most of all, that voice, a passionate instrument.

Soon afterward I traveled to Senegal to see Youssou perform at his old club next to the fish market. This was the beginning of a long musical relationship and a close friendship. I offered him the support slot on two tours, and every time he went out on the stage, it was like the sun breaking through the clouds.

I've watched Youssou, 47, grow effortlessly, as more and more demands are made on him, into a major African leader, pioneering campaigns to improve the spread of technology, working to combat malaria and being involved, too, with Unicef. He is a source of inspiration to me not just as a musician but as a person.

Gabriel, a singer and activist, has won four Grammy Awards

World Music Superstar Angelique Kidjo Receive Grammy Nominations

(...) Produced by the legendary Tony Visconti, DJIN DJIN finds the Benin-born Angelique Kidjo partnering with such luminaries as Josh Groban, Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, Carlos Santana, Joss Stone, Branford Marsalis and Ziggy Marley to create an album which is truly global in scope. The album has received an abundance of critical praise.

The Associated Press stated, "Musical collaborations based on mutual respect can elevate both performer's artistry. Angelique Kidjo packs DJIN DJIN with just these kinds of duets from artists in three words, lush, dense and beautiful", while USA Today said, "the Benin-born singer delivers a thoroughly engaging collection of songs she spans musical cultures with her mesmerizing vocals Kidjo seizes your attention and then keeps you riveted." This year alone, Kidjo has appeared on The Tonight Show, The Late Show With David Letterman and The CBS Saturday Early Show.