Sippy Cups "I wanted to be Peter Gabriel at the time"

Catchy tunes

Sippy Cups bring kids' fun to county fair

"My professor was telling us what he thought we would end up doing and said to me, 'You should be doing sound and music for kids' cartoons,' " Godwin recalled. "I took it as a great insult. Of course, I wanted to be Peter Gabriel at the time." ...

• magic toast
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Yungchen Lhamo The Voice of Tibet

Yungchen Lhamo The Voice of Tibet

OReilly Theatre July 17th 8pm

Yungchen Lhamo, Tibet’s internationally acclaimed diva and songwriter, will be making a return visit to Ireland in July 2005.

In concert, Yungchen performs a cappella and her beautifully evocative voice never fails to mesmerise her audiences – as those who attended her concerts in Limerick and Dublin last November can testify.

Born in Lhasa, her name was given to her when she was a baby by a Tibetan lama and translates as ‘Goddess of Song’ (or Melody). At the age of five Yungchen was sent with her family to a labour camp by the occupying Chinese authorities; her two eldest brothers died of malnutrition. She was brought up, and taught to sing, by her maternal grandmother, aunt and mother. At 13 years old, she had to begin working in a factory for a 60-hour week.

In 1989 she escaped from Tibet by walking the dangerous 1,000-mile journey across the Himalayas to reach Dharamsala, India, where she was encouraged to use her vocal talents by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and continued singing with the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.

She later moved to Australia, where in 1995 she first performed with WOMAD (World of Music Arts and Dance) and produced her first CD, ‘Tibetan Prayer’, which was released through Natural Symphonies and won the Australian Recording Industry Award for Best World/Folk/Traditional Album.

Two more critically acclaimed albums, ‘Tibet, Tibet’ (1996), and ‘Coming Home’ (1998), have been released by Peter Gabriel’s Real World label. In September 2005, Real World will release her much-awaited fourth album, ‘Ma’ (‘Ah-ma’ is Tibetan for ‘Mother’), on which Annie Lennox and Joy Askew make guest appearances.

Yungchen’s music also appeared on Natalie Merchant’s platinum-selling ‘Ophelia’, the compilation release ‘Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music’, and on the soundtrack of Brad Pitt’s movie, ‘Seven Years in Tibet’. She now lives in New York.
...

http://www.oreillytheatre.com/

Musician has Jolie time at Live8 event

Award-winning Hounslow musician Johnny Kalsi introduced a host of celebrities at a Live 8 concert on July 2.

Mr Kalsi, previously a member of popular band The Asian Dub Foundation, co-hosted the event with Peter Gabriel at the Eden Project in Cornwall. He introduced Angelina Jolie, Dido and other superstars as part of the international effort to raise awareness about world poverty.

He said: "It was just incredibly electric and a brilliant venue. The crowd were really fired up when I said I'd like to thank all people at the smaller event in Hyde Park for turning out it made them feel the event was so special."

"I was very lucky to be allowed 45 minutes talking to Angelina and it was great to spend time with her son, Maddox."It was just an ordinary, humble conversation and I'd invited her round for a curry in Hounslow by the end!"There was obviously a serious intent behind the day, but I really enjoyed myself as well and donated all the expenses I was given to charity."

Mr Kalsi recently set up the Dhol Foundation, an institute dedicated to promoting performance of the Indian dhol drum.He claims his Hounslow roots are responsible for his love of the instrument, as he liked annoying intolerant neighbours by playing one as a teenager.

Ozomatli - Catch the Live Vibe!

With a reputation as one of the best live bands around and with a growing band of fans to prove it Ozomatli are coming back to give UK audiences a treat. Check out the forthcoming tour dates - including the two V Festivals. Unmissable!

Ozomatli's Real World Records website

The band's home website

listen/ecoutez

Kate McGarry - Mercy Streets -

She draws from many genres

Kate McGarry covers a lot of territory on her recent CD, ''Mercy Streets" her second for Palmetto Records.

There's the Peter Gabriel tune ''Mercy Street" from which the CD more or less takes its name. There are arty pop tunes by Joni Mitchell (''Chelsea Morning") and Björk (''Joga"). A handful of jazz standards.

A Brazilian piece by McGarry favorite Toninho Horta. And original compositions by McGarry (''Going In"), her guitarist-husband, Keith Ganz (''Snow Picnic"), and the CD's guest pianist on two tracks, Fred Hersch (his own ''Stars" and Björk's ''Joga")....

Mercy Street - MP3

Womad au theatre antique

Pour la troisième fois Womad, le festival de world-music créé par Peter Gabriel et Thomas Brooman sera à Taormina.

Le 'Womad en Sicily', présenté au salon des congrès, commencera demain au Théatre Antique de la splendide cité. Jusqu'à samedi alterneront sur place des artistes provenant de chaque partie du monde.

Parmi ceux-ci, le guitariste Al Di Meola, le "griot" africain Geoffrey Oryema, l'ex-Police Stewart Copeland avec son orchestre de 24 musiciens et Van der Graaf Generator reformé. À Taormina il y aura même le Co-fondateur et directeur artistique de Womad Thomas Brooman.

"Le théatre grec de Taormina - a déclaré Brooman - est l'emplacement idéal pour cette musique. Chaque anné qui passe voit grandir le festival. Je suis enthousiaste, tous les artistes sont de haut niveau et chacun a une particularité qui le rend unique ".

La note de Peter Gabriel (Co- Fondateur) :

"En 1980, lorsque pour la première fois nous avons organisé une festival dédié à la world music, j'étais plein d'enthousiasme et d'idealisme, avec un peu d'optimisme naïf et même d'ignorance. Chaque WOMAD a été une aventure, et dans tous les festivals auxquels j'ai participé j'ai fait des rencontres et des découvertes merveilleuses.

C'est un festival qui croît en diversité, il fleurit sur nos différences. Lorsque tu te trouves avec des personnes dont tu ne comprends pas la langue, et qui proviennent d'un pays dans lequel pas tu as jamais été, tu trouves une mode pour créer et vivre la musique ensemble avec elles, c'est quelque chose de fantastique.

Beaucoup de personnes ont expérimenté cela dans ce festival. c'est même pour cela que nous avons une équipe d'organisateurs fantastiques, des personnes qui année après année combattent toutes sortes de frustration en ce qui concerne la communication, les autorités preposées à l'immigration et les problèmes linguistiques pour faire de sorte que ces évènements uniques aient lieu.

La musique, l'art et la dance sont des langages universels. S'ouvrir ainsi aux voix de tant de cultures est vraiment une bonne façon pour explorer le côté humain de la globalisation. La musique, en particulier, peut ouvrir des brèches dans les coeurs et prouver avec clarté la stupidité et l'ignorance de chaque forme de racisme."

Splendeurs d'Afrique : Daby Touré à Montreal

14 juillet 2005 , Ralph Boncy

Daby Touré : Splendeurs d'Afrique

"Je chante en soninké, en pular et en langue imaginaire. [...] Avec les quotas, la loi t'oblige quasiment à chanter dans la langue officielle si tu veux être diffusé."

Daby Touré, une des belles exclusivités du FINA cette année, nous rend une première visite à Montréal. Belle gueule, bonne vibe, révélation du Womex en 2004, le chanteur arrive chez nous avec son excellent album Diam.

C'est l'histoire d'un jeune Africain né en Mauritanie. Son père, Hamidou Seita Touré, médecin dans un village perdu, joint en 1989 ses frères du groupe phare du Sénégal, les Touré Kunda.

Après avoir passé une partie de son enfance au Mali en Casamance, entre le désert sablonneux et les berges paisibles de la rivière Sénégal, Daby s'envole pour Paris à 18 ans avec dans le cœur du vécu, de la musique et beaucoup d'ambition. Mais malgré une voix superbe et un évident talent de guitariste, personne ne veut le signer en France. Alors, il s'exile en Angleterre où l'étiquette Real World l'accueille à bras ouverts.

"Je chante en soninké, en pular et en langue imaginaire. Ils voulaient tous que je traduise mes chansons en français. C'est pas facile! Avec les quotas, la loi t'oblige quasiment à chanter dans la langue officielle si tu veux être diffusé. Tant mieux pour la France! Mais Paris n'est plus la plaque tournante des musiques du monde. C'est l'idée qu'on s'était faite il y a quelques années quand la gauche est arrivée avec des Jack Lang et Mitterrand. Il suffit de regarder le paysage télévisuel français aujourd'hui. C'est évident qu'ils n'ont plus besoin de nous comme en 80! Il nous faut d'autres moyens."

Réaliste, le garçon! Après avoir mis fin au duo Touré Touré dans lequel il partageait la vedette avec son cousin Omar, Daby devient de plus en plus déterminé. Il a écouté Weather Report, Sixun, Pat Metheny et rêve d'une nouvelle fusion africaine moderne, un peu à la manière de Baaba Maal, mais avec une touche encore plus personnelle, plus originale, qu'il travaille pendant trois ans avec un complice branché: Cyrille Dufay.

"Mes influences et mes modèles sont toutes les musiques que j'ai écoutées depuis que je suis petit, mais il y a une figure dominante qui impose le respect, c'est Bob Marley. Je ressens profondément ses moindres vibrations et il me semble que je comprends tout ce qu'il fait."

Rien d'étonnant, en effet. Ses chansons parlent des bergers, de la paix, de liberté. Elles disent aussi combien il est important de respecter ses racines et celles des autres. L'une, Mansa, rend hommage à l'empereur Almany Samory Touré, qui a défendu le peuple wassoulou contre l'invasion occidentale.

"C'est complètement autre chose sur scène! Beaucoup plus méchant et rock'n'roll que le disque en tout cas. J'arrive avec deux percussionnistes et un bassiste."

Capable d'affronter la scène tout seul avec sa voix très étendue et son jeu de guitare remarquable sur le plan rythmique, Daby débarque avec du renfort, question de casser l'humeur très planante de son premier album aux allures méditatives. Il tenait à nous prévenir. Nous voici avertis!

Le 18 juillet
Au Club Balattou

Staind grows but stays true to its roots

Thursday, July 14, 2005

By GEORGE LENKER
glenker@repub.com

Except for a shaved head or two, Staind doesn't have much in common with art-rock pioneer Peter Gabriel. But that perception may change with the release of Staind's new CD, "Chapter V."

CLICK HERE and listen to the single "Right Here"

Staind is currently touring in advance of the Aug. 9 release and will be at The Dodge Music Center (formerly the ctnow.com Meadows Music Theater) in Hartford Saturday night, opening for 3 Doors Down.

Fans of the Springfield-based hard rock quartet need not worry. Staind isn't changing into a world-beat pop combo. The Peter Gabriel connection comes by way of some of the sonic treatments on the new album, which was produced by Gabriel's longtime-studio wizard, Dave Bottrill.

Bottrill, a Grammy-winning producer and engineer who also counts Tool and King Crimson among his clients, creates an aural landscape where each sound is well articulated. "We really wanted to get as much distinction in the sounds as possible to make it sonically different from our other records," said guitarist Mike Mushok during a telephone interview last week. "That was our goal when we started looking for a producer."

That goal was achieved as Bottrill's pristine sound sculptures allow the details of each part to stand in stark relief against one another. While this sort of precision works well with the polyrhythmic playing of King Crimson and Gabriel, some fans might question whether it complements Staind's often volcanic music.

But Bottrill showed he could wield a sonic sledgehammer as well as a producer's paintbrush. Songs such as "Paper Jesus" and "King of All Excuses" rock as hard as anything the band has ever done.

"He knew what we sounded like and he had an idea of what things should sound like. He was a real stickler but it paid off," Mushok said. "On our last record, we were missing some of the aggressive songs, but this one melds everything we do, the harder songs and the quieter ones. I'm really happy with it." ...

Womad in Taormina

Womad in Taormina

14/07/05
Maceo Parker
Geoffrey Oryema
Mimmo Cuticchio e Ut Comma

15/07/05
Van der Graaf Generator
Stewart Copeland:

La Notte della Taranta
Asteriskos

16/07/05
Al di Meola e Andrea Parodi
Youssou'Ndour

Somali star's road to Eden

By Polly de Blank BBC

African Perspective Performing at Live 8's Africa Calling concert in a traditional dress in the blue and white colours of her national flag, Somali singer Maryam Mursal is pleased that music is once again putting the spotlight on Africa.

Maryam drove a taxi to feed her five children. Her own story is a familiar one in Somalia.

In the early 1990s during the height of the civil war, Maryam - one of Somalia's most enduring stars - fled her country. For more than seven months she and her five children trekked through four countries, until she finally found refuge in the Danish Embassy in Djibouti.

This journey through the East African desert is chronicled in her song Qax (Refugee), and although it is based on her personal experience, it resonates with Somalis all over the world.

"Because so many Somalis are refugees, when they listen to that song they cry. They weep because we all have the same story."

But, before she became a refugee, Maryam lived a very different life. From the age of 16 she shared a lifestyle with the rich and powerful of Mogadishu as a singer at the National Theatre. It was only after singing her song Ulimada that her life started crashing around her.

Status lost

Ulimada is ostensibly a love song but its hidden meaning - criticising the Somali government - was not lost on her audience. Overnight she lost her job, her status, and her livelihood. Still, she does not regret speaking out against the regime that was in power at the time.

"We as artists are responsible if something wrong is taking place in our society. It's very important for us to speak up, even though we may have to do it with a double tongue. We have to speak out for our people."

One of the few assets she managed to salvage from her previous life was a car. As a single mother, she quickly had to find an alternative source of income in order to feed her children. So she became a taxi driver. In fact she became the first female taxi driver in Somalia.

Unfinished song

"Everyone who got in my taxi used to ask me: 'Why did such a big star like you become a taxi driver?' They thought I must be a very bad, low class person because as we say in Somalia, 'Everyone wants to reach the top of the stairs in their career.' People wanted to know why I'd fallen all the way to the bottom."

Taxi driving is not the first barrier that Ms Mursal has broken through.

"I was always the first woman. I was the first woman singing Somali jazz, I was the first star, and I was the first to drive a taxi! I was the first to drive a lorry, and now I'm the first woman from Somalia to have an international record. "I want to show Somalis that women can be anything they want, even taxi drivers."

Last weekend, Maryam was at the Eden Project in the south-west of England to take part in Africa Calling, one of the Live 8 concerts which aimed at making poverty, especially in Africa, a thing of the past.

"I thank Bob Geldof and Peter Gabriel for organising Live 8 and giving me the opportunity to use the power of my music for the good of Africa."

She says she hopes to go back to Somalia, as soon as the political and security situation there has stabilised.

"I will be the first person to go back. At the moment my song Qax isn't finished yet. I'm still a refugee. I'm still travelling. "I don't know where I'll be next year, or in 10 years. It's only when we come back to Somalia that the song will be finished."

Le bonheur retrouvé de Judith Bérard

photo Danièle Francis

Après avoir traversé des moments difficiles, Judith Bérard renoue avec la sérénité. "J'ai appris beaucoup sur moi et sur la vie au cours des dernières années", dit-elle.

Le bonheur retrouvé de Judith Bérard

Michel Tassé , La Voix de l'Est, GRANBY

Elle est là, toute fraîche et souriante, à poser gentiment pour la photographe. À regarder Judith Bérard, qui a franchement l'air épanoui, on ne dirait pas que les dernières années ont été si difficiles....

"Peter Gabriel est mon idole et il a déjà dit, un jour, qu'on ne peut avancer dans la vie sans douleur, mentionne celle qui approche la mi-trentaine. Et de la douleur, tu sais, il y en a eu beaucoup... Je me suis réveillée, un matin, et j'avais tout perdu. Véritablement tout. Tu sais, c'est très dur quand tu te rends compte qu'il ne reste plus rien de ce dans quoi tu avais tant investi..."Judith ira même jusqu'à parler de "tsunami personnel". Ça vous donne une idée...

Video-game music goes on tour

Orchestras trade Mozart for 'Myst.'

....

Video Games Live is the brainchild of composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall. "Tommy and I noticed that the music in the games just kept getting better and better," says Wall, who was a producer for rock acts David Byrne and Peter Gabriel before he switched over and wrote themes for the "Myst" and "Splinter Cell" series. "And we started to see that people who played the games were really paying attention to the music, and that they were on the Internet or wherever asking where they could get ahold of a CD of the game soundtracks," which Wall described as "radio for the 21st century." So they decided to gather together the best work and take it on a national tour.