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