Mandela's 90th birthday dinner

An array of stars from the sports, music and movie world hit London’s Hyde Park last night for a dinner to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday.

Robert DeNiro, Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, Forest Whitaker and Uma Thurman were among the many A-listers making up the Hollywood contingent, while Annie Lennox, Peter Gabriel and the (brightly-coloured) Sugababes were famous music faces in attendance. Even Queen of the Sofa Oprah Winfrey flew over just for the occasion. (...)

Marie Claire News

Jozéfinn va jazzer en Belgique

par Marine Dusigne sur Clicanoo.com

Un peu de bleu dans le ciel d’intermittence de Jean-Pierre Joséphine. Il s’envolera le 4 août pour Bruxelles, où il représentera La Réunion au Gaume Jazz Festival. La magie du “world doc” Barbiot a opéré !

Il nous servait le café l’an dernier au Sakifo. Laurent Barbiot. Un médecin de Bruxelles, au départ, mais plutôt d’Afrique, du Québec et des Antilles, à l’arrivée. Sa vie de doc sans frontières, depuis des années a toujours été rythmée par les musiques du monde, dont il se fait le promoteur amateur en découvertes coups de cœur émaillant sa route de baroudeur au grand cœur. Sénégal, Congo, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Caraïbes et Réunion, riment pour lui, certes avec des missions de santé publique (il adore son métier) mais aussi avec des noms comme Youssou N’Dour ou Geoffrey Oryema. Le flash musical qui a changé le cours de sa vie a eu lieu en 90, ses études terminées, au contact du premier et de Peter Gabriel, leader de Real World, qui baptise aujourd’hui les musiques dites du monde.

PROMOTEUR DE LA MUSIQUE PAYS

Laurent a alors réussi à conjuguer son job et sa passion, partout où il est passé, entraînant par exemple dans son réseau perso une trentaine de musiciens hutus et tutsis dans le studio londonien de l’ancien leader de Genesis, juste après le génocide du Rwanda. Plus tard, c’est aux côtés de Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan qu’il a eu le coup de foudre pour le sarod, dont il assure aujourd’hui la promotion de l’instrumentiste Asad Qizilbash, de même qu’il s’évertue à faire connaître l’auteur du fameux Lot Boso martiniquais, Kolobast, infirmier et fier de l’être, simplement parce qu’il n’a pas de manager.

En pointillé de sa vie, il s’est mué en homme à tout faire sur le Sakifo, un an après avoir débarqué à La Réunion avec femme (neuropédiatre) et enfants (il en a un de plus aujourd’hui, donc trois). L’idée ? Avoir un pied dans le circuit, pour continuer à valoriser des échanges entre les musiciens de chez lui, d’ici et de partout où il défend, très humainement parlant, les talents.

C’est sur Jean-Pierre Jozéfinn qu’il a jeté son dévolu, lui trouvant toutes les qualités requises pour son entreprise. Contact pris avec les pros du cru, notamment Alain Courbis du Pôle régional des musiques actuelles, aller-retour entre notre petite France de l’océan Indien et son “Plat pays” où il est connu comme le loup blanc, et voilà le résultat d’un premier essai de coopération musicale visant à faire connaître La Réunion en Belgique : Jean-Pierre est l’invité en août du Gaume Jazz Festival au rayon partage et découvertes, statut partagé avec le fameux Steve Loubat : “Une première enthousiasmante”, estime le doc qui a bataillé ferme pour faire aboutir son projet et a mis toute son énergie en décembre à Bruxelles pour imposer son projet lors des “Plaisirs d’hiver” sur la Grand Place où la Réunion était invitée d’honneur. “J’ai eu l’accord de Jean-Pierre Bissot, le directeur du festival, qui est aussi le responsable des Jeunesses musicales en Belgique. Ça tombe bien puisque Joséphine a déjà des liens pédagogiques avec les JMF, où il fait la promotion des instruments de la Réunion. Gaume reste une magnifique ouverture sur les musiques du monde”, explique Laurent, radieux a l’idée de désenclaver un peu la musique pays pour la faire passer dans son “petit royaume”. Le début d’un canal nord-sud où il compte bien faire circuler d’autres musiciens du cru, de Belgique et d’ailleurs

Joseph Arthur : multimédia (entrevue)

Sur Matinternet par Julie Rhéaume

On connaît surtout Joseph Arthur en tant que musicien très prolifique. L'homme est également artiste, poète et blogueur. En juillet, il s'amènera au Québec pour y donner quelques concerts. Showbizz.net s'est entretenu avec le New-yorkais.

Rejoint au téléphone dans la Grosse Pomme, l'homme de 36 ans a la voix grave et rauque de celui qui roule sa bosse dans les cabarets enfumés - et où l'alcool coule à flots - depuis longtemps. Il est aussi loquace, lucide et sympa.

La musique

En carrière, depuis le milieu des années 90, Joseph Arthur a lancé six albums. Le septième, «Temporary People», enregistré avec son groupe The Lonely Astronauts, paraîtra en septembre.

En 2008, il aura également lancé quatre minis albums en une année. Trois sont déjà sur le marché. Le prochain, «Foreign Girls», sortira le 8 juillet. Il comptera alors onze mini albums à son actif.

Le musicien compte aussi dans ses tiroirs plusieurs chansons qui n'ont jamais été enregistrées. Comment fait-il pour être aussi productif? «J'aime tout simplement ce que je fais. Je ne le vois pas comme un travail. Je suis tout simplement mes inspirations. Tout se fait sans efforts», dit-il. Ses sources d'inspiration sont «sans limites». Pour lui, il y a toujours de nouveaux endroits et de nouvelles choses à découvrir.

En concert, Joseph Arthur reprend notamment des pièces des Rolling Stones, de Bob Dylan et de John Lennon. Il dit affectionner tout particulièrement ces artistes. Par contre, il apprécie également des musiciens plus funky comme Sly & The Family Stone et Prince. Il a aussi un faible pour le hip-hop et la musique électronique. Il refuse de se confiner à un seul genre.

Joseph Arthur est de plus un artiste en arts visuels. L'an dernier, il a même ouvert sa propre galerie d'art à Brooklyn : The Museum of Modern Arthur. Il y expose notamment ses oeuvres. S'il devait se consacrer exclusivement à une seule et unique forme d'expression artistique, laquelle choisirait-il ? «Ça dépend... Je ne sais pas... Je dirais que la musique est mon premier amour. Toutefois, il y a des moments lors desquels je n'aimerais que peindre... Mais heureusement, je n'ai pas à me limiter et à faire un tel choix», répond-il.

Peter Gabriel

Joseph Arthur chante sur une pièce de l'album «Big Blue Ball», un projet mené par Peter Gabriel et qui rassemble plusieurs artistes. On l'entend en compagnie de Gabriel et Karl Wallinger sur la chanson « Exit Through You».

«Big Blue Ball» n'est sorti aux États-Unis que depuis le 24 juin. Toutefois, l'album a pris une bonne quinzaine d'années avant d'atterir sur les tablettes des disquaires. «Peter Gabriel prend son temps», lance Joseph Arthur !

Lorsqu'il a rencontré Gabriel il y a douze ans, Joseph Arthur travaillait dans un magasin de guitares, raconte-t-il. Sa carrière n'était pas encore lancée.

L'artiste qualifie le travail effectué pour «Big Blue Ball» de «moment magique». «Nous avons eu bien du plaisir aux studios Real World (de Gabriel)», ajoute-t-il.

Les médias

Des médias prestigieux comme les magazines Rolling Stone et Billboard ont remarqué Joseph Arthur. David Fricke, un journaliste qui travaille pour le premier, l'a notamment encensé. Des publications grand public comme Entertainment Weekly ou USA Today ont aussi parlé de lui.

Comment compose-t-il avec cette attention médiatique? «Vous devez prendre le tout avec un grand de sel. Les médias parlent de moi mais on ne me voit pas. On ne reconnaît pas en public. Je reste assez terre à terre. Ma carrière s'est bâtie lentement. Elle reste underground. Parfois ça me fruste. Parfois, je suis content.»

On lui demande immédiatement quelle est la source de cette frustration. «Lorsque je me produis devant cinquante personnes en Alabama, c'est frustrant… Mais disons que ma carrière me rend plus heureux qu'elle ne me frustre», répond-il.

Spectacles

Le 4 juillet, Joseph Arthur se produira au Club Soda, à Montréal, dans le cadre du Festival de jazz. Le lendemain, il sera sur la scène de l'Impérial de Québec, un spectacle présenté par le Festival d'été. Le 6 juillet, on le verra à l'Auberge Île-du-Repos, à Péribonka.

L'artiste offrira des concerts solos. Seul sur les planches, il avait l'habitude d'avoir recours à des boucles et des gadgets électroniques. Il promet cette fois un spectacle minimaliste, avec «seulement moi, ma guitare et mon harmonica».

Il promet également de revenir au Canada après le lancement de l'album «Temporary People» pour y faire une tournée.

«J'aimerais bien éventuellement vivre (dans votre pays)», dit-il. En a-t-il marre de vivre aux États-Unis, de la politique ou de son président? Il hésite un moment, avant de répondre tout simplement qu'il «aime bien se promener».

Page MySpace de Joseph Arthur

Site Internet de l'artiste

Johnny Clegg : Asibonanga Mandela !

Sur Hit Muse Mag :

Queen, Leona Lewis, Annie Lennox, the Soweto Gospel Choir, Simple Minds, Razorlight, Eminem, U2, Amy Winehouse les Spice Girls, Johnny Clegg et un certain nombre d’invités surprises étaient Vendredi soir sur scène à Hyde Park, pour fêter, au cours d’un giga-concert, les 90 ans de Nelson Mandela. A cette occasion, retour en arrière violent de vingt ans jusqu’en 1988, lorsque Nelson était encore en prison et que les lois racistes de l’apartheid régissaient encore son pays. Rencontre dans l’Afrique du Sud d’alors avec les chants de la libération sur les traces du « zoulou blanc », Johnny Clegg.

C’est fou comme le temps passe, Nelson Mandela célèbre ses 90 printemps en homme libre et en ex-président de son pays l’Afrique du Sud. Ce Vendredi dans le cadre chargé de symbole d’Hyde Park à Londres, là où précisément les Stones avaient rendu leur hommage à Brian Jones l’été de sa mort en 69, une armada de musiciens va entonner « Happy Birthday Mandela ».

Et pourtant, 20 ans auparavant cet homme absolument hors du commun, ce Gandhi Africain était encore un bagnard exilé parmi ses camarades de l’ANC dans son pénitencier de Robben Island, au large de Cape Town. Et déjà des voix de musiciens s’étaient élevées pour réclamer sa libération comme la fin du régime honteux de l’apartheid. En Europe, bien sur avec Peter Gabriel ou les Specials.

Mais, plus original, un groupe multi-racial de l’intérieur, Savuka conduit par Johnny Clegg vocalisait aussi pour la liberté de Mandela. Et cet été 88, son chant « Asibonanga (Mandela) » était repris en France par des millions de Français, tandis que son 33 tours « Third World Child » culminait dans tous les hits avec UN MILLION d’unités vendues. 1 Français sur 50 avait acheté cet album apportant ainsi son soutien à la lutte contre le régime sud-africain qui avait encore assassiné : Dulcie September la représentante à Paris de l’ANC (African National Congress) avait payé de sa vie son engagement à la lutte contre l’apartheid..

Peter Gabriel's Human Rights NGO Appoints Digital Media Corporate Executive as Director

NEW YORK, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Board of Directors of WITNESS (www.witness.org), the international human rights organization co-founded by musician and activist Peter Gabriel, announced the appointment of Yvette J. Alberdingk Thijm as Executive Director.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080625/NYW021)

Alberdingk Thijm is an attorney with nearly two decades of experience in media and new technology. Most recently, she served as Executive Vice President of Content Strategy & Acquisition at Joost, the global online video platform formed by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype and Kazaa. Prior to joining Joost, Alberdingk Thijm was Executive Vice President of Business Affairs for MTV Networks International (MTVNI), where she oversaw business affairs for all of its branded businesses and channels worldwide (outside the United States), including digital media initiatives, audiovisual co-productions, new business development, strategic partnerships and joint ventures.

'Yvette is an exceptional individual, with extraordinary talent, vision and energy who will be a tremendous addition to WITNESS,' said co-founder Gabriel. 'The Board has known Yvette for a number of years and is thrilled that she will be formalizing her role with WITNESS in this way. Her expertise and experience will ensure that WITNESS remains at the forefront of harnessing the potential of visual media and online technologies to catalyze social change.'

Alberdingk Thijm first became involved with WITNESS' work in 2005, as a member of its Board of Directors. As a result, she played a key role in defining the strategic direction of WITNESS' most recent initiative, the Hub, an online video community focused on human rights, where you can upload, watch and share videos, and participate in actions to end abuses.

'I am delighted to join this incredible organization,' said Alberdingk Thijm. 'I look forward to working closely with WITNESS' staff, Board, and partners to fulfill our vision for a just and equitable world where all individuals and communities are able to defend and uphold human rights.'

Alberdingk Thijm will begin her new role at WITNESS on August 1, 2008.

Founded in 1992, WITNESS uses video and online technologies to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. WITNESS empowers people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change. For more information, please visit http://www.witness.org.

SOURCE WITNESS

(Source: PR Newswire )

Peter Gabriel brings world together through music

Photo : Stephen Lovell-Davis

'Big Blue Ball,' which he began in 1991 and due today, features songs in English, Arabic, Congolese, Hungarian, Swahili and Madagascar languages.

By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer June 24, 2008

OK, so cut Peter Gabriel some slack for taking too long to finish an album: "Big Blue Ball," a long-simmering world music project he launched back in 1991, is finally surfacing today.

In the intervening 17 years, he's released four other collections of his music, launched an innovative U.K.-based music download website (www.We7 .com), continued nurturing WOMAD, the world music and dance festival he initiated in 1982 and started a lifestyle-driven site (thefilter.com).

He also assembled The Elders, a group of about a dozen veteran world leaders, including former South African President Nelson Mandela, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, with the aim of bringing their collective experience to bear on the planet's social and political problems.

Meanwhile, "Big Blue Ball" sat. And sat. And sat. But in truth only partly because of Gabriel's many other interests and commitments. In some respects, it's taken nearly two decades for Gabriel and his collaborators to get a lasso around this large-scale effort.

Over the course of four years, Gabriel threw open the doors of his Real World recording studios for a week at a time, 24 hours a day. That way, musicians he'd invited from around the world to participate in WOMAD would have a forum to collaborate during the course of that event on new sounds and new ideas, unencumbered by geographical, musical or budgetary limitations.

Creative, collaborative

"Big Blue Ball" features collaborations between Gabriel and U.S. roots-gospel group the Holmes Brothers (on the album's first single, "Burn You Up, Burn You Down"), Irish singer Iarla O Lionaird and Papa Wemba's Congolese band and Japanese percussionist Joji Hirota with Sinead O'Connor. About half the songs are sung in English, others are in Arabic, Congolese, Hungarian, Swahili and Madagascar languages.

It's eclectic, but there's a rhythmic pulse to most of the tracks that underscores the many-cultures, one-world idea behind the project.

"We knew we only had this collection of people for a limited time, some of them for just two or three days," Gabriel said from his Real World headquarters in Box Wiltshire in the countryside west of London. "So we decided to spend all time recording and performing and waste none of the time sorting it out. With the many, many tapes, which we were still using in those days, it was a bit of a nightmare."

Engineer Richard Chappell, who worked on virtually all the sessions, recalled that "in the first year, nobody quite knew what to do. In the second year, people started to get more excited about what was happening, and by the third time people had really figured it out. We'd have up to 20 different recording sessions going on in various places at the same time. If it wasn't raining, there'd be people set up outside with portable studios."

Gabriel gave the task of sorting through mountains of raw material to Stephen Hague, who has produced albums by Pet Shop Boys, Robbie Williams and others, Chappell and mixing engineer Tchad Blake.

"There were a lot of wonderful performances," Hague said in a separate interview, "but a lot of them were really unformed . . . My background is more in contemporary pop music, and I'm a real structuralist. My goal was to try to get these things to read from beginning to end, and in the end, I think the album reflects that."

Gabriel and his main "Big Blue Ball" partner, Karl Wallinger of World Party, were more interested in songs than an free-form international jam session.

"Jamming can be fantastic for those people who are participating in it, but it's not always great for the audience," Gabriel said. "So Karl and I mostly stayed in the upstairs room and tried to steer people more toward actual songwriting."

New facet

Recently he's said he thinks of "Big Blue Ball" as a fine wine, released only after it had been aged properly. Not only that, but it also represents something larger for a performer whose career has been defined by a commitment to exploding conventions, either through his epic prog-rock excursions as the original lead singer of Genesis, through his genre-bending solo albums of the '70s and '80s and through his groundbreaking music videos in the early days of MTV.

Whereas some musicians strive for hit singles, still others for philosophical or political statements in themed albums, Gabriel is ever on the lookout for ways to change the fundamental shape of what music can and should be.

"I always thought the digital revolution would actually change the content of music, the way same way the piano roll or the 45 rpm single did," he said. "But it's been very slow to come. I really feel there should be a cultural renaissance that digital technology could advance. So even though this project is 15 years old, I think it's still a precursor to a day when people all over the world can work together to generate new ideas."

"Now, not only can we make records very cheaply, but the costs of distribution have been virtually eliminated," Gabriel continued. "And I've always thought that should result in all sorts of things should and could happen, like collaborations left, right and center. We should begin to see more artists like Damon Albarn and Jack White, who can be part of two or three projects simultaneously rather than being locked into one identity."

And how did this forward-thinking musician choose to introduce this project to the world? The first version of "Big Blue Ball" was released in vinyl LP form two weeks ago, ahead of the CD and download editions available today.

"I actually like the fact that young kids today are getting heavily into vinyl again," Gabriel said. "It's always had a very warm sound, so even though I'm a huge digital fan, there's still something to be said for analog -- in the same way that there's still something to a bunch of musicians sitting around in the same room playing together, as opposed to recording alone in their bedrooms."

Neoteny

Posted By: Sheila Roberts /movieonline.ca

Andrew Stanton Interview, Wall-E

Extract :

" There’s actually a scientific term that Peter Gabriel told me about. It’s called neoteny where there’s this belief that nature kind of figures out that you don’t have to use these parts of yourself anymore to survive so why give it to you? Why let you grow any farther? And I thought that’s perfect. It was almost again sort of a metaphor for it’s time to get up and grow up a little bit at the end."

WOMAD licence agreed

By Tina Robins / Wilts and Glouchesterhire Standard

A Permanent licence has been granted for WOMAD to be staged at Charlton Park following changes to traffic arrangements and a reduction in noise.

North Wiltshire District Council's licensing sub-committee voted not to have a hearing and to grant a permanent premises licence after hearing that World in the Park Ltd had agreed to ammendments suggested by Wiltshire Police and environmental health officers.

Last year the A429 was gridlocked as far as the M4 when campers started arriving to take part in the four-day festival.

Parking was also a major problem with many drivers opting to leave their cars in Milbourne rather than risk getting stuck in the mud on the site.

Environmental health pollution officers also sought a reduction in noise of five decibels at all monitoring points at this year's festival from July 25 to 27, as a result of the relocation of the stages.

Licensing enforcement officer Linda Holland said: "Environmental health, pollution team, police and the applicant all believe a hearing is not necessary. This licence gives the company exclusive use of the site for an annual festival. Maximum attendance will be 45,000, including staff, crew, acts and guests. It's not a one off licence but for the same every year."

The licence allows the sale of alcohol, the provision of regulated entertainment, entertainment facilities and late night refreshment in the area to the front of the Main House and reaching to the A429.

The news comes as festival organiser Thomas Brooman celebrates being made a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to music and charity.

Congratulating him, festival founder Peter Gabriel, who has a studio at Box near Bath said: "Music is a universal language, it draws people together and proves, as well as anything, the stupidity of racism."

Various Artists, "Big Blue Ball" (Real World) 3 stars

PLAYBACK By Kevin O'Hare /Mass live.com

Some albums take a little longer to see the light of day than others, and you can consider this one of those.

It's been in the works nearly 18 years.

In 1991, 1992 and 1995 Peter Gabriel opened his Real World studios to an array of international artists including such Western stars as World Party's Karl Wallinger and Irish singer Sinead O'Connor.

It has taken a long, long time for those tracks to see the light of day but they have now, with mixing finished in January of 2008. Not surprisingly the 11-track collection offers a sparkling international celebration of the arts, from Papa Wemba's amazing vocals against flamenco guitar in "Shadow," to Gabriel-led tracks like the innovative "Exit Through You," and "Burn You Up, Burn You Down," the latter which also features the Holmes Brothers.

"Whole Thing," the first single, offers a beautiful vocal by Gabriel and the often-underrated Wallinger takes front and center on the title track.

What's all the more amazing is that they left a ton of songs recorded for this album on the cutting room floor for the time being, including a version of Van Morrison and The Holmes Brothers singing Sam Cooke's "That's Where It's At."

This year's WOMAD will be the best yet

By Lois Avery / Gazette & Herald

WOMAD founder Peter Gabriel has promised music fans the best festival yet now it has settled into its new home at Charlton Park.

In its 26th year the international music, arts and dance festival used to be held in Reading. But last year they moved to the grounds of Charlton Park near Malmesbury in order to expand the festival. After problems with traffic management and torrential rain the festival faced criticism last year but Mr Gabriel says that this one will be the best yet. He is also pleased to be working close to his recording studio, Real World, in Box, near Corsham.

He said: "I think in a lot of ways it is a bit like coming home because it all started in the west country and it is great to be back. Also it's just a stones throw from Box where our studios are based so it makes sense. Charlton Park is a fantastic venue and it is pretty flat and in a beautiful location with the house and trees. And this year they have let us, very kindly, use more land and we have put measures in place to make sure last year's situation isn't repeated. It was more WOMUD. The weather is already looking better this year so it's encouraging. The line up is looking the best ever, and I don't always say that."

Booked to play are artists such as Boy George, Finlay Quaye, Eddy Grant, and Squeeze.

Mr Gabriel has tipped his favourites across the weekend. "On Friday I think Sharon Shannon and Shane McGowan and Sheikh will be great," he said. "Saturday we've got Martha Wainwright, who has a fantastic voice, and Roni Size and Reprazent. And of course Eddy Grant of Electric Avenue fame so it's looking great."

As well as bringing big names to the area the festival does a lot for local schools. Last year children from all of the primary schools in and around Malmesbury were given the chance to perform on the main stage and they will be doing the same in July.

Mr Gabriel said: "From the outset when we started in 1980 we really wanted to include kids so part of the aim of WOMAD was to introduce a lot of music. If we can teach them about some of the joys of the world then it is a wonderful thing. It's like with food. If you don't let them eat different things they won't like things that are strange or foreign. We also do have a world food area this year to tie in with that so it is a multi cultural experience."

Mr Gabriel also hopes that this years festival will bring more to the local economy now some of last years problems have been ironed out. He said: "We know the impact we had in Reading was really quite considerable. Especially on hotels, B&B's and cafes and garages. So hopefully if we can get traffic moving we can bring a lot into the area."

WOMAD festival will take place between July 25-27. For tickets and information visit www.womad.org

Peter Gabriel's 'Big Blue' Musical Mashup

NPR Music, Weekend Edition Sunday, June 22, 2008 -

In 1986, English musician Peter Gabriel opened the doors to his legendary Real World Studios in Wiltshire, England. Over the years, musicians from Bonnie Raitt and Deep Purple to Robert Plant and Nigel Kennedy have recorded at the former grain mill, surrounded by sheep farms 100 miles west of London.

But Real World has always been more than just a place for heavy hitters to lay down tracks and dash off rock mixes. Its mission has also been to provide a state-of-the-art space for musicians from around the world to meet and mingle, try out new sounds and bounce ideas off each other. The so-called "recording weeks" of the early '90s were examples of just that — some 75 artists from 20 countries came to play.

"I think we were trying to get a number of records done, as well," Gabriel says. "But I think the exciting thing for a lot of us was that there were musicians from all over the world — songwriters, poets, all thrown together — and all sorts of connections happened."

In those heady days of musical experimentation, artists recorded in all nooks and crannies of the complex, and so many tapes piled up that they started to run out of room to store them. Almost two decades later, the tapes from the recording weeks are finally sorted. On Tuesday, the album Big Blue Ball comes out on Real World Records.

Many points of the globe are represented on Big Blue Ball. There's Congolese singer Papa Wemba, Sinead O'Connor from Ireland, the Holmes Brothers' American gospel, string players from Egypt, percussion from Japan and flute playing from China. Peter Gabriel acted as curator and sings on several tracks. He and co-producers Stephen Hague and Karl Wallinger spoke with Liane Hansen about the project.

"It was just like a musical health farm, really," Wallinger says. "There wasn't any considerations other than the sounds you heard in the room, which were always pretty extraordinary and played by people who had been mastering their instrument in whatever way for however many years. I think the collective musical years that had gone down amongst everybody there would have been well into the thousands."