Soweto choir gets Oscar invite

The Soweto Gospel Choir will perform at the Oscars - the first time a South African act has received such an invitation. The choir has been nominated for an award for its song, Down to Earth.

Joburg's pride, the Grammy-Award winning Soweto Gospel Choir, will be performing at the 81st Academy Awards on Sunday, 22 February.

It's the first time the choir will perform at the Oscars, as the awards are better known, as well as the first time a South African act will perform at the annual red carpet event. The ceremony, taking place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, in the United States, will be broadcast on MNET at 7.30pm on Monday, 23 February.

One of the choir's many songs, a collaboration with songwriters Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. It already has a Grammy Award under its belt, for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media. Down To Earth is the theme tune for the Disney animated movie, Wall-E, which itself has been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film.(....)

Oscar nominee reactions

By ANGELA DAWSON, The Hour, Posted on 01/22/2009

(...) "It's always exciting and particularly with 'Wall-E,' because I worked on it for so many years. I think I started in late 2005, so it's kind of satisfying to see there's some recognition to that end. We sensed from the beginning that this animated movie was going to be different, but you never know how it's going to turn out. It always was a risky thing. Along the way, there were moments of doubt and moments of great pride. Ultimately, as it got close to being completed, all of us realized it was working. By the end of the movie you were just so involved with these two robots who were in love with each other. I went to England to meet with (co-writer) Peter Gabriel for a short period of time and we kind of hammered out the basic form of a song in about a day and a half. We talked from time to time and shared ideas from time to time digitally, and we kind of worked from there. We played the song for Andrew Stanton and the other people at Pixar and they approved it and liked it, and Peter did some additional work and we backed and forthed it and the song was kind of born." -- Thomas Newman, Best Song nominee for "Down to Earth" (with Peter Gabriel) and Best Score nominee for "Wall-E"

Peter Gabriel and Hot Chip cover Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Peter Gabriel and Hot Chip cover Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Vampire Weekend song name-checks Gabriel

Joe Bosso, MusicRadar, Thu 18 Dec 2008

Rappers do it all the time - name-check themselves, that is - so why not Peter Gabriel? That's part of the fun of hearing Gabriel team up with the electropop band Hot Chip on a cover of Vampire Weekend's hit, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.

Over the summer, Gabriel admitted that he was a fan of the song - he even met with the New York-based Vampire Weekend and remarked that he wouldn't mind doing his own version. He did say, however, that the key line "But this feels unnatural/Peter Gabriel too" might pose some problems.

"I haven't quite worked that out whether I should be doing that or substituting it with a name that might be appropriate to me," he joked. "I think playing with yourself makes you go blind after a while."

Gabriel's eyesight is fine

We're happy to report that both Gabriel's vision and his collaboration with Hot Chip are just fine. Of the track, it's vastly different from Vampire Weekend's Stray Cats-meets-Afro-indie vibe, but it's one of the best things the ex-Genesis singer has done in years.

Check out the cut below, and wait for the line "But this feels unnatural/Peter Gabriel too," followed by "It feels unnatural to sing your own name." Great stuff.

Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"

Peter Gabriel/Ezra Koenig photos by Ahmed Klink

Posted by Mark Richardson, Pitchfork, on Wed, Dec 17, 2008

New Music: Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" (Vampire Weekend cover) [Stream]

"Hot Chip Cover Vampire Weekend With Peter Gabriel?", we asked in a news story back in September. The answer? Yep. Abeano today posted a stream of the song, which they say was once intended for a Vampire Weekend B-side but was shelved. All things considered, it's pretty much exactly what you'd hope for from such a wtf one-off. "This feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel, too," is followed by "It feels so unnatural to sing your own name." And then somewhere in there he stars wailing like he wandered into "The Blood of Eden". (Abeano, via NME)

Stream:> Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"

Tribute: Maestro Jivan Gasparyan welcomes friends in Yerevan as he turns 80

By Marianna Grigoryan, ArmeniaNow reporter, 12 November, 2008

With a long red carpet and stepped up security measures, a series of tribute concerts marking the 80th anniversary of prominent Armenian duduk player Jivan Gasparyan opened at the Sports and Concert Complex Tuesday night. Both Armenian artists and internationally renowned musicians took part in the event.

“All have come here without any fee or remuneration, all are my friends,” the Maestro said from the stage. “And I am thankful to all.”

Despite chilly November weather and a high price of tickets (between 10,000 and 50,000 drams, which is about $30 to $165), the concert hall was full of local fans and guests who have come to honor the man who made Armenian music known worldwide with plaintive melodies of the duduk.

“I am fascinated. I don’t know when I will come to Armenia next time. But Armenia is in my heart and I hope to come back here again. I am grateful to him [Jivan Gasparyan] who allowed me to be his pupil. He is like father to me and I am proud to have known him,” Pedro Eustache, who astounded the audience with his skill of playing different wind instruments during the concert, told ArmeniaNow.

Such well-known musicians as Peter Gabriel, Andreas Vollenweider, Grammy winner Alan Parsons, Zucchero, as well as celebrated guests from other spheres had come to honor the great duduk player.

“Happy birthday, Maestro. You give us strength to score victories,” said unbeaten International Boxing Federation middleweight champion Arthur Abraham, who came to Yerevan after a signal title defense on Saturday. Yuri Vardanyan, a famous Armenian weightlifter who held numerous world records in his sport, gifted one of his records to Gasparyan. “I flew for 16 hours to reach Yerevan and congratulate you,” he said addressing the Maestro. “Now you are also a sport champion.”

The Maestro’s grandson, his full namesake Jivan Gasparyan, also performed during the evening. Jivan Gasparyan, the Master of the Duduk, the winner of four world-wide gold Medal UNESCO competitions (1959, 1962, 1973, and 1980) and the WOMEX (World Music Expo) lifetime achievement award in 2002 embarked on his “champion” career many years ago. (See more on the artist’s official website www.gasparyanjivan.com)

He says that he had given numerous concerts, played for famous people, made friends all over the world. And in 1947 he received an award from Stalin, which he had to sell to make ends meet.“I had a difficult childhood. I lost my parents early on and lived in an orphanage,” Gasparyan told ArmeniaNow in a short interview before the concert. “Since I was a child I had to go through so many hardships that later I could overcome the challenges of life.”

Gasparyan says that he did everything for the duduk to get worldwide recognition so that “people love and feel the sorrow of the duduk.” But he says he feels there is something unfinished. The Maestro says that he wants to set up a school first of all for orphaned children. “I caught a cold a week ago and have not recuperated yet. We will celebrate my 100th birthday anniversary as well,” he smiles. “I still have a lot to do.”

Excursions to the outer edge of contemporary jazz

By James Scanlon, For The Prague Post, November 5th, 2008

Trumpeter Jon Hassell brings his 'Fourth World' soundscapes to Prague

For three decades, American trumpet player and composer Jon Hassell has been pioneering atmospheric soundscapes that transcend all the possibilities of conventional jazz, avant-garde and world music. It’s earned him unending plaudits from artists of the ambient persuasion, and many more.

In an interview in The Guardian last year, Brian Eno revealed the huge debt he owes Hassell after hearing his 1977 debut album Vernal Equinox. “This record fascinated me,” Eno said. “It was dreamy, strange, meditative music that was inflected by Indian, African and South American music, but also seemed located in the lineage of tonal minimalism. It was music I felt I’d been waiting for.”

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1937, Hassell fine-honed the art of “vocal trumpet” after meeting Indian vocal master Pandit Pran Nath. His technique of rousing ethereal, digitally altered trumpet lines forms the basis of what Hassell calls “Fourth World” music. It’s a concept that combines minimalism with African and Asian styles through the use of electronic instrumentation.

Listening to albums like Vernal Equinox, the curiously titled The Surgeon of the Nightsky Restores Dead Things by the Power of Sound (1991) and Maarifa Street (2005), you get a sense of being sucked into a vortex of hypnotic sounds that transports you to other worlds. It’s all part of the ambiguity of Hassell’s Fourth World, which he defines as “an attitude, something that happens when a respectful, intelligent and creative mind meets the tension between north and south. … I think of north and south not only in global terms, but also, for example, within the body.”

Classically trained in composition at American conservatories, Hassell expanded his musical palette considerably after further studies with the likes of electronic genius Karlheinz Stockhausen in Darmstadt, Germany. It was there that he met classmates Holger Czukay and Irwin Schmidt, who went on to form the wildly feral and experimental Can.

It wasn’t until he returned to the States in 1967 that Hassell started to concentrate on playing the trumpet again. His first recording duties came the following year when he was asked to help out on Terry Riley’s In C album. As Hassell’s reputation grew, so did the collaborations. Some highpoints include performing at Peter Gabriel’s first-ever WOMAD Festival in 1982, and contributions to Eno’s Ambient 4: On Land (1982) and Talking Heads’ Remain In Light (1980). He’s also worked with the Kronos Quartet, Ry Cooder and Ibrahim Ferrer, and pop stars like Bjork, Lloyd Cole and Tears For Fears.

For all that, there are critics who say that Hassell has borrowed too heavily from Miles Davis’ use of electronics and modal harmonies. Hassell’s response: “After years of trying to make the case for an improvisational music which is not jazz, and staying away from the clichés of jazz instrumentation and styles, I started to feel free enough to let more obvious elements of my respect for Miles creep in from time to time.”

Like Davis’, a lot of Hassell’s compositions are open-ended. But the unpredictability is one of the best things about them, not knowing what’s going to happen next.

This past May, Hassell surprised many by performing “In Tsegihi,” a choral piece for 100 voices and a chamber group in the atmospheric surroundings of Norwich Cathedral, England. At 71, he is still breaking new ground as he comes to Prague, armed with material both old and new. While it’s impossible to say what he’ll do with it, it’s guaranteed to be fresh and inventive.

Jude Law peace doc sells across world

Jude Law in The Day after Peace

3DD Entertainment has sold its Jude Law-fronted Peace One Day concert to a host of territories including the US. The concert was held on 21 September at the Royal Albert Hall and featured performances by John Legend, Lenny Kravitz, Annie Lennox, Bryan Adams and Peter Gabriel.

It was presented by film star and Peace One Day ambassador Jude Law and celebrated the UN's International Day of Peace. The 60-minute HD special comprises highlights from the live event and has been sold to VH1 in the UK, Viacom-owned HD music channel Palladia in the US, Network 10 in Australia and Globosat in Brazil.

The concert is accompanied by the documentary The Day After Peace, which tells the story of how British film-maker Jeremy Gilley launched Peace One Day in 1999 and his struggles leading up to Peace Day being recognised by 200 countries around the world.

The documentary has been picked up by Network 10 in Australia, SVT in Sweden and OPTL in the Middle East. There are further deals to be confirmed in the US, Japan and France.

Hot Chip

Alexis Taylor, le chanteur d'Hot Chip, vient tout juste de terminer l'enregistrement de son album solo, intitulé Rubbed Out. Il sortira cet automne, apparemment en édition limitée, sur le label londonien Treader.

Pendant ce temps-là, Hot Chip ne chôme pas puisque les Anglais ont déjà concocté quelques nouveaux morceaux en vue d'un quatrième album qui pourrait déjà paraître durant le premier semestre 2009. Un quatrième album sur lequel on devrait noter la présence de Peter Gabriel, avec qui le groupe a récemment enregistré une reprise du Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa de Vampire Weekend.

Dernière chose, le groupe sortira encore en octobre une collection de remixes intitulée Remade In The Dark et sur laquelle on trouvera des remixes de We're Looking for a Lot of Love, Whistle for Will ainsi que le titre Remade In The Dark enregistré en compagnie de Robert Wyatt et que l'on suppose être un remix du morceau Made In The Dark. En parlant de Robert Wyatt, Hot Chip, décidément hyperactif, produira un morceau de son prochain album à paraître chez Domino.

Paula Cole is back with renewed confidence

By Paul Crocetti, GateHouse News Service, Posted Oct 18, 2008

Paula Cole is happy to be back at home. The Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter recently moved from New York to Rockport, where she grew up. Cole, who lives with her 6-year-old daughter, Sky, said she wanted her parents, who live here, and her daughter to know each other. Cole also started a new relationship. "Love - that's why I moved." Cole said. "I wanted to do it for years." Cole also recently concluded divorce proceedings. "It's been a long and hard past few years," Cole said. Now that the divorce is final, Cole feels free to sing and talk about it.

On Oct. 30, Cole will headline the annual benefit for The Center for Arts in Natick. "A lot of those feelings come out in my music," Cole said. "Thank God for music - it's my therapy."

Cole hit it big with her 1996 album, "This Fire." The album featured the singles "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" and "I Don't Want to Wait," which was the theme song for the show "Dawson's Creek." Cole won Best New Artist at the 1997 Grammy Awards. After her 1999 album, "Amen," she waited eight years before releasing a new one.

"I just felt misunderstood and depressed by the music business," Cole said. "I was in a bad place in my life." Then Bobby Colomby, a producer and friend, came to the rescue. "He put fun in music again," Cole said. Now one of Cole's managers, Colomby threw her into a new context of jazz, "which I love," she said. Cole calls Miles Davis as big of an influence as Annie Lennox or Peter Gabriel, who she toured with in the 1990s. "Courage" came out last year.

"I'm having a second, more authentic career, without MTV, hit singles - for all the right reasons," Cole said. "It's just better, because I'm more comfortable in my own skin." Cole got back to playing live shows last year. "I took a lot of time off," Cole said. "The audiences have changed and dwindled."

But she noticed that when she returned to the stage this year, the audiences have been building. Cole has never played at TCAN, which last year hosted Judy Collins for its annual fall benefit concert. "I heard it's a great place," Cole said. The annual benefit is typically on a Saturday, but since the Thursday date worked for Cole, the center made the adjustment.

"We're very excited about Paula Cole because she's part of the next generation of artists," said Terri Evans, a member of the center's publicity team. Cole likes the cyclical feeling of interaction with an audience - a concept Evans thinks will work well in the intimate center. "For someone who is a significant and known artist like Paula Cole, that makes it even more special," Evans said. "You're seeing someone who would easily be in a larger venue."

The benefit, celebrating its fifth anniversary at the center's current location, is an event that regulars look forward to each year. For the first time, the benefit features an online auction that starts Thursday, Oct. 23, Evans said. The auction includes contributions from past performers, such as a night out with one of them.

Cole has a light performance schedule right now, but said she is gearing up for a new album, possibly to be released next year. She still has a number of things she would like to accomplish, such as putting out a Christmas album. But she is sure of at least one thing - she won't be taking another long hiatus. "I don't expect big success," Cole said. "I know how to listen to my heart more now. I'm not as afraid."

Randy Newman Brings Harps and Angels to Santa Barbara

By Brett Leigh Dicks, Thursday, October 16, 2008

No Shortage of Wit

Not many people can boast a career as successful as Randy Newman’s. He has gathered more Academy Award nominations than Meryl Streep, written a song (“Short People”) that inspired the State of Maryland to legislate a radio ban against it, taken home four Grammy Awards, and even played a singing tree in The Three Amigos—a film that he also cowrote.

Having concentrated much of his recent musical energy in the realm of film soundtracks (which have garnered him 16 Oscar nominations and wins in four different musical categories), Newman released his first solo album in nine years just last month. The recording, titled Harps and Angels, finds the native Californian at his satirical best. And while you might not hear the songs from Harps playing over the speakers at your best bud’s party any time soon, conversely, it won’t be James Taylor telling jokes at the intimate Lobero Theatre this Sunday night. (...)

What about songs you have written for others?

One of the best tunes I ever wrote was for Peter Gabriel for that second Babe movie. “That’ll Do” is the name of the song. But it’s not a song I can sing—I don’t think so. “Feels Like Home” is just about at the limit of a tune I can get by with. (...)

David Byrne, Greek Theatre, October 3, 2008

David Byrne has reconnected with fellow traveler Brian Eno to record a fine new album called Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. The album is available for free streaming now and will be available in several fixed format configurations soon. Leave it to Byrne and Eno to take another twist at the cycle of album releases. This is their first collaboration in three decades, and the results are sublime.

Byrne brought a fine band to the Greek to explore many of the new songs, as well as a healthy sampling of his prior solo and Talking Heads work. Many of the most complicated, challenging and satisfying Talking Heads songs involved Eno. Byrne has now convinced me to never miss one of his concerts. When he was last in town I went to the Hollywood Bowl with mild expectations, which he exploded. At the more intimate Greek he delivered an extremely clever and rewarding show.

The crack seven member band was attired in white, as were the trio of dancers who wove through many of the songs. Bassist Paul Frazier was tremendous, as was Mark Degli Antoni on keyboards who fleshed out many of the sonic colors. Notably, Byrne was the only guitarist (but for occasional acoustic guitar accompaniment).

The fourth song of the evening “I Zimbra” was intricate both sonically and visually. The performance brought down the house (which was still yet to burn), culminating in a standing ovation. Byrne looked impish in the adulation. The challenge of weaving dancers into modern music is also being explored by Elvis Costello and Twyla Tharp, their collaboration comes to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion later this month.

Byrne reached into the dusty corners of his trick bag and pulled out a great song from his Catherine Wheel collaboration with Tharp. He also reworked his most famous cover version, Al Green’s “Take Me to the River,” which is Byrne’s earliest recorded acknowledgement of his black influences.

“Burning Down the House” and “Life During Wartime” lost none of their urgency, and brought out all the karaoke singers in the audience. Same as it ever was, indeed.

Byrne’s voice remains supple with no seeming loss of range. A gorgeous version of “Heaven” featured jangly REMish guitars, and might have been the evening’s highlight.

David Byrne is the epitome of a cool nerd. His geeky gloss does not really hide the clever and inquisitive artist inside. Where is that left field hit single collaboration between Peter Gabriel and David Byrne? Brian Eno will invariably provide the intersection of that much-desired Venn Diagram.

PETER GABRIEL - GABRIEL TO WORK WITH HOT CHIP?

26/09/2008

HOT CHIP have revealed they have asked PETER GABRIEL to collaborate with them on their next album.

The London band and former GENESIS singer recently recorded a cover of VAMPIRE WEEKEND'S Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.

Speaking to Billboard, the band's Joey Goddard said: "We said we'd love to do more stuff with him in the future and asked him to contribute to the next record. So, we'll see."

The band are currently working on material for the follow-up to 2008's MADE IN THE DARK, which they plan to release next year.

However, Goddard also revealed that singer Alexis Taylor has recorded a solo album, to be released on London independent label Treader.

"They're sketches of new songs, short improvised pieces. A scrapbook, in a way," Goddard said.

The band recently played the San Diego Street Scene festival alongside the likes of MGMT.

Fresh Hot Chip: Covers, EPs, Shows, New Songs

September 24, 2008 , Katie Hasty, N.Y.

With a live EP, covers of Joy Division and Vampire Weekend, a slew of tour dates, a remix EP and a new record on the way, the members of Hot Chip have certainly kept themselves busy lately.

The group just released an iTunes exclusive live EP of six tracks recorded May 8 in Berlin. "I'm gonna be honest," Hot Chip founding member and multi-instrumentalist Joe Goddard tells Billboard.com, "I don't think I even knew we had a live EP coming out. All the better, though, it's nice for things to be documented, to have a piece of how things evolve."

One recent evolution was the addition of live drummer Leo Taylor; Hot Chip sparingly used a live drummer (LCD Soundsystem's Pat Mahoney) in the past. The London-based group has tour dates slated in North America through Oct. 9, then return to the U.K. for performances through November.

A one-off show last night (Sept. 23) with Vampire Weekend was a happy pairing, considering Hot Chip has recently finished a cover of Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," for a single due this fall. But the group didn't do it alone: the very man the song namechecks, Peter Gabriel, contributed vocals.

"We got to spend two days with Peter Gabriel, which was a massive, massive deal, as he's a massive influence on us. His use of rhythms and synths and world instruments, his songwriting structures ... made for a big hero to [singer] Alexis [Taylor] growing up," Goddard says. "When we were producing [the track] and [Gabriel] stepped up to the microphone, [group member] Owen [Clarke] said it was like watching someone turn on the Peter Gabriel Machine. We said we'd love to do more stuff with him in the future and asked him to contribute to the next record. So, we'll see."

Hot Chip also covered Joy Division's "Transmission" for War Child Music's benefit covers album "Heroes," at the request of Joy Division/New Order drummer Stephen Morris himself. According to Goddard, the group focused in on the rhythm, and ended up recording the sounds of clanging steel pans and live drums. The album is due Nov. 24 via Parlophone/EMI in the U.K.; Hot Chip says they plan to release the song in the States as a vinyl single sometime this fall.

In a month, the group will also be releasing a collection of remixes of songs from its 2008 album "Made in the Dark," dubbed "Remade in the Dark." Featured are a new mixes of "We're Looking for a Lot of Love," "Whistle for Will" and the title track by veteran producer Robert Wyatt. The band, in turn, produced a track on Wyatt's forthcoming Domino effort.

Then there's Hot Chip's work on new originals. Goddard says the group has already finished writing half-a-dozen songs for the follow-up to "Made in the Dark," due for release early next year. "'Made in the Dark' felt bold, but for me it was all over the place. This next one... won't have an A-side and a b-Side. It will be much more mid-paced, like a Fleetwood Mac album," he says. The band has already begun playing one new track, "Alley Cats," at its shows.

Taylor has already finished a solo record, "Rubbed Out," which will be a limited-released effort on London micro-indie label Treader this fall. ("They're sketches of new songs, short improvised pieces... a scrapbook in a way," says Goddard.) And Goddard himself is producing other artists, including a "pure pop" set for new artist Little Boots and rapper Dels.

Mini-Concert Lévon Minassian, le 18 octobre à Mouans-Sartoux

Publié le : 22-09-2008

Rencontre musicale exceptionnelle avec Lévon Minassian, maître du doudouk

Le samedi 18 octobre à 19H à la médiathèque de Mouans-Sartoux
Aquarium de la médiathèque
201 avenue de Cannes
06370 Mouans-Sartoux

04 92 92 43 75
culture@muans-sartoux.net
Lévon Minassian, maître du doudouk, donnera un mini-concert exceptionnel, samedi 18 octobre, à 19 heures, à la médiathèque de Mouans-Sartoux, suivi d’une rencontre où le musicien évoquera son parcours artistique, entre autres aux côtés de Peter Gabriel et des musiciens du label Real World.

Derrière l’homme, peu connu du grand public, apparaît un musicien hors-pair, que d’aucuns qualifient de génie, dont les mélodies mélancoliques sont omniprésentes tant sur le petit écran qu’au cinéma. Lévon Minassian a signé les bandes originales des films La Passion du Christ de Mel Gibson, d’Amen de Costa-Gavras, de Va, vis et deviens du réalisateur Radu Mihaileanu mais encore les documentaires du La terre vue du ciel de Renaud Delourme d’après une idée originale de Yann Arthus-Bertrand ou encore l’Odyssée de l’Espèce de Jacques Malaterre. Levon Minassian a aussi joué et composé aux côtés de Sting, Charles Aznavour, I Muvrini, Manu Katché mais aussi Patrick Fiori. Sa carrière prend une envergure internationale en 1992 lorsque que Peter Gabriel (fondateur du groupe Genesis) le sollicite en personne lors des albums Us et Secret World.

Le doudouk est un instrument de 25 à 40 centimètres, de la famille des hautbois, que l’on tient horizontalement. Réalisé en bois d’abricotier, il est percé de neuf trous. Une anche double exceptionnellement longue et large, en roseau, s’emboîte dans une de ses extrémités. « Le doudouk, c’est l’âme du peuple arménien » aime à rappeler Lévon Minassian. Très répandu en Arménie, le doudouk est devenu, pour la diaspora, le symbole du pays des origines..

Entrée libre

Renseignements à la médiathèque de Mouans-Sartoux au 04.92.92.43.75.

Levon Minassian a accompagné Peter Gabriel lors de sa tournée mondiale Secret World en 1993-94 où il a ouvert, en soliste, des concerts où se sont pressées parfois 80 000 personnes.

Hot Chip to play two shows in LA's Wiltern theater

By VANESSA FRANKO? The Press-Enterprise? PDT on Thursday, September 18, 2008
Hot Chip has been hotter than a Buster Poindexter-inspired conga line this year.

The electro dance rock band's return trip to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio in April packed a tent full of sweaty, dancing people, the group just recorded with Peter Gabriel and now Hot Chip is select slate of U.S. dates, hitting Los Angeles Sunday and Monday.

"This year has been pretty surreal," singer Alexis Taylor said in a recent telephone interview. Hot Chip recently collaborated with Gabriel on a cover of Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," at the fellow buzz band's request. Taylor, who also has a solo album coming out, also had a chance to work with some of his favorite artists, including British artists Robert Wyatt, Wiley and Scritti Politti.

With the rise of dance rock, Hot Chip gained notice in the United Kingdom in 2006 when album "The Warning" was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. The band has gained big buzz playing festivals in Europe and has played Coachella in 2007 and 2008.

But for now, Taylor and his cohorts are focused on the live show. Hot Chip brought in a live drummer, Leo Taylor, for this leg of the tour. "I think we just fancied a change," Alexis Taylor said. The band has played the US before with live drummer Pat Mahoney of dance rockers LCD Soundsystem. Replacing the bloops and snaps and blips gives the band more depth live.

"We wanted to develop the songs a bit and take them to different places," Taylor said. While on tour, the band is also working on some songs for Hot Chip's follow up to this year's "Made in the Dark," complete with Taylor's portable Casio keyboard along for a songwriting ride.

Reach Vanessa Franko at 951-368-9575, vfranko@PE.com, www.myspace.com/Audio_File or www.PE.com/blogs/music

Hot Chip
When: 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday
Where: The Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
Admission: $27 in advance, $29 at the show
Information: 213-388-1400
On the Web: www.hotchip.co.uk

Steve Lillywhite On Peter Gabriel's Third Album

Peter Gabriel's Third

Listen Now interview [10 min 26 sec]

Peter Gabriel's third self-titled album produced the radio hits "I Don't Remember" and "Games Without Frontiers."

World Cafe, September 17, 2008 - On Peter Gabriel's third self-titled album, producer Steve Lillywhite made sense of the disparate elements that the sometimes-great second album could not. The 1980 release showcased a more song-oriented Gabriel, but also a bleak side of the former Genesis frontman.

In an interview with host David Dye, Lillywhite recalls laughing off the idea of recording an album with Gabriel, but both quickly found common ground in its musical direction. Music technology was moving quickly by 1980, and both men wanted to implement the new keyboard and sampling devices. While Gabriel would go on to make even better-selling albums, Peter Gabriel remains his finest moment.

Lévon Minassian à Mouans-Sartoux

Rencontre exceptionnelle avec Lévon Minassian, le 18 octobre, à l'aquarium

Lévon Minassian, maître du doudouk et musicien de Peter Gabriel viendra faire découvrir le doudouk, samedi 18 octobre 2008, à 19 heures, dans l'aquarium de la médiathèque. L'artiste évoquera son parcours artistique, aux côtés de Peter Gabriel notamment.

Entrée libre. Tél. : 04.92.92.43.75.

voir message GRWN precedent : levon minassian un doudoukiste virtuose

Peter Gabriel to cover Vampire Weekend with Hot Chip

Sean Michaels, guardian.co.uk, Thursday September 11 2008

The former Genesis frontman is to cover Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa with the Chip. Oh yeah, and he's won some award for being an Ambassador of Conscience from Amnesty something or other

Peter Gabriel teams up with Hot Chip ... 'I think playing with yourself makes you go blind after a while'

It's all well and good that Peter Gabriel just won a prize for his human rights work, but we are much more interested in his Vampire Weekend cover with Hot Chip.

Yes, Gabriel was named Amnesty International's 2008 Ambassador of Conscience at a ceremony in London yesterday. Yes, U2's The Edge presented the award – as he, like Nelson Mandela, has won it before. Yes, Gabriel said proudly that "it was through the tours for Amnesty International that I first met many people around the world engaged in human rights work [and it was] these people and their extraordinary stories of suffering and courage that I found impossible to walk away from".

But while we are chuffed that one of the world's greatest charities took the time to high-five a slightly passé celebrity, we are much more interested by the news that he has teamed up with some bright young things.

Hot Chip announced the collaboration on BBC Newsbeat yesterday, saying that they are working on a cover of Vampire Weekend's Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa – and Peter Gabriel is coming along for the ride.

On the original track, Brooklyn's Vampire Weekend pay backhanded tribute to Gabriel, singing "But this feels so unnatural / Peter Gabriel too."

Gabriel expressed an interest in covering the song while speaking to BBC 6 Music earlier this summer. "I actually do like that song a lot," he said. "I haven't quite worked out whether I should be [singing my own name] or substituting it with a name that might be appropriate to me - I think playing with yourself makes you go blind after a while."

The electro-boffins Hot Chip are also working on a cover of Joy Division's Transmission for an forthcoming War Child charity compilation. "It is totally different from Joy Division's original version," Alexis Taylor said. "It is much more Caribbean-sounding because it features steel pans as the lead instrument."

We wonder if Ian Curtis ever considered a "much more Caribbean" take on his songs. Things might have turned out very different if he had had the chance to listen to Vampire Weekend.

Duo Orlando Morais /Peter Gabriel

Orlando Morais et Patrick Bruel - Ou es-tu ?

Fer de lance de la nouvelle génération des auteurs-compositeurs – interprètes brésiliens, Orlando Morais s'est imposé très tôt. Son premier disque a été sacré "meilleur album pop-rock" par les Sharp-Awards brésiliens (équivalent des Grammy Awards nord-américains) en 1990.

Musicien autodidacte, Orlando Morais est né dans l'État de Goiânia, au centre ouest du Brésil. Ses chansons mettent en scène le poète et le monde, avec ce je ne sais quoi de nonchalance propre à la musique brésilienne qui met de la légèreté dans les choses graves. Et réciproquement.

Pour son second album en 1991. Ecrit en collaboration avec Djavan, Orlando est sacré une nouvelle fois « Meilleur musiciens » par les Sharp-Awards brésiliens. Depuis les récompenses n’ont cessé de pleuvoir et les plus grands ont collaboré avec lui : Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethania, Cazuca, Bebel Gilberto, Lénine, Roberto Carlos, Gilberto Gil et bien d’autres. Consécration médiatique, en 2004 et 2006 avec son album « Tudo Certo », Orlando est couronné « chanteur Brésilien le plus programmé en radio ».

En 2002 Orlando Morais rencontre Manu Katche et Philippe Abitbol. Une relation professionnelle et une grande amitié voit le jour. L’idée d’enregistrer un album avec Manu Katche à la batterie et Philippe Abitbol comme producteur prend racine.

Les années passent, les voyages se multiplient, les enregistrements débutent en 2007. Un beau jour Orlando rencontre Patrick Bruel. La passion de ce dernier pour le Brésil facilite leurs échanges.

Leur désir de travailler ensemble se concrétise quelques semaines plus tard à travers la chanson : « Ou es tu ». Ils y expriment deux volontés : Dénoncer un monde qui, si on n’y prend pas garde, aurait tendance à se déliter. Faire cohabiter musicalement rythmiques Pop – Rock et harmonies Brésiliennes. En Mai 2008 Patrick invite Orlando à chanter à Bercy les deux soirs où il se produit. Un grand souvenir.

11 autres chansons ont vu le jour depuis. Peter Gabriel, Sting et Youssou N’Dour ont rejoint l’album, ( ils chantent chacun un duo ), et Orlando s’est installé à Paris le 1 janvier 2008. Aujourd’hui, au lieu de permettre la découverte de leur chanson de manière habituelle, un CD single en vente dans tous les bons magasins, Orlando Morais et Patrick Bruel ont choisi une autre démarche. Celle de ne mettre en vente « Ou es tu » exclusivement que sur le net. Cette démarche s’avère être est la première du genre en France.

Hot Chip Collaborate With Peter Gabriel

As Hot Chip hinted earlier this month, when they said they were working with "one of our greatest musical heroes", the group have indeed confirmed they have recorded a song with Peter Gabriel.

The track is a cover of 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa', originally by Vampire Weekend.