B&W Music Club Offers Lossless Audio Downloads

Posted by Admin on Thursday, January 01, 2009

Bowers & Wilkins and Peter Gabriel lead the fight for high-quality downloads with lossless music service.

Bowers & Wilkins has teamed up with Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios to offer the world's first music download service that is about quality rather than quantity. Music Club members can download a specially recorded album each month. The album is DRM-free and delivered in either the Apple Lossless or FLAC formats, providing members with a true CD-quality recording.

The B&W Music Club is a unique partnership between Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios and Bowers & Wilkins. Part of B&W's Society of Sound (http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/sos) an online community for audiophiles and music fans, the B&W Music Club offers exclusive monthly albums to its members, which are downloadable in the Apple Lossless or FLAC formats to provide CD-quality sound.

For a small annual or six-monthly subscription fee, B&W Music Club offers one specially commissioned album each month, recorded in dedicated live sessions at Real World Studios near Bath in the UK. Albums are available to download for one month only and are provided without Digital Rights Management (DRM) to enable use across a variety of playback media.

Alongside B&W Music Club, B&W's radically updated and expanded Society of Sound website is created for people with a passion for sound. As well as blogs and feature articles, Society of Sound features regular podcasts hosted by Martyn Ware (Heaven 17, Human League) and video interviews with its Fellows including; Real World's Peter Gabriel, composer James Newton Howard, jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and the seminal British designer Kenneth Grange, amongst others.

Dan Haikin, Brand Director, B&W said at the launch: "B&W's business is built on being passionate about music and sound quality. In Society of Sound we have created a meeting place for people who share our passions. The B&W Music Club takes this a step further by providing exclusive opportunities for people to hear an eclectic mix of new music from a diverse range of artists at super-high fidelity."

"For many people today, music has become a background noise or commodity. The MP3 revolution has placed convenience over quality. B&W Music Club redresses this by creating exclusive live albums from a hand-picked selection of leading musicians as high quality downloads."

The music offered on B&W Music Club spans many different genres and styles from new and established artists from all across the world. Two months after the live sessions are first offered to B&W Music Club members, B&W returns the rights for the albums to the artists.

By providing free studio time, mixing sessions and eventually returning the rights to artists, B&W Music Club provides a great opportunity for new bands to professionally record new material, as well as offering more well-known artists a chance to experiment or collaborate on interesting side projects.

Peter Gabriel said: "This collaboration with B&W is unique as far as I know and it's going to allow a lot of interesting projects to happen. For artists, B&W Music Club is a dream proposition because they get some great time in the studio, access to really good recording facilities and can experiment without being committed to anything or anyone beyond a month with B&W."
Since it's launch in May 2008, B&W Music Club has brought members a wide variety of different musical styles, all from exceptional artists: Little Axe, featuring legendary blues guitarist Skip McDonald; Grindhouse (mondo cane) a new collaboration from Dominic Greensmith (Reef) and Gareth Hale; Gwyneth Herbert; Dub Colossus; former Suede frontman Brett Anderson; guitarist Tom Kerstens; LA's Julianna Raye; and 16-year old piano prodigy Benjamin Grosvenor.

Future releases include offerings from UK Jazz four-piece Portico Quartet and Dengue Fever, a Los Angeles band that blends Cambodian pop music with West Coast psychedelic rock.

Membership of B&W Music Club costs $39.95 for six months or $59.95 for a year. Based on a yearly membership, this means B&W Music Club members receive 12 albums for less than $5 per album. B&W also offers free trial memberships via its website, where users can download a four-track EP a month for three months. Each download will be supplied DRM-free in lossless format, at around half the file size of a CD recording and will include printable color sleeve artwork to enable members to create CD albums from the downloaded files.

For further information please visit http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/sos.

About Bowers & Wilkins

Bowers & Wilkins is Britain's leading exporter of loudspeakers and the number one imported brand in North America. Since 1966, Bowers & Wilkins' "Quest for Perfection" has resulted in a succession of technical loudspeaker innovations that have satisfied the world's most demanding listeners. Its products' rave reviews and universal acceptance as monitors for classical music recording have helped Bowers & Wilkins become the dominant premium loudspeaker company throughout the world.

LOREENA MCKENNITT Pour réchauffer l'hiver

Philippe Meilleur, Le Journal de Montréal, 23-11-2008

On connaissait déjà le Winter Garden, ce mini-album de cinq pièces hivernales lancé il y a une douzaine d’années par l’ambassadrice de la musique celtique Loreena McKennitt. Voici que la reine de la harpe en propose une version allongée, question de mettre un peu de chaleur dans la saison morte qui approche.

McKennitt se souvient très clairement de l’émerveillement qui l’a envahie quand elle s’est mise à la création de A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season, en 1995.

«Nous étions en studio, mes musiciens et moi, et nous voulions explorer différentes sonorités et instruments, nous raconte-t-elle au bout du fil. Je voulais identifier certaines chansons traditionnelles, celles que nous avons finalement enregistrées sur le disque. Au départ, il n’y en avait que deux ou trois, mais nous avons décidé de prolonger un peu notre travail pour faire de notre recherche un mini-album. Les pièces étaient si belles que ça en valait la peine.»

Les choses seraient restées ainsi n’eût été l’insistance des amateurs, qui, au fil des années, ont souvent demandé d’avoir une version allongée du mini-album. «Les gens en voulaient davantage», dit Loreena McKennitt.

CONNECTÉE À LA NATURE

Profitant d’un récent passage en Europe, où elle était en tournée avec ses musiciens habituels, l’artiste s’est replongée dans ses études pour enfin mener à terme ce projet amorcé plus d’une décennie plus tôt.

«C’était une décision plutôt pragmatique, j’en conviens. Je voulais maximiser ma présence et celle de mes musiciens en Europe. En plus, nous n’avions besoin que de quatre ou cinq jours pour compléter le travail et faire un nouvel album.»

La chanteuse s’est donc remise à la lecture de l’Oxford Book of Carols, une anthologie qui recense les cantiques traditionnels.

«Je voulais cerner le contexte d’écriture de ces cantiques pour m’inspirer, dit-elle. Étant créées pour le temps des fêtes, ces chansons sont naturellement liées à l’hiver ou à la fin de l’automne. Le lien avec Winter Garden est venu de lui-même.»

Au bout du processus, huit nouvelles chansons se sont ajoutées aux cinq anciennes pour devenir A Midwinter Night’s Dream.

Toutes ont été enregistrées au studio Real World, qui appartient au rockeur Peter Gabriel. Situé dans un tout petit village du sud de l’Angleterre, l’endroit profite de la tranquillité et d’un lien privilégié avec la nature.

«Cela fait presque quinze ans que j’enregistre tout mon matériel là-bas, dit McKennitt. Il est hors de la ville, donc loin de toutes les distractions. Ça permet à mon équipe et à moi de nous concentrer uniquement sur la musique, d’autant plus qu’on y rencontre de nombreux autres artistes. Nous enregistrons dans une grande pièce dont la fenêtre donne sur un boisé. Vous ne pouvez pas savoir à quel point cela est inspirant et facile de travailler ainsi! Nous sommes connectés à l’énergie naturelle du moment, que l’on soit tôt le matin ou tard l’après-midi. C’est le genre de détail très important pour moi.»

Ray LaMontagne is back on tour

Ray LaMontagne is back on tour with his current album, "Gossip in the Grain," which blends acoustic country, folk and blues tunes.

LaMontagne's 2004 debut, "Trouble," was a haunting, deeply personal album that secured his place among New England's contemporary singer-songwriters. "Gossip" follows a period of decompression for LaMontagne after the success of "Trouble" and "Till the Sun Turns Black." The new album was recorded in England with producer Ethan Johns at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios.

Ray LaMontagne : Gossip in the Grain

By David McPherson, Exclaim.ca

Gossip in the Grain finds the soulful, introspective songwriter from Maine remaining serious and sombre but adding a dose of fun to his repertoire. Following the dark depths of melancholy that hung over his last disc (Till the Sun Turns Black), LaMontagne shows he can write a song that doesn’t get you down.

Recorded once again with Ethan Johns, but this time in the producer’s neck of the woods at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England, the songwriter uses the beauty of the pastoral English countryside to inspire this richly layered collection of songs.

The disc opens with the groovy 21st century throwback to Motown, “You are the Best Thing.” This newfound playfulness in song is especially apparent on “Meg White,” the tongue-in-cheek ode to the White Stripes rocker, and “Henry Nearly Killed Me,” a harmonica blues number that sounds like it was brewed up on Chicago’s west side. There’s still the sleepy-eyed numbers where the songwriter digs deep and lays it on heavy with his whispered delivery, such as “A Falling Through,” where LaMontagne is joined by singer-songwriter Leona Naess. Gossip in the Grain is another solid effort from a guy who not that long ago was working at a shoe factory.

DM : Tell me about the playful song “Meg White.”

RL : That one is heavily tongue-in-cheek. It’s just one of those songs that pop into your head and you write it. I wouldn’t have recorded that a couple of years ago but now feel it’s important to have songs like that because the last record was pretty heavy. As Ethan put it, “it asked a lot of the listener.”

DM : I understand you recently moved into a farmhouse in Maine once owned by the late, great American author Norman Mailer. Did this place inspire these songs?

RL : No, but it’s nice to be in a quiet place up in the mountains; it’s just a soulful place for me.

DM : Not so long ago you worked at a shoe factory, now you have three major records under your belt. Do you often think back about how far you’ve come?

RL : Every time I get into my truck to go to the store, I think about it because I’ve got a vehicle that starts and it has all five gears, including reverse. Every time I get into my pickup I think of what a long road it has been and how grateful I am to pursue something I love so mu (RCA)

Nick Mulvey Percussionist, Portico Quartet

Telegraph.co.uk 04/09/2008

Nick Mulvey, percussionist from Portico Quartet, tells Charlotte Bailey about his week

Wednesday

This has been the busiest week of my life: I play percussion for a jazz group called Portico Quartet and our debut album, Knee-Deep in the North Sea, has been shortlisted for the Nationwide Mercury Prize, which is announced next week.

Today we came back from Peter Gabriel's studios in Wiltshire, where we had spent five days working on our next album. It was the first time in a year that we had been in the studio and we had all forgotten how intense the process can be - though we did have our own cottage and our own chef. (...)

Gwyneth Herbert's got some stories to tell

by ARWA HAIDER, Metro.co.uk, Monday, August 25, 2008

When Gwyneth Herbert became the first British artist to sign to the legendary Blue Note label for two decades, she was hailed as part of a new generation of jazz talent. Conversely, she also prompted debate as to whether her 2007 album Between Me And The Wardrobe could be defined as jazz at all. It's a question that she's equally happy to ponder.

'There are definitely jazz dialogues in my music, but I'm also really influenced by blues and folk and the 1970s singer/songwriters that I grew up with,' she says. 'It's a really exciting time to be making music because so many people are into a huge variety of genres.'
Herbert's charismatic chattiness is key to her narrative-based songs and her presence as a live performer. Her vocal delivery is so warm and mellifluous that some of her music's darker themes catch you by surprise; tracks such as Slow Down Brother initially seem easy on the ear but actually convey tragic scenarios, often based on real life. That heady mixture of moods also applies to her latest tracks, which she will be showcasing over two nights at Ronnie Scott's, alongside established album tracks and 'surprise' covers.

Earlier this year, Herbert and her band were invited to record at Peter Gabriel's Real World studios as part of a Bowers & Wilkins-sponsored music club. The fruits of that session, entitled Ten Lives, have so far only been available to subscribers but she's planning to expand the material for her next full album.

'When we do the next album, I definitely want to capture some of the "in yer face" clankiness that we had in the Real World sessions. When I was making Between Me And The Wardrobe, I was in quite a reflective mood.
'The new writing is quite different; the songs and arrangements have got a lot more balls. And Seb Rochford is the special guest at these shows - I'm really excited about hearing him work his octopus-like drumming magic on the songs.'

It's also significant that Herbert has now established herself as an original songwriter rather than a covers artist, although she points out that this wasn't an orchestrated move.

'I always loved interpreting other people's material,' she explains, earnestly. 'But I originally found my musical voice when I worked with Tom Cawley (another intrepid young jazzer). We went on this amazing six-month journey of writing songs and throwing words around. I've always been fascinated by the fact that everyone has an emotional story to tell. People strike up conversations with me on the Tube; I'm kind of the anti-Londoner.'

It will be intriguing to hear where Herbert sources her next musical stories. She confounds expectations with real beguiling charm.

Tue-Wed Aug 26-27, Ronnie Scott's, 47 Frith Street, W1. 6pm, £15 to £30. Tel: 020 7439 0747. www.ronniescotts.co.uk Tube: Tottenham Court Road

Inside Peter Gabriel's Real World

01-Aug-08 : Dicky Chappell is our guide




In this the first of several pieces recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, we talk to Dicky Chappell Peter’s personal engineer and man who makes things happen. Dicky has been with Peter for several years, having worked on a number of projects all over the world and recorded some of the greatest living performers from many cultures and worked with numerous top-notch producers.

Peter's Writing Room studio, one of several at his fabulous Real World Studios in Box, UK has been set up to allow Peter to work the way he wants, when he wants. Dicky Chappell is our guide as we take a look inside...

Dicky Chappell is currently working with the amazing Children of the Khmer a dance and music group from Cambodia who are working to help revitalize the cultural deficit that was left after the terrible Khmer Rouge regime left power. After bringing them over to perform at WOMAD in Charlton park (I saw them and they were wonderful), they are now performing at The World at St George's West as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

07-Aug-08 : Part 2 from the writing room



In this second installment from our visit to Peter Gabriel's Real Worls Studio complex, we talk more with Dicky Chappell, Peter's right-hand mand in the studio about instruments, technology, archiving and more.

15-Aug-08 : Part 3 The studio tour




In our third installment from our enjoyable visit to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, Dicky Chappell's studio assistant Matt takes us on a tour of the complex. We get a look at the cavernous Big Room, the recording spaces, including the live room featuring a stream running underneath the glass floor and the wonderful loft space.

Many thanks to all at the studios for accommodating us.

• Children of the Khmer videos of their work.
• Real World Studios
• Information on Edinburgh events

Beckham Does Not Sniff Sharpies

Podcast: Sonic TALK092 - Beckham Does Not Sniff Sharpies

Child prodigy drummers, new Wii motionplus thingy, classic sounds and green technology 24-Jul-08

TALK092 - Drummers, classic sounds and more 53:40 mins

Download MP3 Audio | iTunes | Subscribe to Podcasts

SONIC TALK 092 A sultry afternoon in Bath and one of the rare occasions when I'm joined in the studio - this weeks guest on the spare chair is Richard Evans who's had a long affiliation with Peter Gabriel and Real World studios - just back from a stint recording at a Serbian monastery. Staying very much in the UK this week, on the line we have Mark Tinley who's worked with Duran Duran and Nick Rhodes for many years and Dave Spiers from GForce Software, who's recovering from Labrinthitis by playing tennis, both real and virtual.

Speaking of virtual tennis, we take a look at the new Wii MotionPlus addition for the WiiMote which allegedly ads true 1:1 motion control and increases the accuracy of the 3D positioning and it's musical possibilities - it's demonstrated by the new WiiMusic titles with people "playing" various instruments at the recent E3 demo. Then we talk about virtuoso drummers - with plenty of drummer jokes, then on to famous sounds, green technology and finally David Beckham in the Sharpies ad.

Peter Gabriel`s studio gives 007 a shake and stir

James Bond will be coming to Box this summer when the sound team visit Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios to put the finishing touches to the latest film - reports ThisIsWiltshire

Although the star of the film, Daniel Craig, will not make an appearance, Mr Gabriel said he will be hosting plenty of the film's technical crew.

The new Bond film, Quantum of Solace, is due to be released on November 7 and stars Olga Kurylenko as Bond girl Camille.

It is Mr Craig's second time in the role as the secret agent and, with most of the filming complete, it is now up to the technical masterminds to polish off the finished piece ready for the cinemas.

The sound will be put to the 22nd Bond film by production sound mixer Chris Munroe.

Along with Eddy Joseph, Mike Prestwood Smith, Martin Cantwell, and Mark Taylor, Mr Munro won the BAFTA award for Best Sound in the last Bond film, Casino Royale, at the 2007 awards event.

The studio, which has welcomed stars such as Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Oasis and Starsailor in the past, has decided to offer its state-of-the-art recording facilities to the film industry, to polish off sound effects for movies.

The recording studios in Mill Lane are thought to be favoured by such big names because of the tranquil and private surroundings of Box.

Mr Gabriel said: "We're doing some partnerships with the film industry and we've got equipment here to be able to mix their sound. The sound for the latest James Bond film will be done here so that's a great avenue to be able to branch out into. I doubt any of the actors will be around but we'll have plenty of crew here and the director might pop in but that's as high profile as it will get."

Recently the studio has had new band Hot Chip recording there and singer Sade.

Although staff at the studio were unable to give exact dates for the Bond crew's visit to Box they confirmed that it would be this summer, ready for the film's release on October 31.

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

B&W Peter Gabriel's presentation and video

What’s the link between a recording studio in Wiltshire and a giant spaceship? “I was thinking about the film Close Encounters,” says Peter Gabriel, “and the way we make a connection with the aliens through melody. That may be a little fanciful. But at the Real World Studios we get musicians from all over the world, who often can’t talk to each other. We give them the technology to make noises, and they start making noises, and suddenly there’s a common language. That’s when things take off.”

see the presentation and the video !

Peter Gabriel: rejoin Genesis? Don't rule it out

on telegraph.co.uk :

"At my age, you don't give a s--- about a lot of things, and you care less about pleasing people," says Peter Gabriel.

Somewhere between art and science: Peter Gabriel

"You just want to have an interesting life."

At his idyllic Real World studios in Somerset, the rock superstar is presiding over the launch of a new download music club with hi-fi company Bowers and Wilkins. "With the explosion of the digital world, which is really flourishing on the corpse of the music industry, the only thing that people haven't noticed is that we have taken a giant leap backwards in terms of sound quality," he says.

"From a musician's point of view, we spend a lot of time trying to get things to sound good, so it seems a pity that we have all accepted these super-compressed MP3s as the standard, which just kick the s--- out of what you've recorded. There has been a huge access to quantity at a sacrifice of quality."

Starting this week, the B&W music club will offer a specially recorded album a month as an uncompressed, "lossless" file, for a small annual subscription fee. The idea is that the club will act as a connoisseurs' music forum supportive of minor but musically gifted artists (the first release is from virtuoso Sugar Hill guitarist Little Axe).
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Gabriel admits he got involved partly to keep his recording studio busy but also because he is fascinated by the rapidly developing future of the music business. "I am naturally curious, and I love technology. So I get excited about some of these new inventions and their potential."
A founding member of Seventies prog-rockers Genesis and an adventurous multi-million-selling solo singer-songwriter, Gabriel, 58, has carved out a space for himself between art and science. He may be known primarily as a rock frontman, but he has been an innovative player in the business itself.

He was a pioneer of digital distribution through his company OD2 (On Demand Distribution), which he sold for £40 million in 2004 (it is currently owned by Nokia). Last year he launched The Filter, a sophisticated internet recommendation engine of his own devising. "If you are drowning in a sea of information, you need a navigation system that will get you to where you want to be."

Gabriel has been a leading player in the recognition and development of world music (through the Womad festivals and his Real World label). He enthuses about "the idea that anyone born anywhere on the planet's surface who does good stuff can get a shot at being heard".
Filtering and taste-making technologies, he believes, will lead to a more level playing field, giving access to "stuff you might like without the marketing machine, where who has got the biggest dollars is the key to who has got your ear."

So, even as the music business goes into convulsions, with collapsing sales and shrinking profits, Gabriel declares himself optimistic. "Technology generally comes in waves, and the first wave builds the dreams and the dreamers. But it tends to crash. The second wave, which comes through slower and harder, sustains better."

He thinks a variety of new business models, free and paid for, will gradually be established, leading to "a hundred times more music getting made". He envisages "a creative renaissance economically enabled by the digital revolution".

He is encouraged by the possibilities of interactivity and direct business relationships between artists and fans. "Whenever anyone asks what do you say to a young artist today, I say. 'Build your database. Because that's your future.'?"

What of Gabriel's own musical future? "I am trying to organise good music time, too. It's difficult. No dream comes without a price tag. Its been a major distraction." Indeed, he has been so busy with non-musical activities (including his philanthropical involvement as a member and financial benefactor of The Elders, a group of global statesmen dedicated to good works) that he was forced to turn down a mooted Genesis reunion (the group toured last year without him).

"Because I am a perfectionist, once I start doing something I want to do it properly. If I had done Genesis, I couldn't have just turned up, sung for a couple of hours and pissed off. I would have been in there working on the show and the lights and everything else. It was a bigger chunk of time than I could commit to."

Some people would be surprised that such a forward-moving artist would even consider a reunion with a band he left in 1975, but Gabriel does not rule it out. "It's a bit like a child:however far you move on, you still love your children. On a good day."

In the end, I suspect the thing that consumes Gabriel is not whether music is a product, or a service, or how musicians and consumers are going to negotiate a changing landscape. It is where is he going to get his next fix.
"I think it's a drug, really," he says. "You use it to stimulate your emotional response and make you feel one way or another. And, on a good day, it is inspirational."

Crëvecoeur à Bath

Ce soir on joue encore ensemble à Bath, juste à coté de Bristol. aprés la pause dans le parc chacun embarque dans son van respectif pour prendre la route, on dit au revoir à Yann et toute la bande..et c'est reparti. on mettra encore plus d'une heure pour sortir de Londres, c'est fatiguant.

On arrive à Bath et on galère un peu pour trouver le club parce qu'on a pas l'adresse exacte. Bath est une jolie petite ville, qui ressemble un peu à une ville thermale. On joue dans la cave d'un bar vegetarien, un peu branchouille. le promoter, c'est Peter qui joue dans un groupe qui s'appelle Cars iN walls et qui la journée est l'assistant de Peter Gabriel au studio de ce dernier dans la banlieue de Bath !

On parle d'aller faire une visite du studio le lendemain, mais pour cause de tournage TV on ne pourra pas... la prochaine fois promis !

Big Blue Ball, black and blue Vinyl 2 LP, CD

Originally, planned as a Peter Gabriel project, "Big Blue Ball", a Gabriel owned Real World Records release, has morphed into a collection of tracks featuring a worldwide mix of artists. It would be fair to say that the music is from “around the world” and defies characterization as "world music". The lead track, "The Whole Thing" featuring Francis Bebey, Alex Faku, Tim Finn, Peter Gabriel, Karl Wallinger, Andy White could have been included on the last Gabriel release “UP” in terms of its theme and feel. “Everything Comes from You” is another outstanding track with an ethereal introduction that transitions into a chat infused Sinead O’Connor vocal supported by piano, guitar and bass drum. The album ends with the title track “Big Blue Ball” , an upbeat ballad sung by Karl Wallinger supported by Peter Gabriel and Manu Katché. Overall the record just works and after a few listens begins to reveal the notion that we and our musics are all interconnected on this big blue ball we call earth. The CD was mastered by Tony Cousins at Metroplis in London and the 2 LP vinyl editions were mastered and cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, using Classic’s “ALL TUBE” cutting system. Packaged in Deluxe Gatefold Jacket.

Track Listing

"Whole Thing (Original Mix)" (featuring Francis Bebey, Alex Faku, Tim Finn, Peter Gabriel, Karl Wallinger, Andy White)

"Habibe" (featuring Natacha Atlas, Hossam Ramzy, Neil Sparkes)

"Shadow" (featuring Juan Cañizares, Papa Wemba)

"altus silva" (featuring Joseph Arthur, Ronan Browne, Deep Forest, James McNally, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Vernon Reid)

"Exit Through You" (featuring Joseph Arthur, Peter Gabriel, Karl Wallinger)

"Everything Comes From You" (featuring Richard Evans, Joji Hirota, Sevara Nazarkhan, Sinead O’Connor, Guo Yue)

"Burn You Up, Burn You Down" (featuring Billy Cobham, Peter Gabriel, The Holmes Brothers, Wendy Melvoin, Arona N’diaye, Jah Wobble)

"Forest" (featuring Levon Minassian, Arona N’Diaye, Vernon Reid, Hukwe Zawose)

"Rivers" (featuring Vernon Reid, Marta Sebestyen, Karl Wallinger)

"Jijy" (featuring Arona N’Diaye, Rossy, Jah Wobble)

"Big Blue Ball" (featuring Peter Gabriel, Manu Katché, Karl Wallinger)

THE MUSIC.COM

State Radio

(...) The Boston-based trio State Radio, which is touring in support of its new CD, “Year of the Crow.” The band’s sophomore album was released digitally in September, when it debuted at No. 9 on iTunes Alternative Charts, and had its physical release to stores in February via Ruff Shod Records. Recorded with Tchad Blake (Pearl Jam, Peter Gabriel, Soul Coughing) at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Wiltshire, England, the album features the single “Gang of Thieves” and captures the band’s live energy and spirit. The band’s song “Keepsake” was featured on the Nov. 19 finale of Showtime’s hit series “Weeds.” Having recently performed at the Langerado Music Festival in Florida and this year’s SXSW, the band also is slated to make appearances at some of America’s biggest summer festivals, including Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Rothbury and Summerfest.

Folk group performing live for church cash campaign

A Church fundraising campaign sees its latest event take place next week with outstanding folk group Sheelanagig performing live. Aslackby Church fundraising efforts have been going well with their Film on Friday series. But on Friday April 11 at 7.30pm Sheelanagig will play in St James' Church, as part of their extensive spring tour.

At the end of December 2008, the band was listed as one of the best five live gigs in The Independent. Their acoustic world folk style combines Western swing with Arabic melodies, and klezmer with Irish reels. The five strong band has two albums behind them, the most recent, Baba Yaga's Ball, recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World studios.

Last year they played on the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury and will be there again this year. Their festival highlights include The Big Chill, Trowbridge, Shepley Spring Festival, Lamar Tree Festival and Broadstairs Folk Festival to name but a few. They play regularly in Scotland, Ireland, Denmark and Italy where they performed last year at the Ferrara International Buskers Festival - and now Aslackby church.

Gwyneth Herbert

Clattering noisily about the wooden floors of the recording studio where she is making her new album, Gwyneth Herbert sounds a happy woman.

Six months ago, she was in the midst of a turbulent period of change. After three years of being marketed as the latest "nu-jazz" diva to put a modern spin on old standards, she had left label Universal and was bravely going it alone on third album Between Me And The Wardrobe, a collection of songs written solely by her.

Understated, poignant and witty, it caught the attention of legendary jazz label Blue Note, which, on the basis of a shared understanding of each other, made the 25-year-old its first signing in 30 years.

The new-found freedom, paired with the critical acclaim heaped on her last effort, has changed Herbert. Her new work is distinctly more upbeat, "a bit less reflective and more ballsy".

"I think I'm probably feeling a lot happier in myself at the moment, so I'm having more fun in my writing.Before, it was more of a need to express myself'," she says, vocalising the speech marks self-deprecatingly. "But now I'm finding my voice."

She hadn't intended to record another album but had been invited to do a few tracks at the studio Peter Gabriel's Real World, in Wiltshire and had somehow fallen into it, thus avoiding the anxiety that follow-ups usually prompt.

It was completed in two days, beating her previous personal best by a day.

"By the next one, we'll have it done in 24 hours," she laughs It is, she says, another album of "story-songs", this time about everything from a Russian prostitute (Natalia) to her "very camp" boyfriend (Narrow Man).
"There are definitely dark bits to it, but the dark bits are really stormy and loud, with more belly and oomph," she says. "It's more hooky and singalong-y. You couldn't have called the last album singalong-y."

After being left jaded by her experiences with Universal - "The marketing always came first and the music second" - Herbert was apprehensive about signing to another record label.

But she realised it would have been "madness" to turn down Blue Note.
"It was a bit ridiculous, quite scary and an amazing privilege," she says, of the signing, "They have this musical history and lineage of amazing jazz players - it was also a bit bizarre because I didn't think Between Me And The Wardrobe was a jazz album. But they're amazing. It's a breath of fresh air."

It has now been four years since Herbert's first album, for much of which she has been hailed as the next big thing. "If Gwyneth Herbert is not a star before long, I'll eat my CD player," wrote a Sunday Times reviewer.

Does she hope this will be the year she finally gets that widespread recognition?
"There have been so many times when people have said, Oh, she's going to be a huge star,' but it's never been my aim," Herbert says nonchalantly.

"I'm signed to a label I love and playing my own stuff. I feel like this is my year already."

By Nione Meakin /the Argus

This gadget rocks! The world's newest musical instrument

Peter Gabriel has one in his studio. Bjork takes hers on tour. But what exactly is it? Tim gets to grips with the radical new instrument that's part digital sampler, part light-show – and part toy

Blip. Blip. Blip. Blip-donk-blip. Blip. Blip. Blip-donk-blip-tshk-blip. Blip. Wraaa- AAAOOoow. Blip. This is the noise of a novice trying to make something resembling music from the world's newest musical instrument, the Tenori-On. And, by the way, it sounds a whole lot better than it reads. Designed by Japanese media artist Toshio Iwai and built by Yamaha, the Tenori-On is a remarkable piece of kit that has already made its way into the excited, sweaty palms of musical pioneers such as Peter Gabriel and Bjork. (...)

Peter Gabriel has supposedly added the Tenori-On to the array of instruments at his Real World Studios in Wiltshire. Fairbanks released his Tenori-On album, 7 Days Microsleep, as a free audio download, but also released some of the tracks as Tenori-On native data, which means that fellow Tenori-On players can deconstruct (and reconstruct) his tracks, becoming amateur remixers at the drop of a hat. Those who want to can happily store albums'-worth of material on the memory card. (...)

Aye: An Affirmation of Martyn Bennett

Tuning up for tribute

Maverick Scottish musician set to be celebrated as part of Arts Council-sponsored tour

Martyn Bennett changed the face of Scottish music, marrying the high octane waves of the 90s dance scene with jazz beats, classical strings and his native Gaelic traditions. Now, the life and work of the performer and composer are set to be celebrated in suitably gallus style during this year’s Scottish Arts Council-sponsored Tune-Up tour, three years after his death at the age of 33. The maverick musician will be recognised in performances from Mr McFall’s Chamber, Tom Bancroft, Frasier Fifield and James Mackintosh, all of whom will perform pieces inspired by Bennett’s work.

Born in Canada but raised in the Highlands, Bennett famously picked up his first set of bagpipes at the age of ten. Lessons in composition, violin and piano followed. A promising stint at the RSAMD eventually led to backing from a small independent label and the foundations of a career that not only made Bennett famous but also helped change the perception of Scottish music around the world.

Mr McFall’s Chamber will perform a showcase of the late Bennett’s interpretation of Scottish folk music. The Chamber troupe will be joined by Scottish composer and multi-instrumentalist Fraser Fifield and percussionists Tom Bancroft and James Mackintosh. Leading jazz and soul artist Eska Mtungwazi will perform seven shows with her five-piece band.

Ian Smith, Head of Music at the Scottish Arts Council, said of the tour: ‘Martyn Bennett, while dying at a tragically young age, has left us with such an incredible legacy of great work, brilliantly encapsulated in his last album, Grit, for Peter Gabriel’s Real World label. This tour, featuring McFall’s Chamber, not only celebrates Martyn’s life and creative genius but also takes that music to so many of Scotland’s communities, all of whom will identify with emotive and moving music performed by such fantastic musicians.’

Aye: An Affirmation of Martyn Bennett starts Tue 18 Mar at Perth Concert Hall and ends Sat 29 Mar in Findhorn. For full tour details of the complete Tune Up programme see www.tuneup.org.uk

• Source: The List (Issue 597)
• Date: 28 February 2008
• Written by: Anna Millar