Youssou et les autres !

Le Festival international Nuits d'Afrique fête (déjà!) son vingtième anniversaire en recevant Youssou N'Dour, qui vient parrainer l'événement pour la deuxième fois

Montréal 1986: sous l'impulsion de Touré Lamine, une petite équipe s'affaire à créer le premier événement d'envergure consacré à la musique africaine et à sa diaspora. La manière brouillonne et l'âme à l'espérance. Les temps sont propices. Depuis quelques années, des musiciens immigrants, jusque-là inconnus, commencent à émerger, sortent de leurs communautés et, pour la première fois, des petites salles de spectacles apparaissent pour eux, çà et là au centre-ville.

Déjà ouvert, le club Balattou servira de point d'ancrage. Le Brésilien Paulo Ramos vient d'arriver. Lorraine Klaasen retrouve ses muses africaines, après une période r&b. Pendant ce temps, le festival Womad, que Peter Gabriel a implanté en Angleterre, se développe avec une étonnante rapidité. À Paris, la déferlante africaine fait mouche. Youssou N'Dour y rencontre Gabriel : un point tournant qui permet à celui qui deviendra le chanteur africain le plus important du siècle d'opérer le plus grand virage de sa carrière, menant à l'envol planétaire, avant la célèbre tournée Human Rights Now ! d'Amnistie internationale. Aujourd'hui, le grand chantre d'origine toucouleur parraine pour la deuxième fois le FINA, devenu dans son créneau, après deux décennies, l'événement le plus durable en Amérique du Nord. «Je crois que Montréal a toujours appuyé la musique africaine, dira Youssou en entrevue. Être associé à cette organisation représente certes un honneur pour moi.»

Comme dans la rue

Très charismatique, figure de proue de la world music, homme d'affaires prospère, humaniste accompli, instigateur l'an dernier du Roll Back Malaria Concert, le plus important rassemblement musical jamais réalisé en Afrique, qu'il a conçu pour sensibiliser les gens aux ravages du paludisme, Youssou est acclamé au Sénégal au même titre que Leopold Sedar Senghor, le président-poète fondateur du pays dont on célèbre cette année le centenaire. Profitant d'une telle renommée, le chanteur à message pourrait-il être tenté par la politique ? «Si j'étais président, le peuple mangerait des pierres», avait-il déjà déclaré.

Pour les Sénégalais, «You» demeure d'abord la voix de la médina dakaroise. «À la radio, on entendait de la musique moderne. Mais le soir venu, il y avait les manifestations avec les tams tams et les autres instruments traditionnels. Chacun pouvait alors prendre la parole, chanter et rapper. Lorsque l'on voulait pratiquer notre musique, seules les percussions nous étaient accessibles. Le jour, on écoutait Fela ou Manu Dibango et au crépuscule, on essayait de reproduire leurs chansons à grands coups de tambours. C'était un phénomène de rue.»

De là, le chanteur à l'organe haut perché et au registre étendu sur quatre octaves tirera sa première inspiration. Le mbalax, encore inconnu à l'extérieur, s'empare de la fête. Au rythme des tambours sabars, les gens se regroupent spontanément pour former de grands cercles propices aux déhanchements les plus exubérants. Youssou révolutionnera le genre et le transportera dans les boîtes de nuit. «J'ai introduit la lutherie moderne et donné à chaque instrument le rôle qui revenait à chacune des percussions. Comme on le faisait dans la rue.» Le tama occupe également une place prépondérante au sein de sa musique. «Lorsque je chante et que je l'entends, c'est une voix et non un tambour qui me répond.»

Cela permet de comprendre la trajectoire de celui qui fusionnera son art, sans vergogne, avec la pop d'outre-mer, quitte à se méfier aussi bien de ceux qui le trouvent trop occidentalisé que de ceux qui le veulent complètement racine. Entre Seven Seconds, pièce extrêmement commerciale qui lui a permis d'atteindre les sommets du palmarès avec Neneh Cherry, et Egypt, plus récent album, célébrant les saints et les sages de l'islam dans un climat de recueillement, rapprochant les sensibilités wolofs et égyptiennes, un monde de contradictions semblent planer. Mais l'auteur défend sa direction artistique. «Je veux que tous mes disques soient différents les uns des autres. Et le concert de Montréal s'éloignera de Egypt, qui était une parenthèse.»

Tous allumés !

Ce concert, il le donnera en ouverture du FINA le 13 juillet au Metropolis. Le festival propose jusqu'au 23 juillet, sur le thème «20 ans à la rencontre du monde», une programmation diversifiée, autant sur le plan des genres abordés que sur celui des époques parcourues. De l'ensemble, voici quelques suggestions.

D'abord, les vétérans congolais de Kekele, partis depuis leur plus récent disque, Kinawana, à la recherche des classiques de la rumba cubaine : des crooners avec attitude ! Puis, Les Amazones de la Guinée, qui furent les premières de la tradition de leur pays à s'attaquer au djembé, symbole de la puissance masculine : fermement explosives. Amateurs de hip-hop ? Daara J., l'un des meilleurs parmi les 3000 groupes de rap dakarois, précédé des Montréalais de Kulcha Connection en mode moins roots qu'auparavant. Du bon folk africain ? Daby Touré, généralement plus... rock sur scène.

Des découvertes ? Sara Tavares, chanteuse et guitariste au swing léger mais craquant, ouverte à tout le monde lusophone; Aurelio Martinez, du Honduras et du Belize, sa plainte bluesy et sa cadence bellement chaloupée; M'Toro Chamou, premier musicien de Mayotte à venir ici, la voix pleine de miel, le chant engagé et la rythmique insulaire désinvolte.

Et puis, des tonnes d'artistes montréalais, tous aussi allumés les uns que les autres : Paulo Ramos, riche d'un nouvel album qui confirme la tendance acoustique constatée depuis 2000; Lorraine Klaasen, une grande dame de scène; le guitariste Harold Faustin en duo avec Samina (vocabulaire singulier, battements des Caraïbes et jazz subtil); Senaya, l'étoile montante de la soul pop créole... Sans compter les trois jours, du 21 au 23 juillet, de concerts extérieurs gratuits à la place Émilie-Gamelin. Que de chemin parcouru en vingt ans !

Sunset Concert Features Singer, Songwriter Richie Havens

(...) Havens also recently collaborated with Peter Gabriel and British dance duo Groove Armada. He performed at England’s legendary Glastonbury Festival, where he played with his own band and then joined Groove Armada on stage for a performance for the BBC.(...)

Real World Summer Party : a CD was recorded, mixed and duplicated live on the night.

Solid State Logic’s new C300 console helps Real World capture the sounds of its Summer Party

07 July 2006

Over 300 guests who attended a summer party at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios were able to take away a permanent reminder of the event in the shape of a CD that wasrecorded, mixed and duplicated live on the night.

Various artists entertained the guests, including Little Axe, Sevara Nazarkhan, Daby Touré, Adrian Sherwood and Guo Yue, all of whom are signed to Real World Records.
Also on stage was Charlie Winston who is published by Real World Works. Their performances were captured for the CD by Real World engineer Richard Chappell. The evening climaxed with an impromptu performance featuring Peter Gabriel and a ‘special guest’, followed by a spectacular fireworks display.

Solid State Logic’s new C300 digital production console was the unsung star of the show, as it was the versatility of this compact desk that made the recording possible. Although primarily aimed at surround sound music and post production applications, the desk performed magnificently as a live recording console – the first time it has ever been used in this way.

The idea of recording the concert evolved the week before the party when SSL took a C300 to the studio so that invited guests, who included many well-known producers and engineers, would have an opportunity to demo it.

“It occurred to us that as we had such a great desk at our disposal, we might as well make use of it and record the artists’ performances,” said Richard Chappell. “We set up a separate machine room in one of the workshops opposite the main studio and ran the cables overhead to link the two. I then spent a few days with Chris Jenkins, SSL’s Director of Commercial Applications, learning how to operate the console and getting everything set up for the night of the party.”

Chappell adds that the challenge was a tough one, but each set was miked during the afternoon’s soundchecks and snapshots were created on the console so that they could be instantly recalled as each artist went on stage.

One Pro Tools HD system was used to create a 32-track multitrack, which will be incorporated into a DVD of the event at some later stage. A further two Pro Tools systems were used for the stereo mixes and safety copies.

CD Live8 at Eden, Africa Calling

Label : REALWORLD
Editeur : EMI MUSIC FRANCE

Support : CD
Date de sortie : 31/07/2006

Live8 at Eden garnered some faint praise at the time, but from the sound of this recording, it was more fun than the Hyde Park gig. Assembled at short notice by the Eden Project's Tim Smit, Womad's Thomas Brooman and friends such as Peter Gabriel and YoussouN'Dour, the Eden Project concert was an organisational triumph as well as a musical one. And it's good to have a multi-artist disc of such richness, from the exuberant hip-hop of Daara J to the spine-chilling guitar-trance of Tinariwen; from the undulating mbira of Chartwell Dutiro to the irrepressible Congolese strut of Kanda Bongo Man. There are no weak spots. Africa Calling isn't just a right-on purchase, but a fine collection of contemporary world music.

* Audio CD (26 Jun 2006)
* Label: Realworld
* ASIN: B000FL7BGK

Track Listings

1. Set - N'Dour, Youssou & Super Etoile
2. Beyeza - Shikisha
3. Agolo - Kidjo, Angelique
4. Barco Negro - Mariza
5. Louanges - El Sikameya, Akim
6. Amassakoul - Tinariwen
7. Lumbul - Diouf, Modou & O Fogum
8. Kuvarira Mukati - Mapfumo, Thomas & Blacks Unltd.
9. Lapwony - Oryema, Geoffrey
10. Mbani - Siyaya
11. Lei Lie - Mursal, Maryam
12. Billi - Kanda Bongo Man
13. Gua - Jal, Emmanuel
14. Na Menguele - Mbassi, Coco
15. Changamire - Dutiro, Chartwell
16. Lori Swela - Ogada, Ayub & Uno
17. Exodus - Daara J
18. New Africa - N'Dour, Youssou & Super Etoile

Sledgehammer au musée d'art contemporain de Montréal

Projections Vidéomusique au Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal du 12 juillet au 1er octobre 2006

Ils ont grandi avec MTV, ils sont reconnus comme "auteurs". Alors que tout semblait avoir été fait, que tout semblait avoir été dit dans l'univers des vidéoclips, ils ont redéfini la vidéo musique. Les Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Chris Cunningham, Louis-Philippe Eno entrent au Musée ! Du 12 juillet au 1er octobre 2006, le Musée d'art contemporain présente Vidéomusique, un programme de 26 vidéoclips dans le cadre de sa série Projections.

Au programme, une sélection des meilleures vidéos musique réalisées au cours des vingt dernières années, par les quatre artistes déjà mentionnés ainsi que par Godley & Creme, Steve Barron, Stephen R. Johnson, Mark Romanek, Jonathan Glazer, Martin de Thurah, Félix Lajeunesse et Paul Raphael en collaboration avec Thien Vu Dang et plusieurs autres. Une exception cependant:

Bohemian Rhapsody de Queen, réalisée par Bruce Gowers en 1975 et considérée comme le "premier véritable vidéoclip", soit un film vidéo, bref, ayant recours à des effets spéciaux et réalisé pour promouvoir une chanson et idéalement en faire un "hit"!

Mais c'est aux vingt dernières années que le programme est consacré. "Ces réalisateurs sont remarquablement ingénieux et inventifs dans leurs concepts et leurs images, autant à la caméra qu'aux effets spéciaux. La réalisation de vidéo musique semble presque un jeu pour eux et fut certainement un tremplin vers le long métrage" explique Louise Ismert, responsable des créations multimédias.

Cette dernière a visionné des décennies de vidéoclips pour nous offrir une heure trente d'imagination débridée, d'une nouvelle forme de création. Entre la musique et le cinéma, la télévision et la publicité, les réalisateurs de vidéo musique ont inventé de nouvelles façons de faire des films et sont venus élargir le champ des arts visuels.

En s'engageant dans la présentation de Vidéomusique, le Musée veut rendre compte du dynamisme de la création dans le secteur de la vidéo musique, faire connaître ces artistes des plus inventifs et présenter leurs réalisations dans le contexte de l'art contemporain.

Le Musée d'art contemporain est situé au 185, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, métro Place-des-Arts. Heures d'ouverture d'été : du lundi au dimanche de 11 h à 18 h et le mercredi de 11 h à 21 h. Prix d'entrée : 8 $ adulte, 6 $ aîné, 4 $ étudiant, 16 $ famille. L'entrée est libre pour les moins de 12 ans et les membres de la Fondation du Musée. L'entrée est gratuite pour tous, les mercredis de 18 h à 21 h. Renseignements : (514) 847-6226. Site internet : www.macm.org.

Le Musée d'art contemporain est une société d'Etat subventionnée par le ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec et bénéficie de la participation financière du ministère du Patrimoine canadien et du Conseil des Arts du Canada.

Music Video Program
-------------------

1975 Bruce Gowers,                    2001 Spike Jonze,
Bohemian Rhapsody,                    Weapon of Choice,
Queen   5 min 56 s                    Fatboy Slim   3 min 45 s

1983 Godley & Creme,                  2002 Pascal Grandmaison,
Rockit,                               Les yeux tout autour de
Herbie Hancock   3 min 22 s           la tête, Jérôme Minière  4 min 38 s

1984 Zbigniew Rybczynski,             2002 Michel Gondry, Fell in
Close to the Edit,                    Love with a Girl, The White
Art of Noise   4 min 16 s             Stripes    1 min 55 s

1984 Zbigniew Rybczynski,             2002 Michel Gondry,
All That I Wanted,                    Come to My World,
Belfegore   4 min 16 s                Kylie Minogue   4 min 13 s

1984 Jean Baptiste Mondino,           2003 Alex & Martin,
Boys of Summer,                       even Nation Army,
Don Henley   4 min 46 s               The White Stripes  3 min 53 s

1985 Steve Barron,                    2003 Floria Sigismondi,
Take On Me,                           In My Secret Life,
a-ha   3 min 40 s                     Leonard Cohen  4 min 06 s

1986 Stephen R. Johnson,              2004 Maxime Giroux,
Sledgehammer,                         Overrated, Pilate  3 min 16 s
Peter Gabriel   4 min 59 s

1986 Zbigniew Rybczynski,             2004 Jonas Odell, Take Me Out,
Imagine,                              Franz Ferdinand   3 min 58 s
John Lennon   3 min 15 s

1991 Stéphane Sednaoui,               2005 Félix et Paul, Les
Give It Away,                         Humains, Akido  3 min 45 s
Red Hot Chili Peppers  4 min 31 s

1995 Mark Romanek,                    2005 Micah Meisner,
Bedtime Story,                        Devil's Eyes,
Madonna   4 min 24 s                  Buck 65  3 min 49 s

1996 Jonathan Glazer,                 2005  Joshua Deu, Laika,
Street Spirit,                        Arcade Fire  3 min 30 s
Radiohead   4 min 18 s

1997 Chris Cunningham,                2005 Martin de Thurah,
Only You,                             What Else Is There?
Portishead   4 min 17 s               Rvyksopp  3 min 31 s

1998 Chris Cunningham,                2006 Louis-Philippe Eno,
All Is Full of Love,                  Montréal -40(degrees)C,
Björk   4 min 05 s                    Malajube 3 min 17 s

Real World music in rural England

The designers Charles and Ray Eames had an elaborate protocol for entertaining visitors to their office at 901 West Washington Boulevard in Venice, California. They kept records of what visitors had been shown, so they could surprise each person with something new. The guest/host relationship, for them, was paramount.

But Charles Eames refused to fit a dimmer switch in the room where films were shown. “I don’t want it to look like we’re showing them a movie,” he insisted. “I want them to know that they’re looking at something that’s a piece of work. This is not a theatre – this is part of my workspace.”

Last week, the Real World studios in Box in rural Wiltshire were playing host in a similar way, throwing a party to celebrate 20 years of working, and showcasing some of the artists at work making recordings for the Real World label. A tent on the lawn served as stage for performances and around the mill complex, work was going on. Visitors wandered about, peeking into studios and feeding the ducks.

Sevara Nazarkhan was putting the finishing touches to her second album for the label, moving away from traditional songs towards an Uzbek trip-hop somewhere between Goldfrapp and Björk. She was singing her own backing vocals while her producer, Bruno Ellingham, diligently pasted them into his working mixes. “She’ll come in with 10 different ideas,” he said admiringly, as Nazarkhan swayed and hummed in a cupboard-sized studio on the other side of the glass, “and she’ll sing each of them with perfect pitch, perfect tuning.”

Guo Yue, who plays the bamboo flute, is an old hand at Real World. He has returned to the label for his new album, Music, Food and Love, whose accompanying book serves up recipes. “I have heard Yue’s music,” announced Peter Gabriel when introducing him, “I’ve eaten his food . . . and the rest I leave to your imagination.” Guo’s was the most traditional music on offer, flute solos that pulsated in the air, knocking against the eardrums.

The dub producer Adrian Sherwood, whose second album for Real World is due in September, had just spent several days recording with the blues guitarist Little Axe. The extracts from their previous collaboration, due for release next month, sounded like the darkest gospel, a deep voice singing about “demon days” like Satan echoing in a pit of fire.

“We came in and caned it,” Sherwood said. “This room [the large studio overlooking the lake] is magic. And everyone seems happy who works here.”

“It’s the drugs,” said Gabriel. “Fresh air,” said Sherwood. “We recorded the whole album in 30 hours.”

Simon Emmerson is working on a project called The Imagined Village, giving updated treatments to traditional English folk songs. Eliza Carthy duets with Damon Albarn, and Sheila Chandra with Chris Wood; Paul Weller and Martin Carthy sing “John Barleycorn”. Emmerson played us an extract from Benjamin Zephaniah’s dub rewrite of “Tam Lin”, turning the tale of a Scottish knight abducted by the Queen of the Faeries into a dark tale of modern clubland.

In the early 1990s, Real World was the venue for recording weeks, when artists who had just played at the Womad festival congregated in Box to record furiously. Stephen Hague, the producer, has been digging through those tapes and assembling them into coherent pieces of music. He played a snapshot from the early days of the label: Juan Canizares’s flamenco guitar with singing by Papa Wemba; the Holmes Brothers singing “Burn You Up”; Gabriel himself in full voice on a song written with Andy White. Like the Eames Office, Real World gave due prominence to the work.

One of Real World’s best projects was last year’s Africa Calling concert, a riposte to Live 8’s odd lack of African artists . It may not have boasted the reformed Pink Floyd but Africa Calling was where the real action of the day took place, and the highlights are collected on a live CD. It’s hard to think who else could have pulled such an event together.

‘Music, Food and Love’ by Guo Yue and the compilation ‘Africa Calling’ are out now on Real World. The other records discussed will be released later this year and in 2007

By David Honigmann / The Financial Times

Hommage à Peter Gabriel par Big Time

vendredi 7 juillet 2006 : 20:00 ; Lieu du spectacle :Scène Caisse Desjardins des Trois-Rivières (Québec) ;Achat de billet : Pour ce spectacle vous devez vous procurer un passeport.

Chanteur britannique né en 1950, Peter Gabriel marqua la seconde moitié du 20e siècle. Il a d’ailleurs été le leader du populaire groupe Genesis, pour finalement entreprendre, en 1975, une carrière solo afin d’assouvir son désir d’expériences sonores nouvelles allant de la pop-rock à la World music. La formation Big Time sait mieux que quiconque rendre hommage au célèbre Peter Gabriel, proposant un amalgame de nos hits favoris. Elle nous promet donc une soirée magique à la scène Desjardins.

Une nuit avec Youssou N’Dour

Festival Nuits d’Afrique

Youssou N’Dour est l’un des plus importants ambassadeurs de la musique africaine sur la scène internationale. La rock star sénégalaise est aussi le parrain de la 20e édition du festival Nuits d’Afrique, qui se tiendra du 13 au 23 juillet à Montréal.

C’est dans les années 1980 que l’Occident découvre Youssou N’Dour à la faveur d’une rencontre avec Peter Gabriel qui lui fait faire la première partie de sa tournée américaine en 1984. Sa chanson Seven Seconds, interprétée en duo avec Neneh Cherry, le propulse sur le devant de la scène avec plus d’un million et demi de copies vendues, pour le seul single, dans les premiers mois au début des années 1990.

Depuis, Youssou N’Dour fait un carton dans tous les stades d’Afrique. Il est régulièrement en tournée en Europe, notamment en France, où il a fait les plus grandes salles, telles le Zenith, l’Olympia, voire le stade de Bercy ou encore l’Opéra Garnier, en 1991, à l’occasion du Festival Paris Quartier d’été, pour Africa Opera, en compagnie des Angélique Kidjo, Aïcha Kon et Djanka Diabaté.

Mondial de foot

En juin 1998, en duo avec la chanteuse belge Axel Red, Youssou N’Dour chante l’hymne officiel de la Coupe du monde de football qui se tient en France : l’occasion de réunir deux passions pour l’artiste qui, depuis deux semaines, n’a manqué aucun match depuis sa maison de Dakar, rivé qu’il est à son téléviseur. C’est finalement lors d’un transit en France qu’Alternatives réussira à le coincer, l’espace de quelques minutes, pour une interview téléphonique, au demeurant fort sympathique. « C’est grâce aux gens qui évoluent dans la culture et dans le sport que le visage de l’Afrique change », affirme le chanteur, qui poursuit en faisant remarquer que « le Mondial est un événement exceptionnel qui apaise les esprits », où les comportements sont ceux que devraient avoir les gens dans la vie : accolades entre partenaires de jeux et adversaires, des sanctions lorsque l’on commet une faute. En ce jeudi 22 juin, nous sommes à quelques heures des derniers matchs du premier round. Déjà le sort de la majorité des équipes africaines est joué. Aucune n’a encore réussi à se classer, quoique toutes peuvent quitter l’Allemagne la tête haute. Youssou N’Dour est très heureux de ce Mondial et prédit que le Ghana l’emportera contre les États-Unis en soirée pour passer au deuxième tour. Et de fait, c’est ce qu’il adviendra. Dans quatre ans, pour la première fois, l’événement sera disputé sur le continent noir, en Afrique du Sud, ce dont l’artiste sénégalais n’est pas peu fier : « Le Mondial passe la main à l’Afrique », conclut-il poétiquement.

Celui qui mélange, pour notre plus grand bonheur, sonorités africaines traditionnelles et pop internationale, n’en est pas à son premier passage à Montréal. « J’aime beaucoup Montréal, affirme-t-il très convaincant. C’est une ville multiculturelle, francophone au milieu de l’Amérique du Nord. Les gens sont sympathiques, il s’y passe plein de choses. C’est le Festival de Jazz qui m’a donné ma première chance, avec Peter Gabriel [en 1988]. » Par la suite, le chanteur revient souvent à l’invitation des festivals et des nombreux copains qu’il dit avoir maintenant à Montréal. En 2004, il participe de nouveau au Festival de Jazz lors de l’événement Cirque du Soleil qui fait sensation.

Engagé

En 1999, il donne à New York un concert mémorable sur la scène Hammerstein Ballroom, où Stevie Wonder lui fait l’honneur de venir partager la scène avec lui le temps de quelques chansons. Mais en 2003, l’étoile sénégalaise y annule une série de concerts à la suite de l’invasion de l’Irak par l’armée américaine. Car engagé, le chanteur l’est très certainement. Il est membre du Programme de développement des Nation unies (PNUD), spécialisé sur les questions de VIH/sida, ambassadeur de l’UNICEF, créateur de spots publicitaires télé et radio faisant la promotion du préservatif, et à l’origine d’une initiative intitulée Joko, du nom de son disque sorti en 2000, Joko, From Village to Town. Il s’agit d’un réseau de centres d’accès à Internet et de formation cherchant « à stimuler l’utilisation de l’Internet et le développement économique dans des zones rurales et urbaines et dans le monde pour la diaspora africaine et sénégalaise », peut-on lire sur le site officiel du chanteur.

Enfin, Youssou N’Dour croit que la musique africaine et ses artistes demeurent parmi les meilleurs ambassadeurs du continent et « mériteraient d’être beaucoup plus respectés par les maisons de disque ». « La musique africaine se porte bien. Elle est diversifiée, urbaine et ouverte au reste du monde en incorporant d’autres rythmes dont les rythmes latinos. »

Rendez-vous

Et s’il a accepté d’être le parrain de Nuits d’Afrique, c’est qu’il ne fait pas de doute pour l’artiste qu’il s’agit là d’un « plateau important pour la musique africaine. C’est aussi la fête des vacances. Et aujourd’hui, dans le contexte de la musique africaine, il est aussi important d’encourager les promoteurs. » Le chanteur, dont les formations musicales dans les années 1970 et 1980 se sont tour à tour appelé l’Étoile de Dakar et le Super Étoile, alors qu’il se produisait dans les clubs de la capitale sénégalaise, ouvrira le bal du Festival, le 13 juillet au Métropolis. Et là, c’est à une étoile internationale que vous aurez à faire.

par : France-Isabelle LANGLOIS
pour Alternatives Canada

Singer-model Chyna Gordon's hot touch

Chyna Gordon

(...) Convinced about her future and secure about her identity, Chyna hit the London club scene, gigging wherever the opportunity arose and doing guest vocals on the albums of other musicians.In what must be one of the most powerful affirmations for word-of-mouth promotion, Chyna entered what could only be described as her 'golden phone call' phase.

The first call was from Peter Gabriel, who asked her to sing on the recording of his then breakthrough album, So (specifically on the smash single, Sledgehammer). "At the time, I really didn't even know who he was, but all the people I told were just gasping, 'oh! you're working with Peter Gabriel!' (...)

Real World Celebrates in Style!

Everyone on site at Real World had their fingers crossed on the morning of Wednesday 28 June and were looking skyward for signs of ominous black clouds! We were all hoping that it wasn't going rain! This was the day of the Real World Summer Party - our biggest celebration in the last 7 years- and we were relying on the sunshine to make it a perfect day.

The big event was to celebrate 20 Years of Real World Studios, its investment in a future of recording and the unique relationship with Real World Records. The refit and relaunch of two of the main studios - the famous Big Control Room and smaller Production Room - were the motivation to crack open a bottle of wine. It then seemed a good idea to invite a number of Real World artists to the studio and put on a concert in the grounds of the studio.

During the afternoon the invited media took part in a press conference where Peter Gabriel talked about the illustrious history of the studio, played some tasters of forthcoming music to be released on the label and introduced a number of musicians and producers.

Following a wonderful barbeque from resident Real World chief Geraldine, lashings of Pimms, fine wines, delicious deserts and west country cheeses the invited audience of friends and business associates enjoyed an evening of music.

Adrian Sherwood opened proceedings with a mellow 'dub lite' DJ set followed by new comer singer song writer Charlie Winston. Chinese flutist Guo Yue provided a magical moment of solo performance followed by the wonderful Daby Touré who got the crowd in party mood. Sevara Nazarkhan, the beautiful Uzbek diva, was outstanding. LIttle Axe brought the house down (even though we were all outside on the lawn) with a fantastic set of 21st century blues featuring the legendary Skip Mcdonald, Keith Le Blanc, Doug Wimbish and original Tackhead vocalist Bernard Fowler. Quite unexpectedly the band were joined on stage by Robert Plant (who was unable to resist the temptation to get up there with like-minded musicians!) followed by Peter and Sevara. What a finale! The whole evening was brought to a fabulous conclusion with a specially designed firework display - the scale of which has never been seen before in the skies above the village of Box!

And we didn't even have a light shower.....

Life's a beach at Womad

Revellers at this year’s Womad festival will get the chance to ditch their tents for a plush beach hut or stunning teepee. Music fans can say goodbye to the ground sheets and camping tables for a foam sofa bed, table and table lamp in the two-man huts or cosy down in one of the towering wigwams. The facilities are just some of a host of changes to be announced by the organisers of the World of Music, Arts and Dance extravaganza to make the increasingly popular festival bigger and better than ever.

More than 27,000 world music fans are expected to turn up to the Richfield Avenue site at the end of July for the 17th annual family-friendly event. This year will also boast a giant stage in three sections, which will host cinema and cabaret shows as well as scores of workshops. Revellers will also get a chance to try out a silent disco – where people get boogying to music via headphones – over the three-day event.

For the first time, there will also be comedy, with performances by political stand-up act Mark Thomas and children’s comic James Campbell, among the star turns due to make an appearance. Bobby Lonergan, of festival partner organisation, Reading Arts, said the site – traditionally the field outside Rivermead – would also be bigger this year. A deal has been done with Mean Fiddler, which organises the Reading Rock Festival and owns Little John’s Farm, land adjacent to the Rivermead site, to use part of Little John’s Farm for the new initiatives.

He also said the licensing application for the revamped festival was still on the drawing board but once approved by Reading Borough Council, it would be valid for several years. More showers and toilets – the lack of which last year resulted in an unpleasant whiff across the site – will also be brought in, Mr Lonergan added.

And to the delight of the festival’s aficionados, the beautiful handmade flags symbolising peace and friendship will make a return. Each year the festival, which is the brainchild of rock legend Peter Gabriel and is organised by the Womad Festival Organisation, brings more than 80 artists from 40 different countries to the town. This year, artists including Anoushka Shankar of India and American folk singer Nanci Griffith will appear.

Weekend tickets priced at £110 as well as day passes, with prices ranging from £35 to £55, are still available. For information and ticket bookings, please call the Womad hotline on (0118) 939 0930. For details about the beach huts and teepees, visit www.womad.org/reading and click on the ‘location’ link. You can hire a traditional beach hut for two for £450 and the traditional Native American teepees, which can sleep up to 10 people, will also be on offer at prices ranging from £290 to £690.

Origine des Gnaoua et Gnaoua des origines

Perçus il y a quelques années encore comme des "mendiants" ou des amuseurs publics, les gnaoua sont aujourd'hui considérés, à juste titre, comme des artistes à part entière voire des stars que réclament et s'arrachent les scènes nationales et internationales les plus prestigieuses. (...)

Avec des différents styles qui puisent dans une même source, les maâlems gnaoua se prêtent bien à toutes les fusions et arrivent facilement à établir une complicité avec les plus grands virtuoses et musiques du monde. Jazz, blues, pop, techno ou percussions africaines se marie à merveille avec les jams, tant il est vrai que les Gnaoua sont des passeurs de musique et d'émotions.

Ils ont en donné la preuve en partageant avec brio la scène avec les Carlos Santana, les Peter Gabriel, les Led Zeppelin, les Robert Plant, les Randy Weston, les Pink Floyd, les Cat Stevens, les Jimmy Hendrix, les Henri Salvador, les Sapho, les Rita Mitsouko, et la liste est longue.

Télévision, cinéma et sociétés de communication aidant, la musique gnaouie est sortie de l'ombre pour investir les plus grandes scènes mondiales et ébahir leurs publics.

Mais pour ce genre de musique original, l'événement le plus marquant reste le festival d'Essaouira, ce boom gnaoui qui a profité à plusieurs artistes qui se sont trouvés propulsés hors des circuits traditionnels des laylats, drainant à eux seuls plus de 500.000 personnes du monde entier au titre de la 9ème édition du festival 2006.

Mohamed Chennouni

Charles to meet families of soldiers killed in Iraq

Malcolm Kendall-Smith, The RAF doctor is serving an eight-month prison term for refusing to return to Iraq. His supporters, who include the musician Peter Gabriel, claim he is a prisoner of conscience.

Prince of Wales to hear demands of bereaved relatives for British troops to be brought home

The Prince of Wales will be asked to support demands for British troops to leave Iraq when he meets the parents of soldiers killed in the Gulf war in private this week. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have invited several of the most prominent critics of Tony Blair's policy on Iraq to Highgrove this Thursday, including Reg Keys, who stood against the Prime Minister in his Sedgefield constituency at last year's general election.

Palace officials insist his meeting is non-political and based on his honorary position as a senior commander of the armed forces, but Mr Keys and other campaigning relatives, including Rose Gentle, believe he is privately sympathetic to their complaints. The event takes place the day after more than a dozen prominent celebrities, including the actor Simon Callow, the designer Vivienne Westwood and director Ken Loach, host a fund-raising event for the Iraq "refusenik" Fl-Lt Malcolm Kendall-Smith in London. The RAF doctor is serving an eight-month prison term for refusing to return to Iraq. His supporters, who include the musician Peter Gabriel, claim he is a prisoner of conscience.

The Highgrove reception is understood to include relatives who do not criticise Britain's role in the Iraq conflict, but Prince Charles's decision to meet parents such as Mr Keys and Mrs Gentle, whose son Gordon died in 2004, risks alarming military commanders. Mr Keys, who lost his son Thomas, a military policeman, in June 2003, said this meeting also contrasted markedly with Mr Blair's repeated refusal to meet the families. "It just shows that these two men are poles apart in integrity and compassion," he said.

"If I did get the opportunity to talk to him, I would have to say it's clearly a catastrophic strategic failure; that it has cost far too many lives and needs to be brought to a close." Peter Brierley, whose son Shaun died in March 2003, added: "Prince Charles is being a good national leader, isn't he? It seems a bit strange that the man elected by the people to be their leader refuses to meet us, but the bloke born into it is voluntarily doing so."

By Severin Carrell

Remix Competition

We're pleased to announce the first Real World Remixed competition in association with Peter Gabriel, who's given us Shock The Monkey to remix and Solid State Logic, who are donating a great prize.

We're celebrating twenty years of Real World Studios and the installation of a new SSL XL 9000 console in our flagship studio 'The Big Room' along with a lovely AWS 900+ in our metamorphosed 'Production Room'. To spread the joy we're making available a sample pack; including all the vocals, from Peter's original multitracks of Shock The Monkey. Recorded between spring 1981 and summer 1982 this track was one of the first to use sampling technology. Peter utilizied the ground breaking Fairlight CMI and you can hear it and other classic machines such as the Linn Drum and the Prophet 5 synth throughout the sample pack.

"I'd been dreaming for some time of an instrument that could sample stuff from the real world and then turn it, make it available on a keyboard. Larry Fast told me that he thought he'd heard rumours of such an instrument. It was £10,000 which seemed an unearthly amount of money, got very excited with this thing, it's called the FairLight, and spent a lot of time then collecting sounds going to factories to the university, getting interesting samples that were then used on that record and the ones after, it was really one of the key things that gave that record a different sound." Peter Gabriel

Download the pack when it becomes available on the 28th of June, remix, then upload your finished mix back to this site - we're going to be keeping an eye on the peer reviews and ratings, then we'll sit down with Peter and listen to the pick of the mixes here in the first week of October. The winner will be announced on September 7th.

The winner will get to experience the quality of sound processing SSL tecnology can bring to their work in the form of the amazing Duende. Five runners up can hear some of Peter's other recordings given new life in the 5.1 mixes by Dan Lanois and Richard Chappel on signed copies of Peter's Play: The Videos DVD.

Peter Gabriel: Welcome to my Real World

Peter Gabriel tells how, 20 years ago, he set up his pioneering label and studio dedicated to recording and releasing music from all over the globe

Next Wednesday, 28 June, we're having a party to celebrate 20 years of Real World with a wonderful mixed bill of Little Axe, Daby Toure, Sevara Nazarkhan, Guo Yue, Charlie Winston and the DJ Adrian Sherwood.

Since the band Traffic announced they were going to "get it together in the country" in 1967, musicians have been trying to escape the temptations of city life to focus on their writing and recording in greener pastures. I emigrated to the West Country in 1974, tired of the regular evening rumble of my neighbours' fists on the walls of our Notting Hill bedsit as my songs crawled out of the piano. The first location was an old farm-shed in the southernmost valley of the Cotswolds. It was warm, well insulated and we managed to stick in a couple of picture windows, looking up the valley. The cows would sometimes come and lick the window panes while we were making music. This we would take as a sign of good fortune and good taste. I always wanted to buy more stuff, so the idea of renting the place out as a studio started to look like a fine thing to do.

I was very excited when artists such as Joni Mitchell and Robbie Robertson started to use the place, and the idea of turning it into a proper studio seemed like the next step. We spent some time looking for a new site until a friend introduced us to our present site, Box Mill, seven miles away.

At the time, most studios were cramped, disco-lit, underground padded cells as isolated as possible from the outside world. My vision was to set up a series of writing and recording rooms, all with windows overlooking water, fully connected to and serviced by a large hub that could house the brains and the enormous main control room. Our slogan was "handmade and high-tech' and the studio was built around both approaches. Great technical recording is worth nothing without a great performance. The studio was designed to create an open and free environment in which people from other cultures might feel comfortable enough to give great performances. The largest studio had two or three stages inside the control room so that the zoo-like separation between engineer, producer, and artist was eliminated.

The angst of the creative process manifested in different ways. Some would arrive with prayer mats, others with hookers. But, like hotelkeepers, a studio should not be in the business of preaching to its clients, and we were there to facilitate the creative process.

Today the costs of recording can be very low, and every major record company has its boutique "world" label, but at the beginning it wasn't like that. We could only fund Real World as a record company if it was really tightly managed. Simon Draper of Virgin had offered us 10 grand to make each record, covering advances to artists, recording costs, album art and the running of the label.

The first release on Real World was Passion - the soundtrack for the film The Last Temptation of Christ. It was also the first time I had recorded with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and perhaps the most extraordinary sessions to this day were when we were in the attic studio, which had a raised balcony at the back. The Indian violinist L Shankar stood up on the balcony and Nusrat was standing just behind the desk on the main floor. I think everyone had hairs standing on the backs of their necks as the music started. Both of them took the melody and made it their own. It was like tennis when you think the rally can't get any better but each player raises their game and it just goes up and up. Amazingly emotional: it was India and Pakistan working together for a film about Christ.

No music has gone out that we are not proud of in one way or another, but I've been particularly moved by some of the stuff Nusrat has done. Being part of the process that introduced him to a non-Asian audience is something we all feel good about. We've put out so much great stuff - Maryam Mursal, Yungchen Lhamo, the AfroCelts, Ozomatli, and Papa Wemba all come to mind. Sheila Chandra is another. Sheila's album ABoneCroneDrone is based around the idea that when you look at a rock all you see is a rock, until it starts revealing itself - a bit like lying on your back and looking up at the clouds. To me it's quite a new approach to music-making, and I don't think it got the recognition it deserved. I love Charlie Musselwhite's new record, Delta Hardware. He's an extraordinary harmonica player. On the first album he was a bit shy of taking the front spot as a singer, but I think he's like Johnny Cash in his approach to music.

Part of what I didn't like about how some music had been approached was this slightly fascistic attitude towards ethnic purity and that the "ethnic artists" had to be kept in their traditional, folk, ways. Our approach was that artists were artists and should be allowed to explore and experiment and follow whatever directions inspire them.

Many of the Womad festival artists loved hanging around the festivals and playing and writing. Partly as a result of this, we set up a recording week, usually around the time of Womad. They were some of the most incredible recording experiences of my life. It was like a giant dating agency. Quite a lot of people met up and then later went on to do their own recordings together. Everyone agrees it's just the best experience; it changes you and you learn so much. Not everything works, but when it catches fire it's extraordinary. It's a very commonplace idea now but it certainly wasn't then.

'Africa Calling: Live 8 At Eden', featuring Youssou N'Dour, Angélique Kidjo, Mariza, and many others, is out on EMI/Real World on Monday

UN Security Council must act on Burma

When Argentina was ruled by a brutal military junta, thousands of people and organisations around the world rallied to the cause, demanding human rights and democracy without delay.

Compassionate individuals housed many activists in exile in the United States, United Kingdom and elsewhere, while artists around the world lent their support to help us begin to come to terms with the aftermath of the disappearance of 30,000 people. Support from around the world and within the United Nations was critical. Yet, many thousands of lives could have been saved had the international community acted sooner.

Today, the world finds itself at odds with another brutal military junta in the Southeast Asian country of Burma, which continues to incarcerate Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

Suu Kyi's "crime" is being loved by the people of Burma. Her political party won 82 per cent of the seats in parliament in Burma's last democratic election, only to have the results annulled by the ruling military junta. She has remained locked up for 10 of the past 17 years. Many people of Burma fare much worse, suffering the most severe forms of torture.

The situation for ethnic minorities in the country is even worse. The military regime rules by brute force, oppressing and relocating hundreds of thousands of ethnic minorities who stand in opposition to its rule. Two thousand eight hundred villages have been burned down or otherwise destroyed in eastern Burma alone, some repeatedly, to force ethnic minorities to move to military-controlled areas. As a result, there are over one million Burmese refugees, and over half a million internally displaced people (IDPs). The situation for both groups is dire. For example, refugees like Naanh Hla (not her real name), a Shan woman, who was 16 years old and seven months pregnant when 10 Burmese soldiers kidnapped and killed her husband and gang-raped her to the point that she gave birth prematurely alone in the jungle, or Naw Paw Paw, who recounted to Burma Issues - a group working with the human-rights organisation WITNESS - how she lost four of her six children, two on the same day, over the course of many years fleeing through the jungle.

In the past four months, the worst attacks in a decade have displaced almost 20,000 people. Yet the junta continues to cut off international access to areas of ongoing conflict, which has precluded aid to IDPs, a violation of international humanitarian law. Even in Sudan, humanitarian agencies are permitted access; not so in eastern Burma.

If caught by the military, IDPs are often either killed on the spot or forced to become porters or labourers with little or no pay. Female porters are often systematically raped at night by officers and soldiers. Forced labourers are often required to build roads for the military, making it near impossible for them to grow their own crops.

The junta military also targets children. According to Human Rights Watch, there are up to 70,000 children conscripted into the army, more than any other country in the world. Some conscripted "soldiers" are as young as eleven.

The United Nations has tried in good faith to bring change to Burma but these efforts have failed. The military junta has ignored 28 consecutive non-binding UN Resolutions, four special envoys from the UN Commission on Human Rights, and two special envoys from Secretary-General Kofi Annan himself. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has called for the release of Suu Kyi and others, to no avail. Bilateral initiatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore have also been rebuffed by the military junta, and several missions by the European Union have failed to elicit reform. These failures are not the fault of the United Nations. They have failed due to the intransigence of the military junta, which continues to make empty promises about transitioning to democratic government. The junta's words have lost all credibility.

This situation won't fix itself. The UN Security Council should address the situation in Burma and pass a legally binding resolution calling for peaceful change. Unlike other UN efforts, the Security Council has the power to compel its members to take action. A positive proposal was articulately spelled out in a recent report by South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Czech president Vaclav Havel in which they made it abundantly clear that the Council has the responsibility to act on Burma. The report articulated how the effects of brutal military rule in Burma are spilling over the country's borders and destabilising the region, and rightfully pointed out there is ample precedent for action - the Security Council has acted in less severe situations in the past. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others are calling for the Security Council to act.

Members of the Security Council, including Argentina and the United Kingdom, should step forward and publicly lead the effort for a peaceful, binding Security Council resolution on Burma. If they refuse to act, many more people will die.

Adolfo Perez Esquivel is the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize recipient from Argentina and founder of the Service, Peace and Justice Foundation.

Peter Gabriel, acclaimed musician and activist, is the co-founder of the international organisation WITNESS, currently partnered with the human rights group Burma Issues.

Adolfo Perez Esquivel,

Peter Gabriel

Special to The Nation

Daby Touré à Genève

Genève

SPECTACLES ONÉSIENS - Découvertes et redécouvertes coloreront la saison prochaine.

Le programme 2006-2007 des Spectacles onésiens a été présenté hier par Cyrille Schnyder, directrice de programmation[1]. Concerts et spectacles humoristiques se succéderont pour cette dix-neuvième saison qui s'étend d'octobre à mai. (...)

Sous l'étiquette World music, on retrouve le chanteur d'origine mauritanienne Daby Touré, révélé par Peter Gabriel lors de sa dernière tournée. Grand maître de gaïta –cornemuse galicienne–, Carlos Nuñes se produira avec ses musiciens au mois de janvier. Enfin, le choeur ukrainien Kalena, composé de 80 chanteurs et musiciens, promet une soirée forte en émotions.(...)

[1]Le programme complet sera disponible dès vendredi sur le site: www.spectaclesonesiens.ch

Maurane “au milieu 2” nous

Elle ne s’attendait pas à revenir si vite. Et puis, tout compte fait, cela l’arrange bien. Voilà qui tombe à pic, pour nous aussi. Maurane sera sur scène ce soir à 19 h 30 au Mahatma Gandhi Institute, deux ans après nous avoir quitté l’heureux tour.

L’humaine qui danse est au milieu de nous avec une “petite tournée entre deux grosses”. Un tour de chant qui promet d’être intimiste, entre deux instrumentistes : guitare et piano. Une formule qui laissera la place, à la fin, à une carte des désirs. Petit quart d’heure (on espère que ce sera plus) où le public pourra commander ses chansons préférées. “L’idée c’est que le public soit dans son salon.”

Endiablées ou mélancoliques, celles que Maurane préfèrent ce sont les chansons tristes. Pas à pleurer, mais marquantes. De celles qui vous prennent aux tripes comme les chansons que Brel savait concocter. Nougaro, l’idole, sera là aussi. Mais pas le titre avec Lara Fabian, “parce que je ne l’ai pas emmenée dans mes valises” ni Pa gaie la pagaille, ou alors juste un refrain.

Au milieu 2, c’est “le spectacle des possibles”. Voilà comment Maurane nous l’a présenté hier au Dinarobin, au Morne. Tout comme il est possible que la chanteuse vous raconte ( comme elle l’a fait avec nous) la fois où elle était pompette ( son péché mignon c’est le champagne, elle en avait une coupe, il y a deux ans, au Plaza, nous gratifiera-t-elle de bulles ce soir ?). Un peu d’alcool dans le sang, pour mieux Boire dans le même rêve.

De quoi voguer jusqu’au Toi du monde. Elle en a fait du chemin avant d’arriver à Maurice. Des dates à Madagascar, pas assez à son goût, “parce que ce sont les officiels qui ont été privilégiés. On est toujours déboussolé par la richesse d’un côté et la pauvreté de l’autre”. Quatre concerts à la Réunion, dont elle retient sa rencontre avec Emilie Minatchy, ex-star-académicienne.

Non, Maurane n’affiche ni rejet ni mépris pour les noms issus des émissions de télé-réalité. Elle est de ceux qui ont été “explosés” par la version de Bagdad Café de Dominique de La nouvelle star. Elle est de ceux qui “ont hâte que Christophe sorte de la grosse machine pour se créer une identité”.

Et quand on lui parle de ses débuts, des années de galère, Maurane préfère dire que c’est “l’école, l’apprentissage”. Elle en a gardé un côté cool, une “indolence qui fait partie de mon rythme”. Avec en prime, ses entrées dans de prestigieuses “familles” d’artistes. Des noms ? Sans prétention, elle cite Cabrel, Goldman, Nougaro, Fugain.
A l’automne, il faudra y ajouter le nom de Daran. Celui qui écrit son nouvel album. Elle aime bien être à plusieurs, Maurane. Après des duos avec Céline Dion, Lara Fabian et tout ce que le showbiz français compte comme Enfoirés, c’est avec Sting, Peter Gabriel ou Youssou N’Dour qu’elle aimerait chanter. Mais bon, “il faut parfois rester avec ses rêves”. C’est bien ce que nous nous attendons à vivre ce soir.

Wings Over Boston

BOSTON -(...) Last year, Skywalk celebrated its 40th anniversary by installing the Dreams of Freedom Immigration Museum. Formerly located in downtown Boston's International Institute of Boston, the museum highlights immigration's role in building Boston's identity. In one multimedia exhibit, two rap emcees appear on separate television sets and ask viewers sample questions from the U.S. citizenship test. Siblings Fernando and Jennifer Pena laughed while they watched the video. "If you ask Americans, some of them wouldn't even know the answers to those questions," said Jennifer Pena, who was born in the Dominican Republic.

Among the nearly 30 interactive displays are a short film about refugees narrated by singer Peter Gabriel and the "Wings Over Boston" aerial video tour.

DailyCD Official Selection Honors Best Albums Past & Present

DailyCD (www.DailyCD.com), the free e-newsletter that features the world's best albums, has created the DailyCD Official Selection to bestow on the albums selected for the newsletter and Web site. The musicologists and journalists who write the reviews on DailyCD choose only one album a day from the thousands that are released weekly and those released in past decades. More than 60,000 albums were released in 2005 alone, according to Neilson SoundScan. So, when the DailyCD Official Selection is granted, enormous musical value is placed upon that title.

"We created the DailyCD Official Selection to give consumers confidence in making their music purchases," said Scott Blum, co-founder and CEO of DailyCD. "Our goal is to help people identify the greatest albums among a sea of records, similar to the way the Sundance Film Festival helps guide people to great films."

The albums that receive the DailyCD Official Selection are chosen for their quality and individuality. They have ranged from Herbie Hancock's classic "Inventions and Dimensions" (1963) to Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" (1976) to "The Rain" (2003) by lesser-known artist Ghazal, which experienced a rankings jump on Amazon.com, going from 9,333 to 351 the day the album was featured on DailyCD. This type of sales spike is common for albums featured on DailyCD, whether they are by known or obscure artists.

The main goal of the DailyCD Official Selection is to recognize great albums and give often overlooked artists the accolades they deserve. The resulting jump in sales simply reflects the coming together of the artist and the consumer, according to Blum.

"We select albums that are excellent and that people will enjoy listening to even if they are not well-versed in all genres of music," said Blum. DailyCD covers indie rock, jazz, world, soul, folk, singer-songwriter, blues, rock, instrumental and several other types of music.

Blum is a pioneer in the Interactive music industry and founded iMusic, one of the first music Web sites ever. He is a record producer who produced Peter Gabriel's award-winning CD-ROM, "Eve," and he has worked with many chart-topping bands, including Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins. DailyCD's influence continues to gain momentum and is expected to reach a subscriber base well into the millions by 2008.

For a free subscription to DailyCD or for more information, visit www.DailyCD.com.