Reggae stars and rock wannabes live on stage

Young rock stars of the future are gearing up for this year's Rock 2007 @ George Ward, the school's annual rock concert. Already nine acts, ranging in age for 12 to over 17, are lined up for the evening on March 9, with music styles ranging from rock to rap.

All profits from this year's concert are going to the GBSS charity, Stepping Stones Opportunity Pre-school in Trowbridge and The Jonah Wright Fund. Included on the bill is singer Kelly Woolford, who has just released her debut CD of self-written material, pictured below, and started gigging with a backing band.

She played her first gig at the Fox in Broughton Gifford last Thursday night, and will be on stage again tomorrow night at the George Ward School's Valentines Ball. The CD is on sale at £3 to raise money for the GBSS charity.

Rock 2007 includes an auction which already has items donated by top local musicians such as Nick Mason and Peter Gabriel, and promises to be a great night. Tickets are on sale now at £5 (£6 on the door) from (01225) 705866...

WOMAD acts announced

New artists for this years WOMAD festival line-up have just been announced by the organisers.

Peter Gabriel's World of Music, Arts & Dance is taking place at Charlton Park, near Malmesbury on 27 to 29 July this year.

It will feature over 70 world-class artists from 40 countries performing over three days. The full line-up so far is as follows, with many more acts due to be announced over the coming months: Baaba Maal (Senegal), Balkan Beat Box (Israel/USA), Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba (Mali), Ben Taylor (USA), Bill Cobham (USA), Candi Staton (USA), Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde), CJ Chenier (USA), Daara J (Senegal), DJ Shantel (Germany), El Tanbura (Egypt), Imagined Village (UK), Kronos Quartet (USA), Kung Nei & Ouch Savy (Cambodia), Lila Downs (Mexico), Mariza (Portugal), Marzoug (Algeria), Samba Mapangala & Orchestre Virunga (Kenya/Democratic Republic of Congo), Sam Tshabalala (South Africa), Serta-Gesar Troupe (Tibet), Sheila Chandra (UK), Steel Pulse (UK), The Dhol Foundation (UK), Toots and the Maytals (Jamaica), Toumast (Niger), Warsaw Village Band (Poland).

Tickets for the event are already selling very well, and WOMAD is pleased to announce some details on how to get discounted tickets. Previously available until the end of January, our 'Early Bird' offer is now open until Wednesday 28 February. During this period, a Weekend ticket will cost £110 before the price rises to £120 from 1 March onwards.

We are also offering discounted Weekend tickets to residents local to Charlton Park, who live within the SN16 postcode area. These limited-availability tickets are priced at £50 and are being sold on a first come, first served basis. Set in a picturesque rural landscape in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside, Charlton Park is the new home for the WOMAD Festival in our 25th anniversary year. This beautiful location presents an opportunity to experience the festival in a truly green, pleasant and spacious environment.

Charlton Park is situated just outside the historic abbey town of Malmesbury in North Wiltshire. Easily accessible by road and rail, the festival site is just seven miles from Junction 17 of the M4, only one hundred miles due west of London, and less than thirty miles away from Bath, Bristol and Swindon. WOMAD Charlton Park will welcome an audience of 20,000 and will feature seven stages and workshop areas, including a children's village, many more activities and festival features, all in the idyllic environment of Charlton's open lawns and rolling fields.

Alongside the new attractions of Charlton Park, WOMAD's familiar feast of entertainment and celebration will remain: brilliant live music; weekend camping; a full programme of participatory workshops for adults and children; Taste The World sessions; late night dance, DJ's and grooves at Club WOMAD; relaxed entertainment on Thursday evening; a children's procession on Sunday; a chance to 'shop around the world' at over 250 international food, drink, arts, craft and merchandise stalls in our Global Village; sumptuous site decoration featuring hundreds of flags, projections, visual art and temporary structures; plus the unrivalled atmosphere that our audience simply loves.

TICKET DETAILS Weekend ticket: £110 ('Early Bird' price - previously available until 31 January, now available until 28 February) Weekend ticket: £120 (Standard price - available from 1 March) SN16 Weekend ticket: £50 (to residents of SN16 postcode area, limited availability) Thursday Camping ticket: £10 (Allows access to festival site from 26 July) All Weekend tickets include free camping from Friday - Monday.

Concessions available.

Families are entitled to savings as two children aged 13 and under can come free with each adult ticket buyer.

BOOK BY PHONE OR FAX (from 12 Feb) Tel: 0845 146 1735 Lines open Monday-Friday from 10am-6pm for credit/debit card bookings Fax bookings: 0870 720 2128

3:01pm Tuesday 6th February 2007

By Benjamin Parkes

With album, tour, Paula Cole reignites career

New music due for June release

By Jason Simpson, GLOUCESTER DAILY TIMES (GLOUCESTER, Mass.)

ROCKPORT, Mass. — After a seven-year hiatus, Paula Cole says her music career has come full circle.

Cole, who grew up in Rockport before becoming a hit singer-songwriter in the 1990s, will embark on her first concert tour in seven years, “Lessons in Life 07/08,” later this year.

Cole’s fifth album, “Courage,” tentatively will be released in June. Cole said the music is more gentle than her earlier albums, recorded prior to her hiatus from the public spotlight.

Before her cross-country tour, Cole will perform at her alma mater, the Berklee School of Music in Boston, on Feb. 16. Cole said she views this show as a “thank you” to her college, her family, her hometown and others who have supported her career throughout the years.

“I want to thank the Rockport community for their support, and this show will be for them, my hometown,” Cole, the daughter of Stephanie and Jim Cole of King Street, said.

Cole said she’s preparing for the upcoming show by singing a little bit each day and trying to not get sick. Cole is also thinking about the overall arch of the show, which will include songs the audience knows as well as songs from her upcoming album.

Cole will also feature her new band at the concert, which she said is “breathtakingly great.” Rehearsals with the band have given Cole goose bumps, she said, because of their talent and energy.

Cole’s ‘Courage’

“Courage” has been Cole’s mantra over the past seven years, the 38-year-old said. She knew for years that her next album would have this title — the word is sung in numerous instances throughout the album, Cole said.

It took courage to get out of an unhappy marriage in her time off, she said, and to start working again in an industry in which her former record label said she would never get a second chance.

Cole said she took the time off after spending seven years of constant touring and recording, which she said was a long time to work nonstop. It began in 1993 when she joined Peter Gabriel’s world tour as a backup singer. During that time she recorded three albums: “Harbinger” in 1994, “This Fire” in 1996 and “Amen” in 1999. She toured as an opening act for Melissa Etheridge and Sarah McLachlan. She had hits with “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait,” both from her second album. She won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1998, along with a number of Boston Music Awards.

“My personal life atrophied, and I needed to step off the hamster wheel,” she said. “I wanted motherhood. I wanted a child. It felt increasingly inauthentic to be living the young dream (of a life of touring).”

When under the radar of the public’s sight, Cole moved to Los Angeles, severed her ties with Warner Brothers, her recording label, and had her first child, Sky, who is now 5.

But more recently, she moved back East and became reacquainted with Bobby Colomby, who managed a deal with Universal/Decca Records for Cole’s next album.

“Now I’m working on resurrecting everything,” Cole said. “It’s exciting not to know (what the future holds) and to be in the moment. ... (With a music career and being a mother) I’m not going to have a cookie-cutter life, that’s for sure.”

Cole said her “wonderful little girl” is her first priority, and her “Lessons in Life 07/08” tour will be scheduled around Sky’s school schedule. She adds that singing keeps her happy, and it was weird to be a singer every day, then all of a sudden not to be.

Cole said she’s looking forward to the second chapter in her life, which she will appreciate more after reflecting on her life in her time off.

A new sound

“Courage” will offer a new sound from Cole, which she said is not as angry as her earlier work.

The album has a greater stylistic range, she said, with an eclectic mix of songs for the radio, and others — including one that features Herbie Hancock — that sound as though they could be from the 1940s.

“‘Courage’ is about love and picking up the pieces,” Cole said. “All my albums are honest and autobiographical.”

Cole attempted to compose her fourth album with her former record label during her hiatus, but it never came out. After composing 20 songs, she “had to walk away” from the songs as part of her contract, she said. Cole said this was a positive thing, however, because it released her from the baggage she felt she was carrying with her at the time.

The new album is a “completely new body of work,” she said, in which she co-wrote her lyrics, rather than writing them by herself.

Unlike her earlier albums, Cole didn’t produce the new album. She was solely a singer-songwriter on the project, making the project more fun. Colomby also helped bring the fun back into music writing, she said.

Coming full circle

Moving to Los Angeles was a “delusional attempt to find happiness,” Cole said, because your life will follow you wherever you go.

In her time there, she said, she found herself missing her East Coast roots. And having a child made her want to go “full circle.”

“I’m so lucky that I grew up in Rockport; I know that now,” Cole said. “When I was younger, I was antsy and wanted to move to the big city. I might have taken for granted the delicious salt air, the small, caring community and the natural beauty (of Rockport).”

Cole said Rockport’s small-town charm created her work ethic and her inclination to be naive at times.

“East Oceanside,” the fictional location of her greatest hits album, “Postcards from East Oceanside,” which was released last summer, is Rockport, she said, a town she tries to go back to as much as possible. Cole said her best friends to date are the ones she met in kindergarten and third grade.

Cole said returning to her old stomping grounds of Rockport and Boston recharges her heart and soul. When looking to her upcoming concert at Berklee and beyond, Cole said there are “a lot of good things” to come.

Jason Simpson writes for the Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times.

Real World Studios Choose sE

Real World’s Studios take delivery of the sE range of microphones and conclude: ‘great results’, ‘the best performance for the money’ and ‘build quality amongst the best out there’…

Real World Studios should need no introduction. This idyllic suite of top class recording and writing rooms has become something of a legend in its relatively short existence. Set up by Peter Gabriel, the complex houses the most state of the art equipment within some of the most beautiful surroundings the UK has to offer. The facility has recently taken stock of a range of sE microphones for its new Mill Side studio, as in house engineer Dom Monks and senior sound engineer Marco Migliari explain…

“Real World own both a Gemini, an sE2200a and a pair of sE3s. (I also own a z5600a),” explains Dom. “Bruno Ellingham [another producer and engineer at Real World], first put me on to sE mics. He had a few on demo and was getting really great results from them.”

“The great thing about sE mics is their value for money. Because any producer or artist can afford their own sE mic they're not restricted to where they record, so it's that much easier to maintain continuity. And compared to other 'low cost' mics on the market they just sound more expensive.”

Marco agrees: “We wanted to offer a selection of microphones that would both fit the budget and be rugged enough to withstand the abuse they're typically subjected to, and also deliver the best performance for the money.”

And both Dom and Marco are agreed that the build quality is another major plus point of the range…

“The value for money is obvious, but beyond that the sonics and the build quality are amongst the best out there for new mics,” says Dom.

“Also priceless are the rugged cases they come with, something that mics three times the price often don't have,” adds Marco. “The accessories that are included in the price such as cradles, mounting kits etc. have proved to be useful and reliable in all situations.”

In summary, then, it’s fair to say that the sE range has been a hit over at Real World…

“Whilst both the Gemini and the z5600a are both great work-horse mics,” says Dom, “I have had experiences where they are just better suited to a certain singer than some high-end vintage valve mics. I've seen this happen on other people’s sessions as well. They just suit some people’s voices better than any other mic.”

“They're easy to position and have all of the on-board options you'd need to do a good job, like roll-off filters, pads and changeable polar pattern,” concludes Marco. “The package was just right: good quality mics, solid build, a selection of useful and lasting accessories and a decent aluminium case for each mic or pair. Add this to a competitive price, and you've got an easy decision in your hands. I particularly like the tone of the SE2200a – it's hard to find another mic in the same price range that could deliver a better performance.”

Marco is currently producing the band The Moonfish (see their page at www.myspace.com/themoonfish) with a lot more production and mixing work lined up for 2007. Dom also has lots of work lined up at Real World: “plenty of things to do and lessons to learn!” he says.

More information from:
www.seelectronics.com
realworldstudios.com
www.marcomigliari.com

World Peace One

Le samedi 11 Août 2007, EarthOne Productions proposera "World Peace One," le plus grand rassemblement humanitaire jamais organisé au monde.

L'évènement sera retransmis en direct depuis les quinze plus grandes villes du monde pendant 24 heures non-stop en respectant les 24 fuseaux horaires.

Tout au long de sa diffusion, World Peace One réunira le monde en musique et touchera la bagatelle de 3 milliards et demi de téléspectateurs potentiels à travers 180 pays puisque ce concert sera diffusé non seulement à la télévision mais aussi sur les ondes radio, sur Internet et sur le réseau des téléphones mobiles.

En parallèle une campagne de sensibilisation sera organisée pour récolter des fonds pour la plus noble des ambitions : faire cesser de manière définitive tous les conflits mondiaux.

World Peace One réunira non seulement des chanteurs mais aussi des acteurs, des athlètes, des prix Nobel, des docteurs, des scientifiques, des diplomates, des leaders politiques et des citoyens du monde qui à leur échelle donnent de leur temps et des moyens pour cette cause primordiale de la paix dans le monde.

Parmi les villes choisies on peut citer :

Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul, Pékin, Moscou, Dubaï, Johannesburg, le Caire, Berlin, Londres, Rio de Janeiro , New-York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles.

Enfin, voici la liste ( non-exhaustive ) des participants qui ont d'ores et déjà donné leur aval pour se produire ce jour-là :

U2, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Carlos Santana, Yes, Shakira, the Rolling Stones, Earth Wind & Fire, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, David Bowie, Lionel Richie, the Goo Goo Dolls, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Tina Turner, The Eagles, Pearl Jam, Moby, Alanis Morissette, Phil Collins, Eminem, Wyclef Jean, Will Smith, Usher, Mary J. Blige, JZ, Beyonce, Pink, Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton, Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Janet Jackson, Baby Face, Greenday, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Bon Jovi, Outkast, Sarah McLachlan, Enya, Paul Simon, The Dixie Chicks, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Rascal Flatts, Tricia Yearwood, Keith Urban, Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Ricky Martin, Mark Antony, David Bisbal, Juanes, Luis Miguel, Alejandro Sanz, Gilberto Gil, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Tony Bennett, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, et plein de célébrités représentatives de chaque pays du monde.


Retrouvez tous les détails de cet évènement ici

Sun City Owner

The shock news that Manchester has won the race to provide the site for the UK's first "super casino" has turned the spotlight on South African Sol Kerzner...

"Sanctions breaker"

Sun City made Kerzner one of the richest men in Africa. While he was able to persuade artists such as Elton John and Shirley Bassey to perform at the casino, on the pretext that it was in an "independent" country, other stars boycotted the venue.

A 1985 album, Sun City, by Artists United Against Apartheid including Little Steven and Peter Gabriel, attacked Kerzner as a sanctions breaker. It was something he continued to deny claiming the resort encouraged harmony among the races.

In an interview in 2005 he said what excited him "was that, in a country where the races had been kept apart by law, we'd created a place where people of all colours could eat together, gamble together, watch international shows together, even sleep together."
Kerzner began facing other attacks, this time over alleged corruption. He was acused of having bribed a homeland leader, a charge that hung for years until it was finally dismissed by the South African attorney general.

Further allegations, in 1986, claiming he had bribed the former leader of Transkei, were dropped in 1993.

Kerzner gave money both to the white National Party and the African National Congress. After coming to power, Nelson Mandela confirmed that the ANC had received £140,000 from him saying "[the Kerzners are] an example of a family not only interested in their own enrichment, but willing to give something back."

Kerzner remained close to Mandela and now lives a flamboyant lifestyle, not least in his choice of brides. He numbers the first ever South African Miss World among the four women he has married.

He has a taste for the company of celebrities with Liza Minnelli, Shirley Bassey, Bono and Tracey Emin among the guests for his 70th birthday party at his Monaco villa.

Over the years Kerzner has moved his core businesses away from South Africa, expanding into the Bahamas, where he is now based, the USA and, now, the UK.

While he still has to retender for the Manchester casino it would be a brave man who could look at his record and bet against him getting it. Unlike the many punters who will eventually cross the threshold of the new venue, when it comes to business deals, Sol Krezner is not a gambler.

Riffs & legends

...One way and another, there was a lot riding on Wednesday's Real World concert. Featuring artists from as far afield as Africa and central Asia, it was the most conspicuous example of the festival's expanded horizons under new artistic consultant Donald Shaw, and also the first time Peter Gabriel's celebrated record label had produced such an event in Scotland.

A near-capacity crowd was treated to a succession of outstanding performances, starting with the young Mauritanian singer-songwriter Daby Touré, whose supple, soaring vocals were framed by bracingly taut, reggae-infused guitar, bass and percussion backing.

Next up were Cuillin Music, the band who continue to promote the rich creative legacy of visionary composer and performer Martyn Bennett, who died two years ago. With Kirsten Bennett on synth/percussion, fiddlers Adam Sutherland, Greg Lawson and Martin Swan, and Ross Ainslie and Fraser Fifield on pipes and whistles, they delivered a thrilling handful of tracks from Bennett's Bothy Culture and Hardland albums, keeping the flame alive by reworking the material rather than seeking simply to replicate the originals. Then came Uzbekistani singer Sevara Nazarkhan, a pixie-like figure with a ferocious voice, matched by a dub, dance and electronica backdrop from her four-piece band.

Finally the Fruitmarket resounded to the mighty guitar virtuosity of Skip "Little Axe" McDonald, flanked by the heavy-duty rhythm team of Doug Wimbish and Keith LeBlanc (of the Sugarhill Gang) with live mixing by DJ/producer Adrian Sherwood. Drawing largely on the recent Little Axe album Stone Cold Ohio, they stirred together a dark, delicious stew of blues, gospel and soul...

February's Full Moon

Catch up with Peter in February's update which just scrapes in under the full moon - we've had a few technical hitches putting this one together. Watch the video for news of The World Economic Forum, new music, new ideas and artist as curator.

Watch the update in The Full Moon Club.

Win a unique guitar signed Peter Gabriel

O2 and Q are offering one Q reader the chance to win the beautiful Gibson Les Paul Custom Plus VS guitar pictured here. A genuine one-off, the iconic axe was signed by the likes of Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, Razorlight, The Kooks, Peter Gabriel, Gnarls Barkley, Smokey Robinson and the Manic Street Preachers at last year's Q Awards ceremony...

Realworld old fruit market Glasgow

Scotsman

There was a truly international flavour to this showcase of artists on Peter Gabriel's Real World record label, with all the musical diversity that implies. Mauritanian singer/songwriter Daby Toure was first up, with his organic blend of voice and percussive guitar easing the crowd into his instinctive musical realm. In slick contrast to his almost improvisatory approach, Sevara Nazarkhan, previously a Radio 3 World Music Award-winner, turned out to be the Uzbek Enya, with a sound as pristine and floaty as her white dress. There were hints of a Bjork-like eccentricity to her soaring voice, but mostly her quirkiness was tempered by a practised professionalism.

Closer to home, special guests Cuillin Music continued to celebrate the memory of piper Martyn Bennett, under the direction of his widow Kirsten. Their urgent, dynamic assault with three fiddles, pipes, whistles and beats was particularly poignant as it marked the precise anniversary of Bennett's untimely death two years ago.

It was a shame the crowd had thinned out slightly by the time guitarist Skip McDonald, aka Little Axe, took the stage, accompanied by his Tackhead compatriots, bassist Doug Wimbish and drummer Keith LeBlanc, plus a soulful chorus of bluesy singers led by Bernard Fowler, as theirs was the most assured set of the night, anchored by a low-slung dub groove over which McDonald and Wimbish laid out some impressive flourishes.

-----
The Herald

The Celtic Connections crew deserve huge praise for persuading Peter Gabriel's label to put on a showcase gig at the festival, but it was a disappointingly sparse crowd that greeted the arrival onstage of Mauritania's Daby Touré. Backed by a wonderfully fluid rhythm section, Touré smiled his way through tracks from his album Diam (Peace), mixing jazz, reggae and rock with irresistible African beats.

Two years ago, Martyn Bennett's tragic death cast a shadow over the festival, and Cuillin Music paid a fitting tribute to him. Bagpipes, fiddles, tin whistles and slamming beats kept the pot boiling nicely in advance of the astonishing talent that is Sevara Nazarkhan. Uzbekistan's most famous musical export hypnotised with tracks from her album Yol Bolsin (Where Are You Going), utilising traditional instruments over modern jazz and dance tracks. Indeed, Nazarkhan's dance was fundamental to her music. Overall, this was an expressively elegant, captivating performance.

In splendid contrast, New York's Skip McDonald, aka Little Axe, with a band including Sugarhill Gang drummer Keith LeBlanc and the former Living Colour bassist, the wickedly good Doug Wimbish, blasted through the new album Stone Cold Ohio and brought the evening to a blistering blues-funk conclusion.

Another Day

Every day, we bring you the best thing we've seen on YouTube - a great piece of archive footage, a music promo or a clip from one of our favourite movies or TV shows.

Today: Watch a classic TV performance by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush from 1979. The couple performed a frankly weird cover version of Roy Harper’s “Another Day” on Kate’s Christmas TV special from that year.

The duet was even discussed as a possible single release – but as all keen pop historians know, that never happened. Kate later contributed vocals to Peter Gabriel’s 1986 single “Don’t Give Up.” That duet was a huge success, spending 11 weeks in the UK singles chart. For added ‘watchability’, check out the chemistry between Gabriel and Bush as they ‘act’ out the lyrics of the song, including touching arms across a shoddy-looking kitchen table. Sexy stuff.

See the talked about Gabriel and Bush duet by clicking here now

Peter Gabriel Drums Up Support for Witness

And The Eyes Of The World Are Watching Now

In an era where YouTube makes it possible for anyone with an Internet connection to broadcast their every whim, Peter Gabriel is making a plea to harness video voyeurism for good. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Gabriel engaged in a little fundraising for Witness, his latest venture which seeks to document human rights abuses throughout the world on amateur video cameras. "With the phone and Internet, anyone, any place, can tell their story," said the politically-conscious singer.

A longtime supporter of Amnesty International, Gabriel provided one of the defining performances of the Eighties during the 1986 Conspiracy Of Hope concert at Giants Stadium. With 80,000 people singing along to "Biko," Gabriel not only made one high school junior realize that music can do so much more than entertain, he motivated many in attendance to join the Nobel Prize winning organization with his understated "the rest is up to you."

Peter Gabriel dématérialisé

Uncut rapportait la semaine dernière que Peter Gabriel prévoyait commercialiser son prochain album en format numérique. Du moins aux États-Unis. Le créateur aurait établi un partenariat avec une entreprise baptisée Ingenious Media, qui a déjà publié un album de Mick Hucknall, du groupe Simply Red. Il sera très intéressant de suivre l'aventure de Peter Gabriel, puisqu'elle pourrait constituer un bon indice quant à la viabilité d'une telle méthode. Si un artiste jouissant d'un tel renom et d'un bassin de fans aussi fidèles échoue, il ne s'agira pas d'une voie d'avenir pour les groupes qui sont encore confinés à leurs sous-sols...

Peter Gabriel veut un Youtube des droits de l’homme

Peter Gabriel était présent au World Economic Forum de Davos pour soutenir un site ouvert de surveillance des droits de l'homme

Peter Gabriel était présent au WEF de Davos pour rechercher les fonds et la technologie pour son projet Witness, un site vidéo de surveillance des droits de l'homme. Le but est de faire une sorte de Youtube qui permette d'uploader des vidéos témoins du non respect des droits de l'homme. « On a vu la tendance du journalisme citoyen » a souligné Peter Gabriel « avec le téléphone et Internet tout le monde peut s'exprimer depuis n'importe où ». Pour lui, la vidéo de la bastonnade de Rodney King en 1992 par la police de Los Angeles a démontré le pouvoir de la technologie. Peter Gabriel est en discussion avec Google pour son projet.

Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited

Rise Up [Calabash Music; 2005; r: Real World; 2006]

As far as nicknames go, you can't do much better than the "Lion of Zimbabwe." Forget, for the moment, that much of Zimbabwe's lion population has fallen prey to poaching or succumbed to the depletion of its habitat. Concentrate instead of the power conveyed by that title. Lion. King of the Jungle. King of All Beasts. The Lion King.

Hmm, that's another word to consider. King. King. If there's one word that trumps "lion" it's "king." No wonder, then, that musician Thomas Mapfumo, Lion of Zimbabwe, is considered a security threat by the paranoid, oppressive government of his homeland and in particular leader-for-life Robert Mugabe, Mapfumo's fellow former freedom fighter turned monster.

The lion is the national symbol of Zimbabwe, and Mapfumo has long been one of the country's national treasures. Yet even Mapfumo, an outspoken critic of Mugabe's destructive and dangerous dictatorship, can no longer call Zimbabwe home, having relocated from Zimbabwe in 2000 to the not-very-exotic environs of Eugene, Oregon, where he's lived as in exile ever since, safe but homesick. Much of his family remains in Africa, and so, clearly, does his heart.

That certainly explains how Mapfumo has been able to sustain his anger over three productive decades of music making, which have not just extended but deepened his reign as folk hero. What's been even more remarkable has been the prolonged power of his songwriting itself. Even in Oregon, away from the horrors and vast disappointments of Zimbabwe, Mapfumo's no lion in repose. He's kept up a prolific pace, releasing nearly a disc of his Chimurenga (or "music of struggle") a year while constantly touring with his band Blacks Unlimited.

Originally released as a download-only album but picked up last year by Peter Gabriel's Real World, Rise Up features a slightly more pared-down Blacks Unlimited, who now include a few Americans in their midst. Yet most of the hallmarks of classic Mapfumo remain intact: the circular guitar patterns, the pulses of organ, the pluck of multiple mbira, the call of horns, the cry of female backing singers. Mapfumo's often drawn comparisons to Bob Marley, and the melodies and performances here do share a certain soulfulness, spirituality, and conviction. If Mapfumo chose to sing in English rather than his native Shona, who knows? Maybe frat guys across the country would be listening to him as well.

They're not, of course. Nor are they likely troubled by the same issues that trouble Mapfumo, even if they're delivered with a hint of a reggae (particularly in the drum fills) and hypnotic polyrhythms. As Mapfumo's anthems helped fuel Mugabe's 1980 rise to power-- Mapfumo's "songs of struggle" were originally enlisted against then-Rhodesia's white-minority rule-- the singer no doubt feels the need to pay penance in the form of his critical songs, his moral authority heightened not hampered by the ironic role he played in the corruption of his own ideals.

That's not to strike idealism from the repertoire. Like Marley, Mapfumo excels at lifting your spirits even as he decries the things bringing his people down. There's a pulsing, double-time bass drum pattern in "Vanofira Chiiko? (What Are They Dying For?)" that helps transform the lament into an unlikely fist-pumper. The synth-bass prodding "Ndodya Marasha (I'm Mad as Hell)" lends an almost imperceptible urgency to the repetitive, deceptively static chord progression, until an upbeat break busts you out of the funk.

Then there are the other moments of outright ingenuity, invention, and surprise. The first few minutes of "Marudzi Nemarudzi/Different Races" shames, say, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Snow (Hey Oh)" while using a similar melody and a straight backbeat, but then jumps the rails in the best sense and heads off on a skanking half-beat tangent. "Ndodya Marasha" uses the same trick, only the other way around, suddenly shifting gears and picking up the pace when you least expect it to.

Maybe the tempos are slightly slower than they once were, and Mapfumo himself sometimes sounds surprisingly sedate for a man with so much on his mind. He's older, after all. But if there's anything Rise Up proves, it's that you don't need to scream to be heard.

-Joshua Klein, January 29, 2007

Davos: «Avant qu'il ne soit trop tard»

La presse suisse se montre majoritairement sceptique lundi matin face aux promesses faites à Davos par l'élite mondiale sur la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique. Seuls quelques commentateurs voient des aspects réellement postifs dans le bilan de ce Forum économique mondial (WEF), 37e du nom...

...Au final, ce Forum moins «glamour» que les éditions précédentes ne retient pas même lundi l'attention du quotidien de boulevard 'Blick'. Son pendant romand 'Le Matin' se contente quant à lui de quelques photos des people de Davos, Claudia Schiffer et Peter Gabriel en tête, réunis dans un igloo par les jeunes décideurs du WEF autour d'un slogan, «CO2 à la baisse, profit à la hausse»...

Concert de Daby Touré à Charleroi

Né sur les rives du fleuve Sénégal, fils d'un membre du groupe culte Touré Kounda, Daby Touré grandit dans un petit village de Mauritanie. Sous la pression des conflits ethniques qui secouent le pays, Daby suit son père à Paris à la fin des années 80.

Cette période sera riche en découvertes mais aussi en concerts. C'est également de cette époque que date la sortie de l'album Laddé, réalisé avec son cousin Omar sous l'appellation Touré Touré. Première reconnaissance du public mais expérience unique pour Daby qui voit dans ce projet une filiation encore trop évidente avec la musique de ses aînés. Il se souvient alors des sonorités très typiquement africaines qui ont baigné son enfance, mais aussi d'une certaine radio locale qui lui permit d'apprivoiser le son de Bob Marley, Police et autres Dire Straits. 2004 voit naître son premier projet solo, Diam (« Paix »), mélange d'une pop-folk aérienne finement ciselée, chantée en wolof, soninke ou pular.

Afro-jazz ? World music ? Pas vraiment. Nous sommes ici en présence de quelque chose d'inédit. Daby Touré mélange à loisir les influences et les intègre à ses racines africaines. Sa voix, qui n'est pas sans rappeler Salif Keita, Baaba Maal ou même Youssou'n Dour, chante l'amour de la famille, de la femme, des enfants, mais aussi l'importance de demeurer optimiste quand les temps sont durs. Peter Gabriel est séduit : Daby remplit depuis peu les stades du monde entier à ses côtés...

'Concert de Daby Touré' Le 10 février au Centre culturel de Charleroi, 1 Boulevard Jacques Bertrand , 6000 Charleroi, Téléphone: 071/31 12 12,

http://realworldrecords.com/dabytoure/

Le Forum de Davos se donne une teinte sociale

Leçons du sommet économique mondial

Le Forum de Davos, souvent décrié comme le “sommet du capitalisme”, s’est attaché, cette année, à donner une image socialement responsable en multipliant débats et initiatives sur le réchauffement climatique, la pauvreté et les conséquences de la mondialisation.

Parmi les questions posées aux grands de ce monde, certaines auraient pu figurer sur l’agenda du Forum social mondial qui vient de s’achever à Nairobi. Quels sont les effets de la mondialisation ? Quelles sont les solutions pour limiter le réchauffement climatique ? Où en sont les programmes de lutte contre le sida ?

Aux côtés des P-DG et des chefs d’État, plus d’une cinquantaine d’organisations non gouvernementales étaient conviées, comme Care, Amnesty International, Greenpeace ou le WWF.

Comme tous les ans, certains philanthropes célèbres se sont déplacés, comme le fondateur de Microsoft Bill Gates, venu parler non seulement de nouvelles technologies, mais surtout de sa fondation qui finance des projets humanitaires en Afrique.

La présence d’autres célébrités engagées dans l’aide aux pays pauvres, comme le chanteur irlandais Bono et le musicien britannique Peter Gabriel, eux aussi des habitués de Davos, ont permis de mettre les questions humanitaires sous le feu médiatique.

Certaines grandes entreprises ont aussi profité de leur présence au Forum économique mondial pour s’afficher avec des organisations caritatives ou humanitaires, telles que le numéro un mondial de la finance, la banque américaine Citigroup, aux côtés du Programme alimentaire mondial de l’ONU (PAM) ou Manpower, le géant américain du travail temporaire avec le Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies aux réfugiés (UNHCR).

Proclamé l’un des thèmes majeurs de la 36e édition du Forum économique mondial, le changement climatique a, quant à lui, occupé dix-sept débats et tables-rondes, sans compter les multiples déclarations de responsables économiques ou politiques assurant de leur prise de conscience et de leur détermination à agir.

Publiée à la veille du forum, une étude auprès de ces “leaders” invités au forum indiquait pourtant que seulement 20% d’entre eux considéraient la protection de l’environnement comme une priorité. Mais le chiffre est deux fois supérieur à celui de l’année précédente, se sont réjouis les organisateurs du forum, qui ont commandé le sondage. À titre de comparaison, selon un sondage publié début janvier, près de la moitié des Français estiment que le réchauffement climatique est “l’enjeu de ce siècle pour l’humanité”.

Malgré l’omniprésence de ce thème à Davos, certains “leaders” ne se sont d’ailleurs pas montrés très convaincus, comme le P-DG du géant pétrolier ExxonMobil. Interrogé sur la réalité du réchauffement climatique lors d’un débat, Rex Tillerson a répondu, lacunaire : “C’est clair qu’il se passe quelque chose. Mais quoi ?”

“Les plus grands “réchauffeurs” de la planète sont ici. Il y a forcément un peu d’hypocrisie et de bonne conscience”, résume le photographe Français Yann Arthus-Bertrand, invité du forum. “On parle de réchauffement climatique”, mais les participants “viennent ici en jet privé, en hélicoptère, en grosse voiture 4x4”, a-t-il déploré.

Djelic i Piter Gebrijel

DAVOS -- The Democrat’s candidate for prime minister meets [...] Peter Gabriel, and blogs about it at B92.net.

“Thirdly, I attended the LOVE dinner dedicated to climate change, where I met Peter Gabriel, whose art I enjoy very much. Of course, right away I asked him to come to Belgrade where he has a lot of fans, and we exchanged contact information. We’ll give it a try, though it doesn’t seem likely at this time as he is involved in many other things. We’ll try. He arrived here with his ex-girlfriend Claudia Schiffer, who attracted a lot of attention…”, Đelić concludes in his third blog entry in Serbian at B92.net.

WEF 2007 Cérémonie de clôture consacrée à la dignité humaine

La 36e édition du Forum économique mondial (WEF) de Davos s'est officiellement terminée dimanche. Plus d'une dizaine d'intervenants de tout bord et de tous les continents, dont le prince Haakon de Norvège, ont a appelé à plus de dignité.

Le WEF s'est terminé sur un appel à l'espoir et à la paix. Les défis mondiaux ne pourront être résolus qu'en travaillant ensemble, ont estimé les différents participants de la cérémonie de clôture dans une ode au Forum.

«Agissons collectivement pour plus de dignité humaine», a déclaré Irene Khan, présidente d'Amnesty International. Un appel repris par le prince de Norvège, au bord des larmes. Celui-ci s'engage notamment avec le WEF pour améliorer la condition des gens à travers le monde.

La rencontre annuelle du WEF a débuté mercredi, réunissant quelque 2400 personnes du monde des affaires, de la politique, des sciences et de la société civile autour du thème du nouvel équilibre des pouvoirs. Quelque 24 chefs d'Etat ou de gouvernement, 85 ministres et 800 patrons d'entreprises ont fait le déplacement.

Moins glamour que les autres années, le WEF a néanmoins reçu son lot de personnalités populaires. Les travées du Centre des Congrès de Davos ainsi que les soirées de la station grisonne ont notamment accueilli le chanteur de U2 Bono, le musicien Peter Gabriel, l'écrivain brésilien Paolo Coehlo ou le mannequin allemand Claudia Schiffer.