Living With Music: A Playlist by A.M. Homes

On Wednesdays, this blog is the delivery vehicle for “Living With Music,” a playlist of songs from a writer or some other kind of book-world personage. This week: The novelist A.M. Homes, whose most recent book is “The Mistress’s Daughter,” a memoir.

A.M. Homes’s March 2008 Playlist:

In retrospect and with the endless impulse toward revision, I look at this list thinking it’s all about sex and longing and metaphysical impossibility and the hand of god - and is there anything else? Is there something more - I expect nothing less.

1) Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne as sung by Peter Gabriel on “Tower Of Song.” A mysterious, erotic incantation that begins with shuffling drums, scratching wire brushes sweeping the snare, scratching, itching, writhing with the impossibility of it all. It’s endlessly inspiring for its romanticism, longing and applicability to any object of desire, the elusive that can never really be. I think of the ethereal Suzanne as she’s sung to us, “she brings you tea and oranges that come all the way from china,” and the reality of the “real” Suzanne, now frozen in lost time with a permanent view of the St. Lawrence River. Somehow always in my mind’s eye I had placed her in Greece, in Hydra with Cohen, but maybe I just made that up, maybe that was the next Suzanne for as unpossessible as she was or is, there is always another Suzanne. (...)

By Dwight Garner

Elle est Babel, ma musique

World. Le forum marseillais professionnel a réuni 12 000 spectateurs ce week-end.

Face aux Docks des Suds, où s’est tenu ce week-end le quatrième forum Babel Med Music, se dresse une vraie tour de Babel : l’édifice CMA-CGM, en construction, appelé à devenir le plus haut de Marseille. La nuit, illuminée et flanquée de deux grues gigantesques, cette masse de béton poétique devient un rêve d’installation d’art contemporain. Les Docks des Suds, anciens entrepôts du port autonome, accueillent chaque automne la Fiesta des Suds, dont Babel Med est le petit frère. Une partie accueille le marché des professionnels des musiques du monde. Le soir est réservé aux concerts : trente artistes sur trois jours. (...)

A l’heure du bilan cependant, deux chocs éclipsent tout le reste. Marseillais lui aussi, Levon Minassian est un des rares maîtres du duduk, une simple flûte à neuf trous, emblème de l’Arménie. Auteur de deux disques peu diffusés, les musiciens se l’arrachent, de Peter Gabriel (avec qui il doit entrer en studio) à Sting, sans oublier sa participation à des musiques de films (la Passion du Christ de Mel Gibson). Accompagné par un petit ensemble, il crée des vagues d’émotion avec cet instrument difficile entre tous. «Tout est dans la pression des lèvres sur l’embout, explique cet homme humble et rayonnant. Il faut dix ans de travail solitaire pour en tirer un son acceptable. Je m’exerce encore chaque jour, parfois deux heures, le plus souvent quatre, et continue à toujours trouver des nuances nouvelles.» (...)

Daniel Lanois Here Is What Is

This guy quietly has been at the epicenter of some of the most sonically adventurous yet commercially and artistically successful albums released in the last several decades. He was instrumental in five epochal U2 albums (including the shockingly, gloriously resilient Joshua Tree). He pulled Bob Dylan from a drifting period (the resulting Time Out of Mind and Oh Mercy remain brilliant). He helped catapult Peter Gabriel from steady cult fave to arena star without loss of credibility (So and Us). Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Robbie Robertson and the Neville Brothers sing his praises whenever asked. Lucky Los Angelenos will recall Lanois touring on the back of Harris’ Wrecking Ball. The band took the stage at the Troubadour in timely fashion, but Lanois switched from guitar until the late drummer finally found the stage. Neither Harris nor Lanois nor the audience missed a beat.

I hope someone can introduce Lanois and Dave Alvin, their melding of texture and atmospherics would be fascinating.

Lanois has released his seventh in a string of solo albums. The title song references a Jamaican proverb, essentially meaning what you have in front of you is what you gotta use. And that adroitly sums up his philosophy.

For years Lanois and fellow traveler Brian Eno have collaborated and produced a mindset and canon that goes to the core of the creative process. The central catalyst they established with each other early on is “Whatever I say, you agree and whatever you say, I agree.” Eno points out that nothing then stands in the way of getting on with the creative process. Once underway, magic eventually unfolds.

Currently Lanois and Eno are now back in the studio with U2, cooking up (somewhat improbably, but ultimately inevitably) the Irish quartet’s next stunner.

In conjunction with his latest solo release, Lanois has produced a documentary. It sheds light on the magic of creating art. It portends a series of solo albums which Lanois will make available via his site www.redfloorrecords.com. He is most enamored of the steel guitar, what he repeatedly calls his “church in a suitcase.”

Lanois is a man of the world. He spent time in New Orleans but like Ray Davies, Lanois recently left there due to some bad circumstances he prefers to leave undiscussed. Lanois shifts his base of operations from LA to Toronto, and disembarks in Morocco or France when assembling with U2 and Eno.

Lanois has expressed a bifurcated view of technology. In some interviews he bemoans the advanced state of the recording process. Whereas in the analog days gone by, the studio represented a near-scared place of “hopes and dreams” wherein everyone looked forward to the expensive and important time therein. Now the studio is everywhere given the accessibility and ubiquity of recording equipment. In another interview, however, he delights in a battery-driven box the size of a cigarette pack, four of which Lanois says could record a fine album.

But the seeming dichotomy of high tech and low tech is resolved, subtly yet effectively as a flying mallet, in the title of his new album and the music captured therein.

Written by BRAD AUERBACH

Folk duo's Durham debut

One of the UK's finest folk duos are to make their Durham debut next week.

Show of Hands, featuring the combined talents of Steve Knightly and Phil Beer, are on a 19-date national tour, which reaches The Gala Theatre on Wednesday, April 9.

It marks a belated appearance in Durham for the award-winning duo, who had to cancel their tour in the autumn at the last minute following news that Mr Knightley's young son Jack had been diagnosed with leukaemia.

Mr Knightley said: "Jack has gone through his initial period of treatment with flying colours and although it will be nearly three years until the all clear, all the early signs are encouraging".

The tour has been timed to showcase their new double album Roots - The Best Of Show Of Hands. The band have won many plaudits over the years. They were described by Peter Gabriel as "one of the great English bands" and by Radio 2's Mike Harding as: "one of the finest folk duos ever to grace the scene."

By Mark Tallentire

I predict a riot

When the musician Björk cried out "Tibet, Tibet" during her concert in Shanghai on March 2, it was always going to be controversial. However, few people probably expected that within two weeks the Himalayan country would see spontaneous demonstrations for independence - that for the first time in decades Tibetans would take to the streets, demanding their freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama.

So am I alone in thinking that Björk may have sparked the riots in Tibet? Is it possible that the diminutive Icelandic pop-star was the catalyst for the protests which engulfed the country, spreading to China itself? Did she really penetrate the great firewall of China to rock the world, or with the Beijing Olympics around the corner is it all just coincidental?

Björk, who once brutally attacked a journalist in Thailand, said in an interview with the NME, shortly after the insurrection against Chinese rule took hold in Tibet, "the issue is: how are they going to deal with western moral issues like freedom of speech? Songs like Declare Independence for me are about humanity. I stand by what I said."

Björk is not the first artist to speak out about human rights. Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Joan Baez all supported the civil rights movement in the 1960's. Peter Gabriel, Eddy Grant and others were vocal when it came to South Africa in the 1980s. And let us not forget John Lennon, who imagined a better world and became a symbol for the peace movement, when he sang Give Peace and Chance.

Then there was Paul Simon who defied the cultural boycott against South Africa to record his acclaimed album Graceland, and who once said in an interview that he thought he had contributed to the downfall of apartheid.

In his song about the late Steve Biko, leader of South Africa's Black Consciousness movement, who was brutally murdered by the Apartheid state, Peter Gabriel wrote prophetically, "You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire. Once the flames begin to catch the wind will blow it higher." But did his music actually fan the flames of revolution? Do artists really ever hold that much sway?

Jeremy Kuper March 29, 2008

Daniel Lanois lets his life's work show through

The notable producer and guitarist reveals his approach to music with a new film and album. Both are titled 'Here Is What Is.'

Artful and highly informative views of a life behind and inside the music, Daniel Lanois' new film "Here Is What Is" and self-released album of the same title had their Los Angeles premieres with a screening and live performance at the Vista Theatre on Thursday.

A roving travelogue of the producer-engineer-guitarist's experiences recording in five locations, the film encapsulates the musical philosophies and detailed particulars of Lanois' approach to a new sound for contemporary music, as told by himself and his cast of high-profile collaborators, including U2, Brian Eno and Sinéad O'Connor.

The Quebec-born Lanois, 56, got his initial career boost through collaborations with Eno on several albums in the early '70s that emphasized simplicity, subtle aural resonance and a nonintellectualized attention paid to process. The pair's work as producers for U2 led to Lanois' subsequent production jobs for artists such as Bob Dylan, O'Connor, Peter Gabriel and Robbie Robertson; the hallmark of Lanois' sound was a gift for heightened atmosphere via emphasis on feel over technical perfection, as well as his respect for analog recording equipment and vintage instruments.

The new record was culled from material Lanois had in the can and reimagined for the CD and film; both are available through his Red Floor Records, www.redfloorrecords.com.

"It's about half and half," he said this week in the sunny breakfast nook of his home in Silver Lake. "Some of the compositions on there are brand-new and some are a little further back. There's a repeat of a steel guitar instrumental called 'JJ Leaves L.A.,' which we put in there because it's in the film.
"There's a very nice performance of 'JJ' in the film; we shot it here in the mezzanine. At night it blackens pretty good, and if you shine a spotlight on the floor, you get a red circle. And so we put the steel guitar there, and in the film you get the sensation almost like I'm on a moving saucer. We shot from above with a slow zoom, and then the editor gave it a little spin in the computer, so it's almost like this twirling disc; when it stops twirling, we come to a close shot of my hands on a steel guitar. It's very beautiful."

In his glowing report of how the filmmaker created that shot, Lanois betrayed his typically folksy, genuine excitement about the creative process. That partly explains the characteristically warm, inviting sound of his music and production work for others.

At the Vista, Lanois was joined for a few selections from the album by longtime drummer Brian Blade, backup singers-keyboardists Daryl Johnson and Aaron Embry, and in one piece by Blade's father, a preacher in Shreveport, La., who provided the gospel on a fiery "This May Be My Last Time," as he does in a scene from the film. Lanois' rough-hewn, intuitive guitar work loped gracefully through the brief set, which also included a bracing soliloquy by Billy Bob Thornton from his "Sling Blade" film, which Lanois scored in 1996.

Lanois is now off to Ireland to finish production on the new U2 album, which he promises is going to be something special. ("We're quite excited about it. Bono's singing like a bird.") In addition, he's working on new material with O'Connor and building a new studio and performance space in Toronto, a home base for recording and performing before a live audience.

He's a busy guy, which his laid-back, friendly vibe would seem to belie. He says that's due in part to his trusty lap-steel guitar, his source of solace and wonder.

"It's such a reliable friend," he said, smiling. "As the world keeps on turning in a mad way, I can go to that friend and say, 'OK, let's just slow things down here and enjoy the fundamentals of our relationship' -- which happens to be my paying attention to all of the details of varied mechanical musical instruments. But no matter how high-speed everything gets, that part of it doesn't speed up at all. There's no rushing with this instrument, with this friend. It'll always be there the same way it's always been, and it'll never be anything different than what it is. There's music that lives outside of confinements, and that's where harmonic interplay lives. And you have to take the time to hear it. So I like to go there, and that's what my steel guitar has to offer. I call it my church in a suitcase."

By John Payne Special to The Times March 29, 2008

The sounds of Scorsese

As the veteran film-maker releases his concert movie on the Rolling Stones, Nick Coleman applauds a director who's always put music at the heart of the action

Martin Scorsese has made a concert film of the Rolling Stones. Shine a Light is a record of a single live date in 2006, a benefit for the Clinton Foundation. By all accounts it's a straightforward, linear affair, achieved in high style and with palpable affection.

You can see why Mick Jagger might fancy such a thing. Cinema has not over-dignified the Stones over the years and the group themselves have made no suitable celluloid gift to posterity. Who better, then, to make them look the way they'd want to look in their dotage than the original Rockin' Movie Brat?

It's harder to see why Scorsese might fancy such a project. His artistic legacy is so secure that he no more needs to make an edifice out of the Rolling Stones than he needs to direct an episode of Basil Brush. But it only takes a look at the Scorsese canon to see that Shine a Light was almost inevitable. From the very start it was obvious Scorsese was going to do something like this. He's even done something like it before. In 1976 he recorded the valedictory performance by The Band at Winterland, San Francisco. The Last Waltz is as lapidary and monumental as rock concert films get.

Scorsese has always loved music immoderately. Certainly, no single film director of his clout has made such essentially musical films. Even with the sound turned down, the best Scorsese films shout and shimmy and reach, as if in reflex, for the transcending arc of aria. They are music in film form.

Here's the great New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael on Mean Streets (1973): "The music is the electricity in the air of this movie; the music is like an engine that the characters move to. Johnny Boy, the most susceptible, half dances through the movie... He enjoys being out of control - he revels in it - and we can feel the music turning him on."

We should not expect Scorsese's films to be any other way. He is, after all, the kingpin of the "movie brat" generation that emerged snapping their fingers from the film schools of the Sixties, as much in thrall to hipsterism and its soundtrack as they were to the European New Wave cinema and Forties American films noir.

For Scorsese in particular, the music in a film is not ancilliary to what he has to say, it is, in part, what he has to say. And to say it properly he requires his music to do its work internally, within the world of his cinematic stories. As often as not in Scorsese films, the music emanates from the drama, like a smell. Here's Kael again, on the music in Mean Streets: "[It] doesn't use music, as Easy Rider sometimes did, to do the movie's work for it ... The music here isn't our music, meant to put us in the mood of the movie, but the characters' music."

(...)

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1987)

For his solemn treatment of Nikos Kazantzakis's novel about the spiritual racking of Jesus, Scorsese elected to commission an original score by Peter Gabriel. "The brief," says Gabriel, "was to create a landscape that was part ancient, part contemporary, part familiar, part unknown, and very soulful. We both wanted to break away from the traditional choral and orchestral music connected with the Passion story, to create a new canvas. I was concerned whether Marty would respond to the idea of the voice of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, bringing his majestic Sufi singing to the Christian story, but he loved the idea." Whether or not the film works as a film, the music certainly works as music. (...)

By Nick Coleman
Thursday March 27 2008

A world of talent at Jefferson Center

Angelique Kidjo wants to make you move. She also wants to make you think.

Kidjo, whose latest CD, "Djin Djin," won the Grammy for contemporary world music album last month, performs Thursday night at Jefferson Center's Shaftman Hall.

The album is stocked with undeniable grooves, courtesy of drummers from her homeland of Benin, West Africa, plus vocal and instrumental stamps from guest artists including Alicia Keys, Branford Marsalis, Peter Gabriel, Joss Stone and Josh Groban.

It might sound like a party, but Kidjo, a special representative for UNICEF, writes lyrics that remind us this beautiful music springs from a place that needs care and attention from the rest of the world.

Kidjo was 20 when she left Benin in 1980 because of political unrest. But she goes back for inspiration whenever it's time to record a new album.

Q: First off, congratulations on your Grammy, and on your previous nominations. What does an award like this mean to you?

I have been nominated a few times before, and it was always a frustration not to win, so now this frustration is gone! I was not supposed to be at the ceremony, but in the end I was, and it was quite a moment for me!

Q: "Djin Djin" is loaded with interesting musical choices and quite a cast of supporting players. How difficult was it to bring together such a range of musicians for this project?

I had a clear vision on what I wanted to do for this album: I wanted to use the percussion players from my country, because there are rhythms over there that you don't hear anywhere else. I also wanted to invite guests to sing with me, but I wanted to bring them to my world and not try to imitate their styles. I think this is what they liked about the project: It is something different that has never been heard before.

Q: Among this group of guest performers, how many had you worked with before?

I had met and worked with all of them before the recording, so those collaborations sounded natural. It was not something arranged for marketing reasons -- there was mutual respect.

Q: In the CD liner notes, under "Ae Ae," you've written: "The African youth want to fulfill their dreams and to improve the lives of their families. Traveling to America, Europe, Asia and Oceania should not be the only alternative." Please talk about conditions now in Benin, and what you wish to happen to make such a dream possible.

It is not easy, because globalization has affected everyone, both in rich and in poor countries.

The poorest countries have difficulties exporting their products because a lot of the international trade agreements are not fair for them. Also, when you are in Benin, you are dreaming about what is going on in the Western world without getting a sense of what is really going on there and how much you can be humiliated when you arrive.

I want to try to improve education in Africa, because this is what could build the countries in the years to come and help people understand the world as it is and making the changes needed.

Q: What inspired the idea to cover "Gimme Shelter"?

It was not thought out beforehand. We heard the song in the opening titles of the movie "The Departed," and thought the lyrics sounded quite apropos these days.

The next day, the band jammed on it, and in 30 minutes, it was recorded!

Q: In the liner note thank-yous, you write of Peter Gabriel, "your soul belongs to Africa!" Please talk about working with him.

I have known Peter for many years, and he is truly a big fan of African music. When you see him backstage at an African show, he is just having the time of his life. He has done so much to promote this music without calculation, just for the love of it!

When we received his vocals, and we first listened to them, it was so emotional. I'll never forget that.

Q: I understand that you were inspired early on by a Jimi Hendrix album cover, and that part of this record was recorded at Electric Lady Studios (Hendrix's studio). What was it like recording there?

So many studios have closed in New York. We wanted to record the album with all the musicians playing live in the same room, so there was not a lot of options. But when I heard that Electric Lady was available, I was so thrilled. It was like finishing what I started as a little girl ... trying to sing Jimi's lyrics without understanding any of them.

Q: I'd like to ask you about "Senamou (c'est l'amour)." You write: "Why are the poor getting poorer? Why are the rich getting richer? Is poverty a crime? And you think there is no hope? No, human kindness, I still believe in you." Please talk about the hope you express in those lyrics.

I am a very positive person. Through all my travels with UNICEF, I have witnessed so much suffering, but I still believe something can be done about it.

The world has to get more balanced. This is something everyone is starting to agree with!

By Tad Dickens

La voix du doudouk

J’ai pour les instruments de musique une passion qui remonte à loin...

Disons plus simplement que je suis tombé dedans quand j’étais petit et cela ne m’a jamais plus quitté. J’en ai joué, vendu, réparé, théorisé, enseigné ; du plus petit au plus gros, du plus ancien au plus contemporain, de l’acoustique à l’électrique, du plus primitif au plus sophistiqué, du folklorique au savant, de l’occidental à l’oriental... Aussi, arrivé vers l’âge de la cinquantaine, je croyais avoir entendu, sinon tout ce qui existe au monde, au moins ce qui est digne d’intérêt, qui produit un son original et assez sophistiqué pour être utilisé dans des musiques dignes de ce nom.

Je le croyais donc jusqu’à ce jour de l’année 2000 où je regardais tranquillement un documentaire consacré à un voyage de Charles Aznavour dans son Arménie natale. Et là, tout à coup, en musique d’illustration, j’entends un son sublime, inouï, bouleversant : une voix venue de nulle part, antique et mystérieuse.

Stupéfait de ne pas connaître un pareil instrument, de n’en avoir jamais entendu parler, je me lance à la recherche d’informations que je vais acquérir petit à petit : il s’appelle le « doudouk » (parfois orthographié « duduk »ou « doudoug ») ; c’est un instrument arménien quasi mythique, plus de deux fois millénaire, qui a quelques déclinaisons chez les Kurdes et les Azéris sous les noms de mey et balaban.

Il s’agit d’une sorte de hautbois qui présente la particularité d’avoir une anche double gigantesque (8 à 14 cm dans la longueur, quasiment le tiers du corps de l’instrument !), très épaisse, qui lui permet d’obtenir ce son anormalement grave compte tenu de sa petite taille (de 28 à 40 cm), et ce timbre unique qui ne ressemble à aucun autre instrument du monde occidental, sinon vaguement à la clarinette dans son registre le plus grave.

De perce cylindrique pour les modèles traditionnels, fabriqué généralement en bois d’abricotier ou de mûrier, il comporte 8 ou 9 trous et une encoche pour le pouce.

L’anche, faite d’un roseau, que l’instrumentiste tient entre ses lèvres comporte une attache coulissante qui permet de l’accorder et, retenu par un fil, un bouchon qui maintient sa forme lorsqu’elle ne sert pas.

Cet instrument, très difficile à jouer en raison de la taille et de l’épaisseur de l’anche, exige en effet une colonne d’air gigantesque, d’autant que les musiciens, surtout lorsqu’ils jouent en bourdon d’accompagnement, utilisent la technique du souffle circulaire, grâce à laquelle on ne les entend pas respirer : elle consiste à aspirer l’air par le nez et à le stoker dans le haut des joues tout en continuant de souffler et de maintenir la pression des lèvres sur le roseau [1]. C’est cela, le vibrato et l’absence de percussion à l’attaque du son qui m’avaient induit en erreur la première fois, et fait croire à un instrument à cordes actionné par un archet.

La tessiture de l’instrument est faible : un octave et une tierce, mais le doudouk se décline en plusieurs tailles, dont alto et basse. Certains doudouks modernes comportent même des clés qui permettent une tessiture plus élargie et facilitent les dièses et les bémols.

Dans ses utilisations traditionnelles, cet instrument est accompagné par un ou deux autres doudouks plus graves, dont l’un au moins fait bourdon, basse continue. Mais il a désormais franchi le cercle des spécialistes des musiques arméniennes : Peter Gabriel est le premier à l’avoir fait découvrir à un large public et on l’entend notamment dans des musiques de film : Gladiator, Munich, Indigènes...

En 2005, l’Unesco a intégré cet instrument fabuleux au patrimoine oral de l’humanité.

Outre les quelques extraits qui sont donnés ici, on pourra voir les liens suivants :

ici et ici

A partir de ce dernier lien, il y a beaucoup de vidéos disponibles.

[1] Cette technique, connue pour le didjéridou australien, est aussi utilisée pour d’autres instruments à vent, notamment du pourtour méditerranéen et du Sahara.

Peter's March 2008 Update

Amongst ruminations on The Elders meeting in Necca, work on Pixar's WALL e, Big Blue Ball, Amnesty International and a night out with Goldfrapp, there's a call for suggestions of songs Peter should cover.

To make your suggestions of songs to cover visit http://petergabriel.com

A little of Peter's cover of Joseph Arthur's 'In The Sun' can be heard in this video.

Les ressorts de Rossy

Une renaissance en exil

Véritable star à Madagascar, Rossy a fait le choix difficile de l’exil après la crise politique qu’a traversé son pays en 2002. Le chanteur a mis à profit ses six années en France pour consolider sa carrière et s’apprête à remonter enfin sur scène devant le public de la Grande Île, quelques mois après avoir fait paraître son nouvel album Ino Vaovao ?

Il n’a pas douté un seul instant de la réaction de ses compatriotes et il avait raison. Le succès instantané remporté par Ino Vaovao ? dès sa sortie en octobre 2007 sur le marché malgache en dit long sur la popularité que Rossy a conservée dans son pays. En dix semaines, son nouveau disque s’est hissé en tête des ventes annuelles sur la Grande Île. "J’ai toujours été premier quand j’entreprenais quelque chose", ne manque pas de rappeler le chanteur qui a régné sans partage sur la scène nationale durant une grande partie des années 90 avant d’en être totalement absent depuis six ans.

Un long silence moins choisi que subi : en 2002, persuadé que la profonde crise politique dans laquelle était alors plongé Madagascar trouverait rapidement une fin, l’artiste s’envole vers Paris pour un court séjour afin de s’éloigner de la tourmente. Mais la donne change soudain avec la victoire de Marc Ravalomanana. Sans être officiellement inquiété, Rossy comprend que le nouveau régime au pouvoir pourrait bien lui faire payer son soutien sans faille et sa proximité avec l’ancien chef d’Etat Didier Ratsiraka. Il préfère ne pas repartir "C’était une décision très dure de rester en France, je n’avais pas du tout prévu l’exil", reconnaît-il.

Si les premiers temps sont un peu difficiles pour le moral, l’homme n’est pas de ceux qui se découragent facilement. Avec la même énergie qui lui avait permis à Madagascar de grimper l’échelle sociale à la vitesse d’un ascenseur, il s’emploie à faire rebondir sa carrière dans son pays d’accueil. Il est conscient qu’il doit y faire ses preuves bien qu’il ait chez lui le statut de star, capable de remplir des stades et de monter les projets les plus fous comme cette caravane itinérante qui réunissait 200 artistes.

Très vite, il reforme une équipe avec d’anciens musiciens venus également vivre en France. Dans le Berry où il s’installe, il gagne l’appui des institutions locales, convaincues de son talent et sûrement séduites par ce personnage fonceur qui ne manque ni d’aplomb ni d’humour. Il crée à Issoudun le festival international d’accordéon – son instrument de prédilection – qu’il rêvait d’organiser à Antananarivo, donne régulièrement des concerts pour la communauté malgache, renoue des liens avec Peter Gabriel qui avait produit en 1991 son album Island of Ghosts sur le label Real World, suit une formation de régisseur pour parfaire ses connaissances dans ce domaine… Grace aux JMF (Jeunesses Musicales de France), il tourne en France durant deux saisons pour jouer devant des classes de primaire un conte musical qu’il a intitulé Imanga et le taxi brousse.

"Quoi de neuf ?"

Lorsqu’il a l’opportunité d’entrer en studio, il s’y enferme pendant un mois pour enregistrer les douze chansons d’Ino Vaovao ?, destinées avant tout au public malgache. Tout en restant fidèles à son style qui fait la synthèse des spécificités musicales de chaque région du pays, ses nouveaux morceaux ont retrouvé une saveur qu’ils avaient perdue en cédant aux sirènes pop. "Je suis revenu à la source. Moins de synthé, plus d’accordéon. On a même mis de la cornemuse, des cuivres…", souligne Rossy. Dans la chanson-titre, qui signifie "quoi de neuf ?" en malgache, il ne peut s’empêcher d’évoquer les rumeurs dont il a fait l’objet dans son pays : "Il paraît que tu es milliardaire(…) Il paraît que tu es chauffeur livreur (…) Il paraît que tu es sans papier."

Sans se faire annoncer, il se décide à revenir à Madagascar pour quelques jours en septembre dernier. Dans l’avion, certains passagers craignent que sa présence à bord ne pose problème à l’arrivée. L’accueil est tout autre : "A l’aéroport, les policiers et les gendarmes m’ont serré dans leurs bras. Ça m’a touché. Au marché, il y avait presqu’une émeute : tellement de gens qui voulaient me toucher, me parler." Dans la capitale, il a retrouvé son quartier de Mahamasina, au pied de la falaise dominée par la carcasse du Palais de la Reine. C’est là qu’il habite et qu’il possède son studio, où dort depuis six ans le matériel qu’il n’a jamais utilisé et qu’il avait acquis pour se produire dans les endroits les plus reculés de l’île.

"Aller en brousse, c’est le projet de ma vie", confie Rossy. Il ne l’a pas abandonné, mais ne veut pas aller trop vite. Dans les prochaines semaines, il profitera d’abord de ses retrouvailles avec son public lors des concerts qu’il donnera à Antananarivo, Fianarantsoa, Majunga, Ambatondrazaka et au festival Donia à Nosy Be. Prudent, il ne parle pas encore de retour définitif sur sa terre natale. "Je ne pose plus ma vie en ces termes-là", affirme-t-il. Avant de lancer en souriant : "J’ai changé. J’ai appris à me taire."
Rossy Ino Vaovao ? (Pro Rossy) 2007

Bertrand Lavaine / Paris 21/03/2008 -

Youssou N'Dour proclaims his roots

The African hero is back with an infectious album that revels in the musical exchanges between Africa, Cuba and the blues. In London for a gig next month, he talks to Nick Duerden.

For a man described as Africa's most famous living singer, and one whom Time magazine puts among the world's 100 most influential people, Youssou N'Dour cuts a disarmingly relaxed figure. Hiccuping after drinking some fizzy mineral water, he giggles.

"Forgive me," he says. "Pleased to meet you. These [hiccups] will go soon, I'm sure."

Here in London to promote his latest album, Rokku Mi Rokka ("Give and Take"), the Senegalese musician is in expansive mood. His Franglais burr is easy on the ear, and his smile lights up the room.

His latest album, released last autumn, is, in many ways, typical N'Dour fare: an infectious, highly rhythmic delight, his voice permeating everything like a snake in a hurry. As ever, he sings almost exclusively in Wolof, but for those of us not fluent in the language, its emotion shines through.

"For this album I was looking towards the music that touches me most," he explains. "African music, Cuban music, blues, maybe even some Latin sounds as well. You see, much of the music from the north of Senegal has its roots in all of these styles, and that's because when the slaves left Africa and went out into the world, they took with them their music. It has travelled far and wide since, and now it comes back to us with all sorts of different influences and colours. And it is this that I have tried to represent in my album, and why I have called it 'Give and Take'."

At least three of its minutes are geared towards capitalising on his global profile. "Wake Up (It's Africa Calling)" is the only song in English, and it reunites him with Neneh Cherry, with whom he scored an international hit 14 years ago in "7 Seconds". "Ever since that song, in 1994, I have been thinking about making an African response to it," he says. "That was me jumping to Neneh's style, to pop music. I wanted her to come over to my style now, and back to my roots."

Though it is perhaps the least convincing song on the record, its intentions are clear: the singer justifiably enjoys his international celebrity, and wants keenly to maintain it.

"For sure, for sure," he agrees. "Talent is never enough, and I work really hard to maintain my profile. For me, it is important, and for a great many reasons, oui?"

Born in Dakar in 1959, N'Dour began performing at the age of 12, much to his father's chagrin, who had wanted his son to pursue a more academic career – as a lawyer, perhaps, or a doctor, or a journalist, even, but certainly not a singer. "He was worried for me," N'Dour says. "You know, for reasons of drogue [drugs], bad living, things like this. But I was determined. We argued."

By the age of 20, N'Dour had turned professional, and quickly found success with his first band, Etoile de Dakar, right across Africa. "I never expected my music to travel," he says, "even when we became [locally] popular. But I remember travelling to Mali and hearing 2,000 people singing back my songs to me and crying. It was really just, ah, fantastique. I couldn't believe it, even though Mali is just next door to my country. To have an audience beyond home was not something I could even dream of."

Nevertheless, by 1987 his reputation had reached the ears of Peter Gabriel, with whom he collaborated on the latter's career defining So album. "Peter was wonderful to me, he played a really big part in my success," N'Dour says. Gabriel asked N'Dour to support him on a world tour, and "each night for 100 nights, Peter would introduce me, tell the crowd he was bringing out somebody very special."

The exposure landed N'Dour a major recording contract, and he went on to have success across the Western world as both a solo artist and as a collaborator, not just with Cherry, but also Bruce Springsteen, Wyclef Jean and Tracy Chapman. By the mid-1990s, he was Senegal's most famous man, and one of its richest, something he would be sure never to take for granted.

"With me, you see," he begins, "I feel like a missionnaire, almost. My music is not really my music, but something given to me by my country. So when I get success, I have to deliver something back."

To this end, he had set up a veritable empire in his homeland, and now employs more than 200 people to help him run a record label, a radio station, a nightclub and a newspaper. He has worked for Unicef, and also fronts his own humanitarian foundation that fights in Senegal's battle with malaria, as well as encouraging people from the provinces, particularly women, to come to the capital and enrol at the university.

All this is very philanthropic for a singer, Bonoesque. The majority of his Western counterparts would be far more likely to buy themselves a big house and spend days counting their money. N'Dour smiles broadly. "Well, I do have a big house, and I am very happy in it, but it has been my father's influence, I think, that has most encouraged me to do all of these things. When he finally accepted that I was to become singer, he told me to always carry myself with dignity and to do good for my country."

He does it well. Now 47, married and with seven children, he has done everything he ever set out to achieve, and more. In 1993, for example, he penned an African opera that premiered at the Opéra Bastille in Paris. He then wrote the anthem of the 1998 World Cup. In 2005, he was the only African artist to perform at Live 8, and two years ago appeared as the freed slave Olaudah Equiano in Michael Apted's Amazing Grace, a film about the abolitionist William Wilberforce.

"For much of my life I have worked really hard to have good career," he says. "I have had good life because of it, and I am a lucky man."

He is about to embark on a European tour, but increasingly he has wanted to take his foot off the pedal and enjoy the fruits of his many efforts a little more.

"I have a house on Cap-Vert. A small island off Africa; beautiful place. I like to go there and relax. It makes me feel, um..." He ruminates awhile here, a finger to his lips, before nodding his head, and smiling. "Ah, oui, it makes me feel peaceful."

'Rokku Mi Rokka' is out now on Nonesuch; Youssou N'Dour plays the IndigO2, London SE10 (0844 844 0002) on 1 April

Friday, 21 March 2008

Free tickets for Martyn tribute

PA READERS have the chance to acquire free tickets to an exciting evening of music in Perth Concert Hall tonight. ‘Aye: An Affirmation of Martyn Bennett’ is a tribute to and celebration of the late, great musician, Martyn Bennett

Martyn, who died in 2005 aged 33, was a piper, fiddle player and creative genius who combined classical and jazz elements with Scottish traditional music and the beats of the 90s rave and dance scenes, creating powerful and memorable compositions.

Upon hearing Bennett’s final masterpiece ‘Grit’, revered folklorist Hamish Henderson commented “what brave, new music…”, an observation shared by members of Mr McFall’s Chamber. They play in Perth tonight as the opener to the eight-date Scottish tour ‘Aye: An Affirmation of Martyn Bennett’ which visits villages and venues across Scotland as part of the Scottish Arts Council’s Tune Up initiative.

An eclectic chamber ensemble, Mr McFall’s Chamber will perform a unique programme which highlights Martyn Bennett’s profound understanding and unique interpretation of Scottish folk music.

The band features a core string quartet from The Scottish Chamber Orchestra with piano, bass, drums and percussion. Formed in the mid-90s, the ensemble is well-known across Scotland, the UK and on the European festival circuit for their innovative mix of musical genres. They creatively programme the work of classical and contemporary composers alongside rock, tango, kletzmer, cartoon music and jazz.

A range of Martyn’s work including Cuillin Music (a composition for string quartet, percussion and small Scottish pipes) now features as part of the McFall’s varied body of live and recorded work, which in the past has included the likes of King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Ennio Morricone and contemporary composers such as Gavin Bryars and Dave Heath.

Mr McFall’s Chamber is joined by Scottish composer and multi-instrumentalist Fraser Fifield and percussionists Tom Bancroft and James Mackintosh. The set will include pieces by Fifield and composer Edward McGuire (both written exclusively for Mr McFall’s Chamber).

Commenting on the tour Ian Smith, head of music at the Scottish Arts Council, said: “Martyn Bennett, whilst dying at a tragically young age, has left us with such an incredible legacy of great work, brilliantly encapsulated in his last album “Grit” for Peter Gabriel’s Real World label.

“This tour, featuring McFall’s Chamber, not only celebrates Martyn’s life and creative genius, but also takes that music to so many of Scotland’s communities, all of whom will identify with emotive and moving music performed by such fantastic musicians.”

Alison Anderson Mar 18 2008

Daniel Lanois' sweet nothings

Daniel Lanois' sweet nothings

Daniel Lanois. Here Is What Is. Red Floor Records

Daniel Lanois' music doesn't state. It suggests.

Everything about it has a sense of implication. Pings of guitar and gurgles of synthesizer dominate the sound. They're small sonic brush strokes, calling to mind an impressionist painting of a mirage.

Suited to so muted a style, Lanois insists on whispering his songs, singing in the voice of a sensual confidant, as if you alone have been allowed to listen.

For all these reasons, Lanois can seem profound, even when he's being slight. It doesn't hurt in the inflation that he ranks as one of the most important producers of the last 20 years, a reputation earned by his seminal work with U2, Eno, Peter Gabriel and Bob Dylan.

Yet on his sixth solo album, out today, Lanois' airy gestures often seem more like highbrow shtick. We've heard all these tricks before, and in finer form, on earlier works.

In a way, the recycling makes sense. The music on "Here Is What Is" accompanies a like-titled, self-financed documentary in which Lanois explains his basic muse and art. Sound bites from the film dot the CD, including quotes from Brian Eno, who's presented as the Guru of All Time. It's a wonder he's not introduced with a voiceover intoning, "Oh Great One, tell us how you became so wondrous a god."

Essentially, "What Is" offers 18 snippets of songs, vignettes ranging from small piano or guitar instrumentals to short ballads. They're all languid and intimate. Sounds ooze: Basses trickle, guitars trace. Some pieces seem as much incantations as songs. At their worst, they feel like atmospheres in search of solid form.

There's some beauty to be had here. Lanois' use of the pedal steel guitar remains unique. It's not a typical country sound. His playing has its own liquid weep. It's a fine sliver of sound.

But such things have come to seem like formula, especially since they've been performed so much better on Lanois' perfect 1989 debut, "Acadie," and its gracious followup, "For the Beauty of Wynona."

Only in the final cut, "Luna Samba," does Lanois offer something rare: a jazzy jam with aggressive guitar, assertive bass and a Brazilian drum. He should try rocking out more often.

Making music for meditation

Daniel Lanois Here Is What Is (Red Floor)

There's no debating the skill of Daniel Lanois as a producer, not after his transcendently beautiful work with U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan. His solo discs also have a gentle force of their own. Lanois makes music for meditation - and this new record extends the reach of this decade's previous full-length releases, "Shine" and "Belladonna."

He again explores the cosmic side of pedal-steel guitar, which he says "takes me to a sacred place - it's my little church in a suitcase." This comment is from several snippets of dialogue with famed producer Brian Eno woven through the CD (and taken from a new DVD with the same title). The minimalist atmospheres achieve a quiet psychedelia aided by jazz drummer Brian Blade and keyboardist Garth Hudson of the Band, a worthy accomplice.

Lanois sings with the softly arresting tone of Leonard Cohen and Robbie Robertson, while expressing his spiritual search: "Give me hope . . . in any situation give me heaven," he intones on "I Like That." Some of his lyrics are more fuzzy and unfathomable (no one said Lanois was an easy study), but he hones his craft with another deeply calming disc that is among his best.

[Steve Morse]

Scott August : Lost Canyons

West Hollywood, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Cedar Mesa Music) - Throughout the western United States, there still are remote, uninhabited wilderness areas of serenity and great beauty, especially forsaken canyons where native tribes once lived, some of them thousands of years ago. Musician Scott August, a multi-instrumentalist best-known for his artistry in playing Native American wood flutes, has crafted a recording, Lost Canyons, that captures the experience of spending a day surrounded by nature in one of these secluded locations. (...)

Lost Canyons is August's fourth CD, preceded by Distant Spirits (nominated for a Native American Music Award, NAMMY), Sacred Dreams (a NAMMY winner!), and New Fire (another NAMMY nominee and a winner of the prestigious Indian Summer Music Award). August also has released Ancient Light, a DVD of 450 stunning photographs he took while exploring the Southwest, with the soundtrack selected from the first three CDs plus one new piece. August also headlined the Zion Native American Flute Festival in 2006 and 2007, and the Central Coast Flute Festival in 2007.

Scott's interest in music began as a small child. He was born in Los Angeles and raised in Fullerton in Southern California. Scott's father played numerous instruments informally, Scott's grandfather was a professional classical violinist with a radio show in Los Angeles and concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, and Scott's great-grandfather led a folk band. One of Scott's earliest musical memories is a Stan Getz-Joao Gilberto bossa nova album.

At age seven, Scott began studying cello and playing in school orchestras. When he was nine he got a kalimba for Christmas which awakened his love for ethnic sounds. His senior year in high school he started to play piano and began practicing classical music at least six hours a day for the next few years. He played in a few bands, but primarily studied music which took him to the University of Southern California as a composition student where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree. As a child he grew up listening to both classical music and popular music such as The Beatles, but as he got older he explored progressive rock (Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze).

At USC, August spent most of his free time in the electronic-music lab where he learned to use synthesizers, sound sampling and processing, and music interfacing with computers. His musical taste moved to cutting-edge ambient and atmospheric artists such as Brian Eno, Harold Budd and Steve Roach, 'and their music became the roots of my inspiration.' In college Scott began making recordings using piano, synths, autoharp, kalimbas and guitar. At first he made cassettes and later pressed a vinyl album of this music to submit it to radio stations. It got airplay in Los Angeles on KCRW's 'Morning Becomes Eclectic' show and KXLU's 'Alien Air Music' program, and on the New York station WNYC. He met and spent time talking about music with Steve Roach. In addition, August's musical influences expanded to include Steve Tibbetts (an eclectic fusion guitarist), Jon Hassell (a trumpeter who merged electronics with world music sounds) and Peter Gabriel.
Brian Eno listened to some of August's early recordings, told him how visual the music was, and suggested Scott consider scoring. So August submitted music to an ad agency and soon became an in-demand composer for films, videos, commercials and TV shows. His clients have included NASA, Lexus, Chevrolet, HBO, Nabisco and Minolta. One of many projects he has done for The Discovery Channel was the soundtrack for the film they showed repeatedly at an IMAX-style theater in the Olympic Village in Atlanta. (...)

Géants des profondeurs 3D

Géants des profondeurs 3D - Les Productions de la Géode Documentaire en relief de Sean MacLeod Phillips (Etats-Unis) 82 millions d'années avant notre ère, à l'époque des dinosaures, d'immenses créatures marines peuplaient les océans. Nous suivons Dolly, une sympathique femelle Dolichorynchops à travers ses expériences périlleuses. Grâce aux études des paléontologues et à la magie des images numériques, les géants des mers reprennent vie en relief à la Géode...

La critique

Présenté à la Géode, Géants des profondeurs 3D est le premier film entièrement consacré à la faune sous marine du Crétacé (- 82 millions d’années). Pendant ce temps les dinosaures dominaient le monde, alors qu’il s’agit ici de reptiles marins. Le réalisateur, Sean Philips, spécialiste des films en relief, évoque avec le plus grand réalisme une faune spectaculaire virtuelle, comme si l’on se trouvait sous les eaux d’une préhistoire reculée.

Si la totalité de l’écran de 100 m2 de la Géode n’est pas exploitée, la surface de projection reste sans doute la plus grande d’Europe. Munis de lunettes très supportables, le film nous plonge à la rencontre d’animaux antédiluviens sur un scénario mêlant émotion et pédagogie. Les enfants sont particulièrement sensibles à la faune préhistorique, le film est visible à partir de 7 ans.

Amalgamant les vues sous marines, réalisées en images de synthèse avec une qualité des matières et des mouvements exceptionnelle, liée à des effets de relief saisissants, et des reconstitutions des recherches paléontologiques depuis le XIXe siècle, Géants des profondeurs est comme une Marche de l’empereur, dans son scénario, mais plus didactique. Comme lui, il repose sur le processus de pérennisation de l’espèce dans un milieu hostile.

Le spectacle est total, sur une musique à laquelle a participé Peter Gabriel. C’est rare de dire qu’un film est trop court - on en reprendrait pour une bonne demie heure de plus avec joie-, signe que l’on ne s’ennuie pas, bien au-delà.

Dreamforce EMEA 2008

Dreamforce EMEA 2008, la première Conference Utilsateur et Développeu de salesforce .com

La première Conférence Utilisateur et Développeur Européenne de Salesforce.com : Dreamforce EMEA 2008 se tiendra du 7 au 8 mai prochain au Barbican Centre, à Londres

Parmi les speakers du Keynote: Marc Benioff, Chairman et CEO de salesforce.com, Misys International Banking Systems, et le musicien et philanthrope Peter Gabriel. Avec plus de 2000 participants, ce sera le plus grand rassemblement on-demand jamais organisé. Dreamforce 2008 sera rythmé par des annonces majeures, des keynotes visionnaires ainsi que de nombreux retours clients et best practices.

Géants Des Profondeurs 3d, Une Aventure Préhistorique

Géants Des Profondeurs 3d, Une Aventure Préhistorique en salles le 19 Mars 2008

Ça vous dit d’aller nager avec des dinosaures ???

Un documentaire de Sean Macleod Phillips

Titre original : SEAMONSTERS (Etats-Unis)

Genre : Documentaire - Duree : 0H40 mn

Distributeur : Les Productions de la Géode

Sortie en salles le 19 Mars 2008

Ce film est projeté dans 1 salle en France

La Geode
26 Avenue Corentin Cariou - 75019 - Paris - Tél: 08.92.68.45.40
Séances du mercredi 19/03/2008 au mardi 25/03/2008
VF - 13H30 17H30 - FILM DIRECT
Durée du film: 0H40 mn

Une plongée fantastique dans le monde préhistorique, à l'ère des crétacés. C'est lorsqu'un fossile est découvert qu'une enquête paléontologique commence! Tous les scientifiques du globe se mettent en effervescence afin de reconstruire l'extraordinaire et terrible univers des océans. On y retrouve Dolly, un de ces monstres des profondeurs, au cours des péripéties de son existence, recrées sur écran géant et en 3D. Une production de National Geographic Films et une musique originale composée par Peter Gabriel.

Lanois Finds His 'Church in a Suitcase'

Daniel Lanois, "Here is What Is" (Redfloorrecords.com/Redeye)

For Daniel Lanois, it's always about the atmosphere.

Photo credit: Jennifer TipoulowListen to a clip of Daniel Lanois' "Where Will I Be"

The tremendously gifted producer, known for his work with U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel and many others, has made a career of assembling just the right musical textures and ambience, crafting breathtaking soundscapes along the way. He has also released a handful of solo albums, including the 1989 masterpiece, "Acadie," which should be an essential element in any music connoisseur's collection.

So on the infrequent occasions when Lanois does emerge with a solo album, it's typically cause for celebration.

"Here is What Is," is the artist's sixth release and was originally available as a digital download. It's now seeing its physical debut, issued in conjunction with the DVD premiere of a film of the same name, which documents Lanois and his work in the recording studio.

The music is wonderfully sparse, dominated by Lanois' favorite instrument, the pedal steel guitar, which he calls "My little church in a suitcase."

He's accompanied by jazz drummer Brian Blade and the great Band keyboardist Garth Hudson, the latter in particular who adds some beautiful work to the disc, particularly during the lengthy piano introduction to "Lovechild."

There's a mystical quality to much of the album, one that can be heard on "Where Will I Be," which was initially recorded by Emmylou Harris on her Lanois-produced album "Wrecking Ball." A subtle spirituality can be heard on that song, a theme that Lanois brings much more to the forefront on "Joy;" the marvelously sung "I Like That;" and especially on "This May Be The Last Time," a roaring gospel track powered by Blade's father from the Zion Baptist Church.

Bits of dialogue from the film also make their way onto the CD, including a few conversations between Lanois and his longtime colleague Brian Eno. One, dubbed "Sacred and Secular," finds Eno discussing atheism, while Lanois counters with how his love of the pedal steel guitar takes him to his own sacred place.

Musical minimalism reigns supreme on "Here Is What Is," which doesn't quite match the enduring brilliance of some of Lanois' early solo work such as "Acadie," yet nevertheless serves as a welcome reminder of his artistic splendor, which stretches far beyond his production work.

The disc is also being released as a deluxe CD/DVD package, with the DVD featuring more than an hour of additional footage - including alternate versions of songs from the film - as well as a booklet and photographs, including one photo signed by Lanois. This edition is limited to 3000 copies. Check out Redfloorrecords.com for additional purchasing information.