Le chaînon manquant

Jamie Catto, fondateur et ex-membre du groupe anglais Faithless, a embarqué, en compagnie de Duncan Bridgeman, pour une époustouflante croisade musicale autour du globe. Michael Stipe, Neneh Cherry, Speech, Robbie Williams, Stewart Copland et Denis Hopper sont sur la guestlist de ce formidable projet musical multimédia intitulé 1 Giant Leap qui se joue des frontières et des cultures, en célébrant l'unité dans la diversité... Entretien avec ce fameux facétieux de Jamie Catto. (...)

Comment as-tu eu l'idée d'un projet si fou, si novateur?

Simplement je pense que c'est venu du fait que nous n'étions pas satisfaits de la manière dont s'effectuaient les collaborations entres artistes de différentes origines. Le fait d'enregistrer la performance d'un musicien en Inde, puis d'envoyer l'enregistrement à Londres pour qu'on ajoute les percussions et la basse, n'est pas pour moi une collaboration digne de ce nom car, finalement, le musicien indien ne collabore pas vraiment à la chanson. Notre idée de ce projet est en fait partie de cette constatation. D'amener un casque, d'écouter ensemble de la musique, d'en parler et finalement d'établir une véritable collaboration. De nous permettre de réécouter ensemble par exemple l'étonnante performance d'un percussionniste ougandais. Le premier pivot de notre projet était celui-ci, établir de véritables collaborations.

Ensuite, il y a avait nos héros et il est vrai que certains artistes comme Babama, qui ne sont pas forcément très accessibles sur disque, le deviennent sur 1 Giant Leap et vous arrivez alors à saisir la dimension époustouflante de ce personnage! C'est la même chose avec Peter Gabriel et un chanteur pakistanais. Sur son album The Passion qui est la bande originale de "La dernière tentation du Christ", vous pouvez entendre ce chanteur pakistanais et saisir à quel point il est exceptionnel. Si vous vous contentiez de vous procurer son album solo, c'est peut-être plus difficile à appréhender. C'est en quelque sorte un pont qu'il faut établir entre le matériau d'origine et notre musique.

Quel est, finalement, ton rêve le plus cher?

Que cet album, ce projet, représentent un moment dans la vie des gens. Il y a certains albums que j'écoute qui sont pour moi de véritables reflets des chapitres passés de ma vie.

Les albums de Peter Gabriel, par exemple?

Exactement. En fait, Peter Gabriel a été le premier pour moi. Lorsque j'étais adolescent et que j'écoutais sa musique, il m'est arrivé de pleurer à l'écoute de certaines paroles. J'avais l'impression qu'il avait écrit ces paroles pour moi, je me sentais connecté à cette musique. La musique peut parfois être l'illustration sonore de votre existence, elle peut vraiment vous accompagner et vous permettre de vous replonger dans votre propre passé. Mon plus grand rêve serait que ma musique puisse devenir l'accompagnatrice de la vie de quelqu'un..

• Lien vers le site officiel de 1 Giant Leap

WOMAD 2006 : L'Afrique à la "Une"

Le WOMAD, World of music, arts and dance, a fêté cette année ses 25 ans. L’édition 2006 du plus grand festival mondial de World music qui se tient tous les ans au mois de juillet à Reading, non loin de Londres, a fait une place de choix à l’Afrique.

L’édition 2006 du festival WOMAD a été un véritable triomphe pour la musique africaine. Et s’il y a un pays qui a véritablement été célébré cette année, c’est la Mali représenté par trois grandes stars, Salif Kéita, Toumani Diabaté avec son Symetric Orchestra et Djelimady Tounkara. Un quatrième artiste malien, Kader Kéita était en résidence, accueillis par la Fondation WOMAD.

"Comment se fait-il que ce pays pauvre et enclavé d’Afrique de l’ouest soit devenu une superpuissance musicale?", s’interrogeait le journaliste britannique Andy Morgan, dans une chronique publiée dans la brochure officielle du festival.

Les réponses à cette question sont nombreuses, mais celle avancée par Toumani Diabaté est l’une des plus stimulantes pour ce pays : "Tout le monde affirme que nous sommes un des pays les plus pauvres du monde, déclare-t-il, mais nous sommes l’un des plus riches en terme de culture. Notre musique arrive dans tous les endroits du monde aujourd’hui, là où les gens ne connaissent même pas le nom de notre président".

Sur l’immense podium de l’Open Air Stage, le plus grand espace de spectacle du festival, près de trois milles festivaliers se sont donnés rendez-vous à 22 heures 30, ce vendredi 28 juillet. C’est le premier soir du festival, et le premier événement du Womad. Ils sont là pour voir Salif Kéita, présenté comme la plus grande voix du mali et une véritable icône musicale.

Ce soir-là au Womad, c’est le délire dans une foule portée par la voix unique de l’albinos. Un critique anglais a écrit sans réserve qu’aux côtés d’Otis Reding, Samy Davis et Marvin Gaye, Salif Keita demeure un des véritables grands chanteurs de soul.

Sans doute est-ce dans cette rencontre de l’acoustique puisée dans les racines musicales au Mali et celle des maîtres de la soul américaine que les musiciens maliens trouvent leur force. On pense à Ali Farka Touré.

D’autres grands noms de la musique Africaine ont également eu les honneurs du festival. C’est le cas de la béninoise Angélique Kidjo, une des grandes figures de la world musique. Angélique Kidjo a présenté au Womad, la dernière phase de sa trilogie musicale, engagée il y a maintenant huit ans.

"Cette trilogie est née de mon désir de retrouver hors d’Afrique les racines de la musique de chez moi, les racines de la musique d’Afrique qui ont été transportées ailleurs dans le monde par nos ancêtres à travers l’esclavage", nous a-t-elle expliqué.

"Cette exploration a commencé en Amérique, aux Etats-Unis où j’ai découvert que même la musique irlandaise avait quelque chose des rythmes africains. Mon exploration s’est ensuite poursuivie au Brésil, et en particulier à Salvador de Bahia, la ville la plus africaine hors d’Afrique, où j’ai eu le sentiment d’être chez moi, au Bénin. Enfin, je me suis rendue à Cuba. Cuba où j’ai rencontré de très vieux musiciens qui jouent de la guitare comme jamais je ne l’ai vu jouée ailleurs dans le monde. Dans ce pays, j’ai compris à quel point la musique pouvait être une thérapie et un véritable espace de liberté pour un peuple qui en est sevré».

Sur la scène de l’Open Stage, ce fut une Angélique Kidjo, très Afro-américaine, avec au menu du calypso, de la salsa, du zouk, du ska qui se combinaient à ce son africain très caractéristique et porté par sa voix unique. Et lorsqu’elle se lança au milieu de la nuit de ce samedi 29 juillet dans une interprétation émouvante de la chanson culte, Malaika de Myriam Makeba, c’est tout le public qui chavira.

Autre moment fort de l’Afrique au WOMAD 2006, le rendez-vous avec le Nigérian Femi Kuti. Héritier de l’Afro beat créé par son père, la légende Fela Kuti, Femi est, aujourd’hui, le plus grand représentant de la musique nigériane contemporaine, et une des plus grandes voix musicales du continent.

La musique pour lui, comme elle le fut pour son père, est une arme politique. Aujourd’hui, Femi ne cache pas son optimisme de voir la démocratie triompher en Afrique et dans son Nigeria. Interrogé par Vanessa Mulangala de BBC Afrique sur les échéances politiques à venir au Nigeria l’année prochaine il ne cache pas son optimisme : «De toute façon, la démocratie finira par s’imposer, a-t-il déclaré à BBC Afrique. L’année prochaine, il y aura forcément un changement et c’est une excellente chose».

Le WOMAD est le plus grand festival de world musique dans le monde. Que l’Afrique y soit de plus en plus honorée aux côtés d’artistes venus de tous les continents et de pays les plus divers, n’est pas fortuit. Des sud-africaines, Mahotella Queens, du Congolais Kanda Bongo Man, des Touareg du Niger Etran Finatawa pour ne citer que ces quelques noms ont apporté chacun dans son style et son genre la confirmation que la musique du continent bouscule la porte d’entrée du monde.

Michel Lobe Ewane

African musicians refused entry to Britain

For the thousands of fans who had hoped to see the Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo, known as the "Bob Marley of southern Africa", in his headline slot at the Womad Festival last weekend, it was to be a disappointment.

It should have been a rare appearance by Zimbabwe's best-known and most politically engaged musician, but, despite his high-profile billing at the world music festival, Mapfumo was refused a UK visa.

And Mapfumo is not the only international musician who has been turned away from Britain this year because of visa regulations. A nine-strong Mozambique group, Djaaka, were deported from Gatwick airport last week on the way to an Italian festival because they lacked transit visas.

Four musicians from the Mauritanian singer Dimi Mint Abba's group will not be present when she performs at The Proms at the Royal Albert Hall this Friday, while an Edinburgh Fringe festival performer, Kieran Butler, has put a call out for a last-minute replacement violinist, after his partner, Michelle Wilson, was deported back to Australia. Immigration officials said she had worked in the UK without a permit.

It is feared that the summer's festival season could become blighted by visa regulations. So far, the refusals to grant visas to numerous highly respected musicians and artists has led to a spate of last-minute cancellations, and industry experts fear this could lead to a form of "cultural censorship" in future years, where acts presenting visa difficulties are avoided by festival organisers.

Home Office regulations state that someone can enter the UK as an entertainer without a work permit if "you hold a genuine invitation to perform at one or more specific events" but also that he or she must hold a valid UK entry clearance, presented to the immigration office on arrival.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Each case is considered in accordance with the immigration rules."
William Culver-Dodds, the chief executive of Harrogate International Festival, admits that when he chose the line-up of this year's festival, he decided to avoid certain acts, including African performers who were most likely to face visa problems.

Mr Culver-Dodds said: "When engaging artists for the festival, it was in the back of my mind where they were coming from and whether we would actually have difficulties.

"This year, we have avoided some countries because of the issues we might have, and this is a growing worry for me. Last year, it took quite a while to get Senegalese Youssou N'Dour to the festival, and we are aware it will become increasingly difficult to arrange visas. "It's always incredibly difficult working with African artists because of the logistics of where they go to get their visas."

In the case of Mapfumo, who performed at Live8's Eden Project event in Cornwall last year - his record label, Real World Records, and the organisers of Womad issued a statement to express their dismay.

It said: "Thomas Mapfumo has been refused a visa to enter the UK, despite having been issued with UK work permits. The reasons given for this are that he entered the US on a 'P visa' granted to musicians but then changed this by applying for political asylum. Based on that, the entry clearance officer at the British Embassy is not satisfied that he intends to leave the UK."

A Real World Records spokeswoman added that visa refusal on a technicality could prove "very detrimental for musicians' careers". "It is worrying. People could be reluctant to book you, and it could have a knock on effect," she said.

Simon Broughton, the editor of the world music magazine Songlines, said it would also prove problematic for promoters. "The promoters often take a risk with bands which are not well known here," he said. "It's difficult enough to raise interest and the profile of the bands without visa problems."

From Gypsy divas to Somalian rap, Womad brings the world to Reading

With its colourful flags, tents and musicians, Womad, the annual world music festival, has always possessed something of the camel fair about it. This feeling was reinforced as UK temperatures outstripped those of north Africa and plumes of dust drifted across the area in front of the main stage.

By mid-afternoon the festival's large Siam tent was overflowing with punters desperate to escape the sun, oblivious to whoever took the stage. This was, everyone agreed, going to be a long weekend. Beyond the heat - and many were already taking a dip in the nearby Thames - this year's Womad, the festival's 24th, looks to be the best yet, its line-up boasting everything from Hungarian Gypsy divas through Somalian rappers to legends of west African music.

It was one of the latter, Mali's Salif Keita, who provided the greatest respite from yesterday's heat. Keita, an albino blessed with a beautiful tenor voice, sang with the relaxed grace of a man completely at home in desert terrain. Poland's Warsaw Village Band may be from cooler climes but their energetic east European folk melodies made for a good-humoured celebration of this gathering.

With no Glastonbury this year, Womad looks set to be the summer's most engaging and imaginative music festival. Both Womad and Glastonbury share something of a dream-like quality, using music and dance to celebrate high summer and the fertility rituals that have always surrounded such events. Glastonbury obviously operates on a much larger scale but Womad, with its capacity of 34,000, is more easy-going and accessible.

Cynics may dismiss it as a gathering of organic tofu munchers and, yes, the overall vibe is polite, liberal and well behaved - in extreme contrast to the Reading Rock Festival which will occupy these same grounds in a month's time - yet Womad's radical booking policy is light years ahead of any other UK music festival, aiming as it does to promote international understanding through music, dance and food.

If there's a gaping hole in this year's programme it is the absence of any performers from the Middle East. As the world's focus remains upon the unfolding tragedy in Lebanon it would have made for a symbolic connection of sorts to experience that region's musical beauty here.

No matter: Womad 2006 provides plenty of reasons to be cheerful.

Scotland's Salsa Celtica managed to get more energetic punters dancing mambo; the London trombonist Dennis Rollins blew bright, funky jazz; Mexico's Latin-ska punks Los De Abajo provided the Zapatista movement with a soundtrack that recalled the Clash's energetic pop polemic. As temperatures dropped, France's masters of tango-dub fusion Gotan Project commanded the main stage. In a nearby tent Anoushka Shankar, the daughter of Ravi and half sister to Norah Jones, tuned her sitar and exuded glamour. Womad was under way in all its glory.

Live 8 at Eden : Africa calling, un hommage à la musique et à l'Afrique

Après une mémorable journée de concerts organisés tout autour du monde en 2005, Tim Smit et Peter Gabriel présentent un nouveau volet du projet « Live 8 at Eden : Africa calling ». Publié sur Virgin, « Live 8 at Eden : Africa calling » retransmet l'état d'esprit d'une journée et d'un concert uniques sur un album. Un hommage à la musique et à l'esprit de l'Afrique, avec la participation de prestigieux artistes comme Youssou N'Dour, Angélique Kidjo, Mariza, Tinariwen, Daara J, Thomas Mapfumo, Ayub Ogada, Akim El Sikameya, Shikisha, Modou Diouf et O Fogum, Siyaya.

Rassemblée le 2 Juillet 2005 et répondant à l'appel de Peter Gabriel et Womad, la crème de la scène africaine s'est réunie autour de l'Eden Project, un projet ambitieux composé de biomes, de constructions écologiques et de plantes, co-fondé et dirigé par Tim Smit. C'est là que battait le coeur de Live 8 dont le but était de persuader les chefs d'Etat du monde d'abolir la pauvreté.

Selon les propres mots de Tim Smit « Ce fut un moment magique et fou » et selon Peter Gabriel « c'était merveilleux de voir tant de musiciens africains disposés à se joindre à nous dans un si bref délai ». Pour Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni du groupe touareg Tinariwen, ce fut un véritable choc des cultures et l'un des plus beaux endroits où on leur ai donné l'occasion de se produire.

Cette compilation a été réalisée à partir de plusieurs heures d'enregistrement, avec pour but premier d'illustrer les moments forts de cette journée particulière. Comme la prestation en fin d'après-midi de Kanda Bongo Man, qui a redonné un véritable coup de fouet de musique festive congolaise. Suivi, à la tombée de la nuit, des plus jeunes tel que Emmanuel Jaal entre autres, qui ont su montrer la puissance du hip-hop africain.

« Live 8 at Eden : Africa calling » est donc un album unique à l'image de cette journée du 2 Juillet qui pourrait se résumer par cette phrase de Tim Smit : « Tout était à la fois facile et important. Il n'y a pas eu de crises, ni de colères mais un simple dénominateur commun pour toutes les personnes présentes, le plus important : la conscience d'être tous les mêmes sous nos couleurs de peau. ».

Commander « Live 8 at Eden : Africa calling », nouvel album du projet Live 8

Site de Make Poverty History

Peter Gabriel sur France 4

Peter Gabriel : Growing Up Live 2003

Mercredi 09 août à 20h50
Concert
de Hamish Hamilton

France 4 vous fait revivre le concert événement “Growing up” enregistré à Milan en mai 2003. Véritable merveille en termes de show musical, cet événement était très attendu, Peter Gabriel n’ayant pas fait de tournée internationale depuis dix ans…

A la vision de ce concert un seul mot nous vient à l’esprit : grandiose. Sur une scène ronde au milieu de la foule, il se passe toujours quelque chose : on est très loin d’un concert tout simple de chansons en live, c’est beaucoup plus que cela. L’artiste interprète tout un morceau avec une caméra, il se retrouve plus tard dans une grande bulle en plastique, ou à vélo sur la scène ; bref un vrai show musical pour votre plus grand bonheur...

Artiste précurseur dont l'imagination n'a d'égal que le talent, Peter Gabriel est l'une des figures les plus marquantes de la scène musicale internationale. Depuis plus de quarante ans il a produit un nombre impressionnant de joyaux, dans sa veine absolument inimitable.

Fiche technique : • (2003) • 60' •

Dimanche 13 août à 17h55
Mardi 15 août à 10h25
Vendredi 18 août à 15h05
Dimanche 20 août à 07h55
Mercredi 23 août à 15h10

Womad stars let it all hang out

Finnish trio Varttina entertained the Womad crowd

Thousands of fans of music from around the globe gathered in Reading at the weekend for world music's biggest and best-known festival, Womad.

This year's World of Music Arts and Dance festival was an even more eclectic mix of sights, sounds, tastes and smells, thanks to a few changes made by the organisers.

As well as the usual range of artists, they introduced a cookery workshop where some of the performers showed off their culinary skills to the crowd.

While African and Latino groups were well represented over the three days down by the Thames in Reading, it was a group of northern Europeans who produced one of the most original performances.

EastEnders fan: Nanci Griffith was another Womad star

Finland's Varttina are led by a trio of female singers, who ran around the stage like three mischievous white witches. Backed with modern and traditional Finnish folk music, they teased and entertained the audience with tales of winter, ghosts and forbidden love.

Belly dancing

Another mould-breaker was that good ole country girl Nanci Griffith. Her sweet Texan voice hides a sharp sense of political and social awareness. And she also revealed that her ambition is to appear on TV in EastEnders.

The US-based Yerba Buena got things moving on the main, outdoor stage on Friday afternoon with their Latin fusion. They even had people belly dancing, which was an unnecessary encouragement for some to let it all hang out all weekend.

MORE FROM WOMAD In pictures: Womad Send us your festival reviews, photos and video

One woman even ended up dancing topless on stage at Sunday's rousing climax concert by Angelique Kidjo from Benin.

Womad is the kind of place where anything goes. This year saw the reappearance of the man who spends all weekend in a black body suit. And a boy who was born on the site eight years ago was back celebrating his birthday.

Siyaya's mix of gospel-like singing and dancing showed that Zimbabweans are joyful people despite their problems. They had more luck than their compatriot Thomas Mapfumo, who was one of several performers who were unable to attend due to visa problems.

Etran Finatawa from Niger chanted hypnotically to an electric guitar accompaniment. They come from the Touareg and Wodaabe tribes, with the former wearing desert robes, and the latter with painted faces and feathered headdresses.

Ukulele covers

Yerba Buena brought belly-dancing to the Womad stage

With his cowboy hat and moustache, the singer from Mexico's Los de Abajo leapt around like a camp version of the spoof Kazakh journalist Borat. The band were joined on stage for their rap and Latino rock by a drummer from the Asian Dub Foundation.

The Sunshiners from Vanuatu used a ukulele and a tea chest to perform some of the most original covers ever of hits by The Cure, U2 and David Bowie.

Japanese humour was also on display in the form of the Pascals, a full orchestra who performed strange and beautiful music, with their front man playing a plastic whistle, while dressed in a bra and grass skirt.

West Africa's Salif Keita and Femi Kuti headlined on Friday and Saturday respectively, while Sunday saw no let up for the legs or emotions.

The kids' food-themed procession wound its way round the site with the props they'd made at their workshops. Susana Baca made herself cry with the emotion she put into her Afro-Peruvian singing.

The Spanish Harlem Orchestra had even the worst Salsa dancers strutting their stuff and Sharon Jones proved her soul credentials are more than just having grown up in the same town as James Brown.

Joyful performers: Zimbabwe's Siyaya

Womad Festival Brings Hippies and Yuppies Together

England will be rocking this coming weekend to the many and varied sounds at the WOMAD Festival in Reading, west of London. Since 1982, the World of Music, Arts and Dance fest has brought us a lot more than your standard fare, and this time round feature acts include the Mahotella Queens from South Africa, Mali singing guru Salif Keita and Brazilian Mr Bongo DJs.

If you're camping out at WOMAD over the weekend--perhaps in a luxury teepee, heavily promoted this year--there's more than music to entertain you, with yoga sessions, a skateboard zone and an international food court with plenty of dishes you've never heard of and still won't be able to identify after you've eaten them.

Organizers also provide pages and pages of advice on their website, surely more than any festival-goer will read. Important info seems to include the fact that there are more than 400 toilets on site--cared for by the "dedicated hygiene team", who incidentally are also responsible for the 84-head shower system. You should also avoid swimming in the Thames due to the risk of Weils disease, and drumming is not allowed between 8pm and 8am. Officials say that persistent drummers will be asked to leave the festival. So eat, drink, dance, be merry, but avoid persistent drumming and you'll enjoy WOMAD.

[Image via bhikku/Flickr]

Related stories:
All Peace and Light at Womad [The Times]
Bestival Music Fest [Jaunted]

Pétition pour dénoncer l'alignement de Blair sur Bush

Agence France-Presse/ Londres

Plusieurs centaines de personnes se sont réunies vendredi à Downing Street, en l'absence du premier ministre britannique en visite à Washington, pour réclamer un cessez-le-feu «inconditionnel» au Proche-Orient et critiquer l'alignement de Tony Blair sur George Bush. Une petite délégation représentant les manifestants, militants de la coalition pacifiste Stop the War (arrêtez la guerre), de la Campagne de solidarité avec la Palestine ou membres de la communauté libanaise, a remis une pétition à la résidence officielle du chef du gouvernement.

«Nous représentons la majorité écrasante de la population britannique - les deux tiers - et nous représentons chaque pays dans le monde qui veut un cessez-le-feu, à l'exception d'Israël, de Bush et de Blair», a déclaré l'ancien député du Labour Tony Benn, qui s'était joint au cortège. Actuellement à Washington, où il s'est entretenu du Liban avec le président américain, le premier ministre n'a «absolument aucune influence sur (George Bush). La seule +relation spéciale+ est celle que nous voyons entre Washington et Jérusalem», a ajouté M. Benn.

«Nous sommes consternés de voir que le gouvernement britannique, presque seul dans le monde, n'appelle pas à un cessez-le-feu pour mettre fin aux souffrances» du peuple libanais, indique la pétition, signée à ce jour par quelque 7500 personnes, selon le porte-parole de Stop The War, Andrew Burgin. «Cela démontre soit une indifférence déplorable vis-à-vis de la souffrance du peuple libanais, soit une attitude d'asservissement total à la politique étrangère de l'administration américaine», poursuit le texte, qui devait être remis à 17h30 locales (12h30 HAE) à Downing Street.

«Dans les deux cas, notre pays est humilié et notre isolement vis-à-vis de l'opinion mondiale souligné une fois de plus», poursuit la pétition, qui demande au gouvernement de «changer de position» et d'appeler «à un cessez-le-feu immédiat et inconditionnel». Stop the War a décidé vendredi d'organiser le 5 août à Londres une nouvelle manifestation qui pourrait rassembler «des dizaines de milliers de personnes», a-t-il indiqué à l'AFP.

Une première manifestation à l'appel de Stop the War et d'organisations musulmanes, réclamant la fin des opérations militaires israéliennes au Liban, avait rassemblé le 22 juillet à Londres 7000 personnes selon la police, 20 000 selon les organisateurs.

Bush, Blair push int'l force in Lebanon

An open letter published Friday in Britain's The Independent newspaper and signed by former British Cabinet ministers and ambassadors urged Blair to help broker a swift cease-fire. It warned that any continuing support for Israel's military action could become as unpopular with the public as the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

The letter was also signed by musicians Damon Albarn, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno and writers Harold Pinter, Will Self and Gillian Slovo.

Cool off in Tibet, then heat up here

Hindus, Buddhists and others who look to the East for spiritual sustenance believe that the spark of divinity - the profound but simple potential of godhood, as it were - resides within us all.

Alas, that spark is often little more than a faint and remote flicker. It needs a cool breath of compassion to coax the flame to kindle. It wants a melodic Tibetan zephyr from the Land of Snows to burn like a yak-butter lamp on the hearth of the heart.

The spark requires the Voice of Tibet in all its precious clarity, diamond purity and sublime humility.

Yungchen Lhamo is the Voice of Tibet, and her new CD "Ama" is uplifting and deeply moving. The disc's 10 exquisite tracks are perfect lullabies for these troubled times.

Though she now calls New York City home, Lhamo was born in a labor camp outside the holy city of Lhasa after the Chinese occupation of Tibet commenced in the 1950s. She learned Tibetan devotional singing from her grandmother. It was a dangerous undertaking - making traditional music was one of many cultural customs banned by the occupying forces.

In 1989, Lhamo's grandmother encouraged her to make the perilous trek across the Himalayas to seek refuge in Dharamsala, India, home of the Tibetan government-in-exile and its spiritual and political leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Lhamo carried little more than her miraculous voice and a desire to use it on behalf of her people.

And so she has, bouncing from India to Australia to Europe to the U.S. Along the way, her ethereal singing caught the ear of Peter Gabriel, who signed her to his Real World Records label.

"Ama" is Lhamo's third release for Real World, and it's her finest to date. On it, she melds the musical forms of her homeland to lyrics that reflect her Tibetan Buddhist faith and its central, essential tenet of compassion. Producer Jamshied Sharifi has ornamented the tunes with delicate, empathetic instrumentation that never overshadows the often otherworldly grace of Lhamo's voice.

Some songs - such as the disc-opening "Ranzen" - are somber and majestic. Some - the mantra "Om Mani Padme Hung" in the setting of a village festival tune - have an earthy liveliness and frisky joy. Other tracks - the lover's lament "Gebu Shere" - have the gleaming, pensive loveliness of a teardrop.

Lhamo's voice shimmers and soars on the CD's standout tracks. "Tara" is an ode to the female deity who represents strength, compassion and healing.

"9/11” is a spine-tingling improvisation on Lhamo's grief over the World Trade Center attacks. "Someday" pays tribute to the Dalai Lama, and the album-closing "Lhasa" is a poignant double salute to the city of her birth and her father.

Lhamo's singing might sound alien to Western ears. It's artless and heartfelt, and sometimes her voice shivers and cracks as she prolongs a phrase or nudges it to fresh heights. The lyrics are in Tibetan, but the emotion is universal.

This music is the embodiment of amaste, the Sanskrit greeting that acknowledges that precious divine spark. "Ama" is a mitzvah, a blessing, a fresh and fulfilling gift from the Land of Snows.

It’s all peace and light at Womad but the slogans make you go mad

Notebook by Clive Davis

THINK OF IT as the world music lover’s answer to Glyndebourne. Womad may not be in such a picturesque setting — Reading is never going to be a modern-day Elysian Fields — but the annual gathering has an energy all its own. Naturally, there is no shortage of regulars who know all there is to know about traditional music of northern Java, yet even if you don’t know the difference between merengue and Mongolian throat-singing, it’s easy to abandon yourself to the joy of discovering an entirely new sound in the next marquee around the corner.

This year’s main acts include the Malian griot-cum-pop star Salif Keita and Gotan Project, the ultra-hip tango dub merchants. And if the decibels on the main stage are too overpowering (yes, the curse of Spinal Tap can strike here too) you can always retreat to the funfair. The presence of so many children makes a difference. I say that as someone who, years ago, once had to review the Reading Rock Festival, and spent a grim evening in the rain, whiling away the hours in the endless ranks of occult memorabilia stands, watching Iggy Pop doing his impersonation of a psychotic, and trying to avoid tripping over catatonic teenagers lying face down in the wet grass. Not one of my happiest memories.

In contrast, Womad — World of Music, Arts and Dance — self-consciously creates a community of “progressive” spirits, dedicated to peace and love and organic falafel. No doubt there are some conservatives moving around the field in undercover guise, but this is very much a celebration of “alternative” values. Which is why I won’t be surprised to see the Palestinian campaigners out in force as usual this weekend. Strolling amid the musicians, the percussion classes and the tofu stands, you can almost convince yourself that we really do live in a world without suicide bombers and Katyusha rockets.

In this world, the only real threat to the idyll comes from those reckless imperialists from the other side of the North Atlantic. Which is why, in May 2001, the British world music magazine fRoots called for the cognoscenti to form a “resistance movement to to US cultural colonialism”. As the magazine argued: “Walk down the streets in most places on the planet and the same American corporate advertising will lure identically dressed zombies in backwards-facing American baseball caps into American chains to eat American junk food.”

I sympathise, up to a point. Global uniformity is a Bad Thing, and I too usually prefer real ale to Coke. But I couldn’t help feeling uneasy when the magazine’s website began selling badges declaring “America? No thanks . . .” as if Uncle Sam were some radioactive isotope. The US authorities certainly haven’t done themselves any favours with ill-considered visa restrictions that have made life increasingly difficult for Third World musicians. (Here, as in so many other areas, America’s public diplomacy has been shockingly inept.)

Still, it’s dangerous to confuse mass marketing with that loaded term, colonialism. But then, world music, like many of our cultural institutions, still sees life through the prism of the Sixties counterculture. Which can make for good festivals, thankfully. It’s just a shame about the politics.

Today In Music History

We take a look at a selection of events on this day in music history

July 26- 1986 : Peter Gabriel went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Sledgehammer', it made No.4 in the UK.

ARTISTS BENEFIT FOR ROCKER’S "WITNESS" CHARITY

Artist Izhar Patkin has launched a new fine-art print project, "Artists Support www.witness.org," to benefit Witness, the human rights organization founded by musician and activist Peter Gabriel. Each work featured in the print project is a collaboration between two artists born in different countries. To date, the collaborations include Shirin Neshat and Patkin (born in Iran and Israel, respectively); Cai Guo-Qiang and Kiki Smith (China and Germany); Sebastião Salgado and William Wegman (Brazil and U.S.A.); and Alfredo Jaar and Dayanita Singh (Chile and India). Each print is produced in an edition of 100 and printed by the Swiss fine art publisher Ink Tree and Maurice Sanchez at Derriere L’Etoile Studios, New York. All proceeds from sales go to Witness. Prices for individual prints are $750 and $1,000, or a suite of four for $3,000. For details, see www.witness.org, or contact project manager Julia Friedman at julia@witness.org.

Elvis White's Sexy Waist Video

ELVIS WHITE's Sexy Waist Video Added at TEMPO, MTV's New Caribbean Network!; Video Features a Cameo from Virgin Empire Founder, Sir Richard Branson

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 2006--"Sexy Waist," the video to British Virgin Islands breakout group ELVIS WHITE's Caribbean/International hit single, is now in rotation at TEMPO, MTV NETWORKS' new television network dedicated to Caribbean music and culture. TEMPO launched in the Caribbean in October 2005.

The "Sexy Waist" video, which was shot on location at the Trinidad Carnival earlier this year by director, J. Jesses, features the colorful imagery of Carnival, including the elaborate costumed masqueraders, scenes from the legendary Trinidad Road March and the most sought after vision in the Caribbean, the Goddesses of Carnival. These enticing women have become a staple of the beautiful culture of Carnival across the Caribbean. The video also features cameo appearances from legendary music icon Peter Gabriel, and ELVIS WHITE's BVI neighbor, close friend, and #1 fan, Virgin Empire founder, Sir Richard Branson.

"ELVIS WHITE has the ability to appeal to a wide variety of people and will have many coming back for more! The world is about to experience one of the true musical gems of the Caribbean." Sir Richard Branson

ELVIS WHITE's "Sexy Waist" video has recently been added as a contender at TEMPO's hot new Caribbean countdown show, CCC-Cross Caribbean Countdown, where ELVIS WHITE is in competition for one of the highly sought after slots against hot new cross-culture videos from the likes of Beanie Man, featuring AKON; Daddy Yankee, featuring Snoop Dog; Rihanna; and Shakira, featuring Wyclef. To vote ELVIS WHITE's, "Sexy Waist" on the countdown, please visit www.gottempo.com.

ELVIS WHITE is gearing up for the release of their hot new domestic single, "Don't Stop." Their debut LP - PROMISE -LIVE & DIRECT, is scheduled to be released later this summer on 17.20/Bungalo/Universal Records. www.elviswhite.com www.myspace.com/elviswhite

U2 Connections: Peter Gabriel

A few years back, I saw a film called Waking the Dead. Directed by Keith Gordon, and with Billy Crudrup and Jennifer Connelly in the lead roles, it wasn't the most commercially successful of films, but it's a powerful story nonetheless. The emotional climax of the movie was accompanied by a song that just struck me numb. It was a soft, subtle piece of synthesiser-based music with a gorgeous ambience. The voice wasn't Bono's, but I thought: this song wouldn't be completely out of place on The Unforgettable Fire. The end credits revealed that the song was Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street." Some quick 'net searching soon explained everything: "Mercy Street," is from the So album, produced in 1986, two years after The Unforgettable Fire, by none other than my favourite fellow transplanted Franco-Canadian, Daniel Lanois. As I became a fan and learned more and more about Peter Gabriel, I discovered that he and U2 have crossed musical paths on more than one occasion and in quite some interesting ways.

At first glance, U2's and Gabriel's musical carreers started out differently enough. Gabriel was the colourful, charismatic lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. The members of U2 were, or at least thought they were, in a punk band, which is about as far away from prog rock as you can possibly get. Oversimplifying somewhat, Progressive Rock was a style popular in the 1970s (and to a lesser extent in the decades that followed, right up until present day) which featured bands with virtuoso musicians writing longer, more complex songs and instrumentals, fusing elements from jazz and classical music. While prog was able to produce some great music, it is often criticised for musical excess. Punk rock can be seen as a musical reaction to Progressive rock, with stripped-down arrangements and simple songs usually featuring no more than three chords. Bono is famously dismissive of Prog, identifying himself more with the punk movement. In the early days, he and the rest of U2 were teenagers who, though extremely limited musically, had something to say, and had a passion and the "do-it-yourself" punk attitude that was seen as a breath of fresh air from the musical snobbishness associated with prog. (As an editorial aside, I'd like to point out that while prog was responsible for some garishly excessive musical missteps, punk was equally responsible for some overly simplistic and banal output. Punk's anti-musicianship attitude was a less than positive one, and both genres produced good and bad music).

From these two rather opposite ends of the rock music spectrum, U2 and Peter Gabriel ended up meeting somewhere in the middle. Gabriel eventually left Genesis and produced some very accessible and commercially successful music (though notably very artistic and experimental music all the while). U2, on the other hand, soon outgrew its early musical limitations and matured to write and produce music, which although stylistically and thematically inventive, has remained essentially accessible to popular music audiences and critics (to which the band's immense success over the years with Grammy awards can no doubt attest).

Their early careers paralleled one another in the sense that it wasn't until their respective fifth albums, The Joshua Tree, and So (both of which involved Lanois) that they really achieved commercial success. Both have supported Amnesty International, and both of their careers benefitted from the Conspiracy of Hope tour in 1986: U2's "Bad" and Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey" were reputed to have been among the highlights of the set.

The Lanois connection is definitely the most palpable, as he has produced career-defining albums for both of them. In between working on The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree, Lanois produced So for Gabriel. After the difficult Achtung Baby sessions, he tackled Us.

But aside from Lanois, they've shared another common producer. In 1980, the same year he produced Boy for a fledgling U2, Steve Lillywhite worked with Peter Gabriel on the latter's untitled third album (his first four albums, in fact, were deliberately untitled, and are commonly referred to by their album cover images. In the case of the third album, it's sometimes referred to as "Melt"). This album yielded the well-known hits "Games Without Frontiers" and "Biko." "Biko" could be thought of as Gabriel's "Pride (In the Name of Love)." While the U2 song is a tribute to the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., "Biko" deals with the torture and death of South African anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko in 1977.

In addition to Daniel Lanois, U2 and Peter Gabriel have yet another Canadian connection from Québec: Bono and Gabriel both contributed songs to the 1995 Leonard Cohen tribute album (Cohen is from Montréal, and Lanois was born in Hull), Tower of Song. Bono offered a haunting, yet gritty, almost acid-jazz rendition of "Hallelujah," while Peter Gabriel contributes a version of "Suzanne." Cohen's original, with its sparse, troubadour-like singer and a classical guitar arrangement, lets the song's lyrics evoke hazy images of a relationship with a half-crazy woman down by the river. Peter Gabriel tries to replicate this effect in the music itself, slowing down the song's tempo and using lots of atmospheric synthesiser padding.

Peter Gabriel, in his Genesis-fronting days, was known for his elaborate costumes and onstage charisma. One might find the link a bit tenuous between his "Britannia," and "Flower" costumes, and Bono's The Fly, Mirrorball Man, and Mr. Macphisto personae, but there's something else he might owe to Gabriel. Bono's stage-diving (at least the intentional ones) might never have happened had not Iggy Pop and Peter Gabriel pioneered the stunt in the 1970s. While Bono's "unintentional stage dives" over the years have left him with a dislocated collar-bone, a sprained ankle, and a bruised ego, Gabriel once broke his leg during a stage dive as the lead singer of Genesis, but reportedly got back on stage and was able to finish the show.

Peter Gabriel has had an array of guest singers and musicians contribute to his records and to his live performances, counting among them J. Shankar (who played violin on a live version of "Bad" with U2 at a 1993 ZooTV show in London), Kate Bush, Paula Cole, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, his own daughter Melanie Gabriel, as well as the popular and controversial Irish singer, Sinead O'Connor. O'Connor, of course, is known by U2 fans for having collaborated with U2 (and variously the members of U2) on "I'm Not Your Baby" (from the soundtrack of Wenders' The End of Violence), "You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart" (from the soundtrack of In the Name of the Father), and "Heroine" (from the soundtrack of Captive, a film which had its score written mostly by the Edge). She was also the voice of the introduction to "Bullet the Blue Sky" during the Elevation Tour. Sinead O'Connor features prominently on the Lanois-produced 1992 album Us, providing backing vocals to such songs as "The Blood of Eden," and "Come Talk to Me."

@U2's resident Answer Guy was able to provide me with some valuable insights, as a fan who has been fortunate enough to have seen (and to have been of an age to have seen) both U2 and Peter Gabriel many times over their long and storied careers. Answer Guy would argue that "Biko" is also U2's "40": "There would be no one-guy-leaves-at-a-time-at-the-end-of-the-show with U2 had Peter Gabriel not done it first." As well, "there would be no 'outside it's america' spotlight play by Bono, had Mr. Gabriel not done it in his live shows. Long before Bono cut his chin on a hand-held spotlight, Pete was shining his light on the crowd." Finally, AG concludes nicely that U2 and Peter Gabriel have "copied each other especially in producers and in what they wanted to accomplish live. Bono begs for attention on stage and Gabriel somehow "demands" it through some force of will. '40' made me happy at the end of U2 shows. 'Biko' brought tears to my eyes every time."

And perhaps, in the end, between U2 and Peter Gabriel, producing decades' worth of great music and moving audiences with compelling live performances are the greatest connections of them all.

by Khoa Tran @u2

Asian Network makes big plans for Womad

BBC Asian Network is planning to make a big splash at this year's Womad festival for the first time, taking with them a crew of presenters and its own battle bus.

The annual Reading based festival will feature a sizeable contingent of Asian performers and DJ talent for the first time, including the maestro's daughter Anoushka Shankar. Other music artists include Nina Virdee and Trilok Gurtu & Misra Brothers.

After a successful appearance at Glastonbury last year, when it sponsored the Brasian music stage, Asian Network has clearly developed a liking for making an appearance at music festivals.

Mark Strippel, head of music and live events at the national digital radio station told AIM: "It's essential for the BBC Asian Network to have a presence at the biggest festivals in Britain and help build the profile and reputation of Asian music.

"Womad is the first of many such events, and our specialist DJ's will be showcasing British-Asian beats to future global music throughout the weekend."

It will welcome festival goers at their own Musical Rickshaw tent, offering live DJ sets from Bobby Friction (pictured with Nihal), Nerm and Pathaan. A specially designed battle bus, from a converted ambulance, will also blare music sets.

Its broadcasts from Womad will include live performances by the Asian artists on Nikki Bedi's arts, entertainment and culture show, and Pathaan's late night global music show.

Since Glastonbury is not being held this year Womad will assume the position of bringing the most diverse sounds to its audience.

It will feature performances from the Mahotella Queens of South Africa, Värttinä of Finland, England’s Bellowhead, Niger’s desert blues group Etran Finatawa, Sudanese rapper Emmanuel Jal, Colombian salsa from Roberto Pla, Thomas Mapfumo of Zimbabwe, flamenco singer Enrique Morente and many more.

A stage will also diverse acts from UK-based musicians including Birmingham's Kurdish musicians the Se Tin Trio, Indian classical singer Nina Virdee from Berkshire and London’s Congolese band Kasai Masai.

BBC Radio 3 will also have its own dedicated broadcast stage for the first time, as lead media partner for the event.

More go mad for Womad

THE WOMAD festival could be even bigger from next year after the organisers were granted a licence to sell 41,500 tickets.

Although the move released only an extra 2,000 tickets on general sale for this month's event, there is now scope for the festival at Rivermead to attract thousands more visitors next year.

Reading Borough Council approved the extra tickets without argument after a number of anticipated objections were withdrawn at the last minute.

Thousands of festival goers will flock to WOMAD next week (July 28-30) and organisers hope to attract an extra 10,000 ticket hold-ers including nearly 8,000 staff, traders and artists tickets on top of last year's 19,300 festival-goers.

WOMAD - The World Music Arts and Dance Festival in Richfield Avenue is returning to Reading for its 24th year and work has been taking place at Rivermead to get the site reading.

More than 70 artists from 30 countries will be performing at the festival inspired by Peter Gabriel.

Youssou N'Dour: parrain des Nuits d'Afrique.

Youssou N'Dour est le parrain des vingtièmes Nuits d'Afrique, festival organisé du 13 au 23 juillet à Montreal (Québec). Le chanteur sénégalais s'est produit en ouverture avec son groupe Le Super Etoile de Dakar.

Ses fans le retrouveront également dans les bacs français avec la sortie du Live 8 at Eden: Africa Calling le 31 juillet 2006. Ce CD rend compte du concert Africa Calling organisé par Peter Gabriel le 2 juillet 2005, parallèlement à neuf autres concerts donnés un peu partout dans le monde. Aux côtés de Youssou N'Dour, on trouve sur ce disque des prestations de Tinariwen, Angélique Kidjo, Daara J ou encore Geoffrey Oryema.

Robert Fripp "Exposure"

(DGM)

English guitarist Robert Fripp first made a name for himself playing with the original lineup of progressive rock band King Crimson, but his work on David Bowie's 1977 "Heroes" album and his association with producer/musician Brian Eno extended his credibility with a new generation of New Wave musicians.

The result led to work with a variety of musicians, including Peter Gabriel (himself a progressive rock refugee) and singer Daryl Hall.

First released in 1979, Fripp's "Exposure" album was hailed as an avant punk "Sergeant Pepper" and featured contributions from Hall, Gabriel, Eno and Phil Collins, among others. The original version of this album is making its first appearance on CD, remastered by Fripp.

The CD includes a second remastered disc that restores Hall's vocals on several tracks and adds several bonus tracks. Hall's vocal contributions to the original album were noteworthy performances and the addition of even more Hall vocals is a welcome find.

EMI expands Blue Note to all adult music

NEW YORK, July 19 (UPI) -- EMI is restructuring its adult pop music, jazz and classics, grouping them as multigenre music for over age 25 under the Blue Note Label Group in New York.

Longtime Blue Note jazz label chief Bruce Lundvall will be president and chief operating officer of the new group."My vision is to create and sustain the leading position in the sophisticated 25-plus music market," Lundvall said. "This move will streamline and organize our staffing to maximize our penetration of these key markets."

Senior Vice President and General Manager Ian Ralfini of the Manhattan label will assume general manager duties for the Narada label, which is moving from Milwaukee to New York and merging with the Manhattan label, Daily Variety reported.

Narada has Americana/roots music on Back Porch, new age music on Higher Octave and Peter Gabriel's World Music label, Real World. All classical crossover artists will also move into Ralfini's group.

Zach Hochkeppel, who had been vice president of marketing for EMI Jazz & Classics, has been promoted to general manager of Blue Note, supervising releases on the Blue Note, Metro Blue and Narada Jazz labels.

The 2006 DVD Hall of Fame Inductees

These DVD champions are going to a better place.

As the annually updated list of the top 100 DVDs of all time hits stands in the August issue of Home Theater magazine, we thought we'd take a moment to honor the number-one picks from each category in last year's ranking. We purge these "best of the best" titles each year to help keep the list current, although they still receive our highest recommendation: Buy them all as part of your own ultimate DVD library.

Best Music DVD

Peter Gabriel: PLAY (Rhino) Gabriel is a consummate musician and showman, and this collection spanning the glory days of music video has been jaw-droppingly remastered in DTS 96/24, including "Sledgehammer," perhaps the best music clip ever. (Also a contender for Best Audio)

(...)

Solid State Logic moves into video

“It’s our intention to make Solid State Logic a major player in the integration of video and audio within production environments,” says SSL’s Managing Director Antony David. “The MediaWAN platform is the springboard for a range of new products that will leverage our expertise in both areas. This move is a further example of SSL’s invigorated entrepreneurial spirit since its acquisition by Peter Gabriel and David Engelke.”

Narada record label to leave city for New York

Distribution business will stay; other jobs to be cut or transferred . The Narada record label, the Milwaukee area's most prominent connection to the music industry, is being moved to New York. While a distribution business will remain here, the rest of the Narada jobs are either being eliminated or transferred, Jeanne Meyer, spokeswoman for EMI Music, which owns Narada, said Tuesday.

A few people were dismissed Tuesday at Narada's Glendale headquarters. The rest of the cuts and transfers will be completed by next March, Meyer said. About 30 people work at Narada, with about half of those at the distribution business, Music Design. The dismantling of Narada here will end local involvement with a 23-year-old label that helped spread the popularity of "new age" music. Narada since has broadened to include a variety of artists, chiefly instrumentalists, in such genres as jazz, Celtic and world music. The shutdown in Milwaukee comes as EMI moves to unite its adult-oriented music labels under the Blue Note banner. The company will still use the Narada name, Meyer said.

She said EMI would step up efforts to market to music buyers 25 and older. "We're applying a lot more talent and resources to the artists on the roster," Meyer said. " . . . It's essentially turning up the volume a little bit." Three years ago, Narada employed about 70 people, but EMI cut staff sharply at a time when companies were seeing sales plunge amid increased downloading of music from the Internet, much of it illegally. The drop in disc sales since has flattened, Meyer said.

In a statement, EMI executive Bruce Lundvall said the reorganization of the company's adult music labels would streamline staffing and help the firm capture as much as possible of the over-25 market. "Moving the Narada Label Group to New York further enhances our ability to attract talent to these music genres," Lundvall said.

Another person familiar with the EMI changes said artists often shun signing with labels that aren't in New York, Los Angeles or Nashville, where most of the industry is based. "Artists who are looking for success on a global stage usually find it attractive to go with a label that's located in New York or L.A.," the person said. Employees at Narada's Glendale headquarters have handled the gamut of functions associated with a record label, including marketing, promotion, sales, finance and the discovery and development of talent.

Narada was sold in 1997 to Virgin Records of America, which later was purchased by EMI. Since then, its Web site says, the company has become the main U.S. licensee for Peter Gabriel's Real World Records and developed the Back Porch label for roots rock, alternative country and Americana. Peter Buffett, the musician son of the famous investor Warren Buffett, came to Milwaukee in the late 1980s when he signed a recording contract with Narada. He later left Narada and recently relocated to New York. Narada artists include keyboardist Ramsey Lewis, guitarist Joyce Cooling, singer Kathy Mattea and singer John Hammond.

Survival present à Womad

WOMAD RIVERMEAD 2006 : 28 Juily 2006

Le festival WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance - le ‘Monde de la musique, des arts et de la danse) qui met à l'honneur toutes les formes de musiques, d'arts et de danse des cinq continents a été créé en 1982 par Peter Gabriel. Chaque édition donne l'occasion de présenter à un public international de nombreux artistes talentueux.

A travers ses multiples activités, l'organisation WOMAD, a pour vocation d'informer et de sensibiliser le public aux valeurs et aux potentiels de la diversité et de la multicultularité.

Survival sera présent au festival WOMAD. Venez nous rencontrer et signer nos pétitions !

Programme détaillé (en anglais) sur le site www.womad.org