Rock star pioneers free music site

The musician Peter Gabriel has told the BBC about his ambitions for a new website that will distribute free music - legitimately.The former singer with prog rock group Genesis has established the We7 website as a place that will benefit both music fans and musicians. Users will be able to download music for free, but adverts that are "grafted" onto each track will provide a source of income for artists. We7 aims to be one of the major music download destinations within months.

"If you have really good focus, if you have a database of fans - however small - you have the potential for an economy that will allow artists to survive," he told the BBC World Service's Digital Planet programme. "The other thing you have to look at is if music is all out there and available for free, are there any ways of still deriving an income from that music?"

'Actually useful'

We7 is not Peter Gabriel's first foray into digital music. In 1999, he set up OD2, a music download service selling individual tracks. He built it up to a database of approximately 350,000 tracks before selling it on to US digital music distributor Loudeye in 2004. We7, which has the slogan "Don't steal it - We7 it", works using MediaGraft technology, a service that puts adverts onto music and video downloads.

Mr Gabriel said he hoped the ad-embedded approach would not put people off, because it would be geared towards advertising "useful stuff". But he said that more important was the change in attitude from record industry executives, who had previously baulked at the idea of legitimate free music downloads.

He told Digital Planet: "A lot of people under the age of 30 do not buy music anymore, and I think record executives are noticing their kids doing what every other kid is doing, and they, and artists, have to say, 'how do we deal with this? Established artists like me are going to find all sorts of ways, and you shouldn't worry about us. But you should worry about young artists coming through, and, in our field, world music - a lot of those artists have had 50-60% of their income from record sales. So if that's gone, that's a huge thing."

Feeding chain

Mr Gabriel added that the site was setting up a completely new model of providing a "real source of income" for artists who do not benefit from pirate downloads. He hoped that by doing this, the site could occupy a "new territory" that sits between sites that sell music downloads and file-sharing sites.

"All this stuff is moving around freely, and I think that's really important - it's a great leveller for the world," he said. "At the same time, I do think it's fair that the people who generate content get something for it. "And we've seen time and time again, where there are flat-rate payments, that artists are right at the bottom of the feeding chain."

Angélique Kidjo, diva de la sono mondiale

Avec son nouvel album Djin Djin, Angélique Kidjo remet le Bénin au centre de sa musique. Pour la première fois, les percussionnistes béninois du Gangbé Brass Band donnent en studio la pulsation à tout l’album. Elle innove aussi en conviant un prestigieux casting : Alicia Keys, Brandford Marsalis, Peter Gabriel, Amadou et Mariam, Carlos Santana ou Ziggy Marley… Avec Djin Djin, tout en spontanéité, Angélique Kidjo gravit un peu plus les marches de la sono mondiale.

RFI Musique : Angélique Kidjo, après votre trilogie d’albums qui vous avaient menée sur les traces de la diaspora noire aux Etats-Unis, au Brésil, aux Caraïbes, vous revenez au Bénin, pourquoi ?

Angélique Kidjo : Le Bénin m’a toujours suivi dans mes voyages. Cette trilogie m’a permis d’aller à la rencontre de cette diaspora noire, partie notamment du Bénin à cause de l’esclavage et qui a amené partout les musiques de ce continent. C’était pour moi une façon de créer un pont, pour qu’on puisse parler de l’esclavage sans pour autant culpabiliser et en même temps, en parler quand même… Pour moi, évidemment la meilleure façon de parler de tout cela, c’est la musique, car c’est un héritage, positif si on peut dire, de l’esclavage…J’ai pu le faire car j’ai retrouvé les traces de la musique du Bénin un peu partout donc j’ai suivi ce fil-là. J’ai découvert comment la musique traditionnelle de mon pays a pu se retrouver ailleurs, et comment cette musique, au Bénin, a pu être influencée par le retour des esclaves. Donc pour moi, la boucle est bouclée. Il reste des choses à faire, mais j’ai fait ma part. Il est temps que je revienne à ce que je faisais avant, c’est-à-dire, écrire mes chansons basées sur les percussions de chez moi, et mettre tout ce qui me vient en tête dessus.

Cela signifie que cet album serait un quatrième volet de ce parcours, en faisant rentrer les musiques de la diaspora au Bénin et plus largement en Afrique ?

Je ne pose pas la question. La chose la plus importante pour moi c’est l’inspiration, et je n’ai aucun contrôle là-dessus. Je ne me sers d’aucun instrument pour écrire. J’ai commencé comme ça, à emmagasiner les sons dans ma mémoire et à prendre ce qui était bon pour moi. Cela vient du Bénin. Mon pays a toujours été là, et sera toujours là, quoi que je fasse ; du rock’n’roll, du classique, tout ce qu’on veut. La voix que j’ai a été façonnée par la culture traditionnelle, par les langues de mon pays : les sources ont toujours été présentes, sinon je ne pourrais aller nulle part. Je voulais prouver dans cet album l’universalité de la musique, en mettant ensemble des gens de mondes différents. Pour la première fois depuis que j’enregistre, il y a eu pour Djin Djin des musiciens traditionnels béninois en studio pour jouer avec d’autres musiciens. Auparavant, j’allais enregistrer les rythmes, et je les mettais dans mes chansons tout le temps par… véritable besoin. Là, j’ai eu la démarche contraire. Les deux percussionnistes du Gangbé Brass Band ont pu avec leur expérience de studio, donner la bonne pulsation à tout le monde. Voilà autour de quoi le disque a été fait.

C’est sur cette base que repose tout l’album ?

La rythmique de l’album se repose sur eux. Moi, j’écris toujours rythme, parole et mélodies, je ne sais pas lequel vient en premier, mais les trois sont présents dans ma tête quand j’écris. Cela a toujours été comme ça.

Dans cet album, on vogue sans cesse d’un style à un autre, en terme de chant, ça doit être un challenge, non ?

J’aime pas m’ennuyer quand je fais un truc. Je voulais à tout prix donner le pouvoir aux percussions d'être la force maîtresse de tous les instruments : les guitares, le clavier, la basse, le kora, le balafon… S’il fallait se baser sur la cloche, tout le monde se basait sur le cloche et voilà…

Et l’enregistrement a eu lieu à New York, à l’Electric Lady, le studio de Jimi Hendrix, certainement pas un hasard...

Mais non, parce qu’il y a de moins en moins de studio où on peut enregistrer des albums live aujourd’hui ! Avec les ordinateurs, on peut enregistrer chez soi, un peu partout. Et puis un studio avec cette ambiance, il n’y en a pas des masses…Je voulais un studio pas trop froid, où tout le monde se sente comme dans un salon ou sur une place de village en Afrique, pour qu’on puisse tous communiquer. On était tous en cercle, je pouvais aller danser au milieu, et tout le monde se voyait. Electric Lady a permis cela.

Pourquoi avoir décidé d’inviter autant de musiciens sur cet album ? Certains viennent d’Afrique, d’Amérique, de Jamaïque…

Je n’ai pas vraiment décidé en fait… La seule personne qui était invitée d’office, c’était Alicia Keys, parce que ça fait trois ans qu’on se connaît et dès que j’ai commencé à écrire, elle m’a demandé si elle pouvait écouter. Donc, c’était avec plaisir que je lui envoyais tout ce que j’écrivais par email, et elle est tombée amoureuse de Djin Djin. Elle est la seule chanteuse r'n'b à écrire des rythmes 6/8 pour ses ballades. Tout le monde croit que c’est du 4/4 comme tout le r'n'b, alors qu’en dessous de sa musique, il y a vraie une pulsation africaine. C’était la seule personne qui était prévue en studio. J’ai dit à tous les gens que j’ai appelé qu'il n’y avait pas d’obligation, que je leur envoyais les chansons et qu'ils n'avaient plus qu'à choisir. Si rien ne leur plaisait, ce n’était pas grave… Chacun a donc choisi ses chansons. Dans l’album, je lance l’invitation avec Ae Ae, le premier titre, et après ils sont à l’honneur, c’est l’hospitalité africaine. Quand on invite les gens, ils sont les premiers à s’exprimer, c’est normal.

Angélique Kidjo Djin Djin (Odéon/ EMI) 2007
En concert au New Morning, à Paris le 4 juin
En tournée en Europe tout le mois de juin

Kidjo, la world avec du beau monde

La chanteuse africaine en concert parisien pour la sortie de «Djin Djin», nouvel album soutenu par des invités prestigieux.

Angélique Kidjo Ce soir à 21 heures au New Morning, 7-9 rue des Petites-Ecuries, Paris Xe. CD: «Djin Djin» (EMI).

Angélique Kidjo a beaucoup d'amis dans presque tous les styles de musiques actuelles. Plusieurs d'entre eux participent d'ailleurs à son nouveau disque : Carlos Santana, Peter Gabriel, Branford Marsalis, Alicia Keys, Ziggy Marley, Joss Stone, Josh Groban ou Amadou et Mariam. Bref, peu d'artistes originaires d'Afrique, voire d'ailleurs, peuvent rassembler autant de célébrités sur un seul album. «Je leur ai juste demandé s'ils acceptaient de faire telle ou telle chanson avec moi. Le problème a été surtout une histoire de planning à régler. Cela a été OK, car j'ai eu beaucoup de chance par rapport à leurs emplois du temps respectifs», raconte Angélique Kidjo, bout de femme pleine d'énergie, au chant tendu.

Succès. Produit par Tony Visconti (T. Rex, Bowie, Morrissey), enregistré à New York, son disque semble un manifeste du savoir-faire américain tel qu'on le conçoit dans la world music. Soit une manière qui privilégie le rythme, polit les sons et soigne les arrangements afin de produire un style afropop aux ambitions universalistes. Au-delà des duos de prestige, le timbre ample et légèrement voilé d'Angélique Kidjo n'est jamais mieux mis en valeur que dans les morceaux qu'elle chante en solo, comme les émouvants Arouna ou Lonlon, une reprise du Boléro de Ravel qui lorgne vers l'Afrique du Nord.

Née d'ethnie Fon dans un milieu petit-bourgeois et artistique en 1960 à Ouidah, le port vaudou de l'ex-Dahomey, baptisée à sa naissance Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kango Manta Zogbin («le sang d'une lanterne ne peut allumer une flammèche»), Kidjo a poussé la chansonnette dès son plus jeune âge, fascinée par le Pata Pata de la Sud-Africaine Miriam Makeba. C'est de Paris, où elle s'est établie en 1983, qu'elle réalise ses premiers succès.

En 1997, elle décide de partir vivre en famille à New York, un peu vexée de la place de plus en plus réduite accordée aux musiques africaines dans l'Hexagone. «Je viens régulièrement à Paris. J'ai besoin des deux. C'est une question d'équilibre. Mais depuis l'histoire des quotas, le glas a sonné pour des musiques comme la mienne, alors qu'on ne cesse de nous parler de diversité. Mais laquelle?» s'énerve la chanteuse en évoquant la loi Toubon, qui favorise la diffusion de chansons en français à la radio. «Aux Etats-Unis, les artistes francophones sont comme moi, classés dans les rayons world music. Tout le monde vit avec des clichés. Mais je sens qu'en Amérique les gens sont devenus plus curieux, plus ouverts qu'en Europe. Je fais des tournées dans tout le pays. On me parle de musique, mais aussi d'autres choses, de problèmes de société, d'Afrique», dit-elle.

Etendard. Angélique Kidjo raconte aussi qu'elle a été sollicitée par le département américain des Affaires étrangères pour donner son avis sur l'aide à apporter à l'Afrique : «Je leur ai répondu: "Les gens que vous voulez aider sont des êtres humains, considérez-les comme des frères et soeurs, pas comme des statistiques. Il ne suffit pas de donner de l'argent quand on sait qu'il y a une grande corruption en Afrique. Il faut un commerce équitable, car la recherche absolue du profit met en danger des vies humaines."» La preuve qu'elle brandit toujours ses racines en étendard, n'hésitant pas à porter la contradiction et s'attirant nombre d'amitiés dans le show-biz outre-Atlantique.

Par Bouziane DAOUDI

Peter Gabriel to rock Eden on June 20

A specially-created concert featuring Peter Gabriel at the Eden Project on June 20 will mark the arrival of one of the biggest works of art ever made from a single piece of stone.

The spectacular event will be a celebration of the unveiling of Seed, a giant oval sculpture created by the internationally-acclaimed artist Peter Randall-Page.

Gabriel will be performing on the same Eden stage where nearly two years ago he co-hosted the celebrated Africa Calling concert as part of Live 8, against the backdrop of Eden’s world-famous Biomes.

Pictures from the former china clay quarry at Bodelva, Cornwall, were beamed live to billions of people across the globe and the concert was acclaimed in some quarters as the true heart of Live 8.

Concert-goers will for the first time be able to see Peter Gabriel perform in concert at Eden and will be the first to see the sculpture up close in its new home.

Eden’s creative development director Peter Hampel said: “We are honoured and thrilled to be able to announce that Peter Gabriel is coming to Eden to help us celebrate one of the most significant events in our history. “Peter is an artist of huge international standing and integrity and we share a common goal to promote the need for a more harmonious relationship between mankind and our planet and amongst all of its inhabitants.

“There could be no-one better to help us celebrate a fantastic work of art that will stand forever as a symbol of our generation’s recognition that we are part of nature, not apart from it, and that to survive we must learn to work with the grain of nature.”

Gabriel has a world-wide reputation for his innovative work as a musician, writer and video maker. He co-founded Genesis while still at school, leaving the group in 1975.

His albums, live performance and videos have earned him a succession of awards, including his first Grammy in 1986 for the album So.

In 1980 he collected a group of people together to form WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance). WOMAD has worked closely with the Eden Project over a number of years and has staged events there as part of the acclaimed Eden Sessions series of concerts. Peter Gabriel has also agreed to contribute creatively to Eden's forthcoming new development, the Edge.

Eden is expecting a high demand for the evening event on June 20 and there will be speeches by surprise high profile guests from the environmental, humanitarian and governmental sectors. Tickets are now on sale priced at £35, plus a £3 booking fee.

On June 11 there will be a compelling curtain-raiser when a procession of 500 schoolchildren and 20 Dhol Foundation drummers lead the sculpture on its final journey to The Core. Anybody who has a Cornish post code can come to witness this extraordinary moment as Eden's guests for the day without paying an entry fee.

Late that morning (June 11), Seed will be gently lowered into the bell-shaped central chamber of The Core in a painstaking operation with only inches between the giant monolith and the side of the building which will be its resting place.

At 70 tonnes, the equivalent of ten African bull elephants and heavier than the largest rock at Stonehenge, it is the most challenging work ever created by the internationally-acclaimed sculptor Randall-Page and has been two years in the making.

Covering its surface are 1,800 nodules representing the extraordinary Fibonacci growth pattern found across nature and reflecting the design of The Core, Eden's spectacular new educational hub completing the building as a perfect integration of art and architecture inspired by natural form.

Création aux Etats-Unis d'un Fonds Youssou Ndour

Le chanteur sénégalais Youssou Ndour a annoncé la création aux Etats-Unis d'un Fonds portant son nom, avec une vocation différente de celle de la fondation dont il est le parrain et qui opère au Sénégal.

Dans un entretien exclusif accordé au magazine ''Echos de la Banque mondiale'', à paraître mardi, l'intéressé rappelle que ce fonds a été crée avec IntraHealth International, une ONG américaine, en Pennsylvanie.

''Nous allons mobiliser des fonds pour être encore beaucoup plus présent et efficace dans le domaine de l'éducation, de la santé et la promotion des activités culturelles'', a expliqué l'artiste.

Le fonds sera d'abord basé aux Etats-Unis et va travailler sur toute l'Afrique, a-t-il signalé expliquant ainsi qu'une structure du Liberia ou du Mali pourra prétendre, au même titre que la Fondation Youssou Ndour, au Fonds Youssou Ndour.

Parlant de sa fondation dont il dit qu'elle ''fait d'excellentes choses'', dans la formation aux métiers de la musique, la lutte contre le paludisme, la scolarisation des filles, etc., Youssou Ndour a précisé qu'il ne la gère pas directement.

''Je suis simplement membre de son Conseil de gestion qui comprend également des personnalités venant d'horizons divers (banques, sport, sociétés privées, etc.). Quand ce conseil prend des décisions, je les assume et je ne peux pas les changer'', a-t-il poursuivi.

L'artiste sénégalais rappelle également ses participations, depuis cinq ans, au Forum de Davos en Suisse, pour y rencontrer des homologues.

''Moi-même, il m'est arrivé de représenter la Fondation qui fait beaucoup de travail au niveau international'', a-t-il dit, ajoutant que lui et sa structure ont obtenu ''une crédibilité certaine qui (leur) permet de travailler avec d'autres fondations''.

Interpellé sur l'engagement du leader du groupe U2 en faveur de l'annulation de la dette des pays pauvres, Youssou Ndour a répondu : ''je connais Bono (Bob Geldof) et je considère qu'il a vraiment du mérite''.

''Son engagement est totalement désintéressé. Son groupe est sans doute le plus connu du monde. Mais il sait que sa notoriété lui permet de parler avec tous les grands de ce monde comme Kofi Annan, le Secrétaire général de l'ONU, ou Tony Blair, le Premier ministre britannique'', a dit Youssou Ndour.

Il a souligné que Bono ''met tout cela au service des causes qu'il défend, en mobilisant toute une communauté d'artiste. C'est très important ce qu'il fait''.

Daphne Zuniga Produces a Film on TED Conference

Actress Daphne Zuniga Produces and Directs First-Ever Film Focused on World Renowned TED Conference

For the first time ever, a film about the exclusive, world renowned-TED Conference (http://www.tedfilm.com/) premieres on Netflix (http://www.netflix.com/) Tues., June 5, 2007. "The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED" is produced and directed by actress Daphne Zuniga (Melrose Place, American Dreams, Spaceballs) and filmmaker Steven Latham. Ms. Zuniga is also the host of the feature length documentary.

"The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED" provides an all-access pass to one of the world's most exciting gatherings. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an invitation-only, annual event where an eclectic group of the world's most brilliant minds converge to share new ideas that will shape the future.

Daphne Zuniga takes us behind the scenes of every event. For Daphne, the TED experience turns out to be more than the sum of its parts. It's about realizing our own limitless potential.

"My experience with this group of people was so inspiring and energizing that I had to share it with the world," said Zuniga. "This is a film about the incredible TED conference, but it's also about the infinite potential in all of us. We captured exactly what happens at the conference. It makes you think how you can help the world long after you finish watching."

The film is being released to the more than six million Netflix subscribers who can rent the DVD or view online via the new "Watch Now" service at http://www.netflix.com/. Free two-week subscriptions are available at their site.

The film includes the world's innovators, artists and leaders, including former Vice President Al Gore, musician Peter Gabriel, environmentalist Majora Carter, aerospace engineer Burt Rutan, personal growth icon Tony Robbins, best-selling author Rick Warren, comedian Julia Sweeney, photographer Gregory Colbert, global health visionary Hans Rosling, creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson, sex anthropologist Helen Fisher, and many more.

The film was produced by Zuni Productions and Steven Latham Productions and acquired by Red Envelope Entertainment. It was made possible by physiological footwear company, MBT (http://www.swissmasai.com/) and the conservation housing development, Ameya Preserve (http://www.ameyapreserve.com/). More information about the TED Conference is at http://www.ted.com/. TED Conference

CONTACT: Steven Latham, info@TEDfilm.com, +1-310-452-3490 for TED
Conference.

Web site: http://www.tedfilm.com/

LOS ANGELES, May 31 /PRNewswire/

All This and World War II

If one ever needed a single example to show how different the movie industry is today compared to thirty years ago, one needs not look any further than Susan Winslow's baffling yet occasionally fascinating "All This and World War II," an ill-conceived documentary which has been practically, and wisely, buried since its 1976 release.

(It should be noted this review is being posted in advance of the film’s first public showing in more than thirty years, when it screens at Landmark’s Nuart Theatre in West Los Angeles on June 1, 2007, for a single show at midnight, and it being reviewed from a bootleg DVD sent to our offices years ago by an anonymous admirer of the site who thought I might be mesmerized by this unique film.)

A documentary about World War II in and of itself is not a bad thing. Over the past sixty years, there have been hundreds that have examined practically every imaginable angle of the conflict. A popular artist of the day redoing some of the best Beatles songs of all time in and of itself is not a bad thing either. Joe Cocker’s version of “With a Little Help From My Friends” is as indelible in modern musicology as the original. But a documentary about World War II that juxtaposes the music of the Beatles to assist in telling the story of The Good War? Not the best idea ever envisioned, as you can imagine. But how it came about is even stranger than the actual product.

Imagine if you will, two men sitting around one day, wondering how best to promote an album they are planning, with artists like the Bee Gees, Helen Reddy, Rod Stewart and Bryan Ferry doing their own versions of the songs of Lennon and McCartney. Spurred on by the then-current success of Phillipe Mora’s “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?,” which intermixed documentary footage of the Depression with music from the day, someone comes up with the brilliant idea of doing this with their music and both documentary footage and clips from dozens of Fox movies made during or about World War II.

The final product is often inconceivably irresponsible, yet like a horrific car crash on the side of the road, one you just cannot look away from. Yet even in the chaotic mess, there are moments of strangely inspired work. Imagine Helen Reddy singing “The Fool on the Hill” to footage of Hitler relaxing at his Bertchtesgaden retreat, Bryan Ferry’s version of “She’s Leaving Home” as the ladies of America prepare to go to war, or a filmic version of a DJ scratching with Rod Stewart singing “Get Back” as Nazi stormtroopers goose step back and forth over and over. Most of the sound and scene mix, however, borders on the painful and racist, such as when Tina Turner sings of “choo choo eyesballs” when images of Emperor Hirohito are shown.

Within the context of the movie, many of the songs are awkward fits. Away from the movie and listened to without the images they are shoehorned into, however, a number of the songs not only deserve to be remembered but should get a proper modern release, replete with historical context. Whilst it is true there are a number of songs that are rather painful to sit through (Leo Sayer’s caterwauling through “I Am the Walrus” anyone?), there are an equal number of songs that demand reintroduction into the musical lexicon. Peter Gabriel’s “Strawberry Fields Forever” was the first song he released as a solo artist, and is both a loving tribute to the original song and an interesting terminus a quo for what would come later, and is a must-have for any serious Gabriel aficionado. Ambrosia’s “Magical Mystery Tour,” Status Quo’s “Getting Better” and several of the Bee Gee’s contributions, along with the surreal Keith Moon version of “When I’m Sixty-Four” (recording just two years before he would pass on at half that age), are only a handful of songs from the project that warrant a second chance.

As a historical document, “All This and World War II” isn’t (pun somewhat intended) all that, and one that could have, and quite possibly should have, joined hundreds of other films from 1976 that have all but been forgotten. (Nobody is screaming for “Apple Pie” or “Hot Potato” or “The Yum-Yum Girls.”) Nostalgia often incurs when an item is kept from public consumption, and it is likely all wistful feelings for this film would disappear if it ever becomes available for mass consumption. It’ll be interesting to see what happens to the film in the coming months and years, but those expecting to find a lost gem will need to keep searching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SauoefwQrnQ

By EdwardHavens May 30th, 2007

Robert Lepage : ensemble vocal

Robert Lepage, qui a reçu le Prix d'Europe en avril à Thessalonique, en Grèce, signe Lipsynch , une pièce de cinq heures et vingt minutes dont la version finale fera... neuf heures ! (Photo AFP)

La fausse voix, la voix de Dieu, entendre des voix, la post-synchro, la traduction... Robert Lepage sillonne le vaste territoire de la voix, dans sa nouvelle création Lipsynch, présentée en première nord-américaine au festival TransAmériques. Une oeuvre en neuf histoires, où Lepage traite de musique rock, de tumeur au cerveau et de Léonard de Vinci.

Un Robert Lepage enroué décroche le combiné de sa chambre d'hôtel de Vancouver. La journaliste de La Presse, affligée d'une vilaine bronchite, n'a guère le ton plus cristallin. «Pour parler d'un show sur la voix, ça va mal», lâche-t-il, amusé.

Celui qui a reçu le mois dernier le Prix d'Europe, qui a travaillé avec Peter Gabriel et le Cirque du Soleil, qui a des antennes à Londres, Tokyo, Madrid, Paris, parle de la naissance de Lipsynch avec une simplicité déconcertante. Un peu comme si cette coproduction d'Ex Machina et du Théâtre sans Frontières de Newcastle - qui fait cinq heures 20 minutes et durera neuf heures dans sa version finale - était le résultat du banal remue-méninges d'une bande de copains qui se réunissent dans une caserne, lorsque les planètes sont alignées.

«On travaille là-dessus depuis un an et demi. Mais il arrive qu'on se rencontre pendant deux semaines pour ne plus se revoir avant six mois. C'est difficile de réunir tous ces gens de pays différents, de concilier les agendas.»

Rassembler en un même endroit des artistes de Berlin, de Newcastle, des îles Canaries, de Valence et du Québec est une entreprise colossale. Mais diriger des improvisations où l'on parle l'allemand, deux sortes d'espagnol, l'anglais, un dialecte écossais et le français québécois? Cela suffirait pour faire perdre son latin au commun des mortels. Or, tout le monde ne s'appelle pas Robert Lepage qui, lui, a sauté dans le chaos langagier comme un gamin dans un carré se sable. «Comme je connais toutes ces langues, j'arrivais à faire l'interprète.».......

The new way to do Europe

OLBIA, Sardinia

The elite who vacation in Porto Cervo on Costa Smeralda (Emerald Coast) are more apt to come in by yacht. But, on EasyJet, about $120 can get you to the nearby town of Olbia, gateway to this stunning stretch of coast in the north.

It’s a strange combination—budget travellers mixing up with the likes of European royalty and rock stars like Peter Gabriel (who has a house in Porto Cervo). At this glamorous coastal town, your lunch bill can exceed your air fare. A five-minute drive from my hotel into town cost an outrageous $30 each way by taxi. On top of that, the English-speaking driver I hired at the airport charged almost $70 an hour.

But if you’re willing to forgo staying in the centre of things, life needn’t be that expensive. My hotel, the Grand Hotel of Porto Cervo, spread out on a slope above a rocky beach, offered every amenity, from tennis courts to three swimming pools. Even in summer, excepting the peak month of August, a double room can be had for $180 a night.

And meals can be good value if you know where to go. My driver took me to a local restaurant called Idea Food Piccola where, in typical Italian fashion, our lunch took 90 minutes. As I sat on the veranda of an old house, smiling waitresses brought out heaping platters of perfectly prepared, straight-from-the-Mediterranean seafood. The cost: $20.

The Emerald Coast was developed into a yachting haven in the 1960s by a consortium led by the Aga Khan, and the stunning beauty of the area can’t be ignored. Buildings had to be low density and adhere to strict architectural codes—low-rise, with red-tile roofs and buff-coloured walls. Just taking a walk—looking at the lush green hills carpeted with wildflowers and the wild olive trees—was a thrill.

The taxi driver who took me on a three-hour tour of the countryside and villages between Olbia and Porto Cervo kept criticizing the Costa Smeralda. “This isn’t the real Sardinia,” he said. “This is Disneyland. To see the real Sardinia, you have to go into the hills.” To make his point, he drove me to the house he was building. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was set in a field blazing with wildflowers. Half a mile away was a village on the slopes of a hill, topped with a small medieval castle.

This setting backed up his thesis that the focus of the wealthy foreign tourists on the sea was misplaced. Here, just half an hour from an area where oceanfront land sells for a small fortune, a taxi driver can afford to buy one of the most beautiful plots of land I had ever seen.

Angélique Kidjo : une Béninoise à la rencontre du monde

Angélique Kidjo n’est rien d’autre que notre chanteuse béninoise préférée. Son engagement d’artiste, notamment aux côtés de l’Unicef, n’a d’égal que son talent. Djin Djin, dans les bacs , sonne le retour d’Angélique à ses racines béninoises qu’elle fait découvrir à pléthore d’artistes. Ils l’accompagnent dans cette ballade au cœur des rythmes du Bénin profond. Entretien.

Alicia Keys, Amadou & Mariam, Branford Marsalis, Carlos Santana, Josh Groban, Joss Stone, Peter Gabriel et Ziggy Marley se sont joints à Angélique Kidjo pour son dernier opus. Guidés par sa voix et les percussions de Crespin Kpitiki et de Benoît Avihoue du groupe béninois Gangbé Brass Band, ils font de cet album une oeuvre plurielle et métissée sur les plans culturel et musical. On regrette pourtant l’absence de cette énergie explosive dont Angélique Kidjo est devenue le synonyme.

Afrik.com : Vous nous revenez avec votre dernier album Djin Djin sur lequel on retrouve de grands noms de la musique internationale. Qu’est-ce qui a motivé ces rencontres ?

Angélique Kidjo : Certains m’ont toujours posé des questions sur les rythmes que l’on retrouvait dans ma musique. Alors quand ils ont su que je préparais cet album, ils ont souhaité m’accompagner dans cette aventure musicale.

Afrik.com : Djin Djin est une oeuvre qui essaie aussi de passer des messages. Ae Ae dénonce, par exemple, le fait que les jeunes soient obligés de fuir le continent pour espérer un avenir meilleur, parfois au péril de leur vie…

Angélique Kidjo : Pourquoi, nous les Africains, sommes toujours obligés de sortir de chez nous pour nous réaliser ? Pourquoi devons-nous toujours souffrir de l’inconséquence de nos dirigeants ? Nos parents se saignent pour nous offrir la possibilité de réussir. Ce qui est bien n’est pas forcément à l’extérieur. La solution est peut-être aussi chez nous. Mais on encourage personne à les trouver. Il faudrait par conséquent encourager les initiatives locales. J’ai rencontré des jeunes qui me disaient qu’ils avaient des projets, mais que nulle part ils ne trouvaient d’aide. En Afrique, il faut qu’on apprenne à protéger les initiatives des autochtones au lieu d’ouvrir grand nos portes aux investisseurs étrangers sans qu’on ne leur demande rien en contrepartie. Comme exiger d’eux qu’ils aient un partenaire local. Nous sommes envahis par les produits chinois... Je ne suis pas contre la mondialisation, mais il faut un peu de régulation. Il ne faudrait pas que l’Afrique soit victime, encore une fois, de l’ esclavage, cette fois-ci économique. C’est certes notre faute, mais encore plus celle de nos gouvernants.

Afrik.com : La pochette de Djin Djin véhicule beaucoup de féminité, une espèce de sérénité…L’heure des bilans a-t-elle sonné avec Djin Djin ?

Angélique Kidjo : Je ferai un bilan quand je serai morte ! La sérénité, je l’ai toujours eue et je suis de plus en plus sereine. Je n’en suis pas moins sensible au fait que notre monde vit un tournant. On a l’impression d’être au bord d’un gouffre, entre la paix et la guerre. Quand on voit l’évolution du monde et qu’on a des enfants, on ne peut que s’inquiéter. Dans ce contexte, je fais mon maximum pour aider mon continent. Ma musique me sert à partager et à exprimer tout cela. Ce n’est absolument pas l’heure des bilans, mais je me remets beaucoup en question. Je me lance des défis parce que je ne veux pas que ma musique devienne quelque chose qui se fasse machinalement.

Afrik.com : Vous êtes ambassadrice itinérante du Fonds des Nations unies pour l’enfance (Unicef) depuis 2002. Comment cette prise de conscience s’est éveillée en vous ?

Angélique Kidjo : Elle a toujours été présente dans ma vie. Mes parents étaient des gens toujours à l’écoute des autres. Parfois, nous revenions de l’école et ils n’étaient pas là parce qu’on avait eu besoin d’eux. A la fin du secondaire, j’avais décidé de devenir une avocate spécialisée dans les droits de l’Homme. L’abus de pouvoir m’a toujours mise hors de moi, il tue beaucoup plus que toutes ces drogues, l’alcool contre lesquels on ne cesse de lutter…Des gens tuent des milliers de personnes sans jamais être inquiétés. Ce qui m’a poussée vers l’Unicef, c’est l’envie de faire comprendre que la vie est au dessus de tout.

Afrik.com : Les moyens dont vous disposez aujourd’hui ne sont pas ceux de vos premiers albums. Estimez-vous qu’il vous a manqué quelque chose qui pourrait être source de regrets aujourd’hui ?

Angélique Kidjo : Rien ne m’a manqué. Je les ai fait à des âges différents, à des endroits différents. Pretty, mon premier album, a été enregistré incognito quand j’étais au lycée. L’ enthousiasme qui m’a animée alors, cet enthousiasme qui vous prend aux tripes ne m’a jamais quittée depuis. Seulement, on grandit parce qu’il y a la vie, les rencontres : on évolue tout simplement. Je ne regrette aucun de mes albums !

Afrik.com : Famille et carrière ont-ils toujours cohabité en bonne intelligence ?

Angélique Kidjo : J’ai épousé un musicien, nous étions amis avant de devenir des amoureux. On a tourné ensemble pendant dix ans. Un jour, il a décidé qu’il en avait marre de dormir chaque nuit dans un hôtel différent, de prendre des avions à 3h du matin, qu’il voulait passer du temps avec sa fille. De 10 jours à 5 ans, notre fille nous a accompagnés dans tous nos déplacements. Quand l’école a commencé, il fallait un parent à la maison. Cela a été son choix. Les choses se passent bien quand on les organise. Lorsqu’on veut mener à bien une relation, on s’en donne les moyens et j’ai instauré dès le début le dialogue. La communication est omniprésente dans notre relation. Le principe vaut, pour moi, aussi bien dans le privé que dans le travail.

Afrik.com : Je parlais de féminité tout à l’heure. Que représente ce petit papillon qui traîne dans vos cheveux sur la photo qui illustre votre album ?

Angélique Kidjo : C’est le logo de ma fondation, la Fondation Batonga, que j’ai montée avec des partenaires aux Etats-Unis pour l’éducation secondaire. L’éducation pour donner des ailes aux jeunes filles afin qu’elles prennent leur envol à l’instar du papillon. L’éducation pour donner son envol à l’Afrique. Je me suis rendue compte, avec tous les voyages que j’ai effectués sur le terrain pour le compte de l’Unicef, qu’après le primaire, les enfants n’avaient plus la possibilité de poursuivre leurs études parce que leurs parents n’en avaient pas les moyens. L’éducation primaire est généralement prise en charge par l’Etat, pas le secondaire. L’objectif de la Fondation est donc de construire et/ou de restaurer des écoles secondaires pour permettre aux jeunes de poursuivre leurs études sans avoir à payer de frais de scolarité, surtout les filles. Les garçons sont aussi les bienvenus. La Fondation formera aussi des professeurs. Nous voulons également donner du travail aux femmes en leur permettant, par exemple, de vendre de la nourriture dans l’enceinte de nos écoles. L’habitude appartient à nos traditions, il faut la préserver d’autant plus qu’elle assurera aux enfants, au moins deux repas corrects par jour, et une indépendance économique aux femmes. La Fondation se chargera aussi de trouver des bourses aux enfants à la fin de leur scolarité. Le lancement de ses activités coïncide avec la sortie de Djin Djin. Nous commencerons par sept pays, le Bénin, l’Ethiopie, le Malawi, le Mali, l’Ouganda, le Sénégal et le Rwanda.

Afrik.com : Pour continuer à parler d’Afrique, on a l’impression de ne pas vous voir y voir souvent…

Angélique Kidjo : J’étais récemment en Afrique de l’Est. Il n’y a malheureusement que 12 mois dans l’année et il faut que chacun ait un peu de moi. Je fais par conséquent ce que je peux. Cependant tourner en Afrique n’est pas toujours facile et il est hors de question de faire des concerts au rabais.

Afrik.com : Quand Angélique Kidjo ne chante pas, que fait-elle ?

Angélique Kidjo : Je passe du temps avec ma famille…J’adore cuisiner et je fais beaucoup de sport. J’aime le sport, ça me libère la tête, ça me libère du stress et des frustrations. Je faisais de l’athlétisme et de la natation au Bénin. J’ai toujours fait du sport parce que je suis asthmatique et ma mère avait compris très tôt, contre l’avis de tous, que le sport était la seule solution pour vivre normalement.

Regarder les clips videos d'Angelique Kidjo ici!!

Angelique Kidjo feat Peter Gabriel- Africa Calling

- Angélique Kidjo se produira le 4 juin au New Morning à Paris.

Trances before Passion

Cannes Classics: "Trances" by Ahmed El Maanouni

Tonight, Cannes Classics, the festival program devoted to the discovery or rediscovery of heritage films of the past, gave the place of honor to Trances (1981), a film by Ahmed El Maanouni. It tells the story of how a group of musicians caused a social revolution in Morocco in the early 1970s.

By choosing a form of expression which was a radical departure from the invasive "languid Oriental sound," they became the spokesmen for a generation of rebellious youth. The screening of this film in a fully restored print took place in the presence of director Martin Scorsese, ambassador of the brand new World Cinema Foundation.

This non-profit organization aims to provide funding for the restoration and distribution of films from all over the world, especially Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Central Europe.

Martin Scorsese declared: “It was in 1981 while I was editing a film, The King of Comedy. We worked at night so no one would call us on the telephone and I would have television on, and one channel in New York at the time, around 2 or 3 in the morning, was showing a film called Trances. It repeated all night and it repeated many nights. And it had commercials in it, but it didn’t matter.

So I became passionate about this music that I heard and I saw also the way the film was made, the concert that was photographed and the effect of the music on the audience at the concert. I tracked down the music and eventually it became my inspiration for many of the designs and construction of my film The Last Temptation of Christ. The music was also the basis for Peter Gabriel’s music in the film. I would play the music for most of the musicians I knew, Robbie Robertson of The Band…

What you see here is a mix of the poetry, the music and the theatre that goes way back to the roots of the Moroccan culture. And I think the group was singing damnation: their people, their beliefs, their sufferings and their prayers all came through their singing. And I think the film is beautifully made by Ahmed El Maanouni; it’s been an obsession of mine since 1981 and that is why we are inaugurating the Foundation with Trances.”

Ahmed El Maanouni also took the microphone and said a few words: “I would like to thank Martin Scorsese from the bottom of my heart, who, for me is someone who came to me from another planet. We make low-budget films in Morocco and that is why this is like a fairy tale for me. On behalf of all Moroccan filmmakers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would also like to thank the Festival for opening its doors to us.

If we carry a torch of hope today, it is because Martin Scorsese has opened the dialogue and proved that we can be interested in each other’s culture, especially in places where there is so much conflict and strife. With Trances, I simply showed a respectful glimpse of an enormously talented group of musicians who represent so much to the young Moroccans, the whole continent in fact. I had the freedom to bring this project to fruition and I’m proud of the team that worked on it. Thank you, World Cinema Foundation, for your great ideas.”

http://www.imineo.com/loisir-passion/danse/transes-marocaines-video-3139.htm

Les vétérans sont de retour

Non contents de leurs succès passés, quelques grands noms de la variété internationale des années 80 et 90 continuent de parcourir les salles. OMD a débuté le 13 mai une série de concerts pour lesquels les nostalgiques n’auront que l’embarras du choix. Les quinquas du rock sont de retour

Rares sont les vétérans du rock qui sortent de nouveaux albums. Ils se contentent plutôt de raviver la flamme avec des "best of". En témoignent les derniers albums de George Michael, Peter Gabriel et Joe Jackson. Et c’est sans doute avec ce bon vieux répertoire, parfois revisité, que ces ténors mettront les fans en émoi. Fidèle à son piano et n’ayant rien perdu de sa voix, Joe Jackson se produira le 3 juin à l’Olympia. Il sera suivi de Georges Michael au RDS les 6 et 7 juin puis par Peter Gabriel le 22 juin à Marlay Park.

De INXS à Smokey Robinson en passant par Aerosmith

Bien que les "best of" soient une valeur sûre, certains anciens n’hésitent pas à retrouver les studios et s’adapter à l’air du temps. C’est le cas de Lionel Richie que l’on croyait définitivement oublié et qui a su mêler des rythmes très actuels à sa voix de toujours. Il jouera ce vendredi au Point. Moins innovant tout de même, INXS jouera le 27 juin à l’Olympia et gageons que le groupe nous resservira la Suicide Blonde. Ayant également sorti un nouvel album en 2006, les Who seront à Marlay Park le 29 juin, retrouvant leur passion du rock et une forme étonnante.

La saison 2007 nous réserve également le retour d’artistes qui semblaient relégués au passé avec Aerosmith qui se produira le 26 juin à Marlay Park et Rod Stewart qui chantera les 13 et 14 juillet au RDS. Et si vraiment vous êtes très très nostalgiques, Smokey Robinson viendra avec sa soul le 9 juillet à Vicar Street et Barbara Streisand bercera vos cœurs le 14 juillet à Casteltown House pour la modique somme de... 500€ !

Céline Leoni (www.lepetitjournal.com – Dublin) mercredi 23 mai 2007

Lionel Richie – 25 mai à 20h – Point – €65
Joe Jackson – 3 juin à 19h30 – Olympia – €31,60 / 33,60
Georges Michael – 6 et 7 juin à 17h – RDS Arena – €86,25 / 131,25
Peter Gabriel – 22 juin à 18h – Marlay park – €64,50
Aerosmith – le 26 juin à 18h – Marlay Park – €69,50
INXS – le 27 juin à 19h – Olympia – €37 / 39
The Who – le 29 juin à 18h – €69,50
Tous les billets sont disponibles sur : www.ticketmaster.ie

Gabriel at Mandela's birthday bash ?

Mandela hoping Spice Girls will perform at his birthday bash

London, May 21: A million pounds each may not be enough to reunite the Spice Girls, but perhaps a request from former South African President Nelson Mandela might do the trick.

An insider revealed that Mr Mandela was hoping that the British all-girl might reunite and perform a one-off charity celebrity extravaganza for his birthday. "It would make Nelson's day if the girls performed," the Mirror quoted the source, as saying.

Special invitations have already been sent out to Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Mel C, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton to join Mr Mandela, the first black President of SA, on July 28 this year.

Mr Mandela, the first black President of South Africa, will be celebrating his 89th birthday this year. Invitations have also been sent out to Queen star Brian May, Annie Lennox and Peter Gabriel.

Temple of Sound Biography

Temple of Sound’s music perfectly captures 21st Century London, while traveling the globe to create collaborations and innovations on the World Music scene.

What have Peter Gabriel, Anglo-Arabian diva Natacha Atlas, Pakistani musical royalty Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali and UK dub poet supreme Linton Kwesi Johnson got in common? Well, they’ve all collaborated with Temple of Sound. Add to that a list of collaborators: flavor of the moment Mexico’s Los De Abajo, Jean Jacques Burnel (leader and bassist of The Stranglers), Cuban violinist Omar Puente (Afro Cuban All Stars) and Senegalese drummer Doudou N'Diaye Rose, and it becomes evident that the Temple of Sound duo of Neil Sparkes and Count Dubulah are buzzing with ideas and a sheer creativity that they are translating into great and innovative sounds.

Temple of Sound are Neil Sparkes, the vocalist, percussionist, poet and painter and Count Dubulah, responsible for the rolling dub bass lines and soaring melodic guitars. Together they have developed a unique writing, production and performance team at the fore-front of World Music, Dance and Dub for over a decade. Sparkes and Dubulah first combined their talents as producers and songwriters in TransGlobal Underground.

Founder member Count Dubulah and Neil Sparkes were at the forefront of the experiments in the early 1990s with world and dance music combinations when they were responsible for writing and producing large chunks of the seminal Dream of 100 Nations (1993) album and TransGlobal Underground’s commercially successful albums for Nation, BMG, Sony and MCA; including Templehead (1991) and the hit International Times (1994). As such they played a central part in the emergence of a distinctive global dance club sound.

Characteristically, Sparkes and Dubulah are still at the cutting edge, making great music and influencing many other artists. Temple of Sound's name may even be a tribute to that fact, as they are releasing their fifth studio album Globalhead on Namaste Records in May 2007; and their production work for a hitlist of World, Dance and Dub artists continues to push the barriers of World music forward . These include Los De Abajo (Real World) and Natacha Atlas (Beggars Banquet), nominated for Best Album in World Music Awards 2007.

Temple of Sound spent six weeks at the beginning of 2005 in Mexico City at the invitation of BBC Radio 3 World Music Award winners Los De Abajo to produce their new album.

The two groups first met in 2003 in Australia appearing at WOMAD festivals in Adelaide and Taranaki, New Zealand.

The album was recorded at Grammy Award winner Pepe Aguilar’s studio in Mexico City; mixed by Temple of Sound at Real World Studios, and is released in September 2005 on Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records. This production received acclaim in all the UK press, and saw the group appear on the Jools Holland Later show on BBC TV and play listing on BBC Radio 1 and 2.

Temple of Sound provided production, writing and playing duties for the new Natacha Atlas album Mish Maoul released on Beggars Banquet in 2006.

Sparkes and Dubulah are two maverick creators, and what bonds them together is a broad obsession with all sorts of musical styles : Latin, Dub Reggae, African, Arabic, Asian, House, Pop, Hip-Hop and a love of deep depth- charged dub bass. A fact proven by the wealth of Collaboration, Production and Live work the duo deliver. This generous melting pot of musical influences has seen the music of Neil Sparkes and Count Dubulah come full circle, from World to Dance Club and back again to something with its own distinctive sense of culture, strong tolerant and inclusive. There is a palpable sense of excitement about Temple of Sound. They are buzzing with ideas and a sheer creativity that they are translating into great and innovative sounds. Temple of Sound feels like an unstoppable force at the cutting edge of global culture.

Temple of Sound’s debut album First Edition, a fabulous mixture of beats and world music, was released by Wagram Music in 2002.

First Edition contains twelve tracks written and produced by Sparkes and Dubulah. The cover and inside booklet feature paintings and original artwork by Neil Sparkes. The video for their single “Chica Bonita” was produced by Seb Janiak of Daft Punk and filmed while the group were in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and received massive play internationally. In the last year the group have had tracks placed on over 40 compilation albums worldwide.

As producers, writers and musicians Temple of Sound made the album People's Colony No.1 for Peter Gabriel’s label Real World in 2001, with Rizwan Muazzam Qawwali (nephews of the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) with whom they then toured with throughout the UK and Europe appearing at international festivals as far afield as Sicily, Athens, New Zealand, Singapore, Belgium and Roskilde in Denmark.

In 2002 Temple of Sound co-wrote and produced the widely acclaimed Arabic tinged Dub epic Shout At The Devil with Jah Wobble for 30 Hertz Records. The album features vocal performances from Natacha Atlas, Shahin Baddar and Nina Miranda.

They have recently remixed DJ Cheb i Sabbah for Six Degrees in the USA; Ladysmith Black Mambazo; Claude Challe, (creator of the Buddah Bar) ; Lee Perry and The Congos; Banco De Gaia; Bollywood Brass Band; Fundamental and the Fatback Band; as well as doing mixes for Blood and Fire, Select Cuts, Sony, BMG, Maverick and MCA/Universal.

Neil Sparkes is co-writer with Peter Gabriel and Karl Wallinger of the Peter Gabriel single “Burn You Up, Burn You Down”, which appears on the massive selling Peter Gabriel Best Of collection Hit.

In 2003 Temple of Sound composed the title music for the feature film Stander (USA), and their music featured in the films “Les Gaous” and “Dillo Con Parole Mie”.

Temple of Sound’s music has been used by fashion designer Ferragamo for their summer collections and Valentino in their catwalk shows and by advertisers such as Pilot Pens and Adobe. The talented duo are developing work on original soundtracks and have composed and produced incidental music for features on BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky Sports.

Temple of Sound is the culmination of Sparkes and Dubulah’s multiple musical experiences, which has resulted in a powerful and contemporary juxtaposition of global, popular and dance sounds.

The group have translated this onto stages across the globe from tours in 2003-2005 through Australia and New Zealand; Latin America; the Far East and Europe.

The group appeared at Glastonbury 2005 with a storming set. Temple of Sound released Gold Of The Sun (Diesel Motor) showcasing the group live at WOMAD UK and Las Palmas, and concerts in Switzerland. The 2 CD set includes live film footage and guests Jean Jacques Burnel (The Stranglers), Natacha Atlas, Mykaell S Riley, Wai and Jo Legwabe.

Globalhead came out on May 8th 2007 on Namaste Records (Koch Records) in the USA. The album features 12 tracks written and produced by Neil Sparkes and Count Dubulah aka Temple of Sound (ex-TransGlobal Underground) featuring guest appearances by some of the best World Music artists including Natacha Atlas, Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali, Abdullah Chhadeh, Ben Baddoo, Junior Delgado, Jah Wobble, Dr Hukwe Zawose, Charles Zawose, Jo Legwabe, Adrian Sherwood, Getatchew Mekurya, Teremag Weretow, Nara and Jimi Papazanateas.

Official Web Site: www.templeofsound.co.uk

McKennitt returns to delight Celtic music fans

There was cause for rejoicing among Celtic music fans last night. After eight years away from touring, Canada's Loreena McKennitt returned to Victoria, once again conjuring up her ethereal Celtic/world-music tapestries.

I'd forgotten how prominently atmosphere figures at a McKennitt concert. The petite, red-haired singer-songwriter - who performs again tonight at the Royal - sang from a stage set resembling the interior of a Persian palace. McKennitt appeared in a spotlight amid royal blue draperies, an exotic ogee arch and fog-machine clouds gently drifting overhead.

Dressed in a coat-gown with a faux leopard-skin peeking out underneath, she seemed in fine form despite her hiatus from the road. In particular, McKennitt's voice sounded clear and strong.

"What a great pleasure it is to be back here again," she told an enthused full house. They ultimately rewarded her 2 1/2 -hour concert with three standing ovations.

McKennitt - switching between harp, accordion, electric keyboard and grand piano - was backed by a nine-piece band reflecting the catholic nature of her musical interests. While cellist Caroline Lavelle and violin whiz Hugh Marsh tended to dominate, the group also included a Greek lute, tabla, hurdy gurdy, Celtic bouzouki and the violin-like lyra.

For those who love the side of McKennitt veering closest to traditional Celtic music, nothing topped Bonny Portmore. This old song, about Irish forests being logged for shipbuilding, benefited from her singing which - although affectingly girlish - was powerful and true. The melody of Bonny Portmore is beautiful, and the sparse cello/harp accompaniment worked wonderfully well.

Other traditional style pieces included McKennitt's song The Highway Man. Based on a poem by Alfred Noyes, it's a romantic tale with a stately Elizabethan feel. The same regal air permeated The Lady Of Shalott, a McKennitt piece based on the famous Tennyson poem.

Other compositions reflect the singer-songwriter's late-career interest in the European and Eastern influences on Celtic culture. For her song Caravanserai, from her new album An Ancient Music, McKennitt draws inspiration from a trip to Turkey, where it's believed Celts travelled around 300 BC. With the droning hum of various exotic instruments in the background, Caravanserai didn't sound like anything from British Isles - still, the soaring sound of the singer's distinctive voice made it sound her own.

At times, her music came close to the rock/world-music hybrid musicians such as Peter Gabriel have explored. Once or twice, rock-style drumming and electric guitar solos made a distinctly un-McKennitt-like appearance. Still, her arrangements consistently avoided bombast, and the integrity of her artistic vision tended to win out.

In a general sense, what this musician does is create a deeply romantic, old-world sanctuary from the electronic babble of 21st century life. If the hiss and twitter of iPods and cellphones get you down, a visit to McKennitt-land is like a trip to a new-age spa. Jangled nerves are soothed by the elemental buzz of ancient instruments.

That her show appears steeped in history makes the experience seem more profound. Close your eyes, and one feels linked to the empires of long-forgotten kings and tartan-clad nomads from thousands of years ago.

Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan

Endless Vision: Persian and Armenian Songs (World Village)

Endless Vision unites Armenian virtuoso Djivan Gasparyan on duduk (an eight-holed, double-reed flute made of apricot wood, derived from the regional shepherd's flute) and Iranian master Hossein Alizadeh on tar and shurangiz (new Iranian lute). Their live 2003 outdoor performance at Tehran's Niavaran Palace was accompanied by a trio of singers (in Armenian, Azeri and Persian), Armen Ghazaryan (duduk), Vazgen Markaryan (bass duduk), and the Hamavayan Ensemble (vocals, oud, shurangiz, percussion).

Listen

Born in the Soviet Republic of Armenia and trained at the Komitas Conservatory of Yerevan, Gasparyan is responsible for elevating the duduk to classical status in Armenian traditional music. His career began in 1948 with the Tatool Altounian National Song and Dance Ensemble and the Yerevan Philharmonic; some listeners may recognize his work from the soundtrack of Martin Scorcese's The Last Temptation of Christ. Gasparyan has recorded with Peter Gabriel, the Kronos Quartet, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and numerous others.

Alizadeh began his career in the late 1970s after studying Persian classical music at the University of Teheran's School of Music; he conducts the Iranian National Orchestra of Radio and Television, and enjoys an international reputation as a soloist and composer at home and abroad.

This meld of Persian and Armenian songs unfolds slowly and dramatically; the musicians and singers give one another plenty of room to explore the delicate nuances of these complementary and evocative musical traditions, whose microtonal character is accented by the plaintive duduk and the extraordinary overtone singing of Hourshid Biabani, Afsaneh Rasaei and Ali Samadpour.

Reflecting upon this remarkable performance ought to call into question the wisdom of perpetrating in Iran the militarist folly and human sacrifice that already haunt Armenian and Iraqi history. By contrast, as Gandhi observed when asked his opinion of Western civilization, "It would be an excellent idea." - Michael Stone

Rachel Z, fresh from Peter Gabriel tour, leads a trio

Music Preview: Rachel Z, fresh from Peter Gabriel tour, leads a trio

Back in 1999, Rachel Z was a relative unknown when she performed with her eight-piece band at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center as part of the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival. Since then, she has forged a career as a teacher, developed music for her various-sized groups and spent the past three years as the keyboardist for the innovative rocker Peter Gabriel.

"Working with Peter was incredible," said Z, speaking aboard a train en route to Philadelphia from New York. "He's a creative force and it was incredibly fun to work with him." With Gabriel, Z performed before crowds as large as 30,000. Another time the group traveled to South Africa for a benefit honoring former President Nelson Mandela. "Oprah was there and we had dinner with Mandela," she continued. "We performed a song called 'Biko' that Peter had written for Stephen Biko. It was awesome."

Now, the primary focus is her trio, which she'll feature Saturday night at Gullifty's. Showcasing music from her latest release, "Dept. of Good and Evil," the concert will also feature bassist Maeve Royce and drummer Bobbie Rae. "We are really excited about this project," said Z. "We have been developing this concept that mixes rock and pop with jazz." Z has been bridging genres for some time, and "Dept. of Good and Evil" continues along that path.

In addition to some vibrant piano playing, the recording is filled with wonderfully orchestrated and eclectic arrangements, and Z has Rae to thank for that. "Bobbie Rae is the visionary," said Z. "He can pick out some of the hippest stuff out there."

The album opens with a breezy "Soul Meets Body" before giving way to a harmonically rich "Milky Way." A nod to Sting's "King of Pain" is followed by Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge," which finds the pianist referencing some of her influences, musicians like Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and the late Kenny Kirkland.

"I always have to tip my hat to McCoy, Chick Corea and people like Kenny because they were a major influence on me," said Z. The recording also reexamines Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine," and Wayne Shorter's "ESP" is a tour de force. "I'm really into developing my trio," said Z. "I told Peter that I am through with sideman gigs, and he announced my new CD on his Web site. I want this trio to be a force, and we want to introduce this music to a young audience."

The British Invasión

As DJ and co-founder of the band Sidestepper, Richard Blair didn't just embrace Colombian music — he went native

When Peter Gabriel coined the term 'world music,' he never meant for it to be put in a ghetto. It was supposed to be the world's music for the world, without distinctions," explains Richard Blair, the front man for the Colombia-based electronica band Sidestepper. Blair should know. He worked as an engineer at Gabriel's Real World Studios in England during the global music boom of the early Nineties, before running off to make Latin electronic music in South America.

Listen to Blair describe Bogota's steamy underground nightclubs, where his band romps out its vibrant tropitechno, and you can understand why he's never looked back. "If you're not up for joy and laughing and dancing and sweating until six in the morning, you don't go out," Blair reports during a recent phone call from his adopted hometown. "How could you possibly leave when there's an open bottle on the table? How could you be so rude?"

Manners aside, it's physically impractical to slip out of a Sidestepper show. The band's fans pack themselves in so tightly that they seem to move as one giant, pulsating body to the funky rhythms. All, of course, while belting out a chorus of wacky phrases such as "bacalao sala'o!" ("salty codfish").

While decidedly Latin in tone, Sidestepper's sound is rooted in the many cultures Blair mixed during his engineering career. The Brit first stumbled onto the global music scene back in England in 1989, when he got a job recording reggae and "Bhangla" (Indian-Anglo) music at Sinewave Studio in Birmingham.

Before long he was tweaking music from Cambodia and Senegal to Venezuela and Pakistan at Gabriel's Real World Studios in Wiltshire. "It was an extraordinary education, and I suppose the feeling that Gabriel brought to all of this was that it's all music and we're all musicians," Blair says...

Political messages embedded in new CD

Born in Quidah a coastal city of West Africa, Angelique Kidjo has made a name for herself worldwide. She has an innovative style of fusing the elements of jazz, gospel, reggae, samba, salsa and electronica without abandoning the traditional music of her homeland.

While she may have pushed traditional beyond its limits at times, her latest offering has her returning to her roots with the help of a star-studded guest list. Best translated as “seize the day” Djin Djin is sure to please all her devote fans. Kidjo’s rendition of the Stones Give Me Shelter is a tasty one featuring Joss Stone who lights it up vocally.

But it is track four, Salala, featuring Peter Gabriel that really caught my attention. I’ve had a serious hunger for a little PG, so this little teaser hit the spot with his typical haunting style. Next up is the delightful Senamou featuring her good friends Amadou and Mariam known in their homeland of West Africa for their Afro-pop offerings.

Track six is a heart wrenching remake of Sade’s Pearls featuring Carlos Santana’s trademark guitar in addition to Kidjo teaming up with Josh Groban to make this unpredictable merger of epic beauty another of the Djin Djin’s vocal highlights.

This is followed by a lighthearted splash of Jamaican style with Ziggy Marley sounding oh so Bob for Sedjedo. Track 13 ends the album on a classical note with a stunning vocal rendition of Ravel’s Bolero.

After a few listens, though, the album’s somewhat political theme of economic oppression becomes obvious. This is not an album that can be taken at face value, Kidjo’s insightful liner notes spell out the inspiration behind the selection of these songs that make this an album that delves much deeper than you first think. The only thing missing here is Paul Simon.

Still, Djin Djin is the perfect backdrop for a classy summer dinning event be it a barbeque or an ethnic dinner party.