Pride supplement celebrates 101 great citizens

The Bath Chronicle campaign to make its readers feel good about their city has taken another step forward with the publication of a free 32-page supplement of 101 great Bathonians. The supplement is part of the Pride in Bath campaign which has been running since October to encourage people to salute the achievements of their community.

The supplement includes people like King Edgar – the first King of England who was crowned at Bath Abbey – through to modern day stars such as jazz singer Jamie Cullum and England rugby hero Jeremy Guscott. The supplement features academics, scientists, business people, writers and many more people have been associated with Bath over the centuries. It was compiled by the Bath editorial team spearheaded by features editor Georgette McCready and design editor Liz Burcher with input from the Chronicle’s own readers who were asked to nominate their favourite Bathonians for the supplement.

Editor Sam Holliday said he was delighted with the supplement which was part of his continuing campaign to try and increase civic pride amongst the Chronicle’s readers. He said: "Bath really does have an amazing history and has produced many famous people. "We have tried to cover all the bases and included people who everyone will have heard of such as Jane Austen, Roger Bannister, Peter Gabriel and the scourge of young journalists everywhere - shorthand king Isaac Pitman. Just as importantly, however, we have also featured those who just work really hard in Bath on a day to day basis to ensure the city is as successful as it is."

The Pride in Bath campaign is one which the editor says should never actually have an end point. He said: "With many other campaigns I have been involved in, you start something off, you hopefully get the result you want and then you close it down. This one is different though. I think it is the duty of a newspaper to not only reflect the bad news in its community but also to look for, and then cheer, the achievements. Pride in Bath focuses all our minds on trying to look on the brighter side of life. "This latest supplement is just another example of how you can find things to applaud in every community - if you just take the trouble to look for them."

It Was 20 Years Ago Today: Remembering the Conspiracy of Hope Tour

Former Amnesty International USA Executive Director Jack Healey shares his memories (and photos) with @U2

Don't be surprised if a few years from now you find the Universal Declaration of Human Rights printed in your passport. That's Jack Healey's latest project, and what Healey wants -- at least when it comes to human rights efforts -- he often gets. Or, more accurately, he makes happen.

In 1981, Healey set out to organize a concert tour on behalf of Amnesty International. Five years later, and 20 years ago today, the "Conspiracy of Hope" tour began; two weeks later, it was a stunning success. With performers such as U2, Sting and The Police, Peter Gabriel, Joan Baez and others on board, the tour visited six cities between June 4 and June 15, 1986. Talk about making things happen: In the immediate aftermath of the tour, four of the six prisoners of conscience the artists had adopted were released, Amnesty's membership nearly tripled within a matter of weeks, and the concerts raised $3 million -- an amount equal to Amnesty's U.S. section's annual budget. (...)

With U2 on board, Healey set out to get more artists to join the tour.

"I had lunch with Sting at his apartment in New York. It was really neat," Healey remembers. "I said to him, 'Would you reunite The Police?' And he said that would be difficult to do, but he was very like ... you know ... he was very cool. He told me, 'If you keep it a secret, Jack, I'll try and do that and I think I'll be able to. I'm not positive, but I think I'll be able to.'"

Sting was the second artist on the Conspiracy of Hope tour roster, and others soon followed. Graham's recruits included Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and the Neville Brothers. Bono brought Peter Gabriel on board. They had the artists, they had the tour itinerary, and perhaps most importantly, they convinced MTV to give them 11 hours of programming for the final show at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, as well as the revenue from all the advertising Amnesty could sell.

Putting the tour together was only half the battle. No one involved in the effort had any idea if the Conspiracy of Hope tour would succeed. How would the artists get along? Would everyone -- artists and audience -- understand the message Amnesty was pitching? Healey admits to being nervous before the opening night show, but all his fears soon disappeared.

"I was a bit terrified in San Francisco at the opening, and what happened was -- I had never heard the song 'Biko' before," Healey recalls, referring to the Peter Gabriel song about Stephen Biko, a black leader who died in 1977 from brain injuries suffered while in the custody of South African police. "I was not knowledgeable about Peter Gabriel at all. It wasn't Peter's fault, it was my fault. But when he sang 'Biko' that night, I knew the show was gonna work." (...)

And once the air was cleared, the rest of the tour ran smoothly. Except for the flight from Chicago to New York, that is.

The artists and crew were in a great mood. Days earlier in Atlanta they had celebrated with an impromptu jam session at the hotel lounge, everybody getting on stage and playing together into the early morning hours (until they were stopped -- no kidding -- by a bartender who wanted to close up and go home). Healey says everyone felt the tour was working; the audiences were responding to their message.

Spirits were so high that the flight from Chicago to New York was "one big pillow fight," Healey says. And then, a near disaster: When the plane landed in New York, it blew two tires.

"I probably was one of the only ones that knew it," Healey says. "When it hit, it bounced too high, coming back down. It went 'boomp' [makes a sound effect] and up. I thought, 'Holy shit, we're in trouble.' All that talent was almost lost." (...)

Stars join our fight to free web

Coldplay, Geldof and Tutu are among 20,000 supporting the Observer/Amnesty campaign

David Smith, Sunday June 4, 2006, Observer

Chris Martin, Martha Lane Fox, Bob Geldof and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are among nearly 20,000 people who have backed the Observer and Amnesty International campaign to end repression on the internet. This remarkable response to the launch of irrepressible.info last week included support from around the world.

The campaign - 45 years after a powerful article in this newspaper led to the founding of Amnesty International - recognises the internet as a new frontier in the struggle for human rights. It demands that governments stop censoring websites, blocking emails and persecuting and imprisoning bloggers. It also calls for major corporations to stop making it easier for them to do so. A remarkable 18,790 people have pledged their support so far. Among them is Martha Lane Fox, who became a star of the first 'dotcom boom' when she co-founded the online retailer lastminute.com. She said: 'I was lucky enough to have my horizons expanded and my business life transformed by the web - I wholeheartedly support The Observer's Irrepressible campaign.'

More than 1,000 blogs are already linked to the irrepressible.info website, and the campaign has been welcomed by bloggers who have suffered under oppressive regimes. Hossein Derakhshan, an Iranian now living in Canada, whose blog Hoder.com has been censored in Iran, said: 'By censoring the internet and specifically blogs, governments are depriving themselves of amazing sources of information about what their population thinks of them and what they are are up to.'If blogs were around at the time of the Islamic Revolution [in Iran] in 1979, the former Shah would have probably predicted the massive uprising and could have changed his attitude towards running the state. Reading blogs for an official now is like when kings used to go out at night in disguise to see the ordinary lives of ordinary people. I am pleased to support the irrepressible.info campaign.'

In an article to launch the campaign last week, Kate Allen, UK director of Amnesty International, highlighted the case of Shi Tao. The Chinese journalist was sentenced to 10 years' hard labour for using the web to reveal that his country's newspapers were being restricted in their coverage of the anniversary of the democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Information from Yahoo was used as evidence for his conviction. As well as inviting people to sign the campaign pledge for freedom of speech, the irrepressible.info website - which has had 81,563 unique visitors, almost half from America - encourages people to write to the Chinese authorities and Yahoo to urge Shi Tao's release. In the past week 3,128 emails have been sent.

There was a further blow to Yahoo when the National Union of Journalists advised its 40,000 members to boycott the firm's products and services, accusing it of providing 'information to Chinese authorities that helped identify and prosecute several journalists and pro-democracy writers'. The union cited the case of Shi Tao as well as those of Jiang Lijun, jailed for four years for articles calling the Beijing government 'autocratic', and Li Zhi, sentenced to eight years for discussing democracy in a web forum and emailing pro-democracy campaigners. 'The Chinese government has an atrocious record of censorship and free expression,' said Jeremy Dear, the union's general secretary. 'The NUJ regards Yahoo's actions as a completely unacceptable endorsement of the Chinese authorities. The NUJ will be cancelling all Yahoo-operated services and advising members to boycott Yahoo until the company changes its irresponsible and unethical policy.' Mary Osako of Yahoo said: 'The facts of the Shi Tao case are distressing to our company, our employees and our leadership. We condemn punishment of any activity internationally recognised as free expression, in China or anywhere else. We have made our views clearly known to the Chinese government.'

Amnesty International has uncovered internet repression in countries such as Iran, Israel, the Maldives, Tunisia and Vietnam. In Egypt last month at least six bloggers were among about 300 people jailed during anti-government protests. Founding supporters of the campaign :

Bryan Adams musician ; Margaret Atwood writer ; Lord Avebury campaigner; Norman Baker MP ; Joan Bakewell broadcaster ; Beryl Bainbridge writer ; Honor Blackman actor ; Melvyn Bragg broadcaster ; Michael Brandon actor ; Rory Bremner satirist ; Shami Chakrabarti director of Liberty ; Eric Clapton musician ; Baroness Frances D'Souza ; Dr Shirin Ebadi Nobel Peace Prize winner ; Peter Gabriel musician ; Paul Gambaccini broadcaster ; Bob Geldof musician and campaigner ; Richard E Grant actor ; Lord (Raymond) Hylton ; John Kampfner editor, New Statesman ; Charles Kennedy MP ; Baroness (Helena) Kennedy QC ; Glenys Kinnock MEP ; Lord (Neil) Kinnock ; Peter Kosminsky film director and writer ; Martha Lane Fox internet entrepreneur ; Simon Le Bon singer ; Helen Lederer comedian ; Maureen Lipman actor ; Roger Lloyd Pack actor ; Joanna Lumley actor ; Art Malik actor ; Chris Martin and Coldplay musicians ; Robert Ménard secretary-general, Reporters Without Borders ; Henderson Mullin managing director, Index on Censorship ; Lembit Opik MP ; Gordon Prentice MP ; Dave Stewart musician ; Desmond Tutu archbishop ; Xu Wenli head, overseas exiles branch, Chinese Democratic party ; Ken Wiwa campaigner ; Derek Wyatt MP

Yacht tax forces wealthy to steer clear of Sardinia

(...) The new taxes were introduced by Sardinia's regional government to capitalise on the stream of billionaires that party every year on the Emerald Coast. The luxury tax applies to second homes, yachts and private aircraft and is expected to raise as much as £551 million.

Roman Abramovich anchored his 340ft yacht, Pelorus, in Porto Cervo, the multi-millionaires' favourite, last year. Princess Caroline of Monaco is another regular visitor. The rock star Peter Gabriel and Sheikh Yamani, the former Saudi oil minister, have villas in the region.

Renato Soru, the island's president, is determined to "tax the rich". He said: "In most cases, these rich tourists do not even spend a euro in Sardinia."

The new law taxes yachts and houses according to their size. A yacht bigger than 98ft will have to pay £7,150. Houses up to 2,153 sq ft within two miles of the shore will have to pay £2,070 a year (...)

20e Festival international Nuits d'Afrique à Montréal

photo : Daby Touré

Deux décennies de tambours parlants

Parrainé pour la deuxième fois par Youssou N'Dour qui offrira le concert d'ouverture, dirigé depuis 20 ans par le valeureux Touré Lamine, le Festival international Nuits d'Afrique (FINA) se promet, du 13 au 23 juillet prochain, de faire la fête aux musiques de l'Afrique et de sa diaspora. Tout ça en se rappelant plusieurs des artistes qui ont marqué son histoire, y compris des Montréalais qui l'ont accompagné depuis les débuts.

Vingt ans à porter le flambeau d'un art qui a atteint ses lettres de noblesse en dépit d'une évidente sous-diffusion. Une série entière consacrée à cet anniversaire : une vingtaine de concerts en salle, tout autant à l'extérieur, deux nouveaux sites, des retours attendus, plus d'artistes sénégalais que jamais en hommage au 100e anniversaire de Léopold Sedar Senghor. Visiblement, l'organisation veut marquer le coup pour plusieurs années encore.

Deux spectacles de pré-ouverture donneront le ton. D'abord, le koriste Zal Sissokho fera la paire avec le multi-instrumentiste brésilien Celso Machado, avant que Sarah Tavares ne porte pour la première fois ici les pièces de Balancê, superbe album de musique capverdienne matinée de couleurs africaines, brésiliennes et portugaises. De son côté, la série Grands Événements propose des prestations de Kékélé, attachants crooners de la rumba congolaise, des Amazones de Guinée, spectaculaires maîtres perçus au féminin, et de Daara J, groupe de pointe du rap de Dakar. Parmi les autres retours attendus, signalons Daby Touré, Sénégalais d'origine, né d'une célèbre famille qui surfera dans ses douceurs poétiques, et Sénaya, vagabonde de notre île à l'âme créole et à la voix gorgée de soul, dont le disque Garde la tête haute sera lancé en Europe en septembre.

La série «20 ans», exclusive à la présente mouture, est consacrée aux créateurs qui ont marqué le FINA. Lorraine Klaasen et Paulo Ramos, deux artistes locaux qui célèbrent également leurs 20 ans de carrière, seront à l'honneur. En plus, le guitariste de jazz créole Harold Faustin accompagnera la chanteuse Samina, qui lance un nouvel album, et Saïd Mesnaoui, qui revient s'installer chez nous après un séjour de huit ans à Paris, offrira son répertoire teinté de transe gnawa. De bons moments sont également à prévoir lors du passage de Sierra Maestra, l'un des plus importants groupes de son cubain des 30 dernières années.

Des découvertes ? M'Toro Chamou, peut-être le premier chanteur de Mayotte à se produire chez nous; Aurelio Martinez, un spécialiste du punta rock du Honduras et du Belize; Bandjo, un big band local de compa fusion haïtien, qui est précédé d'une excellente réputation. Pour terminer, trois jours de célébrations extérieures gratuites à la place Émilie-Gamelin du 21 au 23 juillet. Plus que jamais, les tambours parleront !

FINA, du 13 au 23 juillet au Metropolis, au Kola Note, au National, à La Tulipe, au Lion d'Or et au Balattou.

COLLINS: 'GENESIS GOT BETTER WITH ME'

PHIL COLLINS is annoyed by rock fans who feel he ruined GENESIS because the future supergroup was nothing but a small cult act when he replaced original frontman PETER GABRIEL.

With Collins as singer, the LAND OF CONFUSION hitmakers went on to become one of the world's biggest acts before splitting up a decade ago - something fans could only dream off when Gabriel fronted the act at the beginning of the 1970s.

Back then Collins was the group's drummer, who stepped forward when Gabriel went solo - and he's still hurt by claims Genesis were better before he took over as frontman.

He says, "When I replaced Peter, we were just a cult still. People like to look back now and say, 'The golden days when Peter Gabriel was in the band.' They should have been there to watch us because we were still playing to handfuls of people. "We were basically a small arena band by the time he left in 1975 and then I took over. Our progress with an audience had grown steadily. "When I joined in 1970, we were playing in pubs, then clubs and colleges/universities. Then we played town halls. Me singing didn't make much difference to our success. We just kept on getting more and more popular because we were getting better."

Building cultural diversity through music

Natacha Atlas comes to Prague riding a global wave that she helped start

By James Scanlon
For The Prague Post
May 24, 2006

Hardly your typical cultural ambassador, Atlas nonetheless embodies the international spirit and energy of world music.

Beguiling and evocative, with a soul fired by her passionate Egyptian ancestry, is a one-woman campaign for cultural diversity in music. It's an attribute appreciated even by the United Nations. In 2001, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson appointed Atlas a goodwill ambassador for the UN Conference Against Racism. "She embodies the message that there is strength in diversity, that our differences, be they ethnic, racial or religious, are the source of riches to be embraced rather than feared," Robinson said at the time.

Natacha Atlas — her real name —was brought up in the Arab Quarter of Brussels, and in keeping with tradition, she learned the techniques of raq sharki (belly dancing) early on, while being immersed in the music of traditional Arabic singers like Abdul Halim Hafez, the inspiration behind her 1997 album Halim. From the start, breaking down barriers has always been her manifesto. "I'm a person of the world," she confirms, having spent most of her life hopping between Brussels, Cairo, Northampton and Greece. She first put her voice to the test by singing in various Arabic and Turkish clubs before a brief stint with a Belgian salsa band called Mandaya. It wasn't until she hit the United Kingdom, though, that her momentum really picked up.

Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart group was her next port of call, where she found herself fitting in well with his experimental punk/reggae agenda. Atlas was even hailed as the first Arabic rocker in the UK. After lending her voice to some hit singles, Atlas moved on to the highly innovative and visionary Transglobal Underground. Disguised behind Nepalese masks, the band members need an attractive singer, and Atlas fit the bill. "I sang with Transglobal Underground from the very beginning," she recalls. "They didn't have any rules, and it was all about experimentation."

Given the vagaries of national radio, which was not inclined to give daytime airplay to bands that didn't sing in English, Transglobal Underground had to creep into the UK psyche via the club scene. Playing to large audiences at Womad, Glastonbury, Reading and Phoenix festivals also helped build a following. Minds were finally broadened, and it was suddenly hip to sing in an array of different languages, giving Atlas license to take on even bigger challenges. She stayed with Transglobal Underground for two albums — and Dream Of 100 NationsInternational Times — before reaching to the heavens yet again with Jah Wobble's stunning 1994 opus Take Me To God exactly a year before the release of her debut solo album, Diaspora. Although still technically a full-time member of Transglobal Underground, she received plenty of help from her bandmates, who played on the album and helped with production.

Since then, Atlas has worked with the likes of Peter Gabriel and Sinead O'Connor, and released a number of additional solo albums. Some of them have been exceptional, others a touch disappointing. Gedida (1999) and Ayeshteni (2001) — the latter featuring an awesome version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You" — both get gold stars. But others, such as the overly ambitious Something Dangerous, featuring the Prague Symphony Orchestra, failed to inspire.

Now touring in support of her latest album, Mish Maoul, Atlas has returned to her North African roots. Transglobal Undeground's Tim Whelan and Nick Page (aka Count Dubulah), now with Temple of Sound, were drafted to help with the latest effort, which also includes The Golden Sounds Orchestra of Cairo. When Atlas first started out, global music was virtually an empty canvas. Her Prague concert should be a very entertaining reminder that, since then, it's become quite a colorful spectacle.

Autographed Peter Gabriel DVD

Autographed Peter Gabriel DVD

Still Growing Up - Live and Unwrapped Signed & donated by Peter Gabriel

current bid: $ 40.00

Time left: 10 days and 6 hours
Start time: 2006-04-28 10:20:51
History: 1 bids
High bidder: WFF

Shipping Information Cost: $ 4.95 Priority USPS

Product Description: Two Disc Set Running Time: 206 minutes

Includes Anna Gabriel's wonderful documentary Growing Up on Tour which screened at the 2004 Woodstock Film Festival.

Still Growing Up Live & Unwrapped brings Peter Gabriel together again with the award-winning director Hamish Hamilton, capturing his performances in all sorts of smaller and more intimate venues around Europe for the Live version of the DVD. For the "Unwrapped" version (Disc 2), which explores the world behind the songs, Anna Gabriel took over the director's chair with the collaboration of Hamish Hamilton. A simpler approach suggested a different set list, and Peter, Hamish, and Anna were determined that this should be filmed in a very different style. It shows Peter Gabriel as many of his fans love to see him, just playing his music.

Online bidding for this item ends at 10 am on June 4. The high bid will then transfer to the live auction at the Woodstock Film Festival Summer Benefit Brunch & Auction taking place from 11:30 to 2:30 at the Wiltwyck Country Club. If you would like to continue your online bidding by telephone, please eMail us at email auction@woodstockfilmfestival.com. All winning bidders will be notified by 6 pm. Thanks you for supprorting the Woodstock FIlm Festival, a not-for-profit organization.

The Woodstock Film Festival is a not-for-profit, 501 (C)(3) organization with a mission to present an annual program and year-round schedule of film, music, and art-related activities that promote artists, culture, inspired learning, and diversity. The Hudson Valley Film Commission promotes sustainable economic development by attracting and supporting film, video and media production.

Peter Gabriel Joins Image Metrics' Advisory Board

..."In the continued growth of the company, Image Metrics depends on the invaluable counsel and support of its Advisory Board and is happy to announce the addition of musician, performer and digital arts pioneer Peter Gabriel," said Gareth Edwards B.Sc. M.Sc. PhD, Founder of Image Metrics. "In the 1980s Gabriel was among the first musicians to recognize and embrace the potential of the then-emerging video technology. The video for his chart-topping single 'Sledgehammer' set a new benchmark by which all subsequent music videos were judged."

Today, Gabriel continues to have an active interest in the future of video technology, contributing to a number of interactive entertainment projects including the successful "Myst" video games and founding Real World Multimedia (RWMM), dedicated to developing, producing and publishing innovative CD-ROMs.

Editor's note: More information on Image Metrics can be found on their Web site at www.image-metrics.com.

Image Metrics (www.image-metrics.com) is the leading provider of computer-based facial animation solutions to Hollywood and the digital entertainment industries. Image Metrics' proprietary animation technology supersedes contemporary 'motion capture' systems, using ground-breaking, marker-free 'performance capture' techniques to recreate all the subtlety of human facial performances in digitally-created characters. Based in Santa Monica, USA, and Manchester, England, Image Metrics facilitates and enables solutions for a blue-chip client portfolio which features a wide range of household names, including Warner Brothers, The BBC, Sony, Electronic Arts and Rockstar Games. Image Metrics also has a highly-successful sister company operating in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, see www.optasiamedical.com for further information.

Juliette's a star for all four seasons

A former Buxton school girl has released songs which the music world has waited centuries to hear. Juliette Pochin, who used to attend Harpur Hill Primary School, has sung Vivaldi's own words set to his Four Seasons, one of the best-known pieces of classical music of all time.

The composer's words have always been considered too difficult to sing, but beautiful virtuoso mezzo-soprano Juliette, who recently signed a seven figure, five album deal with Sony BMG, has released her exclusive version of 'The Four Seasons' on her debut alum Venezia.

She has personally set to music Vivaldi's own sonnets, which has never been attempted before. As well has her incredible vocal talents, Juliette Pochin is also a renowned record producer, composer and arranger. She wrote, arranged and produced Katherine Jenkins' first hit album, the gold selling CD release 'Premiere' and other writing credits include the theme to BBC TV's 'The Kumars At No. 42'.

Her vocals can be heard on the soundtracks to Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars - The Phantom Menace, and she has worked with artists as diverse as Sir Elton John, Julian Lloyd Webber (with whom she has collaborated on 'Venezia'), Peter Gabriel, Sir Simon Rattle, The Berlin Philharmonic and DJ Norman Cook (AKA Fat Boy Slim)....

Brighton Festival Youth Choir boss Juliette Pochin has done the same for her protogees. Song Cycle is a project of songs written by Stewart Copeland, formerly of the pop group Police, John Paul Jones, formerly of Led Zeppelin and singer Peter Gabriel, on the theme of water and its importance to all of us.

Michael Brook, composer-producer-innovator, readies third solo release

Features Contributions From Paul Buchanan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lisa Germano…

LOS ANGELES, CA. – Musicians' musician and sound innovator Michael Brook has put the finishing touches to his highly anticipated third solo disc RockPaperScissors due out July 18 on bigHelium/Canadian Rational. Recorded in Los Angeles, England, Scotland and Bulgaria, the disc features contributions from renowned artists Richard Evans (Peter Gabriel), Paul Buchanan (Blue Nile), Claude Chalhoub, Ben Christophers and Lisa Germano, as well as an exquisite posthumous collaboration with the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

With several arrangements for full orchestra, and the celebrated Bulgarian Women's Cosmic Voices choir, the album is the culmination of three years' work -- which Brook has described as “excavating your muse!” The sound is unique: beautifully arranged, atmospheric and ambient elements create the space for his self-described “deconstructed rock” to flourish.

Collaboration has been at the heart of Brook's career, working with a diversity of international artists such as Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Youssou N'Dour, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Bryan Ferry, and The Pogues, to scratch the surface. He invented the infinite guitar , as played by U2's Edge. He has also contributed scores or individual pieces to movies such as “Heat,” “Albino Alligator,” and “Affliction”.

With his latest collection of songs, Brook worked with co-producer Richard Evans and an eclectic cast of talent. Lisa Germano's personal lyrics and haunting vocal set the tone for “Want,” while singer/songwriter Shira Myrow's lyrical contribution to the infectious title track was interpreted by beloved Blue Nile vocalist Paul Buchanan.

Widely known to music connoisseurs, Brook feels that RockPaperScissors is for him, relatively mainstream: “It is accessible music, more accessible than what I've done in the past.” He adds, ”the record is a kind of travelogue… so I hope people find it evocative and that it takes them somewhere intriguing.”

Brook debuted in 1985 with the critically acclaimed Hybrid on EG Records. His 1992 follow-up Cobalt Blue was released on 4AD along with the 1993 recording Live at the Aquarium . Recent projects include production for Jorane (Six Degrees), the music for the much lauded ”Ashes and Snow” exhibition, currently in L.A., and the score for Paramount Classics' upcoming global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

A U.S. tour is planned in support of RockPaperScissors . Details to follow.

http://www.bighelium.com/ArtistIndex.htm

http://www.ashesandsnow.org/

Yungchen Lhamo

Yungchen Lhamo, The Voice of Tibet, plays the National Concert Hall on Thursday, the 1st of June.

Internationally acclaimed singer, Yungchen Lhamo will bring all the beauty of Tibetan music with an acapella concert in aid of the Yungchen Lhamo Charitable Organisation featuring Paul Brady, Liam O'Maonlai and Lasairfhiona.
Over the last decade, Yungchen Lhamo has emerged as the leading Tibetan vocalist on the world stage, enchanting audiences in more than 70 countries with her beguiling voice.

Yungchen's name was given to her by a Tibetan lama when she was a baby and translates to "Goddess of Melody and Song". Born in Lhasa, Yungchen began working in a carpet-weaving factory at the age of five in Chinese-occupied Tibet. Tibetan singing was one of the may customs banned by the Cultural Revolution but her grandmother secretly taught Yungchen the devotional singing she shares with audiences around the world.

After a dangerous thousand-mile escape across the Himalayas, Yungchen arrived in Dharamsala in India and had the opportunity to meet the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama encouraged Yungchen to use her vocal talents to share the richness of Tibetan culture with the world.

In concert, Yungchen performs with almost no music accompaniment, so that the focus of the audience's attention fixes on the pliant tonal qualities of her inimitable voice. Her songs explore traditional Tibetan themes of spiritual pilgrimage, soul-searching and a delight in the natural environment.

Yungchen Lhamo has released a number of acclaimed albums including Tibet, Tiber and Coming Home on Peter Gabriel's Real World Records. Her music has appeared on Natalie Merchant's album, Ophelia, the compilation disc, Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music and on the soundtrack to Seven Years in Tibet.

Yungchen Lhamo's visit to Ireland follows the global release of her third album, Ama (Tibetan for 'Mother'), which includes tracks with guests artists, Annie Lennox and Joy Askew and '9/11', Yungchen's response to the tragedy of September 11th, 2001 in New York.
The New York-based Yungchen Lhamo Charitable Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the welfare of Tibetans in need in Tibet and Tibetan refugees around the world by providing medical care, clothing , food, shelter and artificial limbs.

A night of magical Tibetan singing, Yungchen Lhamo plays the National Concert Hall on Thursday, the 1st of June.

A One-on-One with the Legendary Phil Collins

...Will there ever be a reunion of Genesis?

Phil Collins: Yea, we all got together to talk about this last November; all five of us with Peter [Gabriel] and Steve [Hackett]. This is something we may do in a couple of years. It is very, very loose. There is certainly nothing planned. If that didn’t come together because of various people’s schedules, then maybe the three of us, me, Tony [Banks] and Mike [Rutherford] might do something. I would do it with the drop of a hat. I have been working non stop for a long, long time now. Right now, I need a break, but if you ask me in six months time…We actually got a little bit of time booked for the three of us just playing around, jamming together in October. There’s nothing fixed though!...

Salif Keita : Écoutez la différence

Après avoir été le père de l'afro-pop dans les années 80, puis un chantre de la «world music», le chanteur albinos est revenu avec bonheur à des compositions traditionnelles. Il entame une nouvelle tournée en France après un concert mémorable à Lisbonne où nous l'avons rencontré. Entretien en boubou mais sans tabou.

Salif Keita, le roi Salif, reçoit à Lisbonne. Il est accort, blagueur et sage dans sa chemise à carreaux et sa veste en jean. A 66 ans, ce Malien star de la musique africaine est presque à son zénith : avec son nouvel album M'Bemba, il poursuit la veine traditionnelle retrouvée avec Moffou, sorti en 2002. C'est heureux. Après avoir longtemps mélangé son art à d'autres courants plus occidentaux, il semblait presque définitivement perdu dans les méandres de la world music grand public aussi indigeste que la «world food». Keita a trouvé une forme d'apaisement dans une vie qui n'a pas toujours été rose. Elevé dans une famille royale dont les ancêtres ont fondé l'empire malien en 1240, Salif est né albinos - signe de malédiction dans son pays. A ce handicap, il en ajoute très vite un autre en décidant de devenir musicien, à la consternation générale de sa famille, et notamment de son père, qui le renie et le déshérite subito. En 1973, il décide de s'exiler en Côte d'Ivoire pour exercer son art. Depuis, ce parrain de la musique africaine est devenu une star.

A Lisbonne, devant une foule de quinquagénaires aux tempes d'argent costumés et bronzés - tous des sosies d'Afflelou et Séguéla -, il donne un concert sensuel. La communauté africaine locale, pourtant importante, n'a manifestement pas été prévenue de sa venue. Un brin étonné face aux applaudissements polis de son audience blanche, Salif se met à genoux et demande au public de rejoindre le premier rang pour danser. En une minute, il met le feu ! Les cadres supérieurs n'en croient pas leurs yeux et s'encanaillent au son des percussions, de la kora et des guitares lumineuses. Chauffe, Jean-René ! Quelques heures auparavant, la légende se livrait, détendue, au bar de son hôtel.

Le Figaro Magazine - Avez-vous été surpris de voir à quel point la presse était ravie de vous voir revenir à vos racines ?

Salif Keita - Je me doutais qu'il serait plus facile pour les gens de capter les émotions via une musique non seulement plus traditionnelle - même si elle ne l'est pas totalement -, mais aussi et surtout plus acoustique.

Certaines personnes estiment que le mélange des musiques débouche sur un résultat inéluctablement moins intéressant que chacune de ces musiques prise individuellement. Qu'en pensez-vous ?

Je ne sais pas. On peut aimer le flamenco et le jazz et être surpris par le mélange des deux. Mais ce qui est intéressant dans la fusion des deux genres, c'est que chacun des musiciens n'ira pas au bout de son inspiration dans son genre à lui, afin de ménager de la place aux autres. Ça débouche donc sur quelque chose de différent, mais tout de même intéressant.

La pureté se dilue pourtant dans le mélange, non ?

Ça, c'est vrai, indéniablement. On risque, avec les fusions, d'intellectualiser trop la musique. Pour autant, il est évident que dans le cas du jazz, il se marie très bien avec la musique africaine. Dans d'autres cas, ça ne marche pas du tout. Particulièrement lorsqu'on pratique la fusion à des vues commerciales.

Quel regard portez-vous sur des Occidentaux comme Peter Gabriel, qui ont oeuvré pour faire connaître la world music mais qui, ce faisant, lui ont fait perdre un peu de son âme ?

C'était bien pour les musiciens que Gabriel a poussés. Ça leur a porté chance (allusion à peine masquée au millionnaire Youssou N'Dour, NDLR) ! Mais ça a lancé une mode, et la mode a toujours des effets néfastes. De mauvais artistes s'engouffrent dans le sillage pour soigner leurs portefeuilles.

Lorsque cette mode a déferlé, quelle a été votre réaction en voyant des Blancs se passionner soudain pour la musique africaine ? Vous êtes-vous dit qu'ils aimaient cela pour de bonnes raisons, ou juste parce que c'était «drôlement sympa d'écouter de la musique des pays en voie de développement» ?

J'étais très surpris. Mais en même temps, j'écoutais moi-même beaucoup de musique occidentale. Mon analyse a été que les Occidentaux, après avoir écouté durant des années de la variété sophistiquée, ont adoré la spontanéité et la fraîcheur de la musique africaine. Ça a réveillé quelque chose chez eux. Le rythme, l'authenticité. Mais bon, c'était une mode, en effet.

Vous écoutiez beaucoup de musique occidentale en Afrique dans les années 60 et 70 ?

Oui, bien sûr. Des Beatles à Aznavour en passant par Moustaki. Même Mike Brant ou Johnny Hallyday ! On adorait les mélodies. A l'époque, dans la musique occidentale, il y avait de vraies mélodies. Nous les savourions.

Le grand fantasme des Blancs, c'est de dire que le blues américain a des racines identifiables dans la musique africaine. Qu'en pensez-vous ?

Le blues est sans doute venu des chants de l'esclavage, c'est une réalité historique. Mais bon, quand on écoute, il n'y a que quelques bricoles en commun. Franchement, j'ai du mal à faire le lien. D'autant que les esclaves, lorsqu'ils sont arrivés à La Nouvelle-Orléans ou dans le Mississippi, ont mélangé leurs influences avec d'autres genres de musique qu'ils ont entendus sur place. Je ne peux pas cautionner cette théorie, qui me semble d'ailleurs difficilement vérifiable : personne n'a enregistré ce qui se faisait au XIXe siècle, ni en Afrique ni aux Etats-Unis, et la musique n'était pas écrite.

Votre façon de chanter évoque parfois le mythique chanteur pakistanais Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Vous connaissez sa musique ?

Oui, bien sûr. Il y a des points communs entre son chant et le chant typique des Sahéliens, qui crient, se mettent soudain à chanter très fort. C'est étrange, d'un point de vue géographique, mais il y a effectivement des similitudes vocales.

Comment résumeriez-vous l'Afrique en quelques mots ?

Je dirais que c'est l'Occident au Moyen Age...

A votre avis, comment serait l'Afrique si la colonisation n'avait pas eu lieu ?

Arabisée.

Pensez-vous que cela serait mieux ?

Le mélange des religions n'est pas mal, à mon avis. Et la science a tellement prouvé son efficacité qu'il serait très dommage d'avoir une Afrique refusant de cohabiter avec un Occident modernisé. Ce que je reproche à l'Occident, c'est de ne pas avoir fait attention à la façon de coloniser, dans les découpages des pays, en fonction des cultures, des ethnies, etc. Reste évidemment le grand problème de l'alphabétisation. Ainsi que celui du sida, qui est naturellement avant tout celui de la pauvreté. Aujourd'hui, l'Afrique est à 80% analphabète et repose sur des civilisations basiques dominées par la violence et la fierté de l'ethnie. Rares sont les personnes qui dépassent ces idées. Forcément, dans ces conditions, ça va prendre du temps de les alphabétiser, hein !

En venant vivre en France dans les années 80, comment avez-vous vécu la différence de culture ?

J'ai découvert un certain racisme, mais bon, c'était vivable... J'ai découvert également une culture de la famille très différente de celle qui se pratique en Afrique. Ici, les vieux comptent moins et l'enfant est roi. En France, impossible de crier après votre enfant ou de lui mettre une bonne fessée, vous passez pour un criminel sanguinaire (rires) !

Vos parents ont toujours très mal vu le fait que vous choisissiez de devenir musicien. Ont-ils changé d'avis lorsque vous êtes devenu une star ?

Oh, à mes débuts, pour mes parents, la musique n'était pratiquée que par les délinquants, alors forcément... Sur son lit de mort, ma mère m'a dit : «Salif, tu as toujours été très bon pour moi, et je n'ai rien à te reprocher. Maintenant que j'arrive au terme de ma vie, je ne souhaite qu'une chose pour toi : que tu arrives à sortir de la musique !» Vous voyez à quel point mes parents ont changé d'avis !

A l'occasion de la sortie de son nouvel album M'Bemba (Universal), Salif Keita sera en concert à Bordeaux ce samedi 20 mai et à Paris (Olympia) le 23 mai, avant de participer à de nombreux festivals : «Musiques métisses» à Angoulême le 26 mai, «Tribu» à Dijon le 2 juin, «Musique de la Loire» à Veauche le 14 juin, Nice Jazz Festival le 25 juillet, etc.

Nicolas Ungemuth

20 mai 2006, (Rubrique Figaro Magazine)

Yusef Islam to Record New Album

Yusef Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens has gone back into the studio to record his first pop album since 1979.

Islam, a Muslim himself since 1977, was inspired by the souring relationship between the western world and Islam (the religion) and he hopes this album will create a better understanding between the two.

The album will be produced by Rick Nowels and was started more than 20 years ago when he abandoned it.

Apart from religious and spoken word albums, he has been very quiet for the last 27 years.

He appeared at the 46664 concert in South Africa, performing his hit ‘Wild World’ with Peter Gabriel, recorded a duet with Ronan Keating and re-recorded his song ‘Peace Train’.

Despite being a massive peace advocate, he was recently taken off a plane heading to the USA because he was on their “terror list”.

Donny Osmond to Star as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast

In 1987, Peter Gabriel invited him to record at his studio in Bath, England. The resulting demos recharged Donny's recording career, catching fire with the release in 1989 of "Soldier of Love," which hit the top of the Billboard Charts in the U.S -- some 13 years after his previous Top 40 chart-maker!

Levin rings true with ‘Resonator’

If the name Tony Levin doesn’t ring a bell, he’s the bass player -- exceedingly tall, always bald -- who has worked with artists such as Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, Paul Simon and King Crimson, to name just a few. Stepping out for “Resonator,” his fifth solo release, Levin mines a few areas that have not made an appearance on his previous outings. But no matter what direction he follows, his work is always adventurous, spontaneous, and totally enjoyable.

Although Levin’s bass playing is the reason this CD even exists, the entire band is given room to show off. And despite the fact that his voice can certainly take a little time to get used to, Levin has settled into a groove with his band consisting of brother Peter Levin and Larry Fast (keyboards), Jerry Marotta (drums), and Jesse Gress (guitars). Adrian Belew and Steve Lukather (Toto) also make guest appearances, most notably on Lukather’s blinding guitar solo on “Utopia,” the song from 2002’s “Pieces Of The Sun” that typically ended Levin’s concerts.

The moods on “Resonator” stretch from the stark bass/vocal performance on “Places To Go” to the piano jazz of “Beyond My Reach,” and the dissonant thrum of “Shadowlands.” Levin and company even take a stab at the classical standard “Sabre Dance,” infusing the melody with a stomping beat that could be used as the soundtrack for an angry horde of invading marauders.

It’s not too hard to figure what a song titled “What Would Jimi Do?” is going to sound like. Jesse Gress plays off of Levin’s Chapman Stick in a way that would put a smile on Jimi’s mug. In recent interviews, Levin has called the song “a reminder to try to be as open to new musical ideas as Jimi Hendrix was.” Mission accomplished.

The music on “Resonator” is certainly all over the map, but at the end of the day, Tony Levin has assembled a weird, yet ultimately rewarding new release. It’s sure to resonate with the rest of pack on the charts.

Solid State Logic Announces Expansion Into Broadcast Video Production Systems

Merging of Broadcast Devices LLC Drives Development of Cutting-Edge Video Acquisition and Storage Solutions

Solid State Logic, the world's leading manufacturer of professional analogue and digital consoles, announces a major expansion of its business with products based on its new MediaWAN technology platform Ñ encompassing all aspects of digital video acquisition and storage technologies. SSL will premier the new products at NAB 2006, April 24-27 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (Booth #N822).....

...."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."

13-May-2006 May's Full Moon Club.

Catch Peter's update for his insight into playing live.

This moth's clip has flying bottles, breaking legs, a little of showing off, some 'Games' in The Big Room back in 2003 and the odd glimps of the moon as it raced overhead on it's way to this month's lunar peak.

May's full moon is upon us. No one has yet cut the cables, so we are pleased to be able to bring you this month's Full Moon Club update. Peter gives us an insight into the ups and downs of live performance - from dodging missiles in the early days of Genesis to the ongoing thrill of 'jumping around and showing off' and we give you another snippet of the Full Moon Club performance Peter and the band gave in The Big Room back in November 2003.

The video

Genesis Reunion Still Likely

But won't happen until 2008...

Phil Collins has revealed that a Genesis reunion may still be on the cards after the band met in Glasgow recently.

The much-speculated reunion is touted to feature the original Genesis line-up with Peter Gabriel on vocal duties.

Now, speaking to 6Music in New York, Phil Collins has said that the reunion is still a possibility, but won’t happen until 2008.

Peter Gabriel is tied up until at least the end of 2007 which is the reason for the delay.