SCS: Celebrating Indie Artists

Free Entry To Artists: Design Contest For Band's Upcoming Tour T-Shirts

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:13:00 +0000

Female fronted hard rock/ melodic metal band Oblivious Signal is taking submissions from all artists worldwide for their new T-Shirt design.

The Ft Lauderdale based band’s singer was recently named “Florida’s Queen of Rock” with over 25,000 votes. They are now looking for a new T-Shirt design to print prior to an upcoming tour to promote their upcoming sophomore album.

This contest will be open to the public and run until the May 31st deadline when the top three entries, as chosen by the band, will be presented to the fans for popular vote. Both Oblivious Signal’s fans and the fans of the artists will be able to vote for their favorite design until the June 8th deadline, when the submission with the most likes will be named the winner.

An exceptional promotional opportunity for graphic artists with public voting via facebook, top three submissions announced and shared via press release and a free ad on www.Oblivioussignal.com. Additional prizes include an Oblivious Signal T-Shirt with the new design and a free album download with bonus track.

To enter, go to the Oblivious Signal fan page ‘like’ it.

After reviewing a little about the band and listening to a few tracks if you aren’t already familiar with their work, create a design that you feel their fans will like and represents their sound. Submit to RockMonstarMgt@gmail.com by May 31st.

The band will choose the top 3 picks and send those on to the fans for their votes starting June 1st. The design with the top number of likes before the stroke of midnight June 8th will be announced and will go on the new shirt to be printed prior to the next tour and be on sale at upcoming shows and festivals.

Artists are encouraged to get their fans and friends to ‘like ‘ their work on Oblivious Signal’s page. This gives everyone a chance to vote once and gives all the artists additional exposure.

For additional information contact band management through RockMonstarMgt@gmail.com or contact the band directly through their facebook.

Vlada Tomova Sings at the Urbane Edge of Tradition

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:09:00 +0000

All roads lead to the Balkans, and Bulgarian-born, Brooklyn-based singer Vlada Tomova hears it.

The region welcomed mysterious wanderers from Inner Asia; Greeks and Romans trading in the East; bands of weary migrants on a road that stretched from Rajastan to Andalusia. The lines of ancient movement across the peninsula are audible and tightly bound to one another, like the lives in a village.

Embracing sounds far outside the confines of tradition, Tomova has distilled years of learning songs from traditional singers and modern songwriters to tell Balkan Tales. Her arrangements fearlessly embrace flamenco flourishes and Indian resonances, Brazilian flair and Romany rhythms. Yet her mutable, flexible voice evokes the stark, rich spirit of Balkan mountainsides and byways, the old paths and deep roots of thousands of years of cultural conversation.

“The Balkans have something very unique that mixes well with other musics because of its complex and long history,” explains Tomova. “And it’s very emotional for me; it’s about connecting to the places, the ancient villages I’ve loved since childhood. It’s about home.”

Tomova recalls sitting at a modest kitchen table on a recent song-finding trip to Bulgaria. She had brought the members of her choir, Yasna Voices, to a remote pomak village, people whose ancestors had converted to Islam. There, Tomova and the American vocalists had met up with a pair of singers who were the real deal.

Across from her sat two older women who had been life-long singing partners. Traditionally, two girls start finding the close, vibrating intervals of old songs together and will continue blending their voices until death do them part. They could feel each other’s timing without a glance, sense what to say as the other improvised lyrics.

This commitment and intimacy moved Tomova deeply. “Those two women were so close, and they relied so much on each other, in an unspoken, down-to-earth, unquestioning way, which you could hear in their singing, the two voices flowing together as one,” Tomova reflects. “I wish we could find much more of that kind of interdependence, trust, and connectedness in the different layers of our everyday life today, especially in large cities, and in the Western world.”

Click here to read the rest of the article!

The Sound of Songwriter José Cónde

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:06:00 +0000

José Cónde lives his lyrics. He gets grooves from the names of trees. He leaves melody lines on his own answering machine. He can turn a playful refrain to his dog into a dance anthem. His songs are odes to hot dresses, Brazilian muses, discombobulated elephants, and life-giving springs.

Cónde brings a new focus and maturity to this whimsical world on Jose Conde. He turns highly personal songs into new global grooves and reflective, dynamic ballads.

“When I was in my 20s, I didn’t dance at all. I had to come out of my shell,” Cónde exclaims with a laugh. “I’m a late bloomer, though I’ve always been explorer. Now I’ll go anywhere and do anything, I’ll try anything, experimenting with flavors and playing around with different elements and sounds.”

As a songwriter and bandleader, Cónde developed a striking instinct for merging his Miami upbringing, Cuban roots, and the sizzle of New York’s Latin underground. But the new self-titled album is distinguished by a universality; catchy melodies and danceable rhythms likely to draw listeners of all stripes. Cónde has traded in his Cubantres for a vintage Gresch guitar (and Hammond B3 and a dozen other instruments). Pan-American and trans-Atlantic influences flow effortlessly onJose Conde. “The whole idea of fusing elements of American funk, Cuban son, and Brazilian music has been kicking around in my head for years. But it was still in the context of a ‘Latin’ band. Now I’m free to move in any and all directions.”

Cónde rocks a smoking tango (“El Vestido”) or sways through a sensuous, gentle samba (“Mabel”). Lyrically, he points to the absurdness of the habitat displacement that led to an elephant wandering into a Zambian hotel lobby (taken straight from the pages of National Geographic; on “Elephante en Hotel”). Or to the crazy, rockabilly-tinged capers of his dog (“Gordito Cabezon”).

Rumba meets infectious Brooklyn break beats on “Amor y Felicidad.” The hard-grooving “Matapalo Matamusa” sparkles with electro blips while raising the roof off the sucker, thanks to funky guitar riffs and an irresistible bass line. Cónde’s musical exuberance bursts out at the least provocation. Witness the cool cha-cha-cha-suggesting phrase in the South African language of Tsonga (“Munghana Wamina”).Yet the irrepressible spontaneity is balanced by an emotional and introspective side that turns grooves into poetry.

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Daughter Africa: Sia Tolno’s Bold Critique and Bright Joys on My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:05:00 +0000

Sia Tolno is one tough singer.

With a velvet and gravel voice reminiscent of the great Miriam Makeba, Tolno has triumphed over war, abuse, exile, and migration. She’s worked as a palm oil saleswoman and a cabaret singer. She’s defied deadly conflicts and immigrant woes, filled with a fiery sense of right and wrong and with a deep love of music that bursts out of every twist and moan of her compelling voice.

With songs that spring from her hard-earned wisdom and experience, Tolno shares My Life (Lusafrica), arranged by French prog-rock legend François Bréant, respected for his work with artists like Salif Keita. My Life blends Afropop, delicate moments of soul and rock, and traditional instruments to match Tolno’s earthy sophistication.

“In my songs, even when I’m talking about sadness, it’s not about despair or self-pity,” muses Tolno. “I want people to know that I went through all these things but still, I’m leaving the past to walk toward the things I love. I’m so happy for that. And the only way to share this happiness is to make others happy through my songs.”

It’s easy to get caught up in Tolno’s story: daughter of a strict father and abusive stepmother who fled her home to wind up living in an apartment with thirty other people, she was forced to leave war-ravaged Sierra Leone for Guinea, losing many loved ones and watching her once strong community crumble into bloodshed.

Ever resourceful, Tolno sang in clubs, gaining respect and devoted fans. She sold palm oil. She did what she had to do, until she was discovered by a European music exec at a talent contest (she won third place—but started an international career that exceeded her wildest hopes).

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The Holy Madmen, Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda’s, and Buzzing Tuba of Russia’s Post-Rock Icons Auktyon

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:52:00 +0000

Russia’s Auktyon is a lost folklore ensemble darting behind an avant jazz collective, hidden inside a hugely popular rock band. It’s Animal Collective tangoing through the salon with The Art Ensemble of Chicago, nodding its Radiohead. A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

Here’s the real mystery: a gaggle of out-there bohemian musicians not only became stars at home, but managed to stay relevant in the minds and on the iPods of two post-Soviet generations. They rock a mean tuba. They have a dancer-declaimer who spouts sudden poetry, jerking and trembling like a holy madman.

But this is no under-the-radar cult group; it’s one of the biggest rock bands to burst from the Soviet collapse, with a defiant devil-may-care attitude and a keen sense for improvisation. This improv instinct led the band to Top, a wild, catchy spin through Auktyon’s magical paces. Recorded live at breakneck speed and with sheer joy, the album draws together the eerie folklore (“Shiski,” “Polden/Noon”), edgy urbanity (“Mimo,” “Yula/Top”), exuberant word play (“Homba”), and well-honed musicianship of a group uninterested in laurels or resting.

The band’s unflagging energy and ingenuity will be in full force February 11 2012 for a U.S. release party at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge and at Joe’s Pub on February 18. The band will be joined by long-time American collaborators, key whiz John Medeski and alt-guitarist Marc Ribot, for a special freewheeling show on February 16. Medeski and Ribot first leaped into Auktyon’s whirling songs several years ago, recording tracks for 2007’s Girls Sing, and playing shows together from Ukraine to downtown New York.

“We have never had the goal to do something special, or to get something particular across to people,” muses Auktyon dancer/poet Oleg Garkusha. “We do what we like, and we never do what we don’t want to do. We just play.”

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Fránçois and the Atlas Mountains Loop Nostalgic Resonances, African Sounds, and Sparkling Indie Rock on E Volo Love

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:51:00 +0000

In a centuries-old French church high on a hill, Malian-style finger-picked guitar riffs bounced off cabaret-ready piano lines. Whispering calabash brushed against shimmering minimal techno. All in service of a dreamy set of songs that became E Volo Love, tracks that straddle the catchiest of indie rock and electronica and the lush borders of globally inflected experimentation.

This is the world of Fránçois and the Atlas Mountains. Fránçois has opened for incandescent Afrobeat scion Femi Kuti, and he has played with effusive retro-rockers Camera Obscura. He’s leaped unexpectedly onto the indie scene in an English industrial town and learned to embrace the sounds of his native Southwestern France. He’s gotten lost in the outskirts of Fez and dug into the complexities of Senegalese mbalax’s rolling club beats.

Shaped by the quiet influence of West and North African sounds and by the gritty yet friendly vibe of Bristol’s underground arts scene, Fránçois and the Atlas Mountains make a return to roots—hometowns, lost loves, Western pop transformed in the crucibles of the Sahara or Dakar—utterly engaging and fresh.

Fránçois was raised on Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Prévert, the classics of French pop and poetry. He also grew up hearing tales from Cameroon, where his mother spent her girlhood. Yet the rural French kid’s mind was blown when he first heard grunge and pounded on a distortion pedal, and he started making his own tapes.

When work took him to Bristol, England, Fránçois immediately jumped into a thriving scene, one that included both the speed-of-weed trip hop of groups like Portishead and Massive Attack, and a DIY-loving arts underground where experimentation and collaboration were welcome. Fránçois, merrily collecting a menagerie of instruments and accompanying himself live on keys he played with his feet, fit in perfectly and soon connected with bands from The Pastels to Movietone to Camera Obscura, who invited him to join.

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Vagabond Opera Brings High Drama Cabaret-Close on Sing For Your Lives!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:10:00 +0000

It’s a dark and stormy night. The cabaret swirls smoke, euphoria, danger. A burlesque beauty sings a swooping, eerie song and suddenly sprouts a full beard. An itinerant tenor and a melancholic balloonist croon to apocalyptic waltzers. The drums ba-da-boom, the cellos duel, the gitarrón’s been drinking.

It’s Vagabond Opera—you’d better Sing for Your Lives!

Like surrealist Marcel Duchamp packing an entire life’s work into a suitcase, the Portland, Oregon troupe tucks the high drama of opera into the tight squeeze of the sexy cabaret. By turns sinister and seedy, sweet and nostalgic, the brainy, sultry band mashes up Eastern European folk theater and classical grandeur, hot club act and avant-garde klezmer jams, perky musicals and edgy absurdism.
“We love storytelling, creating a world on stage or on a recording,” says saxophonist and songwriter Robin Jackson. “We bring people into a dark cabaret where they forget themselves.” “We draw on Old World elements and genres,” adds Eric Stern, Vagabond Opera founder, composer, and singer, “but we utterly transform them.”

What’s a tenor to do?

Stern adored opera—he used to blast his tape of “The Marriage of Figaro” for his fellow teens in pre-rock show parking lots. He loved opera so much, he had to break it out of its elitist ghetto. Opera was once an art form ordinary people enjoyed, he reasoned, and it was time to take it back to those roots.

“I remember looking around the audience at a Ziggy Marley concert and thinking, ‘Why does opera have to be in an opera house, someplace that seems inaccessible to so many?’” Stern remembers. “Why can’t these people listen to opera in this venue? I wanted to snatch this art and distribute it everywhere.”

Searching for a new approach, Stern found himself omnivorously devouring everything from Hendrix guitar licks and Janice Joplin’s gritty wails, to Romanian horas and Yiddish theater music. “While I love the Western European music traditions, I saw no reason why you can’t incorporate other traditions into opera as well,” Stern reflects. “I’m Jewish and wanted more Eastern European sounds in play, things I wasn’t hearing enough of in classical music.”

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American-Ivorian Trans-Atlantic Band Zieti Turns War, Separation, and MIDI Madness into Perfect Afropop on Zemelewa

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:26:00 +0000

Far across the lagoon, people swayed as the music from battery-powered amps and sardine-powered jams drifted over the water.

They were dancing to the beach rehearsal of Zieti, two Americans (guitarist Michael Shereikis and drummer Alex Owre) and two Ivorians (lead singer Yeoue Narcisse and guitarist/vocalist Tiende Laurent) who had unexpectedly become fast friends. By the water near Abidjan’s oceanfront shantytowns or in a tiny rehearsal studio built from shipping crates, the quartet developed an exuberant rapport in skillful, insistent songs.

Now a decade removed from Abidjan's mellow beaches, after years of political turmoil and violence, and despite the players' radically different backgrounds, Zieti has done the impossible: make roots-rich music that sounds utterly fresh and organic. Undulating bass lines, bright vocal harmonies, glittering percussion, wailing organ and accordion, and a vintage vibe winking at the best of 70s Afrofunk, they all come together on Zemelewa for a refreshing and passionate take on Ivorian tradition and the current state of Afropop.

But it almost never happened: “Before I left the country, we had gone into the studio and recorded ten tracks,” Shereikis recalls. “That recording was lost, which was a major blow to all of us. It sounded great though, and a lot of the songs on Zemelewa come from that time.”

Those songs were honed over two halcyon years of playing together. Composers Yeoue and Tiende had been friends for years, playing music together since they were kids in their home area in far Western Ivory Coast. It was King Shabba, a heavyweight on the Rasta-dominated local scene, who first connected them with drummer Owre. Owre soon brought along Shereikis.

“It was instant friendship,” Yeoue remembers, “because Alex and Mike would come out and visit us, even though we lived in a part of town people thought was rough, and we’d go visit them. We saw each other all the time. We’d share simple meals—manioc and oil, sardines and bread—and we’d all eat from the same bowl.”

“From the very beginning we sat down and just played,” Owre reflects. “Not, ‘You play this, you play that.’ The guys accepted my style and they liked what I brought to the mix. They were happy to have some approaches that were different from what they got on their home turf. The faith and trust in each other superseded any need to be orthodox.”

Songs came together effortlessly: the group penned “Bah Bohi” five minutes after their first meeting with Shereikis. The friends practiced on the beach—a fact that’s almost palpable on elegant, aching tracks like “Tche.” They drew on Yeoue and Tiende’s Guere traditions for the lovely melodies and unique rhythms of their deep-rooted musical heritage, especially on songs like “Tindehe” and “Zion Do.”

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DÜNYA’s Tale of Constantinople and Istanbul Journeys Through a Millennium of Musical Innovation and Bittersweet Longing

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:02:00 +0000

In every dazzling palace and every shadowy alley hums a barely palpable but evocative drone. It’s the ache of glory days now gone, a stirring melancholy that ennobles and embroils the City, once at the heart of so much.

This is the sound and pulse of Constantinople/Istanbul, and Boston-based musicians’ collective DÜNYA, with Schola Cantorum and Ensemble Trinitas, brings it to the forefront on A Story of the City...Constantinople, Istanbul, their journey through a thousand years of the music that echoed along the Bosphorus. The double CD is currently submitted for a Grammy™ award.

There, Greek Orthodox melodies collided with rousing Crusader ballads and the unexpectedly complex folk tunes from Central Asia. A Polish Protestant convert transcribed elegant 17th-century Ottoman melodies. Armenian composers wrote music for Turkish-speaking Jewish and Greek lyricists (“Bu gece çamlarda kalsak ne olur/Apopse”), while Sufi chants uniquely transformed Jewish religious songs (“Yeheme levavi”). Migrants, traders, and conquerors invented new genres, from the court music of the sultans to art music and protest pop in the 20th century.

“I think that the rich diversity reflected in this album will be appreciated by Americans,” reflects Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, musical director and co-founder of DÜNYA. “Through that appreciation, I am sure the American view of the Near and Middle East will change. The Grammies are a great platform for our work to find a greater voice, and to highlight DÜNYA’s unique structure and many talents.”

Click here to read the rest of the article!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:17:00 +0000

SCS is on hiatus until further notice while I deal with personal matters. If you're waiting to hear back about a feature, I truly apologize. When I come back I will do my best to get everyone up and running.

The legendary Allee Willis' first live performance in 37 years!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 08:08:00 +0000

In 1974, Allee Willis walked off stage in the middle of her own show. Now she's finally coming back! The Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Webby award-winning and nominated songwriter, artist, singer, designer, technologist, collector, and party thrower comes to the El Portal Theatre in beautiful North Hollywood for one night only of songs, stories, and party games. Sing-along to Willis' greatest hits like "September", "Boogie Wonderland", "Neutron Dance", "What Have I Done To Deserve This" and "I'll Be There For You (theme from Friends)"! Win valuable prizes! Watch her as she attempts to get through the evening without walking off stage for another 37 years!

ALLEE WILLIS’ SOUP TO NUTS PARTY MIX – An evening of songs, stories and party games!

Tuesday, Oct.18, 2011
The El Portal Theatre
5269 Lankershim Blvd.
Beautiful North Hollywood, CA., 91601

Lobby opens at 7. Lots of kitschy food and drinks and beer and wine available.

Tickets $24.99 and $34.99.
http://www.elportaltheatre.com/events.html
https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/9248165

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"Ms. Willis…considers party-giving an art form" - New York Times

"Allee Willis' parties are the campiest hot tickets in town" - People Magazine

"..A rare look inside the process of one of the most prolific and tenacious interactive media artists working today." - salon.com

"Willis is the spokeswoman for this grand dance of junque nouvelle and vérité... as if Ozzie Nelson had acquired a sick and sudden taste for Surrealist poets. Her own interest in kitsch typifies the dichotomy that makes her interesting...The silliness, un-self consciousness, sense of whimsy and innocence are reflected in the absurd designs and bright colors (that surround her). Even the themes lack pretension... Hopeful images of a powerful America and its future." - LA Weekly

"...A singular vision by an artist, who if not limited by building codes, would be the Simon Rodia of the 21st century. " Chris Nichols, Los Angeles Magazine

Click here to buy the music featured on Such Cool Stuff!

Sevara Nazarkhan Finds the Acoustic Savor of Pared-Down Uzbek Tradition on Tortadur

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:48:00 +0000

The grief of eternal exile and the ancient ache of love echoed in the pitch-black studio. From gut strings and china saucers, from frame drums and clacking trains, singer Sevara Nazarkhan urged centuries of urgent whispers, secret sighs, and passionate prayers into a new and intimate life.

Supported by a carefully selected handful of musical elders, Nazarkhan has returned on Tortadur to utter simplicity and the audacious acoustic roots of Uzbek tradition—the once lively world of house parties and poet-kings, of black-browed beloveds and word-drunk Sufi saints.

Though a seasoned pop performer—her voice has wowed everyone from Peter Gabriel to Russian pop diva Alla Pugacheva—Nazarkhan turned away from electronic sounds and complex production to the pure, quiet presence of traditional instruments and haunting lyrics, some hailing from as early as the 15th century. Throughout, her voice feels so immediate that you can almost feel the breath on your cheek, the hand on your arm.

“I wanted to express the salt of our earth, so to speak,” Nazarkhan reflects. “People have forgotten, or simply don’t know, about this wonderful, rich side of our music, music that is very subtle and expresses our past.”

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Slide to Freedom Finds the Divine Crossroads of Indian Classical and Southern Sacred Music on 20,000 Miles

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:46:00 +0000

They sat in silence, holding their breath as the last note of a wild, twining jam faded in a legendary Memphis studio. “Well, what are we going to call that?” laughed sacred steel elder Calvin Cooke, looking across the room at the 17th-generation Indian virtuoso, the hard-touring Canadian folk musician, the merrytabla whiz, the bold singer-songwriter from Austin.

The answer: Slide to Freedom, an ongoing conversation exploring where many sliding, singing strings from across the planet meet. Created by established roots and world music multi-instrumentalist Doug Cox and revered Indian classical master Salil Bhatt, the project brings together fantastic flights of musicianship, wild slide inventions, and the great, transcendent ache that unites sacred songs and deeply personal ballads.

On 20,000 Miles, the band, now regularly joined by Canadian-Indian percussionist Cassius Khan, collaborated with Calvin Cooke, founding father of sacred steel, and members of electric gospel legendsThe Campbell Brothers, as well as special guest BettySoo, the Americana-inspired darling of Austin’s singer-songwriter scene.

Striking Indian classical pieces weave into newly forged spirituals. Unexpected covers (Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, The Zombies) trade licks with ghazals(Northern Indian songs touching on the divine and erotic). Sacred steel sounds alternate with the ingenious complexity of Bhatt’s satvik veena (a hybrid between a slide guitar and the traditional Indian veena) and Cox’s unique instrumentarium. The result: a catchy, uplifting reflection on the transcendent buzz and moan of mortality.

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Red Hot Two Step: Zydeco Scion C.J. Chenier Shows the World That It Can't Sit Down

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:42:00 +0000

C.J. Chenier talks a lot about energy. Ask him why he recorded a certain song and he’ll tell you he likes the energy of it. Why does he love zydeco music? It’s the energy. And so it should come as no surprise that C.J.’s new album, Can’t Sit Down is so jam-packed with energy it could power a small city!

Recorded live in one session at Rock Romano’s Red Shack Studio in Houston, Texas, Can’t Sit Down is all about truth in advertising: give it a spin and watch your feet get to work whether you want them to or not. C.J.—whose father was the late Clifton Chenier, perhaps the most celebrated zydeco musician in the genre’s history—cut the album live in the studio quickly, in order to capture the freshness—the energy—of the material. For that reason, he dispensed with a producer, opting to handle the task himself.

“I figured that nobody knows better what I want than I do,” he says. “Nobody knows better how I want my accordion to sound. Nobody knows better how I want my band to sound. So I decided to stop going with other people’s ears and start going with my own.”

Click here to read the rest of the article!

The Afro-Semitic Experience Gets Age-Old Prayers Dancing in the Aisles on Further Definitions of the Days of Awe

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:37:00 +0000

For The Afro-Semitic Experience, there is dancing before the temple of sound. The kings and queens of the Cotton Club trade eights with the rock stars of cantorial music’s golden age. Booker T and the MGs and Astor Piazolla inspire new visions of High Holy Day chants.

Joined by the last of the old-school cantors, Jack Mendelson, the group lays down Further Definitions of the Days of Awe, live explorations of cantorial music, jazz, Latin vibes, Afrobeat and soul. Innovative technique and rock-solid roots get feet tapping and spirits soaring. Just in time for the High Holy Days, the (Jewish) New Year and Yom Kippur, the album presents a positive, cross-cultural reimagination of repentance and catharsis.

Creating new settings for the midnight prayers of Selichot, the service that marks the beginning of the most holy time of the Jewish liturgical year, The Afro-Semitic Experience returns worship to its creative, vigorous roots. It celebrates the intersection of gospel spirit and the passion ofhazzanut (an ancient Jewish style of cantorial singing). It finds powerful new points of contact with the divine.

“Prayer and study are a major tenet of all three Abrahamic faiths. That’s great, but to get there, worshippers often got rid of cathartic experience,” reflects group founder, bassist and composer David Chevan. “But we need the dancing at the temple, those ecstatic moments. That’s really where we’re coming from.”

Click here to read the rest of the article!

Free tickets to see Giana Nguyen!

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:31:00 +0000

The lovely and amazing Giana Nguyen has contacted me with the offer of two free tickets to see her show this weekend! There is a quick turnaround on this one, since the concert is in a couple of days, so here are the details of the giveaway:

The prize is a pair of complimentary ticketsfor her upcoming show at the House of Blues - Los Angeles (Foundation Room) on Saturday, October 8th at 9pm.
Winner must be in the greater Los Angeles area (obviously).
Winner's name and e-mail address will be on the VIP list for tickets at will-call.
The usual Fine Print applies.

To enter, just comment on this post by 4:00PM Central time on Friday, October 7, 2011 with your e-mail address. Feel free to use funky characters to obscure the address from search engines. I will need the winner to get back to me quickly when I e-mail them so that I can get your name to Giana for the VIP list!

Ways to enter (one entry per action):

Comment here!
Tweet it (and post here that you did it)
Post it to Facebook/MySpace/G+ (one entry per site, post here that you did it)
Blog it (and post here that you did it - sensing a trend?)

This is a quick one. Good luck!

Frigg’s Expert Playfulness and Nordic Exuberance Return to North America

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:29:00 +0000

Dour Scandinavians? Don’t make the Finnish and Norwegian folk virtuosi of Frigg giggle.

“The overall picture people have of Scandinavians has very little to do with the music,” Antti Järvelä, fiddler and Frigg founder explains. “People think Finnish music in particular is melancholy and minor. But if you look at tunes from before World War II, seventy percent are in a major key. They are happy.”

This neglected joy—the good times of Nordic parties, dances, and weddings— inspired the seven-member group with deep folk roots to breathe fresh life into their ancestors’ wild and merry tunes. The result: the string-bending, tongue-in-cheek genre of “Nordgrass.”

On Grannen and on stages from Malmö to Malaysia, Frigg bursts with an energy and freewheeling fun that belies their intense musical training. Veteran international performers with decades of touring under their belts, Frigg return to North America this autumn for an extensive tour that is spreading the sheer pleasure of Northern tunes across the Upper Midwest and several major festivals (Chicago, Albuquerque, Bloomington, IN).

“Frigg is on the new edge,” Järvelä smiles. “And we are making very happy music.”

Click here to read the rest of the article!

British Icon John Martyn’s Legacy is Reimagined by Thirty Artists on Johnny Boy Would Love This…a Tribute to John Martyn

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:19:00 +0000

Among the contributors are David Gray, Paolo Nutini, Beck, Swell Season, and Robert Smith

In the late ’60s, the late British guitarist and songwriter John Martyn broke ground by leaping from acoustic folk into highly successful experiments with tape delay, wild recording scenarios, and jazz-inspired arrangements. He became a cult figure among British musicians. A list of his admirers reads like a who’s-who of rock, pop, and even trip hop: Eric Clapton, The Band’s Levon Helm, Lee “Scratch” Perry, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Beck, Morcheeba.

To honor his life, thirty artists reveal the full breadth of Martyn’s creativity on Johnny Boy Would Love This…A Tribute to John Martyn. The package will include a double CD digi-pak, 40-page booklet, and DVD that will feature interviews with a number of the contributing artists, performance videos, and rare live performances by John himself. Adding to this unique audio experience is the inclusion of John's actual guitar work on two of the tracks.

Musicians from several generations take on Martyn’s intense, sometimes joyful and sometimes despairing, but always influential work. They come from the fertile acoustic fringes (Vetiver, Beth Orton) and from the heart of rock and pop (Robert Smith, Phil Collins). They are elders of blues (Clarence Fountain and Sam Butler of the Blind Boys of Alabama) and young up-and-comers (John Smith and Sabrina Dinan).

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Quebecois Roots Trio Genticorum’s Fantastic Voyage Of Rising Hemlines, Singing Oarsmen, and Happy Trappers on Nagez Rameurs

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:54:00 +0000

Three young players with deep ties to Quebecois music sail to Borneo and Egypt. As they travel, they tell wild stories of shrinking skirts and noble cats. They sing forgotten songs of old New France, of its log drives and lost rivers. They play dance numbers with their tongues and feet, and unwind trippy reels.

A tall tale come true, Genticorum navigate the silly and somber moods of North American Francophone tradition on Nagez Rameurs. Firmly rooted in family and regional traditions, the trio’s wit, rich vocal arrangements, and masterful musicianship turn old songs about traveling into catchy and moving glimpses of a quirky New World.

“There’s a big chunk of Francophone repertoire linked to voyagers, because they shaped the colony by exploring and settling the country, and by interacting with the native peoples they encountered,” explains guitarist and singer Yann Falquet. “It’s interesting because unlike a lot of Quebecois songs, many of these songs are not from Brittany or Normandy. They aren’t about France. They tell the stories of people once they reached North America.”

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Terakaft Refines Rough-Hewn Desert Rock on Aratan N Azawad

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:25:00 +0000

Old-school rock rebels and musical elders from the desert. Terakaft brings together the raw sounds of minimal indie guitar rock and the swaying pulse of Saharan journeys. They harness the energy of flirtatious midnight songs and the gravitas of respected advisors calling for peace and unity.

Tuareg guitar warriors, Terakaft keeps alive the musical spirit honed by decades of oppression, rebellion, and exile on Aratan N Azawad. Drawing on traditional forms of this Saharan nomadic people, filtered through an utterly fresh take on blues and rock, Terakaft (“Caravan”) moves through Tuareg history and a sea of sand to take the plight of their people to the world—in angular guitar licks and pulsating grooves.

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Blimpcat Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:32:00 +0000

BlimpCat is the design and video team of Kate & Jimmy Moore, who live and work together in Columbia, MO. They design unique and fun (and NERDY!) posters and stationery products for every occasion. They are offering readers of this blog an EXCLUSIVE discount through their Etsy store! Mention code SUCHCOOLCODEBC when you check out for 15% off. Nice!

Tell me about your art and how you originally got into your craft.
I'm Kate, and I'm the owner/designer/one-woman band behind Blimpcat. I'm a native Midwesterner living in oh-so-glamorous Columbia, Missouri, and I recently left my day job to run my Etsy shop and freelance business full-time. My husband, Jimmy, provides moral support, financial advice and an extra pair of poster-rolling hands, and our cat Mitzy graciously allows us the use of her image as our mascot.

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Heartour

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:33:00 +0000

Heartour is the creative outlet/alter ego of popular Los Angeles based band The Ruse’s drummer Jason Young. Having been a member of touring bands since he was a teenager, Young began recording solo material as Heartour in 2002. Ever since the first release in 2003 (Three), Young has been extra prolific, in addition to producing and performing with The Ruse he has dropped a full solo album every couple years.

Heartour’s progressive Electronic sound has grown by leaps and bounds with each project. However it was not until 2009’s Ate that he began to believe that he had something more than a pet project. The positive fan and critical feedback made it clear that the music he was making had a space in the marketplace. With renewed energy and new ideas Young released his best work to date in early 2011 in the form of Submarine Sounds.

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Iota Illustration

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:32:00 +0000

Oliver Lake is an experienced professional illustrator who likes creating illustrations that appeal to both children and adults. He has had a number of commissions, including work for Time Out magazine and The Independent newspaper. He has also illustrated a number of children's books and has exhibited and sold work at numerous art galleries. His work is available on Etsy and at http://www.iotaillustration.co.uk/.

Tell me about your art and how you originally got into your craft.
I decided quite early on that I wanted to be an illustrator. I did the normal thing and studied at University. After I finished university, I eventually managed to get some illustration work... However it took me a long time before I started to make work that I was happy with. There was a long process of working out exactly what it was I wanted to do.
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Boubacar Traoré and the Mischievously Subtle Guitar Blues of Mali Denhou

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:18:00 +0000

Boubacar Traoré took his guitar and strode out into the fields outside of Bamako, Mali. There, in the country quiet, he wrote a dozen new songs in a month. “Town is too noisy. And I didn’t go to the bush, but I left my guitar here, on my farm. Because I know here, I’m on a leash,” Traoré told a recent interviewer.

That leash, that connection to land and family, resulted in Mali Denhou. On Traoré’s first studio album in six years, the kindly, gritty voice of the veteran Malian bluesman intertwines with wonderfully idiosyncratic, cascading guitar. Wistful and pensive, Traoré exhorts, gives thanks, and reflects on love, history, and duty, with a deceptive simplicity and a deep, subtle knowledge of Mandingo tradition and West African vintage pop.

A legend in Mali since his groundbreaking hits of the 1960s, Traoré—possibly the eldest internationally-touring guitarist from Mali—has been around. He knows exactly what he wants. He insisted that if he was going to do a studio album, he had to have his longtime friend, the nimble French harmonica player Vincent Bucher, play with him. Bucher’s rich, pure tone moves in and out of Traoré’s succinct phrases and unexpected rhythms effortlessly on tracks like “Mondeou.”

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Sheri Miller

noreply@blogger.com (Holly) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:33:00 +0000

Once upon a time, in New York City, a young musician and artist named Sheri Miller, armed with her acoustic guitar, her electric sunburst 1969 Guild guitar, her Yamaha keyboard, and a pen and paper, began to write songs. Dozens of songs. She had a great love and a deep, soulful connection to music, as her mother was an opera singer and classical piano player, and her uncle a recording engineer.

During the evenings, Sheri was hard at work, paying her musical dues, working incessantly as a solo musician in the big city; fearlessly singing her heart out, banging on her guitar. Playing 4-hour covers gigs in bars and hotels, sometimes 5 nights a week. In the daytime, Sheri played keyboards and sang in a rock band for babies, as a music teacher.
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