Special guest Danay, flying direct from Cuba, will perform at this year’s Worldwide Music Awards on Saturday, February 6th of 2010. She is presented by Havana Cultura. Gilles Peterson discovered Danay when he recently teamed up with Havana Cultura to produce an album of what he considers to be the very best up and coming musical talent in Havana.

 

Danay is a 24 year-old who has already drawn comparisons with the likes of Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. Havana Cultura is a global art initiative from Havana Club rum, a window on contemporary Cuban culture developed to give the spirit of Havana a global voice.

The Worldwide Awards is an annual celebration of the best music championed by Gilles Peterson on his Worldwide and BBC Radio 1 show. The awards, hosted by Gilles Peterson, are an annual celebration of all the best new music that has come through this year on his show with some of the best new acts performing on the night.

Guests: El Michels Affair and Lee Fields & The Expressions, Robert Glasper Trio, Andreya Triana featuring Fink & Bonobo, Nailah, dOP, Sbtrkt & Sampha, Floating Points Ensemble, Theophilus London, King Midas Sound, Elan Tamara, Darkstar, Lefto, bPm

The Relentless Garage, 20-22 Highbury Corner, N5 1RD.
Holloway Road, opposite Highbury & Islington tube station
Nearest Tube: Highbury & Islington (Victoria Line)
Overland: Highbury & Islington (Richmond to Stratford line)
Buses: 4, 19,30,43, 271, 393, N14, N41 to Highbury Corner
Tickets £25 for full show / after 11pm £15 on the door
Purchase here - http://tinyurl.com/yzpx8ve

 

Videos and audio are available here - havana-cultura.com

Korea's Noreum Machi ensemble will perform Saturday, February 6th of 2010 at 8:00 pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York. The group has been noted for its performances of the dynamic samulnori percussion music that has captivated audiences throughout the world over the past three decades. An exhilarating modern adaptation of the ancient p'ungmul nori harvest celebration, samulnori represents the soul of Korea.

 

Noreum Machi is led by Kim Ju Hong, who studied singing, shaman rhythms and pansori vocals with masters of their genres, including Kim Duk Soo, an original member of the renowned Samul-Nori ensemble that introduced samulnori to the West in the late 1970s.

In the early 20th century with the end of dynastic rule, court music was disappearing in Korea, while p'ungmul nori, a folk medium with origins in shamanism and animism, was maintained in the villages and rural areas. After the 1961 military coup and throughout the latter half of the 20th century, students throughout Korea employed p'ungmul nori as a medium to empower the masses and demonstrate against the authoritarian government.

 

Korean traditional music was fast fading in the wake of the onslaught of Western music - both pop and classical. The Samul-Nori ensemble, with its emphasis on percussion, dramatically changed the way that Korean music had been perceived both in the West and by young Koreans.

Noreum Machi essentially continues and expands the journey that Samul-Nori began. The group is led by Kim Ju Hong, a graduate of the Korean National University of the Arts. While steeped in the tradition of p'ungmul nori and its derivative samulnori, Noreum Machi has reached out to embrace elements of Western music, including jazz, and use improvisation as a key element.

 

The core instruments used are the janggo, an hourglass-shaped double-headed drum that could be considered the national instrument of Korea since it is used in all forms of Korean music; the buk, a double-headed barrel drum; the kkwaenggwari, a small gong originally used in the royal ancestral shrine music; and the jing, a large gong. Other instruments used are the piri, a small eight-hole high-pitched oboe; the taepyongso, a conical oboe; and the bara, brass cymbals used in Buddhist and shaman ritual music.

The tour of Noreum Machi is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding is made possible by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring program. The tour is sponsored by the Korean Arts Management Services.

This program is made possible in part with public support provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. Additional support is provided by American Express.

 

For video, visit: worldmusicinstitute.org

 

Peter Norton Symphony Space
Broadway at 95th Street, NYC
$25; $18 students with college ID Box office (212) 864-5400
Info/tickets: (212) 545-7536 worldmusicinstitute.org

 

Photo credits: Angel Romero

Youssou N'Dour

 

Music From the Motion Picture I Bring What I Love (Nonesuch, 2010)

The critically acclaimed documentary I Bring What I Love, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, details the musical and spiritual journey of singer, songwriter and Senegalese pop icon Youssou N'Dour after the controversial Nonesuch release of his stunning 2004 Grammy Award-winning Egypt, but the easy success of the film is certainly the soundtrack.

 

Oscilloscope Laboratories is expected to release the DVD in April of 2010 and hopefully we'll get a sneak look at the film, but the Nonesuch release of the Music From the Motion Picture I Bring What I Love is a sweet consolation. Pooling tracks from Mr. N'Dour's career, the soundtrack I Bring What I Love is quintessentially N'Dour, full of the singer's bright, intoxicating easy swing and unpretentious grace.

Religious leaders in Senegal might have taken a dim view of the Sufi praises Mr. N'Dour composed with Fathy Salama on Egypt, but that's just a matter of opinion and isn't always true that a good deal of the accusations of blasphemy are because the critics are looking for something to take offense to. It takes only a brief listen to Mr. N'Dour to discover that his unadorned joy is real and heartfelt. I Bring What I Love proves that.

Opening with the stunning title track "I Bring What I Love," written by Mr. N'Cour, Martin Davich and the documentary's composer James Newton Howard, surrounds Mr. N'Dour's freefall vocals with piano, acoustic guitar, keyboards, flute and percussion, in a hymn like devotional. Following the title track is the sweeping easy groove guitar and brass on the dishy "Immigres Bitim Rew."

 

N'Dour fans are treated to the breezy "Birma," the elegance of Mr. N'Dour's vocals against Baboulaye Sissoko on kora and Adama Sissoko on balaphone on "Yama" and the haunting live version of "Mame Bamba" with Fathy Salama Orchestra. Other gems include "Atou Reer Na," "Li Ma Wessu" and "New Africa." "Yonnent," another original track for I Bring What I Love, features N'Dour and singer Moustapha Mbaye, known as "the Prophet's Griot." This track shimmers with all the goodness that is N'Dour.

The music on Music From the Motion Picture I Bring What I Love is all the incentive the documentary needs any Youssou N'Dour fans need. As fans and critics we often forget the price that is often paid by musicians. The music snags something in the brain and uplifts us, but the journey for the artist can be anything but uplifting. Lucky for us that there are Youssou N'Dours out there braving the storm.

 

Buy the album:

 

• In North America: Music From the Motion Picture I Bring What I Love
• In Europe: Music From the Motion Picture I Bring What I Love

 

Preorder the DVD: I Bring What I Love
 

 

Mamer, one of China's most innovative and influential young artists, is to return to the UK together with his band for an 8-date tour, starting on 18 March 2010. Hailing from Qitai County in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Mamer (pronounced "Ma-moor") grew up, like every Kazakh child: on horsebacks and in the strong musical tradition of the Kazakhs his father and relatives taught him to sing folk songs and play the dombra, a lute popular in Central Asia.

'Eagle', Mamer's debut solo album, was released on Real World Records in 2009. The album features songs of the grasslands that are deeply rooted in traditional Kazakh music, while incorporating influences from Western folk and rock. Mamer's deep voice is combined with dazzlingly fast plucking and strumming on guitar, dombra and other traditional instruments.

Buy the CD:

• In North America: Eagle
• In Europe: Eagle

Mamer live in the UK:

Thursday, 18 March - The Stables, Milton Keynes
Address: Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, Bucks MK17 8LU
Box office: 01908 280800 | Tickets: £12.50 | Start time: 8pm
http://www.stables.org

 

Friday, 19 March - South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell
Address: Ringmead, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 7PA
Box office: 01344 484123 | Tickets: £9 (£8 members) | Start time: 7.30pm
http://www.southhillpark.org.uk

 

Saturday, 20 March - West End Centre, Aldershot
Address: 48 Queens Road, Aldershot, Hampshire GU11 3JD
Box office: 01252 330040 | Tickets: £10 (£8 concs) | Start time: 8pm
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/westendcentre

 

Sunday, 21 March - The Brook Theatre, Chatham
Address: Old Town Hall, The Brook, Chatham, Kent ME4 4SE
Box office: 01634 338338 | Tickets: £10/£9 | Start time: 7.30pm
http://www.medway.gov.uk/theatrebookings

 

Tuesday, 23 March – The Luminaire, London
Address: 311 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR
Box office: 020 7372 7123 | Tickets: tbc | Start time: 7.30pm
http://www.theluminaire.co.uk

 

Wednesday, 24 March - Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury
Address: University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NB
Box office: 01227 769075 | Tickets: £10 | Start time: 7.45pm
http://www.gulbenkiantheatre.co.uk

 

Thursday, 25 March - South Street Arts Centre, Reading
Address: 21 South Street, Reading, Berkshire RG1 4QU
Box office: 0118 960 6060 | Tickets: £8 (£5 concs) | Start time: 8pm
http://www.readingarts.com

 

Saturday, 27 March - Empire Hall, Chichester
Address: The Street, Graffham, Chichester, West Sussex GU28 0QB
Box office: 01243 774641 | Tickets: £12.50 | Start time: 8pm
http://www.rootsaroundtheworld.info

The Ventura, California-based iPhone application company, MachCUBED struck an exciting new chord Tuesday with world music fans with the kick off of its Apple iTunes launch of the iPhone and iPod Touch application the Pocket Sitar. The creative developer of Pocket Sitar, Alonzo Machiraju, also the mastermind behind the iPhone application Pocket Tabla, along with collaborator, sitar master and music teacher Aloke Dasgupta, has captured the playing technique and history of the Indian sitar, putting the Hindustani stringed instrument at any eager learner’s fingertips in an easy-to-use phone application.
 
 Downloaded from the Apple iTunes store and priced at $0.99 in the U.S, $0.99 in Canada, £0.59 in the UK, ¥115 in Japan, AU$0.99 in Australia, and €0.99 in the EU., the Pocket Sitar invites users to strum the sitar strings with its multi-touch interface, to meend, or glide from one note to another, and to explore the tutorial and the accompanying history of the instrument. Links to YouTube videos are also included for those wanting perfect their technique.

With Pocket Tabla already under his belt, Mr. Machiraju went a step further to stretch and flex his technical skills by indulging his fascination with the sitar. He explains, “Well, every time someone plays the sympathetic strings, it hits me in the gut. The sitar just sounds cool. It could be the reverb, but I really respond to the general sound of the instrument.”
 
 Looking beyond just another fad application factor, Mr. Machiraju indicates, “It’s another way to experience sitar music. Not only that, but it can be used as a training program for a real sitar. And you can now play sitar on the subway! I’m pretty sure this will help turn people onto the music of the sitar.”
 
 With years of musical training, a master’s degree in Ethnomusicology from San Diego State University, the recording artist and revered sitar master with countless concerts and musical collaborations to his credit Mr. Dasgupta stepped into a whole new medium with the Pocket Sitar collaboration.
 
 “It was a kind of challenging for me because it was using technology as the means to reproduce the sound, which I can produce on my sitar. Also, it was interesting because I have never thought of using my musicality this way,” he explains.
 
 Mr. Dasgupta sees the potential of such applications as a way to foster interest in learning music. “These kind of technological applications give the young generation an opportunity to explore the origin, history and other techniques of sitar playing in a less expensive way.”
 
 Beyond popular accessibility, the Pocket Sitar will come as a relief to seasoned musicians just in its size. Lugging around a full-sized version of the thirteenth century, veena family instrument, complete with 21-23 strings and gourd body, is no mean feat. Mr. Machiraju hopes that sitar musicians will take up the phone application and with Mr. Dasgupta part and parcel to the instruction who could ask for a better music master?
 
 With Pocket Sitar and Pocket Tabla, music lessons are now just a click away, so there is only one thing left to do while Mr. Machiraju brews up another batch of sounds and that is to practice, practice, practice.
 

Alborosie is shaking up California this February with his Escape From Babylon to the Kingdom of Zion tour. This tour will give a chance to catch this rising reggae star in person. Alborosie has made his mark in the reggae world with hits that include "Rastafari Anthem", "Kingston Town", and "Call Up Jah." He will be visiting numerous venues and cities including: The Arcata Theater & Lounge - February 13 in Arcata, California; The Rocket Room - February 17 in San Francisco, California; The Shattuck Down Low - February 18 in Berkeley, California.
 
 On Escape From Babylon to the Kingdom of Zion, Alborosie pays respect to his heroes from Reggae's golden age (Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Steel Pulse and Bob Marley) and infusing this timeless music with a touch of modern roots and dancehall. The lead single "Stepping Out" features David Hinds from the famed reggae band Steel Pulse.

Included on the Biggest Reggae One Drop Anthems 2009 album, the successful track "Humbleness" speaks to those that are blinded by the power they possess and decides to treat his fellow man as if they were something less. The smooth track "One Sound," brings a great collaboration with Alborosie and Gramps Morgan from Morgan Heritage. Changing gears on an updated version of the classic bedroom bully riddim from Shabba Ranks is "Blue Movie Boo", Alborosie gives us a peek into his erotic side.

 

The closing track is the thought-provoking "America," Alborosie sings about power, globalization and war set against an upbeat rockers rhythm. His music, since of style and what makes him the person he is, is attributed to the impact of Jamaica and his Rastafarian beliefs. He has been given the stamp of approval by Reggae Legends Sly and Robbie and Freddie McGregor to name a few.

Additional Tour Dates - West Coast

February 15th
San Diego, California
Tribute To The Legends

 February 19th
 Petaluma, California
 Mystic Theater

 February 20th
 Santa Cruz, California
 The Catalyst

 February 21st
 Long Beach, California
 Raggamuffins Festival

Berklee College of Music will present its Second Annual Middle Eastern Festival on Monday, February 8, featuring world-renowned Turkish clarinet virtuoso Hüsnü Senlendirici, the New York Gypsy All-Stars, and the Berklee Middle Eastern Fusion Ensemble directed by Christiane Karam. The concert showcases a variety of Middle Eastern styles, including Lebanese folk music, Arabic classical music, and Turkish Gypsy fusion – a style based on traditional Turkish music, mixed with contemporary jazz and western grooves and harmonies.
 
 Leading up to the concert, Senlendirici and the New York Gypsy All-Stars will work with Berklee students as part of an artist residency that includes a master class and clinic. The clinic, which is free and open to the public, takes place Monday, February 8, 1:15-3:00 p.m. at Berk Recital Hall, 1140 Boylston St, Boston, MA.

The Berklee Middle Eastern Fusion Ensemble opens with a set that includes music by Senlendirici and his group Laco Tayfa, Philemon Wehbe, the Rahbani Brothers, and Jamil Mesut. Senlendirici will join the students onstage for the closing numbers. The second set, featuring Hüsnü Senlendirici and the New York Gypsy All-Stars, culminates with the guest artists and student ensemble performing together.

Christiane Karam, assistant professor of voice, founded and directs the Berklee Middle Eastern Festival. Says Karam, “I envisioned an annual event that would bring artists to the school from various regions of the Middle East and the Balkans, and bring together students from all over the world to experience this music. I feel this festival bridges cultures and promotes dialogue in ways that are artistic, human, and deeply rewarding.”

Hüsnü Senlendirici, a native of Bergama, Turkey, picked up clarinet at 5. He attended the Turkish Music State Conservatory at Istanbul Technical University, where he started playing with the Magnetic Band, appearing in hundreds of festivals and becoming a musical ambassador for Turkey. Senlendirici also toured with Embrio and with his father's sextet Laco. He then formed the band Laco Tayfa, and collaborated with the Brooklyn Funk Essentials for a critically acclaimed album and concert project. Senlendirici released a solo album in 2005. He continues to perform internationally and in 2009 was featured at Summer Stage in Central Park, New York.

The New York Gypsy All-Stars showcases some of New York's finest musicians playing jazz-inflected Turkish, Balkan, and Mediterranean Romani (Gypsy) songs and original pieces with a personal touch. They have performed with such World music icons as Turkish clarinet master Hüsnü Senlendirici, and Bulgarian masters Ivo Popasov and Yuri Yanakov. The group is the brainchild of Serdar Ilhan, and features Ismail Lumanovski (clarinet), Tamer Pinarbasi (qanun), and Berklee alumni Panagiotis Andreou (bass), Engin Gunaydin (drums), and Jason Lindler (keyboard). Ilhan is producer of the New York Gypsy Festival.

The Berklee Middle Eastern Festival is $10, all ages, and begins at 8:15 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA. Please call 617-747-2261 or visit berkleebpc.com for more information.

 

El Bicho

 

De Imaginar (Warner Music Spain, 2009)

 

El Bicho is one of Spain's leading jam bands. Based in Madrid, El Bicho mixes explosive Flamenco roots rock with blues, jazz, echoes of progressive rock and global music elements. Well known in Spain, but with little exposure outside the country, El Bicho puts together a captivating show. On May 16th of 2008, El Bicho recorded a live album in Madrid that is now available as a boxed set titled De Imaginar that includes two music CDs and a DVD with live concert footage.

 

The group was formed by charismatic vocalist Miguel Campello Garzón who got together with several students of Madrid's Escuela Popular de Música in September of 2001. Current band members include Miguel Campello Garzón on vocals, Victor Iniesta Iglesias on guitar, Carlos Tato Moreno on bass, Antonio Mangas Ovide on drums, David Cobo Amores on percussion, Juan Carlos Aracil Sala on flute, Mario Díaz Bermejo on keyboards, and José Andreu Garzón on trumpet. Several of El Bicho's members have side projects such as world music and jazz fusion band Candelaria.

De Imaginar contains passionate flamenco rooted songs that are popular with the public as well as extensive instrumental jams where El Bicho blends high energy Andalusian rock with Afro-Latin beats, jazz fusion and much more. 

 

Overall, El Bicho's De Imaginar is a fiery album with an extraordinary blend of Flamenco passion with the energy rock and reinvigorating global beats.

 

Buy the album from flamenco-world.com

The winners of the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced this evening by The Recording Academy at Staples Center in Los Angeles. In the Best Contemporary World Music Album category, the award goes to 'Throw Down Your Heart, Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3: Africa Sessions by banjo innovatorm Béla Fleck (USA). The Best Traditional World Music Album is for Douga Mansa by kora master Mamadou Diabate (Mali). The Best Latin Jazz Album award goes to Juntos Para Siempre by Cuban father and son duo Bebo Valdés and Chucho Valdés. 

 

 

Other roots music categories:

 

• Best Bluegrass Album  The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo by comedian and actor Steve Martin. 
• Best Traditional Folk Album: High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project by Loudon Wainwright III 
• Best Contemporary Folk Album:  Townes by Steve Earle 
• Best Hawaiian Music Album: Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar - Volume 2 by Various Artists (Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku, Jr., Paul Konwiser & Wayne Wong, producers)
• Best Native American Music Album: Spirit Wind North by Bill Miller
• Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album: Lay Your Burden Down by Buckwheat Zydeco
• Best Reggae Album: Mind Control Acoustic by Stephen Marley
• Best Traditional Blues Album: A Stranger Here by Ramblin' Jack Elliott
• Best Contemporary Blues Album:  Already Free by The Derek Trucks Band
• Best Americana Album: Electric Dirt by Levon Helm

 

Some of the finest African artists will be performing at the 2010 edition of the Spring Festival of African Music at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Performances will be held at Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall, The Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago.

 

Program:

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Saturday, February 13, 2010
4pm & 8pm
$45 General Public / $43 Old Town School Members / $41 Seniors & Children
FREE Screening of Bela Fleck's "Throw Down Your Heart" @ 6:30pm

Bela Fleck: The Africa Project, featuring Bassekou Kouyate, Ngoni Ba, Anania Ngoliga & John Kitime
 Sunday, February 21, 2010
 5pm & 8pm
 $45 General Public / $43 Old Town School Members / $41 Seniors & Children
 
 
 Tinariwen
 Saturday, February 27, 2010
 7pm & 10pm
 $28 General Public / $26 Old Town School Members / $24 Seniors & Children
 
 
 Habib Koité & Bamada
 Saturday, March 27, 2010
 7pm & 10pm
 $22 General Public / $20 Old Town School Members / $18 Seniors & Children
 
 
 Baaba Maal
 Friday, April 9, 2010
 8pm
 $40 General Public / $38 Old Town School Members / $36 Seniors & Children
 
 
 King Sunny Ade & His African Beats
 Friday, April 16, 2010
 7pm & 10pm
 $38 General Public / $36 Old Town School Members / $34 Seniors & Children
 
 Performances will be held at:
 Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall
 The Old Town School of Folk Music
 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
 Chicago, IL 60625
 
 Tickets: Call Old Town School of Folk Music at (773) 728-6000, www.oldtownschool.org.

Etelvina Maldonado, one of the leading Colombian bullerengue musicians, died January 26 of 2010 in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). Although she was a popular musician in traditional music circles, she gained national recognition in recent years.

 

She was born in Santa Ana. During her childhood she spent a lot of time participating in carnivals, town celebrations, singing bullerengues, fandango de lenguas and accompanied by the constant sound of drums.

 

“Etelvina was one of the pillars of bullerengue and a woman that showed through music the power of the Caribbean region," said Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata, Colombia's Minister of Culture. "She was a voice capable of touching the most intimate fibers of the heart, generating profound emotions. The nation should remember her as a symbol of the musical heritage of the cantaoras [female folk singers]."

Her legend was solidified in 1996 when the Ale Kuma album by Leonardo Gómez came out. It was a fusion of jazz with traditional music and it included four cantaoras, two from the Pacific region and two from the Caribbean area, combined with a jazz group. One of the female singers was Maldonado.

Since then, Maldonado became known as one of the leading cultivators of Colombian traditional music. One of her highlights was her participation at the Gran Concierto Nacional held last year, where she showcased her talent.

Colombian music critics regarded her as one of the top folk vocalists in Colombia along with Totó La Momposina and Petrona Martínez. However, her fragile health prevented her from touring.

 

"Etelvina Maldonado was a legend of traditional Colombian music and one of the most important interpreters of Afro-Colombian song," said Kaisha S. Johnson, Director of Touring Artists at the Center for Traditional Music and Dance. "Of particular note, was her association with bullerengue, a musical style originating on the Caribbean coast of Colombia."

 

Singing was her passion, but also a way to escape poverty. "Every time I went to participate in festivals, I always won or was one of the best," said Etelvina. "In one occasion I sold several of those awards for an opportunity to register my son at school. I've always been ready to solve any problem to further their education."

Roskilde Festival in Denmark announced the world music acts that are scheduled to perform in he 2010 edition of the festival. Roskilde Festival will be held 1 - 4 July 2010. Warm-up from 27 June at 8:00. 
 
 Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar (Serbia) has been hailed as one of the best players in Eastern European music – at least since they recorded the soundtrack to the Kusturica film Underground. Today, the great musician and trumpet player has brought junior to the helm. Father and son front an orchestra that leaves the listener dizzy in a cloud of brandy, brass, gaudy tone colours and high tempos.

CeU (Brazil) has already taken a wide audience across the Atlantic by storm. In fact, no Brazilian artist has gotten as far as Céu on the US Billboard chart since Astrud Gilberto and her "The Girl from Ipanema". The new, coming Brazilian superstar draws on salsa, bossa nova and hip hop in a hot and sophisticated mix.
 
 Choc Quib Town (Colombia) plays sunny hip hop with Caribbean waves and milk chocolate-coloured skin. Hip hop, funk and salsa form the starting point for the trio whom Roskilde Festival appreciates having back on the poster after they had to change their touring plans last year.
 
 Dulsori (Korea) imitates the rage of the elements by means of especially drums and powerful vocals. Focus is on the resounding primordial force of percussion instruments. And through music, rhythms and dancing, the band wants to recreate an original state of well-being and cohesion with the modern, Western audience.
 
 Tickets to Roskilde Festival 2010 are available through the festival's online ticket sale:  www.roskilde-festival.dk

 

Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar photo by Dragan Tasi

 Rounder Records announced the release of the self titled debut album by Summertown Road on March 23. Produced by renowned bluegrass musician Don Rigsby, Summertown Road is a fresh collection of bluegrass tunes – with 9 out of 14 tracks written by members of the band.

 

With their skillful songwriting, emotional vocals, tight harmonies, and first-rate musicianship, Summertown Road manages to straddle both sides of the bluegrass spectrum at once – the traditional and the contemporary – appealing to every bluegrass fan imaginable. (see below for complete track listing). 

Summertown Road broke onto the bluegrass scene straight out of Ashland, Kentucky in 2008 and although this is their debut album, this is hardly a band of upstarts – the band members have a combined century’s worth of experience.

 

Fiddle player John Rigsby (Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Melvin Goins) delivers smoky leads which are the essence of Kentucky. Banjoist Jack Hicks (Bill Monroe, The Whites, Jim & Jesse, Lester Flatt) has played with some of the greatest artists the genre has ever produced. Both crackle with enthusiasm and precision on this album.

 

Singer Bo Isaac started off his career at age 5 at the Kentucky Opry, then toured with Dave Evans and eventually as a solo artist. His tenor voice is piercing and true and appeals to listeners searching for a modern lead vocalist sound. Rounding out the quartet is bassist Randy Thomas (The Peach Mountain Boys, Dave Evans), who anchors and propels the band’s infectious rhythms.

 

Buy Summertown Road.

Summertown Road will be touring throughout the U.S. in 2010.  See below for upcoming tour dates.
 
Upcoming Tour Dates:

February

13         Beckham Combs CC                             Hindman, KY

26         Shepherdsville Opry                               Shepherdsville, KY

27         Meadowgreen Park                                Clay City, KY

March

5          Gateway City Bluegrass Festival               Saint Louis, MO

6-7       Shorty’s Strickly Bluegrass Festival            Peoria, IL

12         Kentuckians of Michigan                        Romulus, MI

13         Bluegrass Opry Barn                              Oakwood, OH

26         Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival      Wilmington, OH

27         Old Star Mall                                        Williamston,KY

Compiled by the artist Deeyah and Freemuse, the Listen to the Banned CD compilation album will be released on March 3rd of 2010 by Norway’s Grappa Records and distributed internationally. The collection includes many of the best known politically censored musicians: Lapiro de Mbanga, Freemuse Award winner Tiken Jah Fakoly, Marcel Khalife, Mahsa Vahdat, and Ferhat Tunç. They are musicians who have told their stories on freemuse.org, some of them have performed at Music Freedom Day or at Freemuse conferences, and they all share personal experiences of being censored, persecuted or even threatened.
 

‘Listen to the banned’ includes a booklet portraying some of the world’s most renowned artists facing censorship. Their stories are often painful, but they are also the stories of remarkable artists, who will not give in. Artists who believe they can make a difference. There is the song and story of the late Uighur singer, Kurash Sultan, who was imprisoned and tortured by Chinese authorities and after his escape found a new home in Sweden and a very fruitful musical collaboration with Ale Moller.

There is the controversial song about the 'constipated constitution' in Cameroon which led to the imprisonment of Lapiro de Mbanga, and the song that made Marcel Khalife spend time in a court room in Beirut charged with blasphemy. Not to mention Tiken Jah Fakoly’s controversial call on corrupt political leaders to ‘Leave power’. As it is implied in the title itself, this CD offers a unique opportunity to actually listen to the banned.

 

Photo: Mahsa Vahdat

 

"This project represents a conceptual direction that merges an idea from the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the technologies of today to create a new, open-ended platform for musical composition, improvisation and performance," said Pat Metheny in November of 2009 about his latest musical project.
 
 "'Orchestrionics' is the term that I am using to describe a method of developing ensemble-oriented music using acoustic and acoustoelectric musical instruments that are mechanically controlled in a variety of ways, using solenoids and pneumatics. With a guitar, pen or keyboard I am able to create a detailed compositional environment or a spontaneously developed improvisation, with the pieces on this particular recording leaning toward the compositional side of the spectrum. On top of these layers of acoustic sound, I add my conventional electric guitar playing as an improvised component.

At least for me, this takes the term “solo record” into some new and interesting areas, somewhat recontextualizing the idea of what constitutes a solo performance by a single musician. This project is the result of a lifelong dream in this area that dates back to my early youth.

Player piano

As a little kid, every few summers we would go visit my grandparents in Manitowoc, Wisconsin—my mom's hometown. My grandfather (Delmar Bjorn Hansen) was a great musician, a brilliant trumpet player and singer whose love of harmony was a strong early influence. Upon arrival at their family house, I would make a beeline to the basement, where one of the family’s most prized possessions was kept: a then-50-plus-year-old player piano, complete with boxes of piano rolls of all kinds of music. I would spend hours there with my cousins trying each roll, pumping until we were worn out by the pedals.

The idea of an instrument like this, capable of playing just about anything mechanically, was totally mind-blowing to me. It was something utterly charming; on one hand it was old-fashioned but, at the same time, almost like science fiction. Throughout the years, that early fascination has grown and I have studied the tradition of these kinds of instruments, including the Orchestrions of the early 20th century that took this idea further. Using various other orchestral instruments mechanically tethered to the piano/piano roll mechanism to develop ensemble sounds, a miniature orchestra was possible.

But considering the repertoire that was usually called upon when these instruments were played (Conlon Nancarrow and George Antheil's work were sadly and largely absent from the world in which I grew up, or at least from my grandfather's basement), I would often find myself asking over the years, "What might happen if the potentials of these instruments were looked at now—particularly informed by the harmonic and melodic advances in jazz of the past 70 or 80 years? Could I make some kind of personal statement using instruments like these?"

Some Background

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, with the emergence of player pianos (pianos played mechanically by moving rolls of paper through a mechanism that physically moved the keys), the next logical step was to apply that same principle to a range of orchestral instruments, often including percussion and mallet instruments. These large instrument arrays were called Orchestrions.

Orchestrions flourished in the era that directly proceeded the advent of sound recordings. In many ways, that period of time stands as an interesting middle zone; the first technology that brought a performer to an audience once removed, while retaining the essential characteristics of that performer’s message.

The Orchestrion Project

In 1978, I made a record called New Chautauqua, which was a session built upon the idea of using the studio itself as an instrument by layering several guitars on top of each other to create an ensemble sound. The only problem was that it was impractical to do this live. It has since become possible using live looping technology (sampling) to create a viable platform for a limited version of what one can do in a studio in real time, but for the kinds of shifting harmonic environments that i love, there are restrictions in that method.

Over the years I have dreamed of coming up with an environment to write that uses the “front end” of modern music technology while harnessing the power of actual acoustic instruments.

Music

One of the by-products of being a musician who grew up in the late 20th century who also happens to be a guitar player is that I have quite naturally lived a parallel life of deep immersion in the world of music technology. (I often joke that my first musical act with an electric guitar was to "plug it in"—knobs and wires being the same to me as mouthpieces, bows, reeds and drumsticks are to other musicians.)

 

Alongside the information revolution that has affected all of our lives over the past 40 years, we have also lived through a revolution in the way music can be made that is almost overwhelming. Yet, at the same time, as enthusiastic as I have been about the orchestral potential of synths and electric instruments in general, and even as those instruments have improved enormously and continue to develop, the whole idea of jamming a mix of polyphonic sounds into a single set of stereo speakers has never been as satisfying to me as a single instrument going into a single discrete amplification system (electric guitar) or especially, the power of acoustic instruments and sound.

I have never seen any of these sound components—electric or acoustic in nature—as being mutually exclusive. In fact, the exciting thing for me has been the combinations possible using available sounds and dynamic levels of all kinds—from the quietest of the quiet, to the loudest of the loud.

The New Orchestrion

For a number of years leading to this project, I have been gathering the forces of a group of talented inventors and technicians from around the country, and commissioning them to construct a large palette of acoustic sound-producing devices that I can organize as a new kind of Orchestrion.

A small number of musicians have been doing things like this in recent years as the mechanics of it all has evolved, particularly with the advent of modern solenoid technology. And naturally, in many ways, much of the experimentation and research in this area has been as much about the technology as the musical result. My only goal here, however, is a musical one.

This general area of interest has felt like fertile, relatively unexplored territory. And especially now, nearly ten years into the new century, it has felt like the ideal moment to create something particularly connected to the reality of this unique period in time, using the best of the past with the potential of the future.

The issue of context is crucial to this project. As much as I have and will continue to enjoy playing in traditional formats (solo, duets, trios, quartets and quintets, various large ensembles, the Pat Metheny Group—however one might place that in this spectrum—as an occasional sideman, etc.), the urge to investigate what might be possible in this secluded corner of musical instrument lore has been building in me. And it has proven to be a particularly inspiring zone of research that has led me to some new places. I don’t see this as being something better or worse than any of the other formats that I enjoy playing in—but it is definitely something different.

One of the inspiring hallmarks of the jazz tradition through the decades has been the way that the form has willfully ushered in fresh musical contexts, resulting in new performance environments for players and composers. This pursuit of change, and the way that various restless souls along the way have bridged the roots of the form with the new possibilities of their own time, has been an inspiration and a major defining element for me in the music's evolution at every key point along the way.

From new combinations of sounds and new performance techniques to technological shifts in the instruments first deployed in jazz settings (the drum set, the use of the saxophone, the modification and adaptation of European classical instruments, the electric guitar, etc.) to large-ensemble presentation and composition (big bands, etc.), jazz musicians have often been the ones trying new things, looking for new sounds. This quest, in tandem with the generation of deep and soulful content, has made the story of jazz a fascinating journey.

As has been the case several times along the way for me, I found myself craving context that connected to this larger tradition, while longing for a way to reconcile those impulses with the opportunities intrinsic to this particular moment in time—to find something that could only be happening now, in 2010.

Ray Kurzweil, one of the most visionary thinkers in the world, was asked recently about his work in the area of artificial intelligence, and I thought his response to a question that was essentially something to the effect of "Why do you do this?" was right on. His response was to indicate the important ways throughout history that new tools have allowed us to "extend our reach."

In my life as a player there has never been a substitute for musical depth, informed by the experiences of a lifetime and with the quest to invoke the spirit and soul that is core to being the kind of musician that I have aspired to become. I often say that whether it is developed and performed acoustically or otherwise, with a ten-dollar instrument or sophisticated computer system, good notes are good notes—and are almost always elusive in whatever path one might take to find them. Yet good notes, once revealed, seem to carry their own intrinsic value with them forward, however they came to be. While in pursuit, many times along the way the experience of a new challenge or the quest for a new way of looking at things—or a new tool—has allowed me (encouraged me? forced me?) to uncover and ask hard questions of myself as a musician.

As the instruments started to trickle in from the various inventors, the experience of writing for them and figuring out what might be possible with them provided a self-imposed challenge that proved to be difficult and time-consuming, but absolutely exhilarating. I am excited to share this project. If nothing else, this has turned out to be something unique. And in the process of developing all this music and these instruments and discovering what they can do and what they are good at, I learned so much. It feels like progress and has gotten some notes out of me that I didn't know were there. But the surprise was just how far I was able to go with it all. Within this new environment, I found something in there that took me to some new places. I hope you too will enjoy it."

Read the CD review of Orchestrion: The Power of Invention

Buy Pat Metheny's recordings: 

• In North America: Orchestrion. Other recordings available: Secret Story, Offramp, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, Letter from Home, Still Life (Talking)
• In Europe: Orchestrion. Other recordings available: Offramp, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, Secret Story

Photo 2 by Jimmy Katz, photo 3 by Timothy White, photo 4 by Jimmy Katz
 

Pat Metheny

 

Orchestrion (Nonesuch Records, 2010)

 

Pat Metheny is an outstanding musical innovator and guitarist, who is always exploring new ideas, blending contemporary jazz with world music, classical and electronic elements. His latest project, titled is Orchestrion, seems to belong in a Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam fantasy world. Orchestrion is an idea that was conceived  in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The project consist of a large mechanical multi-instrument device that utilizes actual orchestral instruments of various types, called an “Orchestrion.”

 

Pat Metheny takes advantage of today's technology and he has created his own Orchestrion, which includes a large ensemble of acoustic instruments: several pianos, drum kit, marimbas, “guitar-bots,” dozens of percussion instruments and even cabinets of carefully tuned bottles. Metheny worked for months with a brilliant team of scientists and engineers to develop and assemble the “New Orchestrion” for this project.

 

Metheny controls the entire orchestra through his guitar. With his signature guitar sound and the Orchestrion, Metheny has composed five mesmerizing new original pieces.  “As the instruments started to trickle in from the various inventors,” Metheny says, “the experience of writing for them and figuring out what might be possible with them provided a self-imposed challenge that proved to be difficult and time-consuming, but absolutely exhilarating. I am excited to share this project. If nothing else, this has turned out to be something unique.

 

 And in the process of developing all this music and these instruments and discovering what they can do and what they are good at, I learned so much. It feels like progress and has gotten some notes out of me that I didn’t know were there. But the surprise was just how far I was able to go with it all. Within this new environment, I found something in there that took me to some new places.”

Orchestrion is an impressive and beautiful album by one of the United States' most important musicians.

 

Buy Pat Metheny's recordings:

 

• In North America: Orchestrion. Other recordings available: Secret Story, Offramp, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, Letter from Home, Still Life (Talking)
• In Europe: Orchestrion. Other recordings available: Offramp, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, Secret Story

 Related news:

• Pat Metheny Talks About His Orchestrion Project

In response to the recent devastating earthquakes to hit Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas, KCRW Public Radio Station presents and the historic El Rey Theatre hosts a Haiti Relief Concert on Saturday, February 6th in Los Angeles. Ticket proceeds from this night will be donated to Operation USA's Haiti relief efforts.
 
 The worldly line-up on what would have been Bob Marley 's 65th birthday includes ska/rocksteady revivalists Hepcat; Cambodian-American indie-rock/world music band Dengue Fever; a very special set by veteran bassist Joey Altruda’s Crucial Riddims & Reggae Greats Revue featuring Wailing Souls, Elan, Eljai and special guests; cumbia band Very Be Careful; all-star reggae group The Lions; experimental rock outfit The Tuffingtons; Echodelic Soundsystem; and DJ Miles Perlich. The evening will be hosted by veteran radio DJ Junor Francis and Alexis de la Rocha of Live Daily.

Operation USA is an international relief agency that helps communities at home and abroad overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid. OpUSA is appealing for donations of funds to purchase health care materials, water purification supplies and food supplements which they will ship to Port-au-Prince, Haiti and its surrounding areas from its base in the Port of Los Angeles.

OpUSA’s slogan is “Give and it gets there”. And it does, with 98% of every dollar donated going to on the ground relief. That’s why The Rockery, organizers of this event, chose OpUSA to receive the funds generated on February 6th. Every year millions of charitable donations never make it to their destination. “When you donate to Operation USA, you immediately start to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most.”

Dengue Fever's psychedelic take on the Cambodian pop sounds of the 60s makes them one of rock 'n' roll's most unique success stories. They draw enthusiastic crowds from Los Angeles to the UK, from Maui to Moscow, and leave critics rummaging through their thesauruses looking for new superlatives to describe their sound.

Dengue Fever is Chhom Nimol – who sang regularly for the King and Queen of Cambodia - Ethan Holtzman (keyboards), Zac Holtzman (guitar), David Ralicke (horns), Senon Williams (bass) and Paul Smith (drums). The band’s music has been featured in a number of film and television shows including City of Ghosts, Must Love Dogs, Broken Flowers, HBO’s hit series True Blood and twice on Showtime’s Weeds.

They have released three albums, Dengue Fever, Escape from Dragon House, Venus on Earth and released their DVD/CD soundtrack to the documentary Sleepwalking Through the Mekong on April 14, 2009. They recently released Dengue Fever Presents: Electric Cambodia, a compilation of lost Cambodian classics from the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The music of veteran bassist/bandleader Joey Altruda features a variety of musicians depending upon the context – from ska, reggae and Latin to jump blues, lounge and beyond. Joey’s known for his work with Don “Sugarcane” Harris during the ‘80s in the band Tupelo Chain Sex and he co-led Jump With Joey with drummer Willie McNeil from 1989-1999.

 

Over the years Joey has worked with a plethora of legends, including Plas Johnson, Bo Diddley, Joe Strummer, Ernest Ranglin, Jack Costanzo, Ernie Andrews, Rico Rodriguez, Lloyd Knibbs, Mongo Santamaria, Patato Valdez, Chocolate Armenteros and Candido Cameron. With his super group Crucial Riddims, Joey is assembling a Reggae Greats Revue where he will be joined by some of the scenes most talented musicians and singers, paying homage to Jamaican music. Guests will include legendary duo Wailing Souls, long-time Wailers singer Elan, Belizean singer Eljai, Persephone Laird of Ocean 11, and more singers to be announced.

Very Be Careful is a homegrown Los Angeles band that plays Colombian vallenato music, a traditional sound that centers around the accordion, backed with percussion and bass. Members include Ricardo "Ricky G" Guzman on accordion and vocals, Arturo "Brickems" Guzman on bass, Craig "Peabody" Martin on guacharaca, Dante "The Rip" Ruiz on campana, and Richard "Mil Caras" Panta on caja vallenata.

 

From the streets of Austin’s SXSW and Germany’s World Cup Tour ’06 to the cultural pinnacles of Chicago’s Summer Dance Series, New York’s Central Park Summerstage, Los Angeles’ Grand Performances, Glastonbury Music Festival, and Fuji Rock Festival, to NY’s SOBs, Los Angeles’s House of Blues and backyard BBQs, VBC has tamed the beasts within or unleashed the ones without.

 

They have performed alongside Joe Strummer, Alfredo Gutierrez, Antibalas, Carlos Vives, Dub Trio, Grupo Niche, Kronos Quartet, Gogol Bordello. VBC’s latest album, Horrible Club (Downtown Pijao 2009), is a collection of bootleg recordings from 1998-2009 and captures the reckless abandon of a VBC show where anything can happen.

The Lions are Los Angeles’ premier 12-piece all-star reggae band featuring members of Hepcat, Orgone, Breakestra, Macy Gray’s band, The Expanders, Ocean 11, Connie Price & the Keystones and Rhythm Roots Allstars. The result of an impromptu recording session by some of the scene’s most soulful and notable musicians and singers, The Lions created grooves that went beyond Jamaican music by combining new and traditional rhythms, and dub mixing mastery with the global sounds of Ethiopia and Colombia.

 

Their album Jungle Struttin was released on Ubiquity Records in 2008 and they are now releasing songs on their own Lions Bread Records – including the singer/DJ combination “This Generation” and the laid back instrumental “New Girl”. Their live set transcends any particular genre but is best described as a healthy mix of vocal and dub tracks, balancing classic reggae and soul cuts as well as new originals. The Lions have had the honor of being the backing band on two occasions for legends The Heptones, and have supported The Aggrolites, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Antibalas and Bedouin Soundclash.

The Tuffingtons are a six-piece unit made up of native Angelenos, who have created their own blend of ska and disco, with a couple nods to bands like Television, Madness and Buzzcocks. They have called their music everything from AM punk to island-arena rock. The Tuffingtons are gaining a reputation for their live shows, which usually consist of something like animal ‘sacrifice’, and there is a very lifelike and life-size puppet. Their shows are better experienced than explained. Their debut full-length record, produced by Jacob Bercovici AKA Mr. Sandwiches (Warpaint, The Lady Tigra) will be out this summer. Their current EP Egregious will be released this February.

Tickets are $25 and will be available starting Saturday, January 23rd at 10am at www.Ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000, select Macy’s, all Ritmo Latino stores, and the El Rey’s restaurant Cowboys & Turbans. Cowboys & Turbans is open Monday thru Friday from Noon to 9pm and on show nights (cash only). If tickets remain, walk up sales will be available at the El Rey box office, opening at the door time on the night of the event. El Rey Theatre is located at 5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. It’s an all ages, general admission, standing room only venue.

More information at:

• www.theelrey.com
• www.opusa.org

Various Artists

 

NPR Discover Songs: The New Jazz Divas (Shout Factory, 2009)

 

NPR’s Discover Songs: The New Jazz Divas takes a look at the most popular contemporary female jazz artists. While some singers go in a neotraditionalist direction, other vocalists incorporate elements of contemporary jazz, soul, blues and even world music.

 

Madeleine Peyroux, born in Athens (Georgia) is one of the gems included in this compilation. Her vocal style is sensational and she belongs with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald as one of the greatest voices in jazz. In fact her voice sounds remarkably similar to Billie Holiday's. 

 

Another great discovery in this recording is Esperanza Spalding. Her family roots are Hispanic, African American, Native American and Welsh.  Esperanza has a special interest in Brazilian music and her powerful piece 'I Adore You,' is a brilliant mix of contemporary jazz and Afro-Brazilian beats.

 

Other highlights include the captivating bluesy work of Lizz Wright and U.S.-based Brazilian singer and keyboardist Eliane Elias, who occasionally ventures into global sounds. The piece featured here by Elias takes the legendary Bob Marley song 'Jammin'' and transforms it into a global jazz piece by blending the original reggae beats with contemporary jazz and Brazilian sounds.

 

The rest of the artists included are the popular Diana Krall, Jane Monheit, Ledesi, Patricia Barber, Melody Gardot, The Tierney Sutton Band, Karrin Allyson, Jane Monheit, René Marie, and Catherine Russell.

 

NPR Discover Songs: The New Jazz Divas features some of the most talented female jazz artists in recent times.

 

No longer the Bay Area's best-kept world music secret, San Francisco-based Sila and the Afrofunk Experience have been recognized as being among the genre's elite and most promising artists with the nomination of their sophomore album, Black President, for an NAACP Image Award.

 

With the nomination, Sila and the AFE join such notables as Omou Sangare, Zap Mama, Maria De Barros, and Rodrigo y Gabriela in the nominations for "Best World Music Album."

 

With the nomination, Sila and the AFE join such notables as Omou Sangare, Zap Mama, Maria De Barros, and Rodrigo y Gabriela in the nominations for "Best World Music Album."

Declared "Africa's James Brown" by the Oakland Post and a worthy successor to "the legendary sounds of Fela" by the SF Weekly (who also named the band "Best International Act"), success and recognition have been a long time coming for Sila and the AFE.

Since forming Sila and the AFE in 2003, Kenyan expatriate Victor Sila has spearheaded the Bay Area's world beat resurgence, with two critically-acclaimed albums (The Funkiest Man in Africa and Black President), a trail of Afrofunkitized venues (including the Stern Grove Festival and the Outside Lands Music Festival), and a history of supporting humanitarian causes in developing nations.

The co-founder of the annual AfroFunk Festival, Sila and the AFE have presided over benefits for numerous charities supporting in Africa. Most recently, Sila's Thursday night residency at SF nightclub Coda, "Sahara," raised $4,000 for Haitian disaster relief; additional benefits are scheduled for Coda Jan. 21 & 28 and the Independent on Jan. 27th.

The album for which Sila & the AFE were nominated for, Black President, is perhaps the hardest and most socially- and politically-relevant Afrobeat album of the year. It updates the message of the late Fela Kuti, while adding a contemporary slant, influenced by the election of President Obama, but also equally by James Brown, reggae, samba, and P-Funk, creating an urbanized Diasporan variant known as "A-Funk."

Black President overflows with slinky, expansive grooves and pro-humanistic messages, addressing such poignant issues as world politics ("Black President"), refugees ("Shelter"), female beauty ideals ("Beauty Queen"), and the current state of Africa in a post-Obama world ("Thief in the Night").

Alongside all its near-militancy, the album also revels in somewhat lighter notes. The James Brown homage "Chrome" - a single and video which puts the 'funk' in Afrofunk-was highlighted in Paste magazine, and Black President was listed among the Top 5 African releases for 2009 by NPR's "Afropop Worldwide."

"I am very honored and pleased to be nominated for an Image Award," said Sila "In these times of national recession, global epidemics and worldwide disasters, it's more important that music tell the truth than ever before. We need music to give us the strength to go through, and with a larger platform, hopefully we can do more to support people who need shelter all over the world, by giving them culture - and a beat they can dance to."

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Awards, which was founded in 1909, is the U.S.' premier event celebrating the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts, including motion picture, television, recording, and literature, as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors.

The NAACP awards show airs live on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Killamu is one of the busiest kuduro beat makers in Luanda, Angola's bustling capital. Although kuduro has started to reach ears all over the globe, via groups such as Buraka Som Sistema or M.I.A., Luanda's sound has yet to truly break through. Killamu's album "A Minha Face", out on Akwaaba Music, is the genre's first global release entirely recorded in Angola.
 
 Killamu has been part of the Angolan kuduro scene for ten years now, and started producing tracks for Gueto Produções with Mestre Ara eight years ago. The duo quickly established their production house as one of the very best in Luanda, collaborating with many of Angola’s most innovative kudurists: laying tracks for artists such as Puto Prata, Noite e Día and Fofandó & Saborosa, together they have paved the way for the next generation of hard-hitting, rhyme-spitting kuduro lyricists.

With a slew of hits behind him, Killamu has become an unavoidable producer on the kuduro circuit. But as this album shows, his versatility allows him to explore sounds beyond kuduro, starting with kizomba (Angolan zouk), but also, and perhaps most importantly for Western audiences, his experimentations into more instrumental, electronic kuduro beats have definitely set him aside within Angola’s kuduro community.

Find out more about Killamu at www.akwaabamusic.com

Buy his album in iTunes

More about Buraka Som Sistema and M.I.A

• www.myspace.com/burakasomsistema
• www.myspace.com/mia