Nu-made (remixes & videos)
This exciting double-pack contains 11 audio tracks, fresh remixes derived from BBB’s acclaimed 2007 album Nu Med (for “New Mediterranean”, a music video, and a 26-minute film, documenting a special event put together by Balkan Beat Box in Tel Aviv in February 2008 For this circus-like show, the band’s 6-member line-up was augmented by a host of guests including Kurdish and Bulgarian folk musicians & singers, as well as ex-Minimal Compact guitarist/singer Berry Sakharof for a version of an old Greek pop tune.
‘Festive, powerful, volcanic’ (Trax, France) ‘Nu Med mixes giant hip hop beats and electronica with klezmer, Romanian folk and reggae’ (Time Out London, UK) ‘Totally indispensable and strongly recommended!’ Mondomix
1 real
This is DJ Dolores’ third album, and it sees his multiple talents come to full bloom. Using once again elements of popular music from his native Brazilian Northeast, blended with dancefloor-friendly electronics, horns, and rock & dub influences, he’s created these exhilarating songs which are contagiously joyful, yet based on the observation of a grim political and social subtext.
The bonus track at the end of 1 Real is DJ Dolores’ contribution to the Danger Global Warming project initiated by the Blacksmoke Organization, an international group of artists, filmmakers, photographers, musicians and actors whose aim is to support environmental causes by propagating audiovisual noise. For this particular project, they created a track, featuring vocals by The Stranglers’ Hugh Cornwell, and are having it remixed by 50+ artists from all over the world..
Grass is singing
A captivating voice, a fiery piano, a gentle acoustic guitar wandering into an expressionist cabaret, melodies, melodies and more melodies, words, emotion and magic: welcome to the unique world of Lonely Drifter Karen.
Lonely Drifter Karen revolves around Tanja Frinta. She was bewitched by the musicals she went to see when she was a child, in the theatres and cinemas of her native Vienna. She started writing after having listened to a lot of folk, German cabaret music and punk rock.
‘The year first unexpected Wow!’
Music Week
Disko partizani
After pioneering the concept of Balkan clubbing with his now-legendary Bucovina Club parties and albums, Shantel moves on to the next level and releases Disko Partizani! (his first solo album in seven years), which lays the foundations for an innovative new brand of pop music. This is the sound of new Europe, centered in the middle of the old continent, but incorporating vibrant influences from the emerging new frontier which stretches all the way to Mitteleuropa, the south east, Greece, Turkey and beyond. The album features great performances by a host of musicians from southeast Europe and by Shantel himself, who also appears on lead vocals, gracing several tracks with an unexpected, elegantdeadpan delivery.
In Paris, we can partying the whole night. Trendy clubs, unusual encountrers, cult places shot with the camera …
The famous French TV show “Paris Derniere” is celebrating its 10th season on the Paris Première channel and Beatrice is still the sound designer behind.
21 tracks with 5 inedits: Moriarty, Lilly Allen, the Sunday Drivers, Yaron Herman, Robots in disguise, f.m., Harpers Bizarre ….
Unexpected Covers, often funny, always crazy… The collection has seduced its audience in France and foreign countries.
Takes
After a first album released in 2005 on the mythic label Blue Note, acclaimed by both the critics and the public in France, American artist Brisa Roché, evolving between California and Paris, comes back with a new record. With a mix by Henry Hirsch (Lenny Kravitz, Vanessa Paradis) and the participation of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' guitarist (Nick Zinner), Brisa delivers 15 pop gems that fill the gap between the influences of The Mamas and the Papas' Californian psyche-folk and the Velvet Underground orientated NY underground scene.
My Friends All Died In A Plane Crash
New Folky- Pop Acoustic sensation from France, Cocoon already sold 25.000 cds of their debut album in France, Belgium & Swiss already fell for their soft ballads... Cocoon is now preparing to take over the world. Two sublime voices that seem made to blend together, an acoustic guitar bursting forth with powerful arpeggios, poignant keyboards and even a catchy ukulele from time to time... Almost nothing and yet it goes straight to the heart, everywhere that they play... Introducing Cocoon. Unstoppable melodies, melancholic or airy texts and moving pieces that almost immediately enter the personal pantheon of all pop-folk fans... And Cocoon has only just begun its musical adventures!
Hey Hey My My
Rock and roll will never die..." Julien Garnier and Julien Gaulier, share a passion for artists such as The Beatles, Blonde Redhead, Nirvana and The Pixies, just to mention a few. But from the start, they made these lyrics by Neil Young their motto, long before realizing that this legendary title would seal their musical union defi nitively. Hey Hey My My is a superbly instinctive blend of enthusiasm and melancholy. Above all, it's an explosion of energy and the deceptive lightness of simple folk, as if to give more space to the words, which go right to the heart... In all cases, their love of catchy ballads always has the same devastating effect. We leave Julien Garnier and Julien Gaulier with a smile on our lips and a tune in our heads. With the hope of savouring this tantalizing, irresistible folk pop once more and heading back to Merryland, the intimate and enchanting world of
Hey hey my my.
Ghost Days
The Parisian Jonathan Morali, alias Syd Matters, came from nowhere to make a big impression with his first two spellbinding albums. Syd has since won over both critics and the general public. Syd experiences a strange sense of joy, feels incredibly present and at the same time as if he were floating. Since the very beginning, what has been so astonishing is the artistry of his song writing, his airy, dreamlike, dense style, and his unique touch that you recognize immediately. Putting it differently, we could say Syd Matters belongs to a European middle class in decline, and this would explain why he is so melancholic. But he is also part of an active minority that has chosen to distance itself from society's greedy, empty show. A minority that prefers the desire of abstinence to forced orgasms. This is Syd Matters' path to a bright future - and it starts right here.
We'll drive home backwards
Cocosuma's music is composed of flames and electricity, those solitary nocturnal moments and joyful accelerations with tracks that crackle (Charlotte's on Fire), bounce (Athletes!), enchant (Polly Has My Disease) and bewitch (the surprising Broken Glass - Reminiscent of the work of Badalamenti with Julie Cruise). Thanks to their foray into live sets, Cocosuma's music has become still more arresting, but fear not! The tremendous trio haven't lost their taste for elaborate production, 60's pop musicians (from The Band to The Zombies...) and their heirs (Midlake or Peter, Bjorn & John), analogue techniques and sophisticated arrangements . Cocosuma remains faithful to its dreamy and sincere pop, mixing an introspective naivety with clear melodies and feverish atmospheres. They convey that melancholic cheerfulness one finds in every corner of modern city life. This collection of songs represents a wholesome break from the norm. And what's more, it's their most beautiful album to date.
Nouvelle Vague Bande A Part
"Each original songs is transformed into a masterpiece’" Inpress
"Best of all is the acordion in the metro station version of Visage’s Fade to Grey.... After dinner party music for old punks" The West Australian
"Punk’s not dead; it’s just gone to the bar for a cocktail" The Sydney Magazine (Album of the Month)
"We loved the uneasy listening take on 'Visage Fade To Grey' redone with whisppering chanteuse, wheezing accordion and Spooky Marimbas" The Sunday Age
"There are a few magic moments to be found in these inventive re-imaginings" The Age
Ska-punk chansons under the big top? Babylon Circus exciting and fresh sound would identify with Les Negresses Vertes, Mano Negra or Manu Chao; a sound that blends a whole spectrum of music genres ranging from ska, punk, funk, chanson and folk to afro-beat and reggae.
Touring Australia this summer, 7 dates inclusive of Woodford Festival, Sydney Festival, East Coast and Melbournes show. December 29 - January 15 2008.
Rachid Taha is a great showman, and this guy knows how to deliver a groove, delivering rude-boy witticisms and hilarious insights with sweaty passion whilst his band fire off raucous rock riffs and snaky Arabic melodies. It’s a clear case of never mind the world music bollocks, here’s Rachid Taha. The Best Of is released initially in a strictly Limited Edition of 200 units with additional DVD recording his return to Algeria.
The world loves an enigma, and enigmas rarely come as talented, beautiful, honest and courageous as Souad Massi. Her music has been welcomed as a brave new dawn in the history of Maghrebi music. Her youthful obsessions with western rock, folk, country music, as well as the chaabi and classical andalusian music of her native land, gave birth to a style uniquely her own, an emotionally charged vehicle for themes of loss, nostalgia and the bonfire of innocence. She is now one of the leading female World Music Artists, having sold over 300,000 albums around the world. She has stamped her own identity, her own style, with her culture-blending sound - a mix of traditional, rock, folk, classical, flamenco,while her ballads are melodic, poignant, achingly beautiful. Just as Souad Massi herself is all light and shade, innocence and experience, melancholy and optimism, so is this beautiful representation of the best of her 3 albums reinterpreted, recorded during her World tour in 2007.
the 2007 Italian Film Festival
Dig the Italian groove with this selection of acoustic songs, quality pop, jazz and classic movies melodies. Featuring Paolo Conte, Pino Marino, Nino Rota, Cristina Dona...
From his first solo release L'heroine au bain and his work as co producer and guitarist with French pop sensation Nouvelle Vague Olivier Libaux has earned a reputation of crafting songs of subtle elegance with a fine line in pop sensibilty. His newest release Imbecile takes his skills to a whole different level as an album that works as a simple release but has also been written as an intimate stage performance involving different musicians and singers including Philippe Katerine, Helene Noguerra, JP Nataf and Barbara Carlotti.
Brazilian bossa nova star Bebel Gilberto is heading to Australia to perform at The Sydney Opera House Friday 5th October and Hamer Hall, the Arts Centre on Sunday 7th October.
With favourites from 'Tanto Tempo' and the critically acclaimed latest 'Momento' Bebel will take her audience through a lush backdrop of warm bossa nova grooves, summer sambas and exotic rainforest percussion - this is one of the must-see music events of the year.
"Dreamy, erotic... Deliciously good" The Times (UK)
Tinariwen Aman Iman
"This is music for the ages - ancient, modern, passionate, timeless and
amazingly, very accessible to western audiences'. Bruce Elder, The Sydney Morning Herald
'The Sahara is the latest part of the globe to be discovered by the world
music community... Tinariwen's music from the harsh world has universal
meaning'. Michael Rofe, The Weekend Australian
With their roots firmly planted all around the Mediterranean rim and their solid rock+reggae foundations, this New York-based band are the new sensation. Their name, their personal history and the enthusiastic media & audience reactions suggest a link with the so-called Gypsy Rock movement, but their scope is reaching way beyond that: Balkan Beat Box really transcend categories (pop, electronic dance music, world, rock) by creating a new breed of 21st century music, deeply connected to their folk upbringing yet forward-thinking, which appeals to audiences across the geographical and stylistic borders. This very strong new album weaves elements of ragga and hip hop with Balkanoid horns, Arab & Bulgarian guest singers, Greek guitars and more... Hence Nu Med (for "New Mediterranean"), a title which can be understood both as a musical and a cultural/political statement.
The Unofficial Soundtrack to the French Film Festival 'It's a delight to uncover something so eclectic and interesting'. Inpress Magazine
'The Music spans neo chanson, postcolonial grooves, urban electronica, cosmopolitan jazz and quirky indie'. **** The Herald Sun
'This is a superior summer cocktail soundtrack'. The Age
"She is from another era, an era of beautiful work and melodies as fine as lace," Elle Magazine - France
'Emilie is a gorgeous French girl with a delicate and irresistible voice. Some of her lyrics are in English, but all her songs are quirky, sexy and lingering concoction of electric guitar synths or understated rhythms. With a theme of blooming buds and nature, the flower book is an album to fall in love to'. Yen Magazine
'Evora's melancholy rendering is as moving as ever on this fine CD.'
Larry Schwartz- The Sunday Age
'This is one diva worth tapping your feet to' The Sunday Magazine
'An hautingly beautiful record as Bruni herself' Vogue
'With her smoky voice and deft acoustic guitar work, Carla Bruni smashes
supermodel stereotypes on her second solo album, no promises'.
Kathy McCabe - The Daily Telegraph
On this new album (their first studio recording since 2001's acclaimed "Band Of Gypsies"), the world's leading Balkan Gypsy band tackles classical music! Starting out in a virtual concert hall, Maskarada takes us through various stages which inevitably lead back to the type of repertoire for which the Taraf are known and loved. We fi rst imperceptibly move into a cabaret, where Gypsy musicians have long been adapting classical pieces to entertain their audiences during the early hours of the night. After a couple of pieces featuring distinguished singer / cymbalum player Virginica Dumitru (the first-ever female Taraf guest), the mood gradually heats up and the album closes with a wild party piece.
The follow-up to the album, which started the electro/Balkan
explosion across Europe's clubs. Featuring Balkan Beat Box, Oi Va Voi, Smadj, Shantel), by several mainstays of the new Balkan club
scene (DJ ClicK, Forty Thieves Orkestar, Gaetano Fabri, Russ Jones, Russendisko), and by more unexpected contributors coming from totally
different musical areas (Tunng, Animal Collective, Nouvelle Vague, Cibelle).
Experience the music and life story of this giant of a man, with this double CD 'BEST OF' chosen by his musician son Fémi plus the incredible DVD documentary MUSIC IS THE WEAPON. An essential feature film for all who wish to know more about an artist at the heart of African musical history.
'Once a listener fall under Kuti's spell, its highly likely they'll be fan for life' - The Sunday Mail