CONCERTS Babel Med Music 2009
3 NIGHTS, 30 CONCERTS… Kora Jazz Trio (Guinea / Senegal) Kristin Asbjornsen (Norway) Wasis Diop (Senegal/ Fr) Novalima (Peru) Les Bantous de la Capitale (Congo) Yom (Fr) Moussu T & lei Jovents * (Provence - Fr) Rupa & The April Fishes (USA) Aronas (New Zeland / GB) Dj ClicK (Romania / Fr / GB) Houria Aïchi & L'Hijâz'car (Algeria / Fr) Istanbul Calling (Turkey) Frédéric Galliano Kuduro Sound System (Angola / Fr) Baster (Reunion / Fr) Waed Bouhassoun (Syria) Axivil Aljamía (Andalusia - Spain) Le Bus Rouge (Fr) Sayon Bamba * (Guinea / Fr) Kamel El Harrachi (Algeria / Fr) Sam Karpienia * (Provence - Fr) Goldenberg & Schmuyle * (Fr) Hemdem (Turkey) Kumar (Cuba / Spain) Nidi d'Arac (Italy) Fouad Didi et l'Orchestre Tarab * (Algeria / Fr) Grail'Oli (Occitania / Fr) Mosaïca (Occitania / Marocco) Zaman Fabriq * (Egypt / Fr) Deba (Mayotte / Fr) *Artists Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
THURSDAY 26 MARS 19.30PM / 15€
NOVALIMA (Peru) The brilliant pioneers of afro-peruvian-electro The young generation of Lima has found its new heroes. The four DJs of Novalima are well on the way to the remarkable accomplishment of conquering dance floors all around the planet with their new sounds: their live electro revolutionizes the rules, drawing from Afro-Peruvian traditions, heritage of the African slaves who nurtured the Andean lands as far back as the 16th century. To this centuries-old foundation, these young Peruvians respectively © Yayo Lopez living in London, Lima, Barcelona and HongKong (!) have enhanced their musical project with acoustic rhythms and CD : Coba Coba musical styles which influenced them when growing up: Label : Cumbancha rock, reggae, dub, salsa and obviously electro with which they set the dance floors ablaze. The presence of musicians www.novalima.net on scene adds a fresh vitality and attests to Novalima’s www.myspace.com/novalima audacity in breaking down the boundaries… While dancing, of course.
ARONAS (New Zealand/Australia/G.Britain) Jazz-punk from the Southern hemisphere Attention, genius at work! Aron Ottignon, pianist and band leader of Aronas, arrives from his southern hemisphere like a clap of musical thunder. Jazz virtuoso since his pre- adolescent years, he has progressively embraced all musical styles integrating them into his absolutely delirious jazz- groove-punk cocktail. His touches of rock and soul, his Maori and Caribbean rhythms create an unequalled color where the piano reeks of ingenuity and quenches his creative thirst. Designated as the new “jazz magician”, he is © Jacky Lehmann particularly inspired by the rhythmic treasures of percussion sounds from the South Pacific where he grew up. And if his CD : Culture tunnels musical conception between free jazz, pop or electro Label : unsigned astonishes, his on-scene performance also amazes with rock-star postures and a madness which is a real pleasure to www.myspace.com/aronas watch. Forget your ideas about the piano…
THURSDAY 26 MARCH (Following)
WASIS DIOP (Senegal/France) The royal voice of the insatiable voyager A deep, dark voice and unmistakable timbre, Wasis Diop has enjoyed an artistic career of more than 30 years, always keeping a step ahead with his visionary mixes of world music. Combining subtle guitar wizardry and refined compositions, this curious and tireless voyager continuously cruises the planet from his native Senegal to Jamaica, via Japan, Paris or even London. Deliciously surprising blends of ancient Sahelian prayers with rock, dub CD : Ju du Bék and pop, and lyrics combining poetry, ecological tributes to Label : Think Zik! ‘Mother Nature’ and proclaimed social activism. His music roves the globe, sampled by Dr. Dre or featured in original www.wasisdiop.com motion picture soundtracks (the Thomas Crown affair, the www.myspace.com/ Cinema of Techine etc) offering a contemporary vision of wasisdiopmusic African music, anchored in its ancient treasures and naturally open to the world.
SAYON BAMBA* (Guinea/France - PACA) The captivating and enchanting African Amazon The graceful and determined Sayon Bamba Camara wasted no time in marking out her taste for independence and artistic things. At a very young age, she forced her destiny mingling with the cream of Guinean Bohemia in Conakry: writers, musicians, artists, actors and dancers, the warm nights of the Guinean capital leading her to sing in the Amazons of Guinea. Sayon Bamba then made a stopover in Marseilles, her city of adoption where she progressively nourished her creations. Her sharp eye always closely examines Guinean society governed by the rhythm of village celebrations, ever-increasing poverty or even CD : Mod'vakance polygamy. But her distinctive, unique voice also carries the Label : Cobalt hopes of this African woman of the 21st century, free, sensual, fulfilled, hard-working and mother all in one, far sayonbambacamara.com from the taboos and the prohibitions. Like the luminous www.myspace.com/sayon anthem of an artist with a profound love of liberty… bamba
THURSDAY 26 MARCH (Following)
HOURIA AÏCHI & L’HIJÂZ' CAR (Algeria/France) The glorified tradition of the riders of the Aures In the east of Algeria, in the heart of the Chaouia country, the Aures Mountains have been sheltering Berber traditions for centuries. The songs of Houria Aïchi outline this rich heritage where great pride is given to the stories of these highly skilled riders, guardians of the herds, symbols of the dignity and honor of an entire population: the Riders of the Aures. By weaving invaluable sound archives with the overwhelming voice of Houria Aïchi, the Hijâz' car group celebrates the universality of the rules of © gunther Vicente chivalry, bravery and love for which these centaurs of the CD : Les cavaliers mountains are renowned. A musical framework of string, de l'Aurès wind and percussion instruments drawing from the Label : Accords croisés thousand-year-old Chaouia heritage, leaving its unique subtle mark on a project which spills out the raw emotion www.myspace.com/ of a vocalist in full grace. lescavaliersdelaures
KAMEL EL HARRACHI (Algeria/France) The flamboyant heir of the Algerian Chaâbi With profound respect and pride, Kamel El Harrachi carries a delicate artistic heritage on his shoulders. How could it be otherwise for the son of the great Dahmane Amrani, known as El Harrachi, author of “Ya Rayah”, popularized throughout the world by Rachid Taha and leading figure of the chaâbi? Kamel did not wait long indeed © Laurence Berchoteau to follow the footsteps of his venerated father. Mandole in hand since the age of 6, the youth of chaouie origin www.kamel-el-harrachi.com perpetuates the themes of this popular Algerian music www.myspace.com/ dedicated to exile and an unconditional love for Algeria kamelelharachi from the depths of his husky voice. His fidelity (and resemblance) to his father make him the best placed artist to give Chaâbi a second youth. His interpretations of the paternal repertory have already been acclaimed by well- informed audiences, prolonging with talent a brilliant family saga…
THURSDAY 26 MARCH (Following)
FOUAD DIDI & THE TARAB ORCHESTRA* (France - PACA/Algeria) Arab-Andalusian heritage taken to cloud nine Founded in 1996, the Tarab orchestra of Marseilles directed by Fouad Didi interprets the cornucopia of Andalou and Hawzi repertories. Born in Tlemcem in Algeria, Didi belongs to a traditional musical genre nourished with popular poetry. His verses of great finesse evoke the themes of love, nostalgia, social situations, the passion for his country and exile. The intensity of Fouad Didi’s voice, supported by a rare instrumental mastery, transcends this culture to attain the highest summits of interpretation. The instruments used by his Tarab Orchestra, violin, viola, kouotra, mandoline, derbourka and CD : De l’Andalou au Hawzy târ, are those of the traditional orchestras of medieval Andalusia. The work of an expert, in a permanent quest for authenticity, bringing the sumptuous Arab-Andalusian heritage back to life…
GOLDENBERG & SCHMUYLE* (France) Alchemists of stateless beats and ancestral grooves Taken straight out from one of the paintings of a Moussorgski exhibition, Goldenberg & Schmuyle proclaim their forger’s expertise and profile of falsifying explorers. Their creed: “our forgeries ring more true than the originals!” Both DJs have a field day as they triturate, detour, cloud the tracks and reinvent a musical idiom with an infinite glossary: from afrobeat-dub-jazz to samba, from klezmer souk to Mediterranean zouk, from the banks of the Gange to the depths of the Guadalquivir, from the Carpates to the Atlas, from Congo to Chicago, the two accomplices elaborate an Esperanto which makes bodies move. Their long experience and inexhaustible knowledge of world music makes them the ideal alchemists, ready to serve as unabashed intermediaries between the most unlikely sounds. Infectious.
THURSDAY 26 MARCH (Following)
GRAIL' OLI (France) A brasilo-occitan armada with carnavalesque frenzy Grail' oli pursues the Carnival spirit across the five continents. With the shrill tones of their Catalan ‘graille’ oboes, this troupe of Southerners trails from the West Indies, through Provence, to Dunkirk or Brazil the festive and anti-establishment airs of this popular event. Strongly influenced by Brazilian percussions, Grail' oli introduces rhythms of samba carioca, funk, nordestino coco, bahiano samba-reggae or maracatu recifense where hullabaloos CD : Caramentranse descend the streets to march with exuberant force. Their Label : Lo Bruch infectious syncopation then carries us to the Caribbean, their songs taking inspiration from Provencal, Portuguese, www.tousenlive.com/grailoli Spanish or Creole. At crossroads between the wild www.myspace.com/grailoli batacuda and the erudite brass band, like a popular wind of jubilation Grail' oli stirs up the carnavalesque fire and brings on collective hysteria… Communicative…
FRIDAY 27 MARS 19PM / 15€
YOM (Klezmer/France) King of Klezmer, clarinet fever… To live up to his irreverent and merry cult of the brilliant and insane clarinetist Naftule Brandwein, self-proclaimed “king of klezmer clarinet” in 1910 in the United States, Yom had to set very high standards (even higher?) in view of the displayed talent and exuberance. Mission accomplished not without implacable brilliance. New king of the Yiddish clarinet, he shall be. In full regalia and with © Arnaud Weil inexhaustible virtuosity, this young Parisian wind player CD : New King of Klezmer passes through traditional music, contemporary jazz and Clarinet electro, bellowing out a thousand feelings with his instrument: melancholy, frenzy, mysticism, poignant Label : Buda musique sensitivity, festive fever, emotion like no other, the invitation to dance smoldering behind each trill and each www.myspace.com/klezmerking melodic ornament. Feverishly klezmer and quite simply supreme…
FRIDAY 27 MARCH (Following)
FREDERIC GALLIANO KUDURO SOUND SYSTEM (Fr/Angola) Kuduro fever, the most torrid Angolan techno Since 1994, the French DJ-explorer has carried on his exceptional musical wayfaring venture… From his first techno-house-jazz mixes to his world tours with the African Divas (of Senegal, Mali, Guinea, etc), Frederic Galliano has always been considered as an iconoclast, curious and bold like a treasure-hunting adventurer. His discovery of Kuduro, the first electro music to be produced and performed in Africa (by Tony Amado in CD : 1996) had a bomb-like effect. This typically Angolan Kuduro Sound System mixture of semba, kizomba and Western techno house Label : Nocturne gives life to a rough sound-system, transcending dancers in a highly sensual and overheated ambience. Supported by fredericgalliano.com Angolan MCs with formidable vitality, the Kuduro of Fred www.myspace.com/festival Galliano has this rare gift of throwing thermometers into a 100angola panic. Warning, heat wave on the dance-floor!
LES BANTOUS DE LA CAPITALE (Congo) The mythical Congolese rumba orchestra True legends of West Africa, les Bantous de la Capitale have been getting crowds up and dancing to the sound of their famous Congolese rumba since 1959. Over the decades, the Bantous masters have enriched the diversity of ancestral Kinshasa rhythms, combining Latin and trans- Atlantic influences of rumba, cha-cha, patchanga and beguine with soukouss, yéké-yéké, kwasa-kwasa and sometime later ndombolo and even coupé-décalé styles. This festive and dance-inspiring music interwoven with CD : Cuban inflections has shaped the reputation of Congo’s Bakolo Mboka steamy nights, establishing the illustrious band of seventy- Label : Cantos year-olds as heroes of Africa’s musical heritage. They are www.myspace.com/ celebrating a career of 50 years, a feverish half-century lesbantousdelacapitale dedicated to transcending the region’s tumultuous history and radiating their wild rumba rhythms over and beyond the two sides of the Congo Riv
FRIDAY 27 MARCH (Following)
BASTER (Island of Reunion) The mythical figure of Reunion Island maloya reggae Leading group of the Indian Ocean and protective pillar of the Island’s culture since 1983, Baster gives a meaning to his sharpened rhythms… In the sega and maloya, one dives into the musical identity of the Island. In the Jamaican reggae, the rolling sway carries the voice of the excluded while in the jazz and Afro-Latin rhythms, an echo of the abolition of slavery resounds. Through seas high and low, Baster has always stirred consciences through dancing. With his latest album Wiyo (the 15th in 25 years!), he © Fatch displays a similar tendency for Caribbean melodies and his Island rhythms continue to support songs of protest, CD : Wiyo where one notes collaborations with the singer Cali or Label : Runadelik Ludovic N’Hollé, percussionist of Tiken Jah Fakoly. A new breath for the tireless child of St Pierre. www.bastermusik.com
DEBA (Mayotte) The song of Mayotte women, The mystic waves of the Indian Ocean Bathed in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the East African coast, Mayotte played a part in the Eastern slave trade from the 9th century. Over the years, shaped by ancestral African, Bantu and Swahili traditions and by influences from the Islamic world, the Mahoran culture of Mayotte has created great Sufi ceremonies in which centuries-old chants and dances devotedly celebrate the birth of Mohamed. Certain ritual practices offer a striking spectacle, such as when the Deba ensemble, exclusively composed of women and young girls © Albert Finestre from the village of Hamjaro, launches into long repetitive incantations and undulate collectively in a mystic choreography that recalls the incessant movement of the ocean’s waves. Their movement and expression elevate the soul. (with the support of the Mayotte Department Council)
FRIDAY 27 MARCH (Following)
NIDI D' ARAC (Italy) The suave Mediterranean echo of Salento traditions Veritable phenomenon of Southeast Italy, Nidi d' Arac has long been renowned for uniting his Salento tarantellas with the techno universe during great nights of ethno trance. For the last 10 years, Alessandro Coppola’s fine team has been making sure that the traditional songs and rhythms of © Pasquale Modica the Lecce area are preserved and transmitted with a clearly contemporary approach: the pizzica rhythms CD : Salento Senza Tempo resonate with surprising modernity. By blending personal Label : Promo music compositions with the popular salentino heritage, Nidi d' Arac brings out the polyrhythmic frenzy of the tambourine www.nididarac.com players and a powerful voice expressing the profound www.myspace.com/nididarac roots and legends of a territory nestled in the heart of the Mediterranean. A timeless and sophisticated music, which stirs up an irrepressible desire to dance.
SAM KARPIENIA* (Provence - France) The song of the rootless becomes a furious trance For twenty years, in groups from Kanjar’Oc to Dupain and Gacha Empega, Sam Karpienia has developed his hoarse voice of incomparable evocative power. The listener is transported between the depths of Andalusian cante jondo, the plaintive convulsions of Greek rebetiko and the ecstatic crescendos of Pakistani qawwali. Yet there is nothing mystical in his simple melodies, but raw, stunning emotion, brought to its climax like the poignant song of the rootless. His intense poetry in Occitan and in French fits the trance of the two mandolas (with Nielo Gaglione) moving to and fro between the mischievous rhythms of futuristic chaabi and the fiery distortions of cataclysmic © Remy Comment rock. A previously unheard Mediterranean music, dotted with magical moments, popular fervour and passionate cheeky humour. Universal and ground-breaking.
FRIDAY 27 MARCH (Following)
MOSAÏCA (Occitania/Morocco) The most fertile of summit meetings… when the Pyrenees meet the Atlas… Through audacity and musical research, Mosaïca alters horizons creating a musical meeting between the summits of the Pyrenees and the Atlas. This erudite undertaking drafts the forgotten junction between the Occitan regions and Berber lands. To the rhythms of troubadour songs, Arab-Andalusian airs, traditional Algerian or Greek © Laurent Signat melodies, Occitan ‘bourrées’ and ‘rondeaux’, this sinuous CD : Entram eth Atlas e'ras Pirénéas caravan transports Gascon, séfarades, Berber, Arab, Label : Nord Sud ladinos and Greek cultures and languages. Following the trails of the Iberian peninsula and Mediterranean sea www.myspace.com/mosaicadus routes, Mosaïca enriches its music with arabesques, gumbri and qanoun in an atmosphere of incandescent festivity. The musical dream of these seven musicians of an “Occitan- Berber Andalusia” becomes a reality. In all its splendor.
ZAMAN FABRIQ* (France/Egypt/Balkans) Fabulous interlacing of beat-box with songs of the Mediterranean Welcome to a Mediterranean odyssey through time. Zaman Fabriq (the factory of Time) is the new project of the Compagnie Rassegna, renowned for its musical creations around the Big Blue. Led by Bruno Allary (saz/mandole/guitar), the crew members of this ship of sound come from both banks and contribute their recognized expertise: Cheik Zeïn Mahmoud (Egyptian soufi singer), Isabelle Courroy (kaval flutist of Aksak in the Balkans), Tiko (French Champion of Human Beatbox) and Philippe Guiraud (Latin Jazz/Rumba…). On this occasion, they will play with the Turkish artist Sinan Selik, known as the best kaval flute musician of Anatoly. Introducing the © Fred Girerd vocal percussions of beatbox to Eastern and Turkish music, Zaman Fabriq paves new ways by filling in the uneven www.myspace.com/zamanfabriq rhythms of the Balkans. A creation which builds a musical bridge between the cultures and the past, present and future of the Mediterranean, for the voyager’s utmost delight…
FRIDAY 27 MARCH (Following)
HEMDEM (Turkey) The mystical troubadours of sacred Anatolia Composed of three exceptional instrumentalists, the Hemdem group explores the sacred music of Anatolian troubadours and mystical poets, following the Asik tradition. Drawing from authentic ceremonies of the great Alevian custom, Dertli Divani, spiritual master and respected poet, and the traditional musician-singers Ulas Özdemir and Mustafa Kilçik delve into the depths of a repertory of nefes (breaths) expressing wisdom and declarations of faith. In these mystical songs of love (deyis), sacred anthems celebrating Imam Ali (emblematic figure of www.myspace.c om/ the Shiite veneration) and lamentations or songs in honor hasbihaltoplulugu of the prophet Mohammed, Hemdem opens the doors of the mystical summits of Asia Minor and its age-old traditions which are still very much alive… A spiritual initiation in the higher realms…
SATURDAY 28 MARS 19PM / 15€
KORA JAZZ TRIO (Guinea/Senegal) The three facetious griot-heroes of Mandingo jazz An encounter between 3 exceptional musicians weaving a dialogue of griots over a background of jazz. Djeli Moussa Diawara, born in Guinea and none other than Mory Kante’s brother, casts a magic spell with his 32-string kora, a unique instrument in the world, revisiting salsa, blues, calypso or even flamenco and fuses with Senegalese pianist Abdoulaye Diabaté, bandleader of the National Orchestra of Senegal, enthusiastic jazz follower and guardian of the harmonies of this high-level trio. His compatriot and third member of the group, Moussa Cissoko, has emerged over the last 20 years as one of the great percussion masters of CD : Part III Label : Celluloid his generation. The association of the kora, West African Korajazztrio.free.fr percussions and Afro-American swing offers an www.myspace.com/korajazztrio unprecedented musical union which flirts with Mandingo traditions and adventurous jazz. Exquisite.
SATURDAY 28 MARCH (Following)
KRISTIN ASBJØRNSEN (Norway) Spirituals with vocal emotion and Scandinavian elegance With her husky and sensual voice, between velvet tones and organic distortions, Kristin Asbjørnsen roams the infinite territories of Afro-American Spiritual music. The palpable sensitivity of her interpretations, characterized by restraint and emotion, carries her in turn to the borders of jazz, blues or folk while cultivating her own distinctive style. Her contribution of subtle and modern textures gives a new life to American gospel classics and enriches an © Hans Fredrik Asbjørnsen original repertoire which enters the service of a powerful CD : The night shines like the day voice, impressive both by its amplitude and inimitable Label : Universal contours. The acoustic compositions roll out the red carpet for her timbre, exuding an appeased and refined www.kristinsong.com universe, delicate and distinguished like the caress of the www.myspace.com/ sun during the cold Scandinavian winter. kristinasbjornsen
MOUSSU T E LEI JOVENTS* (Provence - Fr) Songs of Marseilles with Afro-American roots By taking time to contemplate the spectacle of the streets, the port and its cranes, Marseilles and its seagulls, Occitania and the vast world, Moussu T draws the new contours of the songs of Marseilles stamped with the city’s maritime history and its cosmopolitan influences. Mingling Occitan traditions, swaying Caribbean rhythms, sounds from Northeastern Brazil as well as Marseilles-style jazz or blues, the emblematic vocalist of Massilia Sound System © Jules Dromigny makes his way between the local and the universal through a nostalgic and lively repertoire. Songs wrapped in a certain CD : Home sweet home Label : Manivette records languor and sun-drenched poetry bringing in influences from musical cousins, Provencal songs made in La Ciotat www.myspace.com/ and Afro-American blues, all to the sound of chords struck moussuteleijovents on a nonchalant banjo…
SATURDAY 28 MARCH (Following)
RUPA & THE APRIL FISHES (USA - San Francisco) Multicultural siren & nomadic delights Rupa carries the seeds of joyful globalization. With Punjabi Hindu origins, this American-born San Francisco native has also lived in the South of France and has travelled extensively from Mexico to Canada and as far as Europe. Her music inevitably expresses this mosaic of identities in a musical souk of exhilarating power: Argentinean tango, gipsy swing and French song influences rub shoulders with Indian ragas, American folk and Latina cumbias. In the midst of this melting pot, her siren-like charisma, gentle and lively in turns, meanders with the guitars, cellos and CD : Extraordinary redition double basses, breathes the heat with the accordions and Label : Cumbancha trumpets in an ambience which evokes both milongas and theaprilfishes.com cafés alike. Sensual, generous and diversified, nomadic www.myspace.com/aprilfishes music at its very best …
DJ CLICK (France - Romania - U.K.) The fiery DJ with electro-Balkan mixes Polymorphic artist DJ Click has long been an accomplice of the most ebullient projects: with the extravert Rona Hartner for tsigane traditions as well as the gnawas of Essaouira, pending his Zuco 103 brasileiro or African mixes with Issa Bagayogo, his electro touch has paved the way for a truly international league of cultural diversification. His © Thierry Beauvir field of predilection: moisture-filled dance floors where his mixes ardently pulsate a range of Mediterranean musical CD : DJ Click Flavour styles. Incorporating tsigane, oriental, klezmer, flamenco or Label : No fridge gnawi rhythms, DJ Click delivers techno, drum'n bass on another mode, and in another time zone… Those of the www.nofridge.com future! A universal, communicative and festive language, www.myspace.com/ with tonic accents and over-energized tempos, making djclicknofridge bodies talk…
SATURDAY 28 MARCH (Following)
ISTANBUL CALLING (Turkey) The irresistible ethno-electro gateway of Istanbul How can you experience the telluric vibrations of a sprawling city and fascinating bridge between the East and the West? The leading Turkish producer Oguz Kaplangi offers an irrefutable answer by inviting the most pertinent musical heroes of the Stamboul music scene for a collection of compilations: DJs and traditional musicians unite to bring out the sounds of a city in perpetual effervescence. The result is in turns silky, lively, lounge, trip-hop, electro-funk, ambient or jungle, interpreted in © Mehmet Turgut Turkish, English or even in French (!). An ethno-electronic bridge (with live video mixes) disconcerting and complex, CD : in the image of Istanbul, veritable sound capital of the Elec-trip Records Bosphorus. Label : Istanbul Calling
elec-trip.com www.myspace.com/
istanbulcalling
WAED BOUHASSOUN (Syria) The star of Damas, the new jewel of Arab music Here is the incredible destiny of an exceptional singer whose talent was discovered quite late. Indeed the artistic course of Waed Bouhassoun could have been confined to the practice of the oud lute which she has been playing since the age of 7. A pure coincidence revealed her voice and its extremely rare timbre, which immediately brings to mind that of the great Oum Kalthoum or the famous voices of Arab songs from the © MCM 1930’s. From her prodigious variations, her arabesques and her slender silhouette emanate the deep laments of CD : La voix de l’amour delicately polished Arabic poems. Acclaimed by the Label : Institut du Monde Arabe demanding audiences of Alep for her timorous singing Waedbouhassoun.com and poignant interpretation, this is an undeniable sign that Waed Bouhassoun has established herself as one of the greatest voices of the Arab world.
SATURDAY 28 MARCH (Following)
KUMAR (Cuba/Spain) The prolific speaker of afro-cuban hip-hop With his revolutionary approach of hip hop convulsed by resolutely rock rhythms, Kumar, under the pseudo of del Menor, has forged himself a solid reputation as MC in Cuba, far from the flashy postures, preferring an intelligent, compact and punchy rap. Actor in the film “Habana Blues”, he also recorded the original soundtrack which received a Goya Award before collaborating with American group Audio Slave or Spanish group Ojos de Brujo. With his cross-country flow shaped by Caribbean music, Kumar, who now lives in Barcelona, sweeps ©Xavier Torres -Bacchetta through Europe displaying his show-man energy and urban poetry of great maturity. His live shows abound CD : Pelicula de Barrio with Latin American music and a generosity capable of Label : Diquela Records lifting the crowds. Who could resist the communicative ardor of this Afro-Cuban bomba and his “pelìcula de www.myspace.com/kumar Barrio”? mate
AXIVIL ALJAMIA (Spain-Andalusia) Medieval Andalusia with flamenco scents The new experiment of Axivil Aljamìa shows exceptional audacity in the reinterpretation of Andalusian musical heritage. In these times which are favorable to all kinds of cultural diversification, the group has delved deep into the greatest hours of the medieval, Arabic-Andalusian period of Al-Andalus, prolific in many artistic domains, to imagine ways in which the songs of the Moors would have been celebrated by the holders of flamenco a few centuries later. Interlacing cultures of the same territory but from different periods and playing 15th century music with a perfume of gypsy cante jondo constitutes the insane and successful challenge of Felipe Mascuñano who has found in the extraordinary voice of flamenco cantaor Pedro Sanz the essence of mudejar culture.
CD : Perfume Mudéjar www.axivil.com
SATURDAY 28 MARCH (Following)
LE BUS ROUGE (France) The acidulous and vagrant brass band of Southern Europe The hot breath of the Bus Rouge sweeps through the streets, dragging in its wake audiences captivated by the hypnotic sounds of Languedoc oboes and eloquent winds. The wooded vibration dominates this acidulous group which radiates all the way from the hills of the Massif Central to the Mediterranean arc but especially stands out with its instruments uncommon to most standard brass bands. The strident sounds of the ‘graille’ oboe and piccolo echo the tuba and trombone over popular traditional CD : Tsoing repertories (from Languedoc, Nice, Calabria…Bohemian, Label : Fédézik Pugliese…) and incorporating furious surges of rock or light and funky rhythms! These ten Rhone-native musicians www.busrouge.com roam endlessly in an acoustic, refined and frantic www.myspace.com/ musicality, like a large fresco of sound being perpetually busrouge reinvented.
* Provence – Alpes - Côte d’Azur Region artists