In 1999, Ojos de Brujo recorded its first album, ‘Vengue’ (a gypsy word for the energy that flows through life). It was a homemade production that captured the attention of critics and the public alike, and news of the band’s performances spread rapidly. ”Barí’ (”joy” or “virtual essence” in Caló) was the band’s next step. Now, without industry pressure, they were free to take a new direction. They presented ‘Barí’ to enthusiastic fans across the globe between 2002 and 2005, through several tours in Latin America and the U.S., playing in the most important jazz, rock, and world music festivals such as Glastonbury, Rosklide, Summerstage NY Central Park, Lowlands, Montreal Jazz… Japan, Colombia, Morocco, Cuba, Mexico, Hungary, France, and Germany.

For more about htem, visit Ojos de Brujo.

His site is now FilipFilipi.com

Date: Sunday 31st of May 2009
Location: At Circolo degli Artisti // via Casilina Vecchia 42, Rome
Time: 22h30 (Free entrance)
Line-up: SC MoCha (electronics+laptop+Oud) & SC Yosh (live visuals)

Palestine Co. Venice - Symposia and Events
Location: Convento Ss. Cosma & Damiano, Campo S.Cosmo, Giudecca Palanca, Venice.
Dates: June 7 - September 30, 2009

As part of the first Palestinian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale a series of performances and symposia will take place including a performance by Khalil Rabah and the Ramallah Syndrome Sound-System performance on the opening reception.  These events will include performances by Aswatt (RU collective) and Ruanne Abu-Rahme.

There are also plans for the group to appear again in San Francisco.

An accomplished group of international performers and academia will support K’naan and participate with attendees though workshops, panel discussions and films throughout the festival.

The Spread the Word Tour has added Trinity Hip-Hop Festival to their schedule, which includes performances by two leading protest bands from Zimbabwe, Comrade Fatso & Chabvondoka, and Outspoken and The Essence. The foremost political activist musical group in Southern Africa, and specifically in Zimbabwe, gives the festival attendees extremely rare access to youth activists that live and work on the ground in Zimbabwe. Comrade Fatso blogs for CNN.com about politics and conditions in Zimbabwe (http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/14/zimbabwe.blog/index.html). The Mugabe regime has banned their albums from Zimbabwe.

A panel discussion entitled Stereotypes in Hip Hop features Trinity College professors Gail Woldu, author of The Words and Music of Ice Cube, and Emily Musil, Coordinator of African Studies and Co-Chair of the President’s Colloquia “Hip Hop: Roots, Race, Rights.” Stanford’s Angela Steele will present her Fulbright research, Rap in China - In Search of a Hip-Hop Hero. Steele spent a year in China immersed in the emerging hip-hop scene and looking for the leaders who will form hip-hop culture in the world’s most populated country.

New York’s Hired Gun and Washington, D.C.’s Princess of Controversy will host two nights of performances featuring K’naan, Poetic Pilgrimage (UK), Blitz the Ambassador, Mohammed Yahya (UK), BeatburgerBand (Czech Republic), African Underground All-Stars (Senegal), Mr. Reo (Haiti), and Game Rebellion (Brooklyn, New York). Dj Craig G of Hartford’s Hot 93.7 hosts the afterparty on Friday night, and DJ Boo of the Juggaknots hosts the Saturday night afterparty.

The Trinity festival will screen one of 2008’s biggest hip-hop films, Planet B-Boy, a look at five international break dancing crews as they prepare for the world dance championship Battle of the Year in Germany. For the second consecutive year, the festival also will hold a 2-on-2 b-boy battle with a $500 grand prize. This year there will be several new workshops including a beatboxing workshop with Czech Republic’s world champion beatboxers, BeatBurgerBand, and a freestyle rhyming workshop with New York MC Hired Gun. Graffiti artists will be painting murals all day as a backdrop for the workshops and b-boy battle.

The festival will also include a screening of Fangafrika, an African Francophone documentary set during a hip-hop festival in Burkina Faso that gathered a who’s who of African hip-hop addressing the serious issues facing Africans everywhere. The films directors will be on hand for a discussion of activism and education in West African hip-hop. Poetic Pilgrimage, a female Muslim duo from London, will host a discussion about Gender and Sexuality in the Middle East.

Festival Sponsors include Trinity College, Nomadic Wax, The Temple of Hip-Hop (Trinity College Chapter), World Hip Hop Market, and the Greater Hartford Arts Council. Pre-registration is required, and will take place the day of the event at Gallows Hill next to the Austin Arts Center on the campus of Trinity College.

This event is free and open to the public. For more details, directions, and schedule information, visit Trinity Hip-Hop. For more on the headliner, K’Naan, visit, K’naan music.

Rokia Traore dates 2009

16/03/2009 :
NOUMEA | Centre culturel Djibaou

20/03/2009 :
NICE | Théatre Lino Ventura

21/03/2009 :
SURESNES | Théâtre Jean Vilar

24/03/2009 :
LA DEFENSE | Festival Chorus des Hauts de Seine

25/03/2009 :
AMIENS | Festival Jazz

27/03/2009 :
MIMIZAN | Théâtre de Parnasse

01/04/2009 :
LUXEMBOURG | Den Atelier

04/04/2009 :
MAYENNE | Festival Lezard Nomade

16/05/2009 :
ROMA | Auditorium Parco Della Musica

19/05/2009 :
PARIS | Olympia

22/05/2009 :
SEVILLA | Festival Territorios Sevilla

23/05/2009 :
RUOMS | Festiv’aluna

27/05/2009 :
PORTO | Casa de Musica

28/05/2009 :
LISBOA | Lux Fragil

29/05/2009 :
LONDRES | Barbican Center

31/05/2009 :
MOERS | Moers Festival

They will then appear at the Chabada in Angers the following day, February 3. Click through for details.

La Générale en Manufacture  [www.la-g.org]
6 Grande Rue - 92310 Sèvres
Métro : Ligne 9 - Station : Pont de Sèvres
Tramway : Ligne T2 - Arrêt : Musée de Sèvres
Noctambus : N61

Also appearing Aie Thum & Blue.

Feb 3: Chabada

Chabada

Boulevard du Doyenné.

Also appearing Trio Khoury, Mon Côté Punk and Ramzi Aburedwan.

He and his partner create modules that enable them to improvise madly over heavy electronic. Unlike other music in the style, the loops change constantly, with Dada-esque lyrics thrown in as well. It makes for a very dramatic sound. Martin is best known as the composer of “Code: Lyoko”.

If you have a website, you can post the songs and earn some money - the better side of sharing music.

Over at the Botanique on December 18, a rap session will bring together AB7, Mari’M, Invaderdz, Sismik, Maky, Gandhi & D’Johnny Six, Stan et Yassin, Za and L’Huissier.

The last night, the 19th, will see urban lyricists and slam artists battling it out. The organisers have done this several times already, and it’s usually worth checking out. Guests include Be-Lion Vagabond, Maky, Veence Hanao, Dynamic & B-Flow, Mochelan, Posa (from RCS), Verbal, Leawsane, Rézie , BD Banx, Maïa Chauvier, Stan (Les Autres), Manza. The night will finish with the incredible award-winning Baloji (check the album “Hotel Impala”).

For the full details, visit: Lezarts Urbains.

Click through for the dates.