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RIP: Leon Botha aka Solarize

African DJ and artist Leon Botha has died in South Africa. Botha was better known as Solarize, for his work with Die Antwoord. He appeared in “Enter the Ninja” and acted as Die Antwoord’s warm-up DJ in concert. What was less known is that Both was a qualified artist with several shows behind him. Sadly, he was also the oldest living sufferer of the rare progeria condition, which accelerates ageing in the body. He died in Cape Town just after his 26th birthday. Visit Botha’s amazing Flickr stream.

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Jun 13

Summer festivals, Part 1: Africa Fête

Africa Fête festival in MarseillesWe’re beginning to get a lot of press releases concerning summer festivals. One we thought we’d highlight is the annual Africa Fête show in Marseilles on June 30. First, because we’ve always wanted to visit the town and secondly as the event is quite cool. Headliners include Kristo Numpuby, Ashes to Machines, Oumar Kouyaté and Fogny. Needless to say, there will be the usual extra-curricular goodies such as contemporary dance from Burkina Faso, associations promoting all things African and a truck built by artists from Liverpool, Prague and elsewhere on the theme of migration. All this for a ridiculous €5. Details on the Africa Fête site.

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Jun 04

Visa problems for Konono N° 1 in Europe

The bad news this week is that the Konono N°1 European tour has been hit by the visa blues. The group was due to fly to Europe via Switzerland but two members were refused as they didn’t have the requisite Schengen visas. These had been requested at the German embassy in Kinshasa but were not forthcoming. Why? “No comment,” from the consulate. Konono N° 1 has been touring for about three years, and had all the requisite paperwork.

Dates in France, Ireland and Slovakia are sill going ahead, apparently. But it would be wise to check your local press if you bought tickets.

iTunes

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May 22

Kristo Numpuby sings Brassens, again

brassens_en_afrique.jpgWe’ve mentioned him before, but there’s no harm in mentioning him again as the project is an interesting one. Last year Cameroon singer Kristo Numpuby recorded a homage to the master of chanson, George Brassens. The unlikely combination, however, struck a chord at home in France, where Numpuby tours regularly and has appeared on prime time TV. His latest dates include a show at the legendary New Morning in Paris. Click through for the full dates.

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May 10

Balkan Beat Box tour Europe

Balkan Beat Box posterBalkan Beat Box are a nutty band that mixes rock with strong Balkan/Greek/Mediterranean influences, making them sure-fire favourites at festivals. Their second album, “Nu Med”, has been out since April in Europe (late May in the UK). So the band is taking to the roads again, criss-crossing the continent between now and mid-August. We really recommend this crowd, who also did some cool remixes on the “Electric Gypsyland” compilation.

Click through for the live dates and some concert footage. iTunes

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May 02

Konono N°1 record with Bjork, tour US

Konono N°1 Live in JapanI have to admit that the Congolese outfit Konono N°1 is not my favourite band. In fact, their saturated sound drive me nuts. But they are unique, which is probably reason enough for Bjork to invite them to record on her new album alongside Timbaland and Antony. They have a new release out (”Live in Tokyo” - only available digitally), and are currently appearing across the US and later in Europe. Click through to find the concert dates.        iTunes

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Apr 06

Natacha Atlas: European tour dates

Natacha Atlas The Arabo-Fusion singer Natacha Atlas is currently touring Europe to follow up on the release of “Mish Maoul”. The dates include shows in France, Belgium, Poland, Italy, England and Scotland. Transglobal Underground will appear with her on at least one date.

Atlas is one of the few performers that easily broaches the divide between the Western Europe an the Middle East. Asked by the Belgian magazine Agenda if she saw a difference between the audiences, she replied: “In the Middle East, you can tell by their faces they know what I’m singing about.”

For further details, visit Mish-Maoul.com.

Natacha Atlas on iTunes US. Natacha Atlas on iTunes UK.

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Mar 16

Magic System to appear in the UK

Magic SystemOne of the most popular acts in France at the moment are Magic System, the Ivory Coast band that has chalked up a number of major hits such as “Premier Gaou” and “Bouger, Bouger”. They have so far totalled over 2 million singles in France alone, as well as 400,000 albums.
Their mainstream version of the Zouglou sound (see also: Sur-Choc) is now set to have a major unveiling in London when they bring a full 12-piece band to the Coronet Theatre on Easter Sunday, April 8. The show will also feature noted DJs Edu from Kenya and Agbadou from Ivory Coast. Support acts are the Congolese act Nostra Musica and Pit’a Mbongo from Cameroon. So it should be a pretty hot night.

Magic System on iTunes US

Magic system on iTunes UK

Magic System Official website

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Mar 15

BBC launches new “Africa beyond” website

Africa Beyond logoAnyone interested in the African scene might already know the BBC’s Africa Beyond, which celebrates African arts in the UK. The site covers the entire continent, illustrating the extraordinary diversity of the 54 African nations.

More specifically, the new site wil incorporate “Africa on Your Street” that covers everything from Afrobeat to M’balax plus gig listing across the UK.

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Mar 01

When did FIFA 2007 become so hip?

FIFA 07 SoccerHas anyone spent any time on the new FIFA 2007 game? Remember to leave the sound on when you play, and you’ll get a pretty good musical sampler of what’s happening out there in the world. A quick scan of the playlist includes Plastinilina Mosh from Mexico, the brilliant lo-fi Seu Jorge from Brazil and trashy pop from Tigarah in Japan.

Anyone got any favourite tracks they found on a video game? Tip them here.

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Feb 23

Manou Gallo: 2nd album and documentary

Manou GalloIvory Coast’s Manou Gallo is one of the most in-demand bassists in Europe. After playing with Zap Mama for six years and appearing in a play, she released her first album, “Dida” on the IglooMondo label in 2003. A documentary now traces her worldwide tour and the release of the second album…

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Feb 17

Electric Gypsyland 2

Electric Gypsyland 2The music of the Balkans must be some of the most incendiary being played today. Outfits such as Taraf de Haidouks, Koçani Orkestar and Mahala Raï Banda play with a trademark brass sound that reaches fever pitch pretty quickly - and never comes down (think of a film by Kusturica and you won’t be far off).

So what would happen if you give their material to a selection of mixers, turntablists and DJs? The answer is “Electric Gypsyland 2″. Tunng, Buscemi (best known for his Latin lounge mixes), Oi Va Voi (a klezmer afficianado) and London’s Russ&Roc accepted the invitation. So what do we get for our time? Click through to find out…

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Feb 04

Aiwa: Arabic dub/electronic on the road

AiwaCreated in 1998 by two Iraqi brothers brought up in France, Aiwa is one of the most exciting fusion/electronic outfits. Musically, they mix Classical Arabic sounds with heavy dub/electronic grooves and ultra-suave rap. They have released two albums “Aiwa” and “El Nar” (photo), with an album of remixes of “Aiwa” in the pipeline - more about this later.

Aiwa are about to take to the road again, playing a number of dates in France and Poland:

Feb 23 2007 9:00P
COMPLEXE CULTUREL CHAUMONT
Mar 15 2007 9:00P
CDQ WARSAW
Mar 16 2007 8:00P
PIWNICA POZNAN
Mar 17 2007 9:00P
MOZG BYDGOSZCZ
Mar 18 2007 8:00P
ZAK GDANSK

To check out their music, visit Aiwa Music.

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Jan 11

Dig music, build something positive

Afrobeat Sudan Aid ProjectThe people over at Calabash Music have had a neat idea. Despite what many people think, the US spends less than 1% of its federal budget on foreign aid. As Calabash points out, “If everyone in the United States gave up one soft drink a month we could double our current aid to Africa. If everyone gave up one movie a year we could double our current aid to Africa and Asia.” But rather than get preachy and feeling guilty about the situation, Calabash are running a very simple promotion called “Tune Your World”. “If every American would buy 10 songs by African Artists — We would DOUBLE the amount of money the US is currently sending to Africa.”

So their idea is simple: get ten happening songs for just $7.99. I know Calabash Music. Two things you should know about them too: they have a really good selection of music, and as they work directly with musicians and labels from around the world, at least 50% of your money is going straight to the musicians and labels. What’s more, they are highlighting a number of interesting projects such as the Refugee All Stars, the Afrobeat Sudan Aid Project (featuring Antibalas, Tony Allen and the voice of Fela Kuti, no less) and Stop Excision.

By the way, this is not an American thing. It’s a music thing. Fantastic music is being produced across Africa, but we won’t hear it unless people like Calabash and, yes, Music Wire stick it under our noses. So for some tasty MP3s, visit Tune Your World and start browsing.

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Jan 04

Return of the cool in jazz

Pascal Schumacher QuartetThere is something decidedly cool about the vibraphone even though it’s not the type of instrument you hang out with or stick under your arm like Chet Baker or Lester Bowie. Yet over two albums, Pascal Schumacher and his Quartet have given the vibe a new burst of interest. They combine cool school competency with a patina of blues, which is all the more surprising as they come from tiny Luxembourg. Schumacher has recorded with Australia’s Kristen Cornwell and picked up a handful of awards. The albums “Change of the Moon” and “Personal Legend” have both been played a lot at the Music Wire office. Lyrical, stylish and yet still cool, this is jazz we could vote for.
Schumacher will be appearing with and without his quartet in January. An important date will be January 22, when they appear at the Majestic Hotel in Cannes for the prestigious Midem music fair.


Pascal Schumacher Quartet

Click through for his concert dates.

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Dec 27

Sex and the Single Rabbit

Electronic compilation from Crammed DiscsWith a title that is sure to get lots of search engine activity, Crammed Discs have started opening their archives. The European label is known for its cosmopolitan genre-bending style such as Bebel Gilberto (see below), the early Zap Mama and Taraf de Haidouk. In the eighties and nineties, they also had a successful electronic imprint called SSR (Sampler Sans Reproche - Sampling without fear). The virtual twin-set includes material such as the Matthew Herbert remix of a Hector Zazou/Harold Budd track, a Snooze remix by Isolée, a track off the long-deleted DJ Morpheus vs Bassbin Twin vinyl EP, sonic terrorist Meira Asher, London jazz/dope beats heads Elixir, Japan’s Tao, Phosphorus and their dreamy, soundtrack-like trip-pop and Finland’s minimal/glitch pioneer Aural Expansion.

“Sex and the Single Rabbit” will only be available through electronic outlets, which most likely means that tracks can also be downloaded individually. If that sounds tasty, try the link below.

Juryman vs. Spacer - Sex and the Single Rabbit, Vol. 1

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