Photo by Karen Marshall / Templeton Prize

Yesterday, the Dalai Lama was awarded the 2012 Templeton Prize in a ceremony at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. 

The Templeton Prize is awarded to a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader has said the £1.1 million in prize money will be presented to charities, including Save the Children India. 

The Tashi Lhunpo Monks were at yesterday’s service to chant in honour of the Dalai Lama. The monks have recently released their new album Wisdom & Insight and kicking off a four-month tour of the UK this Thursday at the Newbury Spring Festival. The monks will be returning to London in August. For full tour information, please visit the Tashi Lhunpo Monks website. 

We have eight ringtones by the Tashi Lhunpo Monks to give away. Please see the current issue (#84, June 2012) for more details. 

Tags: dalai lama, monk ringtones, st pauls, tashi lhunpo monks, templeton prize.

We’re closing in on our second annual Songlines Encounters Festival, which will be returning to London’s Kings Place this June.

As before the festival will include some spectacular international musicians and up-and-coming artists that we want to champion. You can get a discount on the whole series of concerts that once again represent a thrilling range of sounds from around the world. Here’s what you can look forward to at this year’s festival:

Wednesday 6 June 2012

21.00 Hall Two R.U.T.A. (Poland) Punk meets folk in Poland’s most talked-about new band. Songs of peasant uprising are accompanied by medieval fiddles and rock’n'roll attitude. Not to be missed!

Thursday 7 June 2012

	19.30 Hall One Lepistö & Lehti (Finland) Stunning Finnish accordion and double bass duo creating imaginative soundscapes from just two instruments.
	Kosmos Ensemble (UK) Innovative string trio performing fiery tango to Arabic improvisation to Balkan dance music, with guest accordionist Miloš Milivojević.
	Fugata Quintet (UK) These passionate exponents recreate the classic line-up of Astor Piazzolla’s visceral and dramatic nuevo tango of Buenos Aires.

Friday 8 June 2012

	19.30 Hall One Spiro (UK) The distinctive sound of English folk meets Philip Glass. Their recent Kaleidophonica album was a Top of the World in Songlines.
	Le Vent du Nord (Canada) Groundbreaking band from Québec, bringing a new twist to French-Canadian folk. Rave reviews from Celtic Connections in January.
	20.00 Hall Two Sam Lee & Friends (UK) One of the rising stars of the British folk scene – with special guests giving an international flavour.

Saturday 9 June 2012

	19.30 Hall One Yiddish Twist Orchestra presents Sam Lee (UK) Lemez Lovas, Ben Mandelson, Sam Lee and an allstar band recreate the Jewish, West Indian and Latin dance music sounds of the 1950s.
	Madagascar All Stars (Madagascar) The music in Madagascar is just as remarkable as its wildlife. A stunning band including Dama from Mahaleo, Regis Gizavo and Justin Vali.
	20.00 Hall Two Lauren Kinsella’s Thought-Fox with guest Soufian Saihi (Ireland/Morocco) Up-and-coming Irish jazz ensemble in a special collaboration with London-based Moroccan oud player Soufian Saihi.

You can book your tickets by visiting the Kings Place website or by calling +44(0)20 7520 1490.

We hope to see you there!

Tags: encounters festival, fugata quintet, kosmos ensemble, lauren kinsella, le vent du nord, lepisto lehti, madagascar all stars, r.u.t.a., sam lee, Songlines Encounters, soufian saihi, spiro, yiddish twist orchestra.

Words by Olivia Haughton

I’ve never seen KOKO so packed. That’s possibly because I’ve only been there a couple of times, but let’s ignore that for now and focus on the point at hand: it really was rammed. We were all there to see two artists, successful as individuals and now collaborating as a dynamic duo. I’m talking about Quantic and Alice Russell.

This gutsy soulster and quirky musician, DJ and producer are no strangers to one another, having worked on several projects together in the past decade. This, their first exclusive collaboration, is driven by the release of Look Around the Corner, a fully-charged album with no shortage of hard-hitting soul and bluesy numbers.

Russell’s onstage charisma is as sparkly as her glittered top and her personality as big as her voice. And this is a voice that has been compared to the likes of Amy Winehouse and Adele, since it emerged in 2004 with her debut album, Under The Munka Moon. Showing her true soul-sister colours, Russell wooed the crowd with her dance moves and wowed us with belters like ‘Pushing On’ and ‘Su Suzy.’

Quantic, aka Will Holland, left the talking to Russell and concentrated on channelling melodies through his fingertips, which skipped over the keys of the accordion and plucked at the strings of a guitar. Holland’s superb playing, backed by his band, Combo Bárbaro, complemented the fullness of Russell’s voice and provided just a hint of a Latin undercurrent beneath the funk and soul vibe.

Holland came into his own playing accordion in the 80s classic ‘Golden Brown,’ transporting us to a little French bistro in the backstreets of Paris (one with an excellent taste in live music, of course). Standout ‘Magdalena’ made an impression with smokey vocals while ‘Road To Islay’ lent a party vibe to the set. ‘Simmer Down’ can only described as sexy and seductive thanks to Russell’s sensuous delivery, Holland’s epic guitar playing and the inspired addition of Mike Simmonds on mandolin.

Sadly KOKO’s sound system left a little to be desired with its bottom-heavy bias and Holland’s presence was, if anything, a little too understated. We heard his brilliant playing, but I wanted to see him step out of the shadows for a little longer. The shining star of the night was undoubtedly Alice Russell and her dazzling voice, no, personality, no, top, no, everything…

Tags: alic russell, koko, live review, look around the corner, olivia haughton, quantic, under the munka moon, will holland.

Following their excellent performance of ‘This Girl’ (from Who’s Feeling Young Now?) on Tuesday’s live broadcast (video below), make sure to put off sleep tonight to watch the band on the extended version of the show.

Chris Thile and Co got their busy summer off to a flying start playing to a packed and highly enthused Scala on Monday night (including some of the Songlines team). Look out for a review of that gig to post next week.

Tags: chris thile, jools holland, later with jools holland, punch brothers, scala.