Posts Tagged ‘madagascar all stars’
Songlines Encounters
Posted on June 14th, 2012 in Recent Posts, Reviews by Simon Broughton.
Photos by Hayden Wheeler
Wednesday June 6
The UK premiere of Poland’s R.U.T.A. certainly lived up to expectations. Punk singer Guma was as loud and gobby as ever, but the Kings Place technical people did a great job on the sound so the subtleties of the weird instrumentation – archaic fiddles, saz, bass clarinet and percussion – came over much clearer than when I’d heard them in Poland. Nasta Niakrasava (pictured below), from Belarus, is a wonderful folk singer who brings warm, melodic vocals to the punkish frenzy. R.U.T.A. also brought Polish headbangers to Kings Place for the first time – some that I spoke to had come all the way from Bognor Regis! Hopefully this had led to R.U.T.A. getting other UK bookings this summer, but most satisfying was esteemed Songlines’ editor Jo Frost, who’d been sceptical about the band, admitting that she’d loved them. Don’t miss their session on Radio 3’s World on 3 at 23.00 on Fri June 22.
Thurs June 7
Tonight saw an accordion and tango link that worked in practise as well as theory. Finnish accordion and double-bass duo Lepistö & Lehti play superbly inventive music with gently humorous introductions. Their most spectacular song is ‘Raudanskelä’ (Blacksmith) in which Markku Lepistö evokes sparks with ferociously difficult accordion flourishes while Pekka Lehti strikes his bass with a stick (from an African mouth bow with natural rubber which gives it a great sound for hitting). Kosmos Trio (pictured below) were playing with Serbian accordionist Miloš Milivojević, who has a different and more robust style than Lepistö. Their lead fiddler, Harriet Mackenzie, is formidable referencing Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending as well as the popular Romanian encore tune ‘Ciocarlia’ (The Lark) in her virtuoso playing. The Fugata Quintet were a fiery finish with Astor Piazzolla – his music is so dark and edgy, with all that violin scratching on the bridge, and yet so gorgeously lyrical. They seemed a little too buried in their scores compared to the visible musical interaction we’d had earlier in the evening.
Fri June 8
Two quartets tonight. Spiro brought a stylish start to the evening, although they seemed more gutsy in the more relaxed setting of Sam Lee’s Magpie’s Nest a couple of months back. But I love the unique invention in their music. I went to the Escher museum in the Hague recently and his graphic art with its repetitive images and optical illusions made me think of Spiro’s music. They were followed by Quebec’s Le Vent du Nord (pictured below) also giving their particular take on traditional sounds. Their music has an unstoppable forward propulsion, driven largely by Oliver Demers “on the fiddle and the feet.” How do you play the violin while simultaneously step-tapping? A magnificent show – and they feature in a World on 3 session this Friday June 15. I only managed to catch the first part of the intriguing Sam Lee and Friend’s show. But Lee is a charismatic front man, telling good yarns about the songs he’s collected and arranged for a very diverse group of instruments – including Japanese koto, tabla and a tuned gamelan-like gas canister. We’ve got a feature on him next issue.
Sat June 9
Mr Lee featured again as vocalist with the Yiddish Twist Orchestra tonight, in a rather different persona – dapper and hip-swivelling – but a suitable foil to Ben Mandelson’s understated humour. The music is both Yiddish favourites (‘Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen’, popularised by the Andrews sisters in the 1930s) and unknown numbers (sorry I didn’t know any), given a Calypso and Latin flavour. The irresistible urge to dance – led by our recent My World guest Roger Lloyd Pack – caused anxiety with the Kings Place front-of-house. It’s a real shame that they don’t want you dancing in the aisles. Sadly I was unable to catch Lauren Kinsella’s Thought-Fox with oud player Soufian Saihi, but talking to enthusiastic audience members afterwards it sounded like a great show with its Arab-Andalouz meets jazz ingredient. The Madagascar All Stars (pictured below) finished the evening with really glorious music, perfectly suited to the crystal- clear acoustics of the Kings Place concert hall. The four musicians – Dama, Justin Vali, Marius Fenoamby and Erick Manana – sang unaccompanied at first and then laid into their guitars, percussion and gorgeous instruments like valiha and marovany. Dama was an accomplished MC, although French is his first second language! He’d flown in from Madagascar for two concerts in Southampton and London and then was off the next morning to perform with his other band, Mahaleo, in La Reunion. It was a great privilege having them.
Songlines Encounters Festival 2012
Posted on May 14th, 2012 in News, Recent Posts by Alexandra Petropoulos.
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
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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!
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Thursday 7 June 2012
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19.30 Hall One Lepistö & Lehti (Finland) Stunning Finnish accordion and double bass duo creating imaginative soundscapes from just two instruments.
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Kosmos Ensemble (UK) Innovative string trio performing fiery tango to Arabic improvisation to Balkan dance music, with guest accordionist Miloš Milivojević. |
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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
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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. |
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Le Vent du Nord (Canada) Groundbreaking band from Québec, bringing a new twist to French-Canadian folk. Rave reviews from Celtic Connections in January. |
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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
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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. |
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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. |
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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!
The new April/May Songlines podcast is now available through iTunes
Posted on March 16th, 2012 in Recent Posts by Nasim Masoud.
This podcast includes highlights from the April/May 2012 issue of Songlines (#83), opening with music from Seth Lakeman’s new album Tales from the Barrel House. Songlines editor-in-chief, Simon Broughton, plays an excerpt by Carolina Chocolate Drops, a bonus track from this issue’s My World feature with Huey Morgan. There is also music by panpipe band Narasirato from the Solomon Islands.
Features include: Julian May on Seth Lakeman, Nasim Masoud with the Songlines Music Awards 2012 nominations and Simon Broughton on the Madagascar All Stars. Nathaniel Handy brings you the latest news with the Official UK World Music Album Chart and more. The podcast ends with music from West Bengal as well as Pete Lockett with Rajasthani Folk Musicians playing live at Jodhpur Riff 2010.
You can listen to the podcast on iTunes here or subscribe to our podcasts via RSS feed here.
The next Songlines podcast, featuring highlights from the June issue (#84), will be available from April 27 2012.
Issue #83 (April/May 2012) is on sale in the UK from March 16
Posted on March 14th, 2012 in News, Recent Posts by Alexandra Petropoulos.
Songlines issue #83 (April/May 2012) is on sale in the UK on March 16 and includes our regular Top of the World CD with ten tracks from the finest new releases from around the planet, plus a second free CD Sounds of South Asia at Southbank Centre.
The Top of the World CD also includes five tracks selected by BBC 6Music presenter Huey Morgan.
The Top of the World CD includes tracks from the septuagenarian Senegalese singer Ablaye Ndiaye Thiossane; BBB (Balkan Beat Box); Emel Mathlouthi; the folk music star Seth Lakeman; Ahmad Al Khatib & Youssef Hbeisch; the invigorating new release from Fidil; and the English pair Duotone, among others.
The main editorial features include:
• Songlines Music Awards 2012: The Nominations – Now in its fourth year, the Songlines Music Awards showcase outstanding global talent.
•Youssou N’Dour – His presidential bid and Senegalese musicians’ fight for democracy.
•Narasirato – The men bringing the panpiping of the Solomon Islands to the world.
•Juan de Marcos González – The Cuban bandleader talks candidly about the state of Cuban music.
•Seth Lakeman – The English folk star creates a concept album rooted in Devon’s industrial past.
•Madagascar All Stars – Five giants of Malagasy music come together for a rare collaborative performance in June.
• Sounding Out Seoul – all the best places to see and hear music in the South Korean capital.
• Beginner’s Guide to the Madredeus.
• Postcard from Penang, Malaysia.
• Festival Profile: Sakifo, La Réunion.
• Backpage from Khartoum, Sudan.
• My World – BBC radio presenter Huey Morgan.
• Grooves – Chris Eldridge; Belinda O’Hooley and Bernard Aubert.
• News, including Songlines Encounters Festival and Cerys Matthews.
• Reviews of the latest CD, DVD and World Cinema releases.
