With Jeff Lang's Australia wide Chimeradour tour coming to a wrap last Sunday we are proud to present the next event... Djan Djan, a world music supergroup featuring Mamadou Diabate (kora, Mali) and Bobby Singh (tabla, India/Australia) joining Jeff onstage. Originally there was a 5 track limited edition ep pressed with a small amount earmarked for show sales and a small amount distributed. The group has since recorded an additional 5 tracks which will be bundled with the original recording to comprise the debut album. If you purchased the original EP and would like to upgrade to the album, you can pay $10 and trade in the EP at any of the shows below, or post the EP and a cheque or money order for $12.00 made out to Top Shelf Productions to the address below.
Top Shelf
PO Box 75
Glebe, NSW.
2037 Australia
Please read below for tour dates and further info:
NOVEMBER
Fri 20th Qirkz, Sydney info@qirkz.com
Sat 21st Milton Theatre, Milton, NSW www.miltontheatre.com.au
Sun 22nd The Fairfax Theatre, Arts Centre, Melbourne, Vic www.theartscentre.com.au
Wed 25th Free show outside of Canberra Street Theatre * MAMADOU SOLO SHOW* www.thestreet.org.au
Thurs 26th Raval, Sydney, NSW *MAMADOU SOLO SHOW* www.raval.com.au
Fri 27th Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, Vic www.theatreroyal.info
Sat 28th Queenscliff Music Festival, VIC www.qmf.net.au
Sun 29th Mullumbimby Music Festival, NSW www.mullummusicfestival.com
Djan Djan
Mamadou Diabate (kora, Mali), Bobby Singh (tabla, India) and Jeff Lang (guitar, Australia) are well known and well regarded for their individual output and careers. Djan Djan is a new collaboration which sees these musicians stretching their imagination and skills into sublime areas of new musicality. Although the players show their respects to their cultural backgrounds of Africa, India and Australia; the music of Djan Djan stands alone as a uniquely new sound. Djan Djan sees these virtuosic instrumentalists dispense and intoxicating music - steeped in tradition, yet brimming with innovation.
Djan Djan: An album by Mamadou Diabate, Bobby Singh & Jeff Lang
When the three musicians met in 2008, no one could quite predict the musical alchemy that would occur as a result. A spontaneous day of recording at Melbourne’s 30 Mill Studios lead to an astonishingly beautiful and surprisingly natural recording that displays the conversational and virtuosic style that all three are renowned for.
Mamadou Diabate was destined to play the kora. Cousin of legendary kora player Toumani Diabate, who was one of his most influential teachers, Mamadou was born and raised in the griot tradition of Mali, using music and oratory to preserve his people’s consciousness of their past. From his Grammy-award nominated solo album, to his latest release Douga Mansa (King Vulture), Mamadou’s technical virtuosity and innovative approach have kept him in high demand internationally.
Bobby Singh spent much of his childhood in Mumbai studying tabla. Recognised with a great talent, Bobby is the disciple of Aneesh Pradhan, one of the world’s most sought after tabla players. Nurtured into a mature, internationally renowned tabla virtuoso, both in traditional Indian and cross-cultural genres, Bobby has played with many of the top musicians in Australia and the world.
Jeff Lang has earned worldwide acclaim as a guitarist, dynamic songwriter and startlingly unique live performer, defying description and genres. His intuitive and idiosyncratic instrumental virtuosity are supported by songs that expand the boundaries of traditional folk, country and blues, creating a new blend of music which is undeniably and deeply steeped in tradition, yet with its vision set on future horizons. As an instrumental storyteller, Lang gives the guitar a voice and then makes it sing.
The 10 track Djan Djan album will be released instores February by ABC/Universal accompanied by a month long national tour of Australia & NZ... Stay tuned for more details.
Funk fans down under get ready to witness the Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro live experience as the serious Saitama six-piece embark on a run of dates across Australia that include Woodford Festival, Peats Ridge Festival, Sydney Festival, Mona Foma and The Basement!
From the outskirts of Tokyo, from the most unknown prefecture in the country, come the most exciting and brightest hopes in funk ever. The six-piece phenomenon, the nasty groove-making cats, the deep-dapping and history changing dogs call themselves
Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro.
Well dressed and slick but playing some of the rawest and deepest funk that would shake anyone's booty, added with the furious energy of a rock and roll band, these amazing gentlemen have toured relentlessly across clubs of all sizes in Japan, as well as rocking a packed house at Fuji Rock Festival 2008 and countless festivals across the planet.
They have built a reputation as one of the finest funk units kicking it today. Signed to the prestigious P-Vine label in Japan, and also confirming a release through the highly regarded Jazzman label, these young groove merchants are bound to take on the world. And your soul.
Australian Tour Dates
Dec 27 – 29 Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland
Dec 30 Peats Ridge Festival, New South Wales
Dec 31 & Jan 1 Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland
Jan 2 Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay (with Amp Fiddler)
Jan 7 The Esplanade Hotel, Melbourne (with Black Joe Lewis)
Jan 8 Mona Foma Festival, Tasmania (with Black Joe Lewis)
Jan 9 First Night, Sydney Festival
Jan 10 Brass Monkey, Sydney (with Johnny G and the E-types)
Jan 14 The Heritage Hotel, Bulli
Jan 15 The Basement, Sydney
“Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro” will be released in Australia via Instrumental Recordings.
Distributed by MGM in December.
Media copies are available upon request.
For all media and publicity enquiries please contact
Cristina Dio on 02 9383 4162 or 0414 323 452
cristina@diaspora.com.au
MOUNTAIN MOCHA KILIMANJARO
“The debut album from Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro!
An amazing secret privy only to the ears of Japan’s
bourgeoning funk scene. Definitely a top funk album!” -
Rushhour
Genre: Funk / Soul
Following the Dap-Kings from the USA, the Poets Of Rhythm from
Germany, and the New Mastersounds from the UK, it's time to make
way for a neat dose of super duper hard 'n' heavy funk from Japan
with the debut UK album from Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro.
Although these funk sides were recorded over a year ago, the reserved nature of the Japanese music scene has kept the band recordings hidden from the ravenous ears of funk fans around the world. That's until Jazzman Gerald and Fryer went on a DJ trip to Tokyo recently where they stumbled across the album and instantly knew they had hit upon something big.
Jazzman have already excited funk fans the world over with their many superb deep funk reissues. Now it's time for Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro to be unleashed upon the world – with no less than fourteen original, hardcore, deep funk party bangers on one album.
“Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro” will be released in Australia via Instrumental Recordings.
Distributed by MGM in December. Media copies are available upon request.
Tracklisting
1. Time Has Come
2. Yellow Soul Force
3. The Changes
4. The Bunch
5. Baggy Pants
6. Dont Touch, Just Watch Me
7. DFT
8. Big Pig Affair
9. Blues of the Kilimanjaro
10. Black Dog, Black Cat, Black Bird
11. Eastwood Magic City
12. Why Am I Standing Here
13. Immigrant Song
14. Theme From Blackbyrds
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/mountainmochakilimanjaro
Youtube:
Official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgg6rEQidGc
Fan videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ddmCwAnwNM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF_ifMe77Y8&feature=related
“Get ready to scrape your jaw off the floor” - Austin Chronicle
“Kaki King is a dazzling guitarist. She’s an inventive, pensive, explosive player whose technique is miles beyond her years. Everybody Loves You is one sweet piece of work.” - Billboard
“There are some guitar players that are good and there are some guitar players that are really fucking good. And then there’s Kaki King.”
- Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, quoted in NME
“Kaki King is a genre unto herself.”- Rolling Stone US
(naming Kaki one of 20 “New Guitar Gods”)
Kaki’s first tour to Australia in January 2007 resulted in six front covers and five sell-out shows, the result of people eager to see what the strong buzz was about. It was a phenomenal reaction to an artist almost no-one here had heard of before, and the beginning of an ongoing love affair between Kaki & her Australian audiences.
She was immediately snapped up to return; appearing at The Great Escape and both the East & West Coast Blues n Roots Festivals of the same year, and was invited to return once more to appear at the inaugural Adelaide International Guitar Festival.
In April 2008, this time invited by Dave Grohl, she toured Australia again, this time as the Foo Fighters’ opener. Kaki took the opportunity to launch her latest release, Dreaming Of Revenge, squeezing in a couple of her own shows into her increasingly tight calendar. She returned early in 2009 for an appearance at WOMADelaide.
Media support and word of mouth has been fantastic on each of her visits, and critical acclaim has built nationally, both for her albums and her startling live shows. If you still haven’t caught the Kaki King juggernaut, now’s your chance; she’s returning once more for Summer 2010, invited to appear at the Falls, Woodford, Sunset Sounds and Southbound Festivals. Kaki will be performing her own shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Byron Bay and Adelaide and is bringing her US trio of Dan Brantigan & Jordan Perlman.
ABOUT KAKI KING
Thumping bass lines, tapping melodies, and slapping percussion on her guitar, Kaki King is a one-woman force wreaking havoc. She’s a riveting performer, combining jaw-dropping technique with unique compositions. Her playing has a passion and an edge that keeps her tenuously balanced, one foot in the acoustic world, the other in rock’n’roll.
For King, the guitar isn't just a reverie machine; it's a percussion instrument, just like the drums she played with her high school band…"When I was about four years old my parents wanted me to take music lessons, and I chose the guitar," she says. "But I didn't enjoy it, so when I was five I put it aside. Then I started playing drums when I was nine or 10. I still play them. That was how I got into playing pop music, and that feel was a big influence when I did go back to guitar."
Using intricate tunings and neck tapping, Kaki became focused on writing instrumental music. In 1999, Kaki moved up to New York to attend NYU, and emerged three years later with a humanities degree that allowed her to complete only the feeblest of crossword puzzles. “I want to be either a vagabond street performer or a sassy bar rat,” she told a professor inquiring about her future plans, to which the professor replied, “With your handsome looks and ragamuffin charm, I'm sure you'll be able to do both.” And so she did…
Her commitment to the instrument took a sudden turn a few months after graduation; King had been wondering what to do with her life, but on September 11, 2001, circumstances pushed her to take faster action. Looking for a way to support herself in the wake of disaster, she took her guitar into the subway and began playing for tips. More than anything she had done up to that point, these performances transformed her into an artist of fierce and fiery originality.
"The subways gave me stamina," she says. "It's a workout in every way - mentally, physically. To play for two hours in an ugly environment is very challenging. But soon people were coming up to me and saying, 'Do you have a record?' And I realized that if I could sell a CD for 10 bucks every time someone asks me for one, I could actually do all right for myself."
Kaki King’s debut album, Everybody Loves You, was released on Velour in USA. The record inspired the LA Weekly to write: “King is the most striking young musician to emerge in decades.” It was during this time that King also became a part-time band member of the New York production of the off-Broadway smash Blue Man Group. Since then she has released Legs To Make Us Longer, Until We Felt Red and Dreaming Of Revenge. Her schedule is now jam packed with touring and collaborations; she no longer has time for any other commitments apart from musical pursuits.
She's toured incessantly, opened for an array of headliners (Marianne Faithful, David Byrne, Robert Randolph, Keb Mo, Foo Fighters to name a few), performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Late Show With David Letterman, hurried to engagements all over the world, and pretty much single-handedly (actually, double-handedly) dragged the art of solo acoustic guitar back to prominence, with an edginess that matches the temperament of her own generation.
King’s main focus is one thing: “Touring, touring, touring. It’s what I love to do - the stage is where I’m most creative.”
But that’s not all Ms King get’s up to. She’s a prolific collaborator - working with indie darlings Tegan & Sara on their album The Con, American female rap group Northern State’s album, The Foo Fighters’ Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, (Kaki performed on a number of tracks including The Battle of the Beaconsfield Miners) and she’s also dabbled in film score work, working on Sean Penn’s Into The Wild, which also featured the work of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, and also on August Rush, starring Freddie Highmore, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Robin Williams. She also appears in the film as a guitar-playing hand double.
ABOUT DREAMING WITH REVENGE
When Kaki King went into the studio in upstate New York to record the tracks for her fourth album, Dreaming Of Revenge, her producer, Malcolm Burn, had one condition: “He said, ‘If someone can’t be sawing a log in half and whistling along to the song, I don’t want it on the record,’” King recalls with a laugh.
And so the bar was set. Burn’s mandate was just the push King needed to make her most accessible CD yet. “Even though half the tracks are instrumentals, I feel like I’m writing pop songs,” she says. “We really concentrated on the melodies. Everything I write tends to be dense and chordal, but this time the idea was to layer the challenging guitar work under very simple, beautiful melodies. I really wanted them to be memorable.”
That strict attention to song craft is a logical step for King, whose previous album, 2006’s …Until We Felt Red propelled this dazzling young guitar player and composer, known to instrumental music fans for her finger-picking, fret-slapping, and percussive thumping style, into previously uncharted indie-rock territory. Produced by post-rock kingpin John McEntire (Tortoise, Sea and Cake), Red was filled with lush, ambient soundscapes that “sound like the abstract, dreamy, and hypnotic end of alternative rock,” as the New York Times noted in its review.
Red found King branching out with songs that featured electric and pedal-steel guitar, horns, and, for the first time, vocals. Dreaming Of Revenge picks up that thread, continuing her evolution from acoustic instrumentalist to full-fledged, multi-faceted songwriter. Previously, her whispery, ethereal voice was used as mainly another element in her sonic arsenal.
This time around, King put more effort into both her vocals and the lyrics she wrote for such deeply felt tracks as “Pull Me Out Alive,” “Saving Days In A Frozen Head,” “Life Being What It Is,” and “2 O’clock,” the latter two of which she describes as break-up songs. “The words mean something now,” she says. “They’re actually telling stories.”
Of course her instrumentals tell stories too. The intricate finger-picked melodies — which she and Burn often doubled and tripled with other instruments — on the airy, sexy “So Much for So Little,” (“a song I think people should make babies to,” King says) and the haunting “Can Anyone Who Has Heard This Music Really Be A Bad Person?” (which was inspired by the Oscar-winning German film The Lives of Others) convey a heavy-heartedness that feels more raw and emotional than anything King’s done before.
Those tracks are balanced out by the upbeat, rhythmically layered “Montreal,” the flash-bang ear candy of “Bone Chaos In The Castle,” both of which feature King, who is the drummer on most of the record, supplying tight, in-the-pocket grooves.
“Making Dreaming Of Revenge was all about challenging myself,” King says. “And it was also about really letting go and opening myself up to a producer who I needed to just trust. I absolutely knew after the first day in the studio that Malcolm was the right man for the job.” Indeed Burn, a Grammy-Award winning musician and producer who is known for his work with Daniel Lanois, Peter Gabriel, and Emmylou Harris, was the perfect foil for King.
“I went in with 11 demos and detailed notes about how each track should sound,” she recalls, “and Malcolm took one listen and said, ‘Throw that stuff away. I don’t care how you think it should sound. Just pick up a guitar right now and start playing.’ He was really adamant, because the way he works is totally spontaneous.”
Spontaneous seems to have worked, Dreaming of Revenge is King’s finest release to date.
Dreaming of Revenge is out thru Top Shelf / MGM
TOUR DATES
Monday & Tuesday December 28 & 29
Woodford Folk Festival QLD
www.woodfordfolkfestival.com
Wednesday December 30th
Falls Festival - Lorne VIC
www.fallsfestival.com.au
Thursday December 31st
Falls Festival - Marion Bay TAS
www.fallsfestival.com.au
Saturday January 2nd
East Brunswick Club - Melbourne VIC
www.eastbrunswickclub.com
Sunday January 3rd
Annandale Hotel - Sydney NSW
www.annandalehotel.com
Tuesday January 5th
Notes - Sydney NSW (intimate solo show)
www.noteslive.com.au
Wednesday January 6th
Sunset Sounds - Brisbane QLD
www.sunsetsounds.com.au
Thursday January7th
Great Northern - Byron Bay NSW
www.thenorthern.com.au
Friday January 8th
Jive - Adelaide SA
www.jivevenue.com.au
Sunday January 10th
Southbound Festival - Busselton WA
www.sunsetevents.com.au
www.myspace.com/kakiking
MEDIA CONTACT
ANNIE JOHNSSON PUBLICITY
Annie: 0403 831 809 annie@ajpublicity.com
Brigitte: 0419 549 138 info@ajpublicity.com
Claire: 0403 520 765 www.ajpublicity.com
Jeff Lang’s new album, Chimeradour out on Oct 2nd via ABC/Universal. Jeff Lang’s new album, Chimeradour out on Oct 2nd via ABC/Universal.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Lang is world renowned as a prolific artist who has defied categorization by bending and blurring genres to create his own ever-evolving sound from the base ingredients of Folk, Rock, Blues, Experimental and World music styles. The road he has travelled over this past decade has yielded the rewards of many a hard-working musician's dreams - widespread acclaim, a devoted fan base, an exemplary back catalogue, an ARIA Award in addition to countless nominations, invitations to the world's most prestigious festivals, and coveted tours with such icons as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan.
So it's fitting that the title of Lang's transcendent new album, Chimeradour, suggests the life of the travelling troubadour as well as conjuring the chimera: a fantastic creature from Greek mythology of many parts; swift-footed with a lion's face, a serpent's body and a fiery breath.
Chimeradour is a spectral and many-faceted sonic journey. A voracious musical explorer, Lang has absorbed and transformed many rich influences in the course of his collaborations with musicians from Mali to Mumbai.
The echoes of African desert blues reverberate in the rolling, hypnotic lap slide guitar work on South, whilst the driving guitar rock of Slow Rooms and Half Blurred Faces suggests the ragged glory of Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
The blues is always present in Lang's music, tempered with expansive jazz modalities on The Janitor - the menacing closing soliloquy - and searing electric picking on the album's only cover, Richard Thompson's eerie lullaby End of the Rainbow. Lang commands atmospherics worthy of Bill Frisell or Daniel Lanois on the impressionistic opening track Two Worlds, then musters a darkly poetic rock'n'roll mood on Edge of the Light, which sounds like a jam session with Ed Kuepper and Jimmy Page in the back of a four-wheel drive, somewhere in the Sahara desert.
Lang has spent much of the past two years touring all corners of the world, most recently the Fuji Rock and Asagari Jam Festivals (Japan), Safiko World Music Festival (Reunion Island), Quebec Summer Festival and Ottawa Blues Festival in Canada. He was the first artist in residence of the Adelaide International Guitar Festival and recently toured China.
Chimeradour captures the blazing dynamism of Lang's live performance with his virtuosic accompanists, Grant Cummerford on bass and Danny McKenna on drums, at full tilt. The album was recorded by legendary producer Mark Opitz, known for his work on countless classic albums by Cold Chisel, INXS, AC/DC, The Angels and Divinyls.
The 12 compelling songs of Chimeradour are miniature character studies drawn as much from the emotions Lang wrings from his guitar as from the imagery of his rapid fire lyrics. Revered piano man Don Walker sits in on Another One Of These Days and The Janitor, contributing his subtly magnificent finishing touches to this iconic and vital new Australian album.
For more info contact: jordan@topshelf.com.au or 0408 962 319
| Jeff Lang - Chimeradour album launch w/ Jill Barber (Canada) launching her album Chances. | |||
| Date | Venue | Town | State |
| OCT | |||
| Thurs 8th | Lizottes | Newcastle | NSW |
| Fri 9th | Fly By Night | Fremantle | WA |
| Sat 10th | Governor Hindmarsh | Adelaide | SA |
| Sun 11th | Lizottes | Kincumber | NSW |
| Wed14th | The Clarendon | Katoomba | NSW |
| Thurs 15th | The Clarendon | Katoomba | NSW |
| Fri 16th | The Basement | Sydney | NSW |
| Sat 17th | The Basement | Sydney | NSW |
| Sun 18th | The Brass Monkey | Cronulla | NSW |
| Fri 23rd | The Soundlounge | Gold Coast | QLD |
| Sat 24th | A&I Hall | Mullumbimby | NSW |
| Sun 25th | Caloundra Music Festival | Caloundra | QLD |
| Thurs 29th | Island Pizza | Great Keppel Island | QLD |
| Fri 30th | Tanks Arts Centre | Cairns | QLD |
| Sat 31 | The Zoo | Brisbane | QLD |
| NOV | |||
| Sun 1st | Joes Waterhole | Eumundi | QLD |
| Thurs 5th | Tonic Bar | Launceston | TAS |
| Fri 6th | Republic Bar | Hobart | TAS |
| Sat 7th | The Corner Hotel | Melbourne | VIC |
| Fri 13th |
Street Theatre* |
Canberra | ACT |
| Sat 14th | Heritage Hotel* | Bulli | NSW |
| Sun 15th | The Studio* | Geelong | VIC |
* Without Jill Barber
Top Shelf presents
Direct from Europe!
Paprika Balkanicus
East Coast Tour - Sept 28th to Oct 16th 2009
"Paprika Balkanicus set the night afire!" The Scotsman
"A wild ride - fast, furious and exhilarating!" Adelaide Advertiser
"Amazing performance - they hit the audience like a Balkan storm!" JVC Japan
"They won the crowd completely with their charm and virtuosity." The Independent
Back by popular demand after their first sell out tour supporting Cat Empire and an unforgettable Womadelaide appearance, PAPRIKA BALKANICUS return to Australia with an electrifying show of mind-boggling musicianship and witty stage antics that have won them a massive following across the globe.
Originating from Romania, Serbia and Slovenia, the band perform a fiery blend of traditional and Gypsy music from the Balkans and Eastern Europe across a repertoire of songs that mirror the longing, passion and joy of these hidden places. From silky-smooth stroking tones to lightning-speed furious arpeggios, the band showcases the beautiful range of violin melodies, intriguing harmonies on bass, and the odd rhythmic stylings of two accordions. Showcasing songs from their latest self-titled album, the sheer energy of this show will leave audiences begging for more.
Masters of creating an irrepressible and infectious party atmosphere, Paprika Balkanicus have wowed audiences across the UK, Europe and Japan, seducing masses at international festivals Glastonbury, WOMAD UK, Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Edinburgh Fringe, and have performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the world, including the Royal Festival Hall, Carling Academy Islington, Bruntwood Theatre Manchester, Tate Modern, Black Box Teater (Oslo), and New Morning (Paris). Band members have previously worked with Nigel Kennedy, World Youth Orchestra, Neil Innes, and Tommy Emmanuel, and have won numerous awards including Spirit of the Fringe and the BBC World Music Award.
Full Tour Details
September
Monday 28th – The Spiegeltent, Brisbane Festival, Qld
Tuesday 29th - The Spiegeltent, Brisbane Festival, Qld
October
Thursday 1st – Coorabell Hall, Byron Bay, NSW
Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th – Bellingen Global Carnival, Bellingen, NSW
Tuesday 6th – The Clarendon, Katoomba, NSW
Wednesday 7th – The Studio, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW
Thursday 8th - The Studio, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW
Friday 9th – Lizottes, Newcastle, NSW
Saturday 10th – The Heritage Hotel, Bulli, NSW
Sunday 11th – The Street Theatre, Canberra, NSW
Thursday 15th – Melbourne Festival, Melbourne, VIC
Friday 16th – Moorilla Estate Winery, Tasmania
Interviews are available by request.
For all media enquiries, CDs and images please contact Cristina Dio / cristina@diaspora.com.au
02 9383 4162 / 0414 323 452
For more on Paprika Balkanicus:
www.myspace.com/paprikabalkanicus
Jeff has been hard at work in 30Mill Studios laying down his new album (more news on this soon). Estimated time of completion is just in time for Jeff to take to the skies and hit some of the worlds biggest festivals and hippest venues across North America, Asia, the Indian Ocean and... Gympie. Check out the dates:
July
Wed 15th Quebec City Summer Festival 7:30 PM @ Scene Metro www.infofestival.com
Thurs 16th Quebec City Summer Festival 11:30PM @ Pub Saint-Alexandre www.infofestival.com
Sat 18th Ottawa Blues Festival 19:30 pm @ The Barney Danson Theatre www.ottawabluesfest.ca
Sun 19th Ottawa Blues Festival 15:45 @ The Hard Rock Cafe Stage www.ottawabluesfest.ca
Mon 20th The Carleton 9:00 PM start. 1685 Argyle St. Halifax Nova Scotia http://www.thecarleton.ca
Fri 24th Fuji Rock Festival Naeba Ski Resort, Yuzawa-machi, Niigata, http://www.smash-uk.com/frf09/
Wed 29th Mao Live House Beijing
Thurs 30th Broadies Tavern Tianjin
Fri 31st Qingdao Concert Hall Qingdao: www.qdshow.net
August
Sat 1st Yuyintang Shanghai
Wed 5th Sakifo Music Festival Reunion Island http://2009.sakifo.com/
Sat 8th Sakifo Music Festival Reunion Island http://2009.sakifo.com/
Sat 29th Gympie Muster 6:30 PM, Blues Stage www.muster.com.au
Sun 30th Gympie Muster 3:30 PM, Blues Stage www.muster.com.au
www.jefflang.com.au
FourPlay String Quartet - NEW ALBUM & NATIONAL TOUR
FourPlay bring it back home with an astonishingly diverse new album entitled Fourthcoming. Instores from July 2 via MGM and download from www.fourplay.com.au
Fourthcoming fits well into FourPlay's ethos of finding unity in diversity. From indie rock to jazz to psychedelic to dub to metal, somehow it all fits together nicely. Don't miss one of their rare live shows. For more info, see the official press release. Check out the dates as below and click on "Everything Was Going Fine" on the media player on the front page to sample a new tune:
Thurs 16th The Heritage Hotel Bulli www.heritagehotel.com.au
Fri 17th The Street Theatre Canberra (02) 62471223 www.thestreet.org.au
Sat 18th The Street Theatre Canberra (02) 62471223 www.thestreet.org.au
Thurs 23 Governor Hindmarsh Adelaide www.thegov.com.au
Fri 24th Fly By Night Fremantle www.flybynight.org or (08) 9430 5976.
Sat 25th The Tivoli (Brisbane Festival) Brisbane www.qmf.org.au
Thurs 30th The Clarendon Katoomba 0247 821 322
Fri 31 July Basement Sydney 02 9251 2797 or www.thebasement.com.au
August
Sat 1st Basement Sydney 02 9251 2797 or www.thebasement.com.au
Sun 2nd Kings Theatre Newcastle www.lizottes.com.au
Thurs 6th Tonic Bar, Country Club Launceston 1300795257
Fri 7th The Republic Bar Hobart (03) 6234 6954
Sat 8th East Brunswick Club Melbourne (03) 9388 9794 or www.eastbrunswickclub.com
FourPlay String Quartet – Fourthcoming...
In late 2006, the four members of FourPlay String Quartet gathered in Hobart, Tasmania, where viola player Tim was living at the time. Set up in the living room of a rented house with looping pedals, effects pedals and recording equipment, they jammed for days on end, and after two weeks devoted to creating new repertoire, the results of their creative efforts were even better than they had hoped: a wide-ranging selection of covers and a number of innovative group compositions – the embryo of a new album.
The original pieces came together in many different ways: an arrangement very naturally developed around an original and sassy cabaret piece of Lara’s; Peter strummed a crazy hoedown on the cello, over which Tim and Lara created melodies while Shenzo pioneered the "banjola" solo; Tim created a bizarre and crunchy viola loop which inspired riffs that borrowed from M.I.A. and weird effects patches; Shenzo idly plucked a dream-like chord sequence over a funky viola-percussion loop; and when a dub jam transformed into drum'n'bass somewhere around the middle, the as-of-yet unrecognised desire by the world for d'n'b string quartet music was realised.
As for the tasty selection of covers, manager Jordan Verzar wisely suggested that Rage Against The Machine be considered, and what better than their most famous track "Killing In The Name"? While the politically-charged lyrics are gone from this instrumental version, none of the energy and power are lost in translation. Tim sang lead vocals for the first time on one of his favourite songs, Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat", given a strikingly faithful rendition despite the instrumentation. Another favourite, The Cocteau Twins, brought blissful shoegaze to the table, while the complex arrangements of indie superstar Sufjan Stevens soared when rendered through loops and agility.
Fast-forward a year and a half, and band-members' commitments meant that the Fourthcoming album was yet to be forthcoming. For as long as FourPlay has existed, the band had also felt that the live impact of their performance had been elusive in previous recordings, and so a solution was concocted: record the new songs live, over three performances, and select the best versions to release as the new album. Canberra’s intimate Street Theatre, a venue always supportive of innovative and daring projects, was chosen for the location. A stellar sound was achieved with help from engineer Justin Tresidder, each player amped up for full effect. And so it was that FourPlay's music was captured with all the mayhem, quirks and integrity intact – finally, Fourthcoming had arrived.
Paprika Balkanicus spice the Cat Empire
www.myspace.com/paprikabalkanicus
"Paprika Balkanicus had set the night afire!" - The Scotsman
"A wild ride - fast, furious and exhilarating!" - The Adelaide Advertiser
"These boys won the crowd completely with their charm and virtuosity...a must see." - The Independent
"Amazing performance - they hit the audience like a Balkan storm!"- Mio Matsuda/JVC Japan
Since their debut visit to Australia in 2008, PAPRIKA BALKANICUS has been in hot demand all over the world with more than 30 appearances at major music festivals and cultural events. Now in early 2009, they are back; supporting good friends and home-grown heroes THE CAT EMPIRE on their Australian tour, before embarking on a run of their own headline shows on the East Coast.
PAPRIKA BALKANICUS first met The Cat Empire at the Edinburgh Festival, on the Australian's debut tour of Europe back in 2002. Many fantastic late night jamming and dancing sessions later, PAPRIKA BALKANICUS were invited to stay at Felix's house on their debut Australian tour, cementing a friendship that continues to flourish today.
Described as masters of great atmosphere, PAPRIKA BALKANICUS are one of the hottest newcomers in World music. Together for only 3 years, their electrifying live shows, fantastic musicianship and witty stage presence has already won them a substantial following in the UK, Europe, Australia and Japan.
The guys from Romania, Serbia and Slovenia on violin, guitar, bass and accordions play a fiery and passionate blend of traditional and Gypsy music from the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Their traditional Gypsy music is like a rollercoaster of emotions - from gentle, fragile melodies which bring back early childhood memories to thunderous fiery tempos, appropriate for dancing with the Devil.
From silky-smooth stroking tones to lightning-speed furious arpeggios, violinist Bogdan Vacarescu's blurred fingers lure some of the most beautiful and passionate melodies ever written for violin. Next to him Jozef Secnik on bass and Vlad Jocic on guitar provide an intriguing harmonic foundation of frequently odd rhythms with unpredictable solo eruptions.
Flanked by Milos Milivojevic and Zivorad Nikolic - two accordionist extraordinaires - they have seduced huge crowds at numerous International festivals including Glastonbury, WOMAD UK, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Spraoi (Ireland), Balkan Fever London, Secret Garden Party, Exit (Serbia) and Edinburgh Fringe amongst others.
Beside highly successful tours in UK, Norway, Ireland, France, Japan and Australia, they have also performed at some of the most prestigious concert halls and clubs in the world, such as The Royal Festival Hall, Carling Academy Islington, Bruntwood Theatre - Manchester, Tate Modern, Black Box Theater (Oslo), New Morning (Paris) and Brisbane Powerhouse (AU) to name but a few.
Band members have previously worked with Nigel Kennedy, World Youth Orchestra, Neil Innes, Tommy Emmanuel and have won numerous international awards including The Spirit of the Fringe and a BBC World Music Award.
Paprika Balkanicus will be doing their own headline shows in each capitol city announced after the Cat Empire tour. Check: www.myspace.com/paprikabalkanicus for details.
Kaki King, the pint sized, feisty, funny, smart-as-a-whip & gob-smackingly talented musician, returns for her 5th trip to Australia in a little over 2 years, this time bringing her trio, comprising Dan Brantigan on analog evi (a kind of midi trumpet) & vocals with Matt Hankle on Drums.
Continuing her hectic work schedule of the past few years, it’s been back-to-back touring across Europe and the USA, selling out shows around the world since her last visit to Australia. King has also found time to continue her collaborative efforts, this time with Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle on the EP “Black Pear Tree”, also participating in a recent co-headline American tour.
Kaki is very much looking forward to returning to Australia, this time being able to bring her trio to a country that’s embraced her wholeheartedly. After their Australian visit, King heads back to Europe for another run of shows, this time in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin and Rome amongst others.
Kaki King was very recently invited by Timbaland to record for an "as-yet-undecided" project. After seeing her clips and live performances on YouTube, the much in demand uber producer made contact and flew Kaki down to Miami for the sessions. For more details: http://www.spinner.com/2009/01/21/kaki-king-goes-in-the-studio-with-timbaland/
We are also happy to announce that we have received a download of a new Kaki King EP called "Mexican Teenagers EP" and it ROCKS! This EP will be available in conjunction with the tour. To request a copy when it becomes available to release, please let us know and we will get it to you as soon as possible.
Dreaming Of Revenge
available in all good record stores
Mexican Teenagers EP
available at Kaki’s shows
KAKI KING TOUR DATES
Thursday February 19
Ruby’s Lounge, BELGRAVE, VIC
With AN HORSE
www.rubyslounge.com.au
Tix $22 / $28
Friday February 20
Corner Hotel, RICHMOND, VIC
With AN HORSE
www.cornerhotel.com
Tix $30 / $35
Saturday February 21
The Basement, SYDNEY, NSW
With AN HORSE
www.thebasement.com.au
Tix $30 / $35
Sunday February 22
The Zoo, BRISBANE, QLD
With AN HORSE
www.thezoo.com.au
Tix $20 / $35
Wednesday February 25
Mullum Civic Hall, MULLUMBIMBY, NSW
With Ghost Mountain
www.kupromotions.com.au
Tix $30
Thursday February 26
Mackay Entertainment Centre, MACKAY, QLD
www.mackayentertainment.com.au
Tix $34/$28 conc
Friday February 27
Riverway Arts Centre, TOWNSVILLE, QLD
http://riverway.townsville.qld.gov.au
Tix $32 / $28
Saturday February 28
Tanks Arts Centre, CAIRNS, QLD
With HEIDI ELVA
www.tanksartscentre.com
Tix $30 / $35
Sunday March 1
The Clarendon Guest House, KATOOMBA, NSW
With HEIDI ELVA
www.clarendonguesthouse.com.au
Tix $35
Tuesday March 3
Mardi Gras Festival Bar, The Supper Club, SYDNEY
With LEROY LEE
www.mardigras.org.au
Tix $30 / $35
Wednesday March 4
Brass Monkey, CRONULLA, NSW
With HEIDI ELVA
www.brassmonkey.com.au
Tix $28 / $35
Thursday March 5
Heritage Hotel, BULLI, NSW
With LEROY LEE
www.heritagehotel.com.au
Tix $28 / $35
Friday March 6 – Sunday March 8
WOMADelaide, ADELAIDE, SA
www.womeadelaide.com.au
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Annnnnd a word from our friends at Niche Productions:
Niche Productions Presents, for the first time in Australia…
TONY ALLEN
Thursday 12th March - The Corner, Melbourne
Friday 13th March - The Forum, Sydney
"without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat." Fela Kuti
As drummer of Fela Kuti’s Africa 70, Allen introduced the world to the ‘beat’ in Afrobeat. This is a musician who puts the step in to hotstep and the swing in to funky dancefloor stompers. He has been called ‘perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived’ by Brian Eno and continues to have the world’s best dying to collaborate with him, as recently executed in Damon Albarn’s The Good, The Bad and The Queen or other sessions with Air, Charlotte Gainsborough and Jarvis Cocker.
Post-Fela, Allen developed a hybrid sound, deconstructing & fusing Afrobeat with electronica, dub, R&B, and rap. Allen refers to this synthesis as afrofunk. Tony Allen returned with a much anticipated new project for his thirteenth release in 2006. Recorded live in Lagos, with a full-sized Afrobeat band, ‘Lagos No Shaking (Lagos is OK)’, signified Allen's return to roots Afrobeat after forays into avant-garde electronica hybrids. The album was followed up with a remix effort which featured Diplo, Bondo Do Role, Carl Craig, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and more.
Do not miss this opportunity to see a living legend appearing in Oz for the first time!
Tickets Melb: The Corner, www.cornerhotel.com, Northside Records
Supports: Black Jesus Experience & Systa BB
Tickets Syd: www.moshtix.com.au 1300 438 849 or Moshtix outlets
Supports: Afro Moses Feat: The Strides & DJ Jimmy Sing
Djan Djan: An album by Mamadou Diabate, Jeff Lang & Bobby Singh.
Kora, guitar and tabla come together in unity when Mamadou Diabate, Jeff Lang and Bobby Singh tour the East Coast of Australia in January 2009. With an itinerary that runs from Noosa to Tasmania, the three internationally recognised artists will be exploring the connection they discovered in a small music studio in Melbourne in March 2008.
Mamadou Diabate was destined to play the kora. Cousin of legendary kora player Toumani Diabate, who was one of his most influential teachers, Mamadou was born and raised in the griot tradition of Mali, using music and oratory to preserve his people’s consciousness of their past. From his Grammy-award nominated solo album, to his latest release Douga Mansa (King Vulture), Mamadou’s technical virtuosity and innovative approach have kept him in high demand internationally.
Jeff Lang has earned worldwide acclaim as a guitarist, dynamic songwriter and startlingly unique live performer, defying description and genres. His intuitive and idiosyncratic instrumental virtuosity are supported by songs that expand the boundaries of traditional folk, country and blues, creating a new blend of music which is undeniably and deeply steeped in tradition, yet with its vision set on future horizons. As an instrumental storyteller, Lang gives the guitar a voice and then makes it sing.
Bobby Singh spent much of his childhood in Mumbai studying tabla. Recognised with a great talent, Bobby is the disciple of Aneesh Pradhan, one of the world’s most sought after tabla players. Nurtured into a mature, internationally renowned tabla virtuoso, both in traditional Indian and cross-cultural genres, Bobby has played with many of the top musicians in Australia and the world.
When the three musicians met in 2008, no one could quite predict the musical alchemy that would occur as a result. A spontaneous day of recording at Melbourne’s 30 Mill Studios lead to an astonishingly beautiful and surprisingly natural recording that displays the conversational and virtuosic style that all three are renowned for. The album will be released by Instrumental Recordings in conjunction with the tour, the label created by music company Top Shelf for the express purpose of releasing rare and unique collaborative instrumental projects.
Contact: Top Shelf: (02) 9518 8411 – jordan@topshelf.com.au
Fri 2nd Woodford Wind Down @ Noosa (Qld) www.thej.com.au
Sat 3rd Sound Lounge, Currumbin www.thesoundlounge.com.au
Sun 4th Mullumbimby Civic Hall www.kupromotions.com.au
Wed 7th Northcote Social Club, Melbourne (Vic) www.northcotesocialclub.com
Thurs 8th The Basement, Sydney (NSW) www.thebasement.com.au
Fri 9th The Clarendon, Blue Mountains (NSW) www.clarendonguesthouse.com.au
Sun 11th Mona Foma Festival, Hobart (Tasmania) www.mofo.net.au
THE GYPSY QUEENS AND KINGS™
a legendary show featuring
FANFARE CIOCARLIA (RO), ESMA REDZEPOVA (MK), JONY ILIEV (BG),
MITSOU (HU), FLORENTINA SANDU (RO), KALOOME (F), AURELIA & TANTZICA (RO)
19 Roma musicians on stage, coming together from at least four different countries, cast a spell over their audiences with the stunning voices of their people and virtuoso instrumentals!
Fanfare Ciocarlia, The heroes of Gypsy brass music decided to invite the greatest Roma voices to join them in the studio for their new album “Queens and Kings”. The band brought together some of the finest musicians from the Gypsy diaspora like Ljiljana Buttler and Saban Bajramovic from Serbia, Esma Redzepova from Macedonia, Jony Iliev from Bulgaria, Florentina Sandu und Dan Armeanca from Romania, Mitsou from Hungary and Kaloome - Gitanos from Perpignan / France. They appear to be worlds apart and the differences could hardly be bigger. And yet there are bonds which build bridges and reconcile cultural differences: They are Gypsies; they speak the same language and have created a life for themselves in music.
The real skill however is to work their audience up into a frenzy with their live performances. A reviewer of STERN, the biggest cultural magazine in Germany, wrote about the audiences of the concerts:“...they’re going wild, berserk, freaking out. Designer jackets are flying obsessively into the corners and abandoned worn-out health shoes through the concert halls – it’s the same everywhere: Wherever the band inflate their cheeks, no one can stand still – not by the coolest stretch of the imagination...”
The live “The Gypsy Queens and Kings” performance promises a fascinating and intoxicating diversity of real Gypsy music turning every concert hall into the most exciting Gypsy party ever!
The show was acclaimed by international press:
“… just one verse was enough to make this the concert of the year. Promoters should be working out how to take this show on the road.” The Independent
“In a two-hour set that could have gone all night, Fanfare Ciocarlia turned the genteel, cavernous Barbican Hall into the best Gypsy Party this side of the Danube.” Guardian
“… the Romanian Brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia prefer to open with a wild, orgiastic climax and then work their way up from there …” The Times
“… but the evening everyone was talking about was Fanfare Ciocarlia’s Queens and Kings – the Barbican was in party mode within the first few minutes and everybody knew it was going to be a legendary night to remember.” Songlines
artists on stage:
FANFARE CIOCARLIA (Romania), ESMA REDZEPOVA (vocal – Macedonia), JONY ILIEV (vocal – Bulgaria), MITSOU (vocal – Hungary), FLORENTINA SANDU (vocal – Romania) KALOOME –Gitanos from Perpignan (SABRINA ROMERO – vocal, cajon, ANTOINE „TATO“ GARCIA – guitar, vocal, CHRIST MAILHE – guitar, vocal - Frankreich), AURELIA SANDU (dance – Romania), TANTZICA IONITA (dance – Romania)
Esma Redzepova. Born in Skopje, Macedonia, in 1943, Esma’s talent was such that band leader Stevo Teodosievski negotiated a contract with her father so the 13-year old Esma could join his ensemble as a vocalist. Esma was crowned Queen of the Gypsies (by Indira Gandhi), twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and has written and recorded thousands of songs.
Florentina Sandu. Born in the legendary lautari village of Clejani (Romania), Florentina is the granddaughter of Taraf De Haidouks’ late founder (and visionary violinist) Nicolae Neacsu. At 20 she is the youngest contributor to Queens & Kings.
Mitsou. Fronting Hungarian Gypsy band Ando Drom, Mitsou’s extraordinary vocal has commanded much admiration. She now leads electronic fusion band Mitsoura who mix dance beats, Indian tabla and Hungarian Gypsy flavours.
Jony Iliev. Jony grew up in the south western Bulgarian town of Kyustendil, singing professionally with the family band from the age of 13. A gifted singer and songwriter, Jony is celebrated for his ability to rock mahalas.
Kaloome. Band leader Antoine “Tato” Garcia attracted attention whilst leading Tekameli, the acclaimed rumba Gitano group from Perpignan. Guitarist-vocalist Garcia formed Kaloome to further explore the fusion of Gypsy and North African cultures happening around the French Mediterranean basin.
Sat Jan 10: First Night, Sydney Festival – Hyde Park
Thurs Jan 15: Sydney, State Theatre
Fri Jan 16: Sydney, State Theatre
Sat Jan 17: Sydney, The Domain – Jazz in the Domain
Sun Jan 18: Arts Centre, Melbourne
More info? Contact Top Shelf, Jordan (02) 9518 8411 or jordan@topshelf.com.au
A Parisian combo of Sex, Accordion and Alcohol…..’ hip hop musette meets samba, from the streets of Paris to the avenues of Rio. Java mix up hip hop, Brazilian Samba, reggae, rock, jazz and electro sounds with a circus spirit and a manic humour. Java's unique take on urban music blends references in a jubilatory cocktail.
JAN
Fri 9th Music By The Sea Festival, Brisbane www.musicbythesea.com.au
Sat 10th First Night, Sydney Festival www.sydneyfestival.org.au
Sun 11th Corner Hotel, Melbourne w/ Uber Lingua DJs www.cornerhotel.com
Wed 14 Sydney Festival Club, Sydney www.sydneyfestival.org.au
Ben Walsh & The Orkestra of the Underground score Rene Laloux's animated classic, "Fantastic Planet".
Sun 18th Jan - Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour FREE
http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2009/Music/_item/event/FANTASTIC_PLANET
Take The Bird, Hermitude, The Crusty Suitcase Band, Pony Club Massacre plus special guest Sarangan Sriranganathan and Naomi Radom and you have the eclectic culmination of Sydney artists creating The Orkestra of the Underground.
An musical mash up of horns, sitar, synthesizers, Bosnian gypsy opera, drums, tabla, strings, Indian vocals, guitar, decks and junk percussion, The Orkestra will weave together a 72 minute score to the animated film “Fantastic Planet”, composed and conceived by Ben Walsh (The Bird, Circle of Rhythm, Tom Tom Club).
Before Manga and Studio Ghibli, the wonderful hand illustrations of René Laloux created a feel somewhere between 'Where the Wild Things Are' and 'Yellow Submarine'. This work brings to life Laloux's 1973 Cannes award winning French animation "La Planète Sauvage" (Fantastic Planet), with a live score played to the big screen version of the cinematic gem. This is animated psychedelic science fiction brought to life by The Orkestra of the Underground, showcasing some of Sydney's finest musical minds.
French Troubadour Tété returns to Australia in October with his own soulful blend of blues, folk and pop influences. Tété brings with him his current release, Le Sacre des Lemmings , a beautiful and charismatic album that explores concepts both political and romantic in nature.
When Tété landed on Australian shores late last year, he wasn’t exactly a household name. An explosive first performance at Woodford Folk Festival rapidly changed that and by his second show audiences were spilling out of the venue. Word soon spread across Australia that Tété was an act not to be missed. His bilingual shows became a talking point, and Tété’s debut Australian tour went from strength to strength, with sold out shows in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as performances at Music By the Sea and Cygnet Folk Festival in Tasmania.
Influenced by the Delta Blues, Lenny Kravitz, The Beatles and Bob Dylan, his exposure to American and English pop culture provided the classroom for Tété to learn English and developed a passion for the music that would have such an impact on him.
According to veteran producer and documentary filmmaker Martin Messonnier, Tété is “one of the few young chansonniers doing something really new”.
Described as ‘terribly human’, it is no wonder Tété has been called France’s Jeff Buckley. The self-taught singer-songwriter started out playing his guitar in bars and cafés and busking on the streets of Paris. A humble beginning perhaps, but Tété is now regarded as one of France’s best songwriters and has sold over half a million records, selling out The Olympia in Paris five times in one year. A remarkable achievement for a self-taught, alternative musician.
Catch Tété’s amazing live show at the following dates and venues:
September:
Wed 24th: Arrive in Sydney
Thurs 25: Fly to New Caledonia
Fri 26th: Noumea performance @ Femmes Funk Festival
Sat 27th: Noumea performance @ Femmes Funk Festival
Sun-28: Fly out of New Cal to Brisbane
Mon 29th: Fly to Port Moresby +performance
Tues 30th: Port Moresby performance
October:
Wed1st: Fly to Melbourne from PNG
Thurs 2nd: Melbourne performance – Northcote Social Club
Fri 3: Brass Monkey, Cronulla, Sydney
Sat 4th & Sun5: Bellingen Global Carnival
Mon 6 – Wed 8th: Time off in Byron Bay
Thurs 9th: SoundLounge, Currumbin
Fri 10th: Brisbane Judith Wright Centre
Sat 11th: Mullumbimby Civic Memorial Hall
Sun 12th: Katoomba – Triselies
Thur Oct 16th: Bega Regional Art Gallery
Fri Oct 17th: Bulli, The Heritage Hotel
Sat Oct 18th: Cairns, Tanks Arts Centre
Sun Oct 19th: Spiegeltent, Sydney Opera House.
Top Shelf & Towanda productions present Tjupurru in New Caledonia.
After already travelling to New Zealand, Japan and the USA in the past year, Tjupurru's international reputation precedes him, extending now to an invitation to spend a five week residency across New Caledonia. Tjupurru will spend be working with local musicians and collaborating with tribes in the outer islands of Lifou & Kone, educating them about Indigenous Australian art and culture as well as his specific musical stylings. Tjupurru’s visit will culminate in a series of performances at the Femmes Funk Festival. The opportunities that have come his way are a testament to his laidback but charismatic approach.
The Femmes Funk Festival is the signature event of the Towanda Production Association, which aims to develop the performance skills of young New Caledonian artists and enable them to perform within the local music scene, particularly involving them in events with an international aspect. Femmes Funk was designed to create an international artistic network in New Caledonia, providing local musicians with gateways to the international music scene. For Tjupurru, who is a natural collaborator and music educator, this will be a unique opportunity to create, perform and exchange.
With his young son Geoffrey (a prolific didj player himself) in tow, Tjupurru looks forward spreading his knowledge of his music throughout New Caledonia, with the aim of teaching enough people about the music that they can in turn teach others. The residency and Femmes Funk performances will show that language is no barrier when it comes to the power of music.
Bob Brozman October Tour
The American world music legend Bob Brozman, one of the most prolific and respected musicians on the planet, returns to Australia to introduce live audiences, to not one, but two of his latest releases; Lumière and Post Industrial Blues. Brozman, who may just be the music industry’s answer to the United Nations, is a must-see, his shows a true delight.
~
Lumière is the culmination of guitar virtuoso Brozman’s musical memories formed over a lifetime of travelling and playing music with other musicians around the globe. His years of absorbing influences from cultures worldwide is expressed through the establishment of the Bob Brozman Orchestra - a unique concept where Bob intricately plays each instrumental part, building layer upon layer to formulate the tremendous sound of an extensive orchestra.
He revisits the influences drawn from his many previous collaborations with artists such as Debashish Bhattacharya, René Lacaille, Djeli Moussa Diawara and Takashi Hirayasu to reflect on the profound imprint travel has had on his life. The album reflects the vast range of Brozman’s influences, adopting various instruments along the way – the kantele (ten-stringed Finnish harp), the chaturangui (twenty-two-stringed Hindustani slide guitar), the tiny Greek baglama, the ten-stringed Bolivian charango, and of course the National Guitar.
He explores the rhythms of tango, the slide-guitar sounds of Hawaii, the maloya and sega rhythms of Réunion Island, and the African rhythms learnt from his work with Malian master kora player, Djeli Moussa Diawara. In several of his compositions he pays tribute to friends and heroes, including his Hawaiian musical hero, Tau Moe. Lumière is a musical journey; an exploration which Bob himself describes as ‘living muscle-memories that convey emotions and places; burning curiosities pursued with vigour’.
~
Post Industrial Blues features a passionate Brozman playing and singing at his improvisational best. Brozman brings a multitude of influences to Post Industrial Blues from India, Africa, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean, but anchors it all with the rootsy sound of blues and Americana.
His choice of additional percussion – including an array of non-traditional instruments such as a knife blade, grass clippers, disassembled marimba pipes and a broken toy piano – give the music an almost otherworldly feel at times, but Brozman brings it all back home in his own inimitable style. The album also reunites him with bassist Stan Poplin and drummer Jim Norris, both mainstays of his earliest albums from the 1980s.
Throughout Post Industrial Blues, Bob Brozman enhances the stunning instrumental performances with many original and contemporary lyrics, including songs about American geo-politics (“Follow the Money” and “Crooked Blues”), Hurricane Katrina (“Look at New Orleans”), modern travel (“Airport Blues”), immigration and war (“Three Families Blues”), and the world’s orphans (“Lonely Children”).
All demonstrate the universality of the blues as interpreted by Brozman. He also delivers his own unique take of The Doors classic, “People Are Strange,” creating a renewed spirit of the song that pays homage to its roots while redefining it through experimental instrumentation and intonation.
www.bobbrozman.com
2008-03-03
Kaki King returns with the Foo Fighters + New Album
Kaki just cant get enough of Australia… At the personal request of Dave Grohl, she will be gracing our shores supporting and guesting with the Foo Fighters. Kaki is a busy gal these days and only Sydney and Melbourne will be getting side shows this time around. Seeing as all the Foo Fighter shows sold out in seconds… we wont be listing them, but there’s still tix for Kaki’s side shows… but they are selling FAST!
Sun 27th April @ The Corner Hotel Melbourne Phone bookings 03 9427 9198 Online bookings www.cornerhotel.com
Thursday 1st May @ Oxford Art Factory: www.oxfordartfactory.com
2008-03-03
Mamadou Diabate (Mali) – Australian tour & album release
Top Shelf is proud to present one of the worlds greatest kora players across Australia - Mamadou Diabate. For snippets of music: www.myspace.com/diabatemamadou
TOUR DATES
MARCH
Fri 7th &Sat 8th: Port Fairy Folk Festival - www.portfairyfolkfestival.com
Sun 9th: Womadelaide (w/ Toumani Diabate) - www.womadelaide.com.au
Wed 12th Brunswick Music Festival w/ Circle of Rhythm - www.brunswickmusicfestival.com.au
Fri 14th Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns: (07) 4032-6600
Sat 15th & Sun 16th: Blue Mountains Folk Festival: www.bmff.org.au
Mon 17th The Vanguard, Sydney w/ Bobby Singh (tabla) & Joseph Tawadros (oud) – thevanguard.com.au
Thurs 20th – Sun 23rd East Coast Blues & Roots Festival – www.bluesfest.com.au
Mamadou Diabate was born in 1975 in Kita, a Malian city long known as a center for the arts and culture of the Manding people of West Africa. Mamadou comes from a family of griots, or jelis as they are known among the Manding.
Jelis are more than just traditional musicians. They use music and sometimes oratory to preserve and sustain people's consciousness of the past, a past that stretches back to the 13th century.
Mamadou began learning the Kora from his father at the age of 4. In Bamako, Mamadou studied with his famous cousin, Toumani Diabate who gave Mamadou the nickname "Djelika Djan" meaning "Tall Griot," a reference to Mamadou's impressive physical stature. The name has stuck.
Mamadou has played with the greatest world and jazz musicians in the world on stages across the globe including jazz luminaries Donald Byrd and Randy Weston, Zimbabwean legend Thomas Mapfumo, and blues masters Eric Bibb and Guy Davis.
Mamadou Diabate’s first solo album was nominated for a Grammy. He now proudly releases his next solo album in Australia – DOUGA MANSA. Diabate says: “Douga Mansa means King Vulture. The symbol of the vulture in my culture means patience. The West African vulture doesn't kill; it waits patiently for death to come, then it is rewarded. Douga Mansa also refers to recycling of the life that was lost, a necessary and healthy process. This purifies life. This song was influenced by my father, Djelimory N’fa Diabate.”
And the press says…..
"...sparkling technique... compelling rhythmic groove... flair for making this ancient instrument sound as though it was invented yesterday... RootsWorld
"Diabate never lets his flying fingers get in the way of the melody. He's a master at marrying the music of several different cultures… Bob McMullough, The Boston Globe
“Mamadou Diabate just makes brilliant music... beautiful, soulful precision... exceptionally creative..." -Miami New
2008-03-03
Jeff Lang – Japan, BluesFests Nationally & NEW ALBUM!
P-Vine Japan released their own compilation of Jeff Lang’s music and produced Jeff Lang’s first tour. All shows were sold out two weeks in advance. Jeff will return before the end of the year for an extensive national Japanese tour. Jeff Lang will be visiting all the Easter Blues Festivals in Australia this year, for more info: www.bluesfest.com Jeff will be releasing his highly anticipated new album “Half Seas Over” via ABC/WARNERS on April 26th following it up with an extensive six week national tour. Stay tuned for more details.
2007-11-13
MICE PARADE (NYC)
Debut at the Sydney Festival
Top Shelf proudly presents Fat Cat recording artists MICE PARADE for their debut shows in Australia @ The Sydney Festivals Spiegeltent
Booking info: www.sydneyfestival.org.au
Mice Parade was originally the solo project of New Yorker Adam Pierce.
From its outset this project has repeatedly exploded the possibilities of instrumental based music.
Reminiscent of the folk-tinged electronica of Múm, ‘Loveless’ era My Bloody Valentine, or the esoteric cut and paste of Fourtet, Mice Parade have nevertheless managed to create a sound of their own, melding song, melody and rhythmic exploration. The sound is essentially modern, flavoured by an esoteric palette, while retaining a familiar acoustic presence by drawing on folk and world influences.
Simultaneously introspective and inviting, Mice Parade is in turns ambient, percussive, acoustic and electronic; it’s a sonically rich, musically diverse project, that utilises songs, instrumentals and interludes to create a whole pervasive entity. Reflecting the eclectic instrumentation of Mice Parade’s recorded output, the line-up of the touring band includes two drumkits, both nylon and electric guitars, vibraphones, keyboards, old synths, violin and cheng (Chinese harp).
Mice Parade is an anagram for Adam Pierce who has also drummed in The Swirlies, The Dylan Group, HiM and múm, ran the Bubble Core label and distribution company and now runs Fat-Cat USA.
2007-11-13
JEFF LANG
France tour and album release
Never one to draw breath, Jeff Lang departs Adelaide from his time as “Artist in Residence” for the inaugural Adelaide International Guitar Festival to hit Europe running for a headline tour across France in support of the Lickshot/Wagram release of his Aria Award nominated album, Whatever Makes You Happy”. By the way… did you know that Jeff Lang has been nominated for 6 Arias? Amazing… All French shows are with Aussie compatriot Mick Hart.
6th dec: PARIS (Divan du Monde)
7th dec: LILLE
8th dec: METZ (Les Trinitaires)
11th dec: STRASBOURG (La Laiterie)
12th dec: LYON (Le Marché de La Gare)
13th dec: MARSEILLE (Le Poste à Galène)
14th dec: BORDEAUX (Barbey Rock School)
15th dec: TOULOUSE (Havana Café)
17th dec: PARIS (Divan du Monde)
01.10.07
Top Shelf presents the following International tours this summer. Please contact Jordan @ Topshelf for more info:
What a year it’s been for Kaki King. Beginning with a mostly sold out debut tour of Australia in January, she then went on to return at Easter for The Blues Festival, Great Escape and West Coast Blues n Roots. In February 2007, Rolling Stone Magazine (USA) included her in their list of the all-time greatest guitarists in the world – the only woman to be honoured this way, and one of the youngest guitarists on the list.
Of late, Kaki has been invited to play on albums with some of the hottest acts in the world, including indie darlings Tegan & Sara’s latest offering “The Con”, where Kaki played lap steel on “Knife Going In” and guitar on “Floorplan”. Kaki also plays lap steel on “Fall Apart” the last track on “Can I Keep This Pen”, the upcoming release from American female rap/ hip hop group Northern State.
But perhaps of most interest to Australians is the invitation Kaki received from Dave Grohl to play guitar on tracks for the Foo Fighters’ new album “Echos, Silence, Patience and Grace” due for release in September this year. Kaki performs on a number of tracks, including the “Battle of the Beaconsfield Miners” the track dedicated to Tasmanian miners Brant Webb and Todd Russell by Grohl after Webb famously requested Foo Fighter songs during their ordeal.
In a Billboard article talking about the album, Dave Grohl said of Kaki: “This song is almost banjo-picking style with hammer-ons and pull-offs, I showed it to her (Kaki) once and she shredded it 10 times better than I've ever played it."
Kaki has also dabbled in film score work, being invited to work on Sean Penn’s upcoming movie “Into The Wild”, which also features the work of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Argentinean musician, film composer and producer Gustavo Santaolalla. Kaki also recorded two tracks for the upcoming Warner Brothers film August Rush, starring Freddie Highmore, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Robin Williams. She also appears in the film as a guitar-playing hand double.
KAKI KING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 TOUR
Thursday 22nd | Visy Theatre, Powerhouse | Brisbane | |
Friday 23rd | Visy Theatre, Powerhouse | Brisbane | |
Saturday 24th | Wah-Bar, AIGF | Adelaide | |
Sunday 25th | Elder Park, AIGF | Adelaide | |
Wednesday 28th | The Clarendon | Katoomba, NSW | |
Thursday 29th | The Heritage Hotel | Bulli, NSW | |
Friday 30th | The Studio, Sydney Opera House | Sydney | |
Saturday 1st | Spiegeltent | Melbourne | |
Sunday 2nd | Elder Park, AIGF | Adelaide |
JANUARY
Thurs 3rd Beach Hotel + Special Guest - Tjupurru Byron Bay http://www.beachhotel.com.au/
Sat 5th Sydney Festival Opening Party Sydney www.sydneyfestival.org.au
Sunday 6th Heritage Hotel Bulli http://www.heritagehotel.com.au/
Thurs 10th Live broadcast on PBS starts at 5:45 on 106.7fm, Melbourne.
Friday 11th Northcote Social Club Melbourne http://www.eastbrunswickclub.com/
Sat 12th Becks Bar, Sydney Festival + guests True Live Sydney www.sydneyfestival.org.au
JANUARY
Fri 4th Beach Hotel Byron Bay www.beachhotel.com.au
Sat 5th Music By The Sea Festival Sandgate (Near Brisbane) http://www.musicbythesea.com.au/festival/
Sun 6th Brass Monkey Cronulla, Sydney http://www.heritagehotel.com.au/
Wed 9th Heritage Hotel Bulli www.brassmonkey.com.au
Thursday 10th Lizottes Ettalong Beach http://www.lizottes.com.au/live/
Fri 11th Vanguard Sydney www.thevanguard.com.au
Sat 12th & Sun 13th Thredbo Blues Festival Thredbo http://www.thredboblues.com
Dec 28 - Dec 29 Woodford Folk Festival Woodford www.woodfordfolkfestival.com
Dec 30th Peats Ridge Festival 1.5 hours from Sydney - Peats Ridge http://www.peatsridgefestival.com.au/home
Dec 31 - Jan 1 Woodford Folk Festival Woodford
JANUARY
Sat 5th Music By The Sea Festival Sandgate (Near Brisbane) http://www.musicbythesea.com.au/festival/
Sun 6th Vanguard Sydney www.thevanguard.com.au
Fri 11th & Sat 12 Cygnet Folk Festival Cygnet, Tasmania http://www.cygnetfolkfestival.org/
Sat 13th Northcote Social Club Melbourne www.northcotesocialclub.com
02.05.07
The creator of Frank will be touring Australia in late May–June 2007.
Launch events for this tour include:
The Studio, Sydney Opera House: 25th & 26th May. To book: (02) 9250 7777
The Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns: 2nd June
These events will involve specially curated and produced shows care of Top Shelf, involving: 25 minute screening of select cuts from Visions of Frank, a collection of wild Frank animations by some of Japan's most innovative and idiosyncratic film makers (and one by Jim himself). Each piece is an interpretation of a classic Frank comic and is scored by musicians from Japan and the USA.
A 30 minute musical interlude, consisting of live and improvised scores to comic strips and original Woodring paintings... musical and visual collaborations and experimentations with some of Australia's most versatile and creative musicians: JEFF LANG, MICHAEL LIRA and PETER HOLLO (FourPlay).
A 20 minute live visual projection and reading by Jim Woodring entitled Lazy Robinson.
A 15 minute question and answer session with Jim Woodring.
Exhibitions will be held at the Tanks Arts Centre (Cairns), Books Kinokuniya (Sydney), and Fracture Gallery, Federation Square (Melbourne).
For more information on Jim Woodring, please visit www.jimwoodring.com
