Tag: music

Yoshida Brothers, “Storm”

The Yoshida Brothers, “Storm”

The Yoshida Brothes, 吉田兄弟 , Ryōichirō Yoshida and Kenichi Yoshida are performers of the traditional Japanese music style of Tsugaru-jamisen which originated in northern Japan. Their music has been a fusion of the rapid and percussive Tsugaru-jamisen style along with Western and other regional musical infuences. In additin to performing songs that are only on the shamisen, they also use drums and synthesizers.

Both Yoshida brothers began to study and play the shamisen at the age of five under the tutelage of Koka Adachi, learning the Minyo-shamisen style. Starting in 1989 they began studying the Tsugaru-jamisen style under teacher Takashi Sasaki.

Gulaan, “Nodel Perofeta”

Gulaan, “Nodei Perofeta”

Gulaan is the stage name of Edouard Guïnedr Gulaan Wamedjo from New Caledonia, an accomplished musician and vocalist who plays guitar, drums, bass, keyboards and percussion. Gulaan first won acclaim in the mid 1990s as singer with the group Ryos OK, who released several albums in New Caledonia. His debut award winning solo album, “The Spirit of Yesterday”, was a warm and peaceful tribute to the land of his ancestors and his romances.

Gulaan’s guitar playing and voice are presented in all their stripped-back simplicity, showcasing his use of arpeggio and his striking vocal style. Gulaan enjoys making music in solitude, close to his source of creativity. His performances are moments of pure escapism, inspired by memories of his grandmother, his Baha’ï beliefs and his love of freedom. Gulaan hopes to discover new horizons as he exports his music throughout the world.

Mark Eliyahu, “Journey”

Mark Eliyahu, “Journey”

Mark Eliyahu: Kamanche;   Eldad Zitrin: Piano

Mark Eliyahu was born to a well-known family of musicians in Dagastan. His father, Piris Eliyahu, is a world renowned Tar master, composer and arranger and musicologist. At the age of four,  Mark Eliyahu began violin studies and at sixteen travelled to Greece to study Baglama and Greek-Turkish music with master Ross Daly. This was followed by two years in Azerbaijan of Kamanche and Persian-Azeric music studies with master Adalat Vazirov.

In 2001, the Mark Eliyahu Ensemble started extensive global touring to raving reviews continuing until this very date with performances at the Pompidou Center, City De-La Music, the Zorolu PSM; tours included festivals like Colors Of Ostrova , the Paris Jazz, the Helsinki Festival, Gibraltar World, the Israel Festival, Ankara World, the Jerusalem Season of Culture and many others.

Tinariwen, “Sastanàqqàm”

Tinariwen (10:1), “Sastanàqqàm ( I Question You )“, from the Album “Elwan”, 2017

A thousand miles from their homeland in northern Mali, across a vast expanse of desert, the music of Tinariwen has found shelter in the hearts of six young musicians from M’hamid el Ghizlane. They were only boys when the desert rockers first visited their home, back in 2006, but they saw an immediate reflection of their own dreams and aspirations in the music they heard. In the years that followed they learned the Tinariwen songbook note for note, word for word, even though they couldn’t speak a word of Tamashek, the language of the Touareg.

“Ténéré, can you tell me of anything better
Than to have your friends and your mount,
And a brand new goatskin, watertight,
To find your way by the light
Of the four bright stars of heaven.”

Jamie xx, “Gosh”

Jamie xx, “Gosh” from the Album “In Colour”

James Thomas Smith, known professionally as Jamie xx, is and English musician, DJ, record producer and remixer. He is known for both his solo work and as a member of the English indie pop band “The xx”.

He has been described as a “driving force” behind the xx, contributing to the group’s significant commercial and critical success. As a solo artist, he has been recognised with a 2015 Mercury Prize nomination, and a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Dance/ Electronic Album nomination for his debut album “In Colour”.

Arnald Amar, “Salvacci Denducci Pace”

Armand Amar, “Salvacci Denducci Pace” from the Album “Bab’Aziz”

Armand Amar is a French composer who grew up in Morocco. He plays congas, the tabla and the zarb. His works are focused particularly on Eastern music. He is the author of several ballets and soundtrack films such as “The Trail”, “Days of Glory”, “Earth from Above”, and “Home’. In 1994 he founded the label Long Distance with his partners Alain Weber and Peter Gabriel.

Bonobo, “No Reason”

Bonobo, “No Reason”, Featuring Nick Murphy

Simon Green , known by his stage name Bonobo, is a British musician, producer, and DJ based in Los Angeles.  He debuted with a trip-hop aesthetic, and has since explored more upbeat approaches while experimenting world music and jazz. His electronic sound incorporates the use of organic instrumentation, and is recreated by a full band during his live performances.

Fauve, “De Ceux (Of Those)”

Fauve, “De Ceux (Of Those)”

Fauve is a French arts collective of music and videography established in 2010 in Paris. It is an open collective containing at times more than twenty members: musicians but also visual artists, theater technicians, and comedians. On stage, the collective is represented by five musicians and a video artist, all remaining anonymous.

The name of the band inspired by “Les Nuits Fauves (Savage Nights)”, a 1992 France drama film written and directed by Cyril Collard. Its first release was the EP “Blizzard” which won the INOUIS Award as the discovery act of the festival Decouvertes du Printemps. The collective’s first album is called Vieux Freres, Part 1 and Part 2, released separately. . 

“We’re from those who aren’t noticed

Ghosts / transparent  people / tools

We’re from those who aren’t taken into account

We’re from those who are chosen by default”

Shanghai Restoration Project, “The Wandering Song”

Shanghai Restoration Project, “The Wandering Song” Featuring Zhang Le

This song is a remix of one of the two theme songs form the 1937 Chinese film “Street Angel”. The song “The Wandering Songstress” was composed by He Luting based on an older urban Suzhou ballad named “One Who Knows Me Well”. The lyrics for the film’s song was written by Tian Han. The actress Shou Xuan, playing the role of Xiao Hong, sang this song in the film.

The original song is one of the most notable of the Chinese popular songs from the 1930s and 1940s. It has been described as a song that has a lingering fame in China like “As Time Goes By” from the 1942 film “Casablance” has in the United States.

Ibrahim Maalouf, “Red and Black Light”

Ibrahim Maalouf, “Red and Black Light”, Live at Zenith Nantes Mertropole, 2016

Ibrahim Maalouf is a French-Lebanese trumpet player, composer and arranger. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon and now lives in Paris, France. He is the son of trumpeter Nassim Maalouf and pianist Nada Maalouf, nephew of the writer Amin Maalouf and grandson of journalist, poet, and musicologist Rushdi Maalouf. He is noted for playing Arabic music with quarter tones on the trumpet, which is a rare skill pioneered by hsi father and Don Ellis in the 1960s.

In July 2010, he was awarded the Instrumental Revelation of the Year at the French Jazz Music Awards (Victoires du Jazz), and more recently was awarded Best World Music Artist at the French Music Awards in 2014. Ibrahim teaches improvisation at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris. (Paris Regional Superieur Conservatory).

Shanghai Restoration Project, “Nanking Road”

Shanghai Restoration Project, “Nanking Road”, 2005

The Shanghai Restoration Project is a contemporary electronic music duo of Chinese Americans Dave Liang and Sunfan based in Brooklynn, New York. The group’s music is inspired by the Shanghai jazz bands of the 1930s, combining traditional Chines instruments with hip hop and electronica. Their 2014 album entitled “The Classics” was a collection of 1930s and 1940s Shanghai jazz standards in electronic format featuring vocalist Zhang Le.

Kenneth Bager, “Fragment Eight”

Kenneth Bager, “Fragment Eight”

Camera: Christopher Haering; Editing: Felix Drawe; Production Coordinator: Trung Le Kien

Kenneth Bager is a Danish musician and record producer with hsi beginnings as a DJ. In 1994, he released a compilation called “Music for Dreams” which featured Peter Gabriel and Michael Nyman and other musicians. His critically acclaimed debut album “Fragments From a Space Cadet” in 2006 won him the Danish Statens Kunstfond Award.