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Thione Seck FREE SONG: 'Mouhamadou Bamba'
Former member of Star Band de Dakar and Orchestra Baobab, Thione Seck has been an important figure on Senegal’s music scene since the 1960s. In the late 70s and early 80s Seck was one of the originators of mbalax, which has been Senegal’s most popular sound since then. Check out today's FREE Song:
Seck was always a fan of Egyptian superstars such as Abdel Halim Hafez and Oum Kalsoum as well as Bollywood playback singers Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. These singers have influenced his singing style, sometimes subtly, sometimes in a more obvious way. - An interesting mixture of Africa and Asia, - Senegal and India, among others...
Even though Seck grew up in Senegal, he says that a childhood fascination with Hindu films led him to favor Eastern modes. He told Afropop, "It's like the scales of the Spanish, Hindu, Greek, Arab musicians. Each time I compose a song, I put a few notes from this eastern scale, because that's what I love the most." The contrast between the band's edgy alertness and Seck's air of spiritual intoxication is likely to raise the hair on your spine. Do you agree?
Get more music from Thione Seck here!!
04:07 PM, Jul 18 2008 in Tune Your World
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Free Song: Boubacar Traore - 'Mouso Teke Soma Ye'
FREE SONG:'Mouso Teke Soma Ye'
Boubacar Traore (Kar-Kar) has been dodging musical stardom for most of his life. In his youth, Boubacar Traore was known as the Malian Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley. People woke up every day to hear him singing on the radio. His most popular song at that time was "Mali Twist" which he has likened to a national anthem for the newly independent nation of Mali.
Traore is an artist who has affected an entire generation. His is the voice of a nation, its hopes and its fears. He is a storyteller, and his songs deal with daily living, the many facets of love, political conditions and solidarity. Sometimes they are small parables, resonant with meanings we'll never be able to understand, but clear to his friends. Perhaps the final words are best said by one of his peers, Ali Farka Toure: "If the maximum is five, I give ten to Kar Kar".
He insists he's no blues man. "Blues is blues," he says. "It's American. But there is also blues in Europe and blues in Africa. The languages are different, but you can see that all these kinds of blues have the same parents--same father, same mother." Get More Music by Boubacar Traore
09:06 AM, Jun 10 2008 in Tune Your World
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André Bourgeois and Mano Bap - FREE Song: 'Pentagrama'!!
Today's FREE Song is by André Bourgeois and Mano Bap!
André Bourgeois and Mano Bap are influenced by the 1960's and 70's jazz, and the experiments of Kruder and Dorfmeister and Erik Truffaz.
They have distanced themselves from the all powerfull Drum'n' Bass and have developed a sound that draws on the best of the technology and the acoustic. Bourgeois and Bap use a computer to record musicians -- not because they are strivng for the artificial, but because they are striving for emotion.
Today' s Free song will delight you with its editing, post production and sound texture. It's a breath of fresh air, for sure! Bap and Bourgeois lead us far beyond all musical and nationality allegiances, so watch out!
Get more music from André Bourgeois and Mano Bap here!!
09:05 AM, May 27 2008 in Tune Your World
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Radio Mundial - FREE Song: 'Tambor'!!
Today's FREE Song is by Radio Mundial:
Radio Mundial (World Radio) is a musical collective originally formed by Puerto Rican/Peruvian vocalist and guitarist Jean Shepard and Chilean Swedish DJ and producer Andy Delano. Together with band members Gianni Mano (congas), Geraldo Flores (timbales), Andy Sanesi (drums) Gustavo Amarante (bass), they unleashed the dynamic sounds of their lush harmonies. Jean's cuatro (Puerto Rico's national instrument) also brings exciting percussion and a unique song-writing style.
The full Radio Mundial experience was born as the band soon began playing its modern fusion of Afro-Latin-inspired funk to packed stages in and around New York. Quickly they built a loyal following of devoted fans, and caught the ears and eyes of legendary music men and women. Check it out!!
Get more music from Radio Mundial here!!
09:05 AM, May 26 2008 in Tune Your World
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Hugo Diaz - FREE Song: 'Volver'!!
Today's FREE Song is by Hugo Diaz:
Here is some remarkable mouth harp music from one of the greatest Argentinian players of all time. Hugo Diaz was born on August 10th 1927 in Santiago de Estero. At the age of five he began to play the harmonica, and less than two years was already performing regulary for a local radio.
On this track you will hear the grunts, like a wild animal’s, and the unique way he has of drawing out a very high pitched note or of rounding off a sequence with a low note, like a bullfighter delivering the death-blow. There is some styling guitar solos going on here as well. Enjoy this hidden gem!!
Get more music from Hugo Diaz here!!
10:05 AM, May 14 2008 in Tune Your World
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Mozambican musician Feliciano dos Santos, campaigns for clean water, wins Environmental Prize
Listen To Massukos's Album 'Bumping'
Feliciano dos Santos, leader of the group Massukos, just won the Goldman Environmental Prize for using music to raise awareness about health, water and HIV/Aids issues.
Harnessing their popularity to fight poverty, Massukos make music that is not only phenomenally beautiful but also a powerful force for change. Massukos have an enviable reputation as the country's most successful band but they are also making their mark as initiators of social change. Originating from Niassa in northern Mozambique, one of the poorest parts of Africa, Massukos speak out against the hardships that have affected their lives. Passionate about what they do, the band travels for miles to remote villages to deliver simple life-saving messages such as “more condoms less partners”.
"I started using music when I realised that it was a good way to send a message and bring people together," Santos told BBC News.
"Even when you play a loud radio, people are drawn to it. Even when it plays sounds that are not about dirty water, they just want to listen to the sounds. I realised that music had this power, so for this reason we thought it would be good to mix it with what we wanted to achieve."
Santos said the $150,000 Goldman prize money would not change his life but it would help focus attention on what was happening on the ground in Mozambique and Africa.
"It shows that even if you live in poor places, such as Niassa, you can have an influence on the world. Let's not talk about the money, let's do things that can change the world. Don't think about awards, think about quality of life."
Santos said the $150,000 (£75,000) prize money would not change his life but it would help focus attention on what was happening on the ground in Mozambique and Africa.
Listen To Massukos' Album 'Bumping'
Tune Your World: Learn how you can microfinance Masukos' work...
10:05 AM, May 6 2008 in Tune Your World
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Kafala Brothers - FREE Song: 'Salipo'!!
Today's FREE Song is from Angola!
Born in the village of Mazoso, in the province of Benguela, Angola, Moises and Jose Kafala both rose to national fame individually before their debut performance together in Luanda.
The Kafala Brothers' music is best described as Angolan folk music. Their songs are revolutionary in nature and reflect real life experiences, while painting poetic portraits of Angola's 30 year long war and continued struggle for national reconciliation. Using a single guitar and a flute, the Kafalas are able to tell stories of war, sadness, love and joy with conviction and heartbreaking vocal harmonies which have been known to provoke uncontrolled tears to well up in the eyes of those listening.
Get more music from Kafala Brothers here!!
10:04 AM, Apr 28 2008 in Tune Your World
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Coco Mbassi - FREE Song: 'Na Menguele'!!
Today's FREE Song is by Coco Mbassi, She is Cameroonian, but she is principally based in Paris. Winner of the 1996 Radio France Internationale Decouvertes 'prize in the African music category, she is both an author and a composer.
Coco's songs tell stories often based on personal life experiences that she recalls. It's these stories and feelings that make her songs what they are today, and a great deal of these memories are made up of those old sepia-colored (black and white) photographs from home.
With a postgraduate degree in translation she began singing lead and chorus in the African gospel choir "Les Cherubins" and as a backing vocalist, she collaborated with various artists like Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare, Manu Dibango and Ray Lema.
The words to the songs of her mother tongue, Duala, are often found combined with jazzy, minimalist and classical arrangements, where vocal polyphony and African rhythm continue to play an important role. Coco Mbassi composes her own pieces and writes the words. Although her husband - who teaches as classical double-bassist - exercises a strong influence on her music writing, in her childhood she was permanently exposed at home to a wide variety of Händel, Makossa and jazz bigbands.
Get more music from Coco Mbassi here!!
09:04 AM, Apr 22 2008 in Tune Your World
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Frédéric Galliano - FREE Song: 'Isto é kuduro w/Zoca Zoca'!!
Today's FREE Song is by Frederic Galliano and the Kuduro Sound System!
FREE SONG:'Isto é kuduro w/Zoca Zoca'
French DJ, Frederic Galliano, has been working the French groove scene since 1994. He put together his own label, Frikyiwa, with artists and bands such as Hadja Kouyaté, Baye Coly, Néba Solo, Ali Boulo Santo, and others. His latest project, 'Kuduro Sound System', is all about dance and takes us across the continent of Africa to Angola.
The Kuduro was born in 1996 in Angola. Created by Tony Amado, the Angolan's Grandmaster Flash. Kuduro is an African electronic production, and Galliano's beats are a savant mix of programming inspired by Angola's carnival. Just check out the moves on the Kuduro Sound System's live video and you'll be a believer!!
FREE SONG:'Isto é kuduro w/Zoca Zoca'
Watch Kuduro Sound System's Live Video
Get more music from Frederic Galliano here!!
10:04 AM, Apr 8 2008 in Tune Your World
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Soulfege Band Leader, Derrick Ashong, speaks his support for Barak Obama
Get Today's FREE SONG:''Sweet Mother' by Solfege'
On Jan. 31, Derrick Ashong, a 32-year-old musician and leader of the band Soulfege, was carrying a sign for Barak Obama outside the Hollywood theater at the Democratic primary debate taking place that day.
Derrick's sign said “¡Sí, se puede!” (Yes, we can!), and he joined a crowd milling around in the street. Then a guy carrying a video camera came by and began asking Derrick a series of very pointed questions about why he supported Barak Obama.
“So why are you for Obama?” he asked. It was clear from his approach that he expected a shallow answer.
As it turned out, Derrick was glad to be asked, and held forth for almost six minutes — which is a very long time for regular broadcast television. — on universal health care, single-payer approaches and public-private partnerships.
Now this may seem like what could have been rather dull fare but here’s the cool part: On Feb. 2, the video interview was posted on a YouTube channel called “The Latest Controversy,” where supporters of both Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Obama are asked very aggressively to justify their choice of candidates.
The video blew up, drawing more than 850,000 views. And after getting such a large response Derrick decided to post his own follow-up video that was posted Feb. 11 and received 300,000 views.
So here is an independent musician, who was looking to (anonymously) show support for a candidate, drawing more than a million views with an impassioned but reasoned pitch.
Derrick clearly appealed to the youth movement that
is shaking up the 2008 campaign. While his video could have been lost among the YouTube clutter, an editor at
The New York Times heard about it and a Youtube hit was made.
Part of what happened is that the original video was contrary in format to the 'regular' sound bite news format. Neither the camera guy nor Derrick played by the rules. The journalist is never seen and is extremely aggressive in asking questions, while Derrick, does not so much take the bait as reel in the guy setting it out there. It is a classic viral moment. Derrick was quoted by the New York Times, saying:
“Certain types of discourse are better suited to the Web. There has been so much talk about how this campaign is all about style and no substance, and this video contradicts that. There are reasons that we support Obama, and it has to do with the issues. You can’t get that on CNN right now, you can’t get that on MSNBC right now, and young people saw it on YouTube and they took it.”
It turns out that three of the dozen most
popular videos on YouTube this month are about Barack Obama, not Paris
or Lindsay or Britney. As noted in the NY Times:
"Many long-held beliefs are taking a beating
during this election, chief among them the idea that if you want to
connect with young people, you’d best keep it short, funny and stupid."
Thanks to Derrick and the Soulfege crew for exploding this myth...
Tune Your World: Learn how you can microfinance Soulfege's work
Get Today's FREE SONG:''Sweet Mother' by Soulfege'
09:03 AM, Mar 14 2008 in Tune Your World
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Ekayani's 'La Raihna' video debuts at NYC's Hit Factory
Watch the Video
September 29th Ekayani and the Healing Band will debut their brand new video, 'La Raihna', at the HIt Factory, the legendary recording studio that produced albums by John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, U2, Paul Simon, and many others. The release of this video continues the momentum the New York and Miami-based singer and songwriter has generated in the past year, with the release of two Number One singles, two videos, multiple feature newspaper articles, and more than two dozen radio outlets playing her music both in the United States and abroad.
The video, directed by New York City filmmaker, photographer, painter and musician Kurt Ritta, uses a number of New York City scenes, including Central Park, Coney Island's Mermaid Parade, and a location in the Lower East Side to tell the ballad’s story of a multi-part mediatation on love. Ritta’s background as a painter allows him to bring an artist’s eye to the filming, with special attention to the color palette of the scenes being filmed. The video’s mood varies from moody and reflective, as in the scenes shot at Café Charbon, which resembles the kind of French cafe where Ekayani wrote "La Raihna" during her seven years in Europe, to light and funny, as in the “Brazilian” sequence shot at Coney Island, to romantic and sexy (the water sequence).
Watch the Video...
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Tags: calabash music, ekayani, music video
04:09 PM, Sep 28 2006 in Global Videos
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Brazilian-born Lenine showcases his music in his first U.S. tour
Watch Lenine's Video!
Brazil seems to have an endless supply of musical talent that has found its way to the States. In recent years, there’s been no shortage of Brazilian artists
discovered by American audiences, including Bebel Gilberto, Cibelle, Bossacucanova, Seu Jorge and Vinicius Cantuaria.
One of the most recent to land here is Pernambuco-born singer/songwriter Lenine, who might just be the most prolific to have emerged in the last decade. Even before his recording career had taken off proper, he quietly made his own albums back home. (he has a huge catalogue)
At his live show in New York's Central Park, Lenine transcended his northeastern Brazilian roots, jumping into heavy funk, hip-hop and rock territory, meshing these with other Latin influences and delivered a fiery, high-energy performance.
Lenine has run his music career as an independent, managing to maintain artistic control over his recordings in spite of working with major labels -- quite a feat and an inspiration for other artists to follow.
I had the chance to hear Lenine speak at a conference in Recife last winter where he offered advice to emerging artists. He told this story about a meeting between a blind rabbit and a blind snake who are trying to figure out who they have just met and they agree to take turns by touching each other to try to learn what kind of animal they are. The snake goes first and says, 'Oh you have long ears and soft fur and a fluffy round tail -- you must be a rabbit' And then the rabbit takes it's turn and says, 'Oh you don't have any ears and you're all slimy and disgusting -- you must be a label manager!!'
Lenine's tour was in support of a new self-titled album which is a collection of his best studio recordings. If you are not yet familiar with his work -- this is a great start.
Here's a video from the live New York show of the song “Jack Soul Brasileiro” which is a tribute to Jackson do Pandeiro, one of the
greatest—and most underrated—of Brazil’s innovators during the ’50s.
Watch the Video...
04:09 PM, Sep 15 2006 in Global Videos
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Más Y Más, Latin music in the style of The Clash...they bring a unique combination of flair, passion and originality to the fore. The Anglo-Spanish trio play up a storm, at times sounding twice as large and hitting those vital Latin/Afro-Cuban/flamenco beats absolutely bang-on every time. Check out this new video footage the band shot at the 'Frog and Onion' in Nottingham.
Watch the Video...
Get the Music...
Back to Calabash Music...
04:09 PM, Sep 14 2006 in Global Videos
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Vasen - 'Hejsmanspolketter (Heisman Polkettes)'
We admit to a fondness for the Nordic folk tradition, and with Väsen we
are never disappointed. Not only do they choose wonderfully catchy tunes
to rework, they also convey a tremendous amount of infectious enjoyment
with their playing.
They have come full circle, starting out
as an acoustic experiment, becoming part of a highly successful Nordic
rock review, striking off on their own and adding a drummer, and now,
years later, they are an acoustic trio again. This video is from a live
performance in Japan, and is a suite of brief polkas -- so brief they
are called polkettes!
03:09 PM, Sep 14 2006 in Global Videos
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If you haven't heard of Hector Buitrago you soon will. He is best known as co-founder of the Colombian Latin alternative band Aterciopelados, whose critical and commercial success of "Gozo Poderoso" landed the band on the Top 10 of the Billboard Top Latin Albums Sales chart as well as a coveted appearance on the ‘Tonight Show with Jay Leno’. On his own Hector Buitrago produced Andrea Echeverri's eponymous Grammy nominated album and now releases his own album "Conector", a play on words meaning both "With Hector" and "Connector". 'Damaquiel' is a beautiful excursion into his colorful dawn.
03:09 PM, Sep 6 2006 in Global Videos
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