A new album reference grews up this summer...

Ya don't know Clinton Fearon's new album "Mi Deh Yah"

"One of a select group of elder statesmen of roots reggae who are still knocking out crucial releases prolifically" (United Reggae)

  

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The 8th of march, Jaqee re-release his album "The Land of The Free" (named Kokoo Girl in 2009) with Makasound /Makafresh. A different tracklist and a different cover to put a real highlight on this amazing "souly-reggae" voice and excentric behaviour... Your hears should taste it ! and your eyes !

  

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His second album, JapanPopShow (Quannum), released the 29th of Marhc 2010 in France by Makasound, is a head-spinning amalgamation of MPB (música popular Brasileira), Brazilian roots, samba-reggae, dub, hip hop, electronica, funk, rock, and pop along with hints of Brazilian jazz and the kind of samba rock pioneered by '70s Sound Of Brazil's stars like Jorge Ben and Tim Maia. . It's to Curumin's credit that he kneaded this thick sonic dough into something not just digestible but delicious. JapanPopShow includes some of the catchiest music released last year, including a single, "Compacto," that rates as an ideal song of summer. He comes across as a inspired experimentalist with an innate pop sense who manages to project a unified vision even while ricocheting among hard-funk workouts ("Caixa Preta"), tuneful rock anthems ("Magrela Fever"/representing Brazil in the soundtrack of the game FIFA 09), breezy ballads full of soul ("Misterio Stereo"), off-kilter noir-samba-reggae grease-fests like the title track, and collage-like, politically charged mashes of dub, rap, funk, and electronica like on "Kyoto". The album featuring guest appearances of artists like Blackalicious, Tommy Guerrero, General Electriks and Turbo Trio. JapanPopShow was considered one of the most important releases of 2008 by the Brazilian independent and mainstream press. In the US, the album was #5 on Best World Music of 2008 (Editor's Choice) on Amazon.com and peaked at #15 on the Rock Latino Itunes sales in January 09. Curumin was featured in several interviews and reviews in websites, magazines and radios, including a live perfomance at KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, a four-star album review on SPIN magazine, a full page review on NY Daily News, and interviews and reviews in publications like the New York Times, Village Voice, the New York Post, Billboard.com, among many others. Curumin Live and Interview on KCRW Free Internet Public Radio Station of Santa Monica College, in Los Angeles, California (February 2009)

  

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With his new album, Sig delivers a classical hip hop fusion shaped like a four movement sonata. It all started with short solo piano pieces that Sig performed on his old 1902 Bluthner lent to a poet friend in Berlin. A few days later, while travelling in Venice, he composed the score looping together short melodies and harmonic flows selected from the pieces. He jumped on an overnight train to meet his friend, drummer Christophe Calpini, at his studio in Nyon. where the latter dropped his incomparable tempo on the entrancing, flawlessly precise loops. Little by little, various figures started to emerge on short sequences. Just a stone’s throw away from there, his old fellow, saxophonist Christophe Turchi, came up within one afternoon with voluptuous, sometimes jazzy, mysterious and vivid melodies. Back to Berlin, Sig invited Joy Frempong to join the project. For a couple of days, locked away in her studio, she let her sensual, velvet-smooth voice improvise from a tense flow to a childish lullaby. Like a puppet running freestyle in a megalopolis, her unique voice and whacky lyrics tinge the pieces with an expressionist hip hop touch. Passing through Paris, Sig ran into his friend, bassist Marcello Giuliani, who spent one morning distilling his delicate, suspended bass lines like an acrobat couturier. Sig' on stage with his breddren Chris et Kus the 6th of march 2010 in France

  

In 2003, the western audience discovers, amazed, an extraterrestrial record that will reach directly the best seller positions in American charts for world music. What must be said is that “FESTIVAL AU DESERT 2003” compounded all the greatest and famous names of Malian Music, showed in all its diversity (Ali Farka Touré, Tinariwen, Oumou Sangare, Tartit, Afel Bocoum…), with some additional notorious guests as Robert Plant (the Led Zeppelin mythical singer)....

New re-published release from Makasound !

JAVA was founded in 1999 around FIXI (accordeon, keyboards, compositions) and R.WAN (vocals, lyrics). Their first album, ""Hawaï" (SonyBMG) — released in 2000 — met with great success (selling more than 70,000 copies). BISTROL BANTO (drums) and PEPOUSEMAN (bass) joined up the combo, and the venture hit the road. After a live recording in 2001 ("Java sur Seine"), their second album, "Safari Croisière" was released in 2003. It was partially recorded in Brazil. Hundreds of concerts, major festivals (Vieilles Charrues, Printemps de Bourges...) and a few trips abroad later (Australia, Brazil, China, Spain...), JAVA decided to part from their record company, SONY. Mutual incompatibility, divergence of opinion... Then began a period of personal projects for all. R.WAN released two solo albums (Radio Cortex 1 and 2) in 2006 and 2008. During this time, Bistrol Banto joined him on stage. Meanwhile, Fixi toured with Tony Allen and in 2006, prompted an encounter with Winston McAnuff and Java on the album "Paris Rockin’" (Makasound). A tour comprising about a hundred dates followed. After a whole year of hard work, Java finally bring out their third album, "Maudit Français", that will be released on the 27th of April (2T3M/Makasound/Pias).

  

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Omar Perry was born in Kingston Jamaica 1968, the son of the legendary producer and songwriter Lee �Scratch� Perry.

At the age of 6, he and his little sister Marsha recorded on some of their father�s production such as �Thanks we get� by Junior Byles and �Ram Goat Liver� by Pluto Shervington.

Omar, at that time, was interested in playing the drums, being among musicians such as Horsemouth Carlton Barrett. Growing up in such a musical environment with some of the greatest artists that ever worked in his father�s studio.

After leaving school, as a teenager in the mid 80s, he decided to form a group with his brother Sean and sister Marsha. The group was called �The Upsetter Juniors� which they performed at small gigs and talent concerts.

The group splitted by 1990. Omar was still drawn by the music and began searching for his own way. Following his father�s foot step, he started working as an engineer.

After leaving Jamaica in 1996, he headed for London where he lived for some time. Omar then found himself on a journey to Africa fulfilling a life long dream to touch the mother land. He lived in The Gambia for four years and established himself as a Reggae ambassador. Omar now lives and works in Belgium.

In 2003, Adrian Sherwood produced his first single entitled �Rasta Meditation� (collectors).

While on a small tour with Horace Andy in 2005, he became good friend with Guillaume �Stepper� Briard who was known not only as a musician but as a producer as well. Stepper seeing Omar�s potential, they decided to work together to launch his first album� �Man Free� released in December 2007.��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

The successful 2007 French tour with Jah Mason was a preparation of what was yet to come. Like a man on a mission in 2008, Omar emerged as an artist of the future : his ability to captivate and energize the massive is breath taking.

We can truly say he confirmed his rightful place in the world of reggae music.

The album �Can�t Stop Us� really proves it !

  

Frank Dowding was born December of 1954 in Saint Mary, Jamaica.  From early days in the school choir to later forming bands fashioning their own instruments from bamboo and materials they had handy.  Creativity has never been a shortcoming for Dowding, it would eventually manifest itself into lyrics, songs, and activities centered around social conciousness. After becoming Rastafarian, Dowding adopted the name “Kiddus I” which means “blessed one” in Amharic. In 1971 he set-up a Rastafarian commune and craft center located in between uptown and downtown Kingston.

 

Kiddus was a member of Ras Michael’s sons of Negus from 1971 to 1978, singing and playing funde drums.  He recorded several self-productions in 1972 with Aston “Family Man” Barrett at Joe Gibbs’ studio, but these were not released due to lack of funds.  Rocker’s director Theodoros Bafaloukos had seen Kiddus recording “Graduation In Zion” in 1976, two years before the film was made, and decided to film Kiddus recording the track as part of the movie.  Kiddus had by then released a few singles on his own Shepherd label, including “Security in the Streets” which was recorded with Lee Perry at the Black Ark. 

 

After a handful of further singles, little was heard from Kiddus I until French label Makasound issued “Inna De Yard” in 2005, one of a series of albums recorded acoustically at by vintage reggae artists in Jamaica. 

Kiddus began recording and production of Green Fa Life in the summer of 2006, with Boston based musician/engineer Nathan Sabanayagam (Naya Records).  The tracks were recorded at the home of guitarist/ producer Earl “Chinna” Smith in Kingston and then brought back to Boston to be mixed and mastered at Chill House Studios.

KIDDUS I on tour with Omar Perry 06 : CALAIS (62) - Centre culturel Gérard Philippe 07 : AULNAY SOUS BOIS (93) - Le Cap 10 : ISTRES (30) - L’usine 13 : MASSY (91) - Espace Paul Bailliart 14 : CLERMONT FERRAND (63) - La Coopérative de Mai 18 : PARIS (75) – Nouveau Casino 20 : CHAMBERRY (73) - Nuit du Reggae 21 : MONTPELLIER (34) / Victoire 2

  

The new album will be release the 11th of May so we offer you a taste on this new release. "Nasalife" Here is the new video clip from the album "Jeune Fille"

  

Victor Démé inherited music from his mother, a griot that celebrated all the major weddings and christenings of Bobo Dioulasso in the 60's. She left him her poignant voice. From his father, he learnt another type of craft transmitted from one generation to the next in the Démé family. Tailoring was practiced by his uncles, aunts and sisters, descending from a long line of Marka tailors, a subgroup of West African Mandingos. It was in his father workshop in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, that Victor Démé sought refuge as a teenager. While working with his father during the day, he started to frequent the capital's clubs and to sing with several small bands at night. Growing up, he made a reputation for himself in Ivorian clubs, notably with the Super Mandé Orchestra, led by famed musician Abdoulaye Diabaté. In 1988, he came back to Burkina to exploit a new national momentum. The country profited from the dynamic initiated by red revolutionist Thomas Sankara who, before his assassination in 87, had done a lot for artistic creation. Aged 26, Démé was then overflowing with musical energy. He won several talent contests, including the 1989 contest of Bobo Dioulasso French Cultural Center, organized in partnership with Radio France Internationale, and the 1990 Cultural National Week's first prize in his class. Many big bands recruited him, such as the Echo de l'Africa and the Suprême Comenba – that was reigning over Ouagadougou's nights. But even though Victor Démé had become a popular singer in Burkina, fate kept him away from music for some years. When he tried to get back in the limelight after his long absence, things weren't easy. To earn a living, he often had to submit to the club and "maquis" owners who wanted him to take over classics from Salif Keita or Mory Kanté. Fortunately, Victor kept nurturing his own compositions and in 2005, he met Camille Louvel, manager of the Ouagajungle, an associative bar in Ouagadougou that held several live performances each week. In 2007, with the help of journalist David Commeillas and of Soundicate's activists, they founded the label Chapa Blues Records to promote Victor's music. The singer started to work on his album in the small studio improvised by the Ouagajungle team at the back of his artist residence in Ouagadougou. The studio is no more than two rooms separated by a truck windshield and equipped with a 16-track console, but it has became the rallying point of numerous talented artists. At 46, Démé has recorded there a unique mosaic of folk blues melodies, intimate Mandingo ballads, and Latin influences, salsa and flamenco. Written in Dioula language, "Burkina Mousso" is a tribute to all Burkinabe women "who built this country with their own hands", as sings Démé. His lyrics appeal to national solidarity ("Peuple Burkinabé"), advocate tolerance ("Djôn'maya"), and weave hymns to feminine grace ("Sabu"). The index ends with two pieces of traditional Mandingo music. This eponymous album presents all the rich heritage of Démé's repertoire to the public.

SITE : WWW.CHAPABLUES.COM

Take a look at Victor Deme's new clip: Djon' Maya

  

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