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jazzworldquest-blog · 5 years ago

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USA/VENEZUELA/SERBIA/KENYA/SINGAPORE/ARMENIA: Band of Sisters: Music Action Women Collective Captures the Global Sound of Women’s Hard-Won Triumphs

Band of Sisters: Music Action Women Collective Captures the Global Sound of Women’s Hard-Won Triumphs

Around the world, women are fighting bold uphill battles, insisting on their artistic integrity and leadership in music and in their societies. They are fighting to be artists, not women musicians or female composers. Along the way, they are transforming their communities--and making some diverse, kick-ass music.

Music Action Lab invited a handful of these women, hailing from Philly to Yerevan to Singapore, to form a band and create music together. After a residency in San Francisco that incorporated social activism training, entrepreneurial support, and musical engagement, these six artists recorded Music Action Women Collective: The EP (release date: September 20, 2019).

Drawing on electronic and club music, Latin alt-trad, jazz, contemporary classical, and their own idiosyncratic influences, this collective of six wildly talented musicians crafted compositions that showcase their power and perspective. Some (“Nazeni”) suggest traditional song structures, some explore profoundly poetic territory (“Lullaby,” an ode to a yet-to-be-born daughter). Some are seriously groove based (the super funky “Breathe,” the Balkan blast of “Rules Change”), some run free (the wild sway of “Hide”). The compositions all highlight women’s varied and nuanced perspectives.

Unlike many international exchanges, this project put musical chemistry first, building a band, not ticking off geographic or other boxes. This approach yielded a wonderfully cohesive group that avoids the pitfalls of many cross-cultural mashups, creating instead a sonic sandbox where the participants could experiment, learn, and inspire one another.

“The community we made with this project is just a seed, a tiny point,” reflects Serbian saxophonist, composer, band leader, and music therapist Jasna Joviċeviċ, “but if nourished carefully, it could grow into the place where we find shelter, a place to rest for the next giant step, and help us become stronger every time.”

“This project was a life-changing experience,” explains singer, songwriter, and pianist Sevana Tchakerian, who leads several ensembles and education initiatives from her base in Armenia. “I had the luxury to find myself with a diversified and motivated all-female cohort of professional musicians, from around the world, for two whole weeks. Being able to create music and work on the challenges of being a female musician in a male-dominated industry has been a catalyst to reorient my professional, artistic and personal life.”

About the Collective

From five continents, the Collective members specialize in a range of styles and genres. They include:

Liz Draper (USA/ bass) -- A classically and jazz-trained versatile bassist, Liz has performed, recorded, and toured internationally with such groups as the Grammy Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers and Soul Asylum. She has led a diverse range of projects, including Black Blondie, an all-female alternative R&B group featured on the same stage as Questlove and Amy Winehouse, the all-female Carpscale Orkester, and Up The Mountain Down The Mountain, an acoustic chamber doom folk metal project.

Barb Duncan, Muzikaldunk “The MD” (US / Drums) -- Drummer, producer, and educator Muzikaldunk is a Philadelphia-born and -raised musician who has worked as a concert and session drummer, produced music for up-and-coming artists and taught young musicians how to perfect their craft. A community advocate and activist, she is developing a rehearsal and audio/visual studio in West Philly for experienced and novice creators to have a safe space to work, network and build. She is also a member of the alternative rock band JJX and regularly performs with The Remixologist and The Sea Tease. In 2018 Muzikaldunk was honored with the HIT LIKE A GIRL Technology Breakthrough Award of 2018. She also released her first instrumental album “GOLD-MIND”.

Maria Fernanda Gonzalez (Venezuela / Bandola llanera) -- Maria Fernanda is a Barquisimeto-based multi-instrumentalist and journalist. After years of studying cuatro, mandolin and violin, Maria decided to take up the bandola llanera, an obscure Venezuelan instrument with few well-known female performers. She has performed internationally at Festival of Música llanera the Silbón (Venezuela), the festival Girara de Oro (Colombia), the 32nd Music Office Curitiba (Brazil), The International Jazz Festival Barquisimeto (Venezuela) and Folklorico Summer Festivals (Portugal and Spain). She recently toured Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, France, and Italy, performing joropos, a traditional music of the high plains of Venezuela. She teaches master classes on the bandola llanera and is working on codifying and writing a new universal teaching method for the instrument.

Jasna Joviċeviċ (Serbia / Saxophones, Woodwinds, Percussion) -- Jasna is a saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, and spacedrum player and composer from Serbia. Jasna received her Bachelor’s degree from Franc Liszt Music Academy in Budapest, Hungary, and Master’s degree in composition from York University in Toronto. She has also studied music in Serbia, Brazil, US, and Austria, won grants to artist residency programs worldwide, and performed her work around Europe and North America at various international competitions and festivals. A music educator and therapist, Jasna also is the founder and leader of the all-female “New Spark Jazz Orchestra,” featuring Balkan women in jazz. She has recorded several solo albums (“Flow Vertical,” “Invented Reality” and “The Sound of Birds”) and contributed to more than a dozen other recording projects.

Claire Marie Lim (Singapore / Electronics, vocals) -- Claire is a music technologist and interdisciplinary artist specializing in audio production, writing, and technology, and has worked with organizations such as Beats By Girlz, SisterSMATR, Girls Rock Campaign, and Women in Music. She is a proud DJ for Alphabet Rockers, a Grammy-nominated group that spreads messages of social justice and empowerment to children and youth via hip hop music and dance.

Kasiva Mutua, Music Director (Kenya) -- An alumna of Giant Steps’ Music Action Lab 2.0, Kasiva Mutua is an acclaimed percussionist and advocate of women's rights. A percussionist since childhood, Kasiva is known for her seamless abilities to fuse African music with modern styles crossing hip-hop, reggae, and jazz. Kasiva has deep experience in musical collaborations, such as Coke Studio Africa, The Nile Project, 1Beat, and Xjazz. Kasiva has worked with such musicians as Kirk Whalum (US), Oliver Mtukudzi (Zimbabwe), Suzanna Owiyo (Kenya), Dina El Wedidi (Egypt), Kidum (Burundi) and reggae artist Anthony B (Jamaica).

Sevana Tchakerian (Armenia / Vocals, keys, accordion, flute) -- Sevana is a French-Armenian musician, songwriter, educator and tour manager. In 2012, she co-founded the Collectif Medz Bazar, a multi-ethnic band creating traditional and original songs melding Middle-Eastern and Balkan folk, hip-hop, chanson, cabaret, jazz, and Latin influences. In 2015, Sevana moved to Armenia to initiate Tsap-Tsapik, an inclusive music program aiming at rural educational development and pedagogical innovation. She is working to publish the first preschool music education curriculum in Armenian. She has created Dayl’Ayl Production, a tour management agency to promote Armenian musical talent internationally.

About the Project

The inaugural edition of Music Action Women, a social impact-driven music residency bringing together outstanding female artists committed to advancing the causes of women through music, was held in early 2019 in partnership with the University of San Francisco and in its Performing Arts for Social Justice program, the Fellows enjoyed a dynamic schedule combining interactive learning workshops and rehearsals facilitated by domain experts, hosted in the historic Presentation Theater.

Music Action Women was produced by Giant Steps, a music-meets-social action initiative.

About Giant Steps

Founded in 2016, Giant Steps Music creates innovative musical approaches to social justice and social impact. Its flagship program is the Music Action Lab, a residency for musicians across the world to come together, learn from each other, and create original music advancing global social issues and empowering them to be changemakers in their communities. To date, Giant Steps has worked with 24 artists across 5 continents and 14 countries. Its acclaimed albums, which have been featured in the Huffington Post, PBS, Pop Matters, and Jazz Weekly, include Foundation and What If.

Links

Music Action Women

Contact

Publicist

Ron Kadish

[email protected]

via Blogger https://ift.tt/2N1Sswu

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jeffybruce · 5 years ago

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https://jeffybruce.blogspot.com/2019/08/meet-emil-osmanovic-montenegro-reprise.html.............

Men’s fashion is in a state of flux where we are now hopefully looking at less streetwear and more reality based clothing. With that in mind, hopefully, we are also looking at a time when the models that we see in print and on runways will be more representative of the client rather than a strung out adolescent looking for a meal and a fix.

Four years ago I met Emil and we decided to do an interview but I openly admit that I should have waited until he truly blossomed into the man he is today. His facial structure and demeanor has gone from wannabe to confident and his body has gone from boy to man. With all the beefcake we see each and every day on Instagram and other sites, pay per or otherwise, I am thrilled to see someone who looks like a man and has grown in so many ways that have benefitted him and his career. No more snapshot photography and no more unstyled haphazard images but the real deal. Perseverance does pay off!

It is without question that men in Europe have far greater chances of working than here in the States. In America we are searching for eternal youth which translates into young barely adolescents wearing clothing that they will likely never be able to afford especially if they continue to model. My opinion is that all of these issues are part of the reason why the retail experience has been so grim. What 40 year old man, earning mid 6 figures, wants to look like a left over strung out rocker wearing skin tight pants and still one more motorcycle jacket with Chelsea boots?

Emil is one of those ageless guys who can be 20, 30, or 40 just by employing some crafty creative styling and imagination. Truth be told casting directors need to grasp onto the client for the clothes and brand that they style since the bottom line is sales not just image.

It is with great pleasure that I get to see Emil as man who has matured in the most wonderful ways possible. So here, in his own words, is the man of the hour… Emil Osmanovic Montenegro…��.

JEFFREY FELNER: Can you tell us a brief rundown of how exactly you have arrived at your present status?

EMIL MONTENEGRO: It all began when I won a “Face of Montenegro“contest at which time I knew I could be a model. I was soon photographed by prominent photographers in Montenegro, Milan, and Paris. Their photos, a good agency, and my self-promotion on social media lead to modeling jobs with Vivienne Westwood, Roberto Cavalli, Pitti Uomo in Firenze, Italian Vogue, Louis Vuitton in Dubai, Book “Emil intenso e misterioso” in Brazil, many commercials, international tv shows, music videos, covers of magazines in France, Korea, and the Balkans. In addition to modeling, I am taking voice lessons, and recording some test music, and dabbling in acting

JF: Can you offer any advice to those who aspire to become models? Goals... etc?

EM: To be successful, a young person needs to have talent, persistence, a good work ethic, and discipline. They must always keep up with the times. Sometimes persistence is more important than talent. Persistent people with a little talent can be successful, but talented people without persistence will not succeed. My responsibility on social networks is big because I am also followed by younger people … high school students. I’m one of their role models and their idol. My mission is to show them that they can do anything they want if they stay on track with desire and hard work. My Instagram is very positive. In everyday life there is a lot of stress and negative energy. I do not want to add to negativity; Positive energy is my message.

JF: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would they be and why?

EM: I like this very interesting question… I will invite my favorite singer, Lady Gaga as I admire her incredible talent as a singer, song writer, and actress. She seems like a sweet, good hearted, down to earth woman. I like those qualities. I will invite Madonna as she has great strength and power and is a wonderful humanist. My third choice is Angelina Jolie since I love her look, her intelligence, and her humanity. Princess Diana is my choice for a historical person; to me she was great in every way. Lastly, one man … The designer I have always most admired, Gianni Versace. No one has yet surpassed his unique vision and creativity. He was one of a kind

JF: Let’s speak of social media: do you believe that social media is an asset and why or do you think that social media has diluted the business of fashion (designers, models, photographers) and why?

EM: Social media has been an important tool for me. It has brought my image to the whole world. I have around 400,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook. I post interesting things about my work projects, my travels, my publicity, and life in Montenegro. Designers and fashion houses must have a strong social media presence to reach younger, newer audiences.

JF: If you could choose any collaboration or project who might it be with or what would it be

EM: if I could choose, I would want to do a Campaign for Versace and/or Dolce & Gabbana. I think I have the right face for those two brands. I would definitely choose to be on a fashion magazine cover with Naomi Campbell. We both have a very strong presence.

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jonathanbogart · 8 years ago

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Electroshock: Anarchic Mediterranean Pop and New Wave

Part three. Twenty-one songs, 1981-1987, from Italy and Greece. Here's the YouTube playlist. Tracklisting below, “liner notes” below the cut.

Jo Squillo Electrix, “Africa”

Diaframma, “Tre volte lacrime”

Diana Est, “Tenax”

Litis + Trik, “Fáka”

Matia Bazar, “Elettrochoc”

Alberto Camerini, “Bip Bip Rock”

Roberta D’Angelo, “Noce di cocco”

Lena Platanos, “Ti Néa Psipsína?”

Denovo, “Niente insetti su Wilma”

Nada, “Amore disperato”

Tullio De Piscopo, “Stop Bajon”

Dreamer and the Full Moon, “Sandrina”

Marcella Bella, “Nell’aria”

Garbo, “Quanti anni hai?”

Ivan Cattaneo, “Quando tramonta il sol”

Aphrodite Manou, “Nykteriní Ekpompí”

Litfiba, “Elettrica danza”

Skiantos, “Ti spalmo la crema”

Giuni Russo, “Alghero”

Metro Decay, “Mavros Kyknos”

Melodrama, “Kyrie Eleison”

Electroshock: anarchic mediterranean pop and new wave

If I thought mainstream French pop was relatively unaffected by the radical shifts in Anglophone rock and pop fashion, Italian pop is even more so: many of the popular Italian ballads of the 1980s were virtually indistinguishable (save for details of production) from what lyrical Italian composers were turning out a hundred years previously. As (arguably) the birthplace of the post-medieval Western European music culture, Italy generally takes an if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it attitude toward its cultural heritage, an attitude wholly at odds with American notions of generational revolt or ripping it up and starting again: operatic singing remains a populist form, and mainstream Italian rockers tend to sing in a theatrical Billy Joel vein rather than with a fuck-yr-conventions sneer.

But this mix isn’t just Italian: there’s a thread of Greek running throughout. Although combining the two Iberian nations makes geographic and linguistic sense, and expanding Francophonie beyond France is obvious, throwing Italy and Greece together is extremely unintuitive, unless you’re a dyed-in-the-wool classicist. Inheritors of the two oldest unbroken (though hardly unchanged) cultures on the European continent, the descendants of the ancient Roman and Hellenic empires had, by the penultimate decade of the twentieth century, been through a lot. Specifically, they had both slid precipitously from their midcentury postwar peaks of economic expansion and cultural export: Italy thanks to the Anni di piombo, or years of lead, in which both far-left and far-right terrorism, assassination, and thuggery cratered popular support for politics of any kind (enabling the rise of Berlusconi’s entertainment-empire kleptocracy), and Greece thanks to a far-right military junta that overthrew a center-right government and gave fascism a home on the otherwise Communist Balkan Peninsula. By the early 80s, both the Anni di piombo and the junta were spent and democracy was returning, but everything was still disorderly, even anarchic, politically and culturally.

Which is where this music comes in. The avant-garde in both Italy and Greece identified deeply with the European project, which means that much of their most modern music was sung in English, both in imitation of UK and US innovations, and because everyone else in Western Europe (save for France and Spain, where ancient conflicts with the British Isles led to a sort of linguistic protectionism) was doing the same. Between the endless fountains of italo-disco aimed at the general Euro dancefloor market and the austere post-punk acts on tiny labels reissued by “minimal wave” enthusiasts today, it can sometimes feel that almost nobody was singing in Italian in the 80s except for sensitive singer-songwriters, leftover prog burnouts, and cracked-voice divas with massive power ballads. The same was true in Greece, except more so: the midcentury art-folk forms éntekhno and laïkó were still so dominant that almost anyone who wanted to engage with modern international sounds did so in an international language.

But beyond the glossy outer wall of Italian pop, as celebrated by such events as the annual Sanremo Song Festival, there were multiple anarchic rock and pop scenes competing for attention, gigs, and recording time. The Italian rock scene was hugely fragmented: although Milan remained the center of the culture industry, as it has been for centuries, each city had its thriving underground scene, with Florence, Naples, Sicily, Bologna, and even Rome represented below. Below a certain level of hitmaking status, the differences between shiny italo-disco and weirdo pop melted away: although some synth experimentalists encountered a hardline anti-synth stance among post-punk scenesters, just as many punks ended up making goofy hairspray records as ever remained true to the imagined spirit of ’77. Italy was perhaps the place where the distinction between disco and punk was collapsed most often: both let unlikely performers queer their image and ignore the mainstream, and both were animated by throwing whatever was at hand against the wall to see what stuck.

Enough generalizing, though. Here are twenty-one songs, fourteen in standard Italian, one in the Neapolitan dialect, one in Church Latin and Greek, four in modern Greek, and, sigh, one in English because the hell with it, my mix my rules.

1. Jo Squillo Eletrix Africa 20th Secret | Milan, 1982

One of the few female voices to emerge from the original punk boom in late-70s Italy, Giovanna Coletti had fronted the all-girl band Kandeggina Gang before recording an essential post-punk record, Girl Senza Paura, in 1981 as the leader of a band named after her punk moniker Jo Squillo. “Africa” was the follow-up single: identifying and foregrounding the latent colonialism in acts like Bow Wow Wow and the Slits, it was apparently dedicated to Nelson Mandela, but Squillo’s cartoonish yelps and the “tribal” rhythms are still patently offensive as representations of Africanness. The lyric, however, is as righteous a left-wing post-colonial solidarity message as anything Europe produced in the 80s, which made it even weirder when Squillo went solo, dove into synthpop, and the “Africa” single was repurposed as a B-side called “Voo-Doo.” Colonialism always wins.

2. Diaframma Tre volte lacrime IRA | Florence, 1986

This song, with its brightly strummed guitars, is about as upbeat as the long-running Diaframma, who brought Joy Division levels of somber bleakness to the Florentine post-punk scene, ever got: and its title translates as “Three Times the Tears.” Singer Miro Sassolini’s stentorian croon defined this gothic era of the band; when guitarist Federico Fiumani, the band’s songwriter, took over in 1989, they became a more traditionally punk act, and are still active today.

3. Diana Est Tenax Ricordi | Milan, 1982

Although she sometimes turns up in italo-disco compilations these days, Diana Est was neither an anonymous vocalist nor a dance-pop starlet. Her small, rather unsteady voice, her androgynous, semiclassical fashion, and punk-turned-balladeer Enrico Ruggeri’s overtly intellectual lyrics — the chorus to “Tenax” is in Latin, a paraphrase of Terence — made her slender discography (three singles in as many years before she quit the music business in disgust) a cult favorite among Italian pop fans. She is now a professional antiquarian, and by all accounts much happier.

4. Litis & Trik Listeía Columbia | Athens, 1982

The mononymic Litis had been kicking around the Greek rock underground since the late 60s, hopping from folky ballads to vaguely progressive bands and back again. When he hooked up with muso combo Trik in the early 80s, the result was a loopy, weird art-punk record that is both compulsively listenable and one of the high points of the Athens new wave. “Ληστεία” (Robbery), a bop-along jam about petty crime and the hypocrisy of the petite bourgeoisie who demand it be prosecuted, was their biggest hit, if the handful of local television appearances that have been uploaded YouTube qualify.

5. Matia Bazar Elettrochoc Ariston | Milan, 1983

Both the most forward-thinking band in Italy in the early 80s and one of the all-time European pop acts, Matia Bazar started in the mid-70s as a Eurovision-friendly soft-rock group in the ABBA mold, with Antonella Ruggiero there to look pretty and sing sweet choruses. But after keyboardist Mauro Sabbione joined in 1980, they gave themselves a new-wave makeover, experimenting with rhythm and texture, and Ruggiero’s elastic, four-octave voice commanded center stage. There were a solid half-dozen Matia Bazar songs recorded between 1981 and 1985 that I considered for this mix: “Elettrochoc,” with rhythmic patterning not a million miles from what drum ’n’ bass would be doing with the “Amen” break a decade later, and Ruggiero using her whistle register as casually as Mariah Carey, is only the most futuristic of their songs by a small margin. After Sabbione left in 1985 to pursue more experimental work, they dumbed it down slightly and had the biggest hit of their career. Ruggiero would quit the band in 1989, going on to explore classical and world music forms, but Matia Bazar has continued their pop chancery, not unsuccessfully, with a revolving door of singers; the drummer is the only original member left.

6. Alberto Camerini Bip Bip Rock CBS | Milan, 1981

Born in Brazil to Italian parents, Camerini’s first musical efforts were pop-Brazilian melodies for the Italian market. But during the new-wave craze of the early 80s, when anything with a broad enough hook seemed like it might have a chance, he had his biggest success with novelty singles like “Rock & Roll Robot” and “Tanz Bambolina.” Very much in that vein, the unabashedly silly “Bip Bip Rock” is a love song between a harlequin and a computer set to a Buddy Holly shuffle: its gender-playing parent album, Rudy e Rita, is a minor masterpiece of bubblegum pop kitsch.

7. Roberta D’Angelo Noce di cocco Suono | Rome, 1983

When she burst onto the scene in the mid-70s with caustic, unconventionally melodic story-songs about prostitution and feminism, the 20-year-old conservatory-trained D’Angelo seemed poised to be an Italian Joni Mitchell, or maybe even Kate Bush. But label shenanigans, her restless, exploratory bent, and lack of commercial success meant that this, in 1983, would be her last single: a B-52s-y song about a coconut co-written and performed with skittery Roman art-funk collective Bu Bu Sex. When she performed it on television, she also proudly plugged the serialist piece for piano and clarinet she had composed for the B-side: perhaps it’s no wonder that for the last thirty years her nerdy enthusiasm and musical rigor has been expressed in music teaching, where she is beloved (and active in YouTube comments).

8. Lena Platonos Ti Néa Psipsína? Lyra | Athens, 1985

Kate Bush is also a predictable comparison for Greek composer Lena Platonos, the daughter of a concert pianist who studied composition, then started to make her own art music, got sidetracked by synthesizers, and ended up closer to Laurie Anderson (only more popular), murmuring her fractured, elusive poetry over her own experimental synth programming. “Τι νέα ψιψίνα,” from her 1985 album Galop, is about as close to pop as she ever got: the title literally translates “What’s New, Pussycat?” but it’s no Tom Jones cover: abstract, political, metaphysical, and Greek to the bones, it’s a gorgeous highbrow punctuation to the sillier elements of this mix.

9. Denovo Niente insette su Wilma Suono | Catania, 1984

Speaking of which: Sicilian band Denovo, with their XTC-inspired hydraulic sock-hop rhythms, sliding pitches, and “way-hey”s, have one of the goofiest sounds in this mix. The title song from their debut EP, this song is a comic piece of macabre: the title translates to “No Flies on Wilma,” and it turns out to be, of course, about Wilma’s funeral. However, the saxophone-led middle eight adds a McCartneyesque lyricism to the herky-jerk, foreshadowing the more varied melodic career Denovo would go on to have.

10. Nada Amore disperato EMI | Milan, 1983

The capacious mainstream Italian music industry loves few things more than a comeback, and when singer Nada Malanima, who had had her first success as a teenager in 1969 but had not been in the public eye for years, had a smash hit with the subtly pulsating “Amore disperato” (Desperate Love) in 1983, it was a song the whole country could get behind, even new-wave sourpusses. Nada’s low, assured voice, with its calm ah-has and careful reaches for high notes, is an undemonstrative rarity in Italian pop, and her portrait of kids falling for each other in a nightclub then losing each other is all the more effective for never sounding desperate itself.

11. Tullio De Piscopo Stop Bajon Bagaria | Naples, 1984

A jazz drummer and session man who had played with everyone from Perez Prado and Astor Piazzolla to Gerry Mulligan and Richie Havens, Tullio de Piscopo was perhaps the only middle-aged Italian hip enough to pull off a rap-inflected single in 1984. That the groove is such a monster doesn’t hurt — acid jazz as a concept more or less starts with this record, and it was massively influential in the Chicago house scene as well — and the half-rapped, half-scatted lyrics in his native Neapolitan celebrating the arrival of spring gave it a timeless, otherworldly quality that a more dominant literary language like Italian might have missed entirely. I would be surprised if I was introducing this record to many people for the first time, but it startled me with its beauty, all seven minutes of it, and I knew I had to include it.

12. Dreamer and the Full Moon Sandrina EMI | Athens, 1984

My general rule with these European mixes has been not to include music in English, partly because the sensual qualities of the different languages are much of the point for me, and partly because I’m intentionally stepping off the familiar Anglophone paths: I began these mixes cross about Spanish and Portuguese pop being neglected, and I’ve continued it cross about all local languages being neglected. That said, the minute I heard “Sandrina” I was charmed to within an inch of my life: Dreamer and the Full Moon were probably the most successful new-wave band in Greece, and their entire catalog was conducted in English: this, their biggest hit, takes traditional Greek rhythms and instrumentation and makes a lovely lovelorn rock song out of them.

13. Marcella Bella Nell’aria CBS | Milan, 1983

Like Nada, Marcella Bella had been a regular performer on summer festival stages since the 1960s: unlike her, she had never really spent time in the wilderness. The product of a musical Sicilian family (her older brother Gianni was also a pop singer and producer, and co-wrote “Nell’aria”), she had been a solidly popular singer for a decade when the billowing, helium-light “Nell’aria” (In the Air) became not just one of the big hits of the year, but perhaps the Italian hit of the 1980s. It had legs: I remember hearing it in Guatemala in the early 90s, where it sounded perfectly contemporary alongside blissed-out records from Madonna, Cathy Dennis, and P.M. Dawn. Bella’s featherweight voice, replicated endlessly, and the throbbing heartbeat rhythm make it eternal.

14. Garbo Quanti anni hai? EMI | Milan, 1983

Easily the most successful “new wave” artist in Italy, in the sense of being frankly imitative of British sources, the singer born Renato Abate took the same approach to the Bowie of the Berlin Trilogy as Gary Numan did (i.e. making it the foundation of an entire career in music), but where Numan absorbed Bowie’s cold remove and sci-fi premises, Garbo absorbed the political concerns and cabaret longueurs. His first single, “A Berlino… va bene” (In Berlin… It’s Okay), was a sensation, but my fondness for this later hit (tr. How Old Are You?) cannot just be attributed to the fact that Antonella Ruggiero sings unmistakable backup: it’s a small masterpiece of mood, as Garbo’s prematurely mature voice (he was twenty-five!) wrings every drop of reserved pathos out of a lyric about aging out of sexual desire.

15. Ivan Cattaneo Quando tramonta il sol CGD | Milan, 1984

I’m not sure any one- or two-sentence biographical sketch can do justice to Ivan Cattaneo, one of the most essential Italian musical performers of the late 70s and early 80s. He embraced the schlockier elements of both disco and punk early on, creating a flamboyant, polymorphous persona who sang about Batman, homosexual love, and zebras with outrageous zeal. Starting in 1982 he embraced ’50s and ’60s pop, recording cover albums of classic hits with modern pop sheen, but when the market didn’t respond, he quit pop music to explore painting, multimedia projects, and digital art. This (tr. When the Sun Sets) was his last single for a long time, a hiccuping electro-Beach Boys gem that still makes time for carnality.

16. Aphrodite Manou Nykteriní Ekpompí Lyra | Athens, 1984

One of the most popular exponents of éntekhno, or Greek poetry set to traditional music, Aphrodite Manou (born Aglaia Dimitriadis; her sister Maria was even more popular) had been singing others’ compositions for over a decade when she released a 1984 album of her own songwriting. “Νυχτερινή εκπομπή,” the title track, which Google wants to translate “nocturnal emission” but means “Nighttime Broadcast,” is a lovely fusion of modern soft-rock reverie and classic Greek music, as the violin swirls around her modern lyric about driving around in a Volkswagen listening to rock music, and falling in love with someone in the next car over who drives away forever. Perhaps the Greek equivalent of a country singer using contemporary production techniques, her melodies are timeless but stick in the head.

17. Litfiba Elettrica danza Contempo | Florence, 1984

The other great Florentine rock band of the era (along with Diaframma), Litfiba has gone from strict post-punk dourness in the early 80s to stadium-filling political anthems (rather like U2; and indeed charismatic frontman Piero Pelù is rather reminiscent of Bono). “Elettrica danza,” a retelling of Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris in violin-scraping funk-rock form (replacing the tango with the cha-cha), originally appeared on an EP named for their cover of David Bowie’s “Yassassin,” in case their art-rock cred was in any doubt.

18. Skiantos Ti spalmo la crema CGD | Bologna, 1984

One of the most controversial Italian acts of the late 70s, Skiantos were as much anarchic comedy troupe as ska-punk band, with singer “Freak” Antoni’s unnecessarily aggressive vocals, dadaist lyrics, and live performances that sometimes included no music at all. By the mid-80s they had mellowed considerably, and “Ti spalmo la crema” (I Rub the Cream on You, a double entendre about applying sunscreen at the beach) is almost a Madness song — except hornier, as befits Italian stereotypes.

19. Giuni Russo Alghero Bubble | Milan, 1986

Sicilian singer Giuni Russo was never an entirely comfortable fit with the summery, beachy songs she kept having hits with throughout the 80s: her untrained but powerful voice sometimes overwhelmed lightweight pop songs like “Un’estate al mare” or “Mediterranea,” and it wasn’t until she changed labels in 1986 and took more control over the sound of her music that she found the perfect combination with “Alghero.” Still a summery, beachy song — it’s about a vacation romance on the Sardinian coast, don’t tell mama — the inventive throwback production finally catches up with her voice. She would get artier and more experimental in the late 80s and 90s, but I love her summertime blues.

20. Metro Decay Mavros Kýknos Creep | Athens, 1984

Probably the most high-profile Athenian new wave band to stick to Greek in their lyrics, Metro Decay was still very much a cult act: one single and one LP in an austere early-Cure mold, and that was it. But they’ve had a long afterlife, as every generation of Greek rock fans rediscovers them. The opener from their LP, “Μαύρος κύκνος” (Black Swan) is a typically melodic dirge, as Antonis Maniatis croons about trauma, entropy, and poetry.

21. Melodrama Kyrie Eleison D.E.A. | Florence, 1987

After leaving Matia Bazar, synth wizard Mauro Sabbione formed the more industrial Melodrama with avant-garde contralto and choreographer Cinzia Bauci, with whom he has worked on and off under various names for the last thirty years. Melodrama only produced a handful of records as a coherent act in the late 80s, as Sabbione found himself in demand as a session musician and Bauci’s theater career took precedence, but this forgotten twelve-inch ZTT-ish setting of traditional liturgical prayers. punctuated ominously by assorted ecclesiastical vocabulary, precedes similar experiments by the likes of Enigma by years.

I swear I have not been trying to make these mixes happen once a week; it’s just that they really have been coming together that quickly. (And sure, I’ve been spending a lot of my free time since April swimming around in the raw materials for them.) Anyway, the next one, whenever it happens, will be heading in a more northerly direction, and finally leave the Romance languages (and my linguistic comfort zone) behind for good.

#my mixology career

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weownthenitenyc · 6 years ago

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Start planning your summer getaway with some of the best festival experiences for 2019

Whether it’s discovering new underground acts or indulging a travel buzz, music fans demand an extraordinary experience from festivals these days. A festival no longer means piling into a field for a weekend and accepting the meager facilities on offer. More often it’s a wallet-friendly trip to a different country, to combine music with local culture, nightlife, sightseeing, and gastronomic delights. From partying in a 17th-century Balkan fortress or an Icelandic glacier, to pool parties, beach raves or lakeside gigs, there’s something here for everyone.

SEA STAR FESTIVAL – SUPERSTAR DJs AND MEDITERRANEAN POOL PARTIES IN CROATIA

May 24-25 | seastarfestival.com

Acts Announced: Sven Vath, Nina Kraviz, IAMDDB, Illario Alicante, Enrico Sangiuliano, Petar Dundov live, Vojko V, Krankšvester, High5, Fox, DJ Jock, Lawrence Klein, Unique, Hazze, Buntai, Smoke Mardeljano

Sea Star is another coastal dance extravaganza hatched by the experts behind EXIT, so it’s no surprise that it’s been nominated in the Best Medium Sized Festival category in this year’s European Festival Awards – less than two years after its first edition (it was also nominated for Best New Festival last year). Sea Star will return this year to the idyllic Stella Maris lagoon in Umag, Croatia on May 24 and 25, with special opening and closing parties on the 23rd and 26th. With over 70 artists on six stages, from local Balkan heroes to international superstars, Sea Star is an event with high production values in a stunning Mediterranean paradise. And if you need a time-out from dancing, Umag’s historical Baroque and Renaissance buildings and winding streets are a hive of quaint bars and restaurants. Still, it won’t be long before you’re drawn back to the lagoon with that 4/4 pulse nearby… Sea Star festival takes place from May 24-25, with an opening party on May 23 and a closing party on May 26.

SECRET SOLSTICE – GLACIER RAVES AND SURREAL MIDNIGHT SUN IN ICELAND

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June 21-24 | secretsolstice.is

Secret Solstice is all about unique experiences – the most obvious being the fact that the sun doesn’t set for the whole 96 hours, so get used to midnight pool parties in bright sunshine. As well as an eclectic line-up of US, European and local acts, Iceland’s premiere music festival is a bucket list party in the capital Reykjavik during the magical summer solstice. The carbon-neutral festival prides itself on using Iceland’s stunning natural spaces and rugged landscape as a backdrop – while the main stage hosts many of the blockbuster acts, you can literally have an underground vibe, at exclusive raves in a glacier and a 5,000-year-old lava tunnel. Back above ground, catch DJ sets in naturally heated lagoons or at boat parties in the midnight sunshine – and marvel at glistening waterfalls, black sand beaches, caves and vast volcanic fields on special day trips. Secret Solstice is celebrating its fifth anniversary, and 2019 is set to be its biggest edition yet.

EXIT FESTIVAL – PARTY IN A 17th CENTURY FORTRESS OVERLOOKING THE DANUBE IN SERBIA

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July 4-7 | exitfest.org

For four days every summer, the 17th century Petrovaradin Fortress opens its gates for EXIT – the award-winning music festival in Serbia’s second city, Novi Sad. EXIT began in 2000 as a student protest fighting for political change, and over the years it’s grown into one of Europe’s biggest festivals, with [thousands] partying in the stunning citadel perched high on a cliff overlooking the River Danube. The positive activism remains in the air, and each year has a specific theme (it was ‘Freedom’ in 2018). EXIT has possibly the most diverse line-up of any European festival, with 20 outdoor stages that feature everything from death metal to pop, indie, reggae, and techno – among cobbled paths, courtyards, grass verges, ramparts and underground tunnels. The Dance Arena is the festival’s energetic hub, with 20,000 raving in the fortress moat waiting for the awe-inspiring moment when the sun rises above the ancient walls. Many DJs say the Dance Arena is the greatest place in the world to play, and after Nina Kraviz closed EXIT 2018 with an extended set until 9am, she called it “one of the most special places on Earth.”

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE – WHERE YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE WHEN NO ONE CAN SEE YOU

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July 5 – 7 July | rabbitresort.nl

Down The Rabbit Hole says adventure, confusion, surrealism and psychedelics, which has been an inspiration for (psycho) rockers, DJs, artists, designers, and filmmakers ever since the rise of the pop culture in the uncurbed 1960s… Good company, so get ready to tumble! We have all the time in the world, there’s no rush. Take your time to dine in dozens of restaurants from all corners of the earth, go meditate in the forest, lie down in the green pasture, swim for a bit, strum by the campfire, discover hidden discos… Have a ball with brand-new bands or finally see that classic artist in full swing. We’re out and we’re loose! Build your own party and celebrate, enjoy what you do, all with an open mind and in a sustainable way: we’ll keep it green & clean. A trip to Down The Rabbit Hole is a perfect summer getaway! Bring your own camping gear or rent luxurious accommodations at our Rabbit Resort at Groene Heuvels – Beuningen (near Nijmegen).

OFF FESTIVAL – A VOYAGE OF UNDERGROUND DISCOVERY IN POLAND

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August 2-4 | off-festival.pl

OFF is a unique boutique festival that values experimentation and diversity above everything else – with founder and organizer Artur Rojek’s hands-on vision an inspiration to ambitious promoters and dreamers worldwide. OFF takes place in ‘Valley of Three Ponds’, Katowice – a beautiful green hideaway in the industrial Silesia region, with a huge choice of bars, restaurants, and cultural centers to explore in the city close by. OFF ignores popular trends in favor of an expertly curated programme of esteemed artists – with the festival bringing many acts to Poland for the first time. It was created in 2006 as a way for Rojek to indulge his “dreams and passion for sharing music”, even if that means a black metal band can play next to a techno DJ, a post-punk act, avant-garde noise-rock, hip-hop, jazz, post-rock and beyond. From the greatest international underground heroes to essential forward-thinking Polish artists, OFF is an inspirational meeting of minds.

LOWLANDS – MUSIC, ART AND CULTURE CLASH AT THE DUTCH CAMPING PARADISE

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August 16-18 | lowlands.nl

A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise is the Netherlands’ most prestigious music festival that’s been a rite of passage for the Dutch since 1993. It takes place in rural Biddinghuizen – only an hour away from Amsterdam, so there’s even a chance to add in a city break either side. It’s a true music, arts and culture weekender, featuring the world’s biggest headliners on the circuit, as well as installations, theatre, comedy, film, debates and even science workshops. Each of the uniquely designed stages are covered so you can party rain or shine, and the iconic ‘Armadillo’ area is the festival’s power station, quirky bars, DJ booths and artisan restaurant areas that surpass regular festival food stalls. The Dutch are world-renowned as expert festival organisers, and Lowlands is a perfect smooth operator, from the intuitive layout to the lack of queues for bars, food and bathrooms – with the best campsite facilities of all the big European festivals. It’s a proper lost weekend too – Lowlands doesn’t do day tickets, so once you arrive on the Thursday you’re on a journey with your fellow happy campers until Sunday. This vibe was picked up by 2018 headliner Nile Rodgers, who posted: “Lowlands was fire! This was an amazing f-ing crowd! Truly insane, and that’s how we like it!”

SEA DANCE FESTIVAL – PARTY ON THE STUNNING ADRIATIC COAST IN MONTENEGRO

August TBA | seadancefestival.me

Acts announced: David Guetta, Robin Schulz, Ofenbach, + many more coming soon

Sea Dance in Montenegro is an extension of the EXIT family – a gold standard guarantee in the festival world. Like EXIT, Sea Dance is also an award-winner, and was voted Best Medium-Sized Festival at the European Festival Awards after its first edition in 2014. The festival bottles some of the magic of EXIT’s dance stages and transports it to the alluring golden sand beach of Budva on the Adriatic coast, with narrow medieval streets just a short walk away. EXIT’s famous No Sleep Novi Sad stage is repackaged for Sea Dance, with over 100 performers shared around numerous other stages. Evan as a relatively new addition to the festival scene, Sea Dance already has reputation for securing the biggest names in electronic music. Montenegro was recently listed by Skyscanner as the number one cheap holiday destination, with mountain biking, hiking and watersports available for those with energy left after dancing all night to the world’s biggest DJs.

AMSTERDAM DANCE EVENT – IMMERSE YOURSELF IN ELECTRONIC MUSIC CULTURE

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October 16 – 20 | amsterdam-dance-event.nl Acts to be announced soon

Amsterdam is world famous as a hub for nightlife and electronic music, and every October it becomes the centre of the electronic music universe for five days during the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). Some 400,000 people hit the Dutch capital every year for ADE, which features more than 2,500 international artists performing in over 100 of Amsterdam’s most iconic venues including Melkweg, Gashouder, Claire, Shelter, Paradiso, the NDSM Docklands and De School. But it’s not simply a five-day rave – ADE offers an inspirational conference programme that covers all aspects of dance music culture and the industry. By day, across Amsterdam’s five main districts, there are dozens of seminars, workshops, exhibitions, artist interviews, feature and documentary screenings, DJ showcases and tech classes. Amsterdam Dance Event takes place over five days every October and is the ultimate festival for electronic music fans, who can even learn more about the culture between the parties.

Festival Guide 2019: Start planning your summer getaway with some of the best festival experiences for 2019 Start planning your summer getaway with some of the best festival experiences for 2019

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gigaddict · 7 years ago

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Experience the central hub of genre-defying musical offerings from across the city. As Boomtown drops it’s Town Centre line up, returning for its tenth-year celebrations over 9th – 12th August, at Matterley Estate, near Winchester, Hampshire.

The pulsing heart of the city, the Town Centre hosts a melting pot of live bands from around the globe: an audio tour of musical legends, full throttle party bands and folk, ska, punk, balkan, hip-hop and 2-tone. Representing many of the best live acts from across the districts, no-one can help but be immersed in the Town Centre’s sizzling atmosphere, to dance the day and night away.

Topping the bill for Chapter 10 this August are; rap-rockers Limp Bizkit bringing body throwing nostalgia to the forefront of the stage, Enter Shikari’s post-hardcore experimental rock and the anti-austerity punk of Nottingham hailing duo Sleaford Mills whose music seamlessly mirrors the festivals own immersive storyline and political ethos. Legendary UK R&B group Soul II Soul will be taking the audience back with hands in the air, sing along hits, whilst an infectious mix of blues inspired reggae will be supplied by The Skatalites and political music from 2 tone ska revival band The Selecter.

Boomtown has established itself as one of Europe’s most creative and inspiring events on the festival scene. With its diverse lineups, crazy story-lines and immersing festival-goers within the narrative. The festival becomes a temporary city for 4 days a year, complete with nine districts sprawling across four areas and festival-goers become citizens of this creative landscape that reflects the current global society.

Hyperactive Californian band Fishbone provide humour filled punk funk with a social commentary edge and Dubioza Kolektiv bring Bosnian hip hop with a flair for folklore. Deluxe fuses electronica, funk, disco and swing with delightful live results and Dub Pistols are welcomed back with open arms for an eclectic show of big bad beats, as are firm favourites Molotov Jukebox. My Baby’s foot stomping sounds mix blues and country and one of a kind festival favourites Slamboree deliver a show likened to a meld of the Rocky Horror Picture Show performing Moulin Rouge with a bassy back up.

Paying homage to the many characters, voices, sounds and ideas that make Boomtown a fantastic mix of personalities, visions and outcomes, The Bandstand returns with acts such as Lady Bird, a three piece punk act with a storytelling twist, Malawi muso Gasper Nali playing an infectious series of original afrobeats on a 3 meter, one-stringed, home-made bass guitar and razor sharp choreography from turbo-charged double act My Bad Sister to name but a few…

What town centre would be complete without it’s very own Job Centre? The much loved street venue will see an Off Me Nut takeover with sets from label boss Phatworld, garage producer Dr Cryptic, bassline boy Deadbeat UK as well as takeovers from Toad Reactor and Four40. The beloved Boomtown Bobbies have an eye out for ruffians, keeping some order to the law and the good people at The Inconvenience Store will be doing their darndest to keep everyone who enters suitably amused and confused.

Boomtown Fair line ups 2018 so far:

Watch out for our interviews with a handful of the Boomtown team coming soon.

Boomtown fair has an ever-evolving storyline that is sure to immerse you into the festival whether it be your first time or tenth! See what’s in store in the ever-unfolding and evolving storyline for Chapter 10 ‘The Machine Cannot Be Stopped’

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Tickets sold out in a record 4 months but the festival will be running a resale of unclaimed deposit tickets in June. Tickets for glamping, pre-pitched tents and extras still available.

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Boomtown Fair announces it's Town Centre line up including Limp Bizkit, Enter Shikari, The Selecter + more. Experience the central hub of genre-defying musical offerings from across the city. As Boomtown drops it's Town Centre line up, returning for its tenth-year celebrations over 9th – 12th August, at

#boomtown #boomtown fair

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