Martha Wainwright – Photo courtesy of theStar.com

To borrow a title from one of Shakespeare’s plays, the opposition to CBC’s new Music service is much ado about nothing. At no cost to the listener, the service streams Canadian music over the internet, which boosts the profile of our artists both in Canada and around the world. That is clearly part of the CBC’s mandate, and is not – as some assert – an egregious infringement on the rights of companies that are trying to stream music over the internet for a profit.

If you haven’t listened to CBC’s new service, you should. It’s a good example of why the new media based on the internet eclipses traditional music sources such as iPods and radio.

The service offers 40 web radio stations. Ten of these are devoted to classical music, including a channel dedicated to Canadian composers. It also offers 14 distinct genre-based communities ranging from rock to classical, pop to jazz, hip hop to country, and everything in between. A jazz enthusiast in St. John’s can discuss her views with fellow aficionados throughout the country.

The service offers more than 500 concerts on demand by musicians, such as Martha Wainwright live at Canadian Music Week in 2012 through to The Good Lovelies live at The Black Sheep Inn. Fully 95 per cent of these concerts are Canadian. It also offers listings for more than 29,000 artists, and access to the music of almost 1,000 major and independent music companies. The result is that more than 130,000 Canadian songs are available on the site.

Featuring original content from the knowledgeable music personalities and programmers from across the country, hundreds of concerts, features, blogs, playlists, and more, the CBC says its new music service is a place for music lovers to explore, discover and connect with other music fans.

“CBC Music successfully connects Canadians with music when and how they want it, and provides an unmatched experience for music lovers across the country,” said Chris Boyce, executive director of radio and audio of CBC English Services. “As a modern public broadcaster, we`re proud to bring this rich digital experience to Canadians, using the knowledge, content and extensive music collection that only CBC can offer.”

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Read more at The Star.com

Alan Davis is the Executive Director of Small World Music, a Toronto-based organization that celebrates cultural diversity through music. Since 1997 Small World has presented hundreds of concerts that express the Small World vision, of “sharing cultural experience and ultimately, building bridges between culture.”

For our ongoing series, “Must Hear,” (dedicated to sharing the talents of singular artists from around the globe), Davis picked the magnificent Tinariwen. The band first formed in a refugee camp in Libya, before going on to become internationally famous for what one of CBC Music’s contributers, David Dacks, describes (in a piece called Tinariwen evolves from cassettes to The Colbert Report)  as “a knack for gritty performances that fuse muezzin-style ululations with chiming electric guitars in a style that has come to be known as desert blues.” 

Q: What was it about this artist that first struck you?

A: Not having had any prior knowledge of Tinariwen I was taken by surprise (as I think many were) when I saw them at WOMEX (an annual conference/marketplace of World Music) in Seville about eight years ago. It was a pretty special experience for me personally, being exposed to so much great music in a setting where I’d never been.

When they appeared on one of the stages late at night in their Tuareg robes and headscarves it made quite an impact. I recall standing in awe of the whole package – the heavy hypnotic sound, the exotic almost intimidating presence.”

Q: Why is Tinariwen important?

A: Well it starts with the music, but the story’s pretty rich too. The whole ‘exchanging their AK-47s for electric guitars’ line has been exploited but hey, it’s true, and how many other rock bands can say that?

Having now presented them twice in Toronto we’ve seen some of their crossover potential. I feel that their sound, along with glowing praise from people like Robert Plant,, has helped take them beyond an African or world music audience to a broader listenership, and can benefit other world music artists too. Of course, they’ve also helped open up the doors for a new generation of Malian desert bands (all starting with T) from Terakaft to Tamrikest.

Q: What do you think people should listen for?

A: I’m always struck by the simplicity among other things. It amazes me for example that they only use one hand drum on stage but the rhythm is so intense. Of course, that’s possible when you have four interlocking guitars and trance-inducing call and response vocals. Like so much African music, it’s the cumulative impact of the simple parts that makes it so devastating.

Q: What’s your favourite story about Tinariwen?

A: The first time they appeared in Toronto, Ibrahim, their founder and leader, was sick with malaria so didn’t travel with them (although many in the crowd were unaware). Fortunately I had the pleasure of spending time with him on their second appearance and my memory of the night is, ‘man can that guy party’. Probably not surprising for someone who spent time as a rebel warrior in the Sahara, but I was somewhat taken aback at the combination of his deeply spiritual presence and generous soul, with a truly impressive ability to consume various mood enhancing substances, not to mention killing it on stage. I look forward to his return!

This is Tinariwen with “Lulla,” a video from a couple of years ago.

Read the original post at: CBC.ca

SANTIGOLD with THEOPHILUS LONDON at Kool Haus (132 Queens Quay East), Tuesday (May 15), 9 pm, all ages. $27.50. RT, SS, TM. – Photo Courtesy of NOW Magazine

“As far as modern musical references,” says the Brooklyn-based musician better known as Santigold, “I don’t know. People are weird with that type of thing. No matter what you put out in the world, they’ll say it sounds like this and that.”

Instead, Make-Believe, much like 2008’s acclaimed and well-loved Santogold, takes heavy cues from the heyday of artists like Peter Gabriel, and David Byrne and the Talking Heads – “from when there was a lot of world music influence in pop,” says White on the commute back to Brooklyn from Manhattan.

For this approach, White brought back Santogold producers Diplo and Switch, global beat excavators and, more recently, pop music influencers. (See Beyoncé’s 2011 single Girls, essentially a Major Lazer refix.) To further refine that template she also recruited top genre innovators Ricky Blaze (Gyptian, Hold Yuh), TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner and pop producer – and one-time Byrne protege – Greg Kurstin.

Like her choice of collaborators, Make-Believe, whose rhythms reference warmer climes and past times, is an elegant, indirect indictment of modern-day pop.

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Read more at: NOW Toronto.com

But this is something intriguing and at its core is based in World Music. If you look at the history of the Old South, you’ll know that the music that defines it came from the melting pot of World Music that the then inhabitants brought with them. This melange of music is what is brought forth in the new Bill King performance, ‘A Night With Bill King.’

Check out the press release below:

http://www.anightwithbillking.com/

A Night with Bill King Celebrating 50 Years of Music at the Royal Cinema May 12, 2012

http://www.anightwithbillking.com/
608 College St. West, Toronto, ON – (416) 534-5252

http://soundcloud.com/billkingpiano/sets/gloryland-tales-from-the-old

Welcome to ninety minutes of music based on the sounds and sensations of the old American South -from rags, to boogie, to blues, to folk and roots Americana.

The idea behind the concert is the brainchild of Jamaica to Toronto’s Everton Paul and Jay Douglas. Rather than a long list of music connections and reflection on the past 50 years it was decided the night stay in tune with the simplicity of another time. King will be featured at the Steinway grand piano with special guests Jackie Richardson, Jay Douglas, and Stacey Bulmer recreating a few selections from written catalog of King that are part of the new recording Gloryland and a few new surprises. Also on hand – dance sensation Gillian Leask of the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts.
Gloryland comes with scripted narration capturing the essence of each composition delivered by the brilliant Liza Paul.

‘Early on the soundtrack to my life came from the 1,500 miles of mountain range called Appalachia. It was the blues, the hymns, the folk ballads and spirituals that haunted the region like ghosts hidden in the night wind – traveling along unseen currents and carrying with it a mix of English, Scottish, Irish and African-American influence and history.

There were coal miner’s strikes that would burst into to all out war. Near the rails hobos rode boxcars through lush countryside seeking the occasional meal and handyman work. Along the way there were the juke joints, chicken shacks, forgotten plantations, overgrown ante bellum castles and more churches than countable.

The piano was the centerpiece – the recorder of history – the spokesman—the outlandish showman rarely contained. You boogied, you ragged, you waltzed and you embraced. It was a music born deep in the hills, languid small town streets and bustling seaports of the old south.’
A Night with Bill King. May 12 Royal Theatre Toronto. (Tix $45 + Tax ORDER Now http://bit.ly/H5Jy4n)

A time when Billy Bryans, among others, was making and promoting exciting new sounds on live music stages strung along Queen. Alongside 150 or more friends of Billy, we walked in a loud, boisterous procession from Grange Park, past some of the rooms that he helped animate. Some still standing, like the Rivoli, Horseshoe and Cameron House, some just memories, including the Beverly and the beloved Bamboo.

It was truly gratifying to feel the sense of community generated by our connections to the celebrated musician and promoter who passed away a week ago. As drummer Quammie Williams put it so well, Billy ‘helped create the Queen Street vibe’ with the Parachute Club and other bands, along with his tireless promotion of world music.

It was an inspiring couple of hours and a fitting send-off.

Last weekend’s Asian Sound Slam was a great step in Small World’s ongoing initiative to support the careers of worthy young artists. Falling as it did within our Asian Music Series, this event concentrated on emerging talent from the GTA’s Asian communities, so we had a South Asian punk band, a Bollywood-hip hop hybrid and singer songwriters and a heavy metal band of Chinese Torontonians. Needless to say, it was not a typical Sunday night at Lula Lounge.

Shot of the Panel Discussion – Informative and Engaging for all that attended

It was gratifying to see these kids do their thing(s). And revealing to see the directions that these young people are heading. Given the chance, I’d love to see them explore some world music vibes and combine them into what they’re doing, but one step at a time in our cunning scheme… It was also an opportunity for us to offer a career-development workshop & panel discussion where half a dozen music industry professionals provided ideas and answered questions from the participants and other young up and coming musicians. Again, laying the groundwork for more in our goals of acting as a community resource and developing young careers. Great stuff all ’round

Check out a clip from the band Violets & Viruses from the show:

New Orleans Jazz Fest crowds basked in sounds from across the globe Saturday as Senegalese performer Cheikh Lô offered a performance as colorful and unique as his signature patchwork tunic. The musician, known for his pleasing vocals and prowess on guitar and drums, got an audience at the Congo Square Stage rocking and swaying to smooth saxophone solos and complex African rhythms while waiting for Cee Lo Green, who took the stage next.

Lô forms a striking presence with his tunic of many colors, dark sunglasses, big grin and dreads dangling past his waist. His seven-piece band, stacked with percussionists, got off to a slow, almost easy-listening start this afternoon, but soon moved into more upbeat music with a wailing sax and an island vibe.

The performance reflected Lô’s West African roots while showing off his eclectic musical background. Lô was born in Burkina Faso to Senegalese parents, but grew up listening to sounds from across the globe, including Congolese Rumba and Cuban music. His music blends these influences with funk, flamenco and semi-acoustic styles rooted in West and Central Africa and Latin America.

Lô also performs this weekend at Festival International in Lafayette. The Louisiana festival shows mark the end of his North American tour, which features music from his latest album, “Jamm.”

“I just thought it would be interesting and different,” said Lynette Perrault of New Orleans as she watched Lô and his band Saturday. “He sounds great. I like that it’s African, but it has a little Caribbean feel.”

Lô flaunted his guitar-picking and percussion-playing skills, moving among electric guitar, drums and tambourine throughout the set. Lô also moved among languages, as he sings in various tongues, including the Wolof language of Senegal and the Bambara language of Mali.

The musician’s calming voice allowed the foreign vocals to translate well musically.

“I love the language, and he sings beautifully,” Perrault said.

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Read more at: NOLA.com

IN CONCERT

THE TOURÉ-RAICHEL COLLECTIVE

Where: Norman & Annette Roth-stein Theatre, 950 W. 41st

When: Sunday show sold out. Monday at 8 p.m.

Tickets: $44.80 + $4.75 s/c at ticketstonight.ca

Guitarist Vieux Farka Touré was well known before his jaw-dropping performance at the 2010 World Cup. After an estimated billion people watched Mali’s “Hendrix of the Sahara” tear it up, he became a superstar. Among his many fans was Israeli pianist and bandleader Idan Raichel, a brilliant fusionist.

Through a mutual colleague, bassist/ producer Yossi Fine, the two musicians met backstage at a show in Cartagena, Spain, and jammed together. The idea to lay down some tracks together was hatched.

The Tel Aviv Sessions is the result with Fine and Malian percussionist Sou-leymane “Souley” Kané filling out the group that entered the studio in Israel. Eleven tracks flawlessly performed by the Touré – Raichel Collective, the mixture of traditional West African, Middle Eastern, jazz and more has lit up world music circles since its release on Cumbancha records earlier this year. The group embarked on a 14-date North American tour which sees it play in Vancouver for two shows. The majority of the shows are sellouts and one of the local dates is already booked up. Touré says it has been a natural process once he realized that the wildly attired and gigantic dreadlocked Raichel was a very serious musician and not “a crazy hippie after all.”

“When we did this, we didn’t know we were going to record an album instead of just spend some more time playing together and having a good time as friends,” says Touré. “Trusting on our instincts as musicians, the session in the studio that became the album was 100 per cent improvised with us starting to jam and then telling the engineer to hit record.”

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Read more at: The Province.com

(Reuters) – Sitar player Anoushka Shankar, whose album Traveller takes a journey through the music of India and Spanish flamenco to explore their shared Gypsy roots, was named Best Artist in Songlines magazine’s annual world music awards.

At a time of political unrest in Mali, artists from there took two awards – veteran Sahara Desert bluesmen Tinariwen were named as Best Group while their young compatriot Fatoumata Diawara was Best Newcomer.

Best Cross-Cultural Collaboration went to renowned American cellist Yo-Yo Ma and his fellow musicians Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile, who combine classical and bluegrass music on The Goat Rodeo Sessions.

Shankar is the daughter of legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar and the half-sister of Norah Jones. For Traveller she teamed up with the in-demand Spanish producer Javier Limon, Indian singer Shubha Mudgal, guitarist Pepe Habichuela and singer Buika among others, mixing ragas with flamenco rhythmns.

“She’s an amazing sitar player and a heritage you can’t beat. She’s done classical sitar — she’s one of the best,” Songlines publisher Simon Broughton told Reuters. “There’s a link between Indian music and flamenco because of the gypsies, who originated in India, and that’s what she’s exploring. They have made something very special”.

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Read more: Vancouver Sun.com

Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasiya, receiving Kitsch Flute by India’s ace designer Nida Mahmood with Arun Bhudiraja – Photo courtesy of IndiaPRWire.com

The official public announcement of the main event that is the World Flute Festival was made in New Delhi by Padma Vibhushan Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia who is also the revered patron of Raasrang. An impressive line-up of distinguished guests included Sri. Arun Budhiraja, founder of the Krishna Prerna Charitable Trust, Dr. Nagendra, former NASA scientist and presently a sanyasi and a life-science and yoga researcher, Raza, the Painter, amongst several other artists. Other luminaries from different disciplines also have extended their whole-hearted support and participation for the Raasrang World Flute Festival.

Speaking on the occasion, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia said, “The flute is an instrument of divine seduction. It is known to draw you to your center. Simply put, the sonorous flute celebrates the law of focus, so crucial to efficiency and productivity.”

While a variety of musicians from all over the world will play a variety of wind instruments, the theme of the festival- Love, Peace, Water, is being rendered artistically on a plethora of materials such as bamboo, stone, canvas, lithographs etc. Innovative creative expressions that capture Indian culture, ranging from a few thousands to half a million rupees await you.

Emphasizing on the significance and necessity of amalgamating music with spirituality, Sh. Arun Budhiraja, the founder of Krishna Prerna, said, “The 3rd edition of Raasrang World Flute Festival celebrates the law of focus. ‘Flute Therapy’ in association with CII is a specially designed module targeted at enabling Corporate India to harness the energy and power inherent in the serene notes of the flute and manage stress. I am quite confident that all my corporate friends are game to traverse this path of serenity.”

Expressing his joy Navin Kumar, the great flutist who has worked with A.R. Rehman and composed songs like ‘Jiya jale‘ and ‘jai Ho‘ said, “If you are travelling to India during the romantic monsoons, Raasrang World Flute Festival is an experience for all…”

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Read more at: IndiaPRWire.com