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This new release from Cumbia Chicharra is likely to make you roar. Luxuriance invades the city to the sound of drums. The cumbia spreads to the hips and contaminates all musical continents from afrobeat and Caribbean groove to funk and sulphurous dub. The new compositions of the group were born somewhere between a tour of Chile and the Marseillan night. The inspiration spreads, it doesn’t enclose itself in one style or landscape. Themes of Colombia or Cuba, respond to percussive and sonic discoveries, the psyche and trance are never far away. “Hijo de Tigre” – (Son of Tiger). This third album from Cumbia Chicharra is energizing and sensual. A brilliant step in the long adventure of this frenzied collective of musicians.

“Afrique my longing” lies at the confluence of poetry and music with as main actors the multi-award winning South African singer and composer, Laurinda Hofmeyr, famous for setting poetry to music, and the bassist and musical producer Schalk Joubert. Together with a world class ensemble of West African singers and musicians currently living in Cape Town, they explore a wealth of African poetry from Francophone Madagascar to Mauritania, Senegal to Chad, and all the way back to South African shores with the Afrikaans poetry of Breyten Breytenbach and Antjie Krog. Combined with African-inspired melodies, the literary masterpieces were written by JJ Rabearivelo, Veronique Tadjo, Nimrod, Patrice Nganang, and Ousmane Moussa Diagana gave birth to the concept of “Afrique mon Désir”, which draws quintessence of its energy in cultural miscegenation. The production was launched in South Africa at the 2018 Woordfees (Literature Festival) in Stellenbosch in March and was staged at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudtshoorn in April 2018. It can also be seen at various other venues around the country throughout the year. In June 2018 there is a tour of France planned. The production is presented and supported by the Cape Town Music Academy (CTMA). CTMA is a not for profit company (NPC) that seeks to create opportunities for local, established and emerging musicians and related artists in the Western Cape. The objective of the CTMA is to conduct a public benefit activity which creates programmes and projects for the promotion of the work of local musicians, and the development of career opportunities in the South African music industry. “Africa my longing” album was recorded in June 2017, in Stellenbosch, South Africa, a picturesque town some 50 km from Cape Town. The album saw the participation of the Malagasy accordionist, Régis Gizavo, who sadly passed away a few weeks after its recording. The 13-track album will be released online and distributed by the French company In Ouïe Distribution from May 25, 2018.

Firmly rooted in all Mediterranean cultures, the original music by violinist Guillaume Dettmar is first and foremost a testament to his fierce desire to bring together several aesthetic universes and fuse them into one coherent whole. Carried along by culturally diverse artists eager to mix their passions and their different backgrounds, this project is far from being naïve, rather a perhaps necessary reminder that if this music, which is intended for all kinds of jazzification and the messiest of improvisations, cannot change the world any more than it can soften mores, then it can indeed allow for, at the very least, raising healthy awareness. This is what is essential. It was on the day after one of the (too) many bloody attacks in the Middle East that the violinist Guillaume Dettmar decided, in the way he knew best, to bear witness to the horror of the situation and express this fragile hope for peace so deeply shared by all human beings of good will. A way for warding off the curse! It was by taking this original repertoire back from off the shelf during an impromptu meeting, one both human and musical in a way only musicians know how, that the “United Colors of the Mediterranean” was managed to come to light and really take flight. From rehearsals in residence – in Chamonix, at André Manoukian‘s – concerts at festivals- Karellis, Carpentras, etc. – by way of the Saturday jazz sessions at Ô Jazz, the music has had it easy when it comes to fine-tuning itself, especially since being lucky enough to engage the ever-so swinging “services” of the world jazz luminary who came to settle down with his family in Orleans: the percussionist (marimba / vibraphone / drums) Jason Marsalis, the last in the family of famous musicians from New Orleans.

The DIPENDA project (Independence in the lingala language) was born from the aspiration to give the compostions, written by Fabrice Devienne for the production of the play Une saison au Congo, a new lease of life. The musical show resulting from this project groups 13 musicians singers and slammers onstage. Césaire’s play tells the story of the congoleseindependence process in 1960, through the rise and final assassination in 1961 of Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first prime minister. Devoted body and soul to this struggle, PL managed to lead his country to independence. An independence that represented so much in terms of hope and sacrifice but also very soon, so much in terms of treachery, plotting and disillusion. In DIPENDA, a true fusion of artistic styles, the poetic and militant words of Césaire’s play meet Pitcho Wonga Konga’s writings reflecting on the wider issues of independence. This encounter is accompanied by a musical universe at the crossroads of Africa, Cuba and Jazz. The show unfolds as a musical tale. We are told a history and many stories of independence in French, they are sung to us in lingala, swahili and spanish. Independence includes such concepts as freedom of thought, of expression and the freedom to act. However, as history shows, it paradoxically also drives people into the upheavals of exile. This history of Congo in the sixties is present throughout the whole show, both through Césaire’s prose and conceptualisation of « négritude » and the cuban musical influences of some of the songs. Indeed, Cuba and the Congo have a strong economic, political and artistic link going back to the days of the slave trade. Most of the musicians on this project are active on the european jazz and world music scene. Their wide talents of improvisation echo the music and are in perfect tune with the aspirations of a people fighting for freedom and the full recognition of its rights. DIPENDA invites you to travel between several continents and to reflect on their common history – colonisation, post-independence and the economic, social and cultural migrations that followed. Slam, songs and music fuse together in a series of rhythmic, moving and sometimes dreamlike sequences in which different languages meet and mingle to create a new idiom in a new world of sound – somewhere between Africa, Europe and the Caribbean.

Caméléon Waltz, the title of Antoine Boyer’s new album, gives us the key to his approach. We know that one of the characteristics of the chameleon is its capacity to change color according to its moods and emotions. In this album, Antoine changes guitar throughout twelve short and intense pieces, all recorded solo (a perilous project, as no dubbing or re-cording was used). Nylon strings guitar on four tunes, steel strings guitar or electric jazz guitar on each of four others; three types of guitars that are also reminiscent of the three beats of the waltz. Antoine blends six covers of great musical variety, all performed with his own original arrangements, and six very personal and inspired compositions. Six in major keys six in minor keys, half of them binary, half of them ternary. However, no esoteric intent in this near-perfect balance; only a very precise approach aimed at exposing each guitar’s various sound possibilities. Using cords and melody, arpeggios and picking techniques, Antoine explores un every piece the polyphonic capabilities of the guitar, which he plays like a pianist (his admiration for Bill Evansis no surprise, as he covers We will meet again and dedicates Waltz for Bill to him). His approach, corking simultaneously at rhythmic, melodic and harmonic levels, yields great unity. These twelve demanding mediations, sometimes full of gravity, blending irresistibly powerful episodes with more peaceful moments, reflect a rare interiority and intensity for a 21-year-old musician. This isn’t only about guitar but also and especially music, played by a poet of the strings whose brillant technique never ceases to serve musical aesthetics.

French-Peruvian singer Christine Audat presents her first EP “ODA“, a dreamlike music odyssey between Paris and the Amazon. Rooted in a South American tradition that she passionately, respectfully and joyfully em-bodies and exudes as a member in several bands and with the Philharmonie de Paris, Christine Audat is a songwriter who draws inspiration from her love of polyphonies and swinging rhythms, from her dreams and haunting travels. Feeding off the landscapes, people and music from her years in Paris and South America, she sings the fantasies and flowing ideas from the two worlds abounding under her hair. Between emotion and concept, instinct and intellect, sound and meaning, her corporeal instrument reverberates gently and sensually in its search for resonances to be shared. As a melodist, the acoustic guitar was the natural place for her to land. On this first EP, her woody voice and guitar blend with the bandoneon, charango, violin and double-bass on arrangements delicately woven together with the one-man band Nicolás Agulló. On stage, she plays her own compositions and some personal covers that come from a South American repertoire she holds dear to her heart. ***** INFORMATION March 9, 2018: Release of the physical / digital EP by Quart de Lune / InOuïes Distribution Website: www.christineaudat-oda.com / www.oda-musique.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ODA-290710764312907/ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/christineaudat

Teacher Jekyll was originally an experimental studio project launched by Olivier Corre, a producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ from Nantes who wanted to mix Latin and tropical musics with electronic sounds and more urban rhythms (hip hop, dubstep, kuduro…). The aim was to give a fresher sound and more energy to traditional forms without changing their musical core…After the releasing of the first album Otro Sonido, Olivier Corre decided to play it on stage.  He first set up a trio : he was at the keyboards and machines, Charlotte Meas played the saxophone and the flute and Etienne Daunay aka Dj Don‘s did the scratching. The singer Monica Pereira quickly joined them and they gave many concerts in Nantes and around. By word of mouth they were encouraged to give more and more live performances which strengthened their energy on stage and their ability to move crowds only too happy to dance and sway on this warm world-fusion music. When on stage, the band likes inviting different artists for wild jam sessions. Olivier Corre did the same when he started to record the second album Mercado. Teacher Jekyll wants to be both cosmopolitan and intergenerational therefore you can hear on that record Marcia Maria, the great Brazilian singer who invented the samba funk style, the American musician Mellow Man Ace, brother of Sen Dog from Cypress Hill who is called ‘godfather of latin rap’… That album was heard by Claude Lebourgeois who is the musical programmer of  Colmar Wine Fair festival. He then invited the band to play the first part of Manu Chao‘s concert in 2016… It was a  great concert in front of 10000 people and even Claude was surprised by their performance : « It’s the first time I’ve ever seen in my whole career a first part set the stage on fire with such energy and passion !… » The following year, the band was invited to play in several festivals. Monica Pereira chose then to leave the band to boost her own solo career, she was replaced by the great Cuban singer Anais Ramos who quickly took in the musical universe while retaining her strong personality and passionate nature. It’s now time for the band to take a break for their third album. On this record, they welcome new artists they met on stage like the Portuguese Maxito or Cape Verdean Jowest… However, in keeping with the idea to mix generations, they also recorded Sam Alpha, a Martinican, well-known for his French creole version of Georges Brassens’s songs and Flaco Nunez, founding member of the band Orishas. This album follows the original spirit of Teacher Jekyll and mixes tradition and modern sounds. It a generous, festive yet profound record which was inspired by Cape Verdean musical styles (funana, morna…) as well as Brazilian (bossa nova, sambal) or Cuban ones… A modern tropical music without borders ! ***** INFORMATION Facebook: teacherjekyll Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/veev-com/sets/teacher-jekyll-ondas Live videos: @ Colmar (opening act of Manu Chao) @ Les Tropicantes

Stepping into Valérie Ékoumè’s world will be one of the most interesting and fulfilling experience you could have ! In her colorful world, love is king and afropop is the music she chooses to express it. After the great success of her first record, DJAALE, she is about to release her second opus KWIN NA KINGUE. In this new album, the singer and Guy Nwogang (producer) dig deeper into their Cameroonian roots. Giving us powerful and original songs mixed with Bikutsi or even Essèwè – traditional Cameroonian rhythms – So get ready to dance ! ***** INFORMATION Website: valerieekoume.fr Video clip: https://youtu.be/XucUk2n-HBw

One comes from an Afro-Oriental-Berber tradition while the other comes from a western tradition. Their duo could have simply been an East-meets-West encounter, but that would be underestimating Khalid and Marylene’s desire to explore a wider world and discover new cultures. SILLAGE’s origins lie in traditions from diverse horizons, a product of the artist’s utmost imagination yielding powerful songs and colourful rhythms. Song boosted by sparkling dialogues and playful onomatopoeias blossoms into unique and delightful music that is at once homogeneous and multifaceted. The songs are about Mother-Earth, the loving soul, joy, humor, nostalgia, tenderness. A true invitation to travel, SILLAGE opens up to a multicultural and poetic space, chanting tales on here and there, now and ever, life and togetherness. ***** INFORMATION Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/veev-com/sets/khalid-kouhen-marylene-ingremeau-sillage-1
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/khalidetmarylene/
 Video clip: https://youtu.be/WT7RLwybjiw

With a solid background acquired at the Fest Noz festivals, these four bandmates lay out their vision of trance with danceable music open to the world ; Youn Kamm gives his trumpet-playing an eastern flair, from Lebanon and Turkey. Yann Le Corre has imbued his playing with Brazilian forrò. Jérôme Kerihuel has perfected his percussion technique in India. As for Timothée Le Bour, his saxophone resonates like a Romanian taragot. With circle dancing at its core, popular world music as its horizon, and improvisation as its line of flight, ‘Ndiaz comes out with hybrid music that knows no borders, one that must have sought elsewhere to find its means for taking root here. With the album Son’Rod, the band extends its musical refinement further into new regions of feeling with wider-ranging compositions; intense lights, twirling sounds, tribal spirits, urban energy … a beautiful way get hopping! The record is an anthem to shaking up geography! It pays tribute to constantly-moving musicians who easily bloom in different musical contexts. Their live act clears out a space for dancing, fed with the musicians’ desire to keep it spreading, to nuance it, sublimate it, to thereby evoke a need in the listeners to follow the path … to trace its route. ***** INFORMATION Website: ndiaz.bzh Souncloud: soundcloud.com/veev-com/sets/ndiaz-sonrod Facebook: ndiazmuzikbzh Live video Vidéo clip

In the right line of his brilliant career, he has gone through many kinds of music and lived a lot of experiences and, each time, he did it with sincerity and a great sensibility. Today, he benefits from the recognition of his peers. He’s been Imany’s artistic director for 2011 and now aims at building and defending his “own” music. Thanks to his first solo album, Basstry Therapy, it is done. Basstry Therapy: what an evocative title for a music as spiritual as organic! His rich impros nourish the flow of his phrasing, as well as his “coloratura” touch. 15 groovy tracks, mixing with jazz, merging with funk, singing harmonies from his native island, Guadeloupe. It calls back a faithful audience who has never forgotten Moun Karayib or Absolutely Funk, two bands Stephane Castry formely co-directed. Now is a step forward, the next level. He takes the colors and essence of this first solo experience upon himself. He opens up. He has invited people he loves to share some songs with him. And because he is demanding and always looking for perfection, no doubt Basstry Therapy’s musical value will count for many years in the world discography. ***** INFORMATION Website: stephanecastry.com Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/veev-com/sets/stephane-castry-basstry-therapy Clip : https://youtu.be/Ev0z1zxZX3I

Citizen of the world because of his status as a musician and Parisian at heart, Moh ! Kouyaté shares his vision of a new Africa. In Fé toki, his music inspired from the African continent is connected to the whole planet. He knows through his American and European concert tours that his music is a gift for getting message accross. In this new album, his voluble guitar takes us through a profusion of styles. Riffs soukouss on “Dobogna“, solo ndombolo on “N’deymayo“: the dancers on the stage jump in a Congolese style. Spacious melodies from Nenouna, a tribute to the heroes who worked and sacrificed themselves to make a better world for millions of Africans, develop into symphonic rock. Yet, no doubt that it is from Conakry, a cosmopolitan capital city that the singer draws inspiration. Sang in soussou, in malinké, in diakhanké, three languages nourish the rich culture of his home town. Moh’s songs continue the epic tales of music from Guinea in the wake of Sékou Bembeya Diabété, known as « Diamond fingers » or others like Sékouba Bambino. Enchanting chords from Fé toki follow the footsteps of Mandingo blues. From the banks of the Niger river to the Mississippi delta, the redeeming fate of this universal music gives back to the freed descendant from Africa their right to speak. Eyewitness to the marks left by segregation, he reinforces his link with African-American music which today is an important part of world culture. The revival of Africa seems like a self-evident fact. A journey in the heart of the Mandingo culture, Mayouama recovers the prestige of an art which has become mature within seven centuries. With Tala, both guitar and n’goni, subtle and punctilious, provide solutions to the migrants in search of an asylum land. Even if he gets inspiration from the rumours in the world, Moh ! Kouyaté never departs from the wisdom of a griot (djéli) whose function, transmitted in the family, aims at uniting the Mandingo society. The message from Fé toki shows that it is a matter of opinion in our globalized world. Work, sharing, success or gossips, let relativity guide our judgment, our action turn towards positive purposes. Moh ! Kouyaté gives us unambiguous words while entertaining us with his magnificient music. François Bensignor ***** INFORMATION Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mohmusic/ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/veev-com/sets/moh-kouyate-fe-toki Video clips: Vivons de l’Amour , Fankila