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HF presents “Nature humaine” a 5th album in French in her own image

HF unveiled her new album "Nature humaine" on its release July 31, 2020 on Equal Musik / Believe Digital. We knew it, 2020 was a very disruptive year, one hard to cope with. The artist HF wanted to bring the album Nature humaine to life despite the dramatic situation being experienced in the world of culture. Promotion for the album was postponed as the news of the pandemic came out. HF is on her way to her 6th album. So now is the time to introduce you to Nature humaine, before she gives us some fresh breath with her upcoming work "D'une mélancolie..." slated for release in the fall of 2021. With "Nature humaine", HF gives us her fifth album in French in her own image: generous, harmonious and unclassifiable. SOUL TRILOGY Following her early forays into French chanson and electronic music, Hélène Félix, aka HF, established herself as an endearing and atypical figure on the French soul-funk scene with her debut album Keep The Face, released in 2007. While her simplicity, her discretion and androgynous allure break from the glamour and glitter so typical of soul divas, it is her talent as a singer songwriter-performer and multi-instrumentalist that keep one’s attention. HF champions a certain idea of black music. Organic and timeless, against the tide of highly- formatted super-productions and artificial special effects. On Keep The Face, all the songs are self-composed and sung in English, with a fully assumed French accent. HF brilliantly kept the ball rolling with two more albums in the same vein but with increasingly fresh confidence on each one: Feeling in 2008, followed by Good Times in 2011. NATURE HUMAINE Nature humaine, the fifth installment in her recording adventures comes eight years after the release of her last album under the name HF. A While English might act like a filter between her emotions and her pen, singing in her native tongue allows her to express herself in the most sincere way possible. Musically, the singer sought to broaden her horizons by drawing inspiration from those who influenced her, such as Gainsbourg, Nougaro, Balavoine, Cabrel, Berger and Jonasz. Nature humaine blends the most eclectic influences and reads a bit like an overview of her career. The soulful sensuality of her previous albums is still very present and her early love for French chanson rises back to the surface. Her arrangements are always very aesthetic, her melodies often melancholic, her warm, sensual voice gets stripped down and rediscovers itself through the language of Molière. Here bass and rhythms are always groovy. The album that HF gives us is both her richest and her most personal. A record that is just like she is. Generous, harmonious, unclassifiable, in her own image.
30 March 2021

Pao Barreto presents “Spiralis”

Pao Barreto will unveil her new album "Spiralis" on its physical release (CD and vinyls) April 9, 2021 and digital release April 30, 2021 on El Clan Records / Inouïe Distribution. This new work will be presented live on stage on Friday September 24, 2021 at the Studio de L’Ermitage (Paris). The story begins on December 21st, 2012, a very symbolic day : according to the cosmogony of the Maya who conceived time as a succession of cycles, on that day humanity was meant to disappear. The alignment of the Sun and Earth at the centre of the galaxy marked the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one. At that same moment, the young Pao, then a fashion designer in Bogota, leaves her homeland, determined to fully embrace her vocation : music. She decides to set up in Paris to resume her musical studies. During 3 years, she studies the basics of traditional percussion with Paul Mindy in a Parisian academy of music, as well as a degree of ethnomusicology at Paris VIII University. At the same time, she joins several latin bands and begins her career as a singer, exploring different styles : Cuban music with La Cubanerie and Who’s the Cuban, orchestral cumbia with Cumbia Ya !, traditional colombian carribean rhythms with Cumbia y Cardón. She also collaborates with The Bongo Hop, with whom she records the song Nos Coge la Tarde. On stage, Pao shines and radiates. As concerts go by, the Parisian audiences quickly get addicted to her powerful energy and her warm tone of voice. After six intense years of touring on French and international stages, the journey of Pao reaches a turning point. In March 2020, she produces Spiralis, her first album as a singer and songwriter. The album is recorded between Paris (with El Speaker and Nicolas Vair) and the Groove Studios in Bogota (with Nicolás Cajamarca, Jorge Corredor and 2018 Latin Grammy Harbey Marin). Spiralis, the spiral, symbolizes the cycles of life, the endless renewal of vital energy. In fact, Pao has been familiar with this symbol for a long time : long before arriving in France, she had several experiences of exploring her inner world with yagé, a medicinal beverage from the pre-Columbian people of Putumayo. During night-time ceremonies led by the taitas (shamans), the plant would always reveal to her those sacred geometrical figures. With Spiralis, Pao shares with us two faces of her artistic world : warm, joyful and lively on one side ; mystical and introverted on the other. Her compositions are influenced by many genres : caribbean rhythms (bullerengue, champeta, cumbia) intertwine with electronic sounds, alongside touches of soul, funk and reggae. The lyrics -both in Spanish and French- obviously have to do with the cyclical rhythm of the universe, but also invites us to reconnect with nature and celebrate the capacity we all have to transform ourselves.  Spiralis will be launched in April 2021. Whether you choose to discover the album with eyes closed in meditative listening, or to let yourself go into a joyful trance... you will be carried away by a transcendental spiral. So let's all be there to continue writing the story with Pao !
18 February 2021

Lalala Napoli present “Cavalluccio” at the Studio de l’Ermitage

Lalala Napoli will unveil their new album "Cavalluccio" on its release March 5, 2021 on La Curieuse / L’Autre Distribution. This new work will be presented live on stage on Wednesday Octobre 20, 2021 at the Studio de L’Ermitage (Paris). For 10 years Lalala Napoli has been imaginatively exploring its Italian roots through the fanta- sized Naples of François Castiello, singer and accordionist in Bratsch. With Cavalluccio, Lalala Napoli’s third album, the group has chosen a new steed to probe the depths of trance, from the galloping tarantella to the ritual parades of ancient Neapolitan techno music. The chorus generously shouts its hymns to freedom and brotherhood; and Rossini himself is invited to a show where love serenades, operas, tamuriatas and Calabrian cavalcades collide and are trans- formed into a new traditional sound. Joyful and wild, picaresque and rough, like the overflow of an immense heart, Lalala Napoli offers an acoustic and electric event to take us beyond Italy, from the mists of time to tomorrow! A mix of rage and sweetness, this third album of Lalala Napoli is partly inspired by a memorable concert given in Allessandria del Caretto (Calabria) in the summer of 2018: 3 days of celebration, love, sun and freedom. Cavalluccio is a bridge launched towards a musical tradition of the future, confirming the identity and emblematic place of Lalala Napoli within the European musical landscape.
7 December 2020

Azmari presents « Samā’ī »

Azmari will unveil their new album "Samā'ī" on its release February 5, 2021 on Sdban Ultra / L’Autre Distribution. « Fat Ari » the first track from this new album was released on November 6, 2020: « Fat Ari means "The creator" in Amharic language, this song evolves from a bewitching theme where both flute and kaval joining in an unique atmosphere to finish with a dub sequence straight out of space... » « Azalai » the second track was released on December 11, 2020, and the band says about it: « Slowly, here she comes. Winding. She rubs her belly against the earth, slaloms between the stones, traces its destiny in the sea of gold. Azalai. The music drags, repeats, completes and flies away like the wind stained with sand and spices. She takes a breath in the desert dunes and walks forward. She walks without respite, she fills herself with images, of flavors, ecstasy and intensifies with the tempo. It jerks, this music. She drowns, exhales and wakes up under the eastern sun. The bodies rock, twist, suffer the bite of the sun and get lost in drunkenness. No one sees the end of it. It’s a hypnotic venom. An endless trance. Always forward. Always towards the distant horizon. We are going forward. Azalai as the only guide. " The word "Azalai" refer to the Tuareg trade caravan which crossed the Sahara desert two times a year for nearly 1000 kilometers for the transport of salt between Taoudenni and Timbuktu. In this epic journey, the band introduces the saz Bağlama and the kaval, two instruments that they brought back during a tour in Istanbul and have then integrated into their universe. These instruments come into communion to take us, thanks to a frenetic rhythm section into an heady trance ... ». I would be happy to send you a copy of the album and any other additional information (visuals, press kit) for announcements and/or interviews. Created in Brussels in 2015, Azmari is a weaving musical odyssey that expertly fuses ethiogroove, dub, psychfunk and eastern sounds. Taking inspiration from artists such as Okay Temiz, Mulatu Astatke, Cymande, Fela Kuti and The Heliocentrics, an Azmari, literally "one who praises" in Amharic, is an Ethiopian singer-musician, comparable to the European bard or the West African griot often accompanied with a masenqo - one-stringed fiddle or krar - lyre, two traditional ethiopian instruments. Having released their debut EP ‘Ekera’ last year, a series of shows across Europe saw the Azmari sound develop and ten days performing in Istanbul opened the band’s ears to the Turkish sounds and rhythms from the 1960s. Keen to get back in the studio to start work on their debut album, studiously studying Turkish and Ethiopian scales, along with learning new instruments along the way including the berimbau, the ney and bağlama, the Azmari sound transformed into a rebellious, unrelenting and mesmerising trip. The resulting nine tracks that make up debut album ‘Samā'ī’, released 5th February via Sdban UItra, is a deeply hypnotic experience where mesmerising rhythms and winding improvisations send the listener in to a higher state of consciousness. From the magical sax of album opener ‘Zegiyitwali’, to the dubby template of ‘Cosmic Masadani’ and joyous horns of ‘Kugler’, Azmari seamlessly blend African and oriental melodies with effortless precision, providing a fresh take on the ethiojazz sound. Elsewhere, the heavy, rhythmic sounds of ‘Tariq Al Sahara’ and the mystical and cosmological ‘Azalai’ continue our sacred journey full of raging saxes and wig-out percussion, while the free-spirited, trippy ‘Kadiköy’ coming in at nine minutes in duration, lends a trance-like quality to proceedings where psychedelic jazz meets afro-funk.
7 December 2020

Aribo Productions presents « Medicine Man Orchestra »

Aribo Productions presents the release of "Medicine Man Orchestra" on January 22, 2021 (Believe Digital Distribution) and on February 5, 2021 (L’Autre Distribution). The Medicine Man Orchestra project was born from the meeting between the Beninese griot Seidou Barassounon and the French producer Mathieu Insa. It is a sensory journey that brings together on stage the percussions of Mélissa Hié (Vol du Boli / Damon Albarn), the electronic machines of Alissa Sylla and the incantations of the griot Seidou. British guitarist Justin Adams (Tinariwen, Robert Plant) and Nigerian percussionist Wura Samba (Keziah Jone, Nneka) also took part in the show soundtrack composed by Alissa Sylla. The scenography is entrusted to Nicolas Ticot (XLR Project) for the creation of light frescoes in three dimensions synchronized to the music. Finally, France Médias Monde, main partner of the project, is providing with RFI Labo, its expertise in binaural* sound mixing as well as the design of virtual reality videos. *Binaural mixing is an innovative technology that allows a 3D sound reproduction as close as possible to natural listening. We will soon announce the date of the Paris premiere soon, by then, here are the dates of the 2020/2021 tour: - November 26: Alliance Française of Accra (Ghana) - November 28: French Institute of Lomé (Togo) + Digital workshop on November 30 - December 5: French Institute of Cotonou (Benin) + Masterclass at Lycée Montaigne on December 4 - January 12-14, 2021: residency & concert at the Forum de Vauréal (Val d’Oise, France) on January 14 evening. - January 22, 2021: Live Stream launching concert at Studio de L’Ermitage (Paris, France) «Medicine Man Orchestra» is an sensory journey through the spiritual worlds of West African griots. It explores the emotional and medicinal power of music and words across borders and throughout history. The griots were born under the empire of Ghana (fourth - thirteenth century), then crossed the history of the empire of Mali (thirteenth - fourteenth century) and the Songhai empire (sixteenth and fifteenth century) and are still present nowadays. Discovering their music is a time-travel challenge: it is to discover a contemporary music of our European Middle Ages which is vibrant, popular, evolutive and «classic» in the noble sense of the term. You still hear it in the village chiefs’ speeches as on the radio or on television. This millennial music, listened to and respected throughout West Africa, has been traditionally invested with a crucial role: the oral transmission of memory, outside religious institutions. Music therapy is used to improve the overall well-being and is particularly beneficial in the accompaniment of people with behavioral, relational or communication difficulties. The therapeutic effect of music has always been recognized. The ancients and traditional cultures regarded it as a sacred science. The griots of West Africa have never doubted the therapeutic effect of their music. Thus, depending on the context, they will sometimes play music to console or comfort at the funeral of a king for example, sometimes to move away from negative energies or to enter a meditative or joyful trance. Therefore, Medicine Man Orchestra is a “traveling therapy troupe” which utilises the principles of music therapy and offers spectators around the world a unique audio and visual experience using innovative sound and image broadcasting technologies. It is an ambitious project whose mission is the appeasement and well-being of its audience worldwide.
23 October 2020

Clément Oury présente “La tête dans la mur”

Sorry, this entry is only available in French. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.Clément Oury dévoilera son nouvel album "La tête dans le mur", à l'occasion de sa sortie le 13 novembre 2020 chez Vlad / Inouïe Distribution (digital / vinyle). « Quelques sons du quotidien enregistrés au fil des saisons. Des grains de maïs, des fleurs de houblon, des noix, des pétales de roses et je commence avec cette valse d’Automne. Puis l’envie de partager ces ambiances avec d’autres musiciens à qui je propose ces instrumentations minimalistes, répétitives qui commencent à prendre forme. » Clément Oury. Il ne lui aura pas fallu beaucoup de temps pour accorder son violon : pas de pause ni de soupir pour Clément Oury qui commence son premier couplet dans des conservatoires (ENM de Beauvais puis Conservatoire du Centre de Paris). La ballade se poursuit en crescendo avec la rencontre du tuba dans lequel il s’épanouit deux ans au Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt dans la classe d’Arnaud Boukhitine, mais aussi en analyse, harmonie, musique de chambre, prise de son et orchestre. Après un an d’auditeur libre au CNSM de Lyon dans la classe de Mell Cubertson, il entre dans la prestigieuse Universitat der Kunste de Berlin dans la classe de Dietrich Unkrodt où il obtient un premier prix. A sa portée, une large gamme de genres musicaux dans lequel il apporte sa touche notamment dans l'Orchestre Philharmonique du département de l’Oise, le projet Shantel & Bucovina Club avec qui il part en tournée européenne pendant 2 ans ou encore dans l'enregistrement de bandes originales dont celle du dernier film de Tony Gatlif. Ce parcours aurait pu se terminer en fanfare, avec Ziveli Orkestar avec qui il joue pendant 10 ans, mais non, le tempo est lancé et Clément Oury se met à accompagner différentes formations : le quatuor Aalma Dili, le groupe Soviet Suprem et depuis peu le projet plus électronique : Mezerg Orkestar. Ce multi-instrumentiste rythme aussi depuis quelques années, tant en enregistrement qu'en concert, les mélodies des jolies voix de The Do, Yael Naïm et depuis peu, Emily Loizeau. La partition était déjà toute écrite et cela va durer jusqu'à ce que l'idée de donner naissance à sa propre musique ne survienne. Clément Oury, après une longue période de réflexion finit par faire appel à sa longue expérience artistique ainsi qu'à son inspiration pour faire émerger un premier album solo reflétant les émotions de la vie.  
23 October 2020

Belkacem Drif présente “Siempre lo mismo” au Studio de L’Ermitage

Belkacem Drif will unveil his new album "Siempre lo mismo" on its release February 5, 2021 on Chez Oime Production / Inouïe Distribution. This new work will be presented live on stage on Wednesday September 15, 2021 at the Studio de L’Ermitage (Paris). Born in the outskirts of Paris, Belkacem Drif is the youngest in a family of 12 children. Though music has always been present in the family, nothing predestined him to become a professional musician. It was with his neighbors, a musical family of gypsy origin, that he learned percussion, discovered flamenco and became passionate about this music. A turbulent boy, he was advised by his teacher to join a music school where he would play classical percussion. At age 16, he started playing at weekend dances and decided to devote himself entirely to music. He enrolled at the conservatory in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, then under the direction of Guy Hayat, he joined the CIM school of jazz, where he studied Jazz harmony with Philippe Baudoin. He graduated from the Emmanuel Bourseault drum school and earned his degree in musicology from University of Paris 8. Belkacem Drif made his early inroads a professional musician accompanying many artists and groups. Rock or Bossanova, Soul or Jazz, Variety in the noble sense of the term, he got a taste of all flavors, nuances, sounds. He remains a lover of rhythm, of rhythms, wherever they might come from. From the music of his original Kabylia to his travels through Spain, Morocco or the United States, his meetings with musicians from all walks of life (Antonio Lopez, Brahim Izri, Julio Laks, Alain Jean-Marie, Saïd Mesnaoui and Travis Bürki, to name a few), Belkacem has maintained his fondness for sharing, for generous music, open to experiences and mixes. In short: openness towards others. SIEMPRE LO MISMO, his 2nd album, opens the door to singing and new encounters. All his compositions speak to this profound fondness for discovery and musical crossbreeding.
23 October 2020

Antonio Placer Sextet invite Antonio Campos et présentent “Trovaores”

Trovaores is the story of how flamenco, jazz and chanson come together in the heart of the snow-capped mountains of Grenoble and Granada. Seven artists overjoyed to come together on stage to create a musical story made up of rules and transgressions, to share it with the public. Their arrangements take us from the most essential flamenco to the sounds of jazz and to the Hispanic or Galician poetic trova, which lend the performance a breath and rhythm, where each beat renders tribute to deep syncretic energy. Trovaores is a show featuring two powerful, contrasting and complementary voices backed up by musicians from various backgrounds, a kind of bridge between the different Souths, halfway between here and elsewhere. As such, it crosses two artistic and poetic universes carried along by deep voices that turn scratchy when the duende calls for it, and showing restraint when emotion is crucial. It is also carried along by the lyrics, which convey a raging forcefulness and devotion at all times. Trovaores is the duende in action and in interactions, because while the duende is the soul of "dark sounds", it is also the spirit of confluence.   Antonio Placer, Vocals and artistic direction Antonio Placer is nominated for the Victoires de la Musique 2022, best male artist category. Singer, musician, poet, composer, arranger, a Galician exiled in France, he creates world music and songs shaped by the different winds that have carried him throughout his career. What is the style, the nature of the music he makes? Hard to classify... He doesn't make flamenco, jazz, fado, tango, or classical music. His art is, first and foremost, the stage that he graces with his generous and engaging presence. He has the sincerity of Jacques Brel, the anger of Léo Ferré and the revolutionary passion of Jean Ferrat. His quivering tragedian performances have been sending up audiences on stages in France and elsewhere for twenty-four years. His words and his presence are moving and hit deep... He has composed over 20 original works on national and international stages in more than 30 countries. In so doing, he has performed over 300 songs to audiences worldwide. He has released 13 albums. His poetry work has been published in several countries and written in four different languages. He has shared his art and composed shows with great artists such as: Fernando Suarez Paz (violinist from Astor Piazolla), Renaud García-Fons, Steve Swallow, Paulo Bellinati, Carlo Rizzo, Elena Ledda, Angélique Ionatos, Amancio Prada, Rocío Marquez, Gabriele Mirabassi, Toninho Ferragutti, Jean-Marie Machado, Stracho Temelkovski, Jean-François Baez, Jorge « Negrito » Trasante, Cristina Azuma, Mauro Palmas, etc.
20 October 2020

Ozferti presents « Solarius Gamma »

OZFERTI: Florian Doucet is a music veteran. Before dedicating to Ozferti entirely, he toured around the globe and in the studio with Afro-Colombian band LA CHIVA GANTIVA (Crammed Discs) and Afro-Portuguese band TERRAKOTA (Fazuma).  He had a call for modern Ethiopian music, and in 2016 released the ADDIS ABOUMBAP EP, 11 tracks of EthioJazz and electronic landscapes. The record received critical acclaim and was widely broadcasted by underground DJ’s and Radios (DJ Mellow / LOW UP, BEAT CHRONIC, Radio Nova Paris) but also on big stations (KCRW Los Angeles, Worldwide FM, RINSE fm France).  This was the beginning of the Ozferti project, an adventure wich would encapsulate Flo’s musical and visual arts skills. The music contains elements of Electronica, Jazz, Hip-hop and Bass music, while using the color and richness of East-African instruments and rythms. It is a space odyssey, depicting the story of a purple planet and a masked musician, a strange place that makes us reflect on our own world.  SOLARIUS GAMMA: Welcome to the first chapter of the OZFERTI saga. Step into an unknown galaxy, where gravity is multi-dimensional and they don’t have Netflix ; where new gods are replacing the old idols and the ecosystems are being crushed by space-mining economy. Follow OZFERTI, the masked beatmaker, in his journey to the stars, in an album inspired by East-African music and partly produced and recorded in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. The 11 track album takes you through desertic landscapes and sci-fi atmospheres, with traditionnal rythm patterns and percussions being mixed with electronic synthesisers and live electric guitar.
2 October 2020

David Krakauer & Kathleen Tagg présentent “Breath & Hammer”

Sorry, this entry is only available in French. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.David Krakauer & KathleenTagg dévoileront leur nouvel album "Breath & Hammer", à l'occasion de sa sortie le 21 août 2020 chez Table Pounding Records / L'Autre Distribution. Le duo est composé de : - David Krakauer : clarinette  - Kathleen Tagg : piano et "piano orchestral"   Le clarinettiste américain David Krakauer, nominé aux Grammy, figure incontournable de la musique klezmer du XXIe siècle, et par ailleurs soliste de Musique Classique, et Kathleen Tagg, compositrice, arrangeuse, pianiste et productrice novatrice, sortent Breath & Hammer sur leur propre label Table Pounding Records, avec une tournée européenne en vue pour promouvoir l'album dont la sortie est prévue en France le 21/08/2020 chez L’Autre Distribution. Cet album, véritable performance électro-acoustique révélant les approches innovantes et idiosyncrasiques du duo sur leurs instruments respectifs, présente à la fois des compositions originales et des interprétations très personnelles de la musique de certains de leurs amis les plus proches, parmi lesquels John Zorn et Kinan Azmeh, dans une texture qui intègre de manière transparente des boucles, des samples et des performances en direct. Breath & Hammer est à la confluence de plusieurs courants musicaux, résultant des solides références des deux artistes en tant que musiciens de concert classiques, mais aussi des années de Krakauer en tant qu'innovateur klezmer, compositeur, leader de groupe et expérimentateur d'avant-garde, ainsi que de la carrière à multiples facettes de Tagg, qui a créé et joué pour la scène et le théâtre, allié à ses compétences en tant qu’arrangeur et productrice Le Wall Street Journal déclare que "David Krakauer est un clarinettiste tellement expressif qui passe si facilement d'un genre à l'autre que l'on pourrait presque penser qu'il n'y a pas de différence appréciable entre le jazz, le klezmer et la musique classique formelle", mais la description convient aux deux partenaires et laisse entrevoir le fil conducteur de chaque projet qu'ils entreprennent : favoriser les liens humains par une musique qui transcende toutes les frontières stylistiques et culturelles. Comme pour tous ses précédents albums, Tagg a produit Breath & Hammer, que Krakauer décrit comme "une tapisserie médiévale de la taille d'un appartement, composée d'échantillons de la taille des ongles". Parmi les compositeurs qui ont contribué au projet, on trouve le saxophoniste John Zorn, le clarinettiste syrien Kinan Azmeh, le percussionniste cubain Roberto Rodriguez, l'accordéoniste Rob Curto et l'accordéoniste et spécialiste du klezmer Emil Kroitor, en plus de Krakauer et Tagg eux-mêmes. Lors des performances en direct, les techniques de jeu étendues, les boucles et les samples de Breath & Hammer sont galvanisés par un flux vidéo immersif à plusieurs caméras créé par l'artiste vidéo Jesse Gilbert, basé à Los Angeles, permettant au public de voir de près et en temps réel les styles de jeu peu orthodoxes du duo. Une conception vidéo considérablement élargie, projetée sur un hexagone translucide de grilles entourant les artistes, a été créée à la Pierre Boulez Saal à Berlin et a été présentée en avant-première avec des intermèdes sonores spatialisés nouvellement composés au printemps dernier sous le nom de Breath & Hammer II : Les liens qui nous unissent.
10 June 2020