Shaking the other side of the globe, Staff Benda Billi continue to "Make the World Shake" on their first North American tour!

Rumba-rock artists Staff Benda Bilili take their positive sounds and endless energy to cities across the continent, including an incredible show at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles (pictured above). Click for dates...
Here's a report on their spectacular New York concert:

"Afropop -and an intensely appreciative New York audience- was lucky enough to watch Staff Benda Bilili play a truly phenomenal show, decisively proving that they have richly deserved every ounce of the plaudits that they’ve received over the last several years.

Staff Benda Bilili are simply one of the best bands to come out of the DRC in years. No explanation required."
(Afropop International)

Make sure not to miss them on this exclusive tour!

Upcoming dates :
25/10/2012  SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SLIMS
27/10/2012  SEATTLE, WA - TOWN HALL
28/10/2012  VANCOUVER, BC - 560 CLUB
30/10/2012  ASHEVILLE, NC - UNC ASHEVILLE / LIPINSKY AUDITORIUM

ZITA SWOON GROUP has released a stunning new video, "A Sera, A Waara", to celebrate their Fall 2012 European Tour.

"A Sera, A Waara" tells the story the difficulties of a broken heart, but offers hope through the moving energetic scenes in a baroque caravan.

Maïa Vidal nominated for the UK Music Video Awards 2012 next to Lana Del Rey, Rihanna & Justice

Maïa Vidal's dreamy, mysterious video reinterpretation of her single "Follow Me", in the running for the "Best Pop Video – International" award




The UK Music Video awards site has announced the final nominees for the "Best Pop Video – International" award, and Crammed Discs' Maïa Vidal is one of the 4 nominees for the "Best Pop Video – International" award!

This enticing video for her single "Follow Me", shot near Barcelona and directed by Joana Colomar, turns the script originally depicted in the lyrics into a dream-like parable, loosely inspired by one of the Brothers Grimm tales.

With a number of high profile international concerts and placement of her music in ads for such brands as Desigual and Ikea, Maïa is winning many ears over to her unique sound. 

Maïa is still sharing the magic of her live show in Europe this fall. See the dates here.

Cumbia rockers La Chiva Gantiva's fun new video "Apretao"...

…shows them pursuing shamans, wrestlers and tennis players in search of new stage outfits.




Apretao conveys the playfulness and energy of the band's celebrated album & live show. We follow bandleader Rafael Espinel as he wanders in the city and meets a bunch of strange characters, before sharing his sartorial finds with the band and launching into a final, dishevelled jam.

La Chiva Gantiva's performance at the River of Music Festival during the London Olympics was described by The Times as one of the high points of the event:

"For sheer rabble-rousing lust for life, La Chiva Gantiva took first prize. A multicultural group of mostly Colombian exiles based in Brussels, they produced a frenetic carnival-punk racket that detonated like a Molotov cocktail of rock, rap, soul and ferociously funky Latin rhythms. Whippet-thin and explosively hairy, their livewire singer Rafael Espinel electrified the sun-weary crowd with his irrepressible energy and charisma",

while Uncut (UK) wrote about their debut album "Pelao":

"It seems a fair guess that Joe Strummer would have loved La Chiva Gantiva. A joyous ramshackle racket that interweaves clattery Latin rhythms with dishevelled funk, rock and jazz elements in a similarly frenetic style to other deracinated roots-punk acts like Gogol Bordello or Manu Chao. This lively debut is awash with bone-shaking carnival punk-funk grooves",

and London mag Monocle said:  

"Kaboom! Tish! There's a lot going on in this hot-blooded mess that features a UN-tastic personnel. Restless, arresting, addictive"

The French press has been just as enthusiastic: 

"Une bombe incendiaire de groove latino" (Libération)

"Fusion déjantée de traditions afro-colombiennes (porro, cumbia), de funk et d'énergie rock, ce groupe bruxellois multi-ethnique (trois Colombiens, trois Européens et un Vietnamien) réveille les articulations du Vieux-Continent. Façon pogo plutôt que danse de salon" (Vibrations)
 
and MTV Iggy's just published an article on the band, in which they describe La Chiva Gantiva as "one of the dopest new Colombian bands around" !!!

Don't miss their upcoming shows!

STAFF BENDA BILILI : Behind the Scenes

Staff Benda Bilili Get ready to "make the world shake" by sharing with us scenes from the creation of their new album "Bouger le Monde !" WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!

Set to the new single "Osali Mabe" & filmed in Kinshasa at Ricky's house and at the historic Renapec studio, this new video gives us a look into their daily lives: rehearsals, friends, and the work involved with the creation of this new album to be released on September 3rd.

Don't miss their explosive live show near you , including their first tour in the States!

SKIP&DIE: New Crammed Artist, New Single

SKIP&DIE, the sensational new genre-blending band, formed by South African vocalist / visual artist Catarina Aimée Dahms (aka Cata.Pirata) and Dutch producer Jori Collignon (C-Mon & Kypski, Nobody Beats The Drum), have unveiled 'LOVE JIHAD', the first new track from their upcoming debut album 'Riots in the Jungle'.




Entitled  "Riots in the Jungle", the album was written by Cata.Pirata and Crypto.Jori
while traveling through South Africa’s Soweto, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Guguletu, collaborating along the way with some of SA’s most inspiring music-makers on the rise. The album portrays their experience of blazing sun, dusty roads, township shacks, cockroaches, riots, skulls, bones and lovebirds. 
It contains songs in English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, Spanish and Portuguese. 

Catch this energy live !

SKIP&DIE SHOWS

16/6 Festival Mundial, Tilburg
1/7 Metropolis, Rotterdam
6/7 PITCH, Amsterdam
7/7 Burgerweeshuis, Deventer
13/7 Stekkerfest, Utrecht
14/7 Dijkpop, Andijk
22/7 Milkshake, Amsterdam
28/7 Jam de la Creme, Scheveningen

"Riots in the Jungle" will be coming out in October 2012 on Crammed Discs.

R.I.P. Ilie Iorga, singer and Taraf de Haidouks mainstay

See that thin little man, standing among all these musicians who brandish their respective instruments and seem to concentrate on adopting the most attractive pose for this group picture.


He smiles broadly, and strangely holds his hand behind his ear, as if he's trying to hear, what? The photographer's flash, or his instructions? He seems happy, despite the obvious discomfort —attested by his slightly plum-coloured complexion— of being thusly dressed up, with this superb violet stanton hat chosen for him by the dresser, for the fashion show which is to take place right after the photo session. Happy, with a twinkle in his eye, yet extremely discreet. No one knows what his thoughts are at this very moment, or whether he's really conscious of being there, standing between his old friend Marin, his son-in-law Costica, and all the other members of the Taraf de Haïdouks.

This man went away forever a few days ago. He spoke until his voice and breath died away, and then raised his hand, as if he meant to signify "it's enough". He was born on the 15th of November 1928, his name was Ilie Iorga, they sometimes called him Ilie Paputsoi. A singer, a minstrel, a troubadour, recognized by all as one of the last depositaries of that treasure of ancient Romanian music: epic songs, love songs, bawdy, poetic, pastoral and sometimes even patriotic songs. This man passed through the most part of a century and its wars, upheavals and transformations, without ever losing his courtesy, his natural kindness and his gentleman-like manners: "Ca un dom", as they would say in Romanian. He spent 60 years singing his vast repertoire, and takes away with him an innumerable wealth of poetry and musical knowledge.

Always standing in a very upright posture, his slightly stiff figure gave out the impression that "life is something serious", and conferred to his ballads a solemn gravity, a sense that "this is too true to be only poetry", only to be sweetened by the modulations of his voice. Towards the end, his hearing became impaired, yet he kept singing in tune, without noticing the mischievous yet affectionate tricks played on him by his bandmates, who sometimes changed keys in order to confuse him, a tough game often played by Gypsy wedding musicians, who love to trap their peers, even in the midst of a public performance.

He loved everything —except what doesn't deserve to be loved— and never worried about his health. Now he really has no more reason to be worried, neither about himself nor about us.

S.Karo

STAFF BENDA BILILI announce their new album!

STAFF BENDA BILILI are set to "make the world shake" with their new album set for release in September. Listen to the first single here!

Video Premiere of Maïa Vidal's "Follow Me"

A wolf in sheep's clothing, Maïa Vidal presents an enticing video reinterpretation of her single "Follow Me", which turns the script originally depicted in the lyrics into a dreamy, mysterious parable, loosely inspired by one of the Brothers Grimm tales.




The video was shot near Barcelona and directed by Joana Colomar.

With a number of high profile international concerts and placement of her music in ads for such brands as Desigual and Ikea, Maïa is winning many ears over to her unique sound.  

Maïa will be performing all around Europe this spring and summer. See the dates here

Passons à la VF:
Dans sa nouvelle vidéo "Follow Me", Maïa Vidal détourne le texte de sa chanson: la fille quelque peu prédatrice qui aborde les garçons a fait place à une parabole mystérieuse, une rêverie inspirée par un conte de Grimm ("Le loup et les sept chevreaux").

Réalisé par Joana Colomar, le clip a été tourné près de Barcelone.

Nul besoin de montrer patte blanche pour voir Maïa Vidal aux Nuits Botanique le 16/5, à Europavox (Clermont-Ferrand) le 26/5, ou à Barcelone, Athènes ou Amsterdam…

(toutes les dates sont ici)