SKIP&DIE & DakhaBrakha: 2 sensational new bands at Eurosonic-Noorderslag

Eurosonic-Noorderslag, Europe’s main showcase festival for European music, will host two fresh new acts from Crammed Discs: SKIP&DIE & DakhaBrakha.
Taking stages by storm and making the dancefloor shake, SKIP&DIE has created a frenzy of media attention since their disc was released last October. They will have a number of appearances in and about the festival:

Jan 10 EUROSONIC | Huize Maas 23:45 - 00:30
Jan 12 NOORDERSLAG | Foyer Grote Zaal 02:30 - 03:15

And we are pleased to announce a new partnership with DakhaBrakha, the phenomenal Ukranian outfit which created a sensation at  Womex 2012 with its own brand of what they call "ethnic chaos", i.e. traditional Ukrainian music revisited with a quasi-psychedelic folk punk attitude

Jan 11 EUROSONIC | Forum Images 00:15 - 01:00

SKIP&DIE set alight European stages

After a smashing start, the "Riots in the Jungle" release tour is making heads shake and feet step to the unmistakable sound of SKIP&DIE. Don't take our word for it: here's live footage from the recent Amsterdam Dance Event.




Taking crowds by storm across Europe, the wild rhythms and stunning moves of SKIP&DIE are making waves at each concert they play.
Do not miss the excitement and energy of SKIP&DIE when they play in your city:

SKIP&DIE Fall 2012 TOUR DATES:

14/11 BE Brussels Beursschouwburg
16/11 NL Rotterdam Buma Rotterdam Beats
22/11 GB London Cargo
29/11 BE Antwerpen Trix
01/12 DK Copenhagen Global
08/12 FR Rennes Trans Musicales / Hall 4
13/12 DE Berlin Kantine Berghain
14/12 DE Hamburg Uebel & Gefahrlich
15/12 DE Munich Muffathalle
16/12 DE Cologne Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld

Amatorski & Crammed join forces

Crammed Discs are delighted to welcome Amatorski, one of the most fascinating and promising bands around.

 More news soon!

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.