7 posts from 2007

Hi all, December has been a busy old month here in London - 3 weeks ago I went to  BBC's Studio Three in Maida Vale, made famous by the legendary John Peel, to hear the finalists for The Next Big Thing - it was a truelly global affair- Maya McCallum from France, Jeremie Johnson from United Arab Emirates , Hraun from Iceland, Vrelo from Serbia- the winners were the very lively and infectiously rhythmic Yunasi from Kenya.

Full Time Hobby - label home of Tunng, had their Christmas party at 93 Feet East on  Brick Lane - a very busy and happening part of East London. Malcolm Middleton was also on the bill - he has penned an 'anti christmas' song this year called 'We're all Going to Die'. Cheery little number! I rubbed shoulders with Jamie Callum at the merch table afterwards.

Yesterday I went on my usual pilgrimage to buy CDs at Rough Trade and who did I bump into but Lily Allen with her new beau Ed Simons of The Chemical Brothers - the happy couple are expecting the patter of tiny feet in 2008!

Australian singer Sia had tipped me off about a great new Brit singer in the vein of Dusty Springfield called Duffy and as luck would have it, she had a showcase at Rough Trade East - their new shop off Brick Lane. She was fab - I bought her 7" 'Rockferry' - she has just finished her album so watch this space for more info - or check out her live session on BBC 6 Music. After a quick beverage in Shoreditch House, east end sibling of Soho House, I headed to Cargo for the End of the Road Festival Christmas Party and thoroughly enjoyed the duo Slow Club - jaunty folk with chairs and bottles of water for percussion - am bringing their cd home to share with my KCRW colleagues.
Happy holidays to all you Global Giggers - hope to see you next year!

Gemma (email Global@kcrw.com)

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Cake's Unlimited Sunshine Festival in rainy Los Angeles tonight!

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The Global Gig Guide caught up with Cake's front man John McCrea to talk about his festival 'Unlimited Sunshine' and Cake's latest CD 'B-Sides and Rarities'.

The festival features The Brazilian Girls, The Detroit Cobras, Agent Ribbons, Oakley Hall, King City and Cake!
Check their website for full details of who is performing where and when at www.cakemusic.com. 

Greetings Global Gig Trotters, here are some upcoming  festivals for your perusal - the city of Rennes in Brittany, France is a regular host of music events and Trans Musicales has been going since the 70's. Taking place December 6 - 9,  describes itself thus 'where people discover new or unknown sounds, where the artistic melting pot creates a magic atmosphere'. Artists on the bill include Calvin Harris, Fred Viola, The Ting Tings ,Tunng and for something totally alternative, The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra - all the 'instruments' get made into a big bowl of soup at the end of the show!

Over to Buenos Aires Argentina for their biggest international music event, Personal Fest . It takes place December 7th & 8th in the city some call 'the Paris of south America' at the Club Ciudad. The line up includes Hot Chip,
Gotan Project, Happy Mondays, Vicentico and Fito Paez.

And lastly to the home of The Fab Four - Liverpool is hosting a Music Week for new and established artists - the event kicks off November 30th and takes place all over Merseyside for 10 days. Liverpool promoter Mike Deane is at the helm of this event, and has recently been joined by James 'Cream' Barton. Acts on the bill include Kaiser Chiefs, Hard-Fi, Chemical Brothers and Simian Mobile Disco.

That's all for now - let me know if you make it to any of these gigs or email me about ones in your neck of the woods
Global@kcrw.com

If you are in the U.S Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheers and good gigging to you all.

Gemma

The enigmatic Icelandic group  Sigur Rós were in Los Angeles this month promoting the release of both the DVD 'Heima' and a double CD set titled 'Harf/Heim'. Performing a short acoustic set before the screening, the show had been  part of the AFI Fest in Los Angeles. I caught them on the last LA date held on the Collins Court gym at UCLA ( click for coverage & great photos from LosAnjealous site)  organised by Jenny Ahn of UCLA Cultural Affairs Commission.

Heima translates as 'at home' or 'homeland' and the film follows the group as they perform a series of concerts in Iceland -  many were unannounced and took place in unconventional 'venues' such as fish factories and outsider art follies. The combination of their emotive music, the stunning Icelandic locations and candid interviews with the band, make this DVD a must-see for both fans and the Sigur Rós curious.

When deciding how their first DVD should be, the only film Sigur Rós liked was the classic documentary 'Jazz on a Summer's Day' . However, they felt that  the initial footage for 'Heima' was lacking , so their manager, John Best, spoke to director/ animator Dean DeBlois for advice, and he ended up becoming the film's director.
This may seem an odd choice given Dean is best known for the Disney movie 'Lilo and Stitch', but it works, as he has a gift for understanding story and the final film evokes the unique spirit of both Sigur Rós and their homeland.

During the Q&A the band responded to questions about their writing process with 'we just sit down and play'... first they write the song, then the lyrics come and whatever it means to the listener was probably what they intended it to mean as music is international and moves you, whatever language is used, real or imagined...they were very happy to have been compared to U2 in their home country and described how they enjoyed the energy of the diverse Icelandic audiences and locations...when asked what the antithesis to Iceland is, they responded 'Los Angeles California'!

If you haven't discovered Tunng yet, you're in for a treat. This UK folk/indie/pop/electronica collective were guests on KCRW's New Ground during SXSW earlier this year (you can check out the archived show on KCRW.com ) and I have mentioned their world travels in no less than six Global Gig Guides ! I went to see them in Italy at the Italia Wave festival in Florence in July. It was absolutely boiling hot but they put on a great show - below are some pics that were sent to me by their UK Label Full Time Hobby as well as  photos  that I took at Italia Wave - Tunng has a fab new album called Good Arrows which should be on your list for Santa if you can wait that long! I'm not sure how many times you have to see a band before being at risk of becoming a groupie, but I have now seen them 3 times - in Austin, Italy and LA - not bad for the Global Gig Girl :) Their last gig of their US tour was on Tuesday at The Echo in  Los Angeles - I'm glad to say the venue was full - not a easy feat  for LA on a weeknight-  and I loved the show.  I also enjoyed the opening act Karin Tatoyan - an intense Bjork/ Tori Amos/ Fiona Apple singer/ performer - according to a the label's website she comes from a line of Syrian Armenian actors, musicans and puppeteers which would explain her dramatic and very engaging performance style - definitely one to watch.

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G'day ! any of you been to the first NME Rock n Roll Riot tour in the US?  its already underway and features Art Brut, The Hold Steady, Federale and The Blood Arm and could well be heading to a town near you - if you live in the US that is :) ...for more info check out http://www.nme.com/usa.
For those of you in Spain, Wintercase is currently in full swing in the cities of Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Bilbao - the bill includes Editors, Spoon and Super Furry Animals - if you go send me a picture or some audio!
www.wintercasesanmiguel.com/w2007.html
and lastly The Glebe Music Festival in the leafy suburbs of Sydney Australia grew out of musical soirees in the 1960's in Marghetta Cottage; it now boasts a variety of venues and music ranging from classical work by Eugene Ysaye, to jazz by Quantum Theory or the  Sangeet Band led by Ajay Goldsmith from Nepal.
Thats it for this weeks Global Gig Guid on Vox.com - feel free to send me comments, photos or audio clips of events you've been to or hope to go to.
If you want to hear the Global Gig Guide you can get it as a podcast via KCRW.com or I Tunes - its also featured during New Ground and Nocturna on KCRW.com.
Cheers and Bon Voyage!

Hi - Gemma of KCRW.com's Global Gig Guide here - I first heard about this amazing multi- ethnic orchestra from Rome when they appeared at the Italia Wave Festival in July. Last night at The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, I had the absolute pleasure of seeing the film about how they came to be (released via Netflix Oct 23rd) - followed by a performance by 10 members of the group (there are 21 of them based in Rome).

Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio is made up of musicians playing 15 unrelated instruments, from 11 countries, 4 continents, speaking 8 different languages yet playing an absolutely new kind of music in which each musician preserves his or her personality. The founder of the orchestra is Mario Tronco, part of the Italian group Avion Travel, and the film about the group's genesis is shot by director Agostino Ferrente. 'The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio' is a visual diary of Mario's dream to establish an orchestra that reflects the many nationalities that live in this part of Rome; to come together to make music and to make a positive statement for the immigrants of Italy during the negative post 9/11 period.

Despite being a week night in Los Angeles, the audience clapped danced and sang along with the group, showing that music is the universal language with an ability to connect like no other art or medium. The 'cineconcert' was part of their short US tour and and the American Cinematheque's Cinema Italian Style showcase. By weird and wonderful coincidence the director, Agostino celebrated his birthday yesterday - complimenti and auguri Agostino and orchestra director Mario for your vision and passion, and huge props to all the players of The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio - we hope to see you back in the USA very soon!